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May 31, 2009
About a week ago, I was showing property to a first time home buyer in Laurel Maryland. We found a big two car garage home in the Laurel. This property had four bedrooms, two and half baths, living room and family room. In addition the property had an unfinished basement.
The basement looked like it had some water in it at one point, but it was hard to tell. The owner of the property happened to be home. I asked the seller if he ever had water in the basement, he said “No”.
My buyer loved the home and wrote a contract on it that day. As part of the contract we made the sale contingent on a home inspection. I insist all my buyers make all their offers contingent on a home inspection.
The home inspection contingency protects the buyer from purchasing something that could be severly damaged. For sellers, the home inspection allows the buyer to have the last word on the condition of the property. After the purchase, if any problems arise, the first line of defense for the seller is the buyer’s home inspection.
But most importantly, the buyer who has a home inspection can move forward in confidence with their purchase.
Now back to the present situation. We showed up for the home inspection yesterday morning. The home inspector was already at the property. The inspector immediately informed us of problems with the foundation of the property.
The home inspector noticied several large cracks from the outside of the property. Further inspection in the basement revealed a sever problem with the foundation. All four walls were “bowing” inward. Numerous cracks were spotted on the inside. The property was not safe.
The problem would take over $10,000 to fix.
My buyer exercised his right to declare the contract “null and void”. My buyer escaped a dangerous and costly situation.
He never would have discovered the bad investment he was about to make without the home inspection.
Always make any purchase contingent on a home inspection. Always have a licensed home inspector perform the inspection.
May 29, 2009
Across the country there was an increase in homes sold in April over March of this year. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal this was due to a number of factors which I have discussed here in earlier Laurel Real Estate Blog.
Lower prices have contributed to more first time home buyers jumping into the market. Prices have been driven down by distressed properties for sale. Buyers are jumping on good deals. The large inventory of homes is also a contributing factor. Sellers have to make their homes competitive in a market full of choices for buyers.
Another reason sales are up is the government $8000 credit for first time home buyers. Purchasing a home has become more affordable, because buyers know they will be reimbursed for some, if not all of their initial investment. In some cases, the $8000 credit is coupled with a down payment grant that makes it appear the buyer is actually getting paid to buy a property.
Finally, something I have mentioned repeatedly here on the Laurel Real Estate Blog, historically low interest rates are driving home sales. Most buyers can get an interest rate below five percent.
In Laurel Maryland zip code 20707 the number of homes sold increased in both March and April of this year. In April home sales were up over 37%. In March home sales were up a 200%!
Laurel medium home prices dropped in April over 17%. In March of this year, medium home prices dropped 20%.
So Laurel Maryland’s dropping home prices and rising sales is consistent with the rest of the country.
For more information on home sales in Laurel Maryland, visit Maryland real estate.
May 27, 2009
Laurel Maryland has its own expert home protection consultant. It is police officer Corporal Woody. Cpl. Woody has been assigned to the West Laurel Community. He is available for any questions you my have concerning crime in the neighborhood.
Cpl. Woody is also available to visit your home and give you advice on how to keep it more secure. The visit last about 45 minutes. If interested in this valuable service, Cpl. Woody’s contact information is found below.
Welcome CPL Woody
District VI Community Police Officer
OFFICE: (301) 937-0910
E-MAIL: JMWoody@co.pg.md.us
As always, for more information about Laurel real estate, visit Laurel Md.
May 23, 2009
If you are shopping for Laurel real estate, make sure you have a buyer agent who knows the area.
There are three types of agency. The first is the seller’s agent. The seller’s agent is responsilbe for looking out for the seller’s interest above all else. If you call a listing agent on a home, that agent is not working for you, she is working for the seller and will put the seller’s interest ahead of yours.
The second is the buyer’s agent. The buyer’s agent works exclusively with the potential home purchaser. This type of agent puts your interest ahead of the seller’s interest. The buyer’s agent is legally mandated to look after the purchasers interest.
The third type of agency is the duel agent. This is a rare form of agency that occurs when the agent represents both the buyer and the seller.
If you are looking for a home, make sure you have a signed agreement with a buyer agent to represent you. It is also helpful if the buyer agent knows the area. I have lived in the greater Laurel Maryland area for the past twenty years and am very familiar with the housing in Laurel. I am able to give expert advice on purchasing Laurel real estate.
For more information on buying homes in Maryland, visit Maryland real estate.
May 21, 2009
Summer is fast approaching in Laurel Maryland. One of my first concerns this summer is how to keep my daughter busy during the next three months. Well the first thing is to renew our membership at the West Laurel Pool.
My daughter loves the pool and has been on the swim team for last two years. She is now old enough to ride her bike to the pool. So we know that will eat up some time in a very good way.
Also, her Godmother has paid for piano and voice lessons at the Laurel School of Music on Main St. This will be a very good use of her time. My daughter also is very eager to increase her skills in both voice and piano.
In addition to the above activities, we will get her registered for some classes at the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel Md. Last year she took an art class and a camera class. She enjoyed both of these very much.
Ok, so it seems like we are off to a good start. As you can see there are many things to do here locally in Laurel Maryland.
For more information on Maryland activies, visit Maryland real estate.
May 19, 2009
Owners of Laurel real estate have the Bond Mill Elementary School Fair to look forward to every May. The fair is manned by teaches, students and various volunteers from the West Laurel area.
My daughter, a sixth grader at Bond Mill Elementary, was one of the volunteers this year. She is part of the last sixth grade class to graduate from Bond Mill. My daughter volunteered her time at the fair and participated in some of the activities.
For the second year in a row my girl gave the best guess on how many jelly beans were in the jelly bean machine. In addition to that, she won a cake in the cake walk. So now we have a bunch of fattening foods in our Laurel home.
The Bond Mill Elementary Fair is a great community event, full of fun and great way to get out and meet the neighbors.
For more information on Laurel Maryland, visit Maryland real estate.
May 12, 2009
Recently, I was at a walk-thru with my buyer on a sale in Laurel Maryland. The walk-thru is typically done a few days before settlement and is done to make sure the home is the same condition it was at the time of ratification.
In this particualar walk-thru it was discovered the basement carpet was much more wet than at the time of contract ratification. Most contracts state the home must be in the same condition at settlement that it was in at the time of ratification.
In this particualar case, the listing agent was notified of the descrepency and agreed with the interpretation of the contract. The listing agent rectified the situation by haveing the wet carpet pulled from the property before settlement. This remedy was good for the buyer.
This is the importance of a walk through, to make sure the property was in the same condition it was at the time of ratification. The walk-thru can also be used to verify that home inspection repairs have been completed.
For more information about real estate issues in Maryland, visit Maryland real estate.
May 9, 2009
If you bought a home in the last couple of years and are having trouble paying your mortgage, loan modification is an option.
The type of loan you have makes a difference.
If you have an FHA loan, the government offers two options.
One is the partial claim. Simpley put, the partial claim allows you to put all the payments you are behind on to the back end of your loan, interest free. Essentially, if gets you up to date on your loan with no penalty to you. If you have an FHA loan, ask your mortgage company about this.
The second type of loan modification for an FHA loan is short refinance. The short refinance, offers a dramatic modification of your loan. Your loan amount could be reduced to the actual value of your house and your interest on your loan could be reduced to something you could afford.
How could your mortgage company do something like this? Because it is at no cost to them. The loan is insured by the federal government, so the government pays your mortgage company the difference. There are some rules that go along with this, but nothing you can’t handle. Ask your lender about this option as well.
If you don’t have an FHA loan, you still have options.
For more details on options you might have give this number a call 1-866-490-5378.
If you want to read about non-FHA options visit, FinancialStability.gov
May 7, 2009
Those of us who own Laurel real estate were surprised the Swine Flu had an impact on our community.
At first, I heard Montpelier Elementary school was closing for two weeks, because of suspected Swine Flu cases. I thought that was an over reaction on the schools part, but some other schools closed for two weeks as well.
Then as I monitored the news in the papers and on television, I began to hear that this Swine Flu was not all that bad. In some ways the current Swine Flu was not even as bad as normal flu. Yes, their have been reported deaths from Swine Flu, but there are deaths from normal flu as well.
Well sure enough Montpelier Elementary did not stay closed the two weeks it had planned for. The re-opening of the school was after the CDC indicated the flu was not as bad as had been reported. Just keep sick kids home and everything should be fine.
Well, what was all the hype about? It seems like, people over reacted. If you are sick, stay home and take care of your self.
For more information on various Maryland communities, visit Maryland real estate.
May 4, 2009
Laurel real estate has about 66 week of inventory in Prince Georges County zip code 20707. In zip code 20708 there is 77 weeks of inventory. These numbers translate to well over a year of inventory currently on the market. Most of these homes are distressed sales.
Part of the reason the inventory is so high is that banks are overwhelmed and they are unable to process deals in the normal thirty day time frame. Foreclosure sales are having problems getting their paper work done in time for settlement.
And everyone knows by now, short-sales take months to get to settlement. As a buyer, be aware there are great deals out there, but you need to know the deal will be full of bumps.
For more information on Maryland homes for sale, visit Maryland real estate.
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Contact Us
Brien Berard
RE/MAX
13994 Baltimore Ave.
Laurel, MD 20707
Phone: (301) 604-0198
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