"Open House" - Maryland Real Estate Blog

Luxury Sykesville Home with Acerage

4025 Ben Rose Lane Sykesville, MD 21784 Luxury Single Family Home in Sykesville This home is a beautiful combination of luxury and privacy. Enjoy 3+ rural, quiet acres while all of the conveniences one would expect from luxury. Check out the virtual tour! Interior Features: Central Air, Family Room, Appliances, Walk-In Closet, Den/Office, Laundry Room, Fireplace, Dining Room, Hardwood Floors, Pantry, Basement. Exterior Features: View, Balcony. Price: $729,980 Type: Single Family Residential for Sale Floors: Multiple Parking/Garage: 3 Bedrooms: 5 Baths:3 Half Baths:1 Year Built: 2007 MLS #: CR7555917 www.4025benroselane.z57websites.com www.4025benroselane.z57websites.com For more information contact: Jim Ellis Direct: 301.275.7636 jimellishomes@gmail.com Copyright © 2011 Jim Ellis . All rights reserved.

Beautifully Remodeled Baltimore City Row Home

1101 W Hamburg Street Baltimore, MD 21230 Beautifully Remodeled Baltimore City Row Home A truly incredible end unit row home. Just minutes from Federal Hill and the interstate, this beautifully renovated town home is the best value in the area. Interior Features: Basement, Forced Air, Central Air, Laundry Room, Hardwood Floors, Family Room. Exterior Features: Deck/Patio, Parking Pad. Custom Features: Interior : Exposed Brick and Duct Work Kitchen : Granite Counters/Stainless Steel Appliances View : Roof Deck w/view of Ravens Stadium Price: $234,980 Type: Condo/Townhouse for Sale Floors: Multiple Bedrooms: 2 Baths:2 Half Baths:1 Square Feet: 1316 Year Built: 1900 MLS #: BA7544049 www.1101whamburgstreet.z57websites.com www.1101whamburgstreet.z57websites.com For more information contact: Jim Ellis Direct: 301.275.7636 jimellishomes@gmail.com Copyright © 2011 Jim Ellis . All rights reserved.

Ellicott City Ranks High for Raising a Family

In the latest Kiplinger's list of the 10 greatest cities to raise a family, Ellicott City in Howard County, MD comes in at #1.  With close proximity to downtown Baltimore and Washington D.C., families are less than 1 hour away from many historical and entertainment hot spots.

According to Education Week, Maryland ranks as the #1 state in education.  Howard county boasts as one of the top counties in the state.  Families have access to plenty of public and private educational opportunities. 

One of the most appealing aspects of Ellicott City is the beautifully preserved historic downtown area.  The town was founded in the 1770's by the Ellicott family and was originally used as a mill for producing flour.  After the revolutionary war, the mill began exporting their product all over the world.  The town flourished and many of the 1800's buildings and storefronts still stand today.

Click here for more information about Ellicott City tourism.

Click here for more information about Ellicott City real estate.

Best way to search for Maryland and Baltimore properties on-line

One of the biggest problems with searching for real estate on-line (just like anything else) is the reliability of the information one finds. Many of the large, national search sites do not update their listings frequently. Therefore, home buyers are searching and finding properties that are no longer available, or aren’t seeing new, fresh listings. It is not uncommon to find listings that sold months before. This can be frustrating and a waste of time for both buyer and Realtor®.

The larger websites offer bells and whistles that are attractive, but are not always necessary. If you live in Maryland there is one site that is the perfect combination of informative and accurate, www.HomesDatabase.com. HomesDatabase is the ONLY property search site in Maryland that is directly linked to the same Multiple Listing Service that real estate agents use. If a property is no longer active and available, it is immediately removed from the HomesDatabase site. This site also allows buyers to save search parameters and properties. Therefore, when a new property is introduced or an existing property has a price change within the buyer’s parameters, the buyer and their agent are notified via e-mail.

Now is a great time to buy a house so click here to start your search.  Want to know why it is a good time to buy?  Click here to find out.

Below is a list of other common search sites.

www.remax.com
www.realtor.com
www.redfin.com
www.trulia.com
www.zillow.com

Perception vs. Reality Series – Volume 3 Do Real Estate Agents Make Too Much Money?

I hear this a lot. "I can't believe I am paying one person so much money." Let's say, for instance, you are paying $18,000 in commission (Oh, by the way, commissions are 100% negotiable) on your $300,000 house. Wow!! That does seem like a bunch of money. I would certainly agree that is too much for one person for that house price. But this is how it actually works.

First, commissions are not paid to a person; they are paid to the brokerage or company that you hire. The brokerage typically keeps a percentage of that commission and disperses the remainder back to your individual agent.

Second, that entire commission is not earned by one company. Commissions are generally "split" with the company who represents the buyer of your home. It is customary in Maryland that the seller of each home offers a commission to their agent and the agent who brings a buyer. That means that a portion, generally half, of the overall commission is paid to the buyer's company. That is why it always makes sense to hire an agent when buying a home. Your agent's commission is paid by the seller. Services for free!

Ok, so consider our scenario listed above. You have agreed to pay an $18,000 commission and, as we now know, only half of that will stay with your agent's brokerage.  That leaves $9,000 for your agent and their company.  Let's assume the agent has an agreement with their company to keep 50% of each commission. That leaves $4,500 for your agent. Doesn't sound bad, huh? Well, first you have to pay income tax. You have to remember, Realtors are all independent business people. Taxes are not automatically subtracted from "paychecks". Let's assume 33% for taxes, FICA, and other government withholdings. That leaves $3,015. Health insurance is expensive at around $250/mos.; leaves $2765. Since agents are all independent business people, all expenses are the responsibility of each individual. For me, personally, I spend about $3,000-$5,000 (depending on how many houses I have for sale) per month on fees, dues, subscriptions, advertising, office supplies, etc. etc. Let's say I spend an average of $4,000; that leaves negative $1,235. NEGATIVE!

Oh yea, I also own a house, car, like to eat food at least once a day and take a trip from time to time. Include personal expenses and I am way in the hole with one house sold. So as you can see, $18,000 very quickly turns into a negative number for an agent. Agents who sell one house per month generally don't survive in this business. Many people jump into real estate thinking it is easy and can "get rich quick". I can tell you, it is not easy and every penny earned is most definitely deserved.

Jim Ellis – Re/Max Elite Realty

Jim can be reached at 410.569.4663 or jim.ellis@remax.net.

Your House is Not an ATM

As we near the end of this incredible buyer's market and head into a renewed period of  housing appreciation, there is something I need to get off my chest.

Your house is an investment in your future.  Something that should be nurtured and cherished for years and years.  As your home increases in value over the next several years, make me one promise.  Do not extract equity for trips, cars, paying of credit card debt, or any consumer purchase.  If there is one thing we should all have learned from these last few years of housing decline is that we can never predict the ups and downs of any investment.  During the years of prosperity, leave it alone and enjoy it from a far. 

I've sat down with so many homeowners over the last several years who could not sell their home because they owe more than the house is worth.  Some folks simply bought their house at the top of the market and were victims of the decline.  Others, however, who had bought earlier in the decade or sooner, used their equity for fun.  They were now stuck in a home they no longer wanted or could afford.  Some are sticking it out, many have gone to foreclosure and others sold and had to bring money to the settlement table to satisfy their debt. 

I hope this makes sense!  If not, don't be afraid to ask.

Foreclosure Bargains Getting Harder to Find

 
Home buyers hoping to snag a really good deal on a foreclosed home are finding it increasingly difficult because supply is shrinking.

The num ber of foreclosures that are available for sale nationwide fell to 617,000 in December, down from 845,000 in November 2008, reports Barclays Capital.

Not only have attractive homes in popular neighborhoods already been snapped up, but also government help for distressed buyers is delaying more foreclosures.

Demand is driving up prices. Investors say typical prices have climbed from 75 percent of appraised value to 85 percent or higher when there are bidding wars.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (02/23/2010)

The End is Near

I don't mean to sound so dramatic, but the buyer's market is facing certain Armageddon.  It will come in three phases.

1.  Interest Rates - At the end of March, the stimulus money that has been allocated to keep interest rates low will run out.  Some economists predict the rates will go up as high as 1% over night.  It is more likely to be about .5% initially and then slowly works its' way up over the next 18 months.  I don't think that 7% interest rates are out of the question by the middle of 2011 to early 2012.  That means that a $200,000 house will cost almost $400 more per month then than it does now.

2.  Bandwagon - The job market will continue to improve slowly and steadily over the next several months which will have a cause and effect of increased sales over that time period.  The media will begin to report that housing is improving and since "everybody is doing it", then others will jump in the market.  As more people jump in, mortgages rates will increase because of the demand.  More people in the market place means no more great deals and a return of competing offers between buyers.

3.  Ease of Credit - As we continue to put time between the credit crisis, sub-prime mortgages, and other bad loans, credit and mortgages will become easier to obtain.  I hope to God that it is not as easy to get a mortgage as it was in the first six years of this century, but it is likely to ease a bit.  As credit eases, more buyers can enter the market place.  More buyers means multiple offers on properties and an increase in property values.

There are other factors, of course, that will lead to the end of the buyer's market, but these are the highlights.  The point is, if you can buy a house now, do it!  I will not tolerate anyone telling me in 2012 that they wish they bought in 2009/2010; especially if you are able to. :)

The good news is if you already own a home, you are likely to see improving values over this time period.  Especially if you own a home in the corridor between Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.  Tell all of your friends and family members to jump into the housing market now, before it is too late!

Jim Ellis - Re/Max Elite Realty

Are Interest Rates About to Rise?

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley says the central bank will scale back its purchases of mortgage-backed securities late next month. While interest rates likely will climb when the program ceases, the extent of the rise remains to be seen.

Dudley says the Fed will act if rates spike too much. Still, analysts worry that the end of the MBA purchase program and expiration of the home-buyer tax credit, along with higher premiums and tighter underwriting of FHA mortgages, will work together to stifle home sales and price stabilization in the coming months.

Source: Inman News (02/08/10)

Census: Americans Stayed Put in 2009 - National News

Fewer Americans moved in 2009 than any other year this decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this month.

Population also grew less this year than any other year since the turn of the 21st Century. It reached 307 million on July 1, up less than 1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau says. About 850,000 people immigrated from other countries, down 15 percent compared to 2006.

The losers in this trend included Florida, which lost 31,000 people to other states, a first for the Sunshine State, which used to be No. 1 in attracting new residents. "The middle of the decade's huge surge to the Sun Belt stopped on a dime," says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution.

Demographers say real estate is one of the big reasons people are staying put. "People are trapped," says Yi Zhao, senior forecasting coordinator for the Census Bureau in the State of Washington. "They can't sell their house or they have a hard time getting credit for a new one."

Source: USA Today, Dennis Cauchon and Paul Overberg (12/23/2009)