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Archive for the 'Buying' Category
Understand How Home Search Sites Work
December 22nd, 2009 Categories: Buying
Home search sites on the web are not the same
The internet has revolutionized the home buying process. In the past, real estate agents were gatekeepers of critical real estate data: homes available for sale, past sales in a neighborhood and more. No more. Consumers can access information from a countless number of sites without the need of an agent. This is definitely good for buyers, sellers and the real estate industry. Unfortunately, consumers now have a new challenge when navigating a tidal wave of home sites — there’s a lot of bad information out there. To help find the good and avoid the bad, I’ll explain the basics of web home searches and review some of the popular home search sites for Montgomery County and the Metro Washington D.C. area. Read the rest of this entry »
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Top 5 Myths About Home Inspections in Montgomery County
December 1st, 2009 Categories: Buying, Selling
A buyer can only void a contract if a home inspection reveals serious/legitimate issues
The typical home inspection contingency allows a buyer to either negotiate home inspection items or void the contract and have his escrow deposit returned within a negotiated time frame (usually 7 to 14 days). Absolutely no reason has to be given for voiding the contract: none, nada, zip. Is that fair to buyer and seller? Absolutely. Ultimately, only the buyer’s opinion of the property matters. Imagine what would happen if the buyer had to provide a “legitimate” reason to void the contract. A buyer’s and seller’s definition of “legitimate” would rarely line-up. Since the buyer is the one taking possession, his opinion is the only one that matters. Is this a way for a buyer to back out of a contract for no reason? Yes, it is. It does happen, but not that often.
A buyer has only one opportunity to inspect a home
Typically a buyer will have only one inspection from a licensed home inspector, but a buyer could have several at his discretion provided they are completed within the agreed-to time limit. The best strategy is Read the rest of this entry »
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Is It Time to Move-up in Montgomery County, Maryland?
November 9th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Selling
The U.S. Government thinks so. Last week, the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit was extended and enhanced to provide a $6,500 credit to current homeowners who purchase another home as their primary residence. Here’s the basics for the move-up credit:
- A ratified contract must be in place by April 30th, 2010 and close by June 30th
- Home purchases over $800,000 do not qualify
- A buyer must be in their current home 5 of the last 8 years
- The buyer’s income must be below $125,000 or $225,000 for married couples
- The credit can be claimed on your 2008 or 2009 return
Unfortunately, there’s quite a bit of fine print with this credit. The National Association of Home Builders and IRS have FAQs to review. You should also talk to your accountant to make sure you qualify.
Contact us if you are planning a move in the coming months and we can help you get started.
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Going from ‘Ratification’ to ‘Settlement’
October 20th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Selling
Once a Buyer and Seller ratify a sales contract, they must jump through a few hoops for ownership to finally transfer. In this video, I’ll walk through the steps of a typical contract. There’s a zillion ways to mix and match terms to meet the requirements of the Buyer and Seller, so each contract is different. This video will help give you a framework for what to expect.
Here’s an overview of the steps outlined in the video: Read the rest of this entry »
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Montgomery County Closing Costs and HUD1 Overview
October 1st, 2009 Categories: Buying, Selling
Perhaps the best way to understand the costs required to buy and sell a home is to understand the HUD1. This is a standard two-page document that details all expenses and credits for a home sale. This video walks through a HUD1 so you can understand the basics:
Closing Costs Estimates for Buyers
Here’s the top four expenses for home buyers in Montgomery County, Maryland Read the rest of this entry »
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Buying a Home in Montgomery County, MD
August 28th, 2009 Categories: Buying
The basic steps to buying a home in Montgomery County are pretty close to that for other areas. I find that fundamental changes in financing and Montgomery County’s contract requirements can catch even an experienced buyer by surprise. This brief video walks through the basics:
Here’s a summary of the highlights: Read the rest of this entry »
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Bargain Hunters Are Driving Me Crazy!
June 8th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Foreclosures
At least once a week I have the following conversation with a buyer:
Buyer - I’m really interested in foreclosures so I can get a great price.
Me - OK, foreclosures have pushed prices lower in several segments of our market. What else are you looking for?
Buyer - I would like a single family home in Potomac, Rockville or North Potomac under $1M in a good school district.
Me - Now we have a problem.
Don’t get me wrong, no one loves a bargain better than me. When buying a home, however, having “get a bargain” as the #1 purchase criteria is a recipe for disappointment. Why? Primarily, the inventory of distress sales is very low — and getting lower. This removes 80% of the available market for consideration.
But getting a bargain isn’t the primary criteria, is it? You also want a home that meets your needs and is located in your desired area and goes to your preferred school district. Filter the inventory of distress sales with this critieria and there’s nothing left.
Take a different approach. Even if distress sales are unavailable for homes that meet your needs, you can still find good values. Step #1 – Focus on the homes that meet your needs first. Step #2 – Find the best values within this subset of homes. Some distress sales may now be worth a look, but don’t overlook regular resales. For my buyers, I’ve negotiated the very best values with sellers who are motivated and have a lot of home equity.
Don’t be disappointed. First – find homes that meet your needs. Next – narrow in on the bargains.
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| Do you have questions about the Montgomery County real estate market? Call us at 301-527-9079 or send an email for more info about buying, selling and living in Montgomery County, Maryland. |  |
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Tour of home prices in Montgomery County
May 8th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Market Updates
Where should I buy in Montgomery County?
That’s easy. Where do you work? What kind of home would you like? And how much do you want to spend? OK, so it’s not so easy. For most of our buyers, the desire for a close-in, commuter-friendly location and finding the right home at the right price can be tough to reconcile.
To help give a more complete view of what’s available in Montgomery County, I took a snapshot of all homes available and organized them by their distance to Washington D.C. Starting ‘closer in’ and then moving out, I’ll provide an overview of what you can expect in each area of the County.
Here’s a summary of stats referenced in the video. Read the rest of this entry »
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Should you offer $1M on a $1.2M listing?
April 10th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Market Updates
How low can I go when making a purchase offer?
I get this question a lot these days. I took a detailed look at all sales for 2008 and provided an analysis for list-to-sales price ratios for Montgomery County. This provided a good overview for the County, but it left basic questions unanswered:
- How does a home’s ‘days on market’ impact reductions?
- Can a buyer get bigger reductions on more expensive homes?
- Does the available inventory affect price reductions?
In this article, we’ll drill into the statistics and get some answers. Read the rest of this entry »
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The lure of bargains in the upper brackets
April 1st, 2009 Categories: Bethesda, Buying, Potomac
Sometimes a bargain is just too seductive too ignore. Reduced prices for upper bracket homes in Montgomery County can be a strong lure inviting buyer interest based on price alone. Still, are these bargains really a great deal? As with most things in life, the answer is “it depends”.
Overall for Montgomery County, there are 357 homes priced over $1.3M available, and 51 in this price range have gone under contract from January 1st through March 31st. So for the county, we currently have Read the rest of this entry »
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Is “conforming” and “jumbo” mumbo-jumbo?
March 1st, 2009 Categories: Buying
| It ought to be simple: What are the basic loan programs? What are the differences in rates? And what’s the minimum down payment with each program?
Bob Kirchner with George Mason Mortgage has provided a an update on rate movement over the last week and gives a great summary on the basics. Click the play button to the left and get all the details. |
Contact us with more questions about mortgages and getting ready to buy in Montgomery County, Maryland.
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What is a “good” credit score for Montgomery County buyers?
February 13th, 2009 Categories: Buying
| With today’s bad news about banks and the credit markets, you may think that no one is making mortgage loans. Not true.
Every day we see buyers with good credit and money for closing easily getting home loans. But what is a good credit score today? How does a credit score impact a mortgage? Bob Kirchner with George Mason Mortgage has helped a number of our clients buy homes over the last several months, so we asked him to provide a quick update. Click the play button to the left and listen to Bob’s summary. |
Contact us with more questions about mortgages and getting ready to buy in Montgomery County, Maryland.
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The Grand Canyon can separate buyer and seller expectations
January 31st, 2009 Categories: Buying, Selling
Two very different perspectives
Buyer: The market hasn’t been this bad in 50 years – everything is totally overpriced
Seller: My house is special. My house is unique. My house has a high value. I’m not giving it away.
Right now in Montgomery County, the gap between buyers and sellers can be like the Grand Canyon. Who’s on the right side? The answer is somewhere in the middle.
Good News for Buyers – Our Market is Relatively Strong
How can a strong market be good for buyers? The lower the price the better, right? Read the rest of this entry »
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Got ghosts? One thing a home seller isn’t required to disclose in Montgomery County
January 13th, 2009 Categories: Buying, Selling
Home sellers in Montgomery County, Maryland have to disclose a lot. They have to tell prospective buyers about any roof issues, plumbing problems, presence of lead, current taxes, estimated taxes, easements located on the property, and more… much more. Starting in 2009, home sellers must also disclose their energy consumption. When energy costs soared and gas hit $4 a gallon (remember those days?), the Montgomery County Council conceived legislation that would require sellers to perform a complete energy audit before listing a home. Given the impracticability of implementing this legislation, the final bill only requires sellers to disclose past energy usage.
Disclosures are a good thing that protect the buyer and the seller. In Montgomery County, the disclosure package is a daunting stack of paperwork that attempts to cover every scenario. Is this new disclosure worthwhile? I believe a buyer should view this information with a critical eye. A home’s energy usage can be a better reflection of the homeowners’ lifestyle than its energy efficiency. The buyer’s home inspector’s assessment on the efficiency of key systems (furnace, A/C, windows, insulation, water heater and appliances) should also be considered when evaluating a home’s energy efficiency.
So what’s this got to do with the presence of paranormal activity in a home? For exasperated home sellers who cry out loud “Could I possibly be required to fill out another form to sell my home?”, take heart. We don’t have a form that requires you to itemize the presence of dead clowns, unspeakable evil or other paranormal entities that reside in your home like in the following video. Still, if you hire us to sell your home, we would really appreciate a “heads-up” so we are adequately prepared to answer any questions from buyer agents who show your property.
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How low do you go when buying in Montgomery County?
January 11th, 2009 Categories: Buying
All purchase offers should be really low. This is the common sentiment with most buyers in Montgomery County. Sellers are discounting homes 10%, 20%, 30% or more, right? Banks are desperate to sell their homes, aren’t they? In such a bad market, sellers are happy to get any offer, so a buyer should always offer way less than asking price…. right?
Well, not necessarily.
Buyers should first understand that a home’s list price has no direct relationship to a home’s current market value. The best way to gauge a home’s value is to look at recent, comparable sales – not the list price. Most sales prices are reduced from asking price. However, you may be surprised that many sellers are getting close to asking price… or more. Read the rest of this entry »
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Top 5 things NOT to do when making a low offer
November 24th, 2008 Categories: Buying
Every purchase offer is a good offer — definitely better than the offer that was never made. “Low ball” offers have their special challenges. As a buyer, you increase your odds of success by following some basic guidelines.
Don’t talk-down the house. “We would offer more, but the wallpaper is horrible, the kitchen is a disaster and the lot is not very nice”. How do you think the seller will react to this message? The potential buyer just trashed the seller’s home, so the seller doesn’t like the buyer already. “If they hate house so much, Read the rest of this entry »
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