Timonium Real Estate and Kindness of Others

An agent in my office had a Brokers Open in Timonium yesterday, and had a fantastic turnout. Those who say the real estate market in Timonium is bad, didn’t experience this!

His house is lovely, and the atmosphere, food, and yard were just the right thing for a Broker’s Open in Timonium. And many others must have agreed because so many attended that he ran out of food!

Unbeknownst to him, another agent from our Timonium Real Estate office, who will remain nameless because she does not want to be recognized for doing this, went out to the grocery store and brought him bags of food to serve!

What a show of genuine caring and true character. How thoughtful! How wonderful! It really makes me believe in the goodness of people again. I am proud to be associated with such a fantastic person, to have her in my life.

It goes to show to me, that despite the negative press real estate agents get, and the market not being quite as ridiculously hot as it was, that in general real estate agents are good people and get a bad rap because of a few bad eggs.

What most people don’t realize is the reason we are in this business, the real estate business, because we genuinely LIKE people. We want to help people realize their DREAMS of homeownership. This is what drives most of us, and leads us to stay in the business even when times are tough.

So know, if you have any Baltimore Real Estate needs, you can count on me and my team of experts to be there for YOU. To help YOU achieve YOUR dreams. And maybe, just maybe, we can all aspire to be just like Ms. Anonymous Do-Gooder in my office. I know I do.

Flag Football and Preseason

So it has been more than a week since flag football, but I did want to follow up.

Team Gilbert didn’t fare so well against Team Amelia. We started out well (Well, Team Gilbert wanted us to be called Beat Amelia, but as that didn’t happen, we needed the name change) but then some CHEATERS took us down! UGH!

Amazingly we were all extremely competitive — and ready to take each other DOWN when necessary! There was some decent ball playing going on that day at Training Camp — and I’m not talking about the Ravens! We even lost one of our players to a torn achillies — Q HOPE YOUR SURGERY WENT WELL!

So, with the Ravens, well, we haven’t been looking so hot in the preseason. Hoping that poor preseason makes for good regular season! Preseason is there to help is work out the kinks, which is what I am hoping we are doing. We’ll see how we look tomorrow…

Important Baltimore County Information Links

Here are links to important information for the Baltimore area. Please let me know if there are others you would like to see on here! Thank you!

When you think about Timonium Real Estate, Towson Real Estate, and other Baltimore Real Estate, including Baltimore County Real Estate and Harford County Real Estate, know that you can access the information you need from visiting me here!

Baltimore County information: http://www.co.ba.md.us/

Baltimore County Public Libraries: http://www.bcplonline.org/

Baltimore County FUN!: http://www.baltimorecountymd.com/

Baltimore Area News from the Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/

Baltimore City Paper: http://www.citypaper.com/

Live in Baltimore: http://www.livebaltimore.com/home/

Aberdeen Ironbirds: http://www.ironbirdsbaseball.com/

Compare Schools: http://www.greatschools.net/

Baltimore County Public Schools: http://www.bcps.org/

Harford County Public Schools: http://www.hcps.org/

Baltimore City Public Schools: http://www.bcps.k12.md.us/

Harford County KIDS Magazine: http://www.harfordcountykids.com/

Harford County FUN!: http://www.harfordmd.com/

Baltimore Area Information: http://www.visitmybaltimore.com/index.html

Baltimore City Government: http://baltimorecity.gov/

Baltimore City Public Libraries: http://www.prattlibrary.org/

Harford County Government: http://www.harfordcountymd.gov/

Harford County Public Libraries: http://www.harf.lib.md.us/

The Baltimore RAVENS!: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/IntroPage1.aspx

The Baltimore ORIOLES: http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bal

Baltimore County Shopping:

Towson Town Center Mall: http://www.towsontowncenter.com/html/index10.asp

Hunt Valley Towne Center: http://www.shophuntvalley.com/

The Avenue at White Marsh: http://www.theavenueatwhitemarsh.com/webpage.php?sectionid=25

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Baltimore Area Portrait Artist (children, adults, pets) :  http://www.betsykirkportraits.com/

Baltimore Area Personal Injury Lawyers: http://www.youhavealawyer.com/

Real Estate in Timonium — How much can you afford?

Whether you are looking for Timonium Real Estate or Towson Real Estate, you will need to know how much of a house or condo you can afford.

How do you do this? A lender is your best friend!

This is why I have asked John Marsiglia , President of Red Oak Funding , to partner with me to create the most comprehensive team of professionals to serve your needs. John has been a mortgage consultant for 13 years, and to better serve his customers, opened Red Oak Funding. By owning and running his own company, he could provide the best service to his clients, and make sure all their needs are met.

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Deciding how much house you can afford

Your lender decides what you can borrow but you decide what you can afford.

Lenders are careful, but they make qualification decisions based on averages and formulas. They won’t understand the nuances of your lifestyle and spending patterns quite as well as you do. So, leave a little room for the unexpected – for all the new opportunities your home will give you to spend money, from furnishings, to landscaping, to repairs.

Historically, banks use a ratio called 28/36 to decide how much borrowers could borrow. An approved housing payment couldn’t be more than 28 percent of the buyer’s gross monthly income, and his or her total debt load, including car payments, student loans, and credit card payments, couldn’t be more than 26 percent. (In Canada lenders apply similar formulas to determine how much a buyer can afford. The Gross Debt Service ratio, or GDS, is not to exceed 32 percent of the buyer’s gross monthly income, and the Total Debt Service ration, or TDS, is not to exceed 40 percent of the buyer’s total debt load.) As home prices have risen, some lenders have responded by stretching these rations to as high as 50 percent. No matter how expensive your market though, we urge you to think carefully before stretching your budget quite so much.

Deciding how much you can afford should involve some careful attention to how your financial profile will change in the upcoming years. In the long run, your own peace of mind and security will matter most.

Information courtesy of kw.com