“Desktop Valuations” are a quick way to look at the potential value of a home, but they do not take many factors into consideration, and some of the things they DO use to determine a value should not be used!

I answer questions on the Zillow site, and so many times the questions come from a place of, “Why, in my townhouse community where the houses are very much the same, is my neighbor’s worth $XXX and mine is worth $45,000 less despite mine being an end unit with an additional bump-out?”

That is a very good question, and one that doesn’t have a good answer. The algorithm takes into account the taxes you pay and when the house last changed hands. If a house hasn’t changed hands in some time, the taxes generally are lower, and that would bring the “value” of that house down. That just doesn’t seem right, does it?

Next to this is an example of the “range” of value for one house I found. If a professional real estate agent walked into your house and told you they thought it might sell for somewhere between $391,000 and $740,000, would you feel comfortable that the agent knew your market?

How about the houses “for sale nearby.” Do these look like they belong together as a picture of a particular Towson community to you? They seem to be a random selection of homes that happen to be in the same zip code.

The biggest issue is the quality of the Baltimore Zestimates.

As you can see here, Baltimore Zestimates are within 5% of an actual sales price only 42.6% of the time. They are within 10% of an actual sales price 66.4% of the time. They are within 20% of a sales price 83% of the time. These are with a median error of 6.1%.

Think about what that means.

On a $400,000 sales price, the Zestimate may show $380,000 or $420,000 — but again, that is only 42.6% of the time.

To get above 50%, you have to go within 10% of the actual sales price. So on that same $400,000 house, a Zestimate 66.4% of the time will be from $360,000-440,000.

To get to the closer 83%, you have to bring that out to 20% of a sales price. That could drop the Zestimate down to $320,000. Would you as a Baltimore seller be happy with that if your house were truly worth $400,000? How about a homebuyer? Would a Baltimore homebuyer be happy to pay $480,000 for a house that is really worth $400,000? Probably not. And the buyer’s mortgage company most likely wouldn’t let it happen, because an actual appraisal would most likely be close to the true market value of $400,000.

And don’t forget — that is with a median error of 6.1%, or approximately $24,000 give-or-take, on that $400,000 house.

Real estate everywhere is LOCAL. Hyper-local even.

Baltimore real estate values can be different street-by-street!

For a true understanding of your house’s value, don’t count on automated valuation websites. Contact me for a true idea of you Baltimore house value. I’d love to help!

Would you like to know more and see additional Zillow issues in the Baltimore area? See my past posts on incorrect Towson Zillow Zestimates for details.

Home sales in January were on pace to have 4.6 million homes sell in 2012, up from the pace of 4.4 million in December. The median home sale price was at $165,000, up $1,000 over January 2012 This Month in Real Estate. The average interest rate dropped slightly to 3.88% from 3.91% last month.

The top news, presented by Jay Papasan, adds onto last month’s topic of what buyers are looking for in a home to the eco-friendly things buyers would like to see. They are:

1) Double Paned Windows

2) Energy Efficient Appliances

3) Upgraded Insulation

4) Efficient Heating & Cooling Systems

5) Solar Power

In News You Can Use with Bryon Ellington, he discusses your credit report, and what you can do to manage your numbers and keep them as high as they can be. Your credit scores often have a large part in determining loan rates, loan availability, and loan terms.

Things to do to keep your credit shining or improve your credit score:

A) Be consistent and punctual with payments.

B) Keep your balances low.

C) Don’t take out more credit cards than you need.

D) Be careful of opening or charging to accounts if you are under contract (talk to your mortgage lender before opening accounts or making significant purchases!)

E) Watch your credit-to-debt ratio. (Don’t take on too much debt!)

For more information on how to buy a home in Baltimore, contact me. I would be happy to help!

Photo Courtesy Curry Architects and Towson Patch

The development is being put together by Heritage Properties of Towson and leasing will be done by The Cordish Companies.

Towson Circle III would be located on the 4.2 acre lot at the corner of East Joppa, Virginia, and Pennsylvania Avenues. There is currently a building there and the now-closed Burger King also sits on the lot. Here is how it looks today:

Not only will there be things to do and places to eat, there will be a 862 space parking garage to handle the expected large volume of cars.

Here is a draft of plans from the Greater Towson Council of Community Associations.

So far, according to Cordish, five bistro-type eateries have already agreed to move into the space. There will be some chain restaurants, as well as individually owned & operated ones.

This could be a great way to rebuild that area of Downtown Towson that is currently wasted space. Hopefully this will be a good & successful fit!

According to the Maryland Association of REALTORS(R) Action Alert about the reduction in tax deduction,

“Under the proposal, if a Maryland taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000; single taxpayer’s itemized deductions would decrease by 10% when calculating Maryland taxable income – that’s an INCREASE in your Maryland taxable base! Taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $200,000 would see their deductions decrease by 20%!”

That is A LOT of money that 38% of Marylanders would lose!

20% of Maryland homes are already underwater, and this could bring values down further, as I talked about last January when the government wanted to remove the mortgage interest tax deduction across the US.

That bill was voted down, and now our state is trying it to reduce our deficit.

The Maryland Bill in discussion is Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2012 (BRFA, HB 87/SB 152).

If you feel that the reduction in mortgage interest tax deductions could affect either you or your home’s value, this link should take you to the Action Center, where you can enter your information and email your upper & lower state chamber representatives.

I hope we can keep our Maryland real estate market on the upturn, rather than see it turn downward.

The new members need to sign up by Feburary 29, 2012 or the project will be terminated.

According to the Towson Patch article about the issue, the Club has $318,000 in funds raised by members joining, but in applying for a new loan, plus paying for an engineering contract, they need to secure more members to make it happen.

The cost, according to the paperwork from their website, is $1,975 per household plus $250 application fee and $275 initiation fee. The charter membership may be transferable when you sell your Towson home.

Summer fees range from $495 individual memberships to $685 family memberships, with lower Senior memberships also available.

The Towson Swim Club was originally slated to open Memorial Day 2011. It was then postponed to Memorial Day 2012 when a private investor backed out. Now the opening has been pushed back another year to 2013, and only if 135 new members join by February 29, 2012.

I do truly hope that West Towson homeowners can come together and get this pool financed. It would be a wonderful additional bonus to living in West Towson.

They brew Dunkin’ Donuts coffee during the day, and have breakfast all day if you want it!

They are well known for their pizzas (I’ll admit, the Mexican is one of my favorites) and their calzones large and stuffed.

Fried chicken is another speciality, and Thursdays are “Italian Night”, but you will want to call ahead to order the special because they tend to sell out quickly!

In the Fall & Winter, they feature homemade soups, too!

The subs are another favorite, with a large list of cold ones, plus another group of hot subs, too (I’m partial to the Chicken Parmigiana, while my husband enjoys the Reuben.)

You can get a made-to-order salad, or you can grab one of their pre-made (but handmade earlier in the day!) ones on the go.

Here is the current Chestnut Ridge Market menu from January 2012. The menu can change at any time, as can prices, so go or call ahead to make sure to have the current options.

Chestnut Ridge Market is located at 12124 Greenspring Avenue, Owings Mills, MD 21117.

A home inspection, usually, is a VISUAL inspection of a property, running water & systems when they can be run.

What does that mean?

It means that the inspector can’t break through walls, can’t take things off or apart, or ruin the house in any way. He or she will often take the cover off of the electrical panel to inspect that the wiring is correct in there. He or she will generally go around the outside of a house to evaluate if water is running away or toward the house. If the washer and dryer are staying, and the water is on, the inspector generally runs them to see if it runs.

In general, things the inspector can SEE are checked. Dishwashers, stoves, exterior foundation, pipes that can be seen, walls that can be seen, and electrical outlets are often tested.

What can’t an inspector do? See in the walls or under ground, or remove a wall or floor to see behind. It makes it hard to see if there are problems behind them. Are there leaks in the pipes in the walls or under ground? If he or she can’t see them, it is hard for them to discover.

Roofs are an issue that come up often — what is the age? What is the life expectancy? Unless the actual age is known, the inspector most likely cannot determine exactly how long the roof will last. He or she can make estimate ranges based on what he or she sees.

A home inspector does not always walk on the roof. There are many slate roofs in Baltimore, and, in general, slate roofs are not walked on for fear of breaking the tiles. An inspector can look at it with high powered binoculars, but many inspectors also do not specialize in slate roofs.

If the pitch of the roof is too high for the ladders the inspector has, he or she also won’t be able to walk on the roof. Again, high-powered binoculars can be used to assess the condition of the roof.

The chimney is an item that may or may not be covered in a home inspection. It may depend on the type of chimney and how much of the chimney the inspector can see. The inspector can note if he or she sees loose bricks, mortar, or a lack of cover.

Some inspectors have additional tools and specialities, or you may be able to hire additional specialists for a more comprehensive look at some components of a house.

Again, to recap, a home inspection usually is a visual inspection of a house. Home inspectors in Maryland should be licensed, and your copy of the inspection or contract may have that information.

For more details about buying a house in Baltimore, I’m here to help!

Photo courtesy of justinbaeder via Flicker CC

They have a large menu with specialty salads, pizzas, pasta & subs.

You can eat in the casual eatery, or take it to go.

You often can run into my father-in-law there, especially during football season, because he thinks the chicken pesto and philly-style subs are good luck for our Ravens! I don’t know if that is true, but the subs are truly delicious!

There are a lot of pizza choices, and for those who are gluten sensitive, you can choose a gluten free crust.

Here is an Upper Crust menu as of December 2011. Prices & menus change, so don’t rely on this for correct costs or for a full menu of items to eat.

Enjoy good food there or to go!

The Upper Crust pizza/grille is located at 9161 Reisterstown Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117. Phone is 410-581-5804.

According to an article in the Baltimore Business Journal, the Greater Baltimore region jumped 40%, while the more local Baltimore-Towson region rose 6%.

The December 2011 data for contracts for future residential construction rising a very large amount — $116 million versus $39.2 million in December 2010.

Towson new homes under construction, I am sure, helped a lot with these local numbers. The Towson Green community is well under way and should be delivering new homes in the upcoming months.

New construction tends to be a good indicator of a recovering market because builders won’t build if buyers aren’t there to buy them.

If you’d like more information on Towson new homes or Baltimore new homes, contact me. We’d love to help!

I’ve been wearing purple all week to support my boys, and today have my Joe Flacco jersey on (even with dress pants and heels for work! ) I haven’t gone so far as to get a purple Fu Manchu, but there is no question I support my Baltimore Ravens!

So Sunday I’ll be on my feet cheering on my Baltimore Ravens, wearing my purple, supporting from afar.

GO RAVENS!