The program lets you do inventory room by room, and even add photos of your belongings for your records.

CNET gives it a glowing review, stating:

The program’s interface is fantastic, with a sleek, intuitive design. Users enter the rooms in their home and then the contents of each room, listing the purchase price, replacement price, and other relevant details. For each item users can include an image, receipt, or other attachment.

CNET reviews many programs, and rarely finds one that they write so strongly in support and received a five-star rating from them.

The downloaded program works in both Mac OS and Windows environments. You can print inventories and reports for each room, which are listed alphabetically for ease in locating.

What a great program to keep track of your belongings in case of loss or other emergency. The best part is that it is free!

In the past, if a buyer canceled their contract of sale due to an issue with the Homeowners Association Documents or Condominium Association Documents, both the buyer and the seller had to sign a release of deposit in order for the buyer to receive their good faith deposit back.

This seemed to be in misalignment with the contract of sale, which says, in essence (from the Maryland Association of REALTORS Governmental Affairs News site):

A buyer who enters into a contract but who has not received the required HOA documents and disclosures may cancel the contract any time before closing, and is entitled to “immediate return of deposits made on account of the contract.”  Real Property Article 11B-108(a).   A buyer who does not receive the HOA documents and disclosures at least five days prior to entering into the sales contract is entitled to cancel the contract within five days of receiving the documents and disclosures.  The buyer need not state any reason for canceling the contract, as long as the cancelation is in writing.  The buyer is entitled to the “return of any deposits made on account of the contract, except that the vendor shall be entitled to retain the cost of reproducing” the documents and information disclosed to the buyer.  Real Property Article 11B-108(b).

A purchaser who enters into a contract of sale to purchase a condominium is entitled to cancel the contract within 7 days of receipt of the required documents and disclosures and is thereafter entitled to “return of any deposit made on account of the contract.”  Real Property Article 11-135 (f).

In the past, Brokers had not legally been allowed to release monies from the escrow accounts:

until a transaction is consummated or terminated, written instructions from the parties are received, an interpleader is filed in court or neither party objects to the broker’s proposed disposition of the deposit. Business Occupations Article 17-505 (a).  Following this new policy statement by the Real Estate Commission, a broker may return the buyer’s deposit once written notice to cancel the contract is given.

This is a big change benefiting buyers, and I am curious to see how it will effect Maryland real estate transactions in the future. Maryland condo owners and homeowners with HOAs need to be aware of these changes, and should order their documents when they begin to market their homes so as to have them available to buyers once they go under contract. Check with your HOA how long the documents are valid, though, and if you can order updates.

Contact me to help you navigate the new changes in Maryland HOA home sales!

Though there are systems in place to check if there have been inquiries into your credit health, and ways to see if there have been new lines opened, a full, formal report does not need to be pulled.

Buyers still should not open lines of credit, because there are still checks & balances. The reason for these last minute verifications is due to, according to an article in the Washington Post and Equifax:

Home loan applicants failed to mention — or loan officers failed to detect — “up to $142 million in auto loan payments” during mortgage underwriting in first mortgage files reviewed by Equifax last year alone, according to the credit bureau. Those loan accounts had average balances of $361 per month — more than enough to disqualify many borrowers on maximum debt-to-income ratio standards required by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and major lenders.

These could disqualify the buyer from being able to qualify for their mortgage, which would leave them unable to get a loan to buy their house.

In May, Fannie Mae had announced that they were going to do last minute credit checks, but have now decided the full report is unecessary.

Fannie Mae homebuyers need to ensure that they are upfront and aware of all credit lines they have open — and not open new ones from the time of application until after they buy their new house!

September’s video discusses foreclosures, and how California, Florida, and Arizona topped the list in most foreclosures per state.

Maryland foreclosures too are at an all time high, as I discussed in both July & August, up 56.2% in the first half of 2010, and 10th worst in the US.

What the high foreclosure rate is doing is allowing buyers to take advantage of the market. In 2009, 1 of every 4 second home purchases was a foreclosure. This is partially due to the areas hardest hit being in vacation areas, but also due to the possibility of foreclosures being up to a 20% discount over neighborhood market values.

Byron Ellington discussed tips for buying foreclosures. These are great tips for buying a Maryland foreclosure:

1) Expect a little more time to hear back from your offer than you would from a general seller. Banks have a process that can take 12 days or more to respond back to an offer.

2) Understand that most banks sell their foreclosed homes AS-IS, meaning they won’t make repairs on the house for inspections or other purposes. This is especially important to understand if you are using an FHA insured loan, because often there are repairs required by the FHA appraiser — that the seller (the bank) would not agree to fix. If you are planning to use FHA for your mortgage, make sure to speak with your mortgage professional prior to even looking at foreclosed properties to understand your options and obligations.

3) Each bank has their own policies and procedures, so even if your friend or acquaintance has gone through the process, yours may be extremely different, because each bank if very different.

4) Having a real estate professional on your side is very important to help you navigate the waters.

Contact me for more information about buying a Baltimore foreclosure.

If you had an FHA-insured mortgage after September 1, 1983 and meet certain qualifications (including no refinance), then possibly!

Here are the eligibility requirements from their website:

Who may be eligible for an FHA refund or share?

Premium Refund: You may be eligible for a refund of a portion of the insurance premium if you:

-               acquired your loan after September 1, 1983

-               paid an up-front mortgage insurance premium at closing and

-               did not default on your mortgage payments.

Review your settlement papers or check with your mortgage company to determine if you paid an up-front premium.

Distributive Share: You may be eligible for a share of any excess earnings from the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund if you:

-               originated your loan before September 1, 1983

-               paid on your loan for more than seven years and

-               had your FHA insurance terminated before November 5, 1990.

Now, there are many things that could disqualify you, such as if your mortgage had been assumed by a new buyer, you refinanced that FHA loan because the new mortgage would have included that credit, if a claim had been made by your mortgage company against the FHA insurance, and if your shares remained unclaimed for over six years from the date of the notification sent to your last known address.

How much of a refund you may be due would be determined by the FHA Commissioner.

To see if you are owed a refund from HUD, search the database. You only need your last name, and then it is broken out by state.

If you are owed money, then go through the steps laid out on the site, and please let me know. I am curious to see how many people may have found money owed to them by HUD!

A very good question. The answer is rather simple: price & condition.

In a Towson neighborhood where there could be 3 houses that have been on the market for months, a new one comes on. There is a flurry of activity, and the house goes under contract quickly.

Why this one? Why not the others?

The likelihood is that this Towson homeowner had their home in a staged, beautiful condition, and it was priced RIGHT. The other three may have overpriced when they first listed in an attempt to “test the market” or their house isn’t in top notch showing condition.

This video, from Jay Papasan, Vice President of of Publishing for Keller Williams Realty, and co-author of a number real estate best-sellers, demonstrates why some houses in the same market sell while others may not. His graph is a great visual of understanding!

Contact me, your Towson Realtor, to find out true Towson house values.

HampdenFest is a community arts festival with four blocks of arts & crafts vendors, local food and drink, antiques, kids’ activities, three stages for art & musical performances, and the Hampden Village Merchants Association shops.

The silly & fun event is the toilet racing (yes, you read that right, toilet racing), where participants will have built a car-type racing machine using a clean toilet, and race in drag-racing type competition. The first heat begins at 10 am.

A short-film mini Film Festival will be held with shorts from local producers.

This comes on the heels of the fun Annual Honfest that was held June 12 & 13, 2010. Hampden is such a great hub of neat events. So come on down to Hampden, Hon, and visit Hampdenfest on the 11th!

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City sent a press release out this morning with this great announcement that 50 eligible buyers participating in the Buying into Baltimore event on September 11, 2010 will receive $4,000 towards their new home, an increase of $1,000 over the past 13 years of the program. These are 5 year forgivable loans, meaning that if the buyers remain in the home for 5 years, they will not have to repay.

The Spring Buying into Baltimore Fair was held on May 8, and was a great success.

September’s Buying into Baltimore Event & Tour will begin at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School on Hillen Road in Baltimore from 8:30 am – 2 pm.

From the press release:

To receive the money, participants must:
1) live in the desired home as the primary owner/occupant,
2) possess a valid homeownership counseling certificate,
3) participate in the “Buying into Baltimore” tour and have the tour ticket validated at four homes,
4) buy in the eastern part of Baltimore (see Live Baltimore website for boundary details),
5) purchase a home that is less than $417,000, and
6) sign the home sales contract after the event takes place.

Funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants must close on a house within 90 days of the eastern region fair to receive the $4,000 award. There are no income restrictions on this program, nor does a recipient have to be a first-time homebuyer.

The Boundaries, from the Live Baltimore website are:

Boundary dividing line:

Starting from the North (Baltimore City/Baltimore County Line)…

• Head South on Charles St.
• To West on 29th St.
• To South on Howard St.
• To West on Camden St.
• To South on Russell St. and continue to County Line

So if you are considering buying a house in East Baltimore City, contact me to learn more!

Summer is definitely coming to a close!

With Baltimore County Public Schools beginning the 2010-2011 school year on Monday, August 30, the signs are here.

The final concert of the 2010 Summer at the Hunt Valley Towne Center is Checkered Past, who call themselves “THE” Rock Band of Maryland. According to their description, they play a variety of music from the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s.

So visit Main Street on Friday evening from 7:30-9 pm for the final concert of the summer. Hunt Valley Towne Center offers a multitude of free parking spaces, a light rail stop, and shops and restaurants galore to enjoy. Plus, with the extended Baltimore County Restaurant Week, Jesse Wong’s Kitchen and Greystone Grill will have their specials on tap, and they are right upstairs from the concert!

The weather, according to weather.com right now looks clear & perfect, but bring a sweater, it may get chilly!

I finally was able to get over there today, and it is GORGEOUS! The staff was so polite and helpful — the food selection great, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats.

The funny part is that my May 6, 2010 post about the New Safeway in Towson in the Old CompUSA and Linen N Things Building has been wreaking a bit of havoc on my office since Thursday.

Since the Safeway is so new, it is not up on the Safeway website, nor is it on the Local Business Results in Google yet. The reason this has caused some issues, is that my blog post comes up at the top of the Google Search engine. People have been clicking on my blog and calling the only phone number they can find — my Keller Williams Timonium office. Needless to say, my office has been getting numerous calls from people trying to get more information about the Towson Safeway!

I ended up going back and changing that post, since we called the Parkville Safeway and they gave us the number for the new Towson one, so that people could call the right place to get the information they need.

Though I love the new Towson Safeway, I don’t have the answers they need — but I can help with Towson real estate!