7 Ringleaf Ct – Hunt Valley Station

7 Ringleaf Ct is a single family home located in Hunt Valley Station off Paper Mill Road in Hunt Valley.

7 Ringleaf Ct is on the market for $489,000. It has four bedrooms and two & a half baths. It has hardwood floors on the main level.

Ringleaf Ct is a court location off another court, so there is not much traffic. It backs to trees and has a level backyard. There is a family room off the kitchen, and a deck overlooking the level back yard.

This home is a Faust built home.

The public records show 2,234 square feet on the main two levels, and the basement is partially finished.

Currently there are no other Hunt Valley Station single family homes for sale. There are some Hunters Run townhouses in the neighborhood on the market!

For more information on 7 Ringleaf Ct or other Hunters Run houses, contact me. I know the neighborhood well!

Listing courtesy of Lancaster Realty

Wells Fargo HELOC Class Action Lawsuit

A Class Action Lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo due to reductions in HELOCs all over the country.

In May of 2009, I wrote about Towson Zillow Zestimates affecting a client’s HELOC loan, and how his line of credit had been reduced right in the middle of construction on the property. This is what happened three years ago:

Last week I had a client call me because his HELOC was reduced by a large amount right in the middle of construction to improve his home. He could not understand how the bank could make the determination that his Towson house value had dropped over $200,000 in the past 18 months since he opened his HELOC.

Upon speaking to the bank, the representative pulls up Zillow, and proceeds to tell him this is how they discovered the value change.

“Is this true? Has my value really dropped by THIS much? I knew we were in a depressed market, but did not think it was THIS bad,” he asked me.

Based on a true market analysis, his value has really only dropped by $25-50,000.

Well, it turns out my client was not alone in what happened. In looking at the Wells Fargo HELOC Class Action Lawsuit document he shared with me, it appears there were a large number of people affected by this seemingly arbitrary reduction in loan amount.

If you had a HELOC loan with Wells Fargo in the time period from July 1, 2008-June 30, 2011 and had it reduced, you may be eligible to be a part of the lawsuit.

To become a part of the settlement, you will want to visit helocsettlement.com to learn more. If you want to opt out of the settlement, you will need to notify in writing through a Request for Exclusion by April 5, 2012. All details should be at helocsettlement.com. The attorneys handling the lawsuit are with Edelson McGuire LLC, 350 North LaSalle, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL, 60654. You may want to contact an attorney if you would like to know your specific rights.

Wells Fargo is not admitting any wrongdoing, but have agreed to settle in order to avoid going to court over the lawsuit.

I am glad for my clients, as they may have at least part of their HELOC reinstated. Let’s hope also that other banks learn from this and will not use Zillow Zestimates or other automated valuation systems to determine value on a home, without the option of a full appraisal.

This Month in Real Estate March 2012

This Month in Real Estate March 2012 has been released!

Home sales activity remained steady at a pace of 4.6 million to be sold by the end of the year. The median home price dropped $10,000 from last month to $155,000. The average interest rate dropped slightly to 3.87% down from 3.88% as per This Month in Real Estate February 2012.

The top story, as presented by Jay Papasan, is that almost half of home sellers who priced their homes for sale according to the range given to them by their professional real estate agent sold quicker and for more money than those who did not.

In News You Can Use, Byron Ellington discusses pricing high to “test the waters” of the market.

The problem with that theory is that yes, the seller will sell a house — it just most likely won’t be theirs. If there are lower priced comparable houses in the neighborhood, a buyer will most likely look at your house and see what a deal the house down the street is.

The first few weeks on the market are the most important, and where sellers generally get the best offers, if they are priced correctly. If they are priced too high, they won’t get offers, and their home will become stale on the market.

With the thought that buyers can always make an offer, that it very true. But if it is priced well, they are more likely to make the offer on THAT house.

For more information on your Towson house value, please contact me. I would be happy to help!

Foreclosures at Lowest Rate Since 2007

Foreclosures are at their lowest level since 2007.

Though that is definitely a good thing, this may be an unrealistic view of the market because of the robo-signing scandal last year, which stopped foreclosure filings in their tracks.

Maryland was not one of the states where the lawsuits took place, but that does not mean that foreclosures in our state were not slowed down as a result.

The time it has been taking from the first filing to actual foreclosure rose from 305 days in 2010 to 348 in 2011. So even if a house were in the foreclosure process, and the bank filed last January, it is most likely that the foreclosure itself would not happen until January of this year, thus creating an unrealistic lower rate of foreclosures.

I do agree with an CNNMoney article discussing this issue that we will see the number of foreclosures rise in 2012, but hopefully we will not see them as high as 2010. The fact that many distressed homeowners are turning to short sales or loan modifications have helped bring those numbers down as well, and I hope it continues to do so.

Please keep in mind that if you are facing foreclosure in Baltimore, there may be other options available to you. Please contact me and we can discuss the possibilities!

Baltimore Appraisal Question

Sometimes there are some questions with Baltimore appraisals, and a big one has to do with short sales and foreclosures and whether they are used in comparisons with regular home sales.

Short sales and foreclosures are “distressed” properties, often times in lesser condition than their surrounding regular homes.

So why do appraisers need to take them into consideration when appraising a property?

If there appears to be a trend happening in the area, then it is an indication that the value of the subject property may drop. The more short sales and foreclosures around a house, the harder it will be for an appraiser NOT to use them.

Here are more details from The Appraisal Institute and The Appraisal of Real Estate, 13th Edition, and shared by The KCM Blog on 2/7/12.

In October, I answered a question, “Why did my appraisal come in low?” Short sales and foreclosures definitely can be a part of that issue, if there are multiple sales at a lower price around the subject property.

So, yes, short sales and foreclosures may affect your Baltimore home’s value, if there are a number of them in the area.

To find out more about your Baltimore house value, please contact me. I would love to help!

Charm City Circulator Banner Route

The Charm City Circulator announced a new route that will begin its’ run in Summer 2012.

The Charm City Circulator Banner route will run from the the Baltimore Visitor’s Center at the Inner Harbor to Fort McHenry. It will have a number of stops along the way at businesses, restaurants, and neighborhoods.

It looks like it would serve the Federal Hill, and Locust Point neighborhoods. There are many shops, restaurants, plus the American Visionary Arts Museum and Baltimore Museum of Industry are in this area.

Under Armour is at Tide Point near Locust Point as well.

This could be great for both the environment and the economy along this route.

The Baltimore Department of transportation will have an informational meeting where anyone can come & have input on the route. That will be held on Monday, February 13, 2012 from 6-8pm at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council Office, located at 1500 Whetstone Way #300 (the Offices at McHenry Row).

The Charm City Circulator is free bus transportation service provided by the City of Baltimore. It is designed to provide transportation around Downtown Baltimore for residents, workers, and visitors. Come Downtown and get around for FREE!

Another great reason to work, play, and live in Baltimore!

 

More details about each of the current routes as of February 9, 2012:

Charm City Circulator Green Route

Charm City Circulator Orange Route 

Charm City Circulator Purple Route 

Wiring Funds for Settlement

Due to the economy and fraudulent transactions, many title companies here in Maryland are requiring buyers to wire their funds for settlement, instead of bringing a cashier’s check, which used to be the norm.

Apparently there are fake cashier’s checks circulating, which puts the title company in very bad position.

A title company relies on the money from the cashier’s check or wire in order to pay off many things. The seller is due their funds, if they are receiving any, and the title company writes that check.

The title company has to pay off the seller’s mortgage, if they have one.

There are County and State fees that the title company also pays.

If there is a cashier’s check that was supposed to cover most of that amount, and it is not valid money, then they are left with a huge debt that they have to collect, either directly or through court.

Though it is not certain how these cashier’s checks have been created, there have been enough of them that policies have been changed.

Alison Noger of North American Title in Towson wrote a post for me last year about why it is a good idea to wire funds to a title company in a Baltimore real estate transaction. Now company policy requires a wire over a certain amount of money, as many Baltimore title companies are doing.

So, Baltimore homebuyers, please understand if your title company requires a wire transfer for the money you need to bring to settlement. It is for your protection as well.

For more information about buying a home in Baltimore, please contact me! I’d love to help!

Baltimore Zillow Zestimates Still Off

Baltimore Zillow Zestimates are still often off from true value, despite the change in algorithms last year.

“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.

This Month in Real Estate February 2012

This Month in Real Estate for February 2012 has been released!

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!

Upbeat Housing Outlook 2012

USA Today reports that economists, banking and building executives are thinking optimistically of the real estate market in the coming year, and that the housing industry may be finally close to hitting the bottom.

The article does clarify, though, that prices are still expected to drop in many areas, but there should be more home sales, and more houses being built, which are usually indicators of the beginnings of a recovery.

The reason prices are expected to fall in many areas would be due to the large number of foreclosures still out there. Many were delayed because of the “robo-signing” scandal last year, but will be moved forward this year.

The economy is an important piece in the housing recovery. Last month, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.5%, and 200,000 jobs were added. These are good signs for the economy, and housing usually follows economic recovery.

There are many factors that affect the housing recovery, and Baltimore real estate is extremely local. Some neighborhoods, like those I’ve noted in Towson home sales in December and Timonium December home sales, have seen some increases or at least stabilization.

Real estate is extremely local — as much as street-by-street or neighborhood-by-neighborhood.

To find out where your Baltimore house currently stands in the housing recovery, please contact me. I would be happy to help!

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