HampdenFest 2010

HampdenFest 2010 will be held September 11, 2010 from 10 am – 7 pm on the Avenue — 36th Street — in Hampden, Hon!

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!

Buying into Baltimore $4,000 Incentive Fall 2010

Buying a home Baltimore just became a little sweeter for homebuyers looking on the east side.

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!

Ray Lewis Real Estate Firm

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis now has his name backing a new commercial real estate firm called RL52 Realty, currently based in Boca Raton, FL.

The official kick off to Ray Lewis Realty will be at the International Council of Shopping Centers from August 22-24, 2010 outside Orlando, FL.

Ray Lewis has recently put his name behind a number of projects, including MVP Entertainment in Hunt Valley, which, according to their Facebook page has:

2 restaurants, Sub-Zero Vodka Bar, Sushi Bar, 40ft Sports Bar, 38 Bowling lanes, 2 Golf Simulators,Event Catering & arcade more…

MVP Entertainment will be located in Hunt Valley Towne Center, where the old Wal-Mart used to be. The plan is to open mid-to-late fall. This should be a great addition to the Hunt Valley shopping area!

Ray Lewis attended University of Miami, which may have a lot to do with his real estate firm opening in Florida.

Since Ray is such a great linebacker for the Ravens, I hope to see his commercial real estate venture do well. For Baltimore Commercial Real Estate needs, contact me to access our KW Commercial division at Keller Williams Excellence Realty.

Meanwhile, it’s almost officially football season. GO RAY LEWIS & BALTIMORE RAVENS!

Charles Street Construction at 695 Ramp Closures

On August 10, the Charles Street ramp to 695 West closed, and the roundabout entrance to that & I-83N reopened.

Traffic before had been routed coming north into the right lane to enter the Beltway, and those traveling south have used alternate routes to access I-695W since that entrance closed in early April.

According to the State Highway Administration’s press release, this new closure should be temporary, about two weeks.

The big upcoming change should come at about August 24th, when the west bound ramp from northbound Charles Street should re-open. The ramp to eastbound I-695 from Charles Street remains closed for the time being.

Weekend work will really change things. Look out for these big issues the weekend of August 27 -30 (or 9/10-13 in case of inclement weather):

Charles Street Bridge Traffic Switch – Weekend Work

• 9 p.m. Friday, August 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30: Crews will shift all Charles Street traffic from the old bridge to the new bridge.  The Charles Street Bridge will remain open to vehicular traffic during the shift, with flagging operations and intermittent traffic stoppages throughout the weekend.

The ramps from southbound I-83 (Harrisburg Expressway) and eastbound I-695 to Charles Street will be temporarily detoured to the MD 45 (York Road) interchange during the weekend.  The flyover ramp from southbound I-83 to eastbound I-695 will remain open during the bridge traffic shift.

In case of inclement weather, the Charles Street bridge traffic shift and temporary ramp closures will take place the weekend of September 10-13.   This interchange currently carries more than 120,000 vehicles per day along I-695, with 55,000 vehicles per day along Charles Street.

Additionally, the left-turn ramp from southbound Charles Street to eastbound I-695 (Inner Loop) will remain closed until late fall, and the posted detour through Lutherville will continue.

Realtormarney.com is Baltimore’s Best Real Estate Blog on Zillow

Realtormarney.com was voted by readers as Baltimore’s Best Real Estate Blog on Zillow!

Though I have my issues with Zillow and the very incorrect Towson Zillow Zestimates, it is still an honor to be nominated for best Baltimore real estate blog, and even more so to have the voters choose my blog to win!

The race was very tight between myself and Jamie Smith-Hopkins from the Baltimore Sun. To have it be a close one between a full time professional writer and myself made it even more exciting to me!

The night before the final votes, I had been down a lot, and thought the contest was over. I used Twitter and Facebook to put a call out for help — and my online friends and “fans” came through to help me win with 46% of the votes!

It shows how powerful these social media sites are, and what connections you can make and relationships you can build.

I want to thank each of you who voted and got the word out to vote for me, and the amazing amount of support I received. I am overwhelmed and grateful.

THANK YOU!

Don’t forget to contact me for your Baltimore real estate needs. I am here & ready to serve!

Silo Point Baltimore Condo

Silo Point condominium in Baltimore is an amazing community located in Locust Point in Downtown Baltimore.

The amenities are abundant and spectacular. You are greeted at the front desk by staff, ready, willing, and able to help. The full service gym on the lower level has everything you could need to work out. Across the hall is a lounge with pool tables, comfy chairs, and a WINE BAR!

There are elements of the original grain silo kept throughout, making it such a unique place.

No detail has been overlooked with the variety of units from the warehouse feel to the “Roland Park” (quoted) feel of some of the larger units.

One condo even had the television in the mirror in the master bathroom!

The views are spectacular from most of the units, especially on the higher floors. You can see all over Baltimore from the Harbor to the Ravens Stadium, on a clear day even into Baltimore County north!

The Sky Lounge is a place where residents can hang out or have parties — and it is open for rent for outside groups to use as well!

Silo Point townhomes are located on the building as well, many of which are actually less expensive than some of the condo units.

I really enjoyed my tour of beautiful Silo Point. What a luxurious, fantastic piece of Baltimore real estate. If you want to buy a Silo Point condo, contact me to get started on your path to luxury!

Fannie Mae Deed-For-Lease Option

Fannie Mae has a Deed-for-Lease option available for those who cannot make their mortgage payments on their homes anymore.

This is an option for people who want to stay in their homes but cannot afford to keep them. For many Baltimore homeowners, this may be a viable option.

What happens in this case is that the bank agrees to a “Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure”. The bank essentially buys the house back from the current owner, and rents it back to them for a period of a year or so. The good news is that the lease amount is based on rental amounts in the area — not on the mortgage payment the owner had before.

The Deed-for-Lease option is for Fannie Mae owned loans. They state on their “Know Your Options” website that:

Deed-for-Lease is an alternative to foreclosure and may be an option if:

• You are ineligible to refinance or modify your mortgage
• You are facing a long-term hardship
• You are several months behind on your mortgage payments
• You may owe more on your home than it’s worth
• You have not been able to sell your home
• You want to remain in your home and neighborhood

If you are trying to prevent foreclosure, then this may be an alternative for you. Another choice which could possibly cause less credit implications could be a short sale.

Please contact me to avoid foreclosure in Baltimore. There may be multiple options for you!

Timonium Condo FHA Approval

At the end of 2009, HUD changed its’ condo approval process for FHA condo financing.

No longer can a community be given a “spot” approval when a unit goes under contract if a buyer desires to use FHA financing.

Condominium developments must be approved in advance of an FHA sale and the approval is only for a certain amount of time.

Many Timonium condo buildings have been approved already.

Luckily HUD has set up a website to check whether a condo development has been HRAP or DELRAP approved.

I entered the Timonium zip code 21093 to see all approved units. You can do this for any zip code if you are unsure of the condo development’s name!

Contact me if you are considering selling or buying a Timonium condo. I can help you navigate these tough waters!

Baltimore House Values Still Struggling

Baltimore house values are still struggling compared to much of the rest of the US in July 2010.

Finally, Baltimore homes are seeing an increase in value, with the first quarter of the year up 2.9% over 2009. The rest of the country, on average, saw an increase of 7.9%. The rough news is that values in July 2010 were down 2.7% in Baltimore, while the US saw an 11.1% increase.

The increase over the first quarter is very encouraging, though, and should be the focus of the regaining Baltimore housing market.

The Baltimore Business Journal’s article quotes the senior statistician from Clear Capital, who put the report together, saying:

“Home prices continue to show positive growth from the first quarter of the year,” Villacorta said in the report. “This trend indicates that the initial upward momentum created by the tax credit expiration is being sustained.”

Baltimore homebuyers should contact me to take advantage now before the prices start to recover at a quicker rate!

This Month in Real Estate August 2010

This Month in Real Estate August 2010 has been released.

As I mentioned in my July 15 post, “Mortgage Rates at Lowest Point in Five Decades,” mortgage interest rates have dropped to their lowest level in the past 50 years. On July 29th, that number was 4.54%! Freddie Mac’s current average interest rate is at a historic low of 4.6% — right at the lowest since it began recording in 1971 (but up from Thursday!).

While it is tempting to wait for a price for a home to drop, what tends to happen is that when prices drop, interest rates rise. Therefore, your payment, even if the price of the house is lower, may be the same or higher than it would be right now!

Contact me more information on buying a Baltimore home using historically low interest rates!

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