Archive for the 'Movin Information' Category
Gaithersburg OPEN HOUSE Sunday 2/28/10 1-4pm
February 23rd, 2010 categories: Movin Community Help, Movin Home Search, Movin Information, Movin Lifestyle, Movin Montgomery County Maryland, Movin Open House
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Gaithersburg 20878 OPEN HOUSE Sunday 1/24/10 1-4pm
January 21st, 2010 categories: Movin Consumers, Movin Home Search, Movin Information, Movin Montgomery County Maryland, Movin Real Estate News
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Silver Spring OPEN HOUSE Sunday 1/24/10 1-4pm
January 21st, 2010 categories: Movin Consumers, Movin Home Search, Movin Information, Movin Montgomery County Maryland, Movin Real Estate News
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Gaithersburg OPEN HOUSE Sunday 1/17/10 1pm to 4pm
January 7th, 2010 categories: Movin Home Search, Movin Information, Movin Montgomery County Maryland, Movin Open House
OPEN HOUSE
Sunday 1/17/10 1pm-4pm
7509 Boxberry Terrace Gaithersburg, MD 20879
$539,900
Click Here to see Virtual Tour/Flyer
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Do I Need An Appraisal Before I List My Home?
September 11th, 2009 categories: Movin Consumers, Movin Information, Movin Real Estate News
This is one of the most popular questions I get when meeting with sellers when they are preparing to put their homes on the market. The answer is, it depends.
Appraisals cost between $400 to $700 in our area. Most of the time your REALTOR’S® market analysis will provide you with much of the same information as an appraisal. Read the rest of this entry »
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Time is Running Out For First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
September 10th, 2009 categories: Movin Consumers, Movin Information, Movin Real Estate News
First time home buyer credit
First off let me say that I am the queen of procrastination. I am not getting on to you, but I know human nature and I am here to tell you, time is running out. I can’t tell you how many research papers I did the night before they were due in school. I made my believe I did my best work “under pressure”.
Well, the same for you if you are a first time home buyer and you would like to take advantage of the potential $8000 credit, time is a wasting. You need to take action and take it now!! You have, at this point, waited until the last minute. You have 80 days from today to qualify for your tax credit . Today is “the night before your project is due”.
You say, “what do you mean? I have until December 1st to buy my home?” Hear me loud and clear, YOU HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER 1ST TO CLOSE AND OWN YOUR HOME, NOT WRITE YOUR OFFER!!!! There is a big difference. Closing and owning the home and having an accepted offer on a home are two different things. Hear me one more time, you must close and own the home to qualify for the credit.
Okay, so what does that mean, what’s the big deal you say? That means you need to find an agent, get qualified for a mortgage and find a home by the end of November. If the average closing takes 30 to 60 days, that means you only have 20 days to find your home!!
This means that you can search for the home you want to make an offer on, negotiate your contract and get to closing by November 30th to beat the clock for December 1st!!
So let’s look at some of the details involved in getting you to closing by November 30th;
- Have all of your finances in order to hand over to your loan officer to get your loan done in time
- Finding a seller that can move and close by the deadline
- Making sure all inspection items can be finalized by the deadline
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Competing with other buyers who have procrastinated who will take up time slots to close at the last minute
Here is the most important thing I would like to say to anyone who is now trying to take advantage of the tax credit, DO NOT SCHEDULE YOUR CLOSING ANY LATER THAN NOVEMBER 15TH. LET ME SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME, DO NOT SCHEDULE YOUR CLOSING ANY LATER THAN NOVEMBER 15TH IF YOU ARE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TAX CREDIT!!
Why? Because there are so many details involved with your loan and what and underwriter wants in a file these days it may delay your closing. You may need a week for a seller to make a last minute mandatory underwriter repair and you will need the time, with a major holiday in the middle of your closing, to make it by the deadline. The underwriter may ask for documentation from you for your loan package, there are many things that can go haywire at the last minute and you need a time cushion to get to closing on time. Just think how many other people are going to try to close at the last minute. The banks and title lawyers are going to be swamped trying to get everything done by the deadline.
You still have time but you will need to act now. Call your real estate agent and loan officer to get started right away. Remember, it is the proverbial “night before your project is due”.
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Five Tips To Be a Successful Landlord In Montgomery County Maryland
May 5th, 2009 categories: Movin Information, Movin Real Estate News
When I meet with sellers these days the discussion of renting their home has become a popular topic. Maybe they are in a situation where they cannot sell and clear enough money to justify selling the home, but they are in a situation where they can keep their current home and still move on to their next home.
In order to do this there are some financial requirements your next lender will require of you in order to qualify for your next mortgage, please consult with a competent mortgage professional to make sure you qualify and help you make sound decisions about your mortgage situation.
In the event you decide to become a landlord because it makes financial sense for you some of the things you will want to consider are ;
1. Get a good accountant. They will be a Godsend at the end of the year for the items that will now become tax deductible to you. Things like capital improvements, depreciation, writing repairs off etc. When you have these types of things to consider as a landlord, you don’t always have to get even steven rent to mortgage payment. For me personally, I lose a little on one property but it comes out in the wash at the end of the year and I have a great tenant, which is worth it’s weight in gold to me.
2. You will need to emotionally detach yourself from the property. You notice I called it a “property”? It is not your home so much anymore, think of it as an investment. I will tell you that you will need a strong stomach to be a landlord. One reason is that most people will not love your property as much as you do and you may have to deal with a tenant that doesn’t pay the rent on time and you may have to juggle the payments sometimes.
3. Make sure that each person interested fills out an application that lets you verify their employment and their credit. You will want to make sure that your potential client has a steady job and that they make the income that they say they do. There are a couple of ways that I verify this as an agent. The first thing I will do is ask for a copy of identification and two copies of pay check stubs. That way you can see that they get paid about the same amount every couple of weeks. If the potential tenant wants you to verify their employment with a phone call to a supervisor, make sure you call the main company phone number and ask for the human resources department to verify their income and employment. You will want to make sure they don’t have you calling their friend. Get something in writing from the HR department verifying the information.
4. Pull Credit. When you have pulled credit on the potential tenant, you will want to review their credit. If you do not know how to read a report, contact the person who pulled the report and ask them to explain it to you. Optimately you will want to have someone with a score near or above 700. That is the number I look for. This will show that they tenant has a good track record of paying their bills in a timely fashion. It is really the only gage that shows how timely they pay their bills. It is not a guarantee, but it is probably your best gage of how timely you will be paid.
5. The last item I make sure that EVERY landlord in Montgomery County Maryland knows about is the fact that you must have a license to be a landlord. It costs $95 a year and you have got to have it. The county says so, and it is part of a standard Montgomery County lease. If you, as a landlord, have a dispute with your tenant – I am even talking about whether or not the rent has been paid or not – and you do not have a license you may not be able to make a claim on the back rent. You will need to consult an attorney, but I personally know someone that lost thousands of dollars by simply not having their county license to be a landlord. If you need an application Click here for one now.
These are basic tips to get you started as a landlord. Remember the people living in your house are people and have feelings. I find that by treating my tenants with respect, fixing things immediately if they are broken they in turn take better care of my property and treat me with the same respect in turn.
If this information seems like too much for you to deal with, you can always hire a professional property management company to manage the property for you. They will most likely charge you a monthly fee, but will be the person that screens the applicants, fields the calls in the middle of the night when the A/C breaks for you so you don’t have to deal with these items.
If you would like information on property management companies feel free to contact me and I can put you in touch with a professional management company.
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RE/MAX Realty Group Thanksgiving Food Drive For Maryland Food Bank
October 30th, 2008 categories: Movin Community Help, Movin Information, Movin Montgomery County Maryland
This is the season for family and friends. Please don’t forget about the folks who are less fortunate in our community. This has been a difficult time for many. We need to pull together as a community to make sure no one is forgotten.
In an effort to help, RE/MAX Realty Group in Gaithersburg, Maryland has started a food drive to support the Maryland Food bank.
During the month of November you can drop your nonperishable food items off to the RE/MAX Realty Group office or at the designated Open Houses held by RE/MAX Realty Group Agents.
If you have any questions please contact Me, Audrey June-Forshey or the RE/MAX Realty Group Office if you would like to drop off or have donations picked up.
Details are as follows;
RE/MAX Realty Group
6 Montgomery Village Ave
Suite 200
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
301-258-7757
or
Audrey June Forshey
301-938-8028
Please contact our office if you have questions. Every donation is important, no matter how big or small.
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How To Really Measure Success in Real Estate
September 22nd, 2008 categories: Movin Information, Movin Lifestyle
I have always been blessed as an agent in my area in terms of being “successful” . Many REALTORS® have different ways of calculating success. Some will count how many homes they sold at the end of the year, others will use their income as the gage for their success. I gage my success in a different way. For me, it is the relationships that I establish that will hopefully last a lifetime.
Many of my clients are first time homebuyers. I am honored to be involved in a person or couple’s first home purchase. It is a milestone in their life that they will someday look back on with pride that they accomplished and I played a role in the transaction.
I have also been lucky enough to be invited to some of their weddings. As it turns out, I have been invited to 4 weddings this year. It is typical for me to be invited to 3 or 4 weddings a year that are clients that I have become friends with. This year I have had my clients, Ben and Amanda, get married. Unfortunately I was out of town for their wedding. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Wes and Rachel’s wedding last weekend.
It was a beautiful cermony, perfect weather and they were surrounded by so much love and happiness. It was a really great day. I am honored to have been included in yet another milestone in their lives. I know both couples will have many years of happiness and love.
The best part about real estate is that we get to participate in the real life stories of our clients. That is what I call success.
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Support Your Darnestown Lemonade Stand
September 8th, 2008 categories: Movin Information, Movin Lifestyle
One of my favorite memories from my childhood was setting up the card table at the end of the driveway and sellin’ lemonade. I would be in charge of the sign. One paper cup of our best stuff would run ya a nickel. My mom would make the lemonade, or Kool-Aid if we had a special request and we would go out front and wait for the mad run on our lemonade stand. Strangers would stop by and get a cup or so and we had our regulars that would have a cup or so and visit with us. When we were all out, we were in charge of bringing in the pitcher and cups to Mom for clean up and Mom would get the card table for us. When the clean up was done, we would divy up the loot and run to the store and buy gum, candy, comics or the like. It was our money and we could do with it what we wanted.
As an adult I have always supported the local lemonade stand trade in my area. I have been out showing houses a few times to drive past kids selling lemonade. I ALWAYS pull over and treat my clients to a cup of the good stuff. It does two things, Gives us a little break and refreshment and thrills the kids. I think that those are the kinds of things that help build kid’s self esteem to know they can succeed.
Today, after I came home, I did my usual routine of getting Hutch, my dog, and going for our afternoon walk. We walked our normal trek and came back to find the kids that live across the street had set up shop while Hutch and I were out. The had the card table, sign, cups the entire deal. Jordan and Zander out there working their lemonade stand.
Now, I tell you, inflation is a tough thing but I think Jordan and Zander’s prices were fair. They charged .25 cents for one cup or two cups for .40 cents. Please note the sign, the bowl is for the money. I thought that was a pretty good deal. Jordan told my that one cup was one quarter and two cups were four quarters? Jordan also instructed me to make sure Hutch did not poop anywhere near the stand, it wouldn’t be good for business. I told her I understood and we would refrain from such things.
They were cute and so excited to sell their lemonade. They told me they would only be there as long they still had cups for customers and that they were not going to drink any of the lemonade, they had to save it for the customers.
Next time you are in Darnestown Maryland, be sure to stop off at Jordan and Zander’s Lemonade Stand. They are sure to please.
Hhmmm. . . . I think we might have a little agent in the making?
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