We’re beginning to see the Baltimore housing market show signs of recovery, when you look at home sales from last year. Many of my fellow real estate professionals attribute this to the $8,000 first-time home buyers federal tax credit. The tax credit expired on April 30 of this year, but was recently extended to September 30 (with restrictions; see below). The credit also carried us into a strong home sales season, starting with May, which is traditionally our strongest month.

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Mortgage rates have fallen. Housing prices have fallen across the country. The federal government will pay you as much as $8,000 just to buy a home by April.

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Baltimore real estate sales have already benefited from the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that was part of the big economic-stimulus package that President Obama signed in February. Now home buying will become easier financially for even more first-time home buyers, as well as for current homeowners and higher-income buyers. Read the rest of this entry »

President Obama has signed into law the expansion of the program for granting tax credits to home buyers. Now it’s time for both current Baltimore homeowners and first-time buyers who are considering a home purchase to work with their Baltimore Realtor® on a plan for taking advantage of this financial opportunity.

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In the Baltimore real estate market, it’s no longer unusual to come across an asking price that is clearly too low for the home’s neighborhood. Often, it’s a short sale, which means the seller’s lender is accepting a discounted payoff to release an existing mortgage.

Should you buy a short sale house?

Yes, if….

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Every Baltimore Realtor® has met people who like the idea of selling their home without using a real estate agent. Who wouldn’t want to save the 6 percent on a home sale? But if that’s all there were to it, why did for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) deals account for only about 7 percent of Baltimore-area home sales last year? (That’s what the National Association of Realtors said in a report they did for the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors.)
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Elizabeth Weintraub at About.com has some great tips for home owners who want to buy a brand new, built-from-scratch home, because they don’t like the idea of buying a “used” home. They don’t want to deal with the worn carpeting, the dings and dents of someone else’s life, or someone else’s taste in decorating.
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There are entire books written about buying a house. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
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First impressions are everything in selling a home. People make decisions about whether to look inside a house based on curb appeal. People make decisions about buying a house based solely on the color of paint in the bedrooms.

You, as the seller, are thinking, “that’s easy. It took us half a day to paint that room. Why can’t you just paint it after you buy it?”
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I’ve been in the real estate business for over 23 years, and I’ve had my license longer than that. In that time, I’ve seen a lot of trends and patterns, and learned many lessons.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is the importance of working with an experienced agent, whether you’re a buyer or a seller. An experienced REALTOR® has the negotiating skills needed to help you get the best value for your money.
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