Davidsonville, MD

You Love Them... They Love You... But...

HOME SELLERS:

Those loving friends of yours are shaking their heads and saying that your listing price is too low... the commission you're offering is too high... and you chose the wrong agent. You believe those friends mean only the best for you, and that's why you rely upon them even though they have no professional expertise in real estate. Of course, they'll quickly tell you they have all the right answers (from reading the Washington Post and watching CNN):

1. Raise the price of your home - Quick, before someone makes an offer.
2. Drop the commission - Why pay more, when you could pay less?
3. Fire your agent - Hire the discount broker and/or someone who will advertise in the newspapers and give you a magnet for your refrigerator.

To all of you, I have a single word of advice: NO!

FRIENDS OF HOME SELLERS (AND BUYERS):

If you love your friends and truly care about them, please keep your advice to yourself. Here's why:

Pricing is an art. It requires a lot of factual knowledge AND experience that you simply don't have.

You may not know how many homes sold last month, and whether that is more or fewer than the previous month or the same month last year.

You may not know how long homes are taking to sell, or what it will take to sell more quickly than the average.

You may not know how many homes are competing for the same buyers, or the details of those homes' size, features, and location. In fact, you may not know that information about your friend's home.

You may not know the average or median sold price last month, and whether that is higher or lower than the previous month or the same month last year.

You may not know today's financing requirements, including the trends with appraisals and underwriting.

You may not have a professionally-developed Buyer Profile to enlighten your opinion on whether or not the agent's marketing will be effective.

You may not know what commission rate and/or bonuses are the current trend or what may catch the eye of buyer-agents with live warm-bodied clients.

You may not be proficient in technology and realize that 80% of today's home buyers begin their search on the Internet (not in the classifieds or driving around looking for "sale" signs).

You may not know what other "comparable" homes sold for recently, or what the terms of the sale may have been. (In the Crofton market, the average last month was 10% below list price - not counting any closing help or other concessions.)

You may not know the prices of competing properties for sale, including short sales and foreclosed properties priced significantly lower than other active listings and recent sold comps.

You may not know the professional qualifications of the agent advising your friend, possibly years of experience and hundreds of successful real estate transactions.

You may be relying upon your own unique experience in pricing a home or choosing an agent - 3 years ago. If you haven't sold a home (or 2 or 3 or 10) in the past 30 days, you are not qualified to judge what may be effective NOW.

All of these factors go into pricing a property for sale, and a seller cannot afford to be wrong. Overpricing will only backfire! The same considerations apply for home buyers, from their perspective, when they choose an offering price.

Chances are very good that your friend's listing or selling agent is better qualified to advise him or her than the best and most well-intentioned friend. Have faith in your friend's judgment... he/she is capable of making an informed decision based on the facts of today's local market.

Give your friend a hug and your moral support - but please don't give real estate advice (even if he/she asks your opinion). No doubt your friend sat down with an agent, or perhaps several agents, and learned a lot about the local market (as opposed to the regional or national market reported in the media). Together with the listing agent, your friend probably considered the pros and cons of different pricing strategies, marketing plans and commission options (sellers) or contract strategies, offering price and financing options (buyers). After some stress and maybe even some agony, your friend made a decision based on facts and the professional recommendation of his/her agent.

Please respect his/her decisions and encourage patience. In this market, a LOT of patience is required on the part of home sellers and buyers, and that is easier with the moral support and encouragement of friends. Making them second-guess their decisions is not helping.

Images: Iclipart
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Margaret Woda

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For more information, check out Focus On Crofton and Your Online Relocation Package for Anne Arundel County by Margaret Woda.

Serving Crofton and the neighboring communities of Annapolis, Bowie, Crownsville, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Millersville, and Odenton.

Homestead for the Holidays is a magical place in Davidsonville, Maryland, that seems to attract as many visitors on a winter weekend as it does a busy Spring day during planting season.

Your children can visit Santa at Homestead Gardens on Saturdays, 10-4, or Sundays, noon-4. Or they can watch the trains any day - there are even benches and tables nearby, along with a refreshment stand.

Homestead nursery plants are always the highest quality, and they have a beautiful selection of everything from colorful poinsettia plants to houseplants to holiday wreathes and greens. During the holidays, however, the entire place turns into a magical holiday wonderland, with visitors from any corner of the D.C. - Baltimore area, as well as Anne Arundel County.

For another post about Homestead Gardens by my friend, Martha Brown, check out her post. 'Guess there's some truth to the saying that "great minds think alike."

When I moved to Davidsonville a few years ago little did I know I would be blessed with the seasonal Christmas display of Homestead Gardens. This little bit of Christmas cheer is on display for all to enjoy who pass by.

Offering anything and everything a gardener could want throughout the year including a top knotch landscaping service, Homestead Gardens pulls out all the stops at this time of year.

Each holiday season Homestead holds a Christmas Open House where the festivities are delightful with local restaurants serving yummy apetizers and beautiful music performed by local musicians. An awesome train display is always a favorite stop as we wander around the acres of fresh cut Christmas trees, fresh greenery, beautiful decorations and one of a kind gifts.

Located just minutes outside Annapolis on Rt 214 Homestead Gardens is a must go to destination any time of year but especially enjoyable right now.

For an inside look at this magical place visit my friend Margaret Woda's post.

About the Author- Martha Brown is an Annapolis Realtor® and Certfied Residential Specialist who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of residential real estate in the Annapolis Metro area including all of Anne Arundel County, Queens Anne's County and Northern Prince George's County.

All information supplied by the author is strictly an opinion of places visited, information received from numerous real estate and personal sources and may be time sensitive as to their accuracy. Visit Martha at www.TheRealEstate-Lady.com

Elks Camp Barrett, in Crownsville, wil be the site for this year's Parish picnic on September 7.

Be sure to mark your calendar if you're a parishioner at Holy Family in Davidsonville, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Edgewater, or Our Lady of Sorrows in West River.

Mass begins at 11:30, followed by fun for the whole family including the camp's pool, playground, swings, basketball, volleyball, and more.

PHOTO: Istockphoto

In 1981, Maryland's own Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen.Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women's History Week.

In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women's History Month.

The role of women in American history was seldom discussed before the '70's - a situation that changed in 1978 when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women initiated a "Women's History Week" The rest, as they say, is history! You can learn about Natonal Women's History Month by visiting the National Women's History Project.

The University of Maryland has made it easy for us to learn about MARYLAND women who have made a difference, so I'm going to highlight a few here in honor of Women in Hstory Month:

CARMEN BALTHROP - World-class soprano whose voice is described as "pure silver." She enjoys an internationally acclaimed vocal career spanning both modern and classical repertoire.

SUSAN BRAUN - (M.A. - Health Sciences, UMD) Former Chairman and CEO of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

EUGENIE CLARK - Known as the "Shark Lady", Pofessor Emeritus Eugenie Clark is famous for her world-renowned shark research.

JANE HENSON - She and husband Jim Henson developed the Muppets into a world-wide entertainment powerhouse. Henson serves on the board of directors of the Jim Henson Foundation. In 1992 she established the Jim Henson Legacy to preserve and present Jim Henson's lifework.

KATHLEEN MAGEE - Operation Smile. Magee is both a nurse and a philanthropist. Since 1982, she has brought smiles to the faces of more than 50,000 children and adolescents around the world though Operation Smile, an organization that funds and performs oral surgery.

JOSEPHINE "JODY" OLSEN - Deputy Director of the U.S. Peace Corps. She has visited more than 80 countries around the world as a tireless advocate for the mission of the Peace Corps and the work of Volunteers, speaking at dozens of domestic and international events each year.

MARY YOUNG PICKERSGILL - Flagmaker of the famous banner hoisted over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Major George Armistead, commander of the forces at Fort McHenry, commissioned Mrs. Pickersgill to sew a flag "so large that the British will have no difficulty seeing it from a distance."

JUDITH A. RESNICK - NASA astronaut. Judith Resnik was killed in the Challenger explosion of 1986. After receiving her doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Maryland in 1977, Resnik began working for NASA. She spent six days in space in 1984 on the maiden flight of the orbiter Discovery. Hall of Fame inductee.

BERNICE SANDLER - "The Godmother of Title IX." She is the third recipient of the Thomas M. Magoon Distinguished Alumni Award at The University of Maryland for her outstanding work as an educator, advocate and change agent in the college experience for women of all ages. She has won numerous awards, and in 1988 was named one of the nation's 100 most important women by Ladies Home Journal. Dr. Sandler received her doctorate from CAPS in 1969.

MARY SHORB - Discovered a microbe which led to the commercial development of Vitamin B-12. She served as a research professor at Maryland from 1949 to 1972 in poultry husbandry.

HARRIET TUBMAN - Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman freed herself, and the played a major role in freeing the remaining millions. After the Civil War, she joined her family in Auburn, NY, where she founded the Harriet Tubman Home.

SOURCE: University of Maryland Newsdesk: Women's History
Maryland Women's Heritage Center