About Cecil County, MD

Letters were sent in the beginning of February to 5,000 Fort Monmouth employees in an attempt to get them to voluntarily move to Maryland in the summer of 2008. According to Maj. Gen. Dennis Via the plan is to transfer 340 positions to Maryland this summer, 600 in 2009, 220 in 2010 and the rest in 2011. As of Tuesday it looks like 221 employees will be coming to APG this summer.

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There wil be a BRAC town hall meeting at the Aberdeen High School Auditorioum on March 10th at 6:30pm. The topics that will be discussed are APG update, transportation, education and workplace development, Public safety, health and community services and outreach. It will end with a question and answer forum. For information, call 410-638-3059 or visit http://www.harfordbusiness.org.. There have been two other BRAC town meetings thus far.

Cecil County homes for sale

Harford County homes for sale

They released the new FHA loan limit for Cecil County today. The new limit is $420,000. The old limit was $292,685. The new limit is set to expire on December 31, 2008. This is great news for anyone who wants to purchase a home in this price range and could not get a conventional loan.

Cecil County homes for sale

Harford County homes for sale

Thinking of remodeling your Cecil County, MD or Harford County, MD home?

Job Cost Resale Value Cost Recouped

1. Deck Addition (wood) $9,266 $7,936 85.6%

2. Siding Replacement (vinyl) $8,990 $7,651 85.1%

3. Minor Kitchen Remodel $20,221 $16,727 82.7%

4. Basement Remodel $53,519 $43,279 80.9%

5. Window Replacement (wood) $10,242 $8,226 80.3%

6. Window Replacement (vinyl) $9,391 $7,530 80.2%

7. Major Kitchen Remodel $52,659 $41,766 79.3%

8. Bathroom Remodel $14,445 $11,388 78.8%

9. Attic Bedroom Remodel $41,401 $32,635 78.8%

10. Two Story Addition $127,072 $99,464 78.3%

Worst Home Improvements

1. Home Office Remodel $25,438 $15,209 59.8%

2. Sunroom Addition $65,434 $42,025 64.2%

3. Back Up Power Generator $12,061 $8,097 67.1%

4. Bathroom Addition $33,236 $22,670 68.2%

5. Family Room Addition $70,867 $51,004 72%

I must say that I am surprised a home office scored so low. A home office would be a necessity for me.

Relocating to Harford County, Maryland?
Harford County Relocation Guide

Relocating to Cecil County, Maryland?
Cecil County Relocation Guide

Cecil County Real Estate, Harford County Real Estate, Cecil County homes for sale, Harford County homes for sale, Cecil County Realtor, APG relocation, BRAC

Is now a good time to buy a home? Mortgage rates don't know what they want to do. The 30 year fixed mortgage rate was at a 4 year low towards the end of January. Then they went up, down and now they are inching up again. Where will they go next week? I think they may be bipolar.

Today's Mortgage Rates

30 year fixed - 6.08%

15 year fixed - 5.55%

5/1 ARM - 5.15%

30 year fixed jumbo - 6.96%

5/1 jumbo ARM - 5.85%

These are national averages.

Here is a chart of 15 and 30 year fixed mortgage rates for the past year.

This chart and rates are courtesy of bankrate

Eventhough mortgage rates in general have been inching up, I think it is a good time to purchase a home. During the 80's and early 90's interest rates were around 10% and higher. In the mid to late 90's interest rates were around 7% to 8%. The only time interest rates were cheaper was during the summer of 2003 when they were in the low 5% range.

In addition to interest rates being reasonable right now, the economic stimulus plan recently approved by Bush Jr. will raise the loan limit for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The current FHA limit here in Cecil County is $292,685. It is estimated by the National Association of Realtors that the new limit for Cecil County, MD will be $385,112 for FHA and $417,000 for GSE. The new loan limits will be published by HUD on March 14th. I will post them here when they do.

It is a buyers market right now. You have a lot of options that did not exist a few years ago when it comes to purchasing a home. There are good houses on the market right now and not enough buyers. You can find that home of your dreams for a good price.

So is now a good time to buy? I say yes! Trying to time the market could be risky. "In general, it is very difficult to time the market," said Raphael Bostic, associate director of the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate. "The real problem with that is you don't know when the floor is until after it's passed. If the floor is right now, you missed it."

Cecil County homes for sale

Harford County homes for sale

Gone are the days of slapping up a for sale sign in the yard and getting multiple offers without having to do any work to your house. House prices are falling. The median sales price for Cecil County in January was $219,000. It was $275,000 last January. You still can sell your house, but now you just have to do more work.

Here are some tips to give you the edge in selling your home before the competition.

1. Hire a full service Realtor.In this market you need every advantage that you can get. A full service Realtor will not just put a sign in your yard and your home in the MLS. They are going to do a cma for you, prepare a net profits sheet, give you tips on preparing your house for showings, give you full service marketing, give you feedback after showings, keep you advised of what is happening in the market, negotiate the contract on your behalf, always have your best interests in mind and help you along every step of the way.

2. Do not overprice your home.It is very important that your home is priced correctly from the very beginning. Studies show that most of your interest will come from the first few weeks on the market. Go over the recent sales of comparable sales in your area and make sure that your asking price is reasonable. If your house is not priced correctly in this market it is just going to sit. Even if you did get lucky and someone offered you a full price contract, your home is still going to have to appraise. If it does not appraise you are going to have to drop the price anyway or take it off the market. Pricing it right from the get go will save a lot of time.

3. Finish your honey do list. To sell your home in this market your house has got to be in excellent condition. Clear the clutter, clean out the closets, put extra stuff in storage, make sure all repairs are done, touch up paint, deep clean your house, clean or replace carpet and most importantly - make sure your house has curb appeal. If your house does not look inviting from the outside no one is going to want to see the inside.

4. Keep your home in show condition. Make sure you are always ready for showings and don't turn away potential buyers. In this market they may not come back for a second showing. Also let your agent put a lock box on your door.

5. Consider offering incentives. You can offer the buyers help with closing costs, the buyers agent a selling bonus or both. Every little bit helps.

6. Don't be discouraged that it is a buyers market. Homes will sell in all markets. By following the tips above you are giving yourself and edge in getting your home sold before your neighbors.

Cecil County homes for sale

Harford County homes for sale