About Nottingham's Perry Hall

How do I get there?

My client wants to see a listing. I know generally where it is, but look at the directions on the listing to find the specifics.

What do I find?

• The directions indicate to use MapQuest.
• The directions take me down a one way street in the wrong direction.
• The directions take me all the way across town from the agent's office to the property.
• The directions are so messed up that they must be for another property.
• The map shows that the property is located in the Bay; good thing I didn't use a map search to find potential properties for my buyer.

Have you been to the house yourself?

How do you provide directions for your listings? Do you lead people through the crime-ridden part of town or past the run down houses or do you actually give it some thought? You are trying to sell the house, right?

Yes, I can get to the house and I will, but I have to wonder, if you do not give attention to this small detail, then how difficult will it be to work with you if my client wants to submit an offer.

The price and condition of the property are important, but not if the buyers can not find the place.

It is a small point, but occassionally frustrating.

Ah, finally, there it is! Now, where is the lock box?

96% or 4%

To which group does your Seller belong?

Let us assume, based on data that I have seen, that 30% of Homeowners own their homes free and clear, or that they have no mortgages or liens against their homes.

Second, of those remaining 70% of Homeowners who have mortgages, 94% of them are not behind on their payments or in danger of foreclosure or the like. This is equivalent to 65.8% of all Homeowners.

The combined total of the 30% of Homeowners, who own their homes without a mortgage, plus the 65.8% of Homeowners, who are not behind on their mortgages, equals a total of 95.8% of all Homeowners.

Almost 96% of all Homeowners are not in danger of foreclosure and the remaining 4% are in danger.

In the current realty market, nearly 50% of all sales are for distressed properties, or Sellers, who are from the 4% of Homeowners who are having difficulty making their payments.

In a normal market, these distressed sales would be ignored, when doing a comparison to determine a reasonable price for a home, because they would be a much lower percentage of the homes on the market.

In today's market, however, it is hard to ignore this large part of the market.

As Real Estate Agents, we understand all too well, the importance of price when selling a property. The generally accepted rule is that if the property is not selling, then the price is too high.

Granted, there are other factors which are impacting price, but to a large extent the fall in prices has been related to this 4% of Buyers who have not been able to make their payments.

Now, let us assume that a Homeowner wishes to sell his or her house. If they are from the 4% group, then they will likely have a lower price, a fact which would be true even in a strong market.

If the Seller were from the 96% group, then, in order to compete, given that so many distressed properties are on the market, they would most likely need to lower their price.

The question is asked again: to which group does your Seller belong, the 96% or the 4%?

If 96% of Homeowners are not having a problem, then why should the value of their home be so drastically reduced?

Once the market clears itself of this 4%, will prices go back up to the values which were established just a few short years back?

Can we blame this overwhelming majority of Homeowners for not wanting to accept that their homes have substantially depreciated in value given that it was caused by a small 4% of Homeowners?

What Was the Real Price?

A homeowner owes $250,000 on their house, but the market indicates that it is only worth $200,000.

They need to sell, so they sell it short, or for $200,000.

They are forgiven the $50,000 difference.

Recap: They had a house and owed $250,000 on it; they now do not have a house and now owe nothing.

Was the price $200,000 or $250,000?

To the Buyer of this house it was worth $200,000, but to the Seller it was worth $250,000.

When appraisers look at this house for future price comparisons, they look at the $200,000 sales price as the value.

In a normal market, this house may be ignored as a comparable, because it was a distressed sale. In today's market, 50% or more of the sales are distressed so they have become the norm.

If 30% of homeowners own their homes free and clear, and if 94% of those with mortgages are not behind, then nearly 96% of all homeowners, if they chose to sell their homes, would not need to sell their homes as distressed properties.

Can you blame the Sellers from this group of 96% of homeowners, if they want to get the higher price of $250,000, for a house similar to the house above, rather than a price of $200,000 which was caused largely by the 4% of homeowners, who became distressed sellers?

$8,000 Just for You.

Fist time, second time, and maybe even third time home buyers may qualify for this freebie.

That's right; $8,000 is waiting for you.

No, we will not take you deep down into the dark dungeons of the publisher's clearing house for this $8,000.

You do need to purchase a home before December 2009, but that may be the easy part.

Mortgage interest rates are incredibly low, and we are not talking about those ridiculous sub prime loans that got so many people into trouble in recent years. We are talking about legitimate fixed rate loans.

. . . and home prices are at the lowest that we have seen in years, with many homes from which you can choose.

Let's recap:

• Low Interest Rate Loans;
• Low Home Prices;
• Lots of Homes Available; and
• $8,000 Just for You

Not only is this an incredible offer, but now we have made it extremely easy to get your $8,000.

All that you need to do is go to the link below, sign up, and we will take it from there.

http://getyour8000now.com/ron

$8,000!!! Here I come!!!!

You can also call Ron directly at 410-935-5844.

Baltimore County Maryland Public Schools

Are you considering a move to Maryland, but are concerned about the educational opportunities available for your children? Do not worry, the schools of the Maryland public educational system are rated among the best in the entire country.

Maryland tracks key performance indicators to determine how it compares to the nation as well as to compare the school districts within its own boundaries. Maryland continually strives to improve its performance in all of these areas.

In all categories, Maryland is at or near the top. Maryland has information regarding important factors such as:

• graduation rates;
• college acceptance rates;
• SAT and PSAT scores; and
• assessment scores for math, reading, and writing.

Also provided are demographics for the various schools and school districts.

For detailed information about the schools in Maryland you can start at the following web site:

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE

For detailed information about the schools in Baltimore County Maryland you can start at the following web site:

http://www.bcps.org/

To determine the specific schools for a particular address in Baltimore County Maryland, you can use the following web site:

http://www.bcps.org/apps/boundaries/