Kelly Willey SHORT SALE Agent HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND REAL ESTATE

Will BRAC bring the people into Harford County that is anticipated?

According to a recent Baltimore Sun article one local firm may be betting on it…..

“In another sign of the impact that BRAC is having on Harford County, Martin's Inc., the Maryland catering company, is exploring the idea of building a banquet facility near Aberdeen Proving Ground.’

Full Article

It’s funny I was just driving past the Martins on 695 and thinking back to my prom and thinking that Harford County could benefit from a nice large banquet hall.

With BRAC expected to bring as many as 25,000 people into the area I expect Harford County real estate to see sales volume, if not prices, to hold or increase.

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This market has people saying and doing crazy things!!!!

I was called by an expired listing that had been on the market for over a year and with several different agencies. The home is located in a nice area but is on a smaller lot than many of the homes and was constructed with builder grade finishes. Because it is in the upper price range for the area ($600,000) recent sales included two foreclosures.

I concluded my analysis of the situation to be that the home was vacant, unfurnished, no window treatments, sub standard kitchen for this price range with oak cabinets and white appliances and that while I did not feel they would benefit from a kitchen remodel buyers would certainly see this as a huge negative and we needed to price the home accordingly.

This is an excerpt from the sellers email response…..

“While I certainly agree that we are in a declining market, I feel it is influenced by the approach that is being taken to recommend that sellers continually lower prices below market value, thus feeding on the buyers’ “upper hand”. If the market would simply stabilize, and realtors would encourage and support sellers in their pricing, then buyers would be faced with paying what I consider to be a fair, not inflated, price for homes. I certainly believe that realtors need to look at comps, but that is not what I feel is being done. One of the houses that were part of the “recently sold” was clearly a foreclosure that was appropriately stated to be $200,000 below current market value. That person was in a position of being forced to sell at an artificially low price and, to me, should not be much of a factor in our analysis.”

Which got me to thinking about a few things……first, what is “market value”?

Here is my definition of market value: The price a seller can expect to receive from a buyer in a fair and open market.

So, if the market is driven by having many REO properties, the traditional seller can expect to get what the REO properties are selling for or maybe a little bit more if the REO’s are sold “as is” and the traditional seller sells in good condition.

Second, how important is it to list a property at or below the estimated “market value”?

In the case of the listing I was evaluating, it has been reduced numerous times over the past year. However, at this point in time, it needs to be at $599,900 or less and the seller wants it at $650,000. I did a detailed analysis of recent sold properties making adjustments for the differences and also did a price per square foot analysis all of which pointed to the conclusion of $599,900 (or lower). I can say with a high degree of certainty that it will not sell for this price and that pricing it at $650,000 will just continue to prolong the days on market and further lower the seller’s equity position. I think the sellers reluctance to listen to the advice of their real estate professionals has cost them tens of thousands of dollars and that they will continue to lose money if they do not listen to what the experienced professionals are showing them.

So, Mr and Mrs Seller, I understand your frustrations at the loss of value in your home but the market will not “simply stabilize”. It is driven by many factors and right now it is being driven down. So, if you want to sell, price it right and sell it quickly because next month it will be worth even less!!!! Time is your enemy not the real estate professional.

If you would like a thorough and professional analysis of what your home is likely to sell for under the current market conditions, please give me a call. I spend about three-four hours compiling and preparing a report of 40 pages of information to determine the "best" price for you to list your home for.

There's a Raven Maniac in my Basement

First of all for you Southerners, that don't have them, a basement is a room below your house where men and teenagers congregate to stare at and sometime scream at a TV.

In my house yesterday, my husband, God love him, was down in "the basement" with the dog carrying on. Hubby would yell and squeal like a kid and the dog would bark and howl. Honestly, it was full blown pandemonium in the basement yesterday and I hope the neighbors didn't hear.

Apparently, some people become very agitated when the Baltimore Ravens play their football games on the TV and win. I don't think I have ever gotten agitated from watching TV. Don't get me wrong I think I might like to be that agitated it almost sounded exciting. The last time I whooped like that was when I listed and sold a $599,900 listing, now that is something to whoop about maybe even break into song and dance over.

I was informed by the Raven maniac in my basement AKA Mr Willey that this Sunday he will again be down there yelling. So, anybody else out there in Baltimore that has no interest in football give me a call and we can go have some fun of our own that does not involved TV and basements.

If you are moving into Harford county Maryland as part of BRAC from Fort Monmouth NJ, we can help. My team is all life long residents of Maryland and are eager to assist you in making your transition into Harford county enjoyable for your whole family.

Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) is convenient to many diverse areas of Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties and we are here to provide you the information you need to determine where you want to relocate with your family.

Below is a short list of contacts for the more important factors like schools, real estate and crime. From here we would like to extend an invitation to have you come into our office and have all your questions answered about real estate like what can you qualify for a mortgage, what are property taxes, how much home can I afford etc.

We know making a move to another state can be very stressful and we aim to relive your stress, make you our friends and get you settled into Maryland with a smile on your face and some steamed crabs on your plate!!!

We are looking forward to having you as neighbors here in Maryland with us!!!!

Harford County Real Estate

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Kelly Willey is your expert in the Baltimore, Harford and Cecil Counties, Maryland with over 20 years of experience working with Short Sales, Foreclosures, Pre-Foreclosures, Bank-Owned, REO, HUD owned, VA owned and distressed properties.

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4.25% is an AMAZING interest rate. In fact, rates have not been this low since the 1940's, that means this is likely the best rates will be in your lifetime!!!!

When I started selling houses people had to get a buy down to get the rates to 10% and we still sold houses. Prices were pretty flat and we were lucky to sell 2% a year appreciation. When I tell people that WHEN the market stops falling we will see flat prices and then a slow and steady 2% a year appreciation, they look at me like I am crazy. I don't know if they have forgotten the past or are in lala land but the reality is that we went through an artificially inflated market bubble that burst and will likey NEVER happen again.

I got this email today from Wes Foster:

"Prosperity Mortgage has available 4 ¼ % money…I repeat….4 ¼ % money for 30 year fixed rate for conforming loan up to $625,000 with 25% down (in the high cost markets) with a total of 3 points that can be paid by the seller, buyer or split between them. This is the best I have EVER seen in my career. LET”S GET OUT THERE AND SELL HOUSES!!!

Wes"

I agree with Wes, with rates so low, let's get out there and sell houses!!!!

Afterall, the money is on sale!!!!

Kelly Willey is your expert in the Baltimore, Harford and Cecil Counties, Maryland with over 20 years of experience working with Short Sales, Foreclosures, Pre-Foreclosures, Bank-Owned, REO, HUD owned, VA owned and distressed properties.

Kelly Willey's Web Site