Mac Mccord Helping buyers and sellers in Bethesda

Having worked 7 days a week from Jan 09 to about a week ago, I know the market in the metro DC area. We had 2007 and 2008 where the buyers were not going to buy while prices were dropping. Jan 15th of 2009 my phone started to ring and it didn't slow down at all (even during the week of Christmas) until about 2 weeks ago. Which, if you think about all the people that want the tax credit, expiring on Apr 30, seems odd. I have had buyers over the past 15 months that wrote on many listings in the area at full price or more and couldn't get anything. I have had buyers drop out and continue renting as they couldn't buy. I had a buyer write at more than full price on a $600,000 plus single family and get beat out as 5 of the 7 offers were cash!!

This market seems to have come back, although there are many more foreclosures coming in the next 2 years in certain areas. And the short sales are going to be around for a while. I have written on about 150 of them and just recently had my strangest experience w short sales. I settled last Friday on one where we wrote last November on an "approved short sale" which is one where the bank has approved the terms. The agent sd that we just needed to insert my buyers name in the deal in place of the buyer that dropped out. It took 4 months to get the written notice of approval. We closed a month later (last Friday.) I wrote on one a couple weeks ago and counseled my buyer to not count on the tax credit. Ratified by April 30 and closed by June 30. This one was also an "approved short sale." Well guess what...........we were given notice of written approval 4 days later. With two banks having the first and second. Wow........Maybe the days of 5 months approval on a short sale are over. Good luck!

Buying foreclosures can be an interesting process. I have many buyers that are looking in that end of the market. They are almost always at the bottom end of pricing for the particular neighborhood and some banks are actually going in and fixing them up.

People wonder if they are getting a deal. You have to understand that when you buy a foreclosure, it is usually in a neighborhood that is inundated w them. So when you do buy and get a deal, the price is setting the market. If it is in a neighborhood of $250,000 townhouses and you get one for $220,000, after a short period of time the value of those townhouses will be $220,000 because you bought one at that price. Did you get a deal? Better than the people who bought at $250,000. Eventually the market will rebound and you will be happy, but initially no there are not really any incredible deals to be had.

The market has been so busy since Jan 15th that I have had 3 days off in that four month period. I write a lot of contracts for a lot of buyers. There is almost always more than one offer per house. Sometimes as many as 10 contracts on a listing. I have many buyers who have written 5-7 contracts and still don't have a house. In the lower price ranges it is very busy. With low interest rates and signs that the economy is starting to rebound, we expect it to continue for a while.

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If you are like me, you want to get the most from your money. You worked hard to earn it and you want it to grow as much and as rapidly as it can. Fortunatly for the people who are looking to put their money into real estate, it is an amazing time to buy now. There is an abundance of good homes available, the prices have come way down, and the interest rates are at historic lows with rates under 5% available!!!

We all know that the economy is in trouble. We also know that the country we live in is strong and vibrant. We will come out of this bad economy and the ones who will make money are the ones who were looking forward when times were rough. Buy a house that is in decent shape and that can at least break even on the rent being paid, put a little money in to clean it up, and rent it out. Make sure you watch the tenants. My suggestion is to make an appointment with them to get the rent check on the first and walk through the house every month. Set up that expectation. They will take better care of the house, because they know they have to. Before long, we will be in a better place, you are providing a home for a family to live in and you have an asset that will grow over time.

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Not to steal Obama's thunder, but the spring market is definitely here. I have seen increased activity, and so have my associates in the Remax office I work out of in the Bethesda area. Many of us are very busy. Too busy to eat......busy. Like we like it.....busy. Boy did we miss this......busy. God, I hope it continues....busy. In short the market has picked up. I had four listings as of March 1. Two are under contract as of the last 10 days and I got 2 calls on one of the others and 1 call on the last one today. I might have 3 under contract in 12 days if I can believe one of the agents that called today. Now I am wondering what I am going to do when these sell. What a nice thought. Thank God I have good buyers. We have had such a tough time since Fannie Mae said "no stated loans" in August 07. The market was flat throughout the fall. It picked up for me December 26, believe it or not. I started getting calls. I had 13 listings at the time.

There are alot of reasons to hope. Yes, there is uncertainty in the economy. Today the Fed lowered the key rate 3/4 of a point causing a 420 pt jump in the Dow. Omigod. I hope it doesn't all go away tomorrow. But I digress. The government seems to be trying to play catchup and prevent the dip in the economy from going any further. Interest rates continue to be low. This morning a lender I talked with said he could have locked a buyer of mine in at 5.5. The buyer balked and the rate went up to 5.87. Oooops. There is without a doubt, more interest in the buyers out there to go out and write. I have 4 on the edge of the process. We had such a while where the buyers had no confidence. Not that we blame them. So take heart warriors of the MLS. We will enjoy this while it lasts. Via con Dios.

To the folks in Montgomery County, Md that may be thinking of selling. I don't want you all to have any false hopes. The market is tough. There is a lot of inventory and the buyers are looking for a deal. But I took about 7 groups of buyers out over the weekend of 3/8 - 3/9 and while I had clients in the various houses, other agents brought buyers in to see the house also while we were there. We weren't seeing dust on the door knob. We were trying to get in before the other people got in to see the house. So there we were, much like times past, tripping over each other politely. I was excited, because what better sign of increased activity could there be? I went to one open house with clients and while I was there , I am sure there were 25 other people walking through!!! What memories it brought back. Oh how I long for the days when you could put a listing on and in 5 minutes have a couple agents call to say they wanted to show the house. FHA maximum amounts going up is not going to hurt either.

What the homeowners have to realize is the mainstream media is doomsaying as usual. Things are going to be tough, but contact an experienced realtor to guide you through the process of either buying or selling. You will most likely get the truth. I would be happy to let you know my experiences. All the best!