“World's Most Complete Neighborpedia”
Sponsor a Community — What is Localism? | Register or Sign In
Explore:   What's happening in your neck of the woods?
Home Monica McNamara

Monica McNamara

Blog_tag

Kids Are Kids At All Ages

05-07-09
Monica McNamara

Chris and Catie

For years my kids have posed in their "dress up clothes" as they have primped and fussed about their appearance before attending a landmark event in their lives. The biggest of those events being their Prom or a Homecoming dance. Now it's been a while since they've been in high school (Stephen Decatur High - right outside of Ocean City, Maryland)....but some things never change.

My son, Chris, traveled home this past weekend to attend a friend's wedding. He brought a date with him, and probably not as much to my surprise as it should have been, he needed his shirt ironed by Mom, wanted approval on the tie and his "ensemble" in general.... and most importantly wanted his picture taken at the house right before they left to go out. I have to admit, I found myself rather nostalgic. Chris is now 27 years old and his prom days have been gone for a while, but still maybe deep down he wanted that little sense of déjà vu.

Here's to Chris and Catie....who both looked awesome!

5 Comments
Blog_tag

Ocean City, Maryland - Market Trends

05-06-09
Monica McNamara
The median sales price for homes in Ocean City MD for Feb 09 to Apr 09 was $329,000. This represents an increase of 26.4%, or $68,750, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 5.4% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have appreciated 15.6% over the last 5 years in Ocean City.





SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
0 Comments
Blog_tag

MAY HAPPENINGS IN OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

05-04-09
Monica McNamara
May is loaded with fun things to do in Ocean City, MD and the surrounding areas:

Springfest LogoMay 7-10: Springfest
Inlet Parking Area
Enjoy live entertainment; crafters and food vendors of every variety; admission if free with the exception of the headline acts.

Berlin Blues & Jazz FestivalMay 9: Berlin Blues & Jazz Bash
Main St, Berlin, MD
Live music and competition of blues & jazz bands



Cruisin Ocean CityMay 14-17: Crusin' Ocean City
Convention Center, 40th St & Bay & Inlet Parking Lot
Popular car show features 3,000 hot rods, live entertainment and boardwalk parades


Ocean City Life Saving MuseumMay 18: International Museum Day
OC Life Saving Station Museum, South end of Boardwalk
Free admission to the museum. Explore Ocean City's best kept secret.

OC Convention CenterMay 23-24: Spring Arts & Crafts Show
Convention Center, 40th St & Bay
Ocean City's only Memorial Day weekend craft show with vendors displaying garden accessories, jewelry, candles, florals and wood crafts.



Geico Offshore - Ocean City, MDMay 29-31: Geico Offshore Grand Prix
Sunset Marina, West Ocean City
Offshore Powerboat race sanctioned by OPA racing. Sunday, Noon - 4pm beginning at 10th St to 36th St off Ocean City boardwalk.


Ravens Roost-OCMay 30 - Council of Baltimore Ravens Roosts Annual Parade
19th St & Baltimore Ave to 28th St
Annual parade with 50 member roosts from MD, DE and PA as they show pride for the Baltimore Ravens.

SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
3 Comments
Blog_tag

Getting Back To Normal

05-01-09
Monica McNamara


We've had quite a climb up for a while in the real estate market, and while we were up there, the air was pretty rarified. But after a while we have to come back down from the peak to a plateau. In other words, back to the normal view of the market.

Such has been the residential real estate market for the last five years. In our area, we reached the top of the peak at the end of 2005, and all the way down from the peak, the media has chronicled every decline worrying sellers and buyers.

The latest Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows that house prices have dropped 31% since the peak almost four years ago. That statistic sounds shocking, however, the report shows home prices have simply returned back to the March 2004 levels when homeowners were very happy with the value of their property. We need to remember in just the 18 months from March 2004 to September 2005, there was a sharp 41% increase in prices due to very low inventory. So a drop to 2004 price levels is more like getting back to normal.

Another big factor in enabling this return to a more "normal market", is the tightening of the mortgage lending qualifications. Many lenders, during our boom time, ignored qualifying ratios and down payment requirements We now understand that returning to previous reasonable standards is prudent. With a return to these standards and lenders willing to lend, the historically low interest rates are making today's mortgages even better than normal.

These and other factors are the reasons that a recent Gallup poll found that 71% of Americans think now is a good time to buy a house. Now might be the right time for you!

0 Comments
Blog_tag

2 Short Sale Tips To Avoid

04-27-09
Monica McNamara

If you are an agent working with a seller of a short sale or the seller yourself, you are very happy when the short sale approval letter finally arrives from the lender. Oh no. Then you read the letter, and there in black and white, are provisions inserted in that approval letter that essentially just killed the same deal the lender just approved. What happened?

Well let's start by looking at a couple of these strange problematic provisions, they can look like this:

Example #1

"There are to be no transfers of property within 30 days of the closing of this transaction. Escrow instructions must contain a clause that if such a transaction takes place then the title/escrow company must notify __________(lender). (What is all that?)

So let's understand this, the lender just approved the short sale but says that the property cannot be re-sold within 30 days from the date of the short sale transaction. Ok, so far so good, but now the lender wants to hold the settlement agent responsible for notifying them if that takes place!! As you could imagine, not many title insurance companies would be interested in insuring this transaction. So unless your buyer is paying cash and does not want an owner's policy (yikes) your deal is dead.

Example #2


"If the property was acquired by any means of fraud, _____________(lender) reserves the right to pursue any and all actions available to it to pursue any and all actions available to it to offset its losses. If it is determined that Sellers and/or Buyers participated in any way to the fraud, this short sale will be void, and the Note and Security Instrument will remain in full force and effect."

Just so we are clear, what the lender is saying here is that if the seller committed fraud either at the origination, acquisition or selling stage, the lender may come back and undo the sale that just took place. Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Buyers, you're out of luck!! That would be an awful situation. Once again, not too many underwriters will be interested in that deal.


These are just two examples, there are many more. So what are we to do? Simply read the letter very carefully, if you see any language in there where the lender says they can come back and "undo" the transaction for any reason, it will be a big problem.


Fortunately, it is my understanding, that this issue is isolated to just two or three lenders, and it is also my understanding that discussions are taking place between title insurance companies and lenders to address the issue. So just when you thought short sales could not get any more complicated.....

As always, many thanks to Susan Lloyd of Mid Atlantic Title Services for sharing her resources and guidance.

5 Comments