Owing more than your home is worth in today’s Crofton real estate market is just one of the factors determining whether a lender will approve your short sale. That alone is not enough to qualify for a short sale.
According to America's Home Rescue, you must first be able to satisfy your lender(s) regarding these three factors before most lenders will consider your short sale application:
1. You are behind in your mortgage payments.
2. You have a genuine hardship.
3. You have no equity in the property.
In fact, some lenders have a much longer list and they all require a lot of supporting documentation. On the flip side, some lenders are flexible about these three factors.
Please don’t stop making payments on your home just to qualify for a short sale. The fact is that you’re probably already behind if you do have a qualifying hardship.
You will have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops with your lender, even if you do meet this basic test – and the process will be different, depending on what kind of loan you have. If you owe more than you can get for selling your home, ask your prospective real estate agent if they know the process for short-selling a home with YOUR loan type and/or YOUR combination of first and second trust. (If they know, they’ll be able to explain the difference between your loan type and another.)
Finding a buyer for your Crofton home may not solve your problem. If your agent doesn’t really know the short-sale process, he/she may give you well-intentioned but wrong advice on what is or is not an acceptable short sale offer from your lender's perspective. After weeks or months of uncertainty, your buyer could withdraw or your short-sale application could be turned down and you could lose your home to foreclosure.
If there was ever a time in your life to choose the most experienced real estate agent instead of the cheapest, this is it.
Selling short may not be an option for you, so you need to know “up front” what your chances are of qualifying for a short-sale, what the process is (and follow it!), and what other alternatives there are for dealing with the “under-water” or “upside down” loan on your Crofton home.
My rental client's application was accepted this week for a condo in Crofton, MD. 'Doesn't sound like a big deal in this world of high-stakes real estate buying and selling, but it was very important to him.
It meant the difference between having a roof over his head or not - or, at the very least, between keeping his son in the same school or having to move to another neighborhood when his current landlord decided to sell.
Telling this client the bad news when his first rental application was rejected was tough... and the second... but the third time was charmed, and I couldn't have been happier if it was a multi-million dollar sale.
This rental wasn't a huge victory, like the one Katerina and Nestor Gasset told us about earlier in the week (Short Sale Strategies- When The Lender Blames The Investor- Case In Point), and the commission for any rental is minimal. But this transaction does remind me why I love my job:
It's the people we serve, and helping them achieve THEIR goals, big or small.
Has the Crofton Maryland real estate market stabilized? That's a question many people are asking these days, and there is no simple answer. There are so many factors to consider, and here are a few of them tracked over a number of years:
If you prefer colorful graphs, I have some of those, too. Here's one illustrating how many homes sold in the 21114 zipcode vs. how many active listings there were in recent months:
There were 46 new listings in Crofton during August, compared to 13 new non-contingent contracts. Ideally, the two numbers would be about the same, because these figures indicate that the housing inventory is growing - and that's not what home owners want to see. (Economics 101: Supply and Demand) It is good for home buyers, but many of them are still sitting on the fence.
For more information about the local real estate market, including specifics about your neighborhood (as opposed to your zipcode), CONTACT ME any time.
As you leave Crofton and head east on Route 450 towards Annapolis, you'll spot this entrance into the community of Hermitage - a community of 62 custom-built homes on spacious lots.
You can see from these photos that Hermitage is not a "one size fits all" community... in fact you'll find homes and settings for every taste, from colonials to ranchers, tudors to contemporary, and wooded to open space. Yet it's not a hodge-podge, either, because the homes are far apart on winding and sloping roads that seamlessly take you past one home to the next.
There are no homes on the market now in Hermitage and no recent sales to report - in fact, the last sale/settlement in the community was January 2008 ($810,000). There is one home under contract, however, and it sold in just seven days. This is a stable community where people buy a home with the intention of staying! (Homes in the photos are not for sale.)
The location of Hermitage is ideal for anyone commuting to D.C. or Baltimore, since it's easily accessible to Route 50 (to D.C.) or Route 3 and I-97 (to Baltimore), depending on which way you turn at nearby Davidsonville Road (Rt. 424). It's a neighborhood that homebuyers select for that convenience, as well as its proximity to Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Naval Academy, Fort Meade, and Andrews Air Force Base are all within 30 minutes, as well.
Check out the homes in Hermitage and other upscale communities near Crofton. This is a GREAT time for current residents to move up without leaving the area and for relocating homebuyers to capitalize on a market that may make "upscale" more affordable for you than it would have been a few years ago.
The Crofton Civic Association annual meeting is tonight at Crofton Elementary School (7:30 p.m.) and the “hot topic” will be the future of Lake Louise.
Once the jewel of Crofton’s curb appeal, Lake Louise has been an eyesore for years.
In the early days of my real estate career, prospective home buyers were always impressed at the lovely entrance into “Old Crofton” – the beautiful pond known as “Lake Louise” and the meticulously maintained lawns. No more. Now their first impression of our neighborhood can be summarized in one word, “OLD”.
Contrast this with their impression as they drive into other nearby communities and even shopping centers where the lawns and beds at the entrance are impeccably maintained, seasonal flowers are in bloom, and water features often include a fountain, lighting and sometimes a walking path and benches…
There are several proposals for Lake Louise on the table, and you probably already read about them on the Crofton Civic Association website or in the letter mailed to every household. You’ll learn more about each option if you attend the meeting tonight.
The property value of every homeowner in Crofton will be impacted by any decision regarding the future of Lake Louise. That’s because the decision of prospective homebuyers to choose our community over another (let alone your home) will be influenced by the “curb appeal” of Crofton’s front yard along Route 3. A beautifully maintained entrance into the community creates that important “first impression” for the neighborhood. As you’ve heard before, “you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.”
Please keep that in mind as you consider all the options, and don’t “settle” for anything less than a first class landscaping and maintenance package for Crofton’s front yard. A “natural” look in your front yard wouldn’t appeal to many homebuyers, and it’s not likely to attract many of them past those front gates and into our community either.
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Real estate adviser and advocate for home buyers and sellers in Annapolis, Bowie, Crofton, Davidsonville, Gambrills, Odenton, Fort Meade, and other nearby communities in the D.C.-Baltimore area
When you live in Anne Arundel County Maryland, you can play a round of golf in Crofton,
go sailing on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, and then attend a ballgame at Camden Yards in Baltimore
or a concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. - all in the same day!
Maryland home sellers will find easy access to recent home sale data on my website, and information in my Homeseller Guide about pricing, preparing your home for showing, creating curb appeal, and marketing your home. Talk to me to find out how the "BRAC Factor" could impact your home sale. A successful home sale involves a lot more than just finding a buyer, and we will work together to achieve your real estate goals. If you are relocating to another area - across town, across country, or anywhere in the world - I will find a well-qualified agent for you at your destination. Military and civilian transferees to Fort Meade, Andrews AFB, and the U.S. Naval Academy value my first-hand experience as a Naval Officer's wife. I've "been there, done that" when it comes to military moves, and I'm happy to help you with everything from buying a home to finding a local hairdresser or babysitter. You will find several links of special interest to military families in my Crofton Area Resource Guide. (NOTE: Personnel assigned to the Pentagon, Naval Station Anacostia, Marine Barracks, Walter Reed and other D.C.-Baltimore area military installations sometimes call Crofton home, too, since the commute is usually within 60 minutes.) I have truly enjoyed the privilege of sharing this journey with my clients for many years - 
Maryland home buyers, I will introduce you to the friendly suburban neighborhoods of Crofton and Odenton, rural areas such as beautiful Davidsonville, and charming water-oriented communities near Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. I will help you explore your financing options and refer you to other real estate professionals including mortgage lenders, home inspectors, and closing attorneys. If you are in the "research stage" for your next home purchase, you may want to search the MLS at your own pace, request a complimentary Relocation Guide, or read the helpful articles in my Homebuyer Guide. When you are ready to make a move, I will be ready to help you.
through buyers' markets and sellers' markets, inflation and recession, war and peace.
Yet I am still passionate about being the best possible adviser and advocate for my clients, from start to finish.
Nothing would please me more than the opportunity to create a real estate success story for you now -
whether you are a home buyer, seller or referring agent.
New to the area? Check out Your Online Relocation Package for Anne Arundel County, Maryland Create your own customized home search, limiting results to those that meet your own search criteria. Just click on Search for Homes
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Why Margaret Woda?
When it comes to technology, just check out my blogs here on ActiveRain and Localism, my website, my highly acclaimed community blog (FocusOnCrofton.com), online property fliers posted to several traditional and non-traditional real estate sites, market snapshots, real estate calculators, and single-property websites. You can communicate with me by cell phone, email, AIM, MS Messenger, text message or video-conference. If a new innovation comes along, you can count on me to use it in my business, to serve my clients well, to be the best possible adviser and advocate they could find. If you are comparison-shopping for a Maryland REALTOR based on real estate qualifications, why not use the same criteria as the Anne Arundel County Association of REALTORS when they chose me as Distinguished Sales Associate of the Year in 1992: Professional Knowledge, Business Success, Industry Leadership, Community Involvement, and Ethical Standards of Practice. Aren't these the same qualities you're looking for in a REALTOR who represents you? I am BOTH tech-savvy AND an experienced real estate professional, a rare combination! You can read more about me on my blog, but here are a few of my professional and personal activities, both past* and present: Professional Certifications and Licenses:
Margaret Woda is a household name in Anne Arundel County real estate circles, after thirty years in this business. But you may be looking for something more tangible, some real qualifications that help differentiate one agent from another in this tough market - evidence that the agent you choose is tech-savvy, as well as experienced in real estate.
REALTOR Industry Leadership:
Community Involvement:
Personal:
Again, please note those marked with an * are past activities. I include them here because I firmly believe in this quote from Miriam Wolfe:
This day is mine. It is unique. No one else in the world has one exactly like it.
It is the sum of all my past experiences and and all my future potential.
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Why Long & Foster?
Home sellers and buyers experience individualized attention, superior professionalism and unparalleled resources at Long & Foster. Yet clients also benefit from the prominent online presence of LongandFoster.com and the market dominance of Long & Foster in Crofton and throughout the Middle Atlantic states. I'm proud to be affiliated with a local market leader, and eager to show you how Long & Foster will make a difference in your next real estate transaction. 
Long & Foster is conveniently located in Crofton, Maryland - about a half hour from Baltimore to the north, Annapolis to the east, and Washington, D.C. to the west. I chose to work with this office for many of the same reasons that you might:
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You can count on Margaret!
Crofton real estate is synonymous with your name, and I can't imagine working with any other agent. I looked at three homes with you and would have been happy with any of them. Then you negotiated a great price and terms for me. Thank you! Carolyn Emanuele
When people ask why I decided to get into real estate, I always tell them I was inspired by my agent. Thank you for being my agent, my mentor and my friend! Latana Garvey
You left no stone unturned to get us results when our previous agent failed, and you were so pleasant to work with. Thank you for the website and all the online marketing you did for our home. Bill and Jo Mafera
You are relentless, and I'm just glad you were on my side! Jim Morrissey
I was faced with a short-sale, and Margaret knew about a program that would save my credit and satisfy the lender. As a result, I was able to buy another home. Debbie Smalle
You helped us buy in a tough seller's market, and you got top dollar for our condo when we relocated. You're the best! Ben and Jan Bachmann
Margaret was so patient as I struggled with the decision to sell my home of 26 years. Then she sold it in just one day at full price. Betty Brooks
When my anxiety level reached a boiling point, you "stayed the course" and calmed my fears. Now I have so much to thank you for - selling my home quickly at full price so I could buy my next home, and helping me find a home for my Mom. Larkin Plato
As a RE/MAX agent myself, I had high expectations when we relocated to Maryland. You exceeded them, however, with your knowledge of things that were important to us such as commuting options and community amenities, as well as real estate. I'm so glad to have you for a friend, now that we're official Marylanders. Kathy and Mac McKee
We selected Margaret for her professionalism, thoroughness and honesty. We were not disappointed! We sold two homes and bought one with her help. Dan Stachurski
Without your help, we never could have accomplished so much in such a short time. We LOVE the house you found for. Kevin and Debbie Means
We found more than a new home and community; we found a new friend in you. We can't wait to have you over after we get settled in. Tim and Alice Spinner
Three other agents tried to sell our house. Only you had the knowledge to truly make it happen. We will always be grateful. Dan and Sue Plefka
When I refer my friends or relatives to Margaret, I can rely on her quick response, intimate knowledge of the area, and financing expertise to assure that their real estate dreams are achieved. Phylis Collins
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