Teri Deane--Central Maryland Realtor, ABR, WHC--Howard County Real Estate

This has been a very active "Spring Market" in Maryland's Baltimore suburbs. Every buyer I have worked with since January has found the home of their dreams only to be thwarted by multiple offers all coming in at the same time. One property, a hugely under-priced foreclosure, had 20-plus offers in 2 days! Buyers learn quickly that they need to be ready to jump when they see a home they like.

From the standpoint of a buyer's agent, when there are other offers coming in, we can't be aggressive in our negotiations and this puts the seller in the driver's seat.

What can home sellers learn from this?

There are several factors common with all of the homes that I'm seeing with multiple offers. If you are trying to sell your home and have had leukwarm buyer response so far, you need to rethink things and make some serious changes, such as:

• Price -- if you are not getting a lot of showings, you may be over priced. In today's market, buyers want to feel like they are getting a "deal." There is a happy medium where the seller can still make money and the buyer can feel like they have not paid top dollar for the home.
• Condition -- this is almost more important than the price. If your home is not extremely clean and clutter-free you will not sell quickly and you will sell for less than you had hoped. Is your carpet dirty or stained? Have you painted the interior walls recently? Do you have every closet stuffed with stuff? Is there grease on your stove? Are there dirty dishes in your sink or piles of laundry in the bedrooms? Does your house have an odor (even a not-so-bad odor can turn off buyers)? Have you trimmed your shrubs, mowed the grass and planted flowers outside? Does your basement smell damp and/or moldy?
• Decoration-- the twin sister to condition, the way your home is decorated may make you very happy, but unless it's very neutral chances are it won't appeal to most buyers. The biggest buyer turnoffs are: wallpaper (especially if there is a lot and it is dated), strong colors on walls (orange is perhaps the least liked color on a wall, but any bold color will be a deterrent), photos and stuff stuck to the fridge, too much furniture in rooms (makes rooms appear smaller and adds to clutter), old appliances (if your kitchen is pre-1995 your home will take longer to sell and you will sell for less), dark paneled walls (an easy fix is to paint them a neutral color like off-white), and anything that shouts 1970, such as shag carpeting or burlap walls.
• Marketing-- this is up to your agent and hopefully you are interviewing and choosing agents who have a definite plan for marketing your home (this is where the discount brokerages and FSBO's can't compete). No home on the market today should be without professional photographs and a virtual tour. I would like to emphasize "professional" here because I've seen so many homes where the photographs are dark, blurry and poorly done. One or two photos are not enough and homes that only have pictures of the outside seem to say "there's nothing worth showing you on the inside of this home."

Many homes have an oddity that keeps them listed longer than normal. Usually it's the condition. Are any of these surprises in your home -- bold colors -- dated wallpaper -- 20-year or older kitchens -- dark paneling -- shag carpeting -- slate entryways -- walls covered in burlap? These things can prevent a quick sale.

One home I showed recently had something I've never seen before. . .the family room floor was red brick! Full size bricks too. The listing had boasted about the updated kitchen, baths and carpeting and the photos made the home look very nice. . .but a brick floor? No wonder this one's been on the market nearly 2 years!

Check out these videos to learn how you can find energy savings in heating your home, financinging a home purchase, the value a Realtor brings to your home sale, curb appeal and avoiding foreclosure with an explanation about short sales.

These videos are produced by MRIS. Click link below:

http://www.sfrealtors.com/video/mris/short/33

Eight Howard County high schools landed a spot in Newsweek's Top 1300 US High Schools. Only public schools were rated. Their rankings are:

• Centennial 272
• River Hill 298
• Mount Hebron 754
• Glenelg 965
• Atholton 1037
• Howard 1074
• Wilde Lake 1172
• Reservoir 1279

These rankings are based on a ratio of graduating seniors and the number of advanced placement tests taken by all students at the school in 2007. The 1300 schools in the list are in the top 5% if all public schools measured this way

Visit http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380 for the complete list of schools.

There is a new program sponsored by the Maryland Department of the Environment's Bay Restoration Fund that will allow homeowners to upgrade their septic system to the most current technology that allows for maximum nitrogen reduction. Requirements are

• filling out the application, and
• following procedures to secure funding for installation.

Once approved, homeowners will receive a check from the Comptrollers Office that covers the entire cost (100%) as well as maintenance for 5 years. Call 1-800-633-6101 ext 4195 for more information and a free consultation.

Source: Live Green Howard County