Hagerstown Property Owners Get a Jump on Retirement The other day I ran across some eyebrow-raising financial trivia. There’s a takeaway that should be encouraging for everyone who already own property in Hagerstown. The undeniable value of home ownership is pretty clear when you take a look at some of these financial facts — According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 56% of workers report that they haven’t even attempted to calculate how much money they will need for a comfortable retirement. That should get them thinking (although it looks like it hasn’t). If the Center for Retirement Research is right that only 42% of private sector workers have any retirement savings at all, it might explain why they don’t want to think about it. I believe we can safely ignore Fidelity In... 05/09/2013

Hagerstown Recovery’s New Obstacle: Not Enough Homes for Sale So the market’s recovering, interest rates are low, and you think you’re finally ready to buy a home? Not so fast. Buyers across the country are running into a new roadblock: there don’t seem to be enough homes for sale. Anyone who has looked at entry- to mid-level homes for sale in our neighborhoods probably knows what I mean. Mortgage rates remain near historic lows, and as the prices of homes for sale continue to rise, fears that we could soon see a repetition of a real estate equity loss seem increasingly unlikely. Why the lack of inventory? There are several reasons. Buyers may be ready to buy again, but some sellers are still not in a position to offer their Hagerstown homes for sale. When the housing market collapsed s... 05/07/2013

Hagerstown Luxury Homes Need Luxury Financing, Any home carrying a price tag of $1 million or more generally falls into the ‘luxury property’ category.¬¬ To finance it, a luxury loan is called for. Since financing luxury homes in Hagerstown can be more challenging than financing run-of-the-mill properties, many prospective home owners at the luxury level seek the services of a specialist lender. Market Watch has found that the average price of luxury properties in some major US cities is well over the million dollar threshold – making care in preparing jumbo loan applications more important than ever. Whether or not you choose to ask your REALTOR® to help you find a mortgage broker well-versed at your price point, the same guiding principles need to be followed: Detail-Orientation As wi... 04/05/2013

Investing In Hagerstown, Explore the possibilities of guided real estate investment based upon proprietary market data, exceptional expertise, and innovative solutions designed to cultivate profitable purchases through well-informed buying decisions at all levels of investment portfolios including individual, institutional, and tenant/owner occupied. Our highly knowledgeable professionals, who portray incomparable industry skills, blend a variety of factors together in order to determine the best investment opportunity for each financier. It is this intensive examination of profitable prospects that enables our staff to form their recommendations on which properties make good portfolio additions. Visit www.HagerstownInvesting.com 03/09/2013

Hagerstown Open Houses and Losing All That Junk!  Why so many open houses in Hagerstown? The reason is because they are so effective -- not only by instantly spreading notice that a property is seriously entering the market, but also by creating a firm target date – a day when all concerned agree that the property will be in peak ‘showability’ condition. Open houses are like showings on steroids. With dozens of visitors in the offing, there’s little doubt that every effort will go into preparing for them. Along those lines, every agent will tell you that a tidy home is far more tempting than one that looks too lived-in. The New York Times recently offered the assessment that decluttering is vital because "most real estate is aspirational, and buyers want to see themselves in someplace b... 02/12/2013

Fix-and-Flip or Buy-and-Hold: Which Are You? With the Fed having announced its intention to hold interest rates near 0% until at least mid-2015, even very cautious investors are recognizing that this provides a rare opening. If ever there were a time to start a real estate portfolio, it’s hard to imagine a better one. For many, the first question is whether there is still an opportunity to buy foreclosed homes in Hagerstown. That answer is yes, for sure – but that is not always the only strategy that will get you to your goal. It all depends on you. Before we can develop your strategy, you first need to decide which type of real estate investor you wish to be: The Fix-and-Flip Investor - This type of investor is handy (or has a lot of contacts who are), and is familiar with remodels and... 01/20/2013

Keeping the Value of Antique Hagerstown Homes If you live in a home built in the early 20th Century (or before), cold winter evenings can send visions of new homes dancing through your head. With floors that creak and windows that barely slow the icy gales of January, even the antique charm of your original wooden banisters can wear thin. But don’t despair. While newer homes in Hagerstown may be a preferred investment for some buyers, duplicating the authenticity of your hand-hewn, turn-of-the-century Victorian is, quite simply, not possible. With the right specialists to help, keeping your original home in top repair might not be as time consuming or costly as some fear. Original windows, for example (the kind famous for letting chilly drafts pass unmolested) don’t necessarily need com... 01/07/2013