Sniffing Out Hagerstown Foreclosed Homes Bargains If you have ever wanted to buy foreclosed homes in Hagerstown, a recent look at the market will have shown you that it is becoming more of a competitive exercise than was the case just a short while ago. Especially if you are an investor who is focused on the profit potential, not every offering will clearly fit the bill. Here are some ideas for sniffing out a profitable deal: 1. Look for a home that has been on the market for a while. Low-priced homes which have been listed for a short duration often wind up fetching higher prices than higher-priced homes that have been idling on the market for a while.  If you are looking to buy foreclosed homes in Washington County, ask your agent about bank-owned listings he or she feels may be over... 09/30/2012

Hagerstown Short Sales Take Sound Strategy     Last month, the number of new foreclosures listed nationally barely crept upward -- even as average sale prices leapt dramatically. Realtytrac compiles the numbers, and they show a sizeable 10%+ jump in foreclosure sales prices from July to August. Of course, homes listed as foreclosures and short sales still close at prices markedly lower than homes sold in traditional transactions, but that rise in price seems to say that more buyers are feeling confident that a home purchased now will look like a wise move in the future. If you have been looking at the distressed property market in Washington County, these numbers suggest that the short sale and foreclosure possibilities are still being created -- and that the value they represent is ge... 09/27/2012

Solving a Hagerstown Home Sale Conundrum   Every Hagerstown home sale is unique. Not only is the product being offered one of a kind – to the customer, it represents a gigantic, life-changing purchase. Usually, the only comparison economists’ site is with buying a new car, but in reality, that isn’t even close. There is no production line creating new land. Any home sale takes carefully thought-out advertising, the right price, and excellent exposure. When you are selling your house while still living in it, there is some additional juggling to be done. Then, especially if you have young children, there’s that extra ball in the air to juggle! Have no fear. There are tried-and-true solutions to that one! Kids make messes (it's part of their job description) – yet it’s every Hagerstown h... 09/26/2012

Retiring Boomers Affect Property Listings In Hagerstown How about this for a stunner: each and every day for the next 17 years, more than 10,000 American "baby boomers" will hit retirement age. That is based on 65 being considered retirement age (although many 65-year-olds I know haven’t the slightest intention of abandoning their careers anytime soon). Nevertheless, the impact that this demographic wave will have on everybody is bound to be substantial. In the housing industry, even seniors who are anything but retired will be gravitating toward newer, smaller homes that better fit the lifestyle of adults whose children are now out on their own. So some fine-tuning of property listings will be in order. I expect moreHagerstown property listings to start emphasizing smaller footprints ... 09/25/2012

Factoring Pro Managers intoHagerstown Property Investments The stage is set for those with investment dollars to spare: income properties -- including rentable Hagerstown vacation homes – are still being offered at discount prices. At this point, the fire sale psychology has been pretty well hosed down, but… Despite the evidence of an improving market, the recovery is from such a deep downturn that, stacked up beside historical levels, real bargains are still out there. Add in the fact that recent pronouncements from Washington indicate that a lid is firmly in place on those extremely attractive mortgage rates, and it’s clear why investors are likely to continue on course to match or beat last year’s 7% growth in vacation home sales. However, buying a second home as an investment is ju... 09/24/2012

Real Estate Listings: High Fashion Statement The photo that tops your Hagerstown real estate listing is more than your property’s calling card. Make no mistake: that one photo will appear lined up with all the other homes it is going up against. That shot is close to a make-or-break statement of how serious you are about offering your home for sale. To a great extent, it predetermines whether your asking price looks like a bargain…or wishful thinking! If you have access to an experienced photographer, it’s a cinch that their picture won’t be blurry or over- or underexposed. However, if it still doesn’t do justice to your property, chances are the entire blame can't be laid at the photographer's feet. In the same way a high fashion model must get a good night’s sleep before the next day... 09/21/2012

Buying homes In Hagerstown Gets Psychological Lift   The other day I read an opinion piece that I really couldn’t agree with. The writer expected a pause in the pace of the residential market upturn now that many of the most obvious bargains have been snapped up. He thought that was to be expected, and that a further rebound would be likely to follow. His idea was based on the notion that many otherwise well-qualified prospects – buyers who may have narrowly missed the bottom of the market -- would now be waiting for prices to fall again. They would only reappear once they realize that those super bargains were a once-in-a-lifetime affair. I’d have to say, ‘not so much.’ In my experience, individuals who are even half-serious about buying homes in Hagerstown are usually not motivated b... 09/20/2012

Hagerstown New Homes Have “Lender Appeal”   Newly built homes may make up a relatively small part of our overall housing market, yet I think Hagerstown homeowners have to be encouraged by the trends we are seeing. This Month, the National Association of Homebuilders reported that construction spending has turned up (“A Housing Recovery is Gathering Steam”) after its long slide. In August, the Commerce Department reported that overall sales have jumped 25% over the past twelve months. So far, so good. Yet it’s still true that many observers (I’m one) think that these encouraging numbers would be a lot better if it were easier to finance home purchases…particularly for previously occupied homes. New homes have an advantage right now in this department. At a time when obtaining financing c... 09/19/2012

  Current economy has created devastating financial conditions for many Americans The number is staggering thousands of Americans are facing foreclosure, everyone has been affected in some way by the new trend and a foreclosure can be extremely emotional and difficult affecting people and entire communities, Understanding  Foreclosures An experienced agent will watch out for these and other hidden costs on your behalf -- and that can be a money-saver in the long run. You can contact me anytime to discuss how buying a bank owned home in Hagerstown measures up in this September’s market. 09/18/2012

Hagerstown Home Sales May Follow TOM   TOM Begins To Behave Himself September is a transition time for almost everybody. Here in Hagerstown, the kids have shifted into school gear, adults have moved out of vacation mode, and businesses are already sprucing up for the (believe it or not) Holiday Season. In real estate, we are looking with more than casual interest at what’s going on nationally. Especially those measures that tend to affect Hagerstown home sales. The largest professional association in the country is our own National Association of Realtors®. At the beginning of September, they broke another piece of welcome news. This one looks like the difference between ‘indicators’ of a strengthening home sales market -- and signs that it’s already fact. The NAR release was about TOM... 09/17/2012

Combining Households: Housing Your Brady Bunch I don’t know what the true numbers are, but we all know how many of today’s families are the ‘blended’ (Brady Bunch) kind. But when it comes to home buying, working out the living arrangements isn’t going to be as simple as the tidy little squares the Brady Bunch seemed to live inside at the start of the show. You already expect that combining two families into one home will be a challenge on any number of fronts: how could it be anything else? But like every Brady episode, there really can be a neat solution and a happy ending. IOW, it means that your next home buying in Hagerstown isn’t doomed to create sheer rancor. Communication is the answer, along with thinking ahead about the potential rough spots. Just about every new clan needs to... 09/17/2012

Bank Owned Properties Can Affect Hagerstown Homeowners   Nationally, the supply of the bank-owned properties for sale has been trending down -- potentially good news for anyone and everyone with an interest in Hagerstown real estate. Competition from the glut of foreclosed properties has had the effect of driving down home sale prices, so any drop in the number of Hagerstown bank owned properties will remove that downward pressure. If the trend continues, it should also affect even the bank owned properties themselves. A drop in supply will increase competition for the bargains they represent. But this is why alert bargain hunters should keep their pencils sharpened. As retail merchants understand, just slapping a ‘SALE!’ sign on an item may help it sell -- even if it isn’t really a pa... 09/17/2012

Hagerstown Path for Selling a Home to the World It used to seem like not much more than a remote possibility, but for a Hagerstown luxury homeowner selling a home in today’s market, tapping into the global reservoir of international buyers is becoming more and more common. But how can you make sure your Hagerstown home is marketed to this specific niche, as well as to domestic prospects? There are several ways today’s well-marketed home attracts the foreign market. Here is a thumbnail sketch of some of the strategies I have available to market your listing internationally when selling a home from Washington County: 1) Advertise – Selectively! In order for your home seen by the right people, it needs to be advertised alongside other fashionable luxury listings. Magazines full of luxury ... 09/17/2012

  Downsizing Hagerstown Interiors Takes Imagination From the moment you unpack the last carton after moving into a new home, an inexorable process begins. I’m talking about the inevitable accumulation of things: useful things, pretty things, things with little more than sentimental value -- and a lot of things that actually have no value at all! It really doesn’t matter how long you have lived in your house. After the first few months, every busy family collects a mountain of stuff. Then, when it comes to selling a Hagerstown home, dealing with it in earnest is a real chore. It has to be done for at least two reasons. First off, a junk-free home is more attractive to potential buyers. It helps avoid the impression of a ‘too lived-in’ house. It makes rooms seem larger, and by downsizing... 09/11/2012

New Hagerstown Library to Open in March 2013   According to he Washington County public work director the work for  the new library will take longer than previously anticipated Because poor soil conditions and the discovery of an underground tank the work has been delayed another six months since tank has to be removed to comply with environmental guidelines read more 09/10/2012

Looking Out For Common First Time Buyer Missteps   No matter how broad your previous life experiences may have been, buying a home is a very big deal. For a first time buyer, whether here in Hagerstown or anywhere else, the impact of that life-changing purchase is doubly impactful. It affects different people in different ways, but after the dust clears, there is one emotion I never want my Hagerstown first-time buyer clients to feel: remorse.   You might think that the size of the transaction makes it wildly unlikely that even a first time buyer would overlook any major missteps. After all, when you are new to such an important purchase, you are bound to be extra cautious. Yet when you consider the challenging distractions along the way (going through your first mortgage approval proc... 09/10/2012

For Sale by Owner’ Marketing Tips   The For Sale by Owner (FSBO) method of selling a home has remained at pretty much the same level of popularity. According the NAR’s most recent survey, just 10% of sales came directly from a previous owner. Since I bet that includes a bunch of transactions between family members, it looks as if the population of Hagerstown For Sale by Owner signs continues to be in something of a slump (down from the cyclical peak of 18% back in 1997). Still, if you are a Hagerstown homeowner who wants to buck the trend and head down the FSBO route, you will need to do more than just stick a For Sale by Owner sign in the lawn. Of key importance is the newspaper and Internet advertising you will need to create. Here are some ‘how to’ elements that can help in that eff... 09/10/2012

  Searching for investment properties in Hagerstown? Do you know that more millionaires have been created by real estate investing than any other investment opportunity!!! If you research and look at wealthy individuals you will find that much of their wealth is a direct result of their real estate investing, buying an income producing property is the best way to enjoy and receive a passive income with positive cash flow, you can also add the benefit of the appreciation and some tax benefits. If you are interested in increasing your net worth this is a great way to start and do you know that Hagerstown is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the state of Maryland and among the fastest growing in the United States?    This is the perfect time to invest in Hagerstown, as a top Hagers... 09/10/2012

Investing in Real Estate is one of the best choices you can make when you are looking for passive income. The experts say timing is everything and they might be right cheap property prices and low interest rates make this the perfect combination in years to become a real-estate investor!! I’m currently working with several investors in the area and they all believe that Hagerstown offers a great opportunity to buy and hold property; if you do this right you can immediately receive a steady income for the rest of your live. This is a great time to buy since most people are trying to sell, distress properties and short sales are flooding the market and give you the opportunity to buy for pennies on the dollar, Remember an investment property is an asset that can provide you with consiste... 09/10/2012

Bank Owned Properties Can Affect Hagerstown Homeowners   Nationally, the supply of the bank-owned properties for sale has been trending down -- potentially good news for anyone and everyone with an interest in Hagerstown real estate. Competition from the glut of foreclosed properties has had the effect of driving down home sale prices, so any drop in the number of Hagerstown bank owned properties will remove that downward pressure. If the trend continues, it should also affect even the bank owned properties themselves. A drop in supply will increase competition for the bargains they represent. But this is why alert bargain hunters should keep their pencils sharpened. As retail merchants understand, just slapping a ‘SALE!’ sign on an item may help it sell -- even if it isn’t really a pa... 09/10/2012