Features That Set Hagerstown Luxury Homes Above the Crowd, Some Hagerstown luxury homes are so distinctive that they stubbornly resist fitting into any simple category. Whether due to unusual architecture or unique geographical features, such properties remain in a class of their own. But for most other homeowners preparing to sell their luxury homes in Hagerstown this spring, some baseline features are close to must-haves. According to Morgan Brennan of Forbes.com, “It is almost a given,” that listed multimillion dollar properties will claim certain features. Top-of-class luxury homes almost always include a pool. In fact, many traditional homes now offer this feature as well (sometimes labeled a “luxury” addition). That being the case, the pools that appear in luxury home listings oft... 03/27/2013

A Hagerstown short sale is the option usually preferred by anyone who faces foreclosure. It’s the path that, with the approval of the mortgage lender, promises to ultimately minimize damage to the homeowner’s credit score. According to Realty Trac, distressed sales of all kinds continued to decrease in the last reported quarter, yet the non-foreclosure short sale volume increased by 4%. That amounts to a significant 22% of all sales. Realty Trac’s are the most reliable national statistics, and our Hagerstown short sale profile has likewise reflected the continuing working out of the distressed property phenomenon. Completing a short sale in Hagerstown (or anywhere else, for that matter!) can be challenging. If you’ve decided that it is your best course, you can do a lot to help your age... 03/24/2013

Hagerstown Property Values Benefit from Spring Ritual. The first day of spring falls on the 20th—making Wednesday the day many homeowners start planning their ritual seasonal maintenance. Spring is also the traditional launch of the busy season in real estate, when safeguarding Washington County property values can become a less abstract matter. Because water damage is Public Enemy #1, homeowner checklists should always highlight three points: First: the Roof As soon as March’s lion turns a bit more lamb-like, it’s time to get out the ladder to survey roof damage. Leaves, twigs or other storm debris that have clogged gutters during the weather months can allow moisture to penetrate the roofing and below, in the worst case triggering mold or rot. Look for holes or rust in the flashings o... 03/23/2013

Never mind what those TV get-rich-quick infomercials would have us believe: building long-term wealth requires focus and patience. Patience, because a steady growth is a more reliable strategy than flashier single investment ‘wins’ — and focus, because opportunities slip past when daily demands soak up all our attention. For financially secure individuals, current real estate trends deserve some attention. Right now we have an environment that may be unique in our lifetimes — one that calls for seriously considering the long-term potential investment properties offer. If you agree that investment properties in Washington County are worth investigating further, you will discover multiple financing alternatives: • Finding a mortgage for Hagerstown investment properties is the choice most ... 03/22/2013

Part 2: What First Time Hagerstown Homebuyers Aren’t Told, Of all the things first time homebuyers in Washington County are told, some that turn out to be pretty important are too often overlooked. Here are four items first time homebuyers will find useful to know: 4. Remodeling costs more than you think You’ve found a fixer: your energy is to be applauded. But before you write that offer, if you are one of our Hagerstown first-time homebuyers, be certain to have penciled out the bottom line cost of bringing the home up to the standard you require to be move-in ready. You may well be able to live with some items that you will fix over time, but in all areas, budget 20% more than your estimate. 5. What matters is what the bank’s appraiser thinks the house is worth Getting a loan approve... 03/21/2013

Interactive Map Search Technology    At RG REALTY INC we strive to offer the latest in real estate technologies. We've recently unveiled our new multi- source real-time interactive map search technology, Our innovative new intelligent real estate search tools allows you to save searches and be notified instantly when new properties are introduced to the marketplace, Powerful, fast and easy. Commercial , Residential , Foreclosures , Multi-Family , Leasing 03/19/2013

Hagerstown Mortgage Snoozers Could Be Losers! Your mortgage: you only think about it once a month (if you’re on autopay, maybe not even that often). Why worry about it? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Wrong! Like all aspects of your big-picture financial planning, keeping an eye on that mortgage can be an extra wealth-building move. I can point to three reasons why re-evaluating your Hagerstown mortgage could pay dividends: Down, Down, Down… Ok, with interest rates continually making headlines, this one might be a no-brainer. But some folks don’t realize just how attainable significant savings may be: a drop of just a single percentage point in the Hagerstown mortgage rate can make a gigantic difference. A general rule of thumb is that if you can lower your interest rate by a pe... 03/19/2013

Wednesday, March 20, 2013- 4:00PM         It's No Secret that Vince's Offers Great Pizza   For over two decades, Vince's New York Pizza has offered the best Italian dining in Smithsburg, Maryland.  Why choose Vince's? Only the best ingredients Everything made fresh daily Hand-tossed pizzas from scratch Free Delivery within 6 miles www.VincesPizza.net 03/18/2013

Part 1: What First Time Hagerstown Homebuyers Aren’t Told? First time homebuyers in Hagerstown are told a lot of things — “Save your money,” their parents advise. “Location, location, location!” their friend’s friend cautions. Reasonable advice, for certain. But there some important elements of the home buying process which a typical Hagerstown first time homebuyer doesn’t usually hear. I’ve listed some of the most important ones, in no particular order: 1. Mortgage rates you see advertised aren’t usually what you get The banner ads are everywhere online: “3.2% rates!” “No money down!” But the truth is, mortgage rates vary greatly. The only way you’ll know what rates you actually qualify for is to go through a complete mortgage application including credit pulls and income verification.... 03/18/2013

Homes for Sale Price Rises Highest in 7 Years When real estate occupies most of your day (as it certainly does mine), you find yourself receiving no end of information. Some summarize points of view that are available elsewhere; some provide original information that isn’t particularly relevant to our local market. One piece that gets more than the usual quick-scan-then-into-the-recycle-bin treatment is the HPI Data Report. It comes in once each month from the demographers at CoreLogic ®. This group knows what they are talking about: among other things, they collect the most comprehensive property database in the U.S. Last week was relatively quiet on the news front, so when they checked in, I was able to give their report a thorough going-over. What I found: Holy smoke! Prices of homes... 03/15/2013

What Creates Hagerstown Property Listings Leaders, “Curb appeal” is an instantly understandable byword: one every home seller hears. You can see for yourself how Washington County property listings that feature sparkling exterior shots with superior ‘curb appeal’ instantly draw your attention — and often, higher offers. Hearing the phrase makes you picture potential buyers standing at the curb, viewing your property. Yet the most important part of ‘curb appeal’ is the second word, not the first. “Appeal” should be an active concept: one that’s about reaching out, roping potential buyers in. Successful sellers create appeal by making every part of a home’s presentation — from its debut in the Hagerstown property listings to final inspection and closing — as actively appealing as possible... 03/11/2013

4 Ways to Make Money in Real Estate, Most people mistakenly believe that the only way to make money in real estate is through cash flow and home appreciation. This common misconception is fueled by financial advisers and real estate agents who look at property the same way they look at paper assets like stocks or mutual funds. Cash Flow Cash flow is the money you collect from rents. This is one of the best known ways to make money in real estate. The cash flow of the property allows you to fund monthly expenses like mortgage payments, utility bills (if you are responsible for any of them), and insurance. With the right tenants, cash flow is predictable over the long-term. Getting reliable tenants is part of the Continue Reading 03/10/2013

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 House Touches To Make Things Happen! When you are getting near to zero hour for your first open house in Hagerstown, you should know some of the simple moves homeowners can make to help ensure success. Here are three of them -- three ways you can approach your area open house to make sure it’s a well-attended and effective marketing event: 1. Buy some flowers It might seem extravagant, but when you consider your Hagerstown home’s asking price, it may prove well worth it. The amount you spend on flowers will create an extra lift: the inviting aroma that greets your visitors, together with the burst of color fresh arrangements add in key areas subtly let buyers know you are willing to make an effort for a property that rates star treatment. Plus, it’s almost springtime, ri... 03/08/2013

Putting Hagerstown ‘Surprise Remodel’ Moments to Good Use, Sometimes home values can undergo abrupt changes. One way that can happen is through the ‘Surprise Remodel’ phenomenon. That’s when you wake up one morning to find that your local house grew larger…overnight! If you are one of the many Hagerstown residents whose children have left for school, the Surprise Remodel is what happened the moment you realized that that you were, in fact, suddenly in possession of an extra room. Sometimes it takes a few months, but as soon as you conclude that the sentimental value of leaving the high school memorabilia in place is outweighed by the value of transforming the room into more useful space, you have a number of ways to proceed: Workout Area Transforming the former kid room into an exercise... 03/07/2013

 Hagerstown Home Sales Prospects: Anything But “Calm”! Last week, area home sellers saw more than the usual number of reasons to look forward to this spring’s Hagerstown home sales selling season. It looked like the opposite of the lengthy real estate “Perfect Storm” that caused freefall across the national landscape. Signs pointed to the possibility that we may be headed into the opposite market conditions. Webster’s Dictionary says the opposite of ‘storm’ is ‘calm’ – but I don’t think you would call Hagerstown home sales outlook a “Perfect Calm.” Far from it! Some of the signs: - Falling Inventory. Per the NAR’s Existing Home Sales Report, there’s a nation-wide shortage of total inventory. By the end of January, it had fallen another 4.9%: lowest in seven years. Raw unsold inventory h... 03/06/2013

    A lot of snow fell last night and some this morning, I guess I can’t complain, we were expecting a lot more snow but the snow forecast  call for more snow today Im more concerned about ice than snow any way, Im done shoveling snow for the moment so, nice hot shower and work!!!     03/06/2013

Action Plan Following a Hagerstown Short Sale A Hagerstown short sale represents real value for the homebuyer, of course. But to some extent, it is also a boon to the seller. Being able to unload a property that’s underwater helps avoid the most dire credit consequences of a Hagerstown foreclosure. But lingering credit damage can still result from any short sale -- if the short seller allows it to happen. Should you find yourself in the short sale situation, be proactive in protecting your credit score. You will put yourself in a position to re-enter the market sooner than you think if you take action to improve a damaged credit score following a Hagerstown short sale. Here’s how: • Sit down and write out a strategic monthly payment plan for all open credit accounts and loans. It become... 03/04/2013

Choosing the Best Properties to Rent, The question on which are the best properties to rent will have a majority of people immediately thinking of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. However, the best properties to rent are not standard for all the residents of all the cities in the world. This is because the best property for a newly married couple is very likely not the best for a graduate who is fresh from college and neither will it the best for a family raising teenagers. The best property to rent will depend on the circumstances of the individual or people looking to rent. Continue reading in source 03/04/2013

Suppose you are driving past one of those ‘For Sale by Owner’ yard signs…and the house looks good! Do you screech to a halt, jump out and rush up to the front door to – quick! – sign a deal? More likely, you jot down the phone number (hopefully one is visible, though with For Sale By Owner signs, it’s not always the case) so you can call up your agent to get the details. Veteran buyers considering a Hagerstown For Sale by Owner (FSBO) property know why it’s highly beneficial to use their agent from the start. Even if you have found the home yourself, you should want that first call to go to an agent. Here’s why: • Agents offer advanced relationships that stand to improve your bottom line. For example, timing often can make or break a deal, and agents can utilize their network of the are... 03/01/2013