Use Lots of Photos Unless . . . .   My broker would like for agents to use at least 20 photos on all of their listings.   Of, course, this makes sense, especially when most people are doing the majority of their home searches on line.   There are some shoppers who will go right past a listing if it does not have more than one photo.   I am told that the more photos that a property has, that the higher it will rank on sites like realtor.com.   But, what if the property is not deserving of lots of photos or if they are too difficult to take?   An investor called me about a property which he was going to list.   I asked if I could have the key to go to the property to take photos and measurements and such.   He said that I would not need a key; that I could just look through the window.   ... 10/23/2014

See ALL real estate of the active homes for sale for Ridgelys Choice in Nottingham, MD from Mike Klijanowicz click: http://www.isellmdhomes.com/Ridgelys_Choice_Homes_for_Sale/page_2624477.html 10/16/2014

Jennifer Fitze, Realtor, Keller Williams American Premier Realty Direct: 443-504-7830, Office: 443-512-0090, Website: http://www.JenSellsMD.com   Another home Just Sold by Jennifer Fitze of Keller Williams American Premier Realty   6 Knaves Court, Nottingham, MD 21236 Just Sold in 46 days!   Homes for Sale in Nottingham and Perry Hall   6 Knaves Court in Nottingham MD Just Sold!! This semi-detached townhome located in the Hallfield Manor community off Belair Rd and Slater Avenue sold in 46 days for $197,000 with $5,910 in seller paid closing costs.  Recently used as a rental, 6 Knaves Court was given a stunning makeover! The Sellers had the entire home professionally painted using Certa Pro Painters in Bel Air, MD. They also had all the carpet in the home replaced with a neutral shade. ... 09/29/2014

Do We Have An Impact On Nature?   This is not a discussion about how we may or may not impact the earth's climate, although that is certainly an issue of concern, but rather it is about more simple things and how they impact us.   The trees and bushes need to be trimmed and pruned and while we are at it we might as well take out those birds' nests. What's that flying around?  It's a bat!  Give me the broom!  Swoosh . . . Swoosh . . .  I got him! Look at all of these ants crawling around.  Stomp . . .Stomp . . . Stomp . . . Get me some bug spray ; I'll take care of them. Spider webs, spider webs, they are everywhere.  I need a mask.  Where are my gardening gloves?  Smash . . . Smash . . . They won't be building any more webs around here. That brush at the back of the yard needs to be cle... 09/13/2014

My Listing Is Going To Be On TV . . . . In 6 Months   It sounds like a good idea.  They will bring in a potential buyer to look at the house and will film the experience of the buyer, for a later episode of their "reality" television program, hence giving your listing free exposure.   In this case, the buyer already had an agent representative, which is fine, and, per the show's producer, the buyer would be making a choice from among three properties, which makes it sound like the odds were very good that my listing could have been the one that they selected.  The buyer already having an agent means that I did not get to be on television, which is fine because I didn't want them to powder my face anyway.   Three houses?!  Even the "Bachelor" or the "Bachelorette" have more chance of mak... 08/31/2014

If an Agent Is Not Part of the MLS, Do I Need to Pay That Agent?   Most real estate agents subscribe to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the region where they are licensed and do their business.   If a real estate agent is not a subscriber to the MLS and that real estate agent represents the buyer in a contract of sale on a real estate property in which the other real estate agent, or the agent representing the seller, is a subscribing member to the MLS and has listed such property on that MLS, where the offered commission is stated, then does the listing broker necessarily owe a commission as stated on the MLS, assuming a successful sale, to the buyer's agent?   The contract of sale is between the buyer and the seller and, hence, does not, or should not include terms for other pa... 08/22/2014

Maryland: Agents Must Verify Recommended Provider License Status   Effective August 18, 2014,  real estate agents, in the state of Maryland, must verify, at least, once a year, the licensing status of recommended service providers.   Under the rule, if an agent chooses to recommend service providers in conjunction with the real estate transaction, the real estate licensee must:   Verify that the recommended individuals are licensed to perform those services by checking their licensing status; Give the customer or client an electronic link to the licensing information and the date on which the service provider’s licensing status was verified.  (Most licensing information can be accessed at http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/ and then choose the respective industry/profession on the righ... 08/16/2014

Subscribe Confirmation: We are glad to see you join! Please take a moment to tell us why you chose to subscribe.   NO!  That is not how it happens!  Some how or another I get subscribed to emails to which I never personally subscribed. And, these email providers want me to give them a back up email or my phone number (for security purposes).  Are they crazy! 08/05/2014

Get Your House Sold With a Professional Ron Trzcinski will provide FULL SERVICE at the most reasonable rates in the industry!  Almost immediately, Ron will have the following marketing tools working for you: Listing on the Metropolitan Regional Information System to expose your home to thousands of Agents throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region;   Listing on numerous web sites, including realtor.com, homesdatabase.com, all of the major realty firms' sites in the region, and a few sites to which Ron will personally add your home;   Signage and brochures at the property to capture those drive-around shoppers;   Open Houses, not just the typical Sunday afternoon variety, but also Saturday and mid-week evenings to make certain that all potential buyers have an opportunity to see your home;   Rec... 07/30/2014

Buying a Home?  Do It Right Ron Trzcinski will make buying your next house a very easy process.  With Real Estate Brokerage, Management, and Sales Experience of over 15 years, you can rest assured that your purchase will go just right. Ron will help you with all aspects of the Home Buying Process, including assisting you in obtaining financing, finding the house for your needs, providing an evaluation of the physical property and of its price, negotiating the contract, coordinating inspections and appraisals, and going through settlement and beyond. Call today and do it right with Ron Trzcinski. 410-935-5844 Direct or ront@mris.com   07/30/2014

Realty Workshops: Educate First, Then Buy or Sell Do not blindly enter the real estate market.  Ron Trzcinski will provide the knowledge and training that you need to buy or sell a home. Real Estate Seminars and Workshops From an individual consultation to a conference room group, Ron Trzcinski will provide informative seminars and workshops on topics such as: Buying a Home, Selling a Home, Investing in Real Estate, and  Managing Your Credit. Ron Trzcinski brings the experience and training of several large brokerages, including his own realty brokerage. Additionally, Ron Trzcinski has a solid education in engineering and business, with Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Loyola University in Maryland. Contact Ron at 410-935-5844 directly or at ront@mris.com.   07/30/2014

Pricing a For Sale By Owner House I saw a For Sale By Owner Sign on the main road leading to a house on a side street so I decided to investigate. There were two main reasons that I was interested in the house.  First, would the owner be interested in listing the house, or, second, would the owner be willing to cooperate with a real estate agent who had a buyer. The house was an all brick rancher which was built in the 1970s.  From the outside it appeared to be in excellent condition with a newer roof, newer windows, a newer A/C unit, well maintained trim, and very nicely done landscaping.  It had a level lot and sat in a quiet cul de sac. I checked the computer to see if it had any history.  It was sold about a year ago for about $235,000 in basically the same condition, on the outside... 07/05/2014

I Am Not Paying You For A Lead This statement is primarily meant for internet marketing firms. These firms are not real estate brokerages. They are not real estate agents. They advertise a product or service which they do not provide. They contact licensed real estate agents like me, or other agents, and ask them to provide the service which they advertise. Buyers and sellers of real estate stumble upon these firms when they start their real estate search on the internet and unwittingly give their information to these firms thinking that they are receiving some kind of real estate service. In actuality, these firms simply pass the information onto a licensed real estate agent, who is willing to pay them a fee for the lead. The real estate agents are not screened.  They are simply the on... 03/11/2014

Your Opinion of Price? Many real estate agents have automated systems, whereby, after another agent shows one their listings, they have an email sent out asking for feedback on the property and the showing. Sometimes it is just a general request for feedback and other times specific questions are asked with one of the main questions being a request for the other agent's opinion of the list price. There are some agents, who based on their philosophy of doing business, prefer not to give any feedback or who, at best, give a general reply just to be courteous.  One main reason for not giving feedback is the belief that any feedback could hurt their negotiating position, especially questions that regard price. However, when agents do reply to the question of price, then one has to ask how m... 02/20/2014

Interest Rates Are Rising.  What Does That Mean To You? Indeed, mortgage interest rates are rising.  Why should you care? If you are in the market to purchase a home, then a rise in the mortgage interest rate will have a significant impact on your purchasing power. Generally speaking, a rise of 1% in a mortgage interest rate is roughly equal to a 10% increase in your mortgage payment. Here are some real numbers, which show how your purchasing power decreases as the interest rate goes up: The payment is kept at about the same amount for each example, because the assumption is that, although interest rates are going up, the amount which you can afford per month is not going up. Monthly Payment: $2,026 Interest Rate:  4.50% Mortgage Amount:  $400,000   Monthly Payment: $2,034 Interest Rate... 02/02/2014

Put Some Lights in The House When potential buyers make an appointment to see a house, that is exactly what they want to do. They want to see it. It is a good first step to leave the electricity turned on.  If you have already moved from the house, then it is understandable that you want to keep the costs down.  However, if you turn off the electricity, then it is a good chance that the house will stay on the market longer than if you had kept the electricity on, hence costing you more money anyway. If you do keep the electricity on, then it is a good idea to keep some lights at the house.  For something like a ceiling light, you will obviously keep it at the house.  However, there are some rooms that do not have a built in light, but have wall outlets which are controlled by switches a... 01/31/2014

Sex Offender Spooks Buyer Away An agent, who had just shown one of my listings, gave me a call on a recent evening and said that her client liked the house and that they would be sending me an offer the next day. The next day when I saw the email from this agent, she stated: "My client will not be making an offer; they checked the sex offender registry and there are 2 offenders in the neighborhood." I was taken aback.  This is a very nice house in what most people consider to be a very nice neighborhood. Naturally, I checked the sex offender registry to see what they had found and, sure enough, within a half mile of the property there were two registered sex offenders. A mug shot of the sex offender is shown on the site, the level of their offense, which in this case was Tier 3, which i... 01/16/2014

Zillow?!  Are You Kidding Me?! A visitor stopped by an Open House that I had on Sunday.  She did not go upstairs or downstairs but decided to tell me that the house was overpriced based on a "zestimate" from zillow dot com. She told me: "Zillow is the site that people use to find the value of a property.  This is proven  by the number of hits that zillow gets.  My lawyer used zillow to determine the value of my house for my divorce settlement and we did not get an appraisal, because appraisers will give whatever number that you want.  I sold a home and bought a home based on the estimate from zillow.  If you don't use the price on zillow, then you will never sell a house." First, let me say that zillow does have some value.  Many houses are listed on zillow, such as in my area, where al... 01/13/2014

Nottingham, MD 21236, Homes for Sale, Community and School Information, Virtual Tours Buy a home in Nottingham, MD Virtual Tour Homes for Sale in Nottingham, MD If you are interested in the current homes in Nottingham, MD neighborhoods, subdivisions and communities, use the link below to search for homes. Each of these Neighborhood and Community pages contains the active real estate listings in Nottingham, MD, and are updated multiple times per day. View full details and Virtual Tours online...   Find a Great home in Nottingham, MD Find Homes in Other Areas What's Going on Nearby Nottingham, MD? Find out about all the local amenities near Nottingham, MD including, banking, shopping, Attractions and recreation and much more on my website. Community Information What Schools will the Kids ... 01/05/2014

How Much Can The Seller Contribute? First, just in case a buyer does not know, they can ask the seller in a real estate transaction to contribute money towards the buyer's closing costs. The amount, which the seller can contribute, may vary depending upon the type of loan and the down payment.  Additionally, any given lender may have stricter requirements, which would mean that the amounts could be less.  Also, these amounts have changed over time, so it is best to consult with your lender before writing a contract.   Below are the current amounts (January 2014) for various types of loans for owner occupied properties: FHA Maximum Seller Contribution: 6% for all loans   VA Maximum Seller Contribution: 4% for Closing Cost and Points 4% for Sales Concession 8% Total   USDA Maximum Seller ... 01/05/2014