Maryland Public Schools: Number One Again The State of Maryland has consistently been creating jobs and maintaining a much higher rate of employment than most states in the country. Along with these many high technology jobs comes the highest per capita income in the entire country. This has not happened by luck, but rather by recognizing the importance of education. Maryland has several colleges ranked among those which provide the best value to their students. Additionally, for the third consecutive year, the public education system of Maryland has been ranked number one in the nation by an independent analysis conducted by Education Week. So come and join us in Maryland where you will experience the highest quality of life imaginable. THREE IN A ROW FOR MARYLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS 01/15/2011

Homes in the White Marsh Region Of Baltimore County In Northeast Baltimore County you will find one of the most desirable areas in the entire Greater Baltimore Region. There is a wide range of homes from old to new with varying lot sizes such that you are sure to find a home which suits your tastes. Here are just a few of the homes available in the region.  ----------------------------------------------------- Enjoy Olden Times and Modern Times Together in This Classic Colonial This is an enjoyable house both inside and outside. Sit on the covered front porch and listen to the many wild birds which inhabit the region, while you are shielded from the quiet road by a line of privacy trees.  Or relax on the spacious rear deck and enjoy acres of unobstructed views. In the warmer months you ... 01/15/2011

Mortgage Interest Rate Versus Mortgage Interest Deduction There has been much discussion lately about the possible elimination of the mortgage interest deduction (MID). This home purchasing incentive has been around for nearly a hundred years and it does provide a very strong incentive for some people to purchase a home. Of course, if it does disappear, people will still need places to live, so they will still want to purchase homes. This leads to a discussion of other factors which impact the home purchase. Naturally, price is one of those factors.  It was a factor with the MID and it will be a factor with the elimination of the MID.  Possibly the price of homes will drop slightly if the MID is eliminated. However, the point to be made here regards the mortgage interest rate factor. Ov... 12/21/2010

Coming Soon to Nottingham Maryland: Rancher in Linhigh All brick rancher sits on a third of an acre in the beautiful neighborhood of Linhigh. Spacious covered front porch, fully fenced rear yard, garage, driveway, and plenty of parking in lightly traveled court location. Main level includes three bedrooms, formal living room, separate dining room, and eat-in kitchen. Lower level has second kitchen giving it potential for a separate living quarters. Call Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 today to get in line for this very well maintained gem of a home. Mortgage interest rates are going up so it would be prudent to get your financing lined up now while the rates are still extremely low.   12/21/2010

Paint The Foyer Much discussion is given to the topic of what to do in order to prepare a house for the market. Some advice which usually comes from this discussion is that painting the house is one of the least expensive preparations which can be done for one of the highest returns on investment. However, even though this is one of the least costly of home improvements, it is still not always affordable.  The home owner may simply not have the money available. There may be equity in the house, but that does little good until it is converted into cash which can be used to pay the painting contractor. A compromise, which is frequently used in this situation is for the buyer to state that a "paint allowance" will be given.  With this technique, the seller is agreeing to give a portion of ... 12/16/2010

The Wait Is Over There you are standing with thousands of other people waiting and hoping that things will change for the better.  Eventually, you become discouraged.  All of your hoping and praying seems to not be helping.  You decide to move onto other pursuits. . . . . and then you hear on the radio "Touchdown, and the gap has been cut to 21 points.  It's still a long way to go." . . . . "He pulls it in at the corner of the end zone, touchdown!  Now the game is becoming more respectable." . . . . "He gets a block on the outside, and has a clear field, he scores!  It's a one score game!" . . . . "He catches the punt, moves to his left, breaks a tackle, nobody is going to catch him, the game is all tied up." . . . . "The field goal is good and they win in overtime!" Oh my!  Was that ex... 12/14/2010

Will You Pay Higher Rent To Be in A Better School District? A recent study was performed in New York City, which shows that there is a strong correlation between higher performing schools and higher rental areas. The study, conducted by Eastern Consolidated, compared the test scores for elementary grades 3 and 5 to the average multifamily rental prices in the schools' areas. In almost every case, there was a strong correlation showing higher rental values in the neighborhoods with higher performing schools. One might ask, which came first, the better schools or the higher rents. One might, also, ask, whether it had more to do with the families who chose to move to certain neighborhoods. Although there is a strong relationship, it may be a secondary relationship which is the result of so... 12/05/2010

Putting Someone Else Down Does Not Raise You Up If you truly have a superior product, then it will rise to the top on its own merits. By putting down other firms, by name, you may temporarily move to the top, but it does not make your product or service any better. There is a good chance that you will ultimately fall behind because you choose to bring another down instead of raising yourself up. Certainly it may be okay to point out what you offer and let the savvy consumers in the free market recognize on their own that you have a better product. In the real estate market there is a place for the full service brokerage and for the brokerage which offers a menu of services from which one can choose. There is a place for a "discount" brokerage if the consumers find appropriate value in t... 12/05/2010

Sir Isaac Newton, Motivational Guru Sir Isaac Newton, a scientist, may not have been a real estate agent, but, as it turns out, he may have been a motivational guru. Many people are aware of Newton's Laws of Motion.  But could these laws actually be motivational guidelines for successful real estate agents. Law One An object at rest will stay at rest, while an object in motion will stay in motion. Have you been sitting by the phone waiting for a call or a text, or by the computer waiting for an email, or by the door waiting for a knock?  Sorry, but an object at rest will stay at rest.   Have you been on the move trying to make things happen?  Good for you; you have the momentum going that will eventually lead to business. Law Two The more force that you apply to something of a certain m... 11/27/2010

Buyers' Market?; Maybe Not For quite some time now we have been hearing comments from buyers that would be typical in a Buyers' Market.  "I'm not going to pay full price; it's a Buyers' Market.  I'm looking for a good deal." However, more and more often comments are starting to be heard that are sounding like those heard in a Sellers' Market.  "All of a sudden, they have three offers on the house when I want to buy it." Certainly there are some factors in the real estate market which are making this an ideal time to purchase a home.  Interest rates are at 60 year lows and home prices have come down to where they were prior to the boom which preceded the recession. From the sellers' standpoint, there has to come a point where they can simply not drop their prices any further, a point whi... 11/26/2010

20 Percent Reduction; Wow! Remember back at the end of 2009 when mortgage interest rates were in the range of a whopping 6 to 7 percent. I know; it sounds funny to call 6 to 7 percent whopping, that is until you recognize that today they are in the range of 4 to 5 percent. Yes, that's right, 2 percent less. But what does that mean?  Why should you care?  What can you do with this information? Well, let's take a closer look at what this means For every 1 percent drop in your interest rate, there is approximately a 10 percent drop in your mortgage payment. That means that mortgage payments are about 20 percent lower today than they were at the end of last year. Even if you are making no additional money, the house that you can now afford is close to 20 percent more than it was just 1 to 2... 11/24/2010

Mortgage Interest Reduction Tax Break Repealed It is not true, that the mortgage interest reduction tax break has been repealed, however it is being considered by the Deficit Reduction Commission. The Deficit Reduction Commission is a bipartisan commission whose responsibility is to make suggestions for reducing the federal debt. The New York Times, on November 10, 2010, published a misleading story stating that the Commission will recommend a plan that would repeal or modify a number of popular tax breaks, including the deductibility of mortgage interest payments. At this point, this plan has not been released.  The plan is in its draft stages and will not be released in final form until December 1 at the earliest.  The New York Times article is reporting on possibilities, rather than ... 11/12/2010

Half Full or Half Empty How do you view the glass?  As half full or as half empty?  They mean the same thing, but if you say half full, then you tend to think more optimistically, while if you say half empty, then you tend to think more pessimistically. However, I suggest that this is an outdated psychological analogy to determine one's attitudinal outlook inclinations. When you are at the restaurant, how often does the waiter top off your drink when it is already 90 to 95 percent full?  Never, because it is considered to be almost full. Now in our current economy, 10 percent of the people are not employed, but the other 90 percent acts as if the number is closer to 50 percent.  I feel for the group who are in the 10 percent, but acting like it is much worse does not help them or the pe... 11/11/2010

Maryland: New Law Affecting Motorists Passing Emergency Vehicles Driving a client in your car to see a new listing? Make sure that you are aware of a new law designed to protect police officers and other emergency workers on the road. The law, HB 499, took effect on October 1 and requires any motorist passing an emergency vehicle to move to a lane not adjacent to the emergency vehicle, or, if such a lane is not available, slow to a "reasonable and prudent" speed in light of the road and weather conditions.This new law applies to emergency vehicles such as police, fire, ambulance, rescue services, and hazardous spill response vehicles if those vehicles are stopped on the side of the road with their lights flashing or sirens emitting noise. Any motorist in violation of the new law may fac... 11/05/2010

Baltimore County Maryland Public Schools Are you considering a move to Maryland, but are concerned about the educational opportunities available for your children?  Do not worry, the schools of the Maryland public educational system are rated among the best in the entire country. Maryland tracks key performance indicators to determine how it compares to the nation as well as to compare the school districts within its own boundaries.  Maryland continually strives to improve its performance in all of these areas. In all categories, Maryland is at or near the top.  Maryland has information regarding important factors such as: graduation rates; college acceptance rates; SAT and PSAT scores; and assessment scores for math, reading, and writing. Also provided are demographics for the various ... 11/04/2010

It's Bank Owned; We Don't Need Marketing Compare a bank owned listing to an individual owned listing and see the differences. Pictures The individual owned home will have lots of flattering photos of the home which show the exterior and the interior. The bank owned property will have a picture of the exterior and that is only because the MLS requires it. Details The individual owned home's listing will provide details about rooms, room sizes, amenities, and other details about the property. The bank owned property will have the minimum amount of information that the MLS system requires. Staging The individual owned home will be clean and staged to show the potential buyer the house in its best light.  This will be true even if the owners have moved out of the home. The bank owned proper... 10/20/2010

Maryland Mortgage Program: Rates at 3.875% CDA now has rates for its Maryland Mortgage Program of 3.875 percent with no points. Or, they have rates at 3.750 percent with 1 point, 3.625 percent with 2 points, or 3.500 percent with 3 points. The Maryland Mortgage Program features: 30 year amortizing mortgages; low interest rates; fixed rates only; no Adjustable Rate Mortgages; Downpayment and Closing Cost Assistance. Go to the Maryland Mortgage Program for more details.   10/18/2010

Proposed FASB Accounting Change Could Impact Credit Availability On September, 24, 2010, The National Association of Realtors (NAR) submitted comments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on a recently proposed accounting rule change that, if implemented, could severely impact liquidity for businesses and consumers. Under this proposal, financial institutions would be required to book their loans at current market value, a method known as "fair value" or "mark-to-market" accounting. As a result, some banks would be forced to take huge write downs or losses, particularly during periods of economic distress. Consequently, credit to the real estate industry would be further constrained, hindering our nation's economic recovery. NAR is concerned that the recent FASB mark-to-ma... 10/15/2010

The Sun and Its Expanded Role We have always known about the enormous power of the sun.  In fact, without the sun we would not be here. But now, it seems as if the sun is trying to take a new role.  Of course, the sun has always been a source of warmth and energy. However, ingenious creatures that we are, we have learned how to harness the sun's power to provide for much of our electrical needs. Actually, this ability has been around for some time, but it was not widely used because it was thought to be too costly. The cost is no longer a deterrent as can be evidenced by the many solar panel arrays which are springing up all around the country. In a current project, Supervalu Supermarkets is having solar arrays installed on several of it stores. ------------------------- WEBSTER, Mass. ... 10/13/2010

New Reporting Requirements For Landlords The Small Business legislation, (HR 5297) recently signed into law, includes a new revenue provision that will create additional burdens for anyone who receives rental income. Under current law, property managers are generally required to provide Form 1099 on many of the expenditures they incur as part of their management of rental property. The new law expands this rule so that ANY person who receives rental income, not just property managers, will be required to report all expenditures of more than $600 to anyone from whom they purchase services. The landlord will file IRS Form 1099 with the IRS and with the person who provided the service. Thus, any landlord who purchases such services as plumbers, yard or garden workers, electricians or any o... 10/08/2010