Good Morning to all!! I wanted to share with you a very interesting conversation I had this morning with a first time home buyer in the State of Maryland.  The buyer called me after reading a few of my blogs here in Activerain relating to the Fannie Mae addendum.  She is purchasing a Fannie Mae property here in Maryland and she is taking a loan through HomePath.  See FAQ's in the link http://www.fanniemae.com/homepath/homebuyers/faq.jhtmler Her questions to me were in relation to whether or not she was able to use her own title agent, and whether or not she would lose the seller's credit if she did not use the seller's title agent and whether or not she, as a first time home buyer, would be responsible for the payment of the full amount of transfer taxes and stamps.    This poor woman w... 05/05/2010

New Home Sales Substantially Up Nationwide After slow sales of new homes in February, which was primarily related to severe weather across most of the nation, March saw an incredible and higher than expected increase in new home sales.  The month to month increase was the highest seen in 47 years. Pundits believe that this is related to a variety of factors, including a rapidly recovering economy, good spring weather, very low interest rates, low home prices, and partially to the tax credit program. During these once in a lifetime conditions, Buyers who are looking in the Baltimore County area may want to consider looking at any of these fine quality and very affordable homes by Danleigh Homes. Contact Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 or ront@mris.com for more details.   Brittany Marie    ... 04/28/2010

I Sold It Twice It was a modest semi-detached home with three bedrooms, one full and one half bath, and a finished basement. In the first go round, I picked up the listing from a For Sale By Owner.  Overall, it was not a bad house and it did have some updates.  For the most part it showed very well.  However, the owner fancied himself as a handyman, when he was actually unhandy.  He put in a new kitchen, which at first glance looked nice, but upon closer examination, it showed that it had been done without measuring.  Nonetheless, it did not take much to bring it into decent condition.  It took us about 4 weeks to get an acceptable buyer.  The inspection did not uncover many problems, but the negative conditions which were found would be taken care of by the owner, you know, the unhandy... 04/21/2010

Up To 90; Down To 60 It's early April in Baltimore, the start of the baseball season, and temperatures have been in full agreement for the ball tossing gang of summer.  We have seen day time temperatures making it from the high 80s to the low 90s for the last few days.  The weather is summertime beautiful and the people are gleefully taking to the outdoors in their tee and tank tops, shorts and flip flops. However, the forecast for the weekend is for temperatures to drop by about 30 degrees from the pleasant mid week warmers to frigid days in the 60s.  Bundle up boys and girls, you don't want to catch a cold. . . . . Did somebody mention temperatures in the 60s and frigid in the same sentence? The normal daily highs for this part of the world at this early point in spring are actually a... 04/07/2010

Single Family Homes Available In Nottingham, Maryland There are currently 89 single family homes available in Nottingham, Maryland. Nottingham is a popular subdivision of Baltimore County, Maryland which is in very close proximity to White Marsh, Maryland. Nottingham is located conveniently close to I-95, Route 40 and 695 so Baltimore City and the surrounding areas are within a quick commute. There are plenty of shopping alternatives close by as well with the thriving shopping areas in and around White Marsh including White Marsh Mall, the Avenue In White Marsh and Nottingham Square. There are also a great deal of entertainment facilities in the area with nearby movies, bowling alleys, restaurants and pubs. Most single family homes available in Nottingham have 3 to 4 bedrooms and 1 ½ or... 04/06/2010

Convictions Do you have strongly held beliefs? We hear talk of morals as if they are absolutes, yet we constantly see individuals who do not act in accordance with such morals.  They even go to the point of defending what otherwise appears to be an immoral act. We hear talk of ethical behavior, but we can debate the topic as to what is ethical conduct and what is not ethical conduct to the point that one could reason that any behavior could be considered to be ethical. Politically, there are people who are far left in their views and there are others who are far right in their views.  The phrases "far left" and "far right" by themselves, stated simply as words, indicate nothing negative about either one, yet people from either side will accuse the other of having selfish motivations. We... 04/02/2010

Face to Face The internet and the many other electronic tools which are available to us in this technological world of today have become almost indispensable. We hear statistics about how many buyers of any product and especially real estate start their search online. 65 percent, 75 percent, 85 percent, the number keeps rising as the internet becomes more and more accessible and as more and more businesses create a presence on the net. But a key word in this statement which should not be overlooked is the word "start". While for some products, a buyer's search might start and end on the internet, this is not likely to be the case with real estate. In fact, for real estate it may be nearly 100 percent of searches that do not end on the internet. Most buyers want to see the actual product... 03/27/2010

My March Madness Picks (Updated) This is only a prediction of the Final Four and not of each game in the tournament. I will probably be the only person in the world to have these picks, but, nevertheless, they are my picks and I am sticking by them . . . well, at least, through the first round, or I should say until next week.  We will see if I need to make a revision after that. Okay, Revision I. The Duke Blue Devils (This has nothing to do with the fact that I am an ACC fan.) They are still in it.     The Maryland Terrapins (This has nothing to do with the fact that I am a super big fan of the Terps).  Move over Maryland.  Michigan State University is taking your place.                             The Gonzaga Bull Dogs (Why not?).  Good job; now get lost and make way for Xavier.      ... 03/22/2010

Cell Phone Numbers Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month--All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. You will be charged for these calls even if they go to your voice mail. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.  It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time and will block your number for five (5) years. Or go to  https://www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspx  and register up to 3 phone numbers.     03/22/2010

De-evolution of the Voice The Rise of the Voice Over the course of many millennia humans have developed very sophisticated spoken languages.  This development of speech has made it possible for people to convey their most complex thoughts to each other. When the evolution of the voice was at its peak, the world received some of the greatest content filled oratorical deliveries of ideas of all time. During this peak period, language was choreographed into beautiful poetic lines, which flowed from the lips more gracefully than a tranquil stream headed out to sea. At the acme of this ascension of the voice, powerful lyrics were put to song and the creation of the most pleasant sounds imaginable were lofted through the air in wonderful melodic tones. The Decline of the Voice In the early da... 03/22/2010

Health Care Legislation and Job Creation? Proponents of the Health Care Legislation, which some members of Congress and the President are trying to pass, indicate that one of its side benefits will be that it will create jobs. It does make sense that if health care is accessible to more people, then it will require more workers to provide this service, such as doctors, nurses, technicians, and administrative workers. However, this may be at the expense of other parts of the economy. For instance, the wealth in an economy comes from the primary and secondary economic sectors. These would include, in the primary sector, the extraction of raw materials such as coal, oil, farm and fishing crops, ores, and the like. In the secondary sector, it would include the manufacture of products such a... 03/19/2010

Have You Had Enough Of Our Government? I am talking about the government that seems to have forgotten that they represent the people. I am talking about the government that thinks that it does not need to follow the Constitution. I am talking about the government that wants to pass legislation that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not want. I am talking about the government which wants to change the economic system of America from a free market system to a socialist system. I am talking about . . . . a solution to this madness. Just like the Founders of our Country realized that they could take no more of their government and decided to break away and form a new government and a new country, we, too, must take action. As our government ignores us, we should ignore it. We have t... 03/18/2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day Whether you are Irish or not, we all deserve some luck, at least, one day of the year. So enjoy your corned beef and cabbage and that icky green beer. For you Buyers, today is the day you will find the Home of your Dreams. And Sellers, today is the day that elusive Buyer finally comes along.   03/17/2010

Canada, Would You Please Relocate Oh my goodness!  Canada, my friend, I hope that you did not take that the wrong way.  I actually meant it as a complement.  In fact, I enjoy having you as my neighbor.  I, my family, and my friends have been to visit you many times and you have been very hospitable.  Also, likewise, I have enjoyed the company of your citizens when they have come to visit me in my country. What I was actually hoping is that you might get yourself a summer home, or in your case if you would like to get away from the cold, a winter home.  A winter home that is a bit farther south. There is a nice place just south of the United States.  Well, I say nice, but in full disclosure, I must say that it is sort of a fixer upper.  It's infested with miscreants. These varmints have ... 03/16/2010

Bad Credit: No Job It's been a bad economy.  What does that mean?  Maybe you do not get that promotion that you were hoping to get, maybe your hours are reduced, maybe you take a pay cut, or maybe you lose your job all together. Now what?  Normally, it might be as easy as getting another job, but a new twist has been thrown into the mix. You would like to put your work history, with your many skills and accomplishments, on your resume and get it out to all of your contacts.  With the recession finally ending, it should not take long before you get another job. However, with limited income, and in some cases none at all, you had to stop paying some of your bills, which, unfortunately, hits your credit rating hard. But, so what, you will have a new job soon and will be caught up on your b... 03/15/2010

Bedbugs!!!! Aaghh!!!! If you have had them, then you know the pain.  First you will see a mark on your skin and think that it's just a pimple, then you will find a larger section of irritated skin and wonder how you got a rash, but eventually you will be itching all over your body. You will be reminded of that old song from the 50s by The Lambrettas about poison ivy. Late at night while you're sleeping, poison ivy (bedbugs) come creepin around . . . bedbugs lord will make you itch . . . But this is just the beginning.  The next step, which for many has proven itself to be impossible, is getting rid of these tiny human blood suckers. Extermination One of the most effective pesticides for eradicating these tiny pesky creatures is DDT, which has been banned. This takes you to a set of dif... 03/12/2010

Maryland: Transportation: Recovery Act Funds The U.S. Transportation Secretary announced funding for over $600 million in new Recovery Act transit projects on Friday, including more than $26 million in Maryland. Nationally, Recovery Act funds have supported the purchase of nearly 12,000 buses, vans and rail vehicles, the construction or renovation of more than 850 transit facilities, and the performance of more than $620 million in preventive maintenance, which has helped to save transit service and jobs, and enhance service reliability, according to Secretary LaHood. Maryland Grants: - Maryland Transit Administration (Baltimore) $2,874,205 Additional funds for MARC Public Address System - Maryland Transit Administration (Rural areas) $1,987,757 Purchase 3 replacement buses; 4 expansion... 03/08/2010

Maryland: Elegant Single Family New Homes Danleigh Homes builds new homes of the highest quality and provides outstanding customer service. Building a quality home begins with superior, quality craftsmanship. At Danleigh Homes they feel very strongly about utilizing the best craftsmen in their trades. In addition, they provide their customers with a hassle free, ideal home building experience, in which you will feel happy with quality, value, and service. Trust is the key ingredient at Danleigh Homes.  They realize that building a home is a major investment and they want it to be an enjoyable experience. Building a quality home ends with you, the happy and satisfied homeowner, who will love and enjoy the Danleigh Home, which was built just for you and your family. These elegant homes ca... 03/08/2010

Mailings Are Not Dead This is the age of technology.  Online marketing is the most effective way to get out the message.  Social networks, Active Rain, Facebook, Twitter, and on and on. The days of sending post cards and other mailings are a thing of the past, something left to those agents who refuse to adapt to modern ways. Hold on a minute!  Let's not move too fast.  It may be that mass mailings are, actually, an effective tool even in today's fast paced electronic world. Just the other day, Congressman Frank Kratovil of Maryland sent out a mass mailing about his proposals for "Stopping Washington's Blank Check." Hey, that sounds like a great idea! He addresses: Cutting Government Spending Now; Earmark Reform; and Pay-As-You-Go Budgeting. These mail outs were sent to Democrats, of wh... 03/06/2010

Resurrecting Television News Viewership of the network news broadcasts, both local and national/world, has been significantly decreasing over the years. Possible Reasons Why Many reasons have been given for this slow demise. A popular opinion is that the news is biased, generally with a liberal slant, and hence does not provide the full picture of any given story. Others believe that the news is all too often negative in content.  The positive stories are hardly ever addressed. In recent times, even talk show host, Jay Leno, was being blamed for poor viewership.  Now that's getting desperate. But, they could be able to save themselves from this apparently inevitable sad fate. A Possible Solution How?  An idea was mentioned by someone just the other day, perhaps in jest, but nonetheless ... 03/06/2010