Maryland and Virginia Real Estate and Homes Blog

LUXURY HOMES IN BALTIMORE

Luxury real estate in Baltimore comes in many descriptions. Since this is a city, and a wonderful mature city, the design was in “grids”, or blocks. These grids are perfect for small lot development; the classic Baltimore Row House. And, there are some very, very beautiful Baltimore row homes. The Classic Row is brick or stone and marble steps. The homes below are a good example of what we’ll help you find in Baltimore City.

Mission of the Department of Recreation and Parks for Baltimore, Maryland

The Department of Recreation and Parks is authorized by the Baltimore City Charter to provide leisure activities through management of recreation centers and the municipal parks system.
In other words, the Department strives to:

To provide a recreation and parks system that is responsible and directed by the needs of people of Baltimore. To preserve, protect and enhance the city’s park lands and public green spaces as a way to improve the physical and mental health of the people of Baltimore. To invite and encourage individuals, families, schools, businesses and other community groups to become partners in our efforts to invigorate and sustain the city’s natural and leisure resources.

In neighborhoods outside of downtown are many lovely communities of single detached homes just waiting for a new owner. A short commute to the downtown business district. 20 minutes to BWI and quiet streets and mature trees. Beautiful Baltimore will charm you.

Contact us and we’ll work hard to find the best home for your needs in Baltimore.

MORTGAGE INFORMATION FOR REAL ESTATE IN BALTIMORE
There’s a mortgage for your home in Baltimore for you and we’ll help you find it. If you are already pre-qualified or pre-approved for a home mortgage loan, wonderful. We have no financial connection with any lender. However, if you need help in obtaining the right mortgage loan FOR YOU, we’ll help. We work with many Maryland lenders and are familiar with the right loan for you.
The lenders we work with are experienced with Conventional, Conventional Jumbo, FHA and VA loans.

You will need to have a Pre-qualification or Pre-approval letter to make an offer on a home in Baltimore. We’ll help you get that letter AT NO COST TO YOU.

MORTGAGE FACTS
Buying real estate in and getting a mortgage loan in Maryland and Virginia is hard enough for most folks. Real estate in Maryland and Virginia is expensive compared with many other areas in the United States. Buying a home and getting a mortgage loan, in Maryland or Virginia is even more complicated when home buyers don’t understand the home loan process. We’ll try to make is as easy as possible. However, borrowing Thousands or Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars is not a minor matter. Borrowing money is a very serious matter and we treat it as such. But, with some education, mortgages can be made easy to understand. We can help. We sell many homes every year and we help our real estate buyers with the mortgage process from pre-qualification through settlement.

HELP US HELP YOU
You MUST stay current with all credit accounts, car payments and any other revolving or other types of credit that you have. A late payment on your credit report will delay your mortgage loan and lower your credit score.

We will describe the mortgage process further down this page, but first, you should understand what a mortgage is and how it works The procedure will vary little from lender to lender, but since the procedure is basically simple, you just need to understand that: Lenders lend large amount of money. Lenders want to lend to folks who will repay the loan. Lenders secure their loan with a lien against your home. If you pay your monthly mortgage payment, every thing is fine. If you default, the lender will foreclose the property.

Sounds simple doesn’t it. It can be. But, unless you’ve obtained a mortgage loan before, sometimes buyers don’t understand why lenders need particular information.

WHAT KIND OF DOCUMENTATION WILL I NEED FOR MORTGAGE APPLICATION?
Generally, the documents needed will verify your income and debt. The list below is the minimum for VA, FHA and conventional loans.
Past two years W-2 Forms Current address Employment addresses Recent bank statements Name and address of current creditors Social Security numbers Certificate of Eligibility for VA buyers

If you are self employed, you will need two years tax returns and a profit and loss statement, simplified. Don’t forget, your agent will be available for consultation when you have a question. Relax and enjoy your home search.

Your lender will have a copy of the Contract of Sale for the home you are purchasing. Your lender will process the loan and have the mortgage approved prior to the date of settlement date in the Contract. The lender will send the proceeds of your home loan to the settlement company along with instructions to the title company about what charges are and the title company will conduct the settlement meeting. You sign the documents accepting the loan, the sellers signs the deed over to you, you get the keys to your newly purchased home

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BALTIMORE CITY HISTORY
Baltimore, the 12th largest city in the United States, is named “Charm City” for its residents’ well-established concern for the quality of life When you buy real estate in Baltimore City, you buy into the wonderful American history of this “charming” city.

Baltimore Facts

On August 8, 1729, a bill establishing Baltimore as a town was signed into law.

Baltimore “Firsts”:

1743 - First professional sports organization in the United States - Maryland Jockey Club
1773 - First US stage coach route - Baltimore to Philadelphia
1783 - First dredger in the world - the “Baltimore Mud Machine,” was invented by Andrew and John Ellicot.
1784 - First balloon ascension in the US with a person on board - Edward Warren
1792 - In Baltimore, the first monument to Columbus in the United States was built in the United States.
1792 - First water company chartered in the United States - Baltimore Water Company.
1796 - First sugar refinery in the U.S. - founded by Garts and Leypoldt
1797 - First US war ship to capture an enemy vessel - “Constellation”
1803 - First electric refrigerator- invented by Thomas Moore
1814 - Birthplace of the Star Spangled Banner* - written by Francis Scott Key at Fort McHenry
1815 - First manufacturers of silverware in the United States - Samuel Kirk Company.
1815 - The first permanent monument to George Washington was built in Baltimore.
1816 - First city to illuminate streets with hydrogen gas
1828 - First American umbrella factory - William Beehler
1828 - First railroad for commercial transportation of passengers and freight B & O railroad
1830 - First coal burning steam locomotive built - “Tom Thumb”
1830 - First operating railroad depot in the US - Mt. Clare Station
1837 - Baltimore Sun began publication
1840 - First steam boating company in the US - Baltimore steam packet Co.
1844 - World’s first telegraph line established between Baltimore and Washington - Samuel Morse
1848 - First ice cream freezer - patented by W. G. Young
1856 - First Elevator to be operated by electrical power - invented by James Bates
1859 - First YMCA - Pratt and Schroeder Streets
1869 - First candy factory to produce licorice - J.S. Young Company
1875 - The first monument to Edgar Allen Poe
1876 - Johns Hopkins University founded
1878 - First animal welfare association - American Humane Society
1879 - First synthetic sweetening agent - Saccharine, developed at Johns Hopkins University
1885 - First commercial electric street car line - Baltimore to Hampden
1886 - First public Library System with branches - Enoch Pratt Free Library
1890 - First steam tanker built in America “The Maverick” by W.T.Malster
1891 - First commercial stomach antacid seltzer - Bromo-Seltzer, made by Captain Isaac E. Emerson
1892 - First Ouija board* - invented and patented by Isaac and William Fuld
1897 - First practical submarine in the US - “Argonaut,” invented by Simon Lake
1900 - First time duck bowling introduced - at Diamond Bowling Alleys
1904 - Downtown Baltimore destroyed by fire - The Great Baltimore Fire
1916 - First portable electric drill with pistol grip - Black & Decker
1916 - First municipal orchestra supported by public funds - Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
1920 - First factory to manufacture stainless steel - Rustless Iron & Steel Company
1921 - First Black musical on Broadway - written by Baltimorean Eubie Blake, “Shuffle Along”
1925 - First triple combination fireboat in service - operated by Baltimore City Fire Dept
1932 - First producer of venetian blinds in the United States - Eastern Venetian Blind Company
1946 - First photograph of earth from space - produced at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
1966 - First baseball player to be named MVP in both leagues - Frank Robinson
1967 - First African-American to serve on the US supreme Court - Baltimorean Thurgood Marshall
1995 - First American city to win championship in the Canadian Football League - Baltimore Stallions

RUMOR #1. MLSs will be open to the public to list properties for sale (FSBO). WRONG!
RUMOR #2. MLS information will be made public. WRONG!

The proposed settlement applies to “Brokers”, not the consumer.

The proposed settlement is designed:

(1) to permit “Brokers” to provide the consumer with MLS information with multiple listing services, listing information, etc. The proposed settlement

(2) is designed to prevent MLSs from limiting the services and information provided to the consumer by Brokers who operate VOWs.

“Broker” means a Person licensed by a state to provide services to a buyer or seller in connection with a real estate transaction. The term includes any Person who possesses a Broker’s license and any agent or sales associate who is affiliated with such a Broker.

Under the new policy, brokers participating in a NAR-affiliated MLS will not be permitted to withhold their listings from brokers who serve their customers through virtual office websites (VOWs).

brokers will be able to use VOWs to educate consumers, make referrals, and conduct brokerage services.

A. “Broker” means a Person licensed by a state to provide services to a buyer or seller in connection with a real estate transaction. The term includes any Person who possesses a Broker’s license and any agent or sales associate who is affiliated with such a Broker.

M. “VOW” or “virtual office website” means a website, or feature of a website, operated by a Broker or for a Broker by another Person through which the Broker is capable of providing real estate brokerage services to consumers with whom the Broker has first established a Broker-consumer relationship (as defined by state law) where the consumer has the opportunity to search MLS data, subject to the Broker’s oversight, supervision, and accountability.

Don’t listen to rumors. If you have any questions about the proposed settlement, read it. It’s clear that the settlement:
is narrow in scope,

will not affect the way most brokers and agents do business,

is meant to prevent MLSs from restricting the operation of VOWs,

and

should never have been brought in the first place.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT MAY 2004 - MAY 2008. MEMO: The statistics below is the reason it’s a good time to buy a home in Northern Virginia. Sellers who keep their prices high do not sell. Sellers who price to sell, DO.

We are still in a buyer’s market.

HISTORY OF SOLD PRICES AND NUMBERS OF PROPERTIES SOLD IN MAY 2004-2008, includes Single Family Homes in Northern Virginia, Town Homes in Northern Virginia and Condo Homes in Northern Virginia.

Closed sales May 2008 - 165 / Average SOLD price - $518,773
Closed sales May 2007 - 221 / Average SOLD price - $546,522
Closed sales May 2006 - 225 / Average SOLD price - $535,381
Closed sales May 2005 - 342 / Average SOLD price - $498,880
Closed sales May 2004 - 291 / Average SOLD price - $413,628

ARLINGTON COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 194 / Average SOLD price - $544,742
Closed sales May 2007 - 337 / Average SOLD price - $582,742
Closed sales May 2006 - 293 / Average SOLD price - $591,376
Closed sales May 2005 - 386 / Average SOLD price - $547,111
Closed sales May 2004 - 342 / Average SOLD price - $432,965

CULPEPER COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 52 / Average SOLD price - $291,578
Closed sales May 2007 - 43 / Average SOLD price - $561,935
Closed sales May 2006 - 71 / Average SOLD price - $372,035
Closed sales May 2005 - 108 / Average SOLD price - $333,736
Closed sales May 2004 - 75 / Average SOLD price - $292,659

FAIRFAX COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 1099 / Average SOLD price - $495,235
Closed sales May 2007 - 1331 / Average SOLD price - $561,935
Closed sales May 2006 - 1664 / Average SOLD price - $557,641
Closed sales May 2005 - 2526 / Average SOLD price - $538,015
Closed sales May 2004 - 2277 / Average SOLD price - $439,294

FAUQUIER COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 38 / Average SOLD price - $544,942
Closed sales May 2007 - 58 / Average SOLD price - $493,979
Closed sales May 2006 - 97 / Average SOLD price - $511,728
Closed sales May 2005 - 132 / Average SOLD price - $625,107
Closed sales May 2004 - 125 / Average SOLD price - $385,615

KING GEORGE COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 9 / Average SOLD price - $317,361
Closed sales May 2007 - 35 / Average SOLD price - $307,170
Closed sales May 2006 - 33 / Average SOLD price - $348,226
Closed sales May 2005 - 35 / Average SOLD price - $302,993
Closed sales May 2004 - 23 / Average SOLD price - $252,770

LOUDOUN COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 424 / Average SOLD price - $407,644
Closed sales May 2007 - 501 / Average SOLD price - $534,194
Closed sales May 2006 - 536 / Average SOLD price - $561,051
Closed sales May 2005 - 892 / Average SOLD price - $517,556
Closed sales May 2004 - 793 / Average SOLD price - $419,424

PRINCE WILLIAM VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 558 / Average SOLD price - $294,862
Closed sales May 2007 - 475 / Average SOLD price - $409,616
Closed sales May 2006 - 740 / Average SOLD price - $448,823
Closed sales May 2005 - 1186 / Average SOLD price - $416,493
Closed sales May 2004 - 966 / Average SOLD price - $322,723

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 91 / Average SOLD price - $307,211
Closed sales May 2007 - 161 / Average SOLD price - $349,610
Closed sales May 2006 - 240 / Average SOLD price - $338,647
Closed sales May 2005 - 309 / Average SOLD price - $322,543
Closed sales May 2004 - 269 / Average SOLD price - $249,278

STAFFORD COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 118 / Average SOLD price - $317,049
Closed sales May 2007 - 153 / Average SOLD price - $404,703
Closed sales May 2006 - 207 / Average SOLD price - $431,373
Closed sales May 2005 - 302 / Average SOLD price - $382,234
Closed sales May 2004 - 281 / Average SOLD price - $303,153

WESTMORLAND COUNTY VIRGINIA HOMES SOLD

Closed sales May 2008 - 14 / Average SOLD price - $236,854
Closed sales May 2007 - 19 / Average SOLD price - $307,068
Closed sales May 2006 - 25 / Average SOLD price - $272,819
Closed sales May 2005 - 28 / Average SOLD price - $252,403
Closed sales May 2004 - 22 / Average SOLD price - $185,938