Maryland and Virginia Real Estate and Homes Blog

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! 

Are there no limits to what will be listed in our MLS?

If a bank wishes to offer for sale a building that has a severe mold growth, what would happen if no agent would take the listing??  On the other hand, what liability does that listing agent incur when they list a home with a severe mold growth? 

Can we expect a rash of lawsuits by an attorney with “class action” ambition to try to bring all of these properties and their bank owners and agents to account in a court of law for offering clearly defective properties for sale to the innocent consumer?? 

Where is the FTC and DOJ when we need them??  Are our government institutions charged with protecting the public completely ignorant of the properties offered to the consumer that may be:

• riddled with mold,
• leaking like a sieve from the roof,
• leaking like a sieve in to the foundation,
• in an uninhabitable condition,
• exposing the public to safety hazards,
• exposing the public to health hazards,
• offering a product without consumer protections,
• and more, depending on the perfidy of the bank owner.

BUYERS ARE SHOPPING FOR PRICE.  Home buyers are reading the national news, going on the Internet and viewing homes for sale.  They gravitate to the lowest price property offered in their area of choice because the public assumes that IF IT’S LISTED, IT’S O.K.

                                       “Honey, are these homes safe?”

                                       “Of course, Deal, they wouldn’t be listed if they weren’t.”

The consumer also may believe that:

• There are regulations to protect them from buying an unsafe property,
• There are regulations to protect them from making a bad investment,
• There are regulations to protect them from losing money when buying property,
• There are regulations to protect them from undisclosed defects in properties for sale.

Seems to me that some sharp DA might want to file charges of some type against an agent who lists a home covered with mold.

Are they engaged in a conspiracy to cause harm to children??  If they know or should know that mold may be harmful to children and other living things, they are conspiring with the owners to put children in danger. 

Geez!  Sometimes I believe that some agents never see the homes that they list for sale. 

HOME FOR SALE

Single Family on wooded lot.

Country Atmosphere.

Needs TLC.  Sold “AS IS”.

Take Flashlight - No Electricty

Special Addendum Required.  Key in Office.

The only reason for a “key in office” is that the listing agent has visited the property.

Most homes with serious mold growths have not been tested by the seller.  Rather than discover the type and degree of hazardous condition in a property because of mold, foundation defects, electrical hazards, etc., the seller and listing agent simply list the property “AS IS” and believe that they have avoided any liability for the hazards they are trying to sell.  

Our markets are glutted with these properties because the owners will not make the necessary investment in their property.  Their goal is to simply unload these dangerous properties with questionable value to consumers who have no knowledge of the seriousness of the condition nor the cost of repairs. 

The “AS IS” clause doesn’t hold up in many states with consumer protection codes.  The #1 cause of consumer complaints against real estate licensees with the Maryland Real Estate Commission is

#1.  Failure to disclose material facts.

#2.  Giving advice to buyer or seller that would result in future problems.  This includes telling buyers that home inspections are a waste of money.

Consumers often believe that sellers would not list properties for sale if they are in unsafe condition. 

Consumers often believe that they can price without a buyers agent because they’ll get a “better deal” if they deal directly with the listing agent. 

Since 1994, we’ve specialized in representing home buyers.  Goodness knows the consumer needs all the help they can get.  As more properties go to foreclosure and banks use the “AS IS” mentality to avoid repairs after letting the property sit vacant for a year or two, sooner or later, some smart attorney is going to see a pot of gold at the end of a paper trail of consumer abuse. 

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail.

PURCELLVILLE VIRGINIA NEW HOMES - 2 LOTS REMAIN - QUICK OCCUPANCY OR BUILD - BUYER’S REBATE!

PURCELLVILLE VIRGINIA IN WESTERN LOUDOUN COUNTY is one of the most charming towns in this lovely rural area of Northern Virginia.  Now, you can own a beautiful home in one of the most popular new home communities in the area. 

Where is Purcellville?  Just 6 miles west of Leesburg, SEE MAP below.

Purcellville is not just your typical small town.  What does Purcellville offer? 

Shopping conveninece:

• Choice of national or local banks
• Grocery shopping at Giant or Bloom
• The best hardware store in Northern Virginia
• Antiques and speciality shoppes
• FedEx - UPS mail and packaging service
• U.S. Post Office
• Exercise Equipment and Gym
• Deli and Sandwich shops
• Mexican restaurant
• Convenience shopping at 7/11
• McDonalds
• Attorneys and accountants services
• Printing and copying shops
• Franklin Park with swimming, fishing, horse riding, driving range, picnic areas
• Golf course

LOUDOUN COUNTY NEW HOMES - PRICE REDUCTION FOR ALL MODELS  

Base prices begin at $604,000 for the Ridgley model seen below. 

3 ACRE LOTS IN PURCELLVILLE, VA.  - Final 2 Home Sites Left. 

BASE PRICE FOR THIS NEW HOME - $604,990 - Over 5,000 square feet of luxury and beauty.

More square feet for your money and luxurious estate lot to show off this beautiful new home in Western Loudoun County. 

NEW HOME BUYER REBATE - $6,000 Homefinders.com REBATE to BUYER.

• Builder contributes $10,000 closing cost help. 
• Call Lenn Harley for a tour of the community at Wright Farm in Purcellville, 800-711-7988.

Site in Purcellville is just 6 miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, Loudoun County Seat of Government

Courtesy Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988, E-Mail Lenn

Homes in Purcellville offer convenience and beauty. 

* * * *  HARD CORE REAL ESTATE TALK  * * * *

WHAT’S THE HOT NEWS THIS MORNING?  METALS AND MINING STOCK IN FREE FALL! 

Well, it was!!

You wonder what the housing and banking industry would look like today if the Congressional oversight committees chaired by Barnie Frank and others had looked at the numbers when the Fannie Mae financial statements proved to be falsified by the CEO Franklin Raines in order to provide about $40,000,000 more in income and bonuses to himself.  What would have happened if they had simply asked the question, “what else could be wrong here?”.   If Fannie Mae had not lowered the standards for the secondary mortgage market,would The Wall Street Gangs have been able to get their grubby mitts on the volume of MBSs to fuel the world market for these securities?  Without the MBSs from Fannie, et al., there would have been no worldwide distribution of securities backed by mortgages that were destined to default when the ARMs reset and the owners couldn’t refinance, which was often the justification for taking the ARMs in the first place. 

FACT:  When about 25% of the residential properties in the U.S. cannot be sold for a price that will pay off the mortgage on that property, defaults, short sales and foreclosures are inevitable. 

FACT:  When about 25% of the U.S. properties are “out of the market”, the result is a collapse of the housing market which fuels the economy of the United States. 

FACT:  A viable housing industry is critical to the financial health of the U.S.  

FACT:  The loss of real estate values pushed a high percentage of U.S. home owners into negative equity. 

FACT:  Negative equity caused the loss of the primary financial asset, home equity, of a large percentage of U.S. households. 

FACT:  With no significant financial assets, the U.S. home owners STOPPED SHOPPING for anything but necessities and price became the motivator. 

• Nordtrom:  Down
• Wal-Mart:  Up

THE DOMINO EFFECT:  When the American consumer stops shopping, the world markets for basic commodities respond in a downward price spiral.  In a classic “supply and demand”.  Manufacturers know that, with consumer demand down, prices will fall. 

EXAMPLES: 

Copper prices fell 3.5% on Thursday as warehouse stocks rose and most industrial metals sank. Dismal economic data from the U.S. and Europe added to evidence of ever-weaker demand.      

Mounting fears of a prolonged recession in the US, triggered by grim jobless figures there yesterday, weighed on metal prices and mining stocks, and helped drive the FTSE 100 down for a second day.

“as the effects of global economic downturn caught hold, demand for all commodities weakened.”

THIS IS A CLASSIC bottom up market dynamic.  The consumer stops shopping and the commodities and banking industries falter and fail. 

WHAT IS THE LESSON?  The U.S. and world governments, the U.S. Congress, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission all believed that it was the banks that needed to be saved in order to save the U.S. economy. 

WRONG!  WRONG!  WRONG?

Buying “TOXIC ASSETS” of the banks has not worked and could never work.  The banks and financialhouses on Wall Street tnat caused the mortgage mess by inventing and marketing securities without looking at the underlying asset, mortgages that were doomed to failure when the interest rates reset and the home owners defaulted in massive numbers.  THE EXPERTS WERE WRONG!  Giving $Trillions of Dollars to the financial industry was like giving a 14 year old boy control of the family budget.  They are likely to buy a dirt bike before buying bread and milk.  The banks used tax payer money to buy each other and pay dividends.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?  Get rid of the negative equity that has caused the financial collapse of the U.S. consumer. 

WHAT WOULD IT COST?  What difference does it make??

                               “Honey, Susie has outgrown her school clothes.  Can we shop yet?”

                             “Not yet, Dear.  Our mortgage payment is going up again next month.”

HOME INSPECTION IN PURCELLVILLE, VIRGINIA - WHAT AN ADVENTURE

I love home inspections. I learn a lot and they help my buyer really understand a home. The home inspector I have recommended for about the past 8 years is wonderful and, while he writes all defects, he is very calming and reasurring to home buyers. Lenn has a new toy.

I had a home inspection on Saturday and it also gave me an opportunity to try out my new toy, a video camera. Fred Light, Videographer extraordinairre and ActiveRain member provided some much needed training on my new camera. Learning video has been a misadventure for me and I’m struggling to get it right. I can, I know I can. The 2 minutes of our home inspection shown in this video is the editing result of 38 minutes of footage. Enjoy.

http://www.wellcomemat.com/video/DF9DC55028

WHAT SOLD IN STAFFORD COUNTY VIRGINIA IN DECEMBER 2008?

Below is a partial report of homes that SOLD in Stafford County in December 2008.  For a full report,

SEE:  Stafford County VA Market Report for Sold properties December 2008.

For more information about Stafford County real estate and information about the services offered by Homefinders.com for our home buyers, See Stafford County Real Estate.

Market Report for sold homes in Stafford County Virginia.

IT’S 2009.  WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO BUY A HOME THIS YEAR? 

The real estate industry is offering more and better home buying opportunities for consumers than at any time in decades.  Interest rates are the lowest since the 1960s.   

See what’s selling.  Below, prices for homes that settled Jan. 1 through Jan. 6, 2009. 

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached) County Seat, Annapolis.

BALTIMORE CITY MARYLAND SOLD (Town Homes, Row Houses and Single Family Detached)

BALTIMORE COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached) County Seat Towson.

CALVERT COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached) County Seat Prince Frederick.

CHARLES COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached).  County Seat LaPlata.

FREDERICK COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Frederick.

HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Bel Air.

HOWARD COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Ellicott City.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Rockville.

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Upper Marlboro.

ST.  MARY’S COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Leonardtown.

WASHINGTON COUNTY MARYLAND SOLD (Single Family Homes Detached)  County Seat Hagerstown.

For a tour of homes in Maryland, contact Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.

INTEREST RATES FOR JANUARY 6, 2008 QUOTED 4.75% FOR A 30 YEAR FIXED LOAN.

HOME OWNERSHIP MAKES MORE FINANCIAL SENSE THAN EVER. 

First Time Home Buyers - It’s time to buy a home.  The average interest rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage is about 4.750%  on a national basis (Source:  Chase Home Mortgage). 

All home buyers who do not have a home to sell are in the best position to buy a home with good interest rates than in many years.  Foreclosures and Short Sales have made homes available at prices not seen since about 2003 in many areas. 

Most First Time Home Buyer programs are available to home buyers who have not owned real estate for the previous 3 years.  The low rates make home ownership very competitive when compared to paying rent. 

Additionally, the mortgage interest tax deduction will help you make your mortgage payment.  Home owners are entitled to an additional tax deduction for federal taxes for each $2,000 of mortgage interest paid.  Further, local real estate taxes are also deductible.  We recommend that prospective home buyers check with the payroll office at their place of employment to calculate the additional cash in your paycheck by changing your Form W-9 to reflect mortgage interest reduction of withholding.