Howard County Happenings

Step 3 – Call Today – Don’t Delay! Every day counts in terms of getting the short sale process started and beginning to negotiate with your mortgage company(ies).  Don’t wait!  Get a Realtor involved immediately!  (Need a Realtor?  See my last blogpost on Finding a Realtor.) First, your Realtor w...

Step 2 – Find A Realtor This is key.  It is truly important that you find a real estate agent that has done a short sale before and taken the time to do some of the intensive short sale training out there, one who is truly familiar with the process.   And, as the short sale adventure has moved an...

Step 1 – Do Your Research Things not going well?  House value upside-down?  Can’t see a way out?  Unfortunately, you’re not alone.  But more unfortunately, many Howard County, Maryland homeowners go straight into foreclosure, rather than seeking and receiving help from their lender and a local, k...

Step 5:  Repairs, Pre-Packing and Making your Home Sparkle.  It’s time to go through your house, like a buyer, and make a list of all of those little repairs that have (or haven’t!) been nagging at you for the longest time.  Call your favorite handyman (or call me for a referral; I’ve got some gr...

They were there, through the afternoon meeting, drawing our attention away from our speaker, three stacks of pine boards, about a foot square each, on the table to our left.  We knew we were each supposed to break a board at the end of the day, that they'd explain how to do it, that most people m...

Step 4:  Pre-Plan Marketing with Your Realtor.  Your Realtor should have a written detailed marketing plan for your Howard County home.  You’ll need to determine what repairs, etc., need to be done before the house goes on the market, the date to go “live”, the listing price, and the showing inst...

Step 3:  Research Your Home’s Competition. So it’s time to plan the marketing of your Howard County home.  Your biggest responsibility is having your home ready to show.  And how do you know what’s “ready to show”?  The first place to look, in this day and age, is on the internet.  Start searchin...

Step 2:  Research Your Local Howard County Market. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all have a lot of housing market information and advice, but it’s important to remember that it’s all national news…  and there is NO national housing market.  It’s all local!  Here’s the best way I’ve ever heard to expla...

Step 1:  Research Your Pricing. Assemble a little Howard County pre-research first, both the similarities and the differences.  This should give you a good determination of what a buyer would agree to pay for a home like yours, and what it would be apt to appraise for.  And ask yourself, what wou...

Step 5:  Choose Your Realtor and Your Lender Well, you’ve saved and researched, checked your credit, and determined your comfort level for spending on your new home.  If you haven’t come across a good lender or real estate agent yet, now’s the time to make the leap. Pay attention to the agents wh...