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Affordable Housing in Maryland. Now you can help do sething about it.

Friday, December 1, 2006
by Don DeHanas, Broker

I am pleased to announce that the Maryland Association of REALTORS® (MAR) launched an initiative on Tuesday, November 28th known as the League of Maryland Homeowners (LMH). LMH will give homeowners and aspiring homeowners a voice in Annapolis and build an online movement for housing affordability along with the efforts of our Realtor® members.

  The goal of the League of Maryland Homeowners is to give homeowners a voice in the public discussion about how to address the challenge of keeping housing affordable. LMH will provide information to the public and tools to help them communicate with elected representatives at the State and local levels about housing affordability policies.

Signing up with the LMH is easy.  Go to http://www.leagueofmarylandhomeowners.org and follow the prompts. Once you sign up, you will receive emails from the League with information about housing affordability issues, or asking you to take action such as writing or phoning your elected representatives about issues. This website communications tool is similar to a version of the Legislative Action Center that the Maryland Association of Realtors uses.

This effort is an opportunity to create a grassroots coalition of advocates for housing affordability issues across party lines among the general public. I encourage you to visit and explore the LMH web site and to help to spread the word to family and friends.  I believe it will be productive for both REALTORS® and the public.

 

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Sellers Learn to Compete in a Buyers Market

Wednesday, November 15, 2006
by Don DeHanas, Broker

With more listings coming on the market than there are buyers, it is time to get serious about competing in a buyers market.  Over the last several years, anyone who wanted to sell a house just needed to put a “For Sale” sign in their front yard, and buyers would come in droves.  What a change of events during 2006. So, what can a home seller do to get their home sold for the most money in the least amount of time?  Here are a few tips:

 

  1. Get your home in tip-top shape.  Some of the small tasks can go a long way to getting your home noticed. Start on the outside of your home.  Take a look at the curb appeal from a different perspective. Do you need a fresh coat of paint, do windows need rescreening, could you use new shrubs or mulch? All of these items are low cost fixes that will dramatically improve the look of your home.

 

  1. Clean & declutter.  You will be amazed at how many home sellers don’t do the basic household chores.  This is one step that, if you do it, will give you a major leg up on the competition. Remember to clean ceiling fans and vents, and get rid of piles of paper and old magazines. The fewer knick-knacks you have around the better your home will show.  If you need a fresh coat of paint, do it. If you know you need new carpeting, do it.  Offering a decorating allowance does not cut it. Most buyers cannot look past the work that needs to be done. Also remember to organize cupboards and closets.  Buyers will look inside all of them.  Your going to have to get organized before you move, you may as well do it before you have showings. Click here for a list of 25 Easy Fix-Ups.

 

 

  1. Hire a great real estate agent.  The market has been flooded with new agents over the past several years, most of them looking to make a quick buck, and offering very little service.  Before you hire a real estate agent there are a number of essential question you should ask. Make sure you are in the best possible position from the beginning.  A good agent is going to know how to price your home right the first time.

 

  1. Be open to offering buyer incentives. In a buyers market, a seller will most likely be looking at offers with terms that favor the buyer. You will most likely offer closing assistance, up to 5% of the contract price. You will more than likely need to be flexible with the settlement date. Expect the buyer to have a home inspection, or have a home sale contingency.

 

  1. Be open to offering agent incentives.  If you are not getting showings on your home, you will probably resolve the problem by offering agent incentives, ie higher commission and/or a selling bonus.  When you are looking at comparative properties that have sold in your home, take note of any agent incentives. This is an area in which many home sellers don’t realize they are competing for agents to bring buyers. With so much inventory on the market, it is easy for a prospective listing to go unnoticed. Do something to get their attention.

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The DeHanas Team
DeHanas Real Estate Services
601 Post Office Road, Suite 2D
Waldorf MD 20602
Office: 301-870-1717
1-800-842-0190
Fax: 240-754-7867
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Servicing all Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Prince George's County as well as Annapolis, Bowie, Chesapeake Beach, Crofton, Dunkirk, Edgewater, Ft. Meade, Huntingtown, La Plata, North Beach, Odenton, Owings, Pasadena, Severn, Waldorf, and the Upper Marlboro areas of Maryland, all of Washington DC, and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, and King George County real estate advertised in this website are subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap and familial status, or national origin, or any intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. DeHanas Real Estate Services will not knowingly accept any listing agreement for real estate sales in Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Prince George's County as well as Annapolis, Bowie, Chesapeake Beach, Crofton, Dunkirk, Edgewater MD, Ft. Meade, Huntingtown, La Plata, North Beach, Odenton, Owings, Pasadena, Severn, Waldorf, and the Upper Marlboro, all of Washington DC, and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, and King George County areas which are in violation of the law. Our clients and customers are informed that all dwellings advertised on our website in Anne Arundel County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Prince George's County as well as Annapolis, Bowie, Chesapeake Beach, Crofton, Dunkirk, Edgewater MD, Ft. Meade, Huntingtown, La Plata, North Beach, Odenton, Owings, Pasadena, Severn, Waldorf, and the Upper Marlboro, all of Washington DC, and Northern Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, and King George County areas are available on an equal opportunity basis. All prices and finance claims appearing in this site are subject to change without notice.