David & Lisa Webber, www.webberteam.com

As a first time homebuyer, there are a lot of things to consider when purchasing a home and many people will recommend that you stay away from foreclosures but I think that they can be some of the best bargains in this market. There are other bargains of course including motivated sellers that have been in their homes for a length of time and have a good amount of equity, people who are in a divorce situation, or people relocating out of the state.

Some foreclosures are not for the faint of heart, this is true. But most of the foreclosures we're seeing in todays market were just sold between 2005 - 2007 and were in geat condition when they were purchased by the previous owner. Many people who have lost their homes are not trashing them. Some are angry and damaging walls and taking appliances, but some almost look like model homes - it's true!

You will want to make sure you are pre-qualified so you know exactly the price range you're going to want to look in. You'll want to research the areas that you are thinking about living including types of homes and prices so that you'll know when that bargain hits the market. You'll want to have your Realtor put you on an automatic e-mailing so that every single day as a new home with your criteria is listed for sale, it will be in your e-mail box and you'll have the information right away. The best deals are going under contract in less than a week in most cases so you'll need to be ready make a decision quickly. And that quick decision can get you a home with thousands, many times tens of thousands of dollars in instant equity, even in this market!

There are some potential pitfalls when dealing with purchasing foreclosures, but get yourself a good Realtor with foreclosure experience and they'll school you on the process. Remember, the bank will even pay for your Realtor so you'll have an expert to help guide you through the process!

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To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, ABR, Licensed Realtors®. For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website.

To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side. We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.

Most of the homes I've been showing lately are bank foreclosures.

I can certainly understand why - some banks are putting homes on the market for so far under current market values they are absolute STEALS!

What I'm also seeing in many, if not most, bank foreclosures is mold in the basements. This happens fairly quickly when the houses are closed up and utilities are off. Normally you'd be running air conditioning or heat, running the sump pump in the basement, and keeping the humidity down in the home.

But the banks right now are holding so many foreclosures on their books and are not paying the monthly costs to keep the utilities on so the homes are building up moisture on the inside and mold is growing.

When some people hear "mold", they don't want to have any parts of it and I can understand why. I've seen the news programs showing homes that have "toxic black mold" in them making people terribly sick. But there are different types of mold and the most common mold that grows in the basements of these homes is annoying and does need to be removed (it's most harmful to people that have asthma or suppressed immune systems), but in most cases is more nuisance than deadly.

I'm not a mold expert, but here is a great article containing an interview with a home inspector. If you're in the market for a foreclosure in this market, make sure to click on the link below and read this so you can educate yourself on the subject:

Mold Is The Issue

If you're in the market for a bank foreclosure, make sure to give us a call and we'll take you around to see some bargains!

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To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, ABR, Licensed Realtors®. For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website. To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side. We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.

I found this cool website called Cellfire; www.cellfire.com. You can explore deals by zipcode and download them to your phone so you don't have to carry around a coupon.

For example, if you go to Caribou Coffee over in the Waugh Chapel shopping center today in Gambrills and buy a pound of coffee, show your phone with the deal and you gActiveRain Real Estate Networket a free drink as well, any kind. In that same shopping center is a Game Stop where you can get 20% off used games today. Then go across the street to KFC and use the buy one get one free chicken snacker.

Gotta love this new technology!

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To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, ABR, Licensed Realtors®. For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website. To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side. We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.

This event sounds like a lot of fun - "Ladies Night Out" at the Doubletree in Annapolis - put it on your calendar for Thursday evening, November 20th.

I'm planning on attending and a lot of my girlfriends are going as well (yes, this is Lisa, not Dave!  LOL).

 

LOCATION - Doubletree Hotel, Annapolis

210 Holiday Court, Annapolis, MD 21401

DATE - November 20, 2008

TIME - 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Phone - 410-224-3150

Complimentary cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be provided.

They will have local vendors displaying jewelry, makeup, handbags, fitness trends, and much much more.

Exciting door prizes will be given away throughout the evening.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

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To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, ABR, Licensed Realtors®.  For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website. 

To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side.  We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.

 

 

 

 

I was talking about Real Estate with a gentlemen the other day and he asked what else I did for a living and was shocked when I told him I work, live, breathe, love real estate and that's all I do for a living. I'm guessing the other agents he knows have other jobs.

I told him that Dave and I have committed to 8 hrs of training a week of real estate education. We know that top performing Doctors must have 8 hours of education a week also to keep them sharp. Then, he asked me to "diagnose" his problem like a doctor.

Then he began his real estate story, and let me tell you the story was long, with many twists and turns along the way. I listened and listened. Sometimes saying "uh huh" and "ohh" like a doctor would when evaluating the symptoms.

Then, I pulled the most recent stats out of my purse and was able to consult with him, the number of homes that have sold, the average sold prices in Anne Arundel County, and was able to show him that prices have actually increased by 2% from October 2006 to October 2008 in his price range. I also shared various important information he needed to make an informed choice on his options.

He was so thankful to now have met Agents that actually know real estate that he asked if he could send his friends, co-workers and family to us for real estate consulting. (Which we said, yes, we are accepting new patients at this time.)

Morale of the story... When you know your business you are valid. No one asks a Doctor what else do they do for a living, and after today, we have added a potential client whose sphere of influence won't be asking us, because they will already know we are valid!

************************************************************************************* To list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Maryland, call Lisa & David Webber, ABR, Licensed Realtors®. For more information on our services, please visit our profile or our website. To view all the Maryland Homes For Sale Click here and then click on Property Search on the left hand side. We know Anne Arundel, Howard, Calvert, Charles, Baltimore, and Prince George's Counties and look forward to the opportunity to serve you.