Archive for November, 2008

A recent Zillow survey of homeowner confidence (cool economic indicator, huh?) indicates that 62% of homeowners feel that their home’s value has increased or stayed the same over the past year, even though 77% of homes decline in value over that time period.
On one hand, I think this plays into my comic image of the [...]

I was recently tasked with finding an apartment for a would-be client who was also working with another agent and the Live Baltimore organization. Given that fact, and the fact that I had no exclusive agreement with this particular “client,” it seemed like the prospects of me actually being the procuring cause of a lease [...]

It’s time for loan modifications folks, and it appears that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be leading the charge as they seek to assist troubled homeowners find their way back to paying their mortgages on time. As this unfolds, however, the two big mortgage companies (now controlled by the U.S. government) may be setting [...]

As always, I’ve been trolling Internet news sites and reading about real estate and, though I’ve often discussed the state of the Maryland real estate market, I think that a recent Baltimore Sun article is worth sharing.
Marc Hayes, a 19-year veteran mortgage broker who was interviewed for the article, notes that his job is more [...]

Per a post recently in the Wall Street Journal, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have etched at least one thing in stone for 2009: the conforming loan limit, i.e. - the maximum size of loans that the loan buyers can purchase from lenders. The current limit of $417,000 will remain in place for 2009 for [...]

This is just more than a little bit funny…in an ironic sort of way of course. I read in the Baltimore Sun yesterday (an article from last month - better late than never) about some developers who live in Roland Park and are opposing the development of a senior citizens complex on some of Roland [...]

I read a post recently on the Maryland Commercial Title blog about the sheer economic ugliness that awaits president-elect Barack Obama. What I took out of that post more than anything else revolved around this statement:
Government will have to shrink in size. Period. With entitlements growing with the expanding baby boomer population (and with more [...]

As many have expected, there is quite a bit of “bargain hunting” in the aggregate real estate market now, as the glut of homes on the market forces prices down in many geographic areas. A recent Wall Street Journal survey illustrates that inventory is shrinking as investors scoop up properties at prices that allows them [...]

I’ve mentioned in the past that I am a real estate investor. Among the properties that I lease there are both residential and commercial/retail, and I’ve had quite a bit of experience with just about every aspect of the process of renting out a home, office or apartment. For those moving out of a house [...]

Three days before I bought my first house (in Canton), I received a Christmas present from my Dad that, at first, seemed a bit unusual. The gift was a toolbox full of assorted items, including a small power drill, drill bits, a claw hammer and other sundries. At the time, I was a young lad [...]