Archive for December, 2008

I got a call a few weeks ago from a gentleman in Hampden who, upon finding that I was pretty familiar with the Hampden real estate market, broached the subject of having us list his property. During the conversation, however, he also asked for my thoughts on the value of adding central air conditioning to [...]

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell again last week, offering a holiday gift to many would-be homeowners and those suffering with recently-reset ARMs. The new 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as reported by Freddie Mac, dropped to 5.14% last week, from the previous week’s low of 5.19%. That represented the 8th straight week of mortgage rate [...]

Harborplace & The Gallery, the centerpiece of a 1980s reinventing of once-beleaguered Baltimore City and still the tourism focus of the city, is for sale. Alas, this doesn’t represent a significant step forward for the city or the popular destination, but merely another footnote in the carnage of the recent financial downturn.
The properties, owned by [...]

I wrote yesterday about my Christmas wish list. The news that 2008 will see the evaporation of $2 Trillion worth of home value goes right against the grain of everything warm and fuzzy and “holiday-like,” but I’m going to write about it here anyway. And hope that a lot of that value comes back in [...]

I’ll readily admit that Christmas, once such a major event for me as a child, has lost a bit of its gleam. I don’t want to be a scrooge, but it’s just not as fun as an adult. Really, most of what I’ve done (and will be doing) over the next few days, including today, [...]

Yesterday, I wrote about the help that Harford County would be offering to residents of that county who find themselves facing a possible foreclosure. Now, apparently, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is getting in on the act as well. From a recent Baltimore Sun Article:
The Internal Revenue Service said yesterday that it will try to [...]

The Harford County, MD real estate market, which is currently chugging along with an unfortunate 13% increase in foreclosures, is going to great lengths to help those facing foreclosure. The efforts to help Harford County residents include counseling, property tax deferral and legal assistance, all very good efforts amidst what is a terrible time for [...]

Mortgage rates, and specifically the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, dropped to their lowest level in 37 years last week, no doubt aided by the Federal Reserve’s promise to push money into the mortgage market. The 30-year rate dropped to 5.19% according to Freddie Mac, which dropped from the previous week’s low of 5.47%.
In e-mail communication [...]

The National Association of Home Builders, previously in lockstep with allies in the mortgage and consumer credit lending industries, has broken ranks and is now pushing hard for so-called mortgage “cram downs,” a controversial measure that would allow bankruptcy judges to force lenders to modify loan terms to head off would-be foreclosures.
Said the NAHB’s CEO [...]

To all those trying to sell a home in Maryland - believe me, I know how you feel. And, no, this is not some attempt by me to cozy up to any would-be readers and offer a sympathetic word. I know what it’s like to have a home on the market now because I DO [...]