Today I just want to take the time to say thank you to all of our wonderful clients. We’ve had a great year at The Windsor Group, and it’s all thanks to clients like you.

Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels! Enjoy spending time with your friends and family this holiday season—I know we will.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

If you or your family have any questions about real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always happy to help you!

As you might’ve noticed lately, winter is closing in on us fast. For all you homeowners out there, this means that you need to do a few things around your house to maintain its condition throughout the season.

One of the most important things you can do is clean out the spouting of your home. If you let leaves and other debris build up, it will create ice jams. This can result in damage to your foundation.

Another thing you can do is make sure your furnace is in good condition. This is something you should do before you have to use it to save yourself the inconvenience of it breaking down during a blizzard.

You don’t want something breaking down during a blizzard.

Finally, disconnect all the hoses from their bibs, otherwise the water in the hose will freeze and burst your pipes. Getting new pipes for your home is never cheap.

If you have any questions about preparing your home for winter or anything else real estate-related, don’t hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. As always, thanks and have a wonderful day!

When we go out on appointments, there are three things we usually do. First, we'll tour the property. The second thing we will do is go over a comparative market analysis. Finally, we will go over our listing agreement contract. When we go over this document, there are some specific areas we like to point out:

1. The length of the contract. Most are usually around six months. We like to market the property for a specific period of time because it could take up to 90 days just to get you under contract.

2. The commission rate. Commissions in this market are totally negotiable. You and your agent will sit down, look at the numbers, and make a decision. Some properties don’t need as much marketing as others, so the commission won’t be as high.

Commissions are totally negotiable.

3. Is there a way out? This is a question that inevitably comes up every time. There is definitely a way out. There will be a termination discussion at the table when you discuss the options with your agent.

4. The market privileges. There is a lot of verbiage in the contract to give your agent permission to market your property for a specific length of time at a specific rate up front.

Talking about this agreement before listing allows us to market the property, find a buyer, and get your home sold to the best of our ability. If you have any questions for us at all, don’t hesitate to reach out and give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

When making renovations or improvements to your home, deciding which projects to take on is incredibly important. Many times, sellers make the mistake of renovating their homes to match their specific styles and likings. This doesn’t always translate well when we list their property on the market. Here are my top seven mistakes to look out for:

1.    Too much wallpaper

2.    Lavish lighting fixtures

3.    Textured wall coverings

4.    The wrong flooring

5.    Too much carpet in high-traffic areas

6.    Bold wall colors

7.    Swimming pools/hot tubs

While some of these improvements may suit your tastes, it’s important to appeal to a wide variety of buyers by keeping the paint, flooring, and décor of your home relatively neutral.  

When painting or renovating, keep all colors neutral.

If you have any other questions about which improvements will benefit your home or anything else related to real estate in our area, give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

What exactly is a home inspection?

I’m not a licensed home inspector in the state of Maryland, but I can tell you that it’s basically a second round of negotiations. This does not open up the position for the buyer to start negotiating a different sale price for the property. What we’re negotiating, instead, is what the buyer wants to have repaired, and what the seller is willing to repair.

The items that are not typically negotiated are cosmetic issues like painting. The focus of these negotiations, rather, will usually concentrate on major structural or mechanical issues such as plumbing, electrical, roofing, or siding. Anything that can hinder the energy or the efficiency of the property will be where the buyers make their requests.

When I’m representing the buyer, I make sure we keep our repairs to a targeted agreement. By this, I mean outlining their five major concerns about the property and presenting them to the seller. If I’m representing the seller and we happen to be getting a laundry list of small issues that the buyer wants to be repaired, we break those repairs down by price. From there, the next step is determined by what makes the most financial sense.

Also, we can’t forget about lender repair requests. Sometimes, in certain loan programs, the lender will require you to make certain repairs in order to get the property financed.

A home inspection is not terms to start renegotiating the structure of the deal; it’s merely negotiating the quality of the property and what the buyer is willing to accept. A majority of the time, it’s a contingency in all contracts in order to allow both parties to be notified up front that it will be taking place.

A home inspection is basically a second round of negotiations.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a property, please don’t hesitate to set up a free real estate consultation. Thanks again, and have a great day.

The question for today is, what are the current interest rates, and what can we predict from them moving forward into 2017?

What are current interest rates, and what can we predict from them moving forward?

Right now, interest rates seem to be averaging 3.5% with APR at 4.6%. The average inventory for the state of Maryland is roughly five months. We’re currently in a market where sellers are receiving multiple offers on properties, and this is strictly due to interest rates being low enough to allow the buyer more purchasing power.

If the interest rates were to increase, what would that do to the seller’s bottom line? If they creep up to 6% or 7%, we could potentially see the market shift into a buyer’s market. That would mean that there would be more inventory and lower sales prices.

If you’re looking to sell a home, it’s a great opportunity to get more offers on your property. If you’re looking to buy a home, rates are historically low as far as paying a 30-year mortgage. You can also take advantage of a 15-year mortgage by paying that down much quicker. In either case, you’ll want to talk to your lender about your options and do your own research on the amortization of the loan to calculate how much money you’d be putting toward the principal each month.

I do see 2017 staying somewhat the same, but it would not surprise me to see interest rates tick upward.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, please don’t hesitate to contact me for a free real estate consultation. I look forward to hearing from you!

Do you know how much your house is worth? Many think they do, but are mistaken.

The median housing price in Maryland is about $310,000, and last year, it was right around $299,000. The exact price of your home depends on the size, the neighborhood, and lots of other factors. Your own skewed perspective complicates things even further. We tend to think that our home is mostly positive and expensive, and we airbrush out the apparent flaws from our minds.

When we're looking at the factors that you're going to be able to sell the property for, we want to focus on the square footage, the location, and the condition. If it's sound structurally and mechanically, you're already going to be in a great place to get a higher sales price. We're looking at the roof, air conditioning, furnace, and hot water heater because they're all going to play major roles in the value of your property.

Also, cosmetically, if we're looking at a home with say, an upgraded kitchen versus a property that does not, of course the buyer will be willing to pay more. The appraiser will be able to appraise the home for a higher value as well. You also want to be sure we can price the property a couple different ways. When we have a Realtor come out and visit you, you have the option of listing at a high price, and the house might sit on the market longer (like 120 days). Or maybe you list the property at market value or a little bit below, and start to receive multiple offers.

Whichever option you choose, the most important thing to remember is when you get into the relationship with your real estate agent, you want to make sure they've clearly communicated a pricing strategy that is going to get your property to sell in a reasonable time frame.

If you're thinking about buying or selling, or you have any questions about Maryland real estate, call me today for a free consultation. I look forward to hearing from you.

We recently had someone ask us if it was a good idea for them to be present during the showing of their home.

When you’re selling your home, it might be tempting for you to be present during showings to give your two cents about the home. However, there is not any situation in which this is appropriate. Having the owner in the house makes the buyers uncomfortable, and they don’t want to make comments or ask questions to offend the seller.

An owner who has an attachment to the home also has the potential to argue with the buyer’s questions and preferences. We would like to keep every opportunity and every showing open to the possibility of receiving an offer. In any circumstance, the owner should not be present at any showings.

If you have any questions for us or if you’re looking to buy or sell in the area, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

How long will it take to sell your house? Ultimately, it depends on the area your home is in, the condition of the property, and the target price.

The national average for selling a home is 100 days. That includes about 60 to 90 days to get your property under contract, as well as the 30 to 45 days for the closing process.  

I usually ask my sellers, “When can you see yourself going to the closing table?” You should allow yourself 90 days so we can market the property at its full market value. That also gives us time to attract multiple offers and negotiate price and terms with the buyer.

If you need a timeline, 100 days is a very comfortable number to base your plans and your goals on. If you have any questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What do you need to do to your house before you put it on the market? When I first visit my clients’ homes, we address that immediately. In most cases, there’s not as much to do as you might think.

Of course, you should always reduce clutter and take down personal photos. You don’t have to remodel your entire kitchen or anything like that. Don’t get too anxious about preparing your home for the market, and definitely don’t let that anxiety prevent you from selling.

We have a checklist to prepare your home for the market. In fact, it doesn’t require a lot of effort from you. My team and I have partners who can help with other services that your home might need to attract more buyers.

If you have any questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!