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Why does the Columbia Association Charge a Fee?

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Buyers searching for homes in Columbia, Maryland often ask me what are the Columbia Association (CA) homeowner’s fees for a specific property and what services the CA provides? In order to help new Howard County real estate buyers, I have outlined the most important information below. If you have walked through the woods, fished in a lake, called the Village Community Association for information, enjoyed an outdoor pool, attended the free summer concerts on Lake Kittamaqundi, or voted in a village election, then you have experienced some of the benefits of the CA annual charge. The CA Board of Directors sets the rate to a maximum of 75 cents per $100 of valuation assessed on 50 percent of the fair market value, as determined by the State of Maryland for real estate tax purposes. Residents contribute 70 percent of the annual charge revenue and the business community 30 percent. The Columbia Association applies the same methodology used by Howard County and the State with respect to Read More

Filed Under: Baltimore Real Estate News, Columbia, Howard County Tagged With: , , , , ,

Selling Short: A Guide To Avoiding Foreclosure And Bankruptcy

May 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Struggling homeowners who cannot keep up with mortgage payments have few choices when faced with the realities of job loss or other financial hardships which make it difficult or even impossible to pay their mortgage. Generally, there are three options: (1) Bankruptcy, (2) Foreclosure or (3) Short Selling. All three options have negative effects on a consumers credit rating, but generally bankruptcy and foreclosure have a far worse and longer impact than a successful short sale. Bankruptcy is a federal law that permits an individual to start over with a “clean slate” of debt. Essentially the debtor surrenders their assets, less certain household and personal exemptions, and those assets are used to payoff creditors for less than what is owed. The debtor is then legally relieved of the debts, and can start over. Foreclosure occurs when a homeowner defaults on mortgage payments and the bank “forecloses” its security interest in the property – the mortgage – and the property Read More

Filed Under: Baltimore Real Estate News Tagged With: , ,

BGE gives every customer $100

April 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
BGE Bill

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) announced today that beginning next month, residential customers with active gas and/or electric distribution accounts on May 1, 2012 will receive a rate credit in the amount of $100. The credit is a result of the Maryland Public Service Commission’s (PSC) review and approval of the merger of Constellation Energy and Exelon which was completed on March 12, 2012. “Our customers do not need to take any action to receive the rate credit,” said Jeannette M. Mills, vice president and chief customer officer for BGE. “We will automatically apply the credit to the BGE bill for all residential customers who have an active account on May 1. We anticipate that most of our customers will receive the credit by the end of May.” Residential customers receiving gas and/or electric distribution service from BGE under a single account number will receive a single$100rate credit. The credit will be applied to the entire bill and will apply to the Read More

Filed Under: Baltimore Real Estate News Tagged With: , , , ,

Pinnacle Tower Penthouse – One Sweet Pad

April 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
pinnacle-penthouse

I’m not sure if this will be the nicest penthouse in Baltimore – but if not, it has to be close. The 16th story Pinnacle Tower Penthouse is located in the Harborview Community off Key Highway and is simply bad ass!  Covering 7,560 sq. ft. (5,850 indoor and 1,710 off terrace space), and necessities such as 5.5 baths, 4 separate terraces, an outdoor spa, a fitness room, and a screening room. For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Pinnacle at Harborview, will offer forty eight incredibly well appointed residences with 10 unique 2 to 3 bedroom floor plans ranging 1,600 sq. ft. for the Avanti North model to over 7,500 sq. ft for the Penthouse. Some of the many features will include private and semi-private elevators, floor to ceiling glass, large terraces, Miehle & Sub-zero appliances, and 10' foot ceilings. Amenities at the Harborview include a media room, wine room with private lockers, guest suite, and meeting/party rooms.  The appointments and amenities at The Read More

Filed Under: Baltimore City, Baltimore Real Estate News, Federal Hill, Fells Point Tagged With: , , , , ,

Qualifying for a home loan in 2012

April 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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One thing that has been consistent in mortgage lending over the past several years in Baltimore has been inconsistency. All joking aside, there were likely many at fault for the Baltimore real estate market “crash” and even more are now feeling the effects. The mortgage lending environment has been reeling from the aftershocks but is finally starting to find some stability in the recent 12-18months. Today, nearly all the exotic financing options such as “Option-ARMS” or “Pick-a-Payment” have gone extinct in the Baltimore real estate market, replaced by more traditional products and qualifying terms. For qualifying, banks are looking at credit scores, debt-to-income ratios, employment history and housing history when qualifying a prospective homeowner. Minimum credit scores are now at 620, although 600 is possible with plenty of compensating factors to offset the lower score. Next, Debt-to-Income ratios show a lender what housing payment you can afford comfortably. There Read More

Filed Under: Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Baltimore Real Estate News, Howard County Tagged With: , , ,

MRIS is Increasing RETS Fees to Baltimore Realtors by 250%

April 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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I generally do not write about issues pertaining to the poor support and service Baltimore real estate agents, like myself, receive from the GBBR (Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors) or the outrageous fees real estate agents are forced to pay to their local board, Maryland Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors, just under $1,000 combined. This leads me to my issue with MRIS (Metropolitan Regional Information Systems). I found out this week that MRIS is quietly implementing a $250.00 per year charge to every agent who uses RETS (Real Estate Transaction Standard) to support consumer property searches on their real estate website. This fee is in addition to the fees agents already pay in excess of $700.00 per year simply to have access to www.mris.com Today’s real state buyers want to take control of their property search and access real estate listings 24 hours a day, which means “we”, as agents, need to provide our clients with access to MLS listing data Read More

Filed Under: Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Baltimore Real Estate News, Howard County
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