Sometimes there are some questions with Baltimore appraisals, and a big one has to do with short sales and foreclosures and whether they are used in comparisons with regular home sales. Short sales and foreclosures are "distressed" properties, often times in lesser condition than their surrounding regular homes. So why do appraisers need to take [...]
Baltimore Zillow Zestimates are still often off from true value, despite the change in algorithms last year. "Desktop Valuations" are a quick way to look at the potential value of a home, but they do not take many factors into consideration, and some of the things they DO use to determine a value should not be used! [...]
USA Today reports that economists, banking and building executives are thinking optimistically of the real estate market in the coming year, and that the housing industry may be finally close to hitting the bottom. The article does clarify, though, that prices are still expected to drop in many areas, but there should be more home sales, [...]
Baltimore County real estate had a few high end home sales in 2011. The five highest home sales in Baltimore County, according to MRIS, our local multiple listing system, included a few farms, and most had a large amount of acreage. 5. 905 Hayfields Rd, Cockeysville, MD 21030. $3,475,000. Listed and sold by Krauss Real [...]
The loan limits for FHA are at a decent amount, thanks to Congress voting to reinstate the loan limits that had been in place before, but had lapsed. Currently, the limit for an FHA mortgage in Baltimore County is $560,000. That was due to drop down to $494,500, which could have really hurt [...]
There are some things about your Baltimore home that you may have gotten used to, or don't bother you, but could affect your house's value. Recently there was an article on MSNMoney where they tackled a few of these things. Your house is different from the majority of the houses around you. If yours is [...]
Why did my house appraisal come in lower than contract price? Even with comparable sales to your contract price on your house on record, if there are other homes in the area that have sold for less since then, that says to an appraiser that values are dropping in the neighborhood. An appraiser's responsibility is [...]
The foreclosure backlog is large, and with foreclosure filings up 33% in August over July, analysts think the real estate market has yet to hit bottom. What does this mean for Baltimore real estate? Well, it could mean that Baltimore house values could see further drops. As more foreclosures come on the market in any [...]
The Buying into Baltimore Homebuying Fair for the East side is this Saturday, September 10, 2011 from 8:30am-2pm. The event begins at Mergenthaler Vocational Technical High School ("Mervo") with Check-in and Neighborhood tour sign up from 8:30-11am. There is a $10 per person charge to participate. Home buying classes are 9-11:00am, then 11am-1:15pm are the [...]
FHA loan limits across the United States had been set at a higher level to help the housing market from further decline, and in September 2010 that was extended through September 2011. Baltimore Area Loan Limits courtesy of NAR The current loan limit in Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and Harford County is $560,000 [...]