Contact MargaretArchive for the 'Real Estate' Category
How Do Maryland Property Taxes Compare?
October 1st, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
No state officials want to see their state on this list…
States With The Highest Real Estate Taxes:
1. New Jersey (1.89 percent of property value)
2. New Hampshire (1.86 percent)
3. Texas (1.81 percent)
4. (tie) Wisconsin (1.76 percent)
4. (tie) Nebraska (1.76 percent)
6. Illinois (1.73 percent)
7. Connecticut (1.63 percent)
8. Michigan (1.62 percent)
9. Vermont (1.59 percent)
10. North Dakota (1.42 percent)
Although it sometimes seems Maryland’s real estate taxes are pretty high, they aren’t high enough to land us on this list. I’m not sure we’d still not be on this list if ALL state taxes were considered, however.
The national median for real estate taxes, according to an article in REALTORMag.org, is 1.04 percent of a property’s value. I’m pretty confident we’re somewhere in the middle and not on this list either…
States With The Lowest Real Estate Taxes:
1. Louisiana (0.18 percent)
2. Hawaii (0.26 percent)
3. Alabama (0.33 percent)
4. Delaware (0.43 percent)
5. West Virginia (0.49 percent)
6. South Carolina (0.50 percent)
7. (tie) Arkansas (0.52 percent)
7. (tie) Mississippi (0.52 percent)
9. New Mexico (0.55 percent)
10. Wyoming (0.58 percent)
Unfortunately, Maryland was ranked in the BOTTOM 10 of all states for its Business Climate. (Just in case you’re interested, with this being a big issue in the Gubernatorial campaign.)
Source: 2009 U.S. Census Data and Tax Foundation calculations
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For answers to your real estate questions about Bowie, Crofton, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton and other communities in Anne Arundel County or nearby Prince George’s/Howard Counties, Maryland, contact Margaret Woda at Long & Foster. If you prefer, simply click on a button below for information you can review online at your own pace.
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New Refinance Option for Troubled Crofton Homeowners
September 29th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
Troubled Crofton area homeowners who prefer to stay in their own home may have another option now besides short sale or foreclosure. They may be eligible for the FHA “short refinance” - even if they owe more on their current loan than the home is worth… and even though their current financing is not an FHA loan. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will offer certain ‘underwater’ non-FHA borrowers (who are current on their existing mortgage and whose lenders agree to write off at least ten percent of the unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage) the opportunity to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage.The FHA Short Refinance option will help people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth – or ‘underwater’ – because their local markets saw large declines in home values. Originally announced in March, these changes and other programs that have been put in place will offer a second chance to up to 3 to 4 million struggling homeowners through the end of 2012.
Participation in FHA’s refinance program is voluntary and requires the consent of all lien holders. To be eligible for a new loan, the homeowner must owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth and be current on their existing mortgage. The homeowner must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements and have a credit score equal to or greater than 500. The property must be the homeowner’s primary residence. And the borrower’s existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance, bringing that borrower’s combined loan-to-value ratio to no greater than 115%.
The existing loan to be refinanced must not be an FHA-insured loan, and the refinanced FHA-insured first mortgage must have a loan-to-value ratio of no more than 97.75 percent. Interested homeowners should contact their lenders to determine if they are eligible and whether the lender agrees the write down a portion of the unpaid principal.
The U.S. Department of Treasury will provide incentives to existing second lien holders who agree to full or partial extinguishment of the liens, provided loan-servicers execute a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) with Fannie Mae, in its capacity as financial agent for the United States, on or before October 3, 2010.
This is a VERY small window (expires October 3) for the loan-servicer to submit the required letter, and there’s no guarantee this deadline will be extended. In other words, you need to act now, this week, if you’re interested.
In the event you don’t already have an FHA mortgage lender to help you with this, send an email to me at MWoda@mris.com and I’ll provide you names and contact information for Crofton area lenders that my clients have worked with in the past year.
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For answers to your real estate questions about Bowie, Crofton, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton and other communities in Anne Arundel County or nearby Prince George’s/Howard Counties, Maryland, contact Margaret Woda at Long & Foster. If you prefer, simply click on a button below for information you can review online at your own pace.
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Townhomes Under $200,000 in Crofton MD
September 17th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
At this moment, eleven homes priced under $200,000 are on the market for sale in Crofton, Maryland.
BANCROFT–
Five homes for sale in Bancroft are listed under $200,000. The price range for ten homes on the market in this neighborhood is $120,000–$260,000.
CEDAR GROVE –
One home for sale in Cedar Grove is on the market for less than $200,000. There are five homes for sale now in this neighborhood, ranging in price from $199,900 – $249,000.
CROFTON MEADOWS –
Two homes for sale in Crofton Meadows are priced below $200,000. There are four homes now on the market in this neighborhood, ranging from $159,000–$249,900. One additional home, in an entirely different area of Crofton Meadows, is listed at $312,000.
CROFTON MEWS –
One home for sale in Crofton Mews is listed under $200,000. Only three homes are currently for sale in this neighborhood, ranging from $169,900 to $239,500.
CROFTON TOWN –
There are no homes currently on the market in Crofton Town priced under $200,000, but look for one before the end of the month. At this time, there are only two homes on the market in this neighborhood, $229,900–$250,000.
HABITAT –
There are only two homes on the market in this neighborhood, and they both are priced under $200,000 – $141,900–199,000.
There are 141 homes for sale now in the Crofton zipcode (21114), including 89 townhomes and 52 detached homes.
If you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in this community, click on Homes in Crofton to view listing details, including address, price, photos (if available), directions, and features.
Using today’s FHA ARM financing, your payment will probably be less than rent.
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Crofton Market is Down but Not Dead
August 13th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
The Crofton Real Estate Market was down in July 2010 compared to 2009, but not as much as I feared it would be.
It makes sense that fewer closings would take place, given the rush to close in June so buyers could get the tax credit. The average sold price was actually higher, however, and other statistics were “off” but not dramatically. Take a look at this chart of real estate activity for July during each of five consecutive years.
While days on market is higher than last year, the number is much lower than it was in 2008. Overall, I don’t think we can look to last month’s real estate statistics for Crofton and point to conclusive trends toward improvement or demise.
Boy, that does sound a lot like double-talk, doesn’t it. Sorry – but the bottom line is that results are mixed, and my rose-colored glasses have been misplaced.
Many thanks to my daughter-in-law, Christine Woda, for doing the research and creating this chart.
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Home Financing Changes for Crofton Buyers
August 11th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
One hundred forty-six homes for sale in Crofton will become more expensive for FHA borrowers on September 7, 2010. That’s how many homes in this community are listed under $560,000 – the maximum for FHA in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
I could write an informative post explaining all this, but no one could do it better than this video does. Please click through for some good information, presented in a very entertaining manner by Frank Garay and Brian Stevens on their website.
By the way, you’ll probably be seeing some more of these fellas… outrageous and opinionated at times, but mega-informative and entertaining.
If you’re thinking of buying or refinancing a home in Crofton with FHA financing, you’ve got less than a month to do it at today’s cost.
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My goal for Focus On Crofton is to keep current residents informed while attracting potential home buyers to Bowie, Crofton, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton and other nearby communities in Maryland. For more information, click on Margaret Woda to reach me at Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. or simply click on a button below for information you can review online at your own pace:
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