Real Estate Information

Here’s a quick quiz:

True or False? Houses are not selling in this market.

True or False? Almost nobody can get a mortgage these days.

If you answered false to both of these statements, you are correct! Not only are houses selling, but the statistics show that the majority of the houses that are selling have mortgages attached to those transactions. 

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in their Existing Homes Sales Report, an average of 12,109 homes are selling every day in the United States. In other words, about 12,000 homes sold yesterday, 12,000 homes will sell today, and about 12,000 homes will sell tomorrow. 12,000 homes a day does NOT sound as if houses are not selling in this market!

Another fact emphasized in the report is that 72% of the transactions taking place are accompanied by a mortgage. In other words, about 8,719 people qualify for a mortgage daily in the United States. 

With over 12,000 homes sold and over 8,000 mortgages granted daily, the real estate market is doing better than most people would believe.

Are you looking to add your house to the list of 12,000 sold every day? Give us a call! We are honored to serve you and those you know in the home buying and selling process, and we are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

Information courtesy of our friends from ​Keeping Current Matters.

"People are Buying Homes AND GETTING MORTGAGES!" The KCM Blog. Ed. The KCM Crew. 11 Jan. 2012. Keeping Current Matters. 11 January 2012.

First impressions mean a lot. Think about it. If you are about to meet a blind date, and he shows up wearing unwashed, stained clothing or hasn't showered in a week, your first impression will probably also be your last impression because it is unlikely you will go on another date with this person!  

The same is true in real estate. You can tell a lot about how an agent is going to market your home by how they market themselves. Since marketing (apart from price) is one of the biggest factors that is going to sell your home, you need someone who is going to market SMART. So what does that look like? Below are some things to consider before you select a seller's agent.

• How have they marketed their current listings? Check out your agent's website (hopefully they have one--if not, that may be your first indicator about their marketing strategies--or "lack of" marketing strategies!). What are they doing that sets their listings apart from the others? Does the photography highlight the great features of the properties or detract from the properties (because the pictures are blurry, or they did not have the clients remove clutter before taking pictures).  
• Are the photos they use for themselves updated and representative of them? You've seen it before...someone meets somebody "online," checks out their Facebook photo and upon meeting them discovers that the photo the person is using is not the most recent photo. Don't let this happen to you with an agent!  
• What does their print advertising look like? Does it stand out or does it look like everyone elses?
• What technology do they use to market houses? Do they use video?
• Is their website up-to-date, informative and interesting, or is it just a "cut and paste" of other real estate websites?  
• What is their professional presence like on social networks? Are they even professional on social networks? Are they even on social networks?
• Does their marketing reveal their expertise or is it just a list of qualifications?

While photos and videos are helpful in generating interest for your house, it is important how an agent drives the traffic to those photos and videos as well.  

Need a SMART marketer today? Check out our website to see how well we meet these qualifications. Then, give us a call today! We are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

"How Your Agent Markets Themselves Indicates How They Will Market Your Home.” The KCM Blog. Ed. The KCM Crew. 22 Dec. 2011 Keeping Current Matters. 22 December 2011.

Many statistics are showing that more and more young people between the ages of 25-34 are still living at (or returning to) home.  Do you fall into this category (or have someone between those ages still at home with you?)?  Click HERE to read a compelling article about why it is a SMART decision for young families to buy now!

Give us a call today if we can serve you in any way in the home buying process.  We are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

We think so, but don't believe our opinion.  Take a look at our friends from ​Keeping Current Matters​ infograph to see which states have the highest migration rate.  

If you or someone you know is planning on buying or selling in 2012 in Baltimore (or elsewhere!), give us a call.  We are never too busy for your referrals, and we can refer some great agents in other states as well.  We are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

"Where Are People Moving To and From.” The KCM Blog. Ed. The KCM Crew. 27 Jan. 2012. Keeping Current Matters. 27 January 2012.

Just in case you STILL don't believe that the housing market IS recovering, we've found yet another expert with a positive outlook. Click HERE to read what ​USA Today​ has to say about the housing market in 2012.

Want to hear more great news about the housing market? Give us a call today. We'd be honored to serve you or anyone you know in the home buying or selling process. We are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

Schmit, Julie. "Housing Outlook is More Upbeat.” USA Today. 16 Jan. 2012.

While the news and media paint a bleak picture about the current housing market, we at The Dailey Group are (and remain) optimistic! We've given you lots of posts about why now is a good time to buy and how to sell SMART in this economy, but we know that there are skeptics out there. Today, we want to give you some statistics from a pretty well known and reliable source. Click HERE to see what The Washington Post ​has to say about the current housing market.

If you or anyone you know is thinking about buying or selling in 2012, give us a call today. We are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

"Housing Market and Economy Showing Encouraging Signs." The Washington Post with Bloomberg. 19 January 2012.

Once again, our good friends at ​Keeping Current Matters have provided an excellent infograph related to common beliefs about renting.  Check it out:

No matter which age bracket you fall into, we are honored to help you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!  Give us a call today if we can be of assistance.

Seth and Alyce Dailey

"Belief That "Now is the Time to Buy" by Age Group.” The KCM Blog. Ed. The KCM Crew. 20 Jan. 2012. Keeping Current Matters. 20 January 2012.

We once had a friend who assumed that there was nothing behind her as she backed up.  The result? She backed right into her boss’s car. She learned very quickly that you should never make assumptions.

Generally, this is true, but for first time home buyers (who will someday become sellers as well), there is one assumption you want to make—a FHA assumable loan. 

What does it mean to have a FHA assumable loan? It means that when an FHA homebuyer of today is prepared to sell his home later on, a qualified purchaser can “assume” the loan at the interest rate given to the original buyer. 

It is likely that interest rates will rise to more of a “normal” range (between 6.5% and 7%) in the next few years. When you assume a mortgage, the mortgage terms remain the same. In other words, a buyer five or ten years from now can take advantage of the 4-4.5% rate you got now rather than the 6.5%-7% rate of the future. Since interest rates greatly effect how much house a homebuyer can afford, this makes your house even more marketable to the buyer of the future.

As an example, a $300,000 loan at 4% today carries with it a $1,432.25 principal and interest payment on a 30 year fixed mortgage. If offered for sale in five years, the purchaser could assume the $271,858.56 balance with the same $1,432.25 payment and remaining term of 25 years. The total payments over the 25 years would be $429,675.

Compare that to a new $272,000 loan at 6.5% for 25 years, which would carry a monthly payment of $1,836.56 (over $400 more a month than the assumption and more than $120,000 more over the 25 year term).

At 6.5% for 25 years, to wind up with the same payment as the assumed mortgage, our borrowers would only be getting $212,000…$60,000 LESS!

Basically, when interest rates do rise, those homes with assumable mortgages will have more value and will sell at higher prices in the future because they will be more affordable at the lower interest rate. An even greater bonus? Closing costs on houses with assumable mortgages are significantly less. 

As is the case with any loan, the borrowers must have strong credit and be approved for the financing, but the same qualifications would apply if they were trying to get a new, non-assumable mortgage as well.

FHA mortgages offer a ton of benefits (low down payment requirements, extended income ratios, lower credit scores, and easier sourcing of funds). Now, you can add the loan’s ability to be assumed to that list of benefits!

Know any first time homebuyers (or second, or third time home buyers) that need some assistance? Give us a call today. We are committed to helping you and those you know Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

Hartman, Dean. “The Power of Assumability.” The KCM Blog. Ed. The KCM Crew. 12 Jan. 2012. Keeping Current Matters. 12 January 2012.

Super Bowl Sunday is over, and, even though we didn't get to watch OUR favorite team this year (SO CLOSE!), we did enjoy the entertainment, fun, food and fellowship that the Super Bowl provides.

Since most of us are still in the "football" team mindset, we thought we'd give you some football analogies about the team members in the home buying process.  Enjoy!

Head Coach (Your Real Estate Agent)—Your real estate agent should be the Head Coach.  After careful analysis of your wants and needs in the home buying process, this is the person in the best position to help you create your game plan.  They can counsel you on the geography, the competition and the best ways to negotiate your way to your own personal “touchdown.”  Agents know the playing field (the inventory and the market).  If you hire them to represent you, they can disclose the weaknesses of your competition (the seller).

Offensive Coordinator (Your Loan Officer)—Your loan is your offensive coordinator.  They evaluate your income, credit and assets in order to help you play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.  Your loan officer can discuss the economic realities of home ownership, while listening to your quality of life concerns (How often you’ll be able to eat out or vacation, for example).

Offensive Line (Your Attorney, Accountant and Financial Advisors) – Your attorney, accountant and financial advisors are your offensive line. They are there to protect you from the blitzes that come from outside (sellers, title issues, tax consequences, and protecting your assets). Not the glamour positions, but vital to any success you are going to have.

Running Backs and Wide Receivers (Your Friends and Family) – Your friends and family are the running backs and wide receivers. They often receive the glory and attention, but honestly, if everyone else doesn’t do their job, they rarely ever see success. Bad game plans, weak play calling, poor execution on the offensive line or by you, as quarterback, leave them merely as names on the roster.

As with any team, communication is the most important component to getting the desired results. Being the center of the action on the field, the quarterback (you) needs to honestly talk with your coaches and coordinators, so they can help direct you on the proper play calling. Simultaneously, you need to heed the feedback from your offensive line, running backs, and receivers to filter wise advice from emotion. Be the quarterback of your own home-buying process and you’ll be more likely to realize your dreams (and not the dreams of someone else).

​We are committed to cheering on YOUR team in the home buying process.  Give us a call today to help you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce

P.S. Need some additional "team" members?  We can refer some great loan officers  to be your "Offensive Coordinator" in this process.  Give us a call!

"Who's the Quarterback?" The KCM Blog. Ed. The KCM Crew. 02 Feb. 2012. Keeping Current Matters. 02 February 2012.

"Thank you so much for endorsing Seth and Alyce Dailey as residential real estate ELPs. They were the best teachers we could have ever had as we approached buying our first home. Instead of just walking us through homes, they sat down with us for several hours and talked to us about our understanding of real estate, financing, location, and risks involved with purchasing. Thanks to Seth and Alyce, we have decided to wait on purchasing a home instead of getting in over our heads. We are so thankful that they took the time to teach us instead of just trying to sell a home."

If you or anyone you know would benefit from our services, give us a call today.  

​We are committed to helping you Buy. Sell. Live. SMART!

Seth & Alyce