Lauren Bunting Broker MD & DE

Lauren's Blog

HomeAbility helps buyers with disabilities

Friday, August 09, 2024 Lauren Bunting

The Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) offers a special loan product called HomeAbility, and it’s designed to assist Maryland homebuyers with disabilities finance their home purchase. This is a Conventional ...

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Condominium Project Review Requirements

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Lauren Bunting

Effective this week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backed loans will begin to require additional information as part of the condominium review process. At the direction of the Federal Housing FinanceAgency ...

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HB-107 Reserve Study Wrap-Up

Thursday, June 08, 2023 Lauren Bunting

In the past two week’s article, we reviewed the Maryland General Assembly new legislation requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular ...

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House Bill 107: A Close Look At Condo Reserve Studies

Thursday, May 25, 2023 Lauren Bunting

The Maryland General Assembly has passed new legislation effective October 1, 2022, requiring all condominiums, homeowner associations, and housing cooperatives to undertake regular reserve ...

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FHFA Recalibrates Upfront Fees for 2023

Thursday, February 16, 2023 Lauren Bunting

In mid-January, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)announced further changes to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family pricing framework by introducing redesigned and ...

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$32 Million Awarded in Maryland Housing Project Awards

Thursday, October 13, 2022 Lauren Bunting

Governor Larry Hogan announced last weeknearly $32 million in project awards through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) 2022 application round for federal Low Income ...

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2022 Update from the Maryland State Legislature

Thursday, May 26, 2022 Lauren Bunting

In 2022, the Maryland State Legislature convened on January 12th and adjourned on April 11th. Maryland REALTORS® issues a report each year on the Maryland Legislative session ...

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The Fair Housing Act Explained

Thursday, May 05, 2022 Lauren Bunting

The month of April this year celebrated the 54th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the landmark civil rights law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, that made discrimination ...

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3 Tips To Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

Thursday, March 31, 2022 Lauren Bunting

You know the old tune by Tennessee Ernie Ford: You load sixteen tons, what do you get; Another day older and deeper in debt; Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul ...

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October 2021 Market Analysis

Thursday, November 18, 2021 Lauren Bunting

Maryland REALTORS® just released real estate statistics information from the October 2021 housing market analysis. The market continued its monthly trend of a decrease in units sold, down 8,665 in 2021, ...

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Mortgage requirements on second homes now stricter

Thursday, September 02, 2021 Lauren Bunting

Second home mortgage requirements are a bit stricter than first home loans, and a bit stricter than in years past with some new guidelines coming into effect this year. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ...

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VA Loan obtainable through mortgage companies, banks

Thursday, January 21, 2021 Lauren Bunting

Most people are familiar with the VA Loan, which is a loan program through the Department of Veterans Affairs.These loans are available to veterans and active-duty military members and they offer no down ...

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Adverse-market fee to start Sept. 1

Thursday, August 27, 2020 Lauren Bunting

Earlier this month, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced plans to impose a new 0.5 percent adverse-market fee on mortgage refinances starting Sept. 1.In most cases, this would cost homeowners thousands ...

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Appraisal of home important part of real estate process

Thursday, June 11, 2020 Lauren Bunting

The appraisal of a home is an important step in the real estate process, one that can certainly make or break a deal.An appraisal is a valuation of a property done by a professional, licensed individual ...

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Transfer and Recordation Taxes in MD

Monday, July 01, 2019 Lauren Bunting

Customary in the state of Maryland is a split of transfer and recordation charges between a buyer and a seller. Section 14-104(b) of the Real PropertyArticle, Annotated Code of Maryland provides that, ...

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LWB Real Estate Report: Freddie Mac Rent Control

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 Lauren Bunting

Real Estate Report:Freddie Mac announced a new program aimed to help keep rents affordable for working families without any federal, state or municipal subsidy. FreddieMac’s new Mezzanine Loan pilot provides ...

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LWB Real Estate Report: FHFA

Wednesday, November 01, 2017 Lauren Bunting

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and FreddieMac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum ...

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Many variables to consider in condo buying

Friday, June 19, 2015 Lauren Bunting

Purchasing a condominium differs from buying a single-family home in more ways than the obvious. Of course, condo ownership offers buyers the convenienceof maintenance free living since you don’t have ...

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House and Senate approve extensions

Friday, December 26, 2014 Lauren Bunting

The U.S. House and Senate approved a package of tax extensions that include an important provision that helps distressed homeowners through extending theMortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act for all of ...

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Big impact may come with new credit scoring

Friday, September 05, 2014 Lauren Bunting

Some proposed changes in credit scoring may have a big impact on how many Americans will qualify for home loans. Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), the most widely used credit score, recently announced that ...

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Many own homes through MMP effort

Friday, August 15, 2014 Lauren Bunting

The Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP) is a home loan program that can open up the door to homeownership for many Marylanders who wouldn’t otherwise beable to afford to buy their first home. This program, ...

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$25 Billion Settlement Against Banks

Thursday, March 01, 2012 Lauren Bunting

$20 billion in relief for homeowners The federal government and 49 state attorneys general have settled a lawsuit for $25 billion against the country's five biggest banks for foreclosureprocessing and ...

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FHA Waives Anti-Flipping Rules through 2012

Sunday, January 01, 2012 Lauren Bunting

Buyers looking to purchase a home with an FHA backed loan will continue to have more leeway to purchase directly from banks or investors with a recentdecision by the Federal Housing Administration to ...

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The Ins and Outs of a Short Sale

Thursday, April 07, 2011 Lauren Bunting

Real Estate Report: The Ins and Outs of a Short Sale You've probably heard the term "short sale" by now—a short sale is the phrase used when a homeowner is selling their home, but the list price ...

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Thank you so much for all of your hard work. We are so excited to move into the perfect house for us, and couldn't have done it without your guidance.

Megan and Brandon Cater

My friend was right, you are the hardest working realtor, bar none. I honestly don't think that I would have gotten through this house selling process without you.

Brenda Burbage

Lauren made first time homebuying extremely approachable, and took the time to educate me on everything involved in the process.

Amanda Hanke and Keri Swigert

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication that made this purchase possible. You advocate for your clients and I highly regard you for it. You made it possible for me and my family to achieve our goal of homeownership.

Tom Harutyunyan

Thank you so much for the very wonderful, professional job you did with selling our property. You will always be special to me.

Penny Carley

We want to say a sincere "Thank You" for all you've done for us! We know at times the road seemed never ending. Thank you for always staying positive even through our ups and downs of this process. We appreciate all you do!

Mike and Patty Locke

Lauren's extensive knowledge of the local real estate market proved to be invaluable during the purchase of our first home.

Allison Shockley and Patrick Molloy

Lauren is very easy to work with. She has helped me sell and buy homes in the area and has always been hard working and professional.

Jennifer K. Leggour

Lauren went through tremendous lengths to look out for us every step of the way all the way to the very end. If you are in need of a real estate agent who will treat your transaction as if it were their own and provide you with nothing less than A+ service you will be in good hands with Lauren.

Shireen and Mark Ambush

We were referred to Lauren by a good friend, and we couldn’t have been placed in better hands. Lauren went above and beyond in every way, throughout the entire process.

Liz Young

Lauren Bunting was our realtor when we recently sold two homes- one in Maryland and the other one in Delaware. To say we were very satisfied with all she did for us is an understatement!

Janet and Bruce Lathbury

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