Agency discussions can be a little confusing to the consumer with listing agents, subagents, dual agency and buyer agency. But if you are a buyer, understanding the buyer’s agent role is key.A buyer’s ...

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 ...

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

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

Consumers can get confused when it comes to dual agency in real estate. The Maryland Real Estate Commission describes dual agency below: The possibility of dual agency arises ...

Anyone who sells a property in Maryland, but is a “non-resident” of the state of Maryland, must pay a withholding tax. Recently the Maryland Association of Realtors released information on various ...

The National Association of REALTORs reports that real estate wire fraud continues to be one of the most prevalent cybercrimes in the U.S. About 13,638 people were victims of wire fraud in the real estate ...

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) website, www.realtor.org, has information on county median home prices and monthly mortgage payments across the country. NAR applies the House Price ...

The Maryland Department of Housing and The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administers a State of Maryland tax credit for residents of the state who ...

The COVID-19 pandemic kicked adaptations into overdrive, so the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) recently provided a report called Adopt to Adapt, with insight into ...

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offers a Forest Conservation and Management program and there are approximately 1,300 agreements in effect covering approximately 84,000 ...

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 ...

Homeowner’s insurance is a necessity if your home is mortgaged, and this type of insurance covers the structure of your home and your personal property, as well as your personal legal responsibility ...

Maryland REALTORS® issued a housing statistics report showing that Maryland home sales dropped 41.9% to 5,124 units in December 2022, against 2021’s figure of 8,818 units. Home sales prices ...

 Since 1969, the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC), has promoted the election of pro-REALTOR® candidates across the United States. The purpose of RPAC is to use voluntary ...

The National Association of REALTORS®’ 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report shows that first-time home buyers have dropped to their lowest numbers on record. NAR further ...

2022 was a year in which we saw a shift in the real estate market: increasing mortgage rates, reduction in the volume of sales, but no increase in inventory resulting in prices ...

Back in the beginning of October, Maryland REALTORS® rolled out changes to its statewide forms library, which contains contracts, disclosures and addenda that members of Maryland ...

C-PACE is the acronym for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy. C-PACE programs provide private financing for commercial property owners to upgrade buildings with energy, resiliency, and environmental ...

The State of Maryland has announced three new Sustainable Communities and one of them is located here on the lower Eastern Shore. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced last ...

The multiple list service, BrightMLS, that provides real estate data in the Mid-Atlantic, coveringsix states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and theDistrict of Columbia), ...

The National Association of REALTORS®’ conducted the 2022 Appraisal Survey, and the results were published showing forty-seven percent of real estate professionals say they have had a transaction fall ...

Last year, Governor Larry Hogan issued a proclamation that October 30th is Weatherization Day in Maryland. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is marking ...

The Department of Housing and Community Development in Maryland (DHCD) offers a program called the Maryland WholeHome Program which can help homeowners make valuable repairs ...

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 ...

The talk about town related to real estate right now is mortgage rates are on the rise. To provide some guidance, here’s what industry experts are saying about the present and possible future ...

The National Association of Realtors explains the differences and the pros and cons to both mediation and arbitration, alternative dispute resolution options when a dispute arises from a real ...

A recent Zillow report is showing that with sales up and values up during the pandemic real estate boom, more homes are selling for over the $1 million mark. The report also detailed that the typical ...

Governor Larry Hogan announced last weekthat the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has expanded the state’s landmark SmartBuyinitiative to address rising housing ...

Condominium associations provide master policy insurance coverage, but a master policy usually covers only the building’s exterior and common areas. To have coverage for what is inside ...

The National Association of REALTORS®’ released their annual Member Profile report for 2022 recently. Based on a random sampling of NAR's membership, the Member Profile strives ...

A well-planned open house allows potential buyers to picture how life in this home would be, and in the summer, people tend to be more relaxed; it’s the time of vacations and lazy days. So making ...

Maryland REALTORS® released information on statewide June home sales. Their release states that home sales continued to slow down as prices continued to rise, according to ...

Every house has a unique architectural style. Sometimes the architecture is a blend of more than one architectural style due to additions. The National Association of Realtors explains that ...

The National Association of Realtors provides a monthly home showings report based off showing information taken from Sentrilock lockboxes, which are used by the majority of real estate agents ...

Appraisals in a sellers’ market can be troublesome, and transactions can fall apart when appraisals come up short—creating an appraisal gap. An appraisal gap is the difference between market ...

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 to summarize ...

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 ...

Governor Larry Hogan announced at the end of April that more than $200 million in financing tools and new programs will be made available to create new affordable housing opportunities in the ...

One of the important steps during a real estate purchase is conducting a title search. The title search is just one of the buyer’s closing cost expenses and is usually ordered ...

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 ...

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Maryland Mortgage Program announced the launch of two new loan products to provide higher levels of down payment and closing cost assistance. ...

The shift in interest rates is in motion. According to Forbes.com, mortgage rates have jumped 1.5 percentage points during the first three months of this year. They further communicated that ...

Maryland has a Forest Conservation and Management program in place to encourage landowners to manage their forest land in return for a reduced and/or frozen property tax assessment. Any ...

If a piece of undeveloped land is being sold that has an agricultural use, but it is the intent to change the use to residential, then the Agricultural Transfer Tax and Surcharge applies at the point ...

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 ...

Solar panels on a home can be a great selling advantage, one that provides very affordable utility bills. This type of technology is called a solar photovoltaic (“PV”) panel system or“Solar ...

What is equitable interest? An equitable interest is an "interest held by virtue of an equitable title (a title that indicates a beneficial interest in property and that gives the holder ...

In real estate, there are three levels of licensure: Salesperson, Associate Broker and Broker. Licenses are issued bythe Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which is the licensing ...

Homeowner’s insurance is a necessity if your home is mortgaged, and this type of insurance covers the structure of your home and your personal property, as well as your personal legal responsibility (or ...

It’s a hot real estate market right now, but we all remember the real estate “crash era” that began in 2008. That real estate downturn brought about many changes in financing and how loans are approved. ...

With inflation and national average costs of moving on the rise, budgeting in this expense when selling your home is important. Below are some tips for having a smooth move when selling.Try to pick an ...

Worcester County’s Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Program, which was adopted in 1990, accommodates future growth within the Critical Area, while providing for conservation of fish, wildlife and plant habitats, ...

The number one question most real estate agents are asked right now is "What is the market doing?". The best way to answer that question is to watch the market statistics and listen to the various industry ...

With property reassessments going out last month for much of Worcester County, property owners might be wondering what their options are if they disagree with the values the county assessment office has ...

According to a recent article released by the National Association of Realtors, consumers can expect slower housing price appreciation, easing inflation and rising interest rates in 2022. This statement ...

2021 was another banner year in real estate that ended very strong—here’s an “at a glance” recap of some of the various market stats.The average sales prices varied monthly throughout the year, but September ...

The National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) has a new rating methodology, Risk Rating 2.0, and FEMA says it will deliver rates that are easier to understand and better reflect a property’s unique flood ...

A common question from sellers is “when is the best time to sell my house?”. But, the answer to that question is multi-faceted and dependent on market conditions.Traditionally, the slowest buyer demand ...

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, ...

Landlords have an importantdecision to make when selecting a tenant to rent their investment propertyyear-round. Property owners have traditionally interviewed prospective tenantsin person and asked for ...

Earnest money is a deposit made to a seller that represents a buyer's good faith to buy a home. This deposit money can be called an escrow deposit, good faith deposit, or earnest money. But, whatever ...

FEMA is changing the way it views flood risk and prices flood insurance. The National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) new rating methodology, Risk Rating 2.0, and FEMA says it will deliver rates that ...

Condominium associations provide master policy insurance coverage, but a master policy usually covers only the building’s exterior and common areas. To have coverage for what is inside your condo unit, ...

With low inventory in our market,and a high buyer demand, we are experiencing many multiple offer situations onproperties. It’s important to pay attention to contract details to be sure thatverbal agreements ...

The Maryland Real Estate Commission is the regulatory agency that provides licenses to real estate brokers and agents.Its office receives 400-500 consumer complaints annually.Maryland Real Estate Commission ...

Real Estate Report: Title Insurance Most commonly used in the state of Maryland to protect a buyer, and ensure that title to a property is clear and marketable in a real estate transaction,is the ...

Real Estate Report: Homebuyers may be eligible to receive up to $5000.00 in closing cost assistance through Bank of America’s Home Grant program. These funds can be usedto help with nonrecurring closing ...

Real Estate Report: The majority of buyers search online when looking for homes, in fact 95% of homebuyers use online websites, and 72% use a mobile or tablet app to assistin their home search, based ...

Real Estate Report:With the Federal Reserve raising interest rates last week by a quarter of a percentage point and signaling that the central bank is on track to raiserates twice more in 2018—homebuyers ...

Real Estate Report: CMA vs. AppraisalTo clear up any confusion, there is a definite difference between a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and an appraisal. Basically, they are two differentlevels of ...

Real Estate Report:The National Association of Realtors® official magazine, Realtor®Mag,recently published these eight tips for property managers and landlords to help prevent discrimination lawsuits—as ...

The Maryland Realtors® released their 2018 Legislative Priorities list for Realtors throughout the state to be aware ofthe key legislation being considered that will affect the real estate industry. Here ...

An important affordable loan product for the Ocean Pines area is in jeopardy—the 100% financing USDA loan. The U.S. Department of AgricultureRural Development Maryland/Delaware State Office has ...

The National Association of Realtors issued a news release that summarizes real estate related tax items in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act put into place justbefore Christmas. They started by saying that Realtors ...

Contingencies Provide Buyers an Important Check and BalancePurchasing a new home is normally the biggest investment you’ll ever make and once you’ve bought a home, it’s a decision you can’t easily reverse.Contracts ...

The Maryland Association of Realtors has issued a new brochure for the public entitled “Get to Know the Role of Real Estate Agents”. The brochure coversthe role of agents and agency relationships and ...

Most real estate agents are Realtors®, which means they are members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). By belonging to NAR, all memberRealtors are bound by NAR’s Code of Ethics. But beyond ...

For those considering a purchase of a new home in 2017, there are steps you can take to prepare yourself financially. The first step is to contact a localmortgage broker that can help review your current ...

The relationship between a real estate agent and the parties involved in a transaction is not exactly simple. If you've ever viewed property with a licensed Realtor, you should have been presented with ...

In a recent news release issued by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), it was reported that Realtors continue to invest in new technology for theirbusiness and have spent more than they did in ...

Have you ever wondered what qualifications your Realtor encompasses? To be a licensed Realtor, there is a detailed list of requirements, not only to obtain your license initially, but also to maintain ...

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued a news release announcing its "Blueprint for Access". This blueprint outlines the additional steps the FHA is taking to expand access to credit for underserved ...

So you want to buy a home, but don’t know where to begin. Many prospective homebuyers call an agent to see a property before figuring out what they reallywant in a home and also before the other crucial ...

Real Estate Report: Important first steps to buying a home With affordability on the rise, and interest rates at all time lows, more people are asking the question—should I rent or buy? The most ...

2nd Quarter Worc. County Housing Statistics.The MD Association of Realtors released their housing statistics for the 2nd quarter of 2012 and the numbers show some mixed blessings for Worcester County.The ...

Holding out to try and find the lowest price is not always the best strategy...Are your feet stuck in the sand when it comes to investing? Not sure what to do with your money in today’s economic climate? ...

Have you looked at real estate ads lately, and wondered if there was a printing error that caused a box of squiggly lines to appear?? Well, it's no mistake. It's one of the newest mobile internet technologies ...