Archive for January, 2008
Wanted: Annapolis Area Realtor, Must Perform Miracles
January 31st, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Real Estate News, Sellers
You’ve probably heard that sales of St. Joseph statues are brisk these days. Lore has it that if you bury a statue of the saint upside down, facing the street, you’ll sell your home quickly.
According to one online source, St. Joseph’s reputation as a real estate deal maker can be traced to St. Teresa of Avila, who - back in the 1500’s - needed land for a new convent. Lacking sufficient funds and a decent mortgage broker who could find her a competitive rate on a 30-year fixed, she prayed to St. Joseph to intercede, burying medals with his likeness all around the desired parcel of land. It worked, and the land was hers.
Today you can find St. Joseph “kits” all over the web, including places like Catholic Supply. Most include a statue, instructions, and a prayer card for the official burying ceremony. A “deluxe” kit includes all that, plus a plastic burial bag and a St. Joseph house key chain. It’s unclear whether the deluxe version is designed for a faster sale, or higher-end homes, or both.
Heck, if the spirit moves you, go ahead and give St. Joseph a try. Meanwhile, The Moss Haedrich Team will continue to give it our earthly best with the homes we sell. We’re biased, but we think we have the most results-driven home marketing program in the Annapolis area. We expose our listings to millions of potential buyers online, and are now using only the best professional high-resolution photography with virtually all of our new listings. Have a look at our latest here.
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Keller Williams Agent Finally Gets Parole
January 28th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Okay, so I’ve lived here in Annapolis for some years and just never got what the area known as Parole was all about. Why, on earth, is it called Parole?
I mention this because in yesterday’s post on the new Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole I said I stumbled upon the answer along Route 2 as I was taking photos for that post. For the uninitiated, taking photos of anything from alongside the heavily-trafficked Route 2 is highly inadvisable, but there I was and practically walked headfirst into this sign, courtesy of The Maryland Historical Trust.
Among other things, I was reminded that I really need to bone up on my local history. You never know when you’ll wind up on Jeopardy! or get called for a guest appearance on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
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Our Changing Skyline: Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole
January 27th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
How do you feel about this?
Many of us who call Annapolis home drive by the new Annapolis Towne Centre daily. I do, several times a day, because our Keller Williams offices are within spitting distance just around the corner.
I know that some see the cranes and the skeletons of high rise condos and cringe. They imagine traffic gridlock, longer lines at checkout counters, increased pressure on local services. Some critics feel that the prettified spelling of Towne Centre is a lame attempt to put a quaint face on overdevelopment.
Personally, I think the critics are full of junque. I see a big ugly hole in the middle of town getting the sort of attractive makeover it has needed for years. I see a first class developer - Greenberg Gibbons - working the same sort of magic they have at The Village at Waugh Chapel in Gambrills and other areas. I see classy Sturbridge Homes condos with enviable views, a 75,000 sf Whole Foods - gotta love those pricey organic veggies - and a new Target about twice that size. Cool? Very. And I’m not even a shopper.
More traffic, more people? Of course. But prosperity loves company and Annapolis is going through a very attractive growth spurt. We’ll always be that fetching, historic small town by the Chesapeake Bay. But the things we love about the area - perhaps the very things that drew you here - continue to attract others.
That’s the thing about great areas like ours: nobody can be the last one in. You can’t shut the door behind you in hopes we won’t suffocate on our own success. Sure, growth has to be managed, but I think stacking several hundred luxury homes on top of one another - making good use of air space rather than precious ground space - makes perfect sense.
FOOTNOTE: Do you know where the name Parole - as in Towne Centre at Parole - comes from? I never did until I stumbled upon a historic marker along Route 2 as I was taking this photo. Tune in tomorrow for the answer.
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Finally, Some Good News For Annapolis Area Homebuyers and Owners: We Have No Bad Neighbors!
January 22nd, 2008 Categories: Buyers, One Minute Realtor, Real Estate News
Saw a report on The Today Show this morning about the latest online trend: cyber-snitching. I wasn’t aware of the term prior to this but apparently it’s all the rage, that is, going online to tattle-tale on someone for every offense from cheating on tests to driving poorly.
The Today Show guest was the founder of a new site called Rotten Neighbor, a sort of clearinghouse for - well - rotten neighbors. If the neighbors scream, smell, can’t control their barking dogs, or play bongos all night long, you can post a comment about them here, air their dirty laundry address and all.
It’s understandable you’d want to know something about the neighbors before moving into an area. We always encourage homebuyers to knock on doors and talk to people in the area - other homeowners, as well as store owners, the police, whomever - if they want firsthand feedback.
But posting neighbor complaints online seems a little vindictive and an option of last resort. For Pete’s sake, first try to be civil, talk to your neighbors, get to know them, send letters, use police intervention - anything to keep the peace and reach an understanding. (And if you can figure out a civil way to tell your neighbors they smell, you’re a better diplomat than I am.) Going so public with neighbor complaints can only fan the fires of resentment.
Of course, I couldn’t resist plugging in some Annapolis area zip codes and - just as I suspected - there are no bad neighbors in Annapolis. At least none that I could find. In fact, the site wasn’t responding all that well; maybe they were swamped with new complainers from this morning’s publicity. I prefer to think that it’s a regular neighbor love-fest out there in this wonderful city by the Chesapeake Bay.
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An Icy Dip in the Chesapeake Bay for a Great Cause - Special Olympics Maryland
January 21st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
For someone who spent nearly one-third of his life in New Hampshire, I’m not much of a polar bear. I’ve fallen through icy water up to my waist - on “frozen” New Hampshire lakes - more than once by accident. So the whole idea of jumping into icy water not-by-accident is a bit hard to swallow.
That said, I’m a softie for a good cause and tickled by all these polar bear plunge events that come along. Over the holidays, we attended one at Topsail Beach, NC, where my sister has a home, and it was quite entertaining. There was a lot more plunge than there was polar - it was about 60 degrees and sunny on the appointed day - and a couple hundred hearty men, women and screaming children did the deed.
I was not among them, but I’m under mounting pressure to take part in this one for Special Olympics Maryland on January 26th. I just might, especially if I can recruit some other crazy/hearty souls from our office and elsewhere. If you’d like to join me, let me know. I’ll post photos here soon after.
For just $50 in pledges, Plunge participants take a quick dip in the Chesapeake Bay to raise funds for Special Olympics Maryland, the state’s largest year-round organization devoted to sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Anyone can participate! (Under 18 requires parent or guardian signature.) Cool prizes for Plungers. The event is open to the public, and all spectators are welcome free of charge. All proceeds benefit Special Olympics Maryland.
Contact: 410.789.6677 x 503 or visit www.plungemd.org
Location: Sandy Point State Park. 1100 East College Parkway , Annapolis 21401
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Annapolis Area Open Houses: Do They Work?
January 18th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
We get that question all the time from clients and others who are considering selling a home. The answer is a resounding maybe.
It all depends on what you mean by work. If you’re asking is it likely that a buyer will waltz through the door, be swept off her feet and whip out the checkbook…then the answer is that there’s a slim chance. It has happened to us, but only a couple of times - minus the waltzing and whipping out of checkbook part - but you get the idea. The quick walk-in sale is something of a long shot.
But an Open House Does Create Buzz and Word-of-Mouth Advertising That Annapolis Area Sellers Just Can’t Buy
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Attention Annapolis Homebuyers: There’s Nothing To Be Nervous About
January 3rd, 2008 Categories: Buyers, One Minute Realtor
Homebuyers - here in the Annapolis, Maryland area and elsewhere - are nervous. You might guess otherwise since interest rates are still historically low, inventory abundant, and great deals more plentiful than traffic on the Bay Bridge on a Friday afternoon in August.
Homebuyers should be elated! But like I said, they’re nervous because people who don’t know them, don’t send them Christmas cards and who, apparently, have foolproof crystal balls are making them that way. So buyers are waiting, like the pundits have warned them, because they think the best is yet to come: the best homes, best interest rates, best prices. Pundits like it when people listen to the stuff they say because, well, they’re getting paid to pund and it makes them look very smart.
No Matter What You Hear About the Annapolis Area Real Estate Market, Homes Are Always Being Bought and Sold
Waiting, we’ve all been taught, is a virtue: Good things come to those who wait, and all that. But from where we stand, on the front lines of the real estate trenches, we think Abe Lincoln’s take is perhaps more instructive: “Things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” I can think of at least three recent situations where a buyer fell in love with a home but decided to wait before making an offer, expecting that the price would drop. Didn’t happen. In each case, the home was snapped up by another buyer. Do you want to buy the home you’ve fallen in love with? Or do you want the market’s leftovers?
“Waiting” or otherwise attempting to time the market is a risky homebuying strategy. It assumes an unknowable direction of the market, and fails to account for many other considerations, like your schedule and timeframe, the tax benefits and emotional security and stability that comes with homeownership. Don’t discount those things. Pay less attention to the media pundits, and more to what YOU need, and you’ll do just fine. This is a great time - in the Annapolis area and elsewhere - to be a buyer.
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