Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Pre-market sale in Burnt Mills Manor, a subdivision in Silver Spring, MD. Listed and sold.

 
(301)943-4370
 
 
 
 
If you need to get sold results, I would love to list your home.  We received a contract on this home before it went on the market.  
 
So, when it is time for you, your family and your friends to relocate, your first move should be contacting Adam Bashein. I always have time for and greatly appreciate your referrals.
 
Life is good!
 
Adam:  (301)943-4370
(301)469-4700 - ask for Adam
 
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. 

For listing and sold results, think of me!

(301)943-4370

 

If you need an effective realtor to list and sell your home, you need to look no further.
I got this home in Kemp Mill, a subdivision in Silver Spring, MD under contract in 17 days. How?
Through a pre-market consultation with the sellers, which included going through the home and noting improvements that would make the home shine in the next buyer's eyes. 

The owners had rented this out their home (b.t.w. I listed and rented it after they attempted to on their own for a short time period) for about a year before deciding to sell.  Regretfully, the renters didn't take great care of the home and so the sellers had to do some work on the home or probably list the home at a significantly lower price. The sellers handled the situation like pros and brought in a couple of contractors to get estimates on the work.  The work only took a couple of weeks.

As soon as the home was on the market we had many inquiries and showings.  Tons of buyers came in during the week and during the open house.

Sellers are doing great when using the right strategy.

If you or yours is thinking of relocating, contact me for a free, no-hassle, pre-market consultation.
I always have time for and greatly appreciate your referrals.

Life is good!

Adam:  (301)943-4370
(301)469-4700 - ask for Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info

Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Another successful short sale by Adam - Silver Spring (Kemp Mill), MD home

(301)943-4370



A few months ago I sold this home to first time home buyers and explained to them that the home was a short sale and it could take at least a few months for the short sale to go through, but the home was a good value.  Fortunately, the buyers were renting a home and in a position where they could wait for a short sale to be approved. 

We were fortunate that the short sale approval process took just over 2 months. I have had short sales take 6 months before getting approved.  Some buyers are in position to wait that long, others are not and others don't have the patience.

If you are considering buying a short sale, consider that you do need some patience - that is emotion. As far as the home buying process, if you are purchasing a home with a loan, it is not wise to lock in the interest rate until the short sale is approved because there are limited and defined lock periods, but we do not have a defined short sale approval wait period. You can lock in a rate and pay to extend the lock, which could be a good plan if your rate is amazing. But, still, you don't know how many times you would have to pay to extend the lock and if you would have come out better waiting for the short sale to be approved before locking in a rate.

I have experience in both standard sales and not standard sales.

If you are thinking of purchasing a short sale or foreclosure, I have been involved in several deals and can draw on those actual experiences to give you the service you deserve.

Whether you or someone you know is thinking of relocating, your first move should be calling Adam Bashein for a free no-hassle consultation.  I always have time for and am grateful for your referrals.


Life is good!

-Adam 
Call:  (301)943-4370
O:  (301)469-4700 -ask for Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info

Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

information deemed to be accurate but not guaranteed

Sunday, July 21, 2013

My client is now the owner of this wonderful home in Burleith, a subdivision in Washington, DC....beating multiple offers!

(301)943-4370
 
 



I recently sold 3603 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20007.  There were 6 offers on this home.  We won and my buyers got a great deal!

When it comes to making an offer on a home and you are told that  multiple contracts are being presented on the home, the key is figuring out how to make your offer stand out and making sure you are comfortable with the terms of your offer.  Price isn't everything but it does carry a lot of weight.  Sellers look at the buyer's loan approval letter, evaluate the buyer's financial information and whether their offer has a financing and/or an appraisal contingency.  To make their offers more attractive (because every contingency is an additional step in the home sale process and sellers want as few steps in the process as possible), some buyers forego these contingencies. 

A few things to consider if you are going to forego the financing and or appraisal contingencies:

*you are comfortable with the market trends and the value of the home.

*you are putting a lot of money down and don't need the loan to be the sales price

*you have cash in reserves to bring to settlement just in case there is an unexpected turn and your loan cannot go through or close on time.

*You can easily show the seller(s) proof of funds. A deal with no financing or appraisal contingency is wonderful only if a seller sees that the buyer has the resources to complete the transaction.

Some buyers forego home inspections.  I would tell buyers at the very least to do a general inspection so you are made aware of any potential issues with the home that come with ownership.  When one does a general inspection, it is for informational purposes and not negotiating purposes.  You can structure your sales contract so that if you are not satisfied with the inspection that you can void the contract.

The good news for my buyers is that they we were able to negotiate a regular home inpsection in the contract and got the selling party to take care of a few inspection items.

When it comes to buying and selling homes, think of Adam Bashein for Maryland and Washington, DC.

If you know someone who is considering relocating, their first move should be contacting me. I always have time and grately appreciate your referrals.

Life is good!

Adam (301)943-4370
Office:  (301)469-4700- ask for Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info

Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

information deemed to be accurate but not guaranteed







Monday, July 8, 2013

On credit checks...what's in a name?

(301)943-4370


 
 
The other day my brokerage's rental service center was running credit on potential tenants for one of my listings and the social security number of one of the candidates couldn't be verified.  On the one hand, her father is a co-applicant (and is going to co-sign the lease if everything works out), with very strong income, credit and his social security number was verified.   On the other hand, it is concerning when someone's social security number cannot be verified.
 
So over the weekend I reached out to the applicant, asked about her social security number, which I admit felt awkward, but no question is a bad question and I had a responsibility to get an understanding of the situation.   
 
What was the applicant's answer?  The applicant's mother, who is thankfully alive and well, has the same name (i.e. she was named after her mom).  Therefore, two social security numbers exist for the same/similar name and that is why the applicant's social security number couldn't be verified.  She did provide sufficient proof to me about her personal social security number. 
 
To close with an interesting anecdote, the applicant told me that she once ran a credit check on herself.  It claimed she had credit history beginning four years before she was born, which can only be explained by assuming her credit history had somehow been combined with parts of her mother's.
 
George Foreman's kids must have interesting credit reports :-0.
 
The first moral of this blog is if you are named after someone who is alive, it is quite possible that someone running your credit may not be able to verify your social security number due to confusion -- the credit bureau(s) see multiple people with the same name, which will be a red flag.  So, be prepared to verify if you are asked and please don't get offended by the question.  It is an awkward but necessary question to ask.  The second moral of the story is if you have the same name as somebody else, your credit history may be combined, mixed and matched.  So be prepared to explain that...particularly if in the credit check history shows up before your date of birth. 
 
If you or someone you know is thinking of relocating or has a real estate question, your first move should be contacting me.  I am here to help.
 
I greatly appreciate and always have time for your referrals.
 
Life is good!
 
Adam (301)943-4370
 
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
(301)469-4700 - ask for Adam
 
 
 
 
 
 


You know the saying that good fences make good neighbors?

(301)943-4370


On Friday I took a client to check out a home and he decided to write an offer on it. 
As most people I know do when they have an offer or an accepted contract on a home, my client took a drive by the home on Sunday and called me a little bit surprised, to say the least.

Sometime between when we saw the home and Sunday, the neighbor put up a fence, which runs across the front of the home.  Notice that I didn't say the fence is on the home's property. 
Without a plat or property survey, one does not know for certain where his/her property starts/stops and where the neighbor's property starts/stops.

So the natural thing to do was to take a photograph to capture the fence, the home my client has an offer on and the neighbor's property and send it to the listing agent with the question.  Fortunately, the listing agent told me that they have a plat on file and are going to check it out.

If you own a home and are planning on installing a fence, a fence company is likely going to require you to order a property survey to ensure that the fence doesn't go on the neighbor's property.  Even if the fence company doesn't require this of you, it is in your best self interest to get a property survey before ordering a fence.

When the time comes to purchase your next home, whether or not there is a fence in front of the said home or along either neighbor's home, order a property survey (even if your loan doesn't require it or you are buying the home with cash) and get title insurance.  If it shows that a neighbor's fence is on the property of the home you are buying, you can ask the settlement attorney to send a copy of the survey to the neighbor with a nice letter or you can go to the neighbor's house and nicely ask about it.  Of course, if the property survey shows that a fence that the seller put up goes onto a neighbor's property, that will need to be resolved.

Speaking of purchasing homes, rates are still at historic lows, below 5% as of the day of this blog.  It's time to get off the fence.  Rates are starting to go up as are home prices. 

If you or someone you know is thinking of relocating or has a real estate question, your first move should be calling me for a free and confidential, no hassle home buying/home selling consultation.

I always have time for and greatly appreciate your referrals.

Life is good!

Adam (301)943-4370
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info

Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
(301)469-4700--ask for Adam




Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Still a "seller's market?"

 
(301)943-4370





Last Tuesday, after hearing that rates for a 30 year fixed conventional loan went up to 4.625%,
some people wondered if we would return to a 'buyer's market'. 

People wondered if the jump in interest rates would push a number of buyers out of the market and force home owners to lower the asking price of their homes if they want to sell.  Time will tell.

In Kemp Mill, a subdivision in Silver Spring, MD., a home at 707 Horton Drive was listed in February 2013 for just under 400k and the seller decided to withdraw it from the market in March.  Last Thursday, 6/28/13, 2 days after the interest rates went up, the sellers decided to re-list their home for about $20k higher than they did back in February.  My understanding is that the sellers did not make any major improvements to the home.  They simply thought that they could take advantage of the market and command a higher price than they were asking several months ago. 

The home went under contract in 4 days (July 1, 2013), which tell us that the sellers likely got a really good offer and they were right that they could take advantage of the market. 

The 3 most important words in real estate:  location, location, location can drive up (or down) a price.  Market conditions vary by states, cities and subdivisions.  People who know and/or live in Kemp Mill know that Horton Drive is a sought after location.  Somebody who wants the location was ready, willing and able to pay probably more than what the home was originally listed for several months ago.  The previous listing data information was ( and is) available for the buyer or his/her agent on MLS to see before deciding what price to offer the sellers this time around.

It will be interested to see how the rest of the summer plays out and if sellers can keep commanding their prices or if home prices come down.

If you or someone you know is considering relocating, your first move should be contacting me for a free and confidential seller/buyer consultation.  I always have time for and greatly appreciate your referrals.

Life is good!

Adam (301)943-4370
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info

Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
information deemed to be accurate but not guaranteed