Anne Arundel County Maryland Real Estate Video Blog with Diane Donnelly: 2014

Waiting to sell WILL impact your Wallet

There are many great Anne Arundel County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, Click here for an in-depth overview of the selling process. You may also call me at (410) 320-6551 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Top 10 Reasons to Sell Now

Today we are going to give you 10 reasons to sell your home in our current market, instead of waiting until the 1st of the year or until next spring. All of these reasons help illustrate the point that selling now can net you a lot more money than waiting can.

10. More Buying Power
Selling now can give you more buying power to purchase as a non-contingent buyer once January rolls around. It gives you more negotiating power as well.

9. New Hires

The beginning of the year is when most companies bring in new hires to the area. They will want to move in at the beginning of the year, but find a home now, towards the end of 2014. You have to be on the market to take advantage of this.

8. Secure a Contract Now While Selling is High

You can also arrange for a delayed closing or rent back from the buyer if you don't want to move right away.

7. Less Competition

Many sellers will wait to list their homes until the first of the year. This causes a big increase in inventory. The more you wait, the more you create competition for yourself.

6. Low Interest Rates
Interest rates are incredibly low right now. This allows buyers to afford more in the market.

5. Motivation

More people become motivated to buy during the holiday season than at any other time of the year.

4. Emotions

Buying a home is an emotional purchase and emotions tend to run high during the holiday season. They tend to offer higher prices as well

3. Time Off

Many people have time off during the holidays, increasing their availability to see homes. Buyers out in this market tend to be very serious about finding good homes quickly.

2. Taxes

Another motivation for buyers around this time of year is taxes. A lot of people are trying to purchase homes before the end of the year so they can get the tax breaks from them.

1. Low Inventory

There are typically much fewer homes on the market this time of year. Less supply means less competition, which in turn means more money in your pocket for your home sale.

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We would be more than happy to help.

How we helped John sell his home in 7 days by keeping him informed

"The Donnelly Group was aces from beginning to end! We were referred to her because our previous agent wasn’t performing up to her abilities. Everything was great from beginning to end and she sold our house pretty quickly! It sold in about 7 days when the other agent had it for 3-4 months. Dianne would give her advice but we didn’t have to follow it and she always kept us informed of exactly what was going on."

How we helped Nadine with her real estate needs by being responsive

"I felt very good about the whole experience. I think they were very professional and Tricia Roe would always answer my calls and if I left her a voice mail, which I don’t think I had to, she’d immediately call me back. It was the same with emails, they were just so responsive! I was just very pleased with the whole experience!"

How we helped Michael sell his home by providing him with a professional stager and photographer

"We were able to sell my home in 9 days and then they also helped me navigate the purchase of my next home without any flaws. They even sent us a professional stager and a professional photographer to help us prepare the home for sale which we really appreciated. It ended up selling for the highest price in the neighborhood!"

An Amazing Opportunity for 1st Time Home Buyers

Today we are talking about a very cool program for 1st time home buyers in Maryland, and we have invited Mike Archer from First Home Mortgage to talk about it.

The program is called the Maryland Home Credit and it offers 1st time home buyers up to $2,000 in tax credit. The state of Maryland is offering a credit of up to 25% of the interest that the buyer pays over the course of the year. The credit will continue for the life of the loan so you could save as much as $60,000 over the course of a 30-yr mortgage.

This program is in its infancy. It was just released on July 1, and so far it's a helpful program that needs a little bit more exposure. The lack of promotion for a great opportunity like this is probably due to the fact that there are currently only 5 lenders that are qualified to participate in this program. If you are talking to a non-participating lender, chances are you won't hear about this incredible chance to save a substantial amount on your mortgage payments. If you are looking to purchase your first home, this definitely isn't an opportunity to let pass you by.

Just give us a call if you have any questions about the program and we will get you taken care of.

We helped first time home buyer Lucas purchase a home with our knowledge of the real estate process

"The entire process was very positive. My Realtor really knew the ins and outs of the real estate game. The level of service I received as a first time home buyer was just fantastic. They were really able to get an idea of what we were looking for and helped us find the right place."

How we helped Rodney with his real estate needs by going above and beyond in marketing the home

"I was very happy with what the Donnelly Group did for me. They went above and beyond in every aspect. The put together a nice slideshow of the home, a virtual tour, and all of that stuff so those who were looking online would get a better view of the home inside and out."

How we helped Carrie with the sale of her home by helping her find comparables

"We’re actually still working with the Donnelly Group. We’re still in the process of purchasing a home through them, but in the sale of our home we met with Diane and she came over to the house and helped us find comparables. She actually sold the house for more than we intended on so we’re pretty happy with the experience."

Market snapshot for Anne Arundel County

We've seen some interesting trends in the area lately that we think you should know about. Home sales are up 4% since last year, while the time on market has decreased by 7 days. Additionally, we've seen a massive spike in available inventory - a 26% increase since last year! What does all of this mean for you?

Sellers:

Making your home shine is more important than ever. Now is the time to do the painting you've been putting off or add to the curb appeal you never thought was important.
You have to price your home aggressively. With all the competition, overpricing your home will push buyers toward others.
Your home has to have a clear, more identifiable, better value than your neighbors. It needs to look and be priced as irresistible as possible.

Buyers:

Now is the time to buy!
Interest rates are around 3.5%-4%, meaning payments are lower than ever before and homes are generally more affordable.
There is a lot available to you, so you can be choosy. There is no better time to find that perfect home

As you can see, the market is favoring buyers at the moment. It's important to remember, however, that conditions change throughout the year and are sometimes neighborhood-specific. For advice on buying and selling under current market conditions, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to take care of you!

Don't Get Zillow'd!

If you're looking to buy or sell a home, Zillow can be a good place to start. You should, however, be aware of its significant limitations. For instance:

In the Baltimore area, Zillow estimates are only within 20% of the actual value of your home 86.5% of the time.

This means that 13.5% of the time its "zestimate" is more than 20% inaccurate.

Zillow uses nonspecific data from all over the county. They aren't on the ground assessing the value on a home-by-home basis.

If someone told you that your house would sell anywhere from $240,000 to $360,000, would that be of any help? You would still have no idea where you should price your home to sell, and are left without expectations.That's why working with a real estate professional is the best option if you want up-to-date and accurate information.

We'd be happy to check out your home and crunch the numbers for you - for free. Give us a call or shoot us an email, we'd love to make your buying and selling experience a good one.

Anne Arundel County Market Update for Summer 2014

It is an exciting time in the Anne Arundel County real estate market. There are so many different things going on, it's hard to keep track of it all. This is why I decided to do a market update for you so that you can be up-to-date with all the latest trends. Here are some of the highlights:

Home Inventory is up an astonishing 22% from last year. There are over 2,500 new homes in the market for you to choose from, which is great news for sellers.
Inventory has increased 15% in the last month alone. This makes right now the perfect time to buy while inventory is at its peak.

The average days a home is on the market is down 3.66% to 79 days. This is an encouraging figure for those who are debating about whether to sell their home or not.

The average sale price for a home in Anne Arundel County is down 1%. Combined with low interest rates that are predicted to go up soon, this is another incentive to sell now.

In summary, the Anne Arundel County market can be advantageous for both buyers and sellers. Buyers can take advantage of the massive inventory and selection to have their pick of a home. Sellers can take comfort in the fact that their home will spend less time on the market, without the overall value of their home decreasing much, if at all.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call. We would love the chance to talk to you more!

How we helped Patricia with her real estate needs by always being accessible

"Having not gone through the experience in a long time, I was very impressed with how professional, helpful, and accessible the Donnelly Group was. They’d answer calls when I had concerns and always had time for me. They were incredibly patient, informative, and reassuring. I’d recommend them to anyone!"

How we helped Isabel sell her home in a short amount of time for the most amount of money

"Diane really has the magic touch! She sold our home in 16 days when we were panic stricken to get the deal through. She calmed us down and made us feel that everything was going to be okay. Hire them, you won’t regret it!"

Diane Donnelly Reviews - Yvonne Gazelle

(The Donnelly Group did a very good job when I worked with them. I had 2 short sales and we got list price for both of them. The short sale process is very long and I know that she was doing things behind the scenes to make sure people were feeling as urgent as I was to get things done and I really appreciated that. She had wonderful communication and that definitely sets them apart from the rest. She also has her own office manager which was very helpful. The Donnelly Group is a great company and you should definitely hire them!)

Our New Builder Relations Manager Will Help Sell Brand New Homes

There are many great Anne Arundel County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (512) 590-0850 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Welcome to the team, Mike!

Today I am very proud to announce that we have added a new team member here at the Donnelly Group. His name is Mike Scarpignato, and he is our new Director of Builder Relations.

Mike has been in the new home construction business for over 30 years, and has also managed his own residential remodeling company as well as served as the vice president for one of the top 10 biggest building firms in the country.

Mike will be helping us to sell homes in the new construction area, and will be working directly with builders to help us sell homes. On a day to day basis he will be helping builders sell more homes and also helping buyers to buy new homes. All of Mike's experience over the years will lend directly into his new position and he is poised to succeed in all of his responsibilities.

We couldn't be more excited to have Mike on board, and hopefully you are, too. If you're looking for a newly constructed home in Maryland, then give us a call today and we can set up an appointment.

Additionally, feel free to contact me with any and all of your Maryland real estate needs because we work with much more than just new construction. I would be more than happy to help you out.

First Time Home Buyers in Maryland are Eligible for a $5,000 Grant

There are many great Anne Arundel County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Value Report so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (512) 590-0850 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

I have invited a special guest today from First Home Mortgage. Mike Archer is here to explain a tremendous home loan program designed for first-time home buyers in Maryland.

Maryland Mortgage Program

This mortgage program is designed for first-time home buyers, although you can be a repeat buyer if you're purchasing in a targeted area (Baltimore areas and across the Bay Bridge). The primary benefit of this program is that Maryland will offer a $5,000 grant towards the buyer's closing costs, and it can be applied to the FHA's minimum down payment. So, it can actually apply to down payments and closing costs.

Through this program you are able to do a conventional loan, an FHA loan, or a VA loan. Right now everyone is talking about the 3% down conventional loan, so you're getting a lower down payment option on a good loan with reduced mortgage insurance. The state of Maryland has negotiated reduced premiums for first-time Maryland home buyers.

Within this program are many other sub-programs. I will go into detail on two of these important ones.

Builder Match Program: If you're buying new construction and the builder is partnered with CDA, the state will offer the $5,000 dollar grant plus an additional $2,500!
Disabled Veterans Program: This program is brand new, and offers disabled veterans a 3% fixed rate for 30 years, as well as the $5,000 dollar grant.

So if you know any first time home buyers or veterans that would be able to take advantage of this program, be sure to contact me. Also, if you would like to discuss Maryland real estate, please contact me at (443) 270-5093 or email me at diane@tdgmoves.com

Spring Cleaning: 4 Tips for Properly Staging Your Home!

When preparing your home for sale, keep in mind that the ultimate goals of staging are to make your home feel as large as possible, as bright and “airy” as possible and to appeal to the masses. To stage your home properly, I’ve out lined four simple steps that you can follow:

De-clutter. If you don’t need it in the home before you move, take it out! Place your extra items at a friend’s house, storage unit or P.O.D.
Neutralize your home. If you have dark walls or different colored carpet throughout your house, make the change immediately – it’s significant! This could include painting your walls tan, not white (it is too stark and too cold), and keep your carpet tan as well.
Maximize curb appeal. This means your lawn has to be mowed at all times, edge the corners of the lawn and trim the bushes back and avoid them from feeling overcrowded.
Review comparable home sales. Inventory homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood and find out what they have done to stage their homes. Apply those techniques to your home!

I have many more ideas that I would love to share with you! If you want more information or have any questions, please feel free to call or email me. Thanks and have a great day!

How to Appeal to Buyers When Pricing Your Home

There are many great Anne Arundel County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (410) 320-6551 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

With a spring market approaching here in Annapolis, I'm going to cover a topic that's going to be important as the real estate market warms up. If you're selling your home, the most important thing you can do to sell it quickly and efficiently is to price it correctly.

Think Like a Buyer or an Appraiser When Pricing

It is not the seller who determines the value of a property. A home is only as valuable as a buyer or appraiser makes it out to be. You have to keep this in mind when pricing your home because you're not the one determining the value. Here are a few thing I suggest for you to do in the process of pricing your property. These suggestions are very similar to the process that appraisers go through when pricing a property.

Analyze the Recent Market for a Comparative Price: To get an idea of what your property might be worth, you need to look back at all the properties that sold in the last 6 months and determine how your property compares to them.

You need to take into account the size, location, and features that your home offers.

Weigh the Pros and Cons: Simply put - what does your property offer that other ones do not?

You have to remember to be honest with yourself about what your home does and does not offer, because when buyers do this with their agents, they're not going to be cutting any slack in comparing your home to others.

Mistakes to Avoid

Estimating Your Value Based on What You Owe: What you owe on your home has no relation to the price that it should be listed at. Neither the appraiser nor the buyer will consider this, and you shouldn't either.
Using the Tax Assessment for Pricing: You might be tempted to compare the value of your home to the price listed on your tax assessment, but that is not an accurate way to gauge the price of your home. Prices have changed dramatically within the last 8 years and the tax assessment is not a valid tool to determine the value of your home.
Overpricing: Do not price high and then go low. This could cost you lots of money, as buyers will not even consider your property if this happens. Find a nice, attractive value to avoid pricing yourself out of the market.

The best advice I can give you to price your home is to look at the listings for comparable properties within the last 6 months because this is what appraisers and buyers will also be doing. However, your best bet would be to consult with me to accurately gauge a price for your home. Also, if you need any assistance buying or selling real estate in Annapolis, I can be reached at (443) 270-5093 or email me at diane@tdgmoves.com

Why You Should Sell Now - Not this Spring

Hello again, and welcome back to my video blog. Today I'm going to answer a question that I always hear at this time of the year.

Should I sell my home or wait for the spring market?

People always ask me this and I always tell them the same thing: DON'T WAIT

Most people believe that spring is the best time to sell a home, but this is simply not true. When you put your home on the market in the spring you will see more competition, which will only get you a lower price on your home.
The buyers that are out looking right now are very serious buyers. Although there are less people looking for homes right now, these potential buyers mean business. By spring they will have likely already found a home.
You will get to move during the spring if you buy now, which is a nice way to avoid the summer rush that movers experience. This way it will be less costly and you can actually enjoy the nice spring weather.

These are reasons why you should start listing your home right now. The sooner you sell it, the better off you will be. There is no question that putting your home on the market right now will be a step in the right direction.

If you need to contact me for any reason whatsoever, feel free to call (443) 270-5093 or email diane@tdgmoves.com

Anne Arundel County, MD market update – 2013, what to expect in 2014, and how to save $30k or more

There are many great Anne Arundel County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (410) 320-6551 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Last year we saw an unprecedented growth in our marketplace with a relatively huge surge across the board. Overall, average sales prices and year over year prices jumped 8.61% in December. The average sales price for detached homes went up during the same time period a very significant 10.13% and for town-homes the statistic was 4.85%. In terms of the number of Days on Market, we saw a change of 13.5% - a very significant change.

More Change Expected in the Coming Months and Year

Here in 2014 we can speculate as to what to expect moving forward based on what we have seen in the past several months. Inventory is starting to indicate a turn in season, typical of this time of year. But one of the biggest driving factors is the likely change to interest rates.

Home Buyers Can Expect to Save $30k or More

A highlight of this year will likely be the rising rates, expected to jump, but without the certainty of how much. The example we use is of a $300,000 home. Assuming the interest rate of 4.25%: the payment on said home would be $1,488.50 a month for a 30-year fixed rate loan. If you were to increase the loan amount by just a half percent, the payment would jump to $1,576, marking an increase of $88 per month. This may not seem very much but over time it adds up very quickly. In fact, that small percentage increase amounts to a very large extra expense of $31,680 for the life of the loan!

What this means to you is this – if you are considering buying a home or investing in a property anytime soon or even in the near future – now is definitely the time to do it. Rates are still at historic lows, and before they do get up there, we encourage exploring the market for your next property!

Call or email us today!

443-270-5093

diane@tdgomves.com

Why Hire The Diane Donnelly Group to Sell Your Home?

The Donnelly Group Testimonials

Click to hear recent
testimonials from happy clients

Joann - "It wasn’t just a piece of property for them, they understood everything that was going on for me and provided wonderful service.”

Yvonne - "She had wonderful communication and that definitely sets them apart from the rest."

Isabel - "Diane really has the magic touch! She sold our home in 16 days when we were panic stricken to get the deal through. She calmed us down and made us feel that everything was going to be okay. Hire them, you won’t regret it!"

Randy - "The Donnelly Group is very proactive and creative in terms of putting the word out about your home. They always got back to me to answer any questions I had and did what it took to get my house sold. They’re a great team and I’d highly recommend them!"

Patricia - "Having not gone through the experience in a long time, I was very impressed with how professional, helpful, and accessible the Donnelly Group was. They’d answer calls when I had concerns and always had time for me. They were incredibly patient, informative, and reassuring. I’d recommend them to anyone!"

Carrie - "We’re actually still working with the Donnelly Group. We’re still in the process of purchasing a home through them, but in the sale of our home we met with Diane and she came over to the house and helped us find comparables. She actually sold the house for more than we intended on so we’re pretty happy with the experience."

Rodney - "I was very happy with what the Donnelly Group did for me. They went above and beyond in every aspect. The put together a nice slideshow of the home, a virtual tour, and all of that stuff so those who were looking online would get a better view of the home inside and out."

Lucas - "The entire process was very positive. My Realtor really knew the ins and outs of the real estate game. The level of service I received as a first time home buyer was just fantastic. They were really able to get an idea of what we were looking for and helped us find the right place."

Michael - "We were able to sell my home in 9 days and then they also helped me navigate the purchase of my next home without any flaws. They even sent us a professional stager and a professional photographer to help us prepare the home for sale which we really appreciated. It ended up selling for the highest price in the neighborhood!"

John - "The Donnelly Group was aces from beginning to end! We were referred to her because our previous agent wasn’t performing up to her abilities. Everything was great from beginning to end and she sold our house pretty quickly! It sold in about 7 days when the other agent had it for 3-4 months. Dianne would give her advice but we didn’t have to follow it and she always kept us informed of exactly what was going on."

Nadine - "I felt very good about the whole experience. I think they were very professional and Tricia Roe would always answer my calls and if I left her a voice mail, which I don’t think I had to, she’d immediately call me back. It was the same with emails, they were just so responsive! I was just very pleased with the whole experience!"

Tracey -"We listed my daughter’s house with them, and within two weeks it had sold. The situation was that my daughter’s husband had died, so it was a very emotional and difficult time for her. At one point we had a contract written, and the family found out that her husband had died in the home. They asked for a $15,000 reduction in the sales price because of that. Diane was very respectful and professional when she told us that information, and she was very supportive of our decision not to proceed with that contract. I would recommend Diane’s group at any time. They stayed on top of everything and did an awesome job."

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