Sell Your Home Fast on the Internet!

Real estate in Maryland is HOT!

And selling your house fast is easy to do on the internet. If you are looking for someone to buy your house in Maryland as soon as possible, here are some quick and easy tips for harnessing the power of the internet to get a fair offer on your home. And these tips will work no matter where you are selling your home in the state of Maryland: Baltimore, Glen Burnie, Westminster, Reisterstown, Dundalk, Laurel, Frederick, etc.

Go Where the Buyers Are

Buyers are always scouting the most popular real estate web sites: Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Realtor.com – all of them. Why? Because these sites show everything listed on the MLS and some For Sale By Owner properties. They do an excellent job at showcasing your Maryland home and they definitely attract the most buyers.

Plus, in many cases, you will only need to use one service for listing your property for sale and that service will make sure it goes to all of the major real estate web sites.

Consider Premium Listings

If you want to really highlight your house in Maryland and set it apart from other listings, many web sites offer the opportunity to keep your property at the top of the page or as a featured listing. You will pay for this service, but your property will be seen by the most buyers in this scenario.

Create a Website for Your House

If you have a little time and some basic web site building knowledge, you can actually create a web site for selling your Maryland house. There are several sites with free web builders that are very easy to use. Add some search engine optimization (SEO), a few quality key words in your content, and enticing imagery and you can quickly build a build a web site that puts your house for sale at the top of the page on Google!

Use Great Photos & Vivid Descriptions

Take some time to de-clutter your home so that you can take amazing pictures. Make sure you show the best attributes of each room, from the kitchen to the dining room to the master bedroom to the garage. Use words like “spacious”, “immaculate” and “modern” as opposed to “small” out of date” or “crowded”. First impressions are paramount on the internet so your pictures and content need to be as memorable as possible when you are competing with other home sellers. If you can, hire a professional photographer and someone to stage your house for the highest quality imagery.

Describe the Property with 100% Accuracy

Accuracy and detail are critical. If you aren’t telling the truth about your property then a potential buyer will know the minute they step inside. Don’t try to hide defects or fail to disclose any major issues. They will all come out in the inspection anyway if you get that far. Honesty is the best policy when you are trying to sell your house quickly for any reason.

Make Good Use of a Thesaurus

House hunters glaze over when they read descriptions of similar houses in the same neighborhoods over and over again. Use your imagination and make your property standout. For example, you don’t just have “a northeast Baltimore row house” for sale, you have a “stunning, updated end unit in Parkville” to sell.

Be a Data Junkie

Understanding the data about your neighborhood will give you an advantage over other sellers in this scalding hot real estate market. Use the real estate sites to find recent comps (preferably similar houses sold in the past 6 months in a half-mile radius). Read reviews of local real estate agents and reach out to some of them for pointers. Learn the trends in the market – best time of year to sell, most popular upgrades, buyer demographics. Arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible.

If you employ all of these strategies and tactics, you are well on your way to selling your house for the best possible offer. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are selling to relocate, deal with an inherited property, don’t want to pay for expensive repairs or want to sell for cash without a realtor. By following these simple tips, you will sell your house quickly.

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How to Deal With Non-Paying Tenants

Are you a landlord tired of tenants who are habitually late on their rent or simply not paying at all? Now, I know that COVID-19 has made things tough for people to pay their bills, so I am not talking about renters who are in a jam because of the worldwide pandemic. I am talking about fast talking tenants who never pay their rent, month after month – always giving you a new excuse.

You are facing a dilemma that is all too common for landlords across Maryland. It’s frustrating and unfortunately, your options are limited since Maryland is a very tenant-friendly state.

Don’t give up hope just yet though. I’ve got some tips that will help you if you are struggling with rent issues at your Maryland investment property.

Hopefully, you only accept tenants who pass a strict background check, who give you a deposit equal to at least one month’s rent and you have verified that they have a consistent source of income. After all, it is your rental property and you have the right to choose any tenant you want to live in your investment. Unfortunately, even with a solid lease in place problems sometimes arise when it’s time to collect the rent.

Here are four easy tips for dealing with non-paying tenants:

AVOID THE SITUATION ALTOGETHER

So many landlords use this strategy and it is certainly not recommended. Most of the time the problem is not going to just go away if you ignore it. You need to be proactive with your investments. After all, you spent good money acquiring the property, doing a rehab and soliciting for tenants. Ignoring a non-paying tenant will negate all of your hard work. And guess what? If you do nothing, I guarantee the tenant will do nothing also and just hope you don’t do anything to rectify the situation. DO NOT BE COMPLACENT.

NEGOTIATE A NEW PAYMENT SCHEDULE

At some point a landlord needs to decide on the best way to stay profitable. Especially in the current coronavirus world, it’s a much easier proposition to take some money as opposed to no money at all. Negotiating a payment plan is a good compromise between ignoring and evicting. But proceed with caution because the end game is to make sure that the tenant has the ability to catch up on what is owed in a reasonable time frame. And PLEASE make sure than any payment plan is backed up by a written addendum to the existing lease. 

EVICTION TIME

Sadly, eviction is sometimes the only option remaining. Remember, you are in the business off renting for profit and a delinquent tenant can prevent that from happening, month after month, if you are unable to reach another compromise. Be forewarned though – evictions are often difficult, especially in states like Maryland where the laws most definitely tilt in favor of the tenant. If you go the eviction route, be prepared to weather the storm for a few months and make sure you have plenty of supporting evidence so that the courts have no choice but to rule in your favor. In this situation, the name of the game is closing the gap as quickly as possible between when the tenant is given notice to when they legally have to vacate the premises.  

JUST SELL, BABY!

Sometimes it’s just better to cash out and sell your rental property. If none of the aforementioned solutions are working, it’s often best to determine an acceptable price, take the money and move on to the next project. Problem tenants, excessive repairs, property management company fees and sleepless nights worrying about your property sometimes just aren’t worth the hassle.

At Brad Buys Houses / We Buy MD Homes, we buy rental properties from landlords like you all of the time. We buy with cash, we close quickly and we pay all of the costs and fees at settlement. Most importantly, we solve your problem. If you are a tired landlord or just want to cash out of an investment property, please fill out the form at www.webuymdhomes.com or call us at (240) 424-0423

Sell Your House Fast Without a Realtor

Selling your home with a realtor isn’t the only option if you need a fast sale. Not every property requires a realtor and there are numerous benefits to eliminating the middle man.

Obviously, the biggest benefit is saving money. You will save dollars on both agent commissions and out of pocket expenses. And let’s not forget closing costs associated with settlement – sometimes as much as 10%.

Fact: You Will Likely Need to Upgrade Your House to Get More $$$ at Closing
To be able to sell your property fast for top dollar, you will definitely need to make some repairs and upgrades to the home. Translation: you need to spend money on contractors, supplies at Home Depot or Lowe’s, plus let’s not forget the time it will take to complete the renovation. Let’s face it, it your neighbor’s house sold for a nice sum of money because of granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, new hardwood floors and upgrading HVAC then you will need to invest in the same upgrades. No realtors and no contractors in the equation equals instant savings on big home selling expenses.

Fact: A Direct Sale Will Save You Big Time
You can expect to pay in the neighborhood of 6% of your final sale price in real estate agent commissions. Plus you will likely be locked into a legally binding contract with the agent for at least 30 days and likely more. For example, if you sell your house for $200,000, you are looking at paying $12,000 to the agent. Wouldn’t you rather keep that money in your pocket for future use?

So, how do you start the process of selling your house directly to a cash buyer?

Set your price based on similar SOLD properties in your area

Generally, a comparable property is one that has sold in the past six months to a year, is within a mile and is similar in style, square footage, number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms. Be as accurate as you can when putting a value on your home. As I mentioned in a previous post, you cannot trust Zillow, Trulia, Redfin or realtor.com. Their data isn’t perfect. Knowing the price of a house that actually sold that meets the criterial I mentioned before is your best gauge. Realtors have that information handy and you DO NOT have to sign a listing agreement if you ask a realtor for a few comps in your neighborhood. Try to price the house fairly and adjust as needed. Remember, you aren’t fooling anyone since buyers have access to the same information you are using.

Be Your Own Marketing Pro

If you want to sell your own house, make sure you take great pictures and get the word out. The internet is a gold mine for motivated sellers right now. Using Craigslist, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and all other social media channels make home selling easier than ever. Present your house as if you were the one looking to purchase it.

Prepare Your House for Viewing

If there are glaring repairs that need to be made, make them. It is also critical to do a deep cleaning, remove any clutter and stage your house to the best of your ability. Prepare checklists for prospective buyers that highlight the selling points and mention any upgrades. Creating a flyer that can be printed as easily as distributed electronically is important as well. Maps of schools, places of interest, parks, restaurants and other local amenities help as well.

You Have a Buyer…What’s Next?

If you aren’t using a real estate agent, it is highly recommended to hire an attorney, in your state, who can draw up the necessary sales contract. Only accept WRITTEN offers. And only use a contract fully vetted by a licensed attorney.

It’s not hard to sell your own home without a realtor, but if you want some guidance, don’t want to do it all yourself or just want an evaluation to see what your Maryland house is worth, please visit www.webuymdhomes.com or give us a call at (240) 424-0423.

[Insert Popular Quote about Things Never Going as Planned]

The Newark portion of the celebrity foreclosure prevention campaign in 2009, featuring Queen Latifah, basically went according to plan albeit a few hitches along the way.

I wish I could say the same for the other planned cities and celebrities that were lined up for the remainder of the year.

Queen Latifah, Foreclosure, Newark & Lessons Learned

I apologize for leaving you all hanging for more than two weeks. I know you’ve been chomping at the bit to hear more about Queen Latifah, Mary J Blige, Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning and all of the other amazing stars that were part of our mildly-successful-but-could-have-been-better foreclosure prevention campaign.

Keep it simple, Stupid!

As I mentioned in the previous post (which I am cleverly mentioning in vague terms so you will read it again), I felt like the well-intentioned celebrity foreclosure awareness campaign that kicked off in January of 2009 was a total train wreck.

The basic problem with the project was that there were way too many cooks in the kitchen. It was my understanding that the Fannie Mae Foundation was going to give HOPE NOW the $1.5 million and let the organization manage the project as we saw fit.

It didn’t happen that way.

Celebrity Disaster, Part I

In late 2008, HOPE NOW received a sizable grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation to embark on a celebrity campaign designed to bring awareness to foreclosure prevention solutions and mortgage scams.

On paper it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor. The housing crisis was out of control and harnessing the power of celebrities, with ties to cities with major foreclosure issues, would go a long way in educating at-risk homeowners on the myriad mortgage solutions available to them.

A New Player Emerges

As the mortgage crisis was transforming from a bad dream into a full blown nightmare in 2007, it was clear that a collaborative approach was the only way to deal with the unprecedented number of homeowners facing foreclosure nationwide.

The mortgage industry needed to not only band together, but it needed to bring the non-profits, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, mortgage insurers and other stakeholders to the table as well.

Pointing Fingers and Placing Blame – The American Dream Becomes a Nightmare

One of the most interesting facets of the early days of the housing crisis was the blame game being played out on a daily basis in Congress, in the media and on the internet.

The consumer groups blamed the banks. The media blamed the banks. The government blamed the banks. And vice versa. Plus, the banks blamed the investors. Everyone blamed Wall Street. It was vicious cycle with everyone looking for easy answers as the economy sank into recession.

Cram Down? Say what?

My time at the Mortgage Bankers Association was critical to my career, but honestly I wasn’t passionate about the work. It was interesting and I worked with amazingly talented people, but I never felt a real calling there.

This “journey” I am chronicling is definitely going to focus more on my work after MBA, but I am going to write about a few select moments from my MBA experience that will put my later role in the housing crisis into perspective. Translation – this entry will be longer than normal.

It was at MBA where I really learned about the major players and the issues behind the recession, and their effect on the mortgage industry, the housing market and the nation’s homeowners.