Bonnie Cox Real Estate Musings

Now showing!  

Open house in Severn, Maryland June 28, 1-3pm 

Just ten minutes from Frt. Meade, yet secluded, quite and surrounded by trees.

This 6 bedroom, 2 and one half bath colonial has one of the largest lots in the neighborhood on almost one acre.  This mini retreat is in a residential neighborhood, but once you are up in that driveway, y ou would never know it.

You have a choice between relaxing with your iced tea on the front porch and listen to the water cascading in your front yard fountain and pond, or on the deck of your above ground pool, complete with equipment and accessories.  Glance around at the woods and wonder how you got so lucky to secure this much peace and tranquility in suburbia.

Inside is georgeous with hand made banisters of cherry and ash, wainscotting and Bolivian Cherry floors and kitchen cabinets.  The breakfast bar is granite, large breakfast room has windows on three sides overlooking the woods and back yard.  Formal dining room with wainscotting, fabulous family room with large ceiling fan,  and french doors, fireplace and formal living room.

Second floor houses four large bedrooms and two full baths.  Master bedroom has double ceiling fans, jetted tub with chanelier over tub.  Very romantic.

Lower level needs only finishing touches.  There are two bedrooms  or use one as an office, a large t.v room and a laundry room.  French doors open to the back yard.  This would be excellent at in-laws quarters.  There is already rough - in for bathroom with fixtures already there.

This residence is centrally located between Baltimore, Fort Meade and D.C, but the setting reminds of you of the woods of western Maryalnd.

Directions: 97 to Exit 12, New Cut Road, , Right on Pasture Brook, Left on Grassland, Right on Grainfield Road, right on Grainfield Court.  You cannot see the house from the road.  Just turn up driveway and follow back.

MLS # AA7069367

Come See this Beautifully Decorated Home!  Could be yours before the Fall!

To request a private showing, call Bonnie Cox at Prudential Carruthers Realtors, 410-879-3880

Open House Sunday, June 21 and June 28th, 1pm-3pm

Excellent location in New Cut Farms.  You'd never know you were in a neighborhood once you venture down the driveway

to this 6 bedroom, 2 and one half bath colonial.  One of the largest lots in the neighborhood on almost one acre, this mini retreat cannot be seen from either neighbor's house during the spring and summer months.

Private and secluded, you can chose to relax with your iced tea on the front porch and listen to the water cascading in your front yard fountain and pond, or on the deck of your above ground pool, complete with equipment and accessories.  Glance around at the woods and wonder how you got so lucky to secure this much peace and tranquility in suburbia.

Inside is georgeous with hand made banisters of cherry and ash, wainscotting and Bolivian Cherry floors and kitchen cabinets.  The breakfast bar is granite, there is a cook-to and double wall oven.  Formal dining room with wainscotting, fabulous family room with large ceiling fan,  and french doors, fireplace.  Formal living room.

Second floor houses four large bedrooms and two full baths.  Master bedroom has double ceiling fans, jetted tub with chanelier over tub.  Very romantic.

Lower level needs only finishing touches.  There are two bedrooms  or use one as an office, a large t.v room and a laundry room.  French doors open to the back yard.  This would be excellent at in-laws quarters.  There is already rough - in for bathroom with fixtures already there.

This residence is centrally located between Baltimore, Fort Meade and D.C, but the setting reminds of you of the woods of western Maryalnd.

Directions: 97 to Exit 12, New Cut Road, , Right on Pasture Brook, Left on Grassland, Right on Grainfield Road, right on Grainfield Court.  You cannot see the house from the road.  Just turn up driveway and follow back.

MLS # AA7069367

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Anyone who lives in Maryland has probably read in the "Sun" and the "Aegis" about tragedy of Altieri Homes. 

Are they criminals?  Or victims of the economy.

Altieri Homes is based out of Columbia County.  They have been charged by Maryland's attorney general with taking deposits and payments from about 20 homebuyers in Howard and Harford counties without starting or finishing building the homes.

They have also been accused of failing to pay subcontractors, refunding customer's

deposits or advance payments.  Many other builders are facing the same thing, but this is the first I've heard of an attorney general getting involved or threatening "severe sanctions" against companies falling victim to the housing market.

In the Baltimore Sun, Douglas Gansler, Maryland's attorney general, stated "My office will seek severe sanctions against builders who operate without being registered (not the case here) or fail to properly handle consumer deposits."  He fails to mention that our governments (state and federal) do this on a daily basis without reprisal.

I would like to know why Altieri Homes is being made the example?  Instead of folding, as many independent lumber yards in Maryland I know of have done, they simply tried to stay afloat for as long as they could, only to find that the banks were no longer lending.  Why aren't charges being leveled at the lending institutions?  Fannie and Freddie and the congressmen who conned so many investors into believing all was okay with them?

Many, many home builders have had to close their doors or struggle over the past few years because of the housing market.  I know personally the family's of two big ones here in Maryland that have had to either pull their offices out of the state or shut down completely.

As tight as this market is, not enough business is to be had to help cushion a builder to fix any trouble spots or make repairs on construction, which is also one of the problems Altieri faces.

My husband (a wholesale lumber and millwork representative) has been laid off since January 30^th.  He has had no job bites other than the odd jobs through people at church every so often.  We don't own a big house, we didn't overspend during the "heyday".  We have three vehicles . . . none of them under 10 years old, and we have no credit cards.  We haven't used them in over six years.  We are just now coming to the end of what we had in savings.  We never expected him to be out of work this long and my business  (real estate) is choppy at best.

I really don't think that the people who provided the jobs should be the one the government goes after when they themselves are the ones who were not only complicit, but created this mess.  How do you get blood out of a turnip?  Tax it?  Are you freaking kidding me?

It does not matter what the attorney general does to Altieri Homes at this point.  It is obvious they are broke.  The best they can hope to accomplish is to make it impossible for them to ever carry a contractor's license again and possibly take the rest of everything they own.

As for me and my husband, I guess we'll just hold out and do the best that we can until the attorney general starts coming after private citizens when they can no longer pay their bills.

Did you know that closing a high limit credit card can actually hurt your credit score?  This was a very interesting story I picked up at an obscure internet site and something that most consumers should consider when facing applying for a mortgage.

The article involved a story about "Rachel" making a decision to close one of her credit cards.  I have done this before myself.  If you want to "thin out" the credit in your wallet, choose a card you have had less time, with the least amount of activity on it.  Here is what happened:

Rachel decided to close her eight-year-old VISA credit card with a credit line of $18,000. She didn't use the card but once or twice a month and had two other major bank cards that provided rewards points. In order to keep things simple, she decided to cancel the card with the highest credit line. The next month she found out that this one decision cost her 87 points on her credit score, dropping it from 752 to 665.  That could mean the difference of whole percentage points in interest on a mortgage!

If you know how credit is scored and what to "tweak", you can build up a good credit score in a shorter amount of time.

A consumer credit score is made up of five key components:

•1.    Payment History:

35% Types of accounts (credit card, mortgage, etc.), accounts paid as agreed, number of past due accounts, etc.

•2.    Amounts Owed:

 30% Balances of current loans, debt-to-credit ratio, proportion of installments still owed, etc.

•3.    Length of Credit History:

15% Time since accounts opened, last activity, etc.
New Credit - 10% Recent inquiries, new accounts, etc.
Types of Credit Used - 10% Mortgages, credit, retail, etc.

Keep the major credit cards that you've paid on time every month for longest period of time.  History is everything.

Keep the credit card that represents the best contribution to the payment history, debit to credit ration and length of credit history categories.

Ditch the credit cards that are only months old and had only been used intermittently.  This gives them much less value on your credit score.

You will not be penalized for having too much available credit. It is better to preserve your credit score with 15 years of established credit history and old accounts in good standing than to have fewer and newer open accounts.

Major bank cards give you more score than department store cards.

Now that you have been armed with this knowledge, here is this week's interest rates, compliments of PCR Mortgage Services:

Conforming 30-year Fixed (up to $417,000) at fully amortized - PITI:

5.625% at 0 points, 5.375% at 1 point

Super Conforming 30-year Fixed ($417K to county limit), fully amortized - PITI:

5.750% at 0 points, 5.500% at 1 point

Jumbo Mortgage (Over $625,501) (we can offer 30 yr. fixed)  5/1 ARM:

$4.500% at 1 point, 4.250% at 2 points

FHA - 30 yr Fixed . . . Regular & High Balance:

Reg FHA up to $417K or county limit - 5.750% at 0 points, 5.375% at 1 point

FHA 203 K Loans Streamline Reno. Loan - 7.000% at 1pnt, 6.000% at 2 pnts

High Bal. FHA $417K to county Limit - 5.875% at 0 pnts, 5.500% at 1 pnt.

VA Loans . . . 100% up to County Limit!

Regular VA (under $417K Incl. funding fee) - 5.750% at 0 pnts, 5.375% at 1.25 pnts

High Bal. VA ($417,001 - county limit) - 5.875% at 0 pnts, 5.500% at 1 pnts

Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-06-09/my-credit-score-dropped-87-points-because-of-me/

A compelling lesson I learned from my then fifteen year old son in 2003.

After a particularly crushing career development meeting with his guidance counselor at school, My son Rich was visibly upset.

Richard is learning disabled with ADD and Ausberger's Syndrome.  He had spent his entire school career in Learning Support. 

In 2003, he made an appointment with his guidance counselor because he had a complaint about his teacher.  His teacher would not let him take Japanese, something he was very passionate about learning.

During this meeting, Rich was told by his guidance counselor that his reading wasn't good enough to take Japanese or the other class he wanted, Computer Science (take apart and put computers back together again, troubleshoot, etc).  Rich was a junior in high school.  His grades were all A's and B's.

Richard countered that his grades have always been above board and his teacher's arguement did not support the decision not to allow him into those classes.

This is when the guidance counselor decided it would be in Rich's best interest to schedule another meeting when his mother could come in.

Fast-forward to meeting number two, with mom.  I listened to this guidance counselor explain to Rich that in learning support, they get "graded differently" than their normal students.  Rich had no idea he was reading on a third grade level . . . and aside from the yearly I.E.P. I saw where they wanted him to be, but not where he was.  His guidance counselor told Rich that because he was only reading at a third grade level, he could not take the Japanese class, nor could he take the computer science class he wanted.

(Let me point out that this kid can get through and beat just about every computer game that is out, can read the gaming books and the japanese animie books that he contantly bought with his allowance).

In the car on the way back home, my son cried.  I didn't know what to do for him.  He is almost sixteen years old and he is crying because as he put it, he was led to believe he was at a certain level because of his grades, that he was doing good, only to be told that he was in fact far below where he should be.  Suddenly he went into a rant that to this day, I think should be posted in every school across this country:

"Why?  Why did they lie to me? Why are they so afraid I'm going to fail?  I'm not afraid of failing!"  He took a breath  "Failing is how we learn?  How am I going to learn anything if they don't let me fail?  I'm not afraid of failing, THEY are afraid!"  He took another breath and I pulled the car over "They need to let me fail because I only fail if I never try!"

Seems to me this kid was smarter than all the teachers he ever had.  And I agreed with him.  I took this rant as the gem of wisdom from a kid that despite the arguments from educators to the contrary, needed to experience failure.  MANY kids need to experience failure.

Judging by our present state of our union, there are a few congressmen, CEO, companies and corporations that also need to experience failure.  Because the cost of such lack of failure is costing the rest of us dearly.

My son still excells at computer games.  He's become quite a consiencious young man and a deep thinker.  He graduated high school with a 3.2 and the same third grade reading level.  It is now 2009 and he reads at a sixth grade level.  He's made more progess since leaving school because he's had to.  He has no more crutches.

During one particularly bitter lesson recently involving employment, he was discussing with with me on the way to his brother's high school graduation.  He asked me, "Why didn't you help me with the interview?"

I asked him, "Rich . . . you just experienced failure . . . something you at one time had asked for.  Congratulations!  How does it feel to be an adult?"  The look I got in return should have been captured on Youtube.   He was proud!

Look forward to failure . . . most of our greatest inventions were lying underneath a failed experiment.

Since I am stuck down here at my mother's house for the next five days (away from my familiar real estate . . . Maryland), I have little to do but plan my week's activities for when I get back, watch the news (ugh) and catch up on Active Rain.  Both of the latter made me hot under the collar today and in Real Estate, you really have to stay bi-partisan . . . you know how hard that is for me?

1.  Formal Announcement that GM is filing bankruptcy and tax payers now own 60% of a failed company.  Why we would want it NOW is beyond me.  But the Government is getting their piece, Canada is getting it's piece and the union (who helped make sure it failed - the only ones besides our Congress and the President who get health benefits for life).  The "other" stakeholders get what's left, which isn't much of what isn't much.

2.  Obama's announcement that he wanted to "get in, make the company viable again, and get out."  After a big guffaw, I wanted to throw a brick at the screen.  Obama is currently building the biggest federal defecit in our country's history and HE'S going to fix GM?  With what?  A long, direct stare?

3.  Obama's $23,000+ dollar date (okay, I'm picking on Obama because NONE OF US can afford a date like that, yet we're paying for it!)

4. The fact that there are people who still think this is all Bush's fault (maybe the media could run, just one more time, the senate debates over how Fannie and Freddie were in good financial health).

I'm beating a dead horse, but I feel beating a live one would have PETA on my case.  (I wouldn't anyway.  I love horses)

My post yesterday on the Homeowners' rescue package made me realize that even the ones who loved what this administration is doing, are among those that are going to get crushed under the weight of the responsibility this deficit will cause.

I really don't think that Real Estate is the cornerstone of our economy (uh-oh!  Now I've said it).  You can't buy a house unless you have an income.  I've had six families in my church lose their primary source of income.  Of those six families, four of them were small business owners.  They just went under.

One did custom concrete work.

Another did inner city and HUD restorations

Another was a broker for lumber, molding and millwork to independant lumber yards.  30 of his 49 customers either closed locations or went out of business altogether.

Another did siding and roofing.

Another sold cars (five dealership closed down shop in Harford/Baltimore County from one family owned franchise alone).

Okay, so that's five . . . I can't count.  Three families left the area to be with family and I guess share the burden of trying to find work together.

My husband was the wholesale lumber and millwork salesperson for another company.  His whole division got shut down.

Chrystler hasn't existed in Baltimore for several years now, Bethlehem Steel is gone and a whole generation of Dundalk/Middle River residents are living on borrowed financial time.

The prayers are flowing in our church.  Regardless of who you want to blame for this train wreck, the fact of the matter is, we are going to get hurt.  Every one of us . . . whether you are conservative, liberal, republican or democrat . . . unless you are working directly with the White House, you are going to get hurt and if it hasn't happened yet . . . it's coming.

The best advice I can give you is remember what's important.  Those very people you may have a disagreement with are the ones who's support you are going to need.  Set aside your difference, forget about who's fault it is and let's just do what is right for each other.  The government is not going to help you (unless your name is Bank of America or AIG).  We have got to get each other through this.

As real estate agents, we have a responsibility to just do the best job at fulfilling the needs we were hired to fulfill.  Remind those facing short sale on their homes, or foreclosure that it's not their fault and they are not the only ones.

Agents, we also have a responsiblity to each other.  Our market was dealt an unprecedented blow as well.  This is why Active Rain has been invaluable to me.  We have to take care of each other.  Team up and send referrals to each other.  Help the rookies and in doing so, you become "referrable" (I liked that from another post that I read, so I'm using it.)

I'm glad my rant from yesterday is over, but now it's time to get to work.  Many potential customers need our help.  And other agents, lenders, title companies need your support and comraderie.

And stop watching the news.  It's depressing!

Hmmm . . . Obama signed a measure allowing mortgage companies and banks to restructure loans for millions of American families facing foreclosure.  This is like  bandaid that won't stick to the wound!  What good is this going to do?

I am so bumfuddled as to the lack of common knowledge of cause and effect within our government.  Are they really this stupid?

Why?  Why are MOST American's facing foreclosure today?

I keep hearing that people shouldn't have applied for mortgages they couldn't afford.  Okay.  But that is just the scum on the top of the pond of problems.  Most people who lose their jobs can't afford ANY  mortgage.  How many of those people had income before they had a job?  Is anyone paying attention?

How many of our jobs have gone over seas?  How many manufacturing jobs?  How many food processing plants?  How many clothing and textile mills got handed over to foreign countries? 

The people who fell for the "adjustable mortgage" play were fractional in comparison to those who are losing their homes.  Banks got the bailout money, taxpayers got the shaft.  We are still getting the shaft.

Maybe we can all get jobs in the Environmental Protection Agency, the unions or the military, because after the bailouts and the payoffs, there will be no other private sector jobs . . . unless you want to start investing in real estate in Taiwan.

I don't see the rescue package doing much good unless we can somehow materialize some 13 million jobs back to the U.S. of A.

As most of you well know, it gets a little depressing when you read in the news and on blog posts that there is a "second wave" of foreclosures coming.  Yeah, yeah . . . just cut to the chase and give me the bad news.

It is even more depressing when customer after customer is putting their home on the market, not because they feel like selling, but because they HAVE to.

How am I, as a real estate agent, looked upon as someone who is going to answer their prayers of profit and bring them back to the 2003 boom, going to tell them, "sorry kid . . . the bank has to approve this sale.  Thanks for the granite counter tops and the Jen Aire range but you are still short $43,000"?

Another listing, another short sale potential and I know these people.  I am fighting, fighting, fighting to make sure they can have this sale quickly at the price that will afford them at least enough for a 1st month and security deposit.

Where are the bailouts for these people?  These people did not buy a house they couldn't afford.  These people had their businesses wiped out from under them when the construction industry dredged creek bottom.  They USED to HAVE an income!

Before people start getting angry and start heading to washington with pitchforks and torches, let me tell you how these people are handling this.

There are some people that are dealing with one of the most crushing blows of their lives, as a chance for a fresh start.

Some people are looking at this as "maybe we are putting too much importance in material things."  They are looking at this a a chance to step back, take a deep breath and get back to who they are and why they are here.  They have faith that although disapointing, an answer is coming.  They were supposed to have been "somewhere else."

I am going to work my tail off to find these people a qualified, motivated buyer while at the same time hoping that something happens where they can withdrawl their home off the market.  There are more important things in live then a nice house in the woods with a 20' x 40' deck.   There are more important things in life than getting another commission on another potential ship wreck.

To undersand why I love Harford County, Maryland so much, one would have to understand where I came from.  I was born just outside of Philadelphia, lived most of my childhood in Delaware and most of my children's childhoods in upstate Pennsylvania (The Endless Mountain Region).

I moved to Maryland because my husband had roots in Maryland.  Jobs were scarce in Pennsylvania.  When the boys finished high school, we moved to the "land of plenty".

We decided to rent to get to know the area before we committed to purchase.  The first area we moved to was Jarrettsville.  I remember the name scared me.  It sounded like a town I would find in the Ozarks.  However, our backyard was almost an acre and over the fence was a horse farm I could view from my kitchen window.  In the spring and fall, when the weather permitted open windows, You could hear the horses whinney from inside the house while eating your breakfast.  I was in HEAVEN!

After a year and a half, we decided on a more modern house in Forest Hill.  By October of 2006, I was getting quite comfortable with my surroundings and the culture shock had long worn off.

It didn't take me long to realize that you really could not find a better place to live.  You are surrounded by rolling hills and farms no matter what part of Harford County you are in.  You have upscale neighborhoods, you have first time home buyer neighborhoods, you have new homes and traditional.

You can drive to Bel Air and find everything you need from a good doctor to your choice of mattress stores.  You have Walmart, Target and Macy's in one town!  And if you want to see  a change of shopping scenery, WhiteMarsh is 20 minutes away, Baltimore is 30 minutes away.

People in Harford County commute to APG (Aberdeen Proving Grounds), Bel Air and Abingdon, Baltimore and D.C. to work.  Many commute using Light Rail and MARC trains to connect to the METRO.  I have taken them many times to D.C.   It's easy to plan a Saturday in D.C. using http://www.mtamaryland.com and http://www.wmata.com .  It really takes a lot of stress off your trip.

If you would like to leave the metropolis behind and move in the other direction, try a drive through the hills of Monkton, Street, Whiteford.  Get lost on some of those back roads that wind in and around Rocks State Park or Gunpowder.  If you are into fox hunting country, the back end of Jarrettsville, Monkton and across the county border into Hunt Valley, Long Green Valley and Worthington Valley, home of baseball great Cal Ripken.  Here you will see beautiful horse estates, white-fenced pastures and state of the art stables where the horses live in style.

Back home in Harford County, you too can live fit with any number of health and swim clubs that dot our county.  We probably have more health clubs per capita than any other county in Maryland.  (I could be off, but it sure seems like it).

We also hav the Ma and Pa trails, Anne's Playground which is a huge playground donated by the community of Fallston to commemorate a little girl who was killed by a drunk driver.  This playground is in honor of her and other children who were taken too soon from their parents in tragedies.  You can read more about this here http://www.anniesplayground.net/

We also have the Farm Fair every year at the Harford County Parks and Recreation, located on Tolgate Road in Bel Air, right next to the Harford Equestrian Center.  This is a week of fun for everyone.  If you own a business you can rent tables or tents and get to know some of your future customers.  You can also just bring the kids, ride some animals and eat some great food.

Most important, I think, is the people I have met here in Harford County.  After only being here five years, I feel like a native.  People here are friendly, open and eager to help each other.

Anyone contemplating moving to Harford County will feel at home quickly.   And if you are in need of a neighborly agent to make that happen for you, I know one!

This Memorial Day was just an awesome day.  Lazy . . . yes.  Food?  Yes.  Muggy-but-not-to-hot weather with some moisture laden clouds here and there with a rumble of thunder.  Some sun streaking through the clouds heating things up, then cloud cover again.

We had done our celebrating yesterday and Saturday.  We had a picnic at our church and during service on Sunday, our Pastor had everyone who served in some capacity in the military stand up.  I was in proud company even though I was a weekend warrior from '82 - '86.  We each were given time to state the branch of service, years served and where while we were honored with a round of applause. (I could no longer fit into my dress greens because I have gained 40 pounds from the time I wore the uniform).

Today as we were fixing some lunch at the house, my step son's mother called on her way back from Bel Air to tell us that there were military helocopters flying over our house.  We ran outside onto the back porch and looked up.

Four Black Hawk helocopters from Aberdeen Proving Grounds were flying directly over our house.  They were doing a flyover of Bel Air, Edgewood, Forest Hill, Aberdeen, Belcamp, Jarrettsville, Fallston, Baldwin, Darlington and Abingdon. 

Is there anyone here that made it to Aberdeen today for Memorial Day?

Just as we went out the back door, the sound of these beautiful beasts tore through the peacful day.  They were flying in two-by-two formation and they were close enough to the ground you could see the outline around the bay doors.  My stepson was in awe!  (He's 15 years old and loves military history).

It is really humbling to realize the sacrifices these men and women in uniform give to be of service to their country.  I would really like to see our leaders not take them for granted. 

God Bless each and every one of these men and women who much more than a mention and a prayer on a weekend in May every year.  They are your sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles, grandfathers and grandmothers, brothers and sisters.

They are your family.