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Study: Five Types of Distressed Homes Have the Deepest Discounts

The study by RealtyTrac analyzed residential property sales transactions for the year ending March 2014 to pinpoint the types of distressed properties that sell at the largest discounts, comparing factors like foreclosure status, occupancy status, equity and the year the home was built. 5 Types of Homes With Deepest Discounts

JUST LISTED! Completely Renovated Baltimore City Duplex - $149,000

3108 Wolcott Ave. - Restored, Exposed Brick Wall in the Living Room

Looking for a great starter home in Baltimore City? Check out my new listing at 3108 Wolcott Ave. in Forest Park (MLS# BA8396461). Listed for $149,000, it's a 3-bedroom, 1 full-bath, 2 half-bath brick duplex that's been gutted to the studs.

3108 Wolcott Ave - New Kitchen

The home features a new kitchen with pass-through, granite counters & stainless steel appliances. Also all new:

* Ceramic baths;

* Roof;

* High-efficiency HVAC system;

* Plumbing system;

* Electrical system;

* Windows;

* Doors;

* Flooring;

* Water heater;

* Recessed lighting;

* Crown moulding; and

* Large finished basement.

Plus that lovingly restored exposed brick wall!

New Dining Room - 3108 Wolcott Ave.

Minutes to downtown Baltimore! Call me for more info (443) 924-7418

3108 Wolcott Ave. - New Upstairs Bathroom

SOLD! -- 109 Cedar Rd. Severna Park, Md. -- $452,500

Johns House Edited

Congratulations John & Julia Murray on the sale of your home in West Severna Park, Md. It's a beautiful property and you worked very hard to make it stand out. Thanks so much for choosing me as your listing agent!

Private Mortgage Insurance: The One Expense Buyers Underestimate

"Private mortgage insurance has had a definitive impact on many home buyers – including making them rethink or delay the purchase of a home in light of not being able to meet monthly mortgage payments," says Michael Copley, executive vice president of retail lending at TD Bank. A recent study found that 65 percent of home owners with private mortgage insurance say that the additional cost of PMI prompted them to pay a higher monthly mortgage payment than they had originally expected.

Click the link below for the full story.

The One Expense Buyers Underestimate

UNDER CONTRACT in Severna Park, Md.!

1 Front Exterior 2

109 CEDAR ROAD, SEVERNA PARK, MD 21146. (MLS# AA8347557 - $473,900) This is the one! Completely renovated & Pottery Barn perfect! Home features open floorplan on main level with new Kitchen, BAs, flooring, deck, patio & more. Bright LL family room w/ cozy fireplace. Large outbuilding & shed. Many "green" upgrades. Lush, mature landscaping. Quiet neighborhood. Blue Ribbon Severna Park schools. Walk to trails, private beach, fishing, marina, playground & pool.

Thanks, John & Julia!!

2 Living Room Dining Room Kitchen
3 Rear Patio
4 Lower Level Family Room

Do you need help selling your Severna Park home? Contact Jerry Kline (443) 924-7418 with Keller Williams Flagship of Maryland today!

Class-Action Lawsuit Against Creig Northrop Real Estate Team Underscores Consumer Protections for Home Buyers, Home Sellers

Scales of Justice

A large class-action lawsuit recently certified against Maryland’s Creig Northrop Real Estate Team serves as an excellent reminder of the consumer protections afforded to home buyers and home sellers under the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

RESPA, enacted by Congress in 1974, is designed to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices in the real estate industry. Its chief purpose is to help consumers become better shoppers for real estate settlement services and to eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that unnecessarily increase the costs of closing a transaction.

Among other things, the act prohibits kickbacks between lenders and third-party settlement agents in the settlement process.

The lawsuit, filed in 2013, alleges that The Creig Northrop Team P.C. and others received more than $500,000 in illegal kickbacks from Lakeview Title Co. Inc. over a period of years. The class certified by the court in January includes all purchasers who engaged the services of The Creig Northrop Team and a defendant title insurance company from Jan. 1, 2008, until the present.

The number of home buyers and home sellers included in the class of plaintiffs is potentially huge. The Creig Northrop Team P.C. is affiliated with Long & Foster Real Estate Inc., and was ranked second in the country last year and first in 2012 in the amount of real estate transaction volume handled.

Under RESPA, service providers in a real estate transaction must provide a variety of disclosures to their clients. (See http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/rmra/res/respamor#HD) Certain disclosures must be made at the time of loan application, before settlement occurs, at settlement and after settlement.

Also important for home buyers and home sellers is the Affiliated Business Arrangement Disclosure. This disclosure is required whenever a settlement service provider involved in a RESPA-covered transaction refers the client to a provider with whom the referring party has an ownership or other beneficial interest.

The referring party must give this disclosure to the client at or prior to the time of referral. The disclosure must describe the business arrangement that exists between the two providers and give the borrower an estimate of the second provider's charges.

Except in cases where a lender refers a borrower to an attorney, credit reporting agency or real estate appraiser to represent the lender's interest in the transaction, the referring party may not require the consumer to use the particular provider being referred.

For more information on the case (Patrick Baehr et al. v. The Creig Northrop Team P.C. et al.)), see http://www.inman.com/2014/02/25/top-producing-long-foster-team-facing-class-action-respa-suit-over-alleged-kickbacks-to-title-insurance-agency/

Jerry Kline is a Realtor with the Odenton, Md., office of Keller Williams Flagship Realty (1216 Annapolis Rd., Odenton.) For more information on the local real estate market, contact him at (443) 924-7418.

New Disabled Veterans Mortgage Program Offers Big Help to Maryland Vets

AAA -Disabled Veterans

Applicants Need to Hurry, Though – Program Ends May 30th

Do you know a disabled military veteran looking to buy a home in this area? The state of Maryland last week announced the creation of a new – and temporary – initiative designed to help such buyers purchase a home using bargain interest rates. Even better, the new mortgage assistance program can be used in conjunction with other state programs that offer down payment and closing cost assistance to veterans. Interest rates for the Maryland Homefront Disabled Veterans Mortgage Program are as low as 3 percent. Up to $5,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance also is available to qualified applicants. Interested homebuyers have to hurry, though. According to information distributed by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, the program is set to expire in two months – May 30, 2014. Program Eligibility The program is open to honorably discharged disabled veterans. By program definition, a disabled veteran is a veteran with a 30 percent or greater disability. Eligible veterans also must qualify for a Maryland Mortgage Program loan, based on such criteria as credit score, income limitations, etc. Before buying their home, eligible veterans must take approved homebuyer education courses and use an approved mortgage lender. Loans under the program typically are limited to first-time homebuyers. However, this requirement can be waived under certain circumstances. Qualification for a Veterans Administration loan is not required. Under the program, the property purchased must be located in the state of Maryland. Jerry Kline is a Realtor with the Odenton, Md., office of Keller Williams Flagship Realty (1216 Annapolis Rd., Odenton.) For more information on the local real estate market, contact him at (443) 924-7418.