Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog

POUND PUPPIES BRING MANY HAPPY RETURNS

    I am a firm believer that shelter dogs can make the best potential canine companions(nothing against cats, I just prefer pets that don't cough up hairballs).  I'd like to share with everyone my own personal story about my mutts to illustrate how rewarding dogs can really be!  I'm sick and tired of hearing about animal abuse stories in the news(Mr. Vick, this includes you!), so let's talk about a little good news!

    These two came into my life as abused leftovers that someone didn't want.  Abused, malnourished, and amazingly enough, too young to have developed a fear of people.

    I was able to count each rib individually.  They were brought to the pound together, likely from the same litter, suffering from identical problems, namely, neglect.

    They were so tightly bonded to each other that they did not know how to cope with being separated, so the employees at the shelter had to leave them in the same kennel.

    They didn't have much interest in dog food, but got really excited when an unlucky cricket or beetle tried to pass through their cage.

    Barking was not an option, as both of them stubbornly refused to make any sort of noise whatsoever; a far cry(or bark, if you will) from your average pound puppy.

    It was impossible to say no, and obvious that they were going to be a package deal.  A few documents and a vet visit later, they were on their way home!

    I don't know who did what to them prior to my care, but sudden movements made them cower, convincing them that dog food was just that took over a week, and getting one of them to bark has taken a year(as for the other one, well, she chooses to remain silent).  They were obviously victims of mistreatment, and convincing them they weren't going to see the same treatment again took some time.

    Today I am very happy to say that they are happy, healthy dogs, and one of my greatest joys.  The excitement they have when I come home warms my soul and just thinking about them causes a smile to break out.

     They're still completely inseparable, so when I walk around the house I always have both of them right at my side.  They let me know when they're tired and make it a point to curl up in my lap when I watch TV(I've tried to explain to them that they're NOT lap dogs, but they're confident they can convince me otherwise).

    I've had other dogs before, but none that ever seemed so completely appreciative of the fact I take care of them.  I'm a firm believer that dogs understand the difference in care and attention, and
these two have helped me to feel happier and more complete.  It's a mutual admiration society, really.  We all think the world of each other for the happiness and comfort that we all provide!

    There's no reason in the world to pay big money to a breeder when you can find dogs like this at the local shelter or humane society.  The next time you consider bringing home a dog or cat, consider looking there first.  The shelter and the animals will thank you!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
301-653-8116
Website
Blog

Avoiding Foreclosure- Why it Matters and How To Do It!

Are you falling behind on your mortgage payments?  Are you at risk of losing your home because that pesky arm has made your payments impossible?

There IS hope for people out that who are at risk of losing their home.  If you're worried about foreclosure, here's a few important things to do to help you avoid foreclosure.

        1.  Don't Ignore the Problem

                    If you find that you are unable to make your payments you need to approach the problem in a proactive manner.  Avoiding the issue until the bank starts calling is NOT the best way to deal with the situation.  Call your lender immediately and discuss with them potential options and see if they have a program to assist you.

        2.  Open and Respond to all mail

                Lenders would rather help bring you up to date than take your house, but they have no way of knowing your intent if there is no dialog between all parties.

         3.  Research your Options

                    Visit Hope Now for options on credit counselors and loss mitigation specialists who specialize in help people avoid foreclosure.  HOPE NOW is a government sponsored organization designed to help people survive the current credit crunch.

        4.  Consider Adjusting your Spending Habits

                    Cable TV is NOT a necessity, and if you're trying to make bills work, you may want to consider cutting down on luxury spending.  If you are also trying to pay on unsecured credit card debt, you may need to decide which bills get paid first.  Mortgage Payments and Insurance should typically be the most important bills you have.

         5.  Avoid Foreclosure Scams

                   There's a lot of companies out there doing very unsavory deeds, preying on desperate homeowners.  Paying someone to help you avoid foreclosure does make sense; that money should go towards the mortgage.  Be wary if someone claims to be able to solve your foreclosure problems quickly and easily, and don't sign documents unless a lawyer or real estate professional has gone over the documents with you.  Many people have unknowingly signed over the deeds to their houses to companies claiming to instantly solve foreclosure problems!

         6.  Be Prepared to Ask for Assistance

                    If you do find you need to sell your home, don't wait until 2 weeks before the foreclosure is complete.  The average market time is 100+ days in most markets provided the house is well priced.  If you want to sell more quickly, you will need to discount the price of the home accordingly.  Now is not the time to FSBO, make sure you get in touch with a professional who is EXPERIENCED in helping homeowners avoid Foreclosure

          7.  If you enter pre-foreclosure, expect a 100-150 point drop in your credit score.  If you are foreclosed on, that number can climb as high as 250 points, making purchasing another home nearly impossible.

     There is help out there, you just need to be ready to ask.  I speak with homeowners daily in regards to situations like this, and I'm always willing to provide as much information and advice as I can, free of charge, to help people keep their homes.

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
301-653-8116

Website

Blog

Black Friday 2007 Success! Christmas Shopping is nearly done!

I swore I would never do it.  I was certain the last thing I wanted to do was go out on Black Friday to go Christmas shopping.

Why on Earth would anyone in their right mind want to deal with shoulder to shoulder crowds the day after Thanksgiving?  I've spent years teasing devout bargain hunters who fight the mobs each year to get the best deals.  The internet was built to avoid doing it, in my opinion.

So what prompted the change of heart?  Simply put, the sales this year were too good to miss.  I know a deal when I see one, and retailers discounted heavily to entice people like me to show up.

I was determined, too!  My brother Thomas and I camped out in front of Best Buy in Waldorf, MD the night before, determined to prove that we were serious about snagging the deals that the retail gods were offering.

It turns out that being determined requires freezing to death, as well.  Sure, we dressed warmly.  2 pairs of socks, long johns, multiple sweatshirts, our Carhartt Jackets, all in a vain attempt to be well prepared.

At 8:30 PM, we arrived at Best Buy to find there were *only* 41 people ahead of us in line!  The store was giving out vouchers for the deals at 3 AM, and we figured we could get our vouchers, run over to Sear's (who opened at 5 AM) to grab sales on tools, and get back to Best Buy to make our purchases there afterwards knowing that our precious vouchers ensured they had our gifts in stock.

9 PM, we realize that we may not have grabbed everything we needed to last the night.  We never thought that waiting in line for 6 hours would be a teensy bit boring.  No, how on earth could sitting in a chair freezing our rumps without any books, movies, games, food, etc. be unexciting? 

Time to find a solution.  A quick walking trip to 7-11 helped ease the hunger and boredom, and we picked up a few magazines to keep us entertained.

11:30 PM- 3.5 hours to go.  The crowd there was fun, we traded magazines, chatted about peoples previous Black Friday experiences (someone claimed the line was 4x larger than the previous year) and discussed what we were hoping to buy when the store opened up at 5AM.

We managed to warm our hands up a bit thanks to a few of those nifty Hot Hands packets you see at the store,  and met a couple of guys who had brought a football with them(They were obviously well-prepared bargain hunting professionals, unlike us).  We played a little football, talked about how much we hated New England (Sorry, Pat's Fans!), and enjoyed the camaraderie of the whole thing.

2 AM-  Thomas was sound asleep at this point, struggling to stay awake had been a losing battle for him(I may have rested my eyelids for a moment or two, but only because he was sawing logs at this point...).  At this point we were both very cold, very tired, and very much ready to go home and enjoy sleeping indoors!

3 AM- They hand out our vouchers, and we take off for Sears.  After we load up on our purchases there we decide that we should see just how busy the mall really is.  Big Mistake.

To say the mall was packed would be an understatement.  Shoulder to shoulder crowds pushed through the stores and I couldn't help but feel bad for the hapless clerks stuck behind the counters as wave after wave of shoppers  move in and out.

We head back to Best Buy and grab the gifts our vouchers were holding and decide to head home.  By 8 AM the rush is at full blast and trying to walk through the stores is nearly impossible.  Laptops are being sold for less than $300, 52" LCD HD TV's for $1,500, and everyone is fighting to buy.

By 11 AM the sales were over and I was safely back at home, sleeping.  I had my fun, got deals I couldn't have found online, and I can officially say that I went bargain hunting on Black Friday.  My shopping for the season is almost complete, and if the deals are as good next year, I might just have to do it again!

Foreclosure Buying Tips- What You NEED To Know! Part 3- Post Foreclosure and REO Properties

    This is part 3 of a 3 part series on how foreclosures work and how to find the best home to fit your needs at the best price.

    There's really no great mystery to it, but there is a process and I'm here to do my best explaining how each step works and how you can capitalize on it as a consumer to keep a little more cash in your pocket.

The 3 steps are this:

1. Pre-Foreclosure
2. Foreclosure
3. Post Foreclosure REO(Real Estate Owned)

Post-Foreclosure
   
    What This Means

    The bank owns the property outright.  They are responsible for trying to sell the property, and the longer they own the property there is a possibility of serious devaluation.

    Just consider this:  If a home is REO and on the market right now, what happens if that property has not sold by February? 

    Would there be an increased risk of damage due to freezing pipes, animal infestation, weather damage?  If there's a heavy rain and the power is turned off, how is the sump pump supposed to stop the basement from flooding?

    The Positives

1. They need to sell the property- The bank does not want to hold a liability like this for an extended period of time, they want to get it sold and recoup as much of their loss as possible.
2. They will (Eventually) cut the price as low as necessary to get the property sold-  If you can get in at the right price, you may be able to get a home for less than the owner was able to sell it for, but don't expect that to happen as soon as the home is put on the market.
3. The property is listed with a Realtor and you can schedule to go view it-  At least now you can get a good look at what you're buying.

    The Negatives

1. The Bank wants to recoup as much as possible-     If the owner had enough equity to sell it at discount, why would he have let the foreclosure happen?  It typically only gets to this point because there was not enough equity to avoid it.  The bank also has increasing costs involved that they're going to try and recoup as well.
2. The longer the home is vacant, the more problems it may have.  It usually takes 45-90 days after foreclosure for the property to be available for sale like this.  They are neglected, and the longer they sit the more problems they develop, which means the more money it takes to make it suitable above and beyond the sales price
3. Inspections (If Allowed) are for informational purposes ony- The bank has no interest in making repairs, they'd rather it be reflected in the price.  Make sure you try to have a walk-out clause should you not like the inspection report.
4. You're not the only one looking for a deal-  If the property has been on the market more than a week, it may not be the best deal.  My investors get daily updates on new foreclosures, and we view the best potentials the day they go on the market.  If you're serious about getting a good deal, have your financing in line and be aggressive.
5. Banks aren't known for their speedy response-  Don't be surprised if a bank takes a week or more to respond to your offer, or if they require more than 2 weeks to settle.  Every bank has their own way of doing things, and some are faster than others.

    How to Capitalize

1. Find a Realtor who knows how to identify the best deal daily-  That's what they do, and a good Realtor can quickly and easily assess the potential value.  Negotiation is key, make sure your agent is experienced in making these deals work.  It's all about the art of negotiation.
   
2. Have knowledge of what repairs are going to cost-  There is almost always some sort of repair work, factor the costs into the offer you make.
3. Don't be afraid to low-ball the offer-  You won't be offending the bank, and if they're not interested they'll let you know.
4. Don't be afraid to re-submit an offer-  The longer a property sits, the more willing a bank is to make a deal, try shooting that low-ball offer again 3 weeks later.... it might just work.

    Remember that at this point the bank has more invested than just the loan amount:  There's legal fees, departmental fees, contractor fees (possibly) transfer/title/recordation fees, and they are going to want to recoup that if at all possible. 

    Banks aren't in the business of losing money, and they have shareholders to answer to if they sold property from bad debt for pennies on the dollar when they're losing as much as they are on bad loans.

    If you had been able to buy the property from the homeowner prior to foreclosure, there would have been less overhead involved in the transaction, and you may have saved more money.

Jonathan, Marsha, & Thomas Benya
~Team Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
301-653-8116
Website

Foreclosure Buying Tips- What You NEED To Know! Part 2- Foreclosures and Auctions

    This is part 2 of a 3 part series on how foreclosures work and how to find the best home to fit your needs at the best price.

    There's really no great mystery to it, but there is a process to it and I'm here to do my best explaining how each step works and how you can capitalize on it as a consumer to keep a little more cash in your pocket.

The 3 steps are this:

1. Pre-Foreclosure
2. Foreclosure
3. Post Foreclosure REO(Real Estate Owned)

I will be posting this as a 3-part series, so I will break explain Post-foreclosure and REO Properties in my next post.

Foreclosure
   
    What This Means

    The homeowner is delinquent in paying their mortgage and the bank has foreclosed on the property.  At this point the homeowner no longer owns the property and has been informed that they must immediately vacate if they have not done so already.

    A foreclosure property is often placed on the market for sale by auction on the courthouse steps.   It used to be common to find a great deal by attending the auctions and purchasing the home there.

    What  has happened recently is that because of lawsuits that have established precedence, banks will typically have an agent of theirs at the auction to prevent the property from being sold at a huge loss to the bank.

    Because of the nature of the market right now, it is hard to establish what a home would really sell for so now you will find that most properties do not actually change ownership through courthouse sale because the price someone is willing to pay for a property, sight unseen, is not acceptable to the bank at that time.

    The Positives

1. You may be able to get a great deal on the home- If the bank is willing to sell the home at any price, this is your chance.  Typically, banks have not been very inclined to sell at a price acceptable to consumers, so auctions have lost a lot of popularity.
   

    The Negatives

1. You are not typically able to view and inspect the interior of the home prior to auction-  The house is sold strictly as-is, where-is.  There could be any number of problems, mold, structural damage, water damage, etc.  and there is no way to know without seeing the property in advance.
2. The whole process can seem rushed-  Having to decide on buying a home without having seen the current condition is not wise, and you shouldn't allow anyone to convince you otherwise.
3. Caveat Emptor- The home is being sold strictly "buyer beware".  Appliances may or may not exist/work, and the same goes for plumbing, electrical systems, etc.

    How to Capitalize

1. Focus on homes you can view in advance-  There are rare situations where the house may be held open prior to auction, make sure you take advantage of that fact!
2. Know in advance home much you are willing to spend on the property-  And don't spend more that that amount!  Remember that you're there to save money, and spending more than you wanted isn't wise.  You are calculating the financial risk into any assessment you make, and there's a reason you decided on a figure.  Stick with it!
   

    Remember that at this point the bank has more invested than just the loan amount:  There's legal fees, departmental fees, contractor fees (possibly) transfer/title/recordation fees, and they are going to want to recoup that if at all possible. 

    Banks aren't in the business of losing money, and they have shareholders to answer to if they sold property from bad debt for pennies on the dollar when they're losing as much as they are on bad loans.

    If you had been able to buy the property from the homeowner prior to foreclosure, there would have been less overhead involved in the transaction, and you may have saved more money.

    Part 3 will describe how buying an REO home post foreclosure.  Make sure you check back for that and if you have any questions, please ask!

Jonathan, Marsha, & Thomas Benya
~Team Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
301-653-8116
Website

Foreclosure Buying Tips- What You NEED To Know! Part 1- Pre-Foreclosures

    Foreclosure was once that dirty word that nobody talked about, but with the recent market changes everybody who's looking to buy a home is at least curious about how the process of buying a foreclosure works.

    There's really no great mystery to it, but there is a process to it and I'm here to do my best explaining how each step works and how you can capitalize on it as a consumer to keep a little more cash in your pocket.

The 3 steps are this:

1. Pre-Foreclosure
2. Foreclosure
3. Post Foreclosure REO(Real Estate Owned)

I will be posting this as a 3-part series, so I will break down Foreclosed Property Sales and REO Sales in my next posts.

Pre-Foreclosure
   
    What This Means
    
       The homeowner is delinquent in paying their mortgage and the bank has notified them that they are preparing to foreclose on the property if payments are not brought up to date by the specified date.  At this point the homeowner still legally owns the property and has the right to sell it before the date of foreclosure.

        A pre-foreclosure property is often placed on the market by the homeowner and legally any pre-foreclosure MUST BE DISCLOSED (but not always is).  A Short Sale is an example of a pre-foreclosure sale where the bank must approve the sale because they are selling for less that the total amount due on the loan.

    The Positives

1. The home is not yet bank-owned-  Dealing with a homeowner is typically a much easier process than negotiating with a bank.  There's simply less hurdles and stipulations attached to the process of submitting an offer and getting it to settlement.
2. There may be negotiable equity-   If there is any established equity in the house, the owner may be willing to sacrifice it to sell at a discount in order to avoid foreclosure.  Any Foreclosure on your credit score will damage it by 200-250 points.  If the owner were to sell it prior to foreclosure he/she's looking at a drop of only 100-150 points and might be able to buy something smaller that he/she can afford.
3. Known issues with the home may be disclosed-  If there are serious material defects with the property the homeowner will have to disclose if it was a primary residence.  A bank will sign a complete disclaimer, so you may not know about that leaking oil tank that's buried underground

    The Negatives

1. The bank may need to approve the sale-  If it is a negative equity situation or a short-sale that the bank needs to approve, you're at the mercy of that approval.  If they don't like the offer it may not fly, regardless of the homeowners desire to sell it to you.  Typically you're looking at a minimum of 3-4 weeks to close on a short sale because of the extra people involved, and there may be extra paperwork necessary to satisfy the banks demands

    How to Capitalize

1. Find a pre-foreclosure with negotiable equity-  Remember that the homeowner needs to get out and should be flexible enough to try and make the deal work.  If they can't do it, it's possible they may lose the house completely and take a much bigger hit on their credit score.
2. Make sure there is value in the transaction-  Buying a short-sale can be a test of patience because of the bank's involvement.  If it's not a good discount, why put yourself through all the extra hoops?

See what comparable foreclosures have sold for-  I find that the best deal is often right here before the foreclosure has gone through, and it's less difficult to negotiate and faster to close on.  I will explain why a foreclosed property can actually be the raw deal when compared to pre-foreclosures in my next post!

 ~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell

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Charles County Real Estate Market Report - November 2007

     Wow, this has been an incredibly difficult year to try selling a home!  As I've mentioned in previous blogs, Countrywide Home Loans was the first to take action to help ease consumer strain and keep people from being foreclosed on.  It may be to early to tell, but it looks like we're starting to see signs of stabilization in the local market, hopefully other lenders will contribute further and help ensure market stability.


What Looks Good:

     The average number of days on market (DOM) in Charles County, MD has actually declined!  DOM actually fell from 118 days to 115 days.  This doesn't mean that houses are moving any better on the marketplace, however, simply that the average time on market until it is sold/rented/withdrawn has been reduced.

     The number of homes available for sale on the market in Charles County, MD has gone down!  Traditionally the coming of the holiday season means a gross reduction in the number of people who are trying to sell as well as looking to buy.  Often times shopping for a home around Christmas means that there is a strong potential to get a better deal, but moving when there is snow on the ground is difficult and inconvenient, so many people opt to wait for better weather.

     Number of sales for October did not see significant decline! This is very important.  Month after month we have seen a decline in the number of sales locally.  The fact that we are seeing a possibility of leveling out may indicate a trend towards improvement, but don't expect to see significant improvement before May '08, and definitely not to the robust sales and gains we saw from 2003-2006!

    Number of pending sales for the month of October have increased!  This is the first increase in pending sales that we've seen since February!  Traditionally from February on through July/August, real estate pending sales trend upwards and then downwards in the fall.  It's too early to tell what the impact will be, but seeing a rise in pending transactions right now is very good news.


What Needs Improvement:


     Sales are currently at their lowest point in the past six years. Meanwhile, we haven't seen the direct holiday season impact yet (December is usually the worst month of the year for real estate sales)!  What is promising about this is that pending sales are up, contrary to traditional market trends.  At best right now I think we're hoping to see the market remain like this until the spring, but I suspect that we're going to see further decline through the holidays, which is going to further frustrate homeowners and further depress housing prices.

Wrap-up- What Does This Mean?

     Essentially, it means that the market is still in very rough shape and is going to need time to work itself out.  We're not looking at a 3 month or 6 month turnaround here, and we're not going to see another big boom like we were in for a very long time, possibly decades. 

     For Homeowners, I suspect you are going to find that the market continues to decline, perhaps as low as 15% from 2006 sales values once all is said and done. If you're trying to sell your home right now, I highly recommend you actually go out, view your competition, and try to assess the value of the other homes your potential buyers will be seeing. 

     Also, make sure that your agent is being aggressive in trying to get your home sold!  Agents are having a very hard time, our marketing costs have easily tripled because we're fighting to make sure our listings are actually seen!  Part-Time agents and small-volume agents are hit especially hard because there's so much less selling right now, so choose your agent carefully.

    For Home Buyers, if you're waiting for the market to bottom out before you jump in, be very cautious about how you do it.  Yes, Values are down 8%-10%, and they may go as low as 14%-15%, or the may not.  Also, rates are very low, and they may or may not go down as well, but keep in mind that the last time the rates dropped, the lending criteria went up, making it harder to get the same deal on your loan despite a drop in prime rates!

     Lenders are more cautious now, as they should be, but you don't want to hold out to save another $10,000 on the price of the home if the monthly payment is going to be the same (or higher) due to more stringent lending criteria.  There's simply no sense in paying the lender more because you waited until the homeowner took that extra $10,000 discount off his home.


Jonathan, Marsha, & Thomas Benya
~Team Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
301-653-8116
Website

Please feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns, thoughts, etc.  If you are considering buying or selling a home, remember that at Team Benya, you're getting 3 agents for the price of 1;  It just makes sense.

 ~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell

Charles County Real Estate Blog
SOMD Home Search
Southern Maryland Custom Homes & Land

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Looking for a good pork sandwich? Fuhgeddaboutit!

Thinking about the good old days, when mobsters came and went freely, meeting their FBI contacts and enjoying a good pork sandwich? Well it looks like that time has gone.

Yes, I know The Sopranos has been off the air for awhile now.  I have to admit I loved watching each week waiting to see who the next person was to get whacked.  I might even call myself a fan, but there's a limit to how far I would go to show my loyalties.

No, I'm not talking about placing a hit in protest of  the series finale (although seriously, what kind of ending was that!?).  I'm talking about the once in a lifetime opportunity to buy your very own Sopranos themed condo.

Yes. A condo building is going up in place of what used to be Satriale's. Apparently there's a market for people who want to live out their very own Sopranos fantasy, because the owner claims he's got orders for three of them placed already, and they haven't even announced the price yet!  So for anyone looking to live out their own mob fantasy without the fear of getting whacked, call and make your reservation today!

 ~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell

Charles County Real Estate Blog
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But..... I Didn't MEAN to sell it for $280 Million.... I highly doubt it'll sell ma'am....

Let me start by saying that information is great.  Technology has been wonderful for our industry, and it's revolutionized the way we do business (Those Agents who had to keep their listings on Index Cards know EXACTLY what I'm talking about!).

But with great responsibility comes great power (I heard that someone important said that once), and it forces professionals like us (and in some cases, I use the term professional rather lightly) to be very careful about what sort of information we are disseminating.

I was looking for high-end properties this afternoon trying to find a couple hundred acres of land.  One of the ways I searched was by price, indexing everything listed for more than $5 million.  That's when I found it: 

Short Sale (uh-oh)


Motivated Seller (Of Course)



5 bed/2 bath split foyer on 1 acre (Hey, I might have someone interested in that...)


Asking Price- $279,900,000.00





Obviously, Somewhere, There was a Failure to Communicate....










I did give the listing agent a quick courtesy call to inform her of the error, and I'm sure she was grateful to hear that someone caught it!


Although, If anyone out there has a buyer looking for that darling little split foyer in Maryland and has a quarter billion or so to burn, tell them that the seller is motivated!

The point to all this is that you have to be careful when it comes to updating your information!  It's very easy to add or drop a zero along the way, and that can cause you serious problems, so always double check your work guys, your clients will thank you for it!

 ~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell

Charles County Real Estate Blog
SOMD Home Search
Southern Maryland Custom Homes & Land

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METRO DREAM HOMES- A little more information has trickled in

It's frightening to think of just how deep the bottom line has been buried in regards to Andy Williams and Metropolitan Dream Homes.

Here's the latest info- 18 companies have been determined as subsidiaries of Metro-Grapevine, the parent company of Metro Dream Homes ( aka MDH ).  over 1,000 people are financially involved.  Company assets that have been recovered include:

$150,000 in cash

50 cars- including S-Class Mercedes, Corvettes, Escalades, etc.

14 local properties- located in Laurel, Virginia, D.C.


The company liabilities are between $200-$300 Million, they are unable to pay the mortgages as promised, and are behind by several months at this point.

There was a recent article in the Laurel Leader, link is included here:

The attorney general's office is asking anyone with knowledge about the assets of POS or any of its affiliated companies, including bank accounts, property or cash, to call the office at 410-576-6360.

Anyone who would like to share their experience about MDH or Andy Williams, please email or call me directly and I will include your story to my next update.

j.benya@c21nm.com
301-653-8116

 ~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 - office
301-653-8116 - cell

Charles County Real Estate Blog
SOMD Home Search
Southern Maryland Custom Homes & Land

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