Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog

Neverland Ranch up for Auction

I can't say that I'm terribly surprised, but Michael Jackson's famous Neverland Ranch is about to hit the auction block unless he can pay off roughly $25 million that he currently owes on the property. 

The property itself is 2,500 acres, so if it were to be sold at auction, the starting price tag of $25,000,000 would be roughly $10,000 per acre!  At that price it would be a STEAL for a developer or perhaps another eccentric celebrity with money to burn (Britney Spears, perhaps?).  Who knows if Jacko can pay off the lean in time, we'll see soon. (Bubbles the monkey not included)

I Need a New Banner

I've been putting it off for some time now, but I'm not happy with my blog's current banner.  I think it's time to head back to the drawing board (or photo-shop, as the case may be)  And see what I can come up with.  Anyone out there have any ideas?

He's getting the attention he wanted!

    I was at St. Charles Towne Center Mall yesterday, and I typically make it a point to avoid shopping anywhere on weekends because of the crowds.  I figure that if my hours are flexible enough, I can get my errands done during the week and there's no reason to wait in long lines and contribute to the weekend throngs.

    At any rate, I had no choice but to be at the mall on Saturday.  I ran into a woman there at the food court who was disciplining her son.  Now, before you get all worked up, she wasn't beating him, or yelling, or even talking to him for that matter.  Apparently he had gotten in trouble at school, so she created a punishment that she felt fit the crime.  She dragged his butt down to the mall and made him stand there in the food court all day long holding a sign that said:

"Please pray for me, I misbehaved in school."

    His mother said that he was acting up in school because he wanted the attention, and she was through with his antics.  Well, he DEFINATELY got the attention, and I'm sure more than a few of his friends ran into him that day (This was Saturday, after all, and she had apparently been there since morning).  I wonder if this will help solve the problem?  At the very least it's a highly creative method of punishment, and I'm sure the young man will be thinking twice before he decides to embarass his parents (and himself!) by acting up again!

Understanding the Foreclosure Auctions

The Washington Post just posted an article titled: "Foreclosure Auctioneer's Lonely Task".  It's an interesting read, even if it's a bit theatrical.  There was a quote in there that I found particularly striking:

"Banks don't want your house; they want your money. They want to work with you so you can keep your house. With the market like it is, lenders don't want to foreclose on you."

    If this were genuinely the case, why is there such an onslaught of REO homes nowadays?  I think it's a genuine sentiment, but the current mortgage problems like this are occurring anyways, and people, particularly those at risk of foreclosure, need to understand this!

    I cannot stress enough how important constant communication with your lender is when you are facing a risk of foreclosure.  Banks are becoming more and more flexible with homeowners (finally), but the reality is that if there's ANY possibility of getting the note renegotiated, or getting the house sold before foreclosure, why WOULDN'T you try?

    Banks ARE negotiating on a case by case basis, and it's worth the attempt.  As the Washington Post article noted, the banks are likely to take a loss once they've foreclosed, so why not negotiate NOW to help minimize their loss AND avoid the credit damage and humiliation involved with being forcibly evicted from your home through foreclosure?

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com

Maryland Foreclosure Prevention Event!

    If you're currently at risk of foreclosure in the state of Maryland, there's a big event that you should be at!

    March 5th is the date, and the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD is the location!  Here's the skinny:

    Prince George's County is sponsoring the event, along with HUD and a bunch of other agencies.  There will be 13 national loan servicers there, and they'll be talking with homeowners that are concerned or worried about the mortgage market.  The goal is to explain how to avoid getting into a bad loan, how to avoid foreclosure, and so forth.

    Workshops will be running from 2pm-8pm, and if you would like to register, all you have to do is call 800-CALL-FHA.

(Special Thanks to The Real Estate Wonk for Blogging this to my attention!)

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog

Gorgeous Home For Sale in Saint Leonard, MD

How Do I Determine Southern Maryland Land Value?

    We do a fair amount of land sales here in Southern Maryland, and trying to determine land values is a complicated process, much more so than determining the value of someone's home.  Everybody wants to make top dollar for their land when they go to sell it, but how do you know what top dollar really is?

    With home sales, this is a straight-forward process.  With land, the financial factors of the analysis becomes far more difficult.  It's because of this reason that so many Realtors do not work in land sales (It's a ton of work, and it can be very tedious!).  Land values can also be affected (positively or negatively) through improvement, much like renovating a home.

    When I'm asked to research a property to determine a home's value, many of the variables I need to know have to be researched. Simply checking a tax record will not provide me with enough information (I wish it was so easy!) to properly evaluate the land.  I have a list of questions I need answered:

How Well Does Your Land Drain?      

• What is the Zoning?
• What is the Zoning Density?
• Is There a Survey Map?
• Is the Land Perc'd?
• What is the Soil Content?
• How Much Road Frontage Does It Have?
• Is there Public Sewer/Water Access?
• What Does the Topography Look Like?
• What Sort of Easements Exist?
• Does it Have it's TDR's?
• Was it Logged Recently?

    This requires finding(not all land has an address, or even road access!) and walking the property to make sure it's not an obvious cliff or swamp (both of which exist in the area), and then pulling any and all surveyors reports and records that have ever been filed in regards to the property.

    What I'm putting together (Ideally) is a packet of information I can use to clearly pinpoint why I am placing a given value on the property.  This packet will include Topography Maps, Aerial Images, Satellite Images, Sewer Maps, Geo-Survey Studies, Tax Maps, and Zoning Maps.

No Such Thing As Too Much Research!   

    Here's where the real art of pricing land comes in!  I have to determine what the highest and best *likely* use of the property would be.  If it can't be built upon, it's worth only a fraction of what it would be if a home could be put up on it's location.  I also determine what the property would be worth to the surrounding owners (sometimes they're willing to pay a premium to ensure that it will not be developed!). 

    It's a matter of determining how much money it would cost to develop the land, and how much development can be done.  The more building lots a property can be split into, the more the parcel is worth.  The biggest challenge to that is estimating how much of the land must be used for roads (subtract that from the acreage), how much must be used for forest conservation (again, possibly subtract that), how much limitation is incurred by easement (you get the idea), ill terrain, etc.

    If you want to raise the value of the land, you need to improve it, much like you would a home.  Be sure to check out my upcoming blog article on Land Perc's to find out more!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog

Credit Score Defined

Credit Score Defined

  Everyone's at least heard of a credit score, but for a lot of folks the concept seems to be confusing (let's face it, it IS confusing), but a basic understanding of what is being computed can go a long way in trying to ensure that you maintain a happy, healthy credit report!

What Is It?

    The truth is, if you're not a finance expert credit scores can seem very complex, so don't feel bad!  Essentially, a credit score is a report of you credit history that tracks current debts, bill payment histories, late payments, etc. to try and determine how much of a financial "risk" it would be to provide you with a loan. 

Looking to buy a new car?  They're going to determine your interest rate based off of that score.  Same goes for buying a house, the lower the score, the higher the interest rate.  If the credit score is too low, they won't approve the loan at all.  Credit Scores are ranked on a scale with 300 points being on the low end and 850 points being on the high end.

Who Determines It?

    There's a couple of different ways that Credit Scores are determined.  The scores are based off of reports generated by one of three credit bureaus, those bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.  Each Bureau has their own method of determining your score, and when you're applying for a home loan, there is a fourth method known as FICO(Fair Isaac & Co.), that is used to decide how credit worthy you are.

How Do I Get My Score?

    Consumers have the legal right to obtain their credit report every 12 months, free of charge.  Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com in order to find out what your report looks like.  This is important because it allows you to see what is on there and if there is incorrect data (it happens, never assume that it's right unless you've verified it yourself), and from there you can dispute items that you feel are incorrect. 

What is a "Good" Score?

    In terms of purchasing a home, what you're looking for is a minimum of 620.  Anything below that is considered poor and makes it very difficult to obtain loan approval.  Remember, the higher the score, the better your loan terms can be.

Credit Score Categories:

850-750   Excellent

749-660   Good

659-620   Fair

619-350   Poor

  Everyone's at least heard of a credit score, but for a lot of folks the concept seems to be confusing (let's face it, it IS confusing), but a basic understanding of what is being computed can go a long way in trying to ensure that you maintain a happy, healthy credit report!

What Is It?

    The truth is, if you're not a finance expert credit scores can seem very complex, so don't feel bad!  Essentially, a credit score is a report of you credit history that tracks current debts, bill payment histories, late payments, etc. to try and determine how much of a financial "risk" it would be to provide you with a loan. 

Looking to buy a new car?  They're going to determine your interest rate based off of that score.  Same goes for buying a house, the lower the score, the higher the interest rate.  If the credit score is too low, they won't approve the loan at all.  Credit Scores are ranked on a scale with 300 points being on the low end and 850 points being on the high end.

Who Determines It?

    There's a couple of different ways that Credit Scores are determined.  The scores are based off of reports generated by one of three credit bureaus, those bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.  Each Bureau has their own method of determining your score, and when you're applying for a home loan, there is a fourth method known as FICO(Fair Isaac & Co.), that is used to decide how credit worthy you are.

How Do I Get My Score?

    Consumers have the legal right to obtain their credit report every 12 months, free of charge.  Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com in order to find out what your report looks like.  This is important because it allows you to see what is on there and if there is incorrect data (it happens, never assume that it's right unless you've verified it yourself), and from there you can dispute items that you feel are incorrect. 

What is a "Good" Score?

    In terms of purchasing a home, what you're looking for is a minimum of 620.  Anything below that is considered poor and makes it very difficult to obtain loan approval.  Remember, the higher the score, the better your loan terms can be.

Credit Score Categories:

850-750   Excellent

749-660   Good

659-620   Fair

619-350   Poor

Photos of La Plata Maryland, La Plata Town Hall, Etc.

Thomas took some really great photos this morning in La Plata!  I always leave the photo taking to him, he's got a great eye and his photos always manage to turn out a bit better than my own (I wish I could take photos with as great a composition as his)!   Here's what he shot, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, particularly the photo of the La Plata Town Clock!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog

La Plata Town Hall

Civista Medical Center

Gorgeous FSBO in La Plata!

This one won't last long! Includes 4 BRs, 3.5 BAs, separate dining room, hardwood floors, formal living room, large open kitchen with island, huge open family room with gas fireplace, full basement, with full bath, landscaping with irrigation system & much, much more! 4260 square feet! Priced at $560,000 with all allowable closing costs.  For more information, please call 301-934-6153.