According to the Independent, this ‘one seat, one residence’ rule has allowed between 138 and 144 new homes to be built over the past year and a half (see School allocations granted).  As you can see, the rule is trying to help avoid the ever present problem of school overcrowding without completely stunting residential growth to the county.

However, the allocations are not evenly spread through the county.  In each school zone, school’s maximum capacity, school enrollment numbers, and the estimated number of students per household determine the number of allocations for that area.

If you are looking to buy new construction or have a custom home built on your lot and have questions about school zoning issues, feel free to contact me today!

Jonathan Benya

Realtor

Century 21 New Millennium

9405-A Chesapeake Street 301-609-9000 Office

La Plata, Maryland 20646 301-653-8116 Mobile

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Luckily, for tenants and prospective renters, there was a new federal statute signed into law this past May.  The new law states:

• Tenants in foreclosed properties can remain until the end of their lease.
• Month-to-month tenants are entitled to 90 days notice to terminate.
• If purchaser of the foreclosed property intends to reside in the property, then the buyer may terminate any existing lease with 90 days notice.

This new law gives renters some peace of mind concerning their current residence.  Instead of having a few days notice, tenants can expect at least 90 days notice if they must relocate.

If you need assistance finding a new home, contact me today!  This is a buyer’s market, and with the tax credits for first time home buyers and foreclosure buyers in Prince George’s and Charles Counties, this may be the right time for you to invest in a home of your own!

Jonathan Benya

Realtor

Century 21 New Millennium

9405-A Chesapeake Street 301-609-9000 Office

La Plata, Maryland 20646 301-653-8116 Mobile

Both the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Associtation of Home Builders (NAHB) report substantial numbers of sales being thwarted by lower than expected appraisals. 

Overall, you must remember that an appraisal is basically one person’s interpretation or opinion on what your home is worth.  The appraisals are (sometimes arguably) done by experienced professionals who base their opinions upon the current local market for similar homes.  When that pool of properties (referred to as comps or comparables) includes mostly foreclosed or distressed homes, it can be tricky to assess a home’s true value.  Sure, your home may be worth $400,000 based on what you paid and the upgrades you did, but when the same house with the same upgrades sells for $329,000 down the street as a foreclosure, buyers are less likely to shell out the extra money for yours.

Back to Market Basics

It’s all a long, drawn out way of saying. “it’s elementary, my dear Watson.”  When two retailers have the same item you want, you buy the item at whichever retailer is selling it cheaper.  Appraisers are simply doing their best in a market they’ve never seen before. 

If you are looking to sell and you have questions or concerns about what the true market value of your home is in the current market, contact me 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
SOMD Home Search
Southern Maryland Custom Homes & Land

What Is a Property Tax Assessment?

In short, a tax assessment is the approximate value of your home, according to the government, used for taxation purposes.  It is NOT an appraisal, nor is it an estimate of the sales value of your home.  Homes are assessed every three years by the government, and then annual adjustments are made based on average value changes each year.

How it Works:

When you look at your property tax bill, the amount of tax you pay is based off of this assessed value.  For homes that were just re-assessed, the last assessment was in 2006, so almost all of these homes have been taxed at an assessed value that was higher than the home was actually worth.  In Charles County, just over 18,000 homes were re-assessed, and all but 6 of them had a decrease in value!

The county tax rate for residential property is $1.026 per $100 of assessed value.  This means that for a home valued at $300,000, the tax bill should be $3,780.  The average value drop on this round of assessments for Charles County was 28.2%.  That means that if a home was previously assessed at $300,000, the new assessment would, on average, place it near a value of $215,400.  The tax bill would then drop from $3,780 to $2,714, a savings of $1,066 on the annual tax bill!

Not All Good News

While the benefit of saving $1,000 or more on your tax bill is obvious, this isn’t exactly a rosy picture for residents.  You see, all that money collected from property taxes is used by the government to keep the state running.  In total, Maryland is losing $1.7 billion dollars in tax revenues from this current re-assessment, and we as residents are going to feel it as everything from school budgets to local outreach programs are scaled back or eliminated to cope with the loss of revenue.

Keep your eyes out for a post later this week about the Homestead Tax Credit, which allows owners to cap the annual value increase on their tax assessments at a maximum of 7%!

Link:  Maryland Independent Article: Property Assessments Plummet

~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

Home buyer searching for a great deal a new custom home on over an acre of land!

Low Prices and interest rates make this a perfect time to build your dream home!
For many people, the idea of having their own custom home built sounds like a dream.
Fact is, having a home custom built has never been more affordable!  There’s 3 reasons why RIGHT NOW is the time to look at making your dream come true:

1. Prices are low
2. Interest Rates are low
3. Tax Credits can put money in your pocket!

Land Prices have become affordable again,  and having a custom home built for as little as $300,000 is actually possible!  What does that price get you in today’s market?  Well, for starters, you can find   ready to build homesites ranging from 1-3 acres depending on your needs, and have your own custom built rambler built with 1,650+ square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a gourmet kitchen!

The Best Part about building a custom home is that you aren’t limited to the 3-4 home plans that most builders offer.  Custom home builders can create anything you want, and work with you to give your home that extra personal touch!

If you’re interested in the idea of building that “20 year home” you’ve always dreamed about, now may be the time to do it!  For more information about custom home construction, feel free to give me a ring, or visit the website  www.somdland.com to find out more!

(Model Shown is the Stafford Model by Potomac Homes)

~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

It’s also been expanded!  People who currently own a home are eligible to get up to $6,500 to “move up”!  Here’s a short video from Tom Kunz, President and CEO of Century 21, explaining the extension:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it-i_pbt1os]

In order to qualify for the $6,500, here’s a quick explanation of the guidelines for current homeowners (info on first timers can be found here):

• The credit is available for homes that go under contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30th, 2010.
• Current homeowners can claim a $6,500 credit as long as the property they are vacating has been their primary residence for at least five consecutive years out of the last eight years.
• Income limits: $125,000 a year for individuals, $225,000 a year for married couples. (these are higher limits than before)
• Homes that cost more than $800,000 aren’t eligible for the credit.
• $6500 tax credit is not retroactive.  (from the language of the bill: “shall apply to residences purchased after the date of the enactment of this Act.”

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email me!

~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

According to the article, the U.S.
unemployment rate is 9.8 percent; Maryland’s is 7.2 percent; and Charles’s
is 5.9 percent!!!  In addition to this news, rising homes sales, and a continuing influx of new jobs, Charles County is becoming a much more popular place to be!  Also, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in the area, I know a FANTASTIC Realtor, LOL!!!  

~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

Unfortunately, that sort of approach makes it difficult for your home to been seen by potential buyers.  The more marketing you agent does, the better chance it has of selling, right?  Every bit of exposure is one step closer to finding the buyer for your home!

Here’s an example of some of the things we do to get our homes sold quickly:

Professional photography
No point-and-shoot cameras, we hire professionals to take gorgeous hi-res HD shots of our homes!  Better photos increase the chance of people taking a closer look at your home when they see it online!

Online Video Marketing
“virtual tours” are dead.  People want to see something more engaging, and video is it!  We take video tours, combine them with high resolution photos, and add text descriptions to generate buzz and give people more incentive to call their agent and make an appointment to see your home!  Here’s an Example:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtNPLcwBaho]

Listing Syndication and Featured Advertising
Most Realtors don’t “Get It” when it comes to online marketing. the MLS isn’t enough!  We syndicate our listings to over 45+ websites and pay for tons of Featured ads to get you seen first!  If there are 50 homes comparable to yours on the market, our job is to make sure that your home is on the top of their list when people are searching the internet.

Aggressive Direct Marketing
This includes open houses, direct mailers, flyers, signs, trade shows, home book advertisments, fairs, blogging, direct email marketing and more all designed to get YOUR HOUSE sold!  Direct Marketing has long been the staple of real estate advertising.  It still gets business done, but not as efficently as it once did.

If you’re thinking about putting your house on the market, give us a call for a free Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and a demonstration of how our marketing strategy will get your home sold quickly!

~Jonathan Benya- Realtor
301-653-8116

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