Maryland Real Estate Video Blog with Jay Day

How we helped Amy buy a home quickly by taking care of everything

"We probably looked at about 5 houses and it didn't take too long for me to find something that I liked. We worked with Vance Ziglar and he was just awesome. I can’t even tell you everything he did for us. There was problem upon problem with the previous owners and it was just really frustrating to deal with but he was always there taking care of it. I was really impressed with how quick he was to get on it and help with everything."

How we helped our client sell their home by working with the appraiser

"I worked with Christina and she was really awesome. She told me what I needed to do to get the house sold, gave me an idea of how long it would take, and so far she’s sold 2 houses for me this year. She really worked with the person doing the appraisal of my home since it was difficult to find comps and ultimately helped get the house sold."

How we helped Maryann sell her home with our ability to get a lot of showings

"We have very good results when we worked with the Jay Day team. We had like 8 to 10 visits in rapid order and now we have an offer with a signed contract! It only took about a month’s time so we are very pleased. Christina is very fast and she just got right on it! She was able to zero in on a good price and the big punch was the brochure and terrific photography. I’m going to keep telling people about the success we’ve had!"

What Exactly Is a CMA?

There are a variety of opportunities in the Maryland and Southern PA real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

Recently, a few people have asked us what a CMA is, so today we thought we would answer just that.

A comparative market analysis, or CMA, is not the same as an appraisal. A CMA is where we utilize different data points - found by searching all homes currently on the market, homes that are currently under contract, and homes that have sold within that last three or four months - to determine a true value for your home. The idea is to find similar homes to compare to the home in question.

A CMA gives you a good idea of what your home could sell for in today's market. So, if you're thinking you want to sell, or simply want to see what your home is worth in the current market, give us a call or shoot us an email. We would be happy to provide a comparative market analysis for you!

Selling and Searching for Homes Just Got Easier!

We're very excited to announce the launch of our new website, www.DayHomeTeam.com! It's designed to make the buying and selling process much easier for our clients. It gives ease of access for buyers and helps sellers get their homes sold quicker. Here are some of the features:

Sellers: On the new site, we will highlight your home in our featured listings sections to get it maximum exposure. Once a buyer clicks on your home, they will have access to all the detailed information about it. We've included two buttons to make it easier for buyers to pursue your home: one allows the buyer to ask a question about the property, the other takes the buyer to our lender's site so they can get pre-approved within 24 hours. A bird's-eye view and street view are additional ways a buyer can see your home online. The site also provides a list of amenities, so buyers can see where banks, schools, and grocery stores are in relation to your home. Finally, there is an option to schedule a showing immediately.

Buyers: By joining our home finder you'll receive updates on new listings and have access to homes that are still in the process of getting ready to go on the market. Every home that is available in our market can be viewed on our website and you can sort the homes you see by county, state, price range, and even specific areas within counties. You can see how many homes are on the market, the average sales prices of homes, and the highest and lowest prices of homes listed in a specific area! This site is a one-stop shop for all the information you need to find the home of your dreams.

We created this website to give buyers and sellers in the Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania areas a resource to help make their real estate experience a success. It took us months to get it up and running and we are very proud of it. If you have any questions about the many different things it can help you with, give us a call or shoot us and email. We would be happy to help!

How we helped Kenneth with his real estate needs by making it a smooth process

"We put our house on the market in March and then it was sold in May so our results with them were very good. The Jay Day team contacted both of the people who put offers in on the home and rejected the first and accepted the second for us. They just made it a smooth process so everything worked out really well"

What You Can Use Your Home Equity for

There are a variety of opportunities in the Maryland and Southern PA real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

If you have built up a decent amount of home equity over the years, there are a lot of different options you have as far as what to do with that equity. There are 3 different routes that come to mind, each taking advantage of your home equity in a different way.

1. Downsize

If your kids have moved out and you find yourself not needing as much space, downsizing might be the perfect option for you. This allows you to save money on a less expensive home,while keeping more cash in your pocket to spend on other things.

2. Upgrade

On the other hand, maybe your family is growing and you need more space. Using your equity for a down payment on a bigger and better home could allow you to get a very similar mortgage payment.

3. Home Equity Lending

There are all types of loans out there. Home Equity Loans can be used to purchase a variety of things including a new car and improvements on your house if you don't want to make a move into a new home.

Hopefully these tips will be able to help you out when you're trying to decide what to do with your home equity. If you have any questions for us, about this or any other topic, let us know. Give us a call or send us an email so we can answer your questions!

5 Quick and Easy Ways You Can Prepare Your Home for the Market

There are a variety of opportunities in the Maryland and Southern PA real estate market for both buyers and sellers. If you're a prospective buyer click here for a full home search, or if you're considering placing your home on the market, get a free home value report, right here.

If you want to sell your home quickly and for top dollar, you need to make sure your home is in great condition before you put it on the market. We're here to show to show you that selling your home doesn't have to be a stressful experience - just follow these 5 easy tips.

Apply fresh paint. This is an affordable fix that will make your home look fresh and clean. We've worked with many great painters that we would love to refer you to, if interested. This is the easiest way to make your home look new again.
Stage your home. Making your home look its best is crucial. By decluttering, cleaning, and strategically arranging furniture, you can show your home in the best possible light. Remember, it's not only about price and location, but PRESENTATION as well.
Hire landscapers. Your yard is the first thing potential buyers see - it is important it looks nice enough to get them through the door. Curb appeal cannot be underestimated.
Install high-efficiency appliances. These are highly attractive to buyers, who are always looking for a way to save a little money. Spending a bit more can go a long way in upping the value of your home.
Have your home inspected. If you have this done before putting your home on the market, you can fix any problems a buyer may find after making an initial offer. This will give you peace of mind when someone is writing an offer, as you will know what to expect.

We hope these 5 quick tips will prove helpful to you during the selling process. If you have any questions about these or any other ways you can prepare your home for sale, please give us a call. We would love to lend you a hand!

How we helped Sandy sell her home in 8 hours by being sensitive to her timeline

"Everything was better than you could imagine. Jay got our house on the market quickly, set us up with a stager, and sold our home in 8 hours. They were flexible with my timeline ad well as the market’s timeline. There’s always a sweet spot in the real estate market and they were able to put us at ease by getting everything in order."

How we helped Paul sell his home by going above and beyond everything we did

"We had very good results when we worked with the Day Home Team. They treated us like family and we treated them like family. It was a long road, but we got through it and sold our home and found another beautiful home. Everything was above and beyond the norm and if I had to give them a grade, I’d give them an A+."

How we helped Jeffrey with his real estate needs with our professional expertise

"They were excellent to work with. You can tell how professional people are in how they go about doing their jobs and the advertising and photos were all in a professional manner. We sold in Maryland and bought in South Carolina and with the Realtors, there was no comparison. I can’t say anything bad about them, I’d recommend them to anybody!"

Be Prepared Before Applying for a Loan - Know what Lenders are Looking For

There are three things a lender will look at to determine how much money they are going to lend you to buy a new home:

Credit score: You can check your credit score by using a host of free websites, or you can go to the IRS website and get all the information used in your credit report. If your score is low, you may want to consider taking steps to improve it before you seek a loan.
Debt to income ratio: If you are spending more money than you are making, you're obviously not going to get a loan. But even if your income exceeds your expenses, you need to have a ratio that shows you are capable of saving, that you have extra cash on hand.
Down payment: You need to know how much you want to put down on your new home. There are many different options out there to suit your particular situation.

Knowing what your lender is going to be looking for is the first step in securing the amount you need. Having expectations and knowing what you can afford, based on the loan you're able to obtain, are invaluable when searching for a home. If you would like assistance with the process, or are interested in buying or selling a home, give me a call. I'm always available to help

How we helped Gerard sell his own in 37 days by always being thorough

"We worked with Christina from the Jay Day home team and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. She came in with the stager and told us exactly what we needed to do to get our home in the best shape to sell. We sold it in about 37 days! She was professional, thorough, and went out of her way to make it happen. They were great so we’d recommend Jay Day and his team."

Keep Your House Safe While Away this Summer

July is here and vacation season is in full swing. With so many of you taking trips, we thought we would share some tips on how you can protect your home. Feel comfortable about the safety of your home while you're away this summer by following these 6 tips:

Ask a friend to help: If you know someone you trust will be in town while you're on vacation, ask them to check on the house and make sure there is no suspicious activity. They can also water your plants or take care of your pets if needed.
Don't tip off criminals on the web: We all want to post everything about our vacation to social media, but this can be dangerous. There's no better way to scream "MY HOUSE IS EMPTY" than to publicly post about your travels. It's probably best to wait until you are home before telling everyone about your adventure.
Don't leave the lights on: That leaving your lights on deters would-be criminals is one of the biggest misconceptions out there. When the same lights are on in the same rooms on consecutive days, it's a clear indication no one is home. Unless you have a timer of some sort, we would suggest you leave them off.
Stop the mail: Have the post office hold your mail. You don't want an overflowing mailbox while you're away, and you can always pick it up when you return.
Pull the plugs: Make sure all your appliances are unplugged. This will help prevent fires and save you a few bucks.
Remove the spare key: If you're not going to be around, there's no need to have a spare key outside. You can always give it to whoever might need to get in before you leave.

These are easy ways to ensure your home is protected on vacation. We hope these tips are helpful and that everybody has a safe and happy summer. As always, if you are interested in buying or selling in the Maryland and Southern PA area, give us call or send us an email. We'd love to help you out.

How we helped Stacey sell her home in 1 day by being prepared ahead of time

"The Jay Day team is extremely professional. They are so knowledgeable and they cut to the chase. They do their homework before they met with us and they really know what’s going on in the market. Jay always does his research and his goal is to sell your home. "

How we helped Nidal sell her home as quickly as possible because we genuinely care about our clients

"The Jay Day team really knows what they’re doing. They’re so honest, friendly, and at the end of the day, they really want their clients to be happy. They have a passion for what they do and it truly sets them apart."

How we helped Cheryl sell her Maryland home by being there for her through the process

"My Realtor was extremely helpful to me throughout the whole process. I had an ordeal with my home where it flooded and I had to take it off the market and she was always there with good advice. They have extensive knowledge and experience and I really appreciated their honesty. "

Maryland and Southern PA Real Estate Market Update for May 2014

Maryland and Southern PA Real Estate Market Update

Today I'm going to give you a brief video update that will focus on what is happening here in Maryland and Southern PA's real estate market.

We're currently experiencing a market that has leveled itself out and we are not finding ourselves in a buyer's market or seller's market.
Homes are selling fairly quickly (two weeks to a month), and buyers are no longer making low ball offers. Some homes are even selling with multiple offers here in Maryland and Southern PA, which does lean into a seller's market at certain price points.
Overall, inventory is down. This typically helps to increase the value of homes because higher demand brings higher prices.

Buyers are paying full price right now, so this is great news if you're thinking about selling.
Buyers should also be happy because interest rates are extremely low and homes are more affordable right now than they have been in years. You shouldn't feel intimidated to go out and look for homes, but you should know that they are being priced accordingly and realistically. My team will make sure you're not overpaying.

So, if you're a seller, I think it's a great time to sell. If you're thinking about buying, it's also a great time to do so with low interest and affordable monthly payments.

If you're looking to buy or sell in Maryland and Southern PA or the surrounding areas, then please don't hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for tuning in.

Why Hire The Day Home Team?

Having been born and raised in the Baltimore area, Jay is a true Marylander at heart. He loves spending time with his family and watching football in his spare time. He is always looking for new adventures and challenges to overcome. As a graduate of Mount Saint Joseph, he learned the keys to success early on. He moved on to acquire his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from McDaniel College (then Western Maryland College) in 1998.

Jay has always been self motivated and ambitious. He worked up the corporate ladder for several years until realizing he was better suited as an entrepreneur. He soon discovered that Real Estate was his calling and has never looked back.

Within a year of being a Realtor, he began developing The Day Home Team with agents and staff that suit the needs of both the team and our clients. He quickly ranked in the top 1% of Realtors in North America. He has created an efficient and highly successful Real Estate team who collectively bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise about buying and selling real estate.

Jay Day and The Day Home Team
Real Estate Teams, LLC
15 E Main Street, Suite 118
Westminster, MD 21157
O: 240-566-5629
Info@DayHomeTeam.com

Jay Day Testimonials

Click to hear recent
testimonials from happy clients

Cheryl - "My Realtor was extremely helpful to me throughout the whole process. I had an ordeal with my home where it flooded and I had to take it off the market and she was always there with good advice. They have extensive knowledge and experience and I really appreciated their honesty. "

Nidal - "The Jay Day team really knows what they’re doing. They’re so honest, friendly, and at the end of the day, they really want their clients to be happy. They have a passion for what they do and it truly sets them apart."

Stacey - "The Jay Day team is extremely professional. They are so knowledgeable and they cut to the chase. They do their homework before they met with us and they really know what’s going on in the market. Jay always does his research and his goal is to sell your home. "

Gerard - "We worked with Christina from the Jay Day home team and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. She came in with the stager and told us exactly what we needed to do to get our home in the best shape to sell. We sold it in about 37 days! She was professional, thorough, and went out of her way to make it happen. They were great so we’d recommend Jay Day and his team."

Jeffrey - "They were excellent to work with. You can tell how professional people are in how they go about doing their jobs and the advertising and photos were all in a professional manner. We sold in Maryland and bought in South Carolina and with the Realtors, there was no comparison. I can’t say anything bad about them, I’d recommend them to anybody!"

Paul - "We had very good results when we worked with the Day Home Team. They treated us like family and we treated them like family. It was a long road, but we got through it and sold our home and found another beautiful home. Everything was above and beyond the norm and if I had to give them a grade, I’d give them an A+."

Sandy - "Everything was better than you could imagine. Jay got our house on the market quickly, set us up with a stager, and sold our home in 8 hours. They were flexible with my timeline ad well as the market’s timeline. There’s always a sweet spot in the real estate market and they were able to put us at ease by getting everything in order."

Kenneth - "We put our house on the market in March and then it was sold in May so our results with them were very good. The Jay Day team contacted both of the people who put offers in on the home and rejected the first and accepted the second for us. They just made it a smooth process so everything worked out really well."

Anonymous - "I worked with Christina and she was really awesome. She told me what I needed to do to get the house sold, gave me an idea of how long it would take, and so far she’s sold 2 houses for me this year. She really worked with the person doing the appraisal of my home since it was difficult to find comps and ultimately helped get the house sold."

Maryann - "We have very good results when we worked with the Jay Day team. We had like 8 to 10 visits in rapid order and now we have an offer with a signed contract! It only took about a month’s time so we are very pleased. Christina is very fast and she just got right on it! She was able to zero in on a good price and the big punch was the brochure and terrific photography. I’m going to keep telling people about the success we’ve had!"

Amy - "We probably looked at about 5 houses and it didn’t take too long for me to find something that I liked. We worked with Vance Ziglar and he was just awesome. I can’t even tell you everything he did for us. There was problem upon problem with the previous owners and it was just really frustrating to deal with but he was always there taking care of it. I was really impressed with how quick he was to get on it and help with everything."

Kristina - "At first, we had a different Realtor who did nothing with the house. We decided to switch, and during the interview with the Day Home Team, I was complaining about having to stage the house. Christina turned to me and said, "If you want to sell your house, you have to stage it." She was very firm in what she wanted us to do, so we listened. In a shorter amount of time, and with a lot more effort than the previous agent had put in, we got amazing results."

Criste - "[My experience with Jay Day and the Day Home Team] was fabulous. It was the first time we had worked with Jay and his team and we weren't quite sure what to expect. We were selling a home we were very attached to and were very emotional, and they made it a very positive experience for us. Every time we had a question - whether it was about the price, the stager, or the brochure he made - he had an answer, followed through, and, usually within an hour, would get back to us with an answer. It wasn't like you were waiting and waiting and waiting, which was huge for my husband and me. He brought a professional stager and photographer in, took pictures, put them in brochures, put the brochures in the box out front, and made sure the box was never empty. Another thing that I think helped sell our home was a Coming Soon sign they put in our yard a few weeks before listing it. This created a lot of interest in the home. Our house was listed on a Friday, and we had probably 18-20 showings from Friday to Sunday and five offers by Sunday. Two I think were asking price, one was cash and above asking price. Dan and I both feel that was based on how Jay marketed the house. I told folks that I feel like he knows what he's doing and you're never guessing - he can answer your questions immediately and accurately!"

Michael - “We were very satisfied with Christina, she did an excellent job putting everything together for us. The package was complete. My wife and I were very satisfied with everything - we sold our home within a week. Things moved so fast we didn't even really have a chance to put our pictures of the house online. It sold without them. People just came - we had five offers in the first week - so Christina was on the ball with that!”

Kimberly - “Well we had our house on the market for about six months, so we were anxious to sell. Through the whole experience, Christina and Jay Day and the whole team were completely behind us and giving us good advice and directions. We were very happy with the experience. Christina came out in a snowstorm because we had to get a paper signed, so she made that effort to come out to our house in the storm to make sure that we got it signed and processed when we needed it. They would go that far to get things done!”

Lynn - “We sold our home - that simple! Our home was unique; most people think their home is unique and special to them, and often they are, but we had a very unique home in Carroll County. It was a fairly large home on some acreage, and it had some amenities in it that were different. We knew that it was going to take a very special buyer to buy our home, and Christina, who was the selling agent, was up to the challenge. She not only worked with us, she worked for us. She was wonderful. Because of the uniqueness of the house, we never got much foot traffic, but we never gave up. The people who ended up buying the home were dragging their feet, and because of her, I guess you could call it her "bubbliness," her effervescent personality, she was able to work with the buyer's agent to keep things moving along at a rapid pace!”

Jean - “I had to sell my house under difficult circumstances and they just took charge. I would have never got out of there. I had a condo and I was having some big issues. I picked them because of the way they advertise, the pictures they put online. It was all well done. I sold my house in two days after it was put on the market. The people who bought it knew upfront about the problems going on with condos in the neighborhood and were still willing to buy it. I was so grateful for them because they went further, I think, than a normal agent would have gone. They are very professional, they stood up for me, and they got the job done!”

Erika - "Well I ended up in my new home which I had been anticipating for quite some time and the process of staging and photography and the pamphlets was wonderful. I had it listed with another company to begin with and got no results whatsoever and I really was much happier with Christina and the rest of the Jay Day Team. Christina for one, I told her that she needed an enormous amounts of patience with me because I just got her helping me sell my home, when I went to purchase my next home I was kind of all over the board with what I wanted and she was just very tolerant and patient and so helpful. And you know when I told her one thing and I told her one idea I had and she would come up with dozens of results for me to explore and then when I would change my mind she would be right back on top of finding results of what else I needed. I would refer them to anybody!"

Drew and Barbara - “When the whole sales process started we were absolutely impressed with what they offered as part of their standards, with the staging, professional videos and photography, and full-color brochures. We found that was something that few people were offering in our area, so we were very impressed with that. We were very impressed with the communication that went on throughout the entire sales process and we were impressed with how they handled the closing details.

When we first met them, we met with Christina, and we were impressed with her overall. Something we did not expect was, about a day after that, Jay Day himself stopped by to check out the house and introduce himself. It was impressive to have others show up in addition to having our agent. That was a way for us to get to know the company better. Other than just offering to have someone come over to look at the house to see if you need staging or other improvements, the big one was, at the end of the closing, there was some controversy over some equipment being damaged by the people who inspected the house for the new owner and, quite frankly, we were ready to pull out of the process, but Christina and Jay talked about and had it fixed. They took it out of their own commission because they wanted the deal to go through. It helped us greatly!”

Pages

Maryland and Southern PA Real Estate Market Update