Maryland Real Estate Video Blog with Jay Day

Showing posts with label Maryland and Southern PA Real Estate Other. Show all posts

How Much You Need for a Maryland and Southern PA Down Payment

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Today, Amy Wolf of Direct Mortgage Loans joins us to discuss how much money it takes to purchase a home in today’s market.

If you plan on buying a home, you really don’t need to have a whole lot of money to put down. Every program is a little different depending on the area you want to buy in and the price point, but there are many houses you can get into with little to no money out of pocket!

If you’re not planning to buy in a city center and would rather live in a rural area, you can take advantage of 100% financing from the USDA Rural Housing Loan. You can use this loan in the majority of Frederick County, Washington County, and Southern Pennsylvania. Every county has different rules, so the best way to see what you qualify for is to have a lender take a look at your finances.

The USDA Loan isn’t the only great option out there. The most popular loan, the FHA Loan, allows buyers to get financing with only 3.5% down! There are no income limits on this loan, so just about anyone can qualify. There are also conventional loans going for as little as 5% down! If you need additional help, there are various programs designed to help you get the money necessary for a down payment.

It is no longer required to have a 10% to 20% down payment in order to purchase a home! If you’re thinking about buying the home, there’s no reason to wait any longer! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you need real estate assistance of any kind. If you would like to speak to Amy directly, you can reach her at (433) 541-5545.

Are Interest Rates on the Rise in the Maryland and Southern PA Marketplace?

Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report
Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale

Today, Amy World of Direct Mortgage Loans joins us again. This time, we discuss current market conditions and the state of interest rates.

Interest rates are currently incredible. While the exact rate depends on the person and the program, as a whole they are historically low. These low rates provide many options for buyers and sellers alike in our area.

Right now, there isn’t much inventory available in Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania. However, a lot of the homes that have been on the market have been listed for a long time. This means that, despite the small selection, you have some leverage when buying. If you wait until spring to start looking, you’re only making it harder on yourself; once spring rolls around, there will be hoards of buyers to compete with. In the current market, that means you’ll probably find yourself in a multiple offer situation.

If you would like to see what kind of financing you are eligible for, or if you want to get pre-approved now so you’re ready to buy in the future, please don’t hesitate to give Amy a call at (433) 541-5545.

Should You Hire a Buyer's Agent?

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.

A lot of people have been asking us the same question lately: "Should I hire an agent to help me buy a brand new home?"

The answer is yes, absolutely, and today we are going to tell you why. For starters, when you look at a new home, you will talk to the salespeople, who work directly for the builder. They are trained to close sales and get you to buy a home by telling you whatever you'd like to hear. A lot of people don't realize that builders spend a lot of money training their representatives to close sales.

If you're considering buying a new home, you will want somebody in your corner to understand the contract and any questions you may have throughout the process. An agent can also help you understand time frames, financing, and a whole lot of other things that fall into purchasing the home.

If you're considering buying a home, give our team a call. We have been dealing with new construction for over a decade and would love to help you with the purchase of your next home.

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!

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!

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.

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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!”

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