Talk with your friends and neighbors for a personal referral. I would refrain from calling off signs and google. Most Realtors work with both buyers and sellers. As the previous poster stated, talk with a few and see which you feel most comfortable with. While one agent may sell many within the development, you may want someone more focused on getting your home sold.

I have noticed posts about the market conditions and decided to share with you the year-to-date stats for Montgomery County through September 2015.

Through the first nine months of 2015, the number of homes sold in Montgomery County is up 11.91% over 2014, the median sold price of $400,000 is flat, the average sold price is down .38% at $506,579 and the average days on market is up 19.57% to 55 days. Overall, we currently have about 3.4 months or approximately 3500 homes actively available in the County. However, homes over 1M face nearly a seven month inventory resulting in a buyer's market in the upper price range. Have questions about your area, please let me know. I can run reports by zip code and in some cases, by sub-division.



Source: RBI Intel & MRIS

Foreclosures are sold by two means. Auction at the courthouse steps or by a Realtor through the MLS. If you are a first time buyer or inexperienced with foreclosures, please buy one listed with a Realtor for your protection. If you buy at auction, you do not get to see the property nor do have the right to do an inspection and financing is nearly impossible as an appraiser can't gain access.
As for finding them, if you want an auction property, simply google foreclosure auctions at your preferred courthouse. If you want an MLS listed property, talk with your Realtor or message me and we can create a custom search based upon your specific criteria to provide you with new listings as they become available.

@2:25 - You're welcome.

I have a friend in need of two referrals and could use your help please.

1) I know a few weeks back there were referrals for a radon remediation company. If you could re-post them, I would appreciate it.

2) He needs a licensed general contractor to enlarge a basement window and add a large window well.

Thank you in advance. Greatly appreciated.

Sorry if you are offended but you stated "I'm not sure why they do this. I'm an agent, but we're always told to NOT do this because the MLS will pick that up and recalculate your days on market anyway, so people will know it's not old. " While I don't do it, it is a valid technique to keep a seller's aging listing somewhat fresh for agents who look by DOMM and showing new on hundreds of other sites. The listing agents duty is to their clients. I have no problem with it. Ideally, price it right to begin with and there won't be a problem.
Again, sorry if you were offended.

Why do you feel that you will need to sell and not stay put?

Agreed..sounds like they are just being lazy and don't value your business. I personally use Amy Krasias with Insurance & Investments out of Rockville. She will shop several companies for you and get you the best rate. I was with Nationwide for several years. Amy did a free review of my policies. Thereafter, she offered me better coverage and reduced my annual rate by about $800 for my two properties and two cars. Call Amy for a quote at 301-670-6737 and tell her Craig referred you. Hopefully, she will be able to save you a few bucks.

No, it's not worth shopping around. The title company that is doing your settlement needs to be associated with the company in order to issue the policy and provide the needed information to your lender. 20:47 was on the right track but it doesn't matter where they bought it, just that the seller can provide you with a copy or the HUD that shows the Title Insurance policy. With this, you can request a re-issue rate that will provide you a good discount. The initial rates are registered with the State from my understanding and some Title companies will try to tell you the discount percentage decreases with age of the policy. The title policy is how the title companies make their money and pay their bills, not the $200-300 they charge for processing your settlement. Save yourself the headache and just pick the best title company!

The coupons are offered to simply get them in the door. There are always add-ons based upon the system and number of vents and many will charge more than $800 for mold. $800 doesn't seem unreasonable but you may want to try and negotiate with them. I had a client once find a video camera in a foreclosed home duct so I do recommend it but only every few years. I'm
not familiar with Dapper Ducts but feel free to check them out or any other company on the BBB website.

If you are buying in MD, there is a mediation clause in the contract that buyer and seller agree to accept as part of the contract. This is simply to avoid excessive legal fees although either party may still retain legal representation. Arbitration is generally binding and I would not recommend adding such a clause without consulting an attorney beforehand.

Most likely, the increase in REO properties will have little effect in most areas of the County due to the very low level of inventory. As of today, there are only about 80 active foreclosures on the market in MoCo. Additionally, it could take the lenders up to two+ years to actually foreclose. They are also actively requesting owners of occupied homes to consider a loan modification or to do a short sale when possible.

Zestimates are a good starting point but are only as accurate as the information on which they are based. Consider asking a Realtor to provide you with local comparable sales or have an informational appraisal done.

Leisure World is a very large complex and offers ample activities for their residences. They offer condos, duplex homes, townhomes and a few single family homes. I don't recall seeing any of the homes offering a fenced yard but you may be able to add an electric fence unless your opposed to it. Here's a link to their site for more information. http://www.lwmc.com/ If I may be of further ssistance, just ask.

Look at GreatSchools.net for info on the schools. Richard Montgomery has been highly rated and offers the magnate programs but doesn't have the reputation of either Wootton or Churchill. If you are willing to accept a smaller home, there are a few SFH in Potomac which would offer you the Churchill Cluster. I was also looking at a few nice split levels that went into Wootton. They don't become available often in your price range. Another area to consider would be Derwood or Olney. Derwood could put you close to the Shady Grove Station. Neither areas rate as highly as other clusters I mentioned but would offer more home for the money. If I may be of assistance, let me know.