Baltimore best neighborhood? Looking for best value.?

Question

Don't want to spend over 350k on a house. Want a single family. Preferably in a lower tax area. Possibly moving from west coast.

Answer 1

Try the Towson area (Baltimore county) or Middlebrook area. Anne Arundel is prime real estate right now.

Call my agent can help you plan. He's retired military with VAST knowledge on the market in Maryland.

JORGE VALLE SANCHEZ
[e-mail]
410-551-2700 (Office)

Answer 2

$350k will get you something in Balto County. The city RE taxes are twice what they are in the County, though on the lower end the city tends to assess the houses at a lower rate so the taxes balance out. In the gentrified areas of the city expect to pay high RE taxes. You can get a single family home for $350k on both the east and west sides of the county. $350k will buy you a single family home in the city too but expect to pay signficantly higher taxes. Its really a matter of where you want to be in relation to work, and what kind of neighborhood you like. Many of Baltimore's neighborhoods have their own unique feel. I suggest finding a real estate agent who is familiar with the area.

Answer 3

Try contacting a local real estate agent. It's their job to know the best neighborhoods in the areas they cover. A really good website to browse local real estate/real estate agents is: http://www.realestateforsaleinmaryland.com

It's really easy to navigate and is full of info about realtors with links to their personal websites, which will have all the available homes/rentals in the area along with community info, so you can do some research before you contact anyone. Hopefully that works for you. Good luck!

Answer 4

This article gives you tips on negotiation:
http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/060909/19463.html

Articles about current market:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/25/news/economy/homesales2/index.htm?postversion=2006092513

How to value a property during market downturn?

Housing market continues to slump. Now we can calculate true value of a property easily. As price decline, we don't need to guess and factor in the potential price appreciation while calculating home value. Without the guesswork, figures are more accurate.

Let's use following example:

Today, a typical 15 years old, two bedrooms condo/townhouse is priced around $500,000 and $550,000 in Sunnyvale, California. Rent for similar condo/townhouse is $2000/month.

If you are a home owner, $2,000/month in rent means $20,000 a year in profit ($24,000 per year in rent, minus $4,000 maintenance costs). A $20,000 income is equilevant of owning $400,000 bonds or CDs, because current yield of 30 Years U.S. treasuries are 5% (5% of $400,000 is $20,000). Bank CDs have similiar yields.

In our example, the two bedrooms condo/townhouse is 20% to 25% overpriced. They should be priced at $400,000.

It is interesting to note that if we redo the calculation from buyer's perspective instead of seller's perspective, the figures are even more shocking.

Mortgage payment consists of two parts: mortgage interests and mortgage principal. The interests portion is similar to rent. If you pay interest, it disappears and doesn't add equity to the property. To fully simulate characteristics of renting, we assume buyer will apply for a zero down, interest-only loan.

It turns out that rent of $2000/month is equivelant to mortgage payment of a $340,000 loan at 7.0% APR. And comparing $340,000 loan to $500,000 or $550,000 price tag, from buyer's view, the two bedrooms condo/townhouse is 30% to 35% overpriced.

One may ask, why is there a discrepancy between two perspectives of the buyer and owner?

The discrepancy is a result of 2% differences in interest rate that buyer borrow comparing to yields of bonds and CDs that owners would get. We understand that buyer would always pay more. That is the premium of buying to own. However, looking from home owner's perspective, current housing market is probably 20% to 25% overpriced. We recommand investors to wait for a better entry point.

Answer 5

The "Brownstones" are in a nice district if you like living in the city. They are attached with garages in the back and have 2 to 3 stories. May not suit you, but that is what I know of the nice part of the city in your price range.

Answer 6

good luck