The state of Maryland has long waived the real estate property taxes for 100% disabled Veterans but there are some changes coming to that program we thought you'd like to know.

Effective October 1st in Maryland 100% disabled veterans no longer have to wait 6 -8 months after purchasing their new home to apply for the disabled veteran real estate tax waiver.  In fact, you can apply and receive your credit even before you close!

This is great news on the immediate savings but even better news if the interest rate increase has pinched your budget because your lender does not need to include the tax portion of your payment when considering your mortgage pre-qualification.

Pete O'Donnell at Mainstreet Mortgage has just completed his first transaction working through the new credit and shares some tips and must know information about the program.  If you're a disabled Veteran thinking about making a home purchase and would like more information about this program, you can reach Pete directly at (410) 299-2043 or vial email at Pete@MainstreetHL.com.

If you are a Veteran with a 100% disability rating, you can now apply before you purchase a home to have the property taxes waived. In the past you had to purchase the home and wait 6-8 months before you could apply. Starting 10/1/2022 the application can be sent before you close on the home.

Below is the link to apply:
https://dat.maryland.gov/SDAT%20Forms/Disabled-Veteran.pdf

What you need to know:

- You must be a Maryland resident. If you are transferring to the area and are not a MD resident, you will want to start with changing you license to MD.

- The application requires a section to be completed by the Veterans Administration. You will want to contact the local VA office to set an appointment.

-  You will need a copy of your DD-214.

-  You will need the most recent letter from VA providing your disability rating

- If you are already under contract to purchase a home include the 1^st page of your contract. If in process of submitting a contract on a property add your name in (    ) next to the owners on the application

- Be sure to have a conversation with your lender to ensure they are able to remove the taxes from your mortgage payment at time of closing. This will ensure your payment is lower from day 1.

- Talk with your title company that will be closing the transaction for you. They will need a copy of approval from the state waiving taxes when they record the deed.

From the time you submit the application, it can take 2-3 weeks to receive a response from the State.  I would recommend starting the process as soon as you submit an offer to make sure the waiver is in place at time of closing.

If you're thinking you need a newer home, we can help with that.  Check out this list of properties in Anne Arundel county built 2010 or later.  

You can even modify this search and save it for continued updates.  The Roskelly Team wants you to have your finger on the pulse of the real estate market in Anne Arundel County, near Fort Meade MD.

The real estate market in Anne Arundel County (near Fort Meade MD and the National Security Agency), is going through the same transition as much of the nation, but on a much, much, smaller scale.  We simply aren't like other markets.  And you can say, yeah, that's true but isn't all real estate unique?

Here's a broad overview of conditions that make us different.

• We have an almost equal proximity to two major metropolitan areas with their own major airports - Baltimore and Washington DC.
  
  
• We have a huge buyer pool of government employees, government contractors and military members who are not subject to normal contractions due to a recession.  In general, these people are not subject to layoffs or shut-downs.  They are well paid employees and members of our armed services who are stationed here on a rotating basis. There are always people PCS'ing in and out of the area who want to buy or sell homes.
  
  
• We have everything from suburban and urban areas to luxury, waterfront real estate to farm land.    We aren't similar to cities like Flint, Michigan and other areas that have already suffered drastically at the hands of the market.  These areas have been drastically over advertised on the news. In fact, we are so uniquely and wonderfully different that we are not subject to most normal market variations.

Why is this important? Well, our values are likely to (i) fall on a smaller scale, if at all; (ii) recover more quickly and; (iii) outperform most of the country.

When I started in real estate you could get an amazing home for under $200,000. That same home today is closer to $600,000.  I could have lost SO much equity if I had hesitated to buy because interest rates were 7%!  And, I only had to keep that rate for a year before I was able to refinance to 5%. 

I think we need to be reminded that the historical mortgage interest rates in the Fort Meade MD market are close to 8%.  The 6% we're seeing today could be the norm, or it might rise to average.  But we're not going to see the insanely low interest rates we just experienced that were the result of a global pandemic. 

If you've been putting off your home search because of interest rates, let's talk!  That home you've been eyeing isn't likely to go down much in price.  

Lock in the house now and refinance your mortgage later at a lower rate.  Take a look at the just listed homes near Fort Meade in Anne Arundel county or get information on selling your Anne Arundel County home and let's get to work!

A picture speaks a thousand words so this will be a brief update.  Mortgage rates through the years.  NOT on the news.

Mortgage rates for the past 30 days.  The news cannot say enough about this "historic increase" when in fact, this is our return to a normal, pre-global pandemic, real estate market.  The lending of money at a 3% interest rate was an unsustainable anomaly caused by a global pandemic.  It is unlikely we will ever see those rates again.  So if you want to start building your wealth through real estate, don't wait for interest rates to go down to purchase a home. 

The Roskelly Team has the best real estate resources to search all homes for sale in Anne Arundel County and surrounding areas in Maryland, near Fort Meade and the NSA.

As usual, Piney Orchard weighs in this August with the top list to sold price ratio and lowest days on market in Anne Arundel County. This amenity rich neighborhood remains a top destination for home buyers.  Unfortunately, there is literally no inventory to satisfy the homebuyers that want in the neighborhood.   We saw a 58% decrease in inventory with only a 30% decrease in new pending listings.  Even with a decrease in inventory, buyers snatched it all up with a 5% increase in new pending listings.  Closed sales finished the month down 40% only because the houses weren't there to buy.  No worries on the solidity of this popular Odenton neighborhood.  

Thinking of buying a home in Piney Orchard?  You'll want an expert to guide you through the process.  Come search homes for sale in Piney Orchard or give us a call at (410) 721-6694 and we'll design a custom search just for you so that you are the first to know about just listed homes in Piney Orchard.  

If you're planning to sell your Piney Orchard home the great news is that values are still up and buyers are just waiting for your listing.  Visit us online for a free market value analysis!

Oh my goodness do we need some inventory in Odenton.  Just when we were starting to see a little bit of a build up, we had a 48% decrease in inventory this month for a total of 61 new home listings in Odenton.  And, just like that, the inventory was snatched up with 65 homes going pending (45% below last year's record sales pace).  Great news for home sellers and a bit of a bright light for home buyers that the average list price to sale price ratio is still OVER 100% with an average days on market of just 12.  

So ignore the national stories about real estate doom and gloom.  The Fort Meade real estate market in general and Odenton in particular are still in a boom.  We did see a bit of an anomaly though with home prices down just a bit - likely due to more condos being sold and pulling down overall value. 

If you're interested in buying a home in Odenton MD or selling a home in Odenton MD, you've come to the right place.  The Roskelly Team would love to go to work for you to make sure that the next home that sells in Odenton is yours!  Call or visit us online today.

Hot off the press, we've got your August 2022 Prince George's County real estate sales update with home values and market trends.  Here's what happened last month.

The number of new home listings in Prince George's county was down 20% over the same period last year.  But, new pending contracts were up 26% - further eating into the already limited inventory.  It seems sellers are being a little shy right now, and they shouldn't be.  Homes are selling at almost 100% of list price in less than two weeks.  And, home values are up 2.6% over August 2021.

If you're thinking of buying a home in Prince George's County or selling your Prince George's County home, you're going to want to partner with a real estate team that knows how to make sure the next home to receive an offer is YOURS!  Ask us how.

Thinking of buying or selling a home in Howard county?  Let's take a look at an overview of the August real estate market.

The total number of homes listed for sale in Howard County decreased almost 20% in August, just as we were starting to build some inventory.  Howard County home values were up a whopping 12.5% over last year, so if you've been on the fence waiting for interest rates to come down...DON'T!

Homebuyers near Fort Meade love Howard County and once again there were more pending sales than new inventory keeping the market leaning towards well prepared and priced home sellers.  This isn't a market to overshoot your pricing or underprepare your home.  While we're still seeing multiple offers and the list price to sale price ratio is still OVER 100%, days on market is hovering at 13 which is less than half of the 5 year average.  

The Fort Meade MD real estate market is still hot and if you're thinking of selling or buying a home in Howard County, The Roskelly Team would love to help!

Anne Arundel County real estate sales volume was lower all around this month with a 26% decrease in new listings hitting the market and the same percentage decrease in sales as compared to August 2021 (a record breaking month!).  We're seeing a tiny increase in inventory as buyers are responding to slightly increased interest rates.  But, the average home price still increased 5% over last year.  So the Anne Arundel county real estate market is still going strong, just at a more normal pace.  National news stories are reporting doom and gloom but in the greater Fort Meade real estate market, we are still leaning towards sellers, but buyers are starting to see some benefits including less purchase competition.

3 Tips You'll Want To Know If You're In The Market To Buy A Home Near Fort Meade, MD