Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers 2009

Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers

I was recently honored to have been included on the Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers 2009 list. To say that I was surprised would be an understatement, I am still in shock over it.  I am extremely lucky  to have met most of the other woman who have made this years list and feel incredibly honored to be amongst them.  It’s an honor I will treasure forever.
This is the 4th annual Sellsius list and Joseph Ferrara from Sellsius decribes this years list on his site this way:

Sellsius’ 4th Annual Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers for 2009 were chosen for at least a year of blogging (some have many years), pushing the envelope, using video, and other things of more import, to me– community service, charity, and education– sharing beyond the written word.  Many I have met. Others I hope to meet.

Sellsius Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers 2009

Colleen Kulikowski BuffaloRealEstateNews

Mary Pope-Handy The Valley of Heart’s Delight

Dru Bloomfield AtHomeInScottsdale

Diane Guercio. a/k/a HeyAmaretto

Amy Chorew The  TechByte

Kaye Thomas. ManhattanBeachRealty

Jessica Riffle Edwards. CarolinasFinest/HotPropertyBlog

Susie Blackmon.  Bucking The Real Estate Trend

Elaine Reese. Central Ohio Real Estate News

Genea (Gena) Riede. Sacramento Real Estate Voice

Kim Wood West of Philly Burbs

and yours truly…

Monika McGillicuddy New Hampshire Real Estate Blog.

Buying a Southern NH Bank Owned home

Southern NH Bank Owned Pitfalls

We often get asked questions about buying southern NH bank owned homes and what potential pitfalls there could be. While it’s hard to know in advance exactly what you’ll face, being prepared for almost anything is a wise idea. Some bank owned homes offer excellent opportunities for the prepared buyer and others can be a nightmare. With the $8,000 tax credit expiring soon many buyers are out actively trying to find a home and ban owned homes are very tempting.
I published this article back in April and thought it might be wise to republish it.

Pitfalls of Buying a Southern New Hampshire Bank Owned Property

There are a few pitfalls when buying a New Hampshire Bank owned property that you should be aware of. Currently the Bank REO (real estate owned) side of real estate is thriving. There are literally hundreds of bank owned homes on the market in New Hampshire and more coming daily.

A recent question sent to us via e-mail really had me thinking that maybe people really don’t know the risks involved.

This is part of an e-mail question I received…

“We found a two year old foreclosure home that appears in great shape. I know that looks can be deceiving. Anyways, the Owner/Bank only has “As Is” on all the disclosure paperwork and not allowing me to have an inspection done. By the way, a few weeks ago they finally went to de-winterize the place and found out that the furnace wasn’t done correctly and now needs replaced. Is there a requirement that I can find out what is “As Is”???”

My answer is… I’m not an attorney and you might want to hire one. But let’s look at “As Is” from my real estate agent perspective. Repeat after me…Monika is not an attorney, she is not advising anyone…get an attorney if in doubt.

Okay now “AS IS” usually but not always means that the Bank/Seller mostly likely has never lived in the home and is clueless about its condition.

Typically the buyer has the right to have a home inspection by a qualified person within a specified time frame. “AS IS” would mean that the Bank/Seller may not fix anything or renegotiate the price in the event anything turned up during the inspection. AS IS clauses are usually clearly spelled out in the agreement.

Sometimes the Bank/Seller will require the buyer to de-winterize the property at the buyer’s expense and then re-winterize it after the inspection. Often times a HUD foreclosed home will also require the buyer to turn on the unities in their own name and then turn off utilities and put them back in HUDS name afterwards….all at the buyers expense. Sometimes that can include putting fuel in the tank to be able to run the heating system for inspection…again at the buyer’s expense.

Being asked to sign a contract with an “AS IS” statement is pretty common when buying a New Hampshire foreclosed home but usually there is also an inspection clause allowing the buyer the right to inspect and to walk away from the home if the home inspection is unacceptable. An ” AS IS” clause not allowing an inspection no matter how good the place looks would make me run away.

I’m not sure if the person asking the question had a buyer agent representing them or if they bought directly from the Bank’s agent but buying a bank owned home without representation is not wise in my opinion. There are things a buyer agent can do that the listing agent simply cannot.

We closed on a bank owned home recently, after some investigation we were able to track down a former owners property disclosure of the property and while it was from a former owner and held no legal weight it still gave us a glimpse at some information we would otherwise have never known. Don’t expect the listing agent to do that for you. They won’t. Can you expect a buyer agent to try and track that information down? Yes… but realize that sometimes it’s simply not to be found. But a good buyer agent will make every effort to help their client make the right decisions.

Buying a New Hampshire foreclosed home or short sale can be a fantastic opportunity to own a home at a greatly discounted price but please don’t go it alone. Representing yourself sometimes can be a costly mistake.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS
603-548-7728 or 603-548-7685

New Hampshire Real Estate Blog

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy

Prudential Verani Realty

2 Main Street Hampstead NH

603-327-0246 direct line

603-434-2377 office

New Hampshire Association of REALTORS 2010 President

New Hampshire Association of REALTORS 2010 President Monika McGillicuddy

I’ve been a little neglectful of my blog as I’m sure some of you have noticed. My life has been a little hectic lately and more than just real estate wise but it’s all in a good way. The real estate market has picked up especially in the 1st time home buying arena but I’ve also been busy in the REALTOR Association level.  Many of you know that both Jay and I are involved REALTORS and have been for many years. For us being a REALTOR is much more than simply a means to making money.  We’ve always believed that the way to make a difference is to be involved and that sitting on the side lines complaining does nothing to make things better.  So we both have taken an active role not only in advocacy for buyers, sellers and fellow REALTORS but also in protecting private property rights for all NH home owners. That involvement has paid off in more ways than we could ever have imagined.

Monika McGillicuddy installed as NHAR 2010 President

This past September 21st I was installed as the 2010 President of the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS with Jay, my parents and children by my side. It was a special night for me as many of my REALTOR friends, fellow REALTORS from my office Prudential Verani and about 100 colleagues from all over New Hampshire attended the banquet.

2010 will prove to be a year “On the Rise”

I look forward to helping lead NH REALTORS in the year 2010, as together, we face challenges that are yet to be defined. One thing I feel pretty sure of is the fact that our real estate market will continue to improve and while I’m sure things will still be challenging we are definitively ” On the Rise”  2010 will be a better year for many.

Never too busy for you

While my duties as President will keep me busy at times, I still need all of you. Listing and selling real estate in southern NH is what I do day in and day out. Your referrals and continued support is very important to me and I will never be too busy for you. So remember if you or any one you know is in need of real estate service give us a call.  Jay and I would be honored!

My Installation was held on Monday September 21 2009 at the Grand Summit Hotel and Resort in Bartlett New Hampshire. I was installed by my husband and past 2004 NHAR president Jay McGillicuddy.

Monika and Jay McGillicuddy, REALTORS

603-548-7728

New Hampshire Awesome Fall Foliage

A Special New Hampshire time of year…

This time of year is so very special in New Hampshire mainly because we have some awesome scenic rides that really showcase our lovely state.

The Awesome Kanc

One of my favorite drives is the “Kanc Ride” a 34 mile long ride that is simply stunning!  Another wonderful set of rides are the famous  “Notch Rides”  NH has some wonderful Notches, Franconia Notch, Crawford Notch and Dixville Notch all offer some truly unique NH scenery!

Check out this article found on NHliving.com that lists the 10 most scenic NH foliage rides and be sure you charge your camera batteries before you head out for any of these rides.

http://www.nhliving.com/foliage/foliagetopten.shtml

Foliage Map… Click here to find out where it’s peak foliage in NH.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

New Hampshire Real Estate Blog

Southern NH Living

No need to travel far to experience life’s thrills

Living in Southern NH offers opportunities to visit the most awesome places and experience life’s thrills all within an easy reach. For example Jay and I love to visit Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor Maine and it takes us about 5 hours via motor home to get there.  By car it would be a little faster for sure.

What’s so big about Acadia National Park?

It’s gorgeous for one thing and has something to offer everyone. We recently vacationed in Bar Harbor, as we do every year, and it was perfect. We got to bike, hike, swim, sail and just enjoy the ocean. The views are incredible and all this is located so close to home it’s almost impossible to not plan a visit.  We camped at the KOA on the shores of Western Bay and enjoyed some wonderful weather and fantastic Maine Lobster.

Come enjoy living in Southern NH where vacations options are all around you!

It’s really a sweet place to call home and if you’re like us… a sweet place to explore from. Living here offers the best of everything. The NH coast is but a scant 30 minutes away and Boston only an hour south of us. If you like the mountains, awesome Lakes and exploring the wonders of Vermont, the great outdoors of Maine then there is no better place than Southern NH to call home.

Vacation and dream a little through us

Enjoy our little vacation show and if you’re ready to call Southern NH your home just give us a call and we can make that dream a reality.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

Some good news to share

New Hampshire home sales jump 6% in July

A New Hampshire Association of REALTORS recent press release gave us all some good real estate news as statewide residential home sales increased for the second consecutive month!  Sales data showed that residential home sales are up 6% in July 2009 as opposed to July 2008 and it further noted that it is the 1st time we’ve had consecutive increases in sales since 2005.

Home Inventory is down

At the end of January 2009 there was a solid 22 months supply of homes on the market statewide, July went out with just under 11 months worth of inventory.  A balanced market is usually 6-8 months.  Nationally the pending home sale index has shown five  consecutive months of gains. Something we haven’t seen in six years! All good news and good reason for being optimistic about the New Hampshire real estate market.

Locally even Hampstead and Atkinson have shown improvement

Year to date is Residential sales only. Rockingham County as a whole has not fared as well as Hampstead and Atkinson, showing a slight decrease over July 2008.

Median Sales Price still declining

Except Hampstead which actually had a slight increase interestingly enough

Market time is way down in Rockingham County

Average Days on the market has in most cases decreased dramatically.  Hampstead is down 27% and Atkinson down 58%. That is very good news!

Don’t forget the $8,000 dollar 1st time home buyer tax credit.

1st time home buyer mans that you CAN NOT have owned a home in the last THREE years. To qualify for the tax credit you need to close on your new home no later than on or before the last day in November. Usually it takes 6-8 weeks to close on a home, which means a buyer has about a month of opportunity left!

Don’t waste any time or you might blow this great opportunity

It is doubtful that this tax credit will be extended so if you are a 1st time home buyer wanting to take advantage of this opportunity don’t hesitate. Give me a call at 603-548-7728 or e-mail me at monika@monikamcgillicuddydotcom for more information. I would love to help you find that perfect home.
If you are a home owner curious if now is the time to list your Southern NH home or just want to chat real estate…give us a call. As always no obligation- no pressure just good solid real estate advice.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, REALTORS

New Hampshire Real Estate Blog

Graphics curtesy of the New Hampsire Association of REALTORS

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