BUSINESS
Yvonne Wenger | May 10, 2012
A recent analysis offers some good news, at least in the short-term, for those individuals (like me!) who are trying to sell their homes -- outside of Maryland, at least. The rate of those who are seriously behind on their mortgage payments -- a leading warning sign of pending foreclosures -- was a bit better in March at 7 percent nationwide, an analysis by real estate data firm CoreLogic. The rate is down from 7.5 percent in March 2011 and at its lowest point since July 2009. Maryland, though, inched upward from 7.8 percent to 8 percent.
BUSINESS
Yvonne Wenger | May 4, 2012
Housing experts say homeowners can wait as long as nine months to get approval to sell their home as a short sale, and efforts are underway to push lenders to give a prompt answer. HouseLogic says homebuyers may find themselves in the position of having to send multiple requests to their lender to ask for approval for them to sell their house for less than they owe while a potential buyer waits in the wings. HouseLogic, a service offered by the National Association of Realtors, provides information on homeownership, such as taxes and insurance.
NEWS
By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun | May 1, 2012
Starting in July, Baltimore homeowners can expect to see their tax bills get a little lighter. That's when Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's property tax reduction plan goes into effect, resulting in a 2-cent cut per $100 of assessed value next fiscal year. Under the measure, approved Monday by the City Council, taxes on an owner-occupied home valued at $200,000 will drop by $40 next year. The reduction is scheduled to grow to $400 by 2020, though the continued cuts are contingent on approval each year by the city's Board of Estimates.
NEWS
By Scott Calvert, The Baltimore Sun | April 22, 2012
Like a car salesman, the City of Baltimore started high, came down and ended up making a deal all sides could live with. The city has agreed to give Patterson Park homeowner Maureen Coyle about two years to repay $5,702 worth of property tax breaks that she didn't ask for and that she thought reflected a legitimate discount for being an owner-occupant, Coyle says. On Friday the city's law department emailed her a contract spelling out terms of the deal that will require her to repay $250 a month.
FEATURES
Tim Wheeler | April 16, 2012
Maryland's law limiting lawn fertilizer practices doesn't kick in for more than a year yet, but state officials are urging homeowners to get a jump on the new curbs by limiting how much grass food they put down now. At a press conference in Annapolis to kick off Earth Week, state Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance said there's no reason not to start using greener lawn and gardening practices at home this year. He said restoring the Chesapeake...
NEWS
April 14, 2012
In an about-face, Baltimore finance officials are telling five city homeowners who received two years' worth of erroneous tax breaks that they can repay the city over time and without incurring interest or penalties. The city had demanded the owners repay the undeserved historic property tax credits - ranging from $1,700 to $9,200 - within 30 days, or else the city would tack on hefty penalties. The demand came as a shock to owners who said they had no idea they'd been getting unwarranted tax discounts.