A Busy, Productive and Enjoyable Baltimore Friday

A Busy, Productive and Enjoyable Baltimore Friday

You are so busy...how do you have time to blog?  It started with an early morning workout at the gym followed by a successful but long settlement of my  Custom Rancher in Hernwood Heights .

Right at the closing table, I was also doing  a bit of negotiating and received an email acceptance of an offer made for a buyer that I have been working with in Carroll County.  Thank goodness for the iPad. I was able to respond to the agent right from the settlement table and even send a missing page.

A bit later in the afternoon, Lee and I drove to Southern Maryland to meet up with ActiveRainers Cheryl Richie and The Bachmans.

We had a wonderful meal at Neptune's. The company was so good that we all forgot to take photos of the fabulous bounty of seafood and zuchinni straws.

After dinner we took a stroll on the boardwalk and even visited the colorful farmer's market.

 And the drive home produced a beautiful colorful Baltimore sky. 

  A Busy, Productive and Enjoyable Baltimore Friday

A Drink Under the Table and a Smooth Settlement For Heritage Crossing in Baltimore

A Drink Under the Table and a Smooth Settlement For Heritage Crossing in Baltimore

It was a smooth settlement for the lucky buyer and seller of Heritage Crossing..712 George St. Baltimore, MD 21201

It was a very hot and humid  Baltimore day and Sugar joined us at the closing with a drink under the table, graciously provided by Universal Title.

             

  Below are the happy seller, buyer and Realtor ® Tania Ellis.

                                

A Victorian-era gazebo is the centerpiece of Heritage Crossing.

                                

 

This is the lovely home Tabitha sold to Sarah.

                                           

 

A Drink Under the Table and a Smooth Settlement For Heritage Crossing in Baltimore.

Go Figure! Simple Use For My iPad

Go Figure!  Simple Use For My iPad.

 

Of course everyone has a calculator. They are on their smart phones or watches or cute little gadgets. But the most useful one is on my iPad and is one of my most used apps.

Why? Just look at the size!

                                      

At a settlement today where siblings were selling the parents home, three of them were figuring out expenses and how to divide the proceeds. 

I watched one use a regular calculator, another their iPhone and yet another paper and pencil.  (Yes... there are still some people who can add, subtract, multiply and divide the old fashioned way.)

The problem... they kept coming up with different numbers.

I opened my iPad calculator which is big enough for everyone to see. I let them call out the numbers and then hit the add and divide buttons. Within a few seconds, they had the answer they were looking for. And it matched the proceeds that was on the HUD 1.

Go Figure!  Simple Use For My iPad.

Do you have a simple, but useful, app to share?

Settlements Are Boring At This Age...

Settlements Are Boring At This Age...

This beautiful 12 day old baby was placed on top of the settlement table. Being her first outing, Melanie found that buying a house with all the paperwork was pretty boring.

So with sellers, agents, title attorney,  Mortgage Mama  and very tired Mommy and Daddy, she was the centerpiece of attention. Other than a few baby squeaks, this perfect young lady was a sleeping beauty.

                                 

The new parents were grinning from ear to sleepy ear. So happy with a perfect new daughter and now their perfect new home...their smiles tell the story!

                                   

   

We did a bit of door knocking to find the perfect home.

                       

It took some time but with patience  We Found the Right House!!

                                                                                                                                                            

        

The new home buyers love the property with the two car garage, sun room and acre lot. And the best thing is the location. Grandparents are minutes away. Congratulations to everyone.

Wendy, Aaron and Melanie.. I know you are going to fill your home with love!

One Key Lighter...Another HomeRome Listing Sold!!

One Key Lighter...Another HomeRome Listing Sold!!

Jim, the buyer, said he reads my blog...so I thought I would share yesterday's settlement of  3506 Gardenview Rd. Stevenson, MD. 21208 I told them to pretend  they  were happy  .. (my mother in law's line from a long time ago).

Below is the photo in front of the new house.. Jim, Dan and their wonderful buyer's agent, Jessica Hummel.

I am trying to encourage her to join ActiveRain and share Dan and Jim's new listing with us.

Check comment # 9 on this post and you will find out what these guys did after the closing.

                                  
 Dan, Jessica and Jim in front of 3506 Gardenview Rd.


                                    
 Jim and Dan  signing with settlement agent Bob McGee

                                      
The free form pool at Gardenview.

In case you didn't check the comment, here it is...

"Having fun at the new house. Had a hard time getting Dan out of the pool. Looking forward to reading your book. Once again thank you for a great home. And those buzzards were awesome!!! Jim and Dan"

Shouldn't they have been working and moving boxes. Nah..smart guys.

One key lighter...another HomeRome Listing Sold!

My Sellers Are Brilliant, Creative, or Very Talented. Happy Birthday Jerry!

If you have been following me, you know that all my sellers are brilliant, creative or very talented.
Jerry Scherr is no exception, he is all three.

Last month at our settlement, I showed you that we didn't have to  close at  a boring title or real estate office  and you saw a bit of his creativity.

                  
 Today I arranged an afternoon with Mr. Sherr being interviewed by Rochelle, a reporter from the Baltimore Jewish Times.

Adding to the the details was his very proud daughter, Lisa Simenaurer, seen above just before we cut that yummy chocolate cake.

Knowing this week is his 89th birthday.... we were looking for a way to make it special. A birthday cake (he loves chocolate) and a couple  hours  allowing Jerry to reminisce about his life and his prolific artwork was just perfect. Look at that smile and the hand gesture. For me the time flew by. It was pure joy and fascination listening to this brilliant, creative,talented and very kind gentleman.  Hoping the story will be in print within the next few weeks. At that time I will share it with you. In the mean time, Happy Birthday, Jerry!

                                                  

Here are a couple examples of my  Creative sellers  and one with a  brand new Invention.

My Sellers Are Brilliant, Creative, or Very Talented. Happy Birthday Jerry!

Keys To Another Successful Settlement!

At today's settlement, I found the "keys" to another successful settlement.

By now you know I have some creative sellers. Remember my seller with this   New Invention?

At today's  settlement I found the "keys" to another successful settlement. After the papers were signed, the checks cut and the funds wired, it was time for the exchange of the keys. The seller had a plastic bag filled with a bunch of keys... the main door key, garage key, mail key, the elevator key plus a few duplicates. We all have seen that familiar bag of keys and the "oh my how will I figure them out" look.

Here is the solution! My brilliant seller, I might add that most of my sellers are brilliant, made a drawing!  A simple drawing, tracing each key and then describing which key opens the front door, the lobby, the garage, the storage room and the mail box.

Had I seen the brilliance of my seller's "artwork" earlier,  I could have laminated this chart for the buyer's safe keeping. The more I think about it...we should all do this with our various assortment of keys. How simple would that be for our relatives, guests, children, housekeepers, babysitters and college kids coming home for break?


As a listing agent, this would be a good idea  if there are multiple keys to a property (front door, rear door, garage, furnace room, guest apartment) This could simplify the showings for us and for other agents.

At today's  settlement I found the "keys" to another successful settlement.