Buying event gets a lot of interest
"It shows something -- either curiosity or folks very interested in the $3,000 assistance toward closing costs," says Teresa Stephens, Live Baltimore's marketing director.
Buying Into Baltimore is part home-buyer education, part housing tour. But what about that $3,000, you ask?
The grant, which can be used toward a down payment as well as closing costs, goes to the first 50 people who sign a contract after the event to buy a home in the eastern half of Baltimore. To qualify, buyers must see at least four of the 16 east-side homes on the tour and get housing counseling (plus settle within 90 days of Saturday's event). There's no requirement to buy one of those tour homes, by the way. See more details about the $3,000 grant HERE.
A lot of the pre-registering callers are asking about those grants, so that's clearly part of the reason for the increase. Before mortgage standards began tightening last year, it was much easier to get a no-money-down loan.
The event starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Baltimore City College High School, 3220 The Alameda.
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Comments
I wouldn't subscribe to their spin. They are also realtors, so sure the sales are through the roof (in comparison to the last year which was also through the roof), it's best time to buy, and there are some incentives...every year the same...
Posted by: January1954 | September 10, 2008 7:25 PM
People pre-registering for a homebuying event won't necessarily buy soon (or ever), so at most it's a sign of potential. I thought it was interesting that Live Baltimore itself wonders how much of a role mere curiosity is playing.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | September 10, 2008 7:41 PM
...and who checks whether it's true what they say about pre-registrations? They may be not 4 profit, but once I've been there and asked for incentives, a realtor jumped on me and wanted to show me a house.
Posted by: January1954 | September 10, 2008 11:25 PM
There will always be some element of "I'm going to trust that what you're telling me is true" in journalism -- but that trust, once lost, is rarely regained. In other words, it's not in an organization's interest to lie, particularly about something so petty as how many people have signed up to come to an event. You risk having a story written about how you're making stuff up -- or at best never being quoted again.
As for Live Baltimore, my past interactions with the group have included sorting through its neighborhood-by-neighborhood sales data, which even during the boom showed a number of areas that weren't doing well.
Posted by: Jamie Smith Hopkins | September 11, 2008 7:29 AM
This is a good event. I have had buyers use this in the past and it fairly simple. It is an easy $3000 towards a home purchase. Nothing wrong with that.
Posted by: Dunn | September 19, 2008 1:28 PM