[forklift]

I haven't posted this before since it is biased but is well overdue and since I just posted on Rafi's thread I figured I start one similar but not just for Montgomery Co. From that thread:

In addition to the suggestions above you there are also the following RE Agents on Dorki or wife’s or mother of Dorkis, in no particular order

Mark Lee, long time Dorki and 993 racer, in the Baltimore and surrounding area generally: http://www.realtor.com/realestateage...257_827654735/
Angie Bresnahan, wife of Scott Bresnahan (Good Hands). She lives in Purcellville and her office is in Ashburn: http://www.realestateangel.net/
Janet Gresh, wife of Tony Kelly (APKhaos), she lives and works in McLean: http://www.simplyyourbestmove.com/
Karen Close, mother of Evan Close who primarily serves Arlington and close by: http://karenclose.com/

I’ve known Mark since around 2004 and although I haven’t worked with him I know he is extremely competent as you have to be to survive in this business for that long (and from the discussions I’ve had with him in the past).
I haven’t worked with Karen yet but she is a top producer in Arlington and nearby areas and there is great info on her site. She has been in the business for many years.

I have worked with Janet close to 10 years and around 6 years with Angie so this IS a biased opinion as they both are very important to me as refer me a great deal of business. That said, both are top producers for a reason, they are both phenomenal RE Agents and I have worked with many over my 17 years in the mortgage business. We actually listed our home with Janet on 12/1, had an offer on 12/6 and sold our home on the 29th. It all happened very fast (especially since I made the decision to sell our home just before Thanksgiving). Angie is representing us on the buy side in western Loudoun and helped us find what we consider dream home and we close at the end of the month. I have first hand knowledge of how great both of them are to work with.

Angie primarily covers Loudoun County and western Fairfax but I’ve worked with her on transactions as far away as Arlington and Haymarket. Janet primarily covers Fairfax (including Alexandria), Arlington and DC but I’ve also worked with her in Leesburg and Potomac (Montgomery). I HIGHLY recommend either - or both like we’re doing. I’ve probably closed over 100 loans combined with them or more over the years and have seen their knowledge and professionalism at work many times.

Also, mentioned in the other thread is John Hallen in MD who I haven't met before but is a long time dorki: http://www.jbhallen.com/

Feel free to PM me for more info and sorry if I missed anyone!

Jim

[forklift]

And Dirk in Eastern MD!

[Mark in Baltimore]

Great idea, Jim! Thanks for the props. My usual territory is Baltimore city and Baltimore, Howard, Harford and Anne Arundel counties, but I've sold in Talbot and Calvert counties. I normally only goes as far west as the eastern part of Montgomery county.

Glad you remembered Dirk Dekker in Easton!

[joep]

Slightly off this topic but related:
Any thoughts about re-financing mortgages?

[forklift]

RE: refinance - Objectively I like to see the breakeven point (closing costs / payment savings) less than 24 months but that can change depending on how long you intend to own the home and obviously the lower the better. Subjectively I like to payment savings of at least $125-150 depending on the loan amount and closing costs but this is subjective and have seen borrowers refinance for $70 per month (was true no-cost) and others scoff at $300 per month. Some also shorten their term and payments will go up but life-of-loan savings are significant. If you refinance back to 30 years (instead of 25, 20, 15 etc.) you can always pay extra principal to keep the remaining term the same or close.

[Dr K]

We re-financed a number of years ago with true no-cost (looked into doing it again more recently but as Jim says, despite the lower rate, due to closing costs it wasn't worth it). We had about 15 years left and went with a 15-year loan. It was a much lower monthly payment, and as suggested above, we kept paying the exact same thing per month so putting in a lot of extra principal. It saved us about 6 years of payments (and we're just about done)!

[Der ABT]

May as well add my biased opinion too

Karen Close has sold homes in Northern Virginia for over 30 years. She sells in Arlington, McLean, Falls Church, Alexandria and all Fairfax County primarily. She is with Century 21 New Millennium in their McLean office and can be reached at 703 748 5489. Her website is KarenClose.com.

She has helped several doki and pca potomac members with their homes...also helped other friends all around the area in Virginia (sterling Springfield etc)..my father and myself have taught her the needs of car and track guys so she gets it...don't need to trust me just Google her or check out the website

[forklift]

Yes LOTS of knowledge, talent and experience here. Really no reason to look past any of these as they cover all of the DC & Baltimore area.

[Vicegrip]

Another tip in for Janet Gresh. She sold my fathers house for top $ as the market was tanking in the 06 downturn.

[cmartin]

Slightly off this topic but related:
Any thoughts about re-financing mortgages?

Forklift was a great sounding board for several re/refi transactions. I cant say enough about how straight forward he was.