Nick Pakulla - Mortgage Lender Loan Officer in MD, DC, VA

This just in....On Saturday April 16, Bikes for the World will be collecting bikes at EIGHT Whole Foods Market locations in Montgomery County MD and Washington DC.  That's eight locations in one day! 

Come out to, be a part of, and make this an amazing event.  There are many ways to get involved.  First, the obvious one, bring your old bike and bike parts for donation.  Drop them by any participating Whole Foods Market store (listed below) on April 16th from 11am - 3pm.

And because we're hoping that means tons of bikes, we need your help to do it. 

For one thing, help get the word out beforehand.  Please share with your neighborhood listserveor corporate intra-net. 

 For another, come volunteer and help us make this event a huge success.  We need people with and without mechanic experience--to  hand out flyers on this collection and future ones,issue receipts, talk to people, accept bikes, process them for shipping, and transport and off-load them at our three storage facilities in Rockville, Springfield, and Lorton. 

If you can roll a bike, you're HIRED!  Just shoot us an email and we'll get you assigned to the best location.  office(at)bikesfortheworld.org or 703.740.7856

Participating Store Locations:

       P Street - 1440 P Street NW DC
       Georgetown - 2323 Wisconsin Ave NW DC
       Tenleytown - 4530 Wisconsin Ave NW DC
       Friendship Heights - 4420 Willard Ave Chevy Chase MD
       Bethesda - 5269 River Road Bethesda MD
       Rockville - 11355 Woodglen Drive Rockville MD *NEW LOCATION*
       Kentlands - 316 Kentlands Blvd Gaithersburg MD
       Silver Spring - 833 Wayne Ave Silver Spring MD

     When:  April 16th 11am - 3pm
     Contact:  Nick:  nickolombo(at)gmail.com or 301.461.5349

Why Whole Foods Market?  Well, why Bikes for the World?!!  Whole Foods Market supports the environment through its products, through efforts such as the Whole Planet Foundation, and through support to community groups promoting environmnental values and action. Bikes for the World is one such organization and is gratified to earn the confidence of a major grocery retailer to host this multi-site event. 

In turn, Bikes for the World respects Whole Foods Market's approach and scale.  In celebration of Earth Month, the two organizations have come together to raise the profile of Bikes for the World's program among Whole Foods Market's clientele and the public at large, joining forces to give our community a close, convenient location to recycle a bicycle.  

Happy Earth Day and Earth Month to you!

It has been almost 2 years since First Place Bank has been open here in Rockville, Maryland.  Currently in Rockville we operate a mortgage lending branch where there are Loan Officers and staff (no tellers).  We offer mortgage loans in Maryland, Virginia, and DC, including areas such as Bethesda, Potomac, Silver Spring, and the Kentlands in Gaithersburg.  

First Place Bank is a $3.2 billion financial services company based in Ohio.  In total there are 41 retail and ATM locations, 2 business financial service centers and 23 lending centers.  Here in Rockville we operate one of the mortgage lending centers.  If you are in the Maryland, Virginia, DC area and are looking to obtain mortgage services First Place Bank is a great place for you.  

Here is why: First Place Bank is not like other banks.  We are a small Community Bank focused on assisting both homebuyers and the Realtor community get to closings with the least amount of stress.  We accomplish this with our local appraisal system and in-office processing, underwriting and closing.  Our local appraisal system doesn't utilize 3rd party management companies, this allows use to ensure a quality appraiser will be out to your property and they will deliver it in the required time frame.  Our complete in-office operations allow us to close files in as little as 2 weeks and have 100% accountability from a loan officer level with the ability to know the status of the file throughout the entire underwriting to closing process.    

If you are interested in what the inside of a First Place Bank branch looks like, I have posted some pictures below from a retail branch in Ohio (our office in Rockville looks a little more like a business office as compared to a bank branch):

Can I get a mortgage with 10% down?  The answer is YES, you can get a mortgage with 10% down.  The best option for this situation is what is called an 80/10/10.  This is comprised of two separate mortgages allowing the borrower to go up to 90% financing without mortgage insurance!

The first mortgage is structured to be 80% of the sales price and is a standard conventional Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac mortgage product at current market rates.  The second mortgage that my bank offers can accommodate up to 90% financing on the purchase of a home.  The second mortgage is a fixed rate product and has no pre-payment penalty. 

Sample calculation:
Sales Price: $600,000
Downpayment: $60,000
First Mortgage: $480,000
Second Mortgage: $60,000

My community bank is continually creating products to serve our local community and this is just another reason why it is great to work with my bank.  If you or your buyers have questions about an 80/10/10 or a mortgage with only 10% down, please don't hesitate to contact me today 301-585-7283.

If you are near the Gaithersburg / North Potomac / Kentlands area and are looking for outdoor live music concerts then the Kentlands is a great place to go.  There are two main venue locations for outdoor music this summer. 

The first venue is Main St. Pavillion Green (Main St. and Midtown)
Sponsored Kentlands Downtown Partnership and Pritchard Music Academy
Wednesdays in June and July 6:30 - 9:00 pm (click for location and directions)

Main St. Pavillion Green (Main St. and Midtown), Kentlands
Wednesdays in June and July 6:30 - 9:00 pm, Montgomery County MD

• July 7th - Ruthie & The Wranglers - Rockin American Roots Music w/ JB Dunn
• July 14th - Blue Funk - Smooth R&B and Funk
• July 21st - Vicki Genfan -  Acoustic Guitar Virtuoso and Guitar Player Magazine's Guitar Superstar 2008
• July 28th -  Rue Boogaloo - Horn driven party band w/Flatline Aura
• August 4th - Bad Influence - Swingin Blues
• August 18th - Tim Finch and The Eastman String Band - Alternative and Traditional Bluegrass

The second location is outside the Star Diner on Friday and Saturday nights offering live outdoor music 6PM to 9PM.  Patio seating and tiki bar.  Fun for both families and singles. (click here for location and directions)

 Star Diner patio seating and tiki bar, Kentlands
Friday and Saturday nights 6PM to 9PM, Montgomery County MD

Fri, July 9th - Sandra Dean Band
Sat, July 10th - So Far Gone
Fri, July 16th - On The Bus
Sat, July 17th - Live Action Hero
Fri, July 23rd - Solomons  Gold
Sat, July 24th - Redline
Fri, July 30th - Sandra Dean band
Sat, July 31st - platform Soul
Fri, August 6th - Cops and Robbers
Sat, August 7th - Redline
Fri, August 13th - Jonny and the Stingrays
Sat, August 14th - Live Action Hero
Fri, August 20th - Redline
Sat, August 21st - So Far Gone
Fri, August 27th - Sandra Dean
Sat, August 28th - Stevie D

This means that basically every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evening for the rest of the summer you can listen to live free concerts in the Kentlands!

The Kentlands is located in the city of Gaithersburg, Maryland in the United States, Kentlands was one of the first attempts to develop a community using Traditional Neighborhood Design planning techniques that are now generally referred to under the rubric of the New Urbanism.  The New Urbanism is the concept of building from scratch a walkable, mixed-use city... more

The federal homebuyer tax credit settlement requirement has officially been extended until September 30th 2010.  President Barack Obama signed the bill into law yesterday (Friday July 2nd).

On Wednesday June 30th the Senate passed the extension of the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill Tuesday night, and President Barak Obama signed the bill into law Friday.

There was concern that the backlog created by the popularity of the program and the time it takes for most banks to deal with transactions such as short sales would have left many homeowners unable to claim the credit.

Nevada Senator Harry Reid led the U.S. Senate in passing the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act.  “I thank my colleagues for joining me to pass this important extension and giving homebuyers in Nevada and around the country the opportunity to purchase their first home," Reid said.  "In addition to helping thousands of families experience the American dream, this successful and popular program provides a much needed boost to Nevada's housing market and economy.”

The bill gives first-time homebuyers, who already have a signed purchase agreement as of April 30, 2010, until September 30, 2010 to close on their homes and still get that extra $8,000.

"Up to 180,000 homebuyers will now receive the tax credit they deserve, and our housing market will be strengthened as a result," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a prepared statement after the lower chamber approved the measure.

Remember, this is not a problem with First Place Bank here in Rockville Maryland!  With our in-house underwriting and processing none of our loans are “missing the deadline!”

Happy early 4th of July if you are going out to enjoy fireworks tonight!

If you feel that your Maryland assessed property tax value is wrong, it really isn't that hard to make an appeal and get your tax assessment lowered. 

It does take a little bit of time and effort, so you need to consider how much you feel you can get your value lowered by before committing.  The benefit once it is lowered combined with the Maryland homestead tax credit is that your new assessed tax bill can only increase by 10% or less each year (for principal residences), so your wallet will see the fruits of your labor as long as the property maintains your principal residence!

I recently did this for my home in the Kentlands in Montgomery County, mainly as a learning experience, however, I was able to get my value changed after the first step - Supervisor's Level.  I was able to get my assessed value lowered by 6%, so it is not impossible!

The bulk of the information on how to appeal can be found on the SDAT's Assessment Appeal Process Website.

A brief summary on how to do it: 

Appeals may be filed on three occasions:

1. Upon receipt of an assessment notice; (this is sent every 3 years - you sign the bottom of the form and return it)
2. By a petition for review (this must be done by January 1 in the two years your property is not valued in order to be effective for the next tax year beginning July 1 - Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation Petition for Review of Real Property
3. Upon purchase of property between January 1 and June 30 (must file within 60 days of the transfer).

After you have filed an initial appeal, the 3 levels of the appeal process consist of:

1. Supervisor's Level (This is an informal presentation of your case to an assessor, you should present why you feel your value is inaccurate.  After this they will review what you have presented and send you a final notice in the mail)
2. Maryland Property Tax Assessment Appeal Board (There is an independent appeal board comprised of 3 local residents in each of the counties and Baltimore City, similarly you present your case)
3. Maryland Tax Court

The behind the scenes of the tips and tricks on how to actually get your assessed value lowered:

• Make a note that you want to schedule a date for a hearing, a face-to-face meeting will give you insight onto what they look for and what might or might not help you if you need to take the process to further levels, additionally, it will give you an opportunity to present any new evidence that you may not have had during your initial submission
• Use a combination of www.franklymls.com or another real estate website where you can look up recently sold properties (in general, use comparables within the last 6 months and you want at least 3)
• To find recently sold properties in your neighborhood on FranklyMLS search for your street or zip code, find a property for sale, once you are viewing that listings' page - under "community" click the "Sold" button (sometimes Realtors use a different community name, so you may have to check a few in your neighborhood)
• The Maryland State Departments of Assessments and Taxation Website has a search feature where you can also look up what comparable properties have sold for - though this is much tougher to sift through
• Try to pick comparable properties as close and similar to your subject property as possible

My last tip is to just do it!  If you have evidence and enough reason to believe your assessed value is too high and the time to commit, go for it.  I only went to the first level (Supervisor's level) and was able to get mine lowered (I probably spent a total of 3 hours at most on the entire process).  Good luck!

**Disclaimer: If you are searching for homes for sale anywhere in Maryland, DC, or Northern Virginia - the very best way to find listings is to contact a local real estate agent.  If you do not have any you know, contact me and I can recommend one to you. 

In Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia there is an awesome MLS website that allows some of the best and most up-to-date home search options.  I like it due to its ease of use, integration with a map, functional search criteria, sorting options, and email updates. 

Enough with the suspense!  The site is called FranklyMLS.com.  It is awesome!  I am by no means a power user but it sure suits my needs.  For example, if you are looking for a 4+ bedroom home in the 20878 zip code, which covers a majority of North Potomac and the Kentlands / Lakelands area, you would type "20878 active -1bdr -2bdr -3bdr" in the search window.

Wala! - A beautiful map shows up of your area, and you can now hover over each icon, or you can sort the list by number of home price, number of bedrooms, year built, etc - and WOW!  

Once you spend time coming up with a search that meets your exact criteria (specify certain zip codes, etc) you can setup email alerts, so every time a listing changes within your search parameters or a new listing is added you will get notified via email.  I have to say I am addicted to the home search site due to its ease of use and simplicity and advanced searching / sorting features along with an integrated map.

You may be surprised to learn that most Loan Officers do not have access to MLS.  As a lender, it is nice to actually put a property "face" along with the paperwork!  Happy home searching!