Photo by Nancy Royden. Michael Cerrito

Published on: Wednesday, January 06, 2010

By Nancy Royden

Things are looking up in Prince George’s County’s real estate market, said the president of the Prince George’s County Association or Realtors, but some people damage property that could be sold for a higher price.

“Sometimes people are getting into foreclosed houses. It gets to the point where buyers can’t get financing,” said Michael F. Cerrito, broker and owner of Cerrito Realty LLC on Old Mill Road in Upper Marlboro.

For those who live in a neighborhood with vacant houses, they know they can definitely become eyesores.

“They cause values to go down. It’s a huge snowball effect,” he said.

If grass grows too tall or trash piles up outside houses, that can also become a serious hazard, Cerrito said.

The good news is house sales are picking up in the county.

“Interest rates are great. It’s the perfect storm for a buyer,” he said.

The number of houses going under contact in the county has improved significantly, prices are leveling out, buyers have more buying power, inventory is decreasing at a steady rate, multiple contracts are being seen, appreciation rates are still inching upward and interest rates are at a historic low, Cerrito said during a PGCAR presentation in December.

Cerrito said houses have been selling in part due to the county’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The closing of the 200th house was marked Dec. 17 with a ceremony attended by County Executive Jack Johnson and officials from the Prince George’s County Office of Housing and Community Development.

The Down Payment on Your Dream Program, part of the NSP, earmarks $20,000 in down payment and closing costs on a foreclosed property for first-time homebuyers. To be eligible for the program, applicants must have a household income at, or below, 120 percent of the area median income, and purchase the property in an eligible ZIP code, said Nicole Garrett, of the Prince George’s Department of Housing.

Cerrito said the $8,000 federal tax credit currently being offered is another reason for those who qualify for it to buy a home or upgrade to a different home. He also said the unemployment rate in this part of this part of the country is better than what is found in some other areas, and Prince George’s County is more affordable than other locales in the region.

To help curb neglect of vacant property in the county, Johnson and members of the county council approved and signed a bill last summer that calls for the registration of foreclosed homes with the Department of Environmental Resources and establishes a penalty for failure to register properties. There is no charge to register vacant/foreclosed property.

“This legislation will ensure that foreclosed properties are properly maintained,” Johnson said. “It will result in clean, safe, well-kept neighborhoods in Prince George’s County.”

This legislation took effect Aug. 21, 2009, and the person authorized to make the sale of the property in the county is required to notify the director of DER within five days after filing an order to docket or a complaint to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust on residential property, Garrett said.

If the person who is authorized to make the sale of the property does not register a foreclosed property, he or she will be fined $50 for each day the notice is not filed.

District 2 County Council Member Will Campos advocated for the bill.

“As the author and sponsor of this legislation, it was my goal to create a registration system for foreclosed properties that would help identify these properties before they become eyesores in the community,” Campos said.

Cerrito said sometimes people might hesitate to contact law enforcement agencies when they see suspicious activity in, or around a vacant house, but this is the best course of action to take.

Thieves have gone into vacant homes or on property to steal copper pipes, coolant line coils, appliances and fixtures that are supposed to remain with the property.

To register property with DER, forms may be downloaded from the county’s Web site at: http://www.PrinceGeorgesCountyMd.gov/DER/ by clicking on “Foreclosed Registration Form” under the heading “Foreclosed Residential Property Registration.

They may also be obtained by contacting DER’s Foreclosure Registration Unit at 301-883-6100.