Real Estate
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Commissioner candidate questions - Deep Creek Lake POA
I was reading up on the response of the candidates for the local Garrett County commissioners race, as posed by the Deep Creek Lake property owners association. Obviously, these are issues of primary concern to District 18 (Deep Creek Lake) property owners.
There are some interesting statistics that they quote at the very bottom, regarding their meeting with the Garrett County Assessment Office.
Posted by
Jay on 08/31 at 02:24 PM
Community •
Real Estate •
(0)
Trackbacks •
Permalink
Consumer confidence and home prices edge up
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK Tue Aug 31, 2010 1:42pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence rose modestly in August and U.S. homes prices gained more than expected in June, easing some worries the economy is headed for another downturn soon.
Another report released on Tuesday showed the pace of growth in business activity in the U.S. Midwest slowed in August, but economists said the data overall did not present new worries about the path of the economy.
The data shows “the economy, while it is not going on all cylinders, is also not sliding into this double-dip recession that people are concerned about,” said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago.
Financial markets, however, were reluctant to read too much into the numbers, particularly as investors awaited the release on Friday of the government’s closely watched monthly report on the U.S. labor market.
Read the rest here.
Posted by
Jay on 08/31 at 02:23 PM
Real Estate •
(0)
Trackbacks •
Permalink
Friday, August 20, 2010
New listing: renovated waterfont cottage, type A dock
Listing # GA7418006 $569,000
179 Doc Thompson Rd
Vintage lakefront cottage on a grassy, level lot @ southern shores of Deep Creek Lake. The original cottage has been totally gutted and restored from the studs in! Modernized in virtually every way, the house overlooks a rare, undeveloped lakefront setting. Type A dock, dead-end road, storage building & a peaceful cove. Move-in condition, well-insulated (R19) for year-round use. Hot tub! Sunsets!
More details here.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Inside the Mind of an Appraiser
Great article & video sent to me by a good friend:
by Stefanos Chen, posted Aug 12th 2010 6:37PM
First impressions are everything in real estate—a fact Paul Isolda, an appraiser with 22 years of experience, knows all too well. Isolda has seen every home staging disaster under the sun, from tacky cabinetry to dingy flooring. One discerning glance from him could mean a final appraisal worth thousands less-or more-than the price you put on your property. That’s why AOL Real Estate’s What Works Now enlisted his help to share all the dos-and countless don’ts-that go into a successful home sale.
The most important thing to keep top of mind, says Isolda, is to see things from the eyes of a prospective buyer who ultimately want to make a home their own. That’s why one of the most sought after features homebuyers look for is a kitchen stocked with sturdy granite counter tops—they’re simple, elegant, and allow the buyer to play with a blank canvas.
That said, not all renovations are smart ones. “If you overspend on a kitchen or bath renovation,” Isolda says, “you’re less likely to recoup that investment on the market.” Keep in mind that the value of your home is tied directly to the property value of surrounding houses. Before splurging on a major remodeling project, Isolda suggests you find out the value of comparable homes in the neighborhood, as your price will vary relative to their worth.
Surprisingly, says Isolde, “You don’t want to be the best house on the block-your neighbors are pulling your value down.” Instead, he says, “you’d actually prefer to be the worst house on the block, because then your neighbors are pulling your value up.” So before investing in that new chandelier, find out how your house ranks among your neighbors. You might just be better off investing in a new paint job, fixing a sidewalk, or re-wiring your home.
Read the full article here.
Posted by
Jay on 08/18 at 03:05 PM
Real Estate •
(0)
Trackbacks •
Permalink
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Price Reductions - Real Estate for Sale - Garrett County
It’s that time of year where sellers are reducing their prices to attract late summer buyers and I have a few reductions to report:
GA7364174
209 2ND ST
OAKLAND, MD 21550
Now $199,000
__________________
GA7347519
267 FIRESIDE RD
OAKLAND, MD 21550
Now $329,900
____________________
GA7381957
442 Deer Run Rd -
Sky Valley
Swanton MD 21561
Now $419,500
Local Real Estate Market Update - Garrett County
The MLS system we use in Garrett County, Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS), has a
research tool available that displays some of our local market statistics. Click on the image below for the July 2010 report:
Some of the stats:
- Closed sales is up 7.4% (YTD), 18.2% in July
- Pending Sales is up 9.6% (YTD), 22.2% in July
- Median Sales Price -4% (YTD), -1.4% in July
- % of Original Price - 0.6%(YTD), +0.2% in July
- Average Days on Market +3.8% (YTD), +49.6% July
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Mortgage rates hit fresh lows on soft economy
By Lynn Adler
NEW YORK Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:52am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home loan rates set new lows in the latest week on more evidence of a soft U.S. economy and high unemployment, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.
The average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 4.44 percent in the week ended August 12, the lowest since Freddie Mac records began in 1971. The prior record low was 4.49 percent a week ago, which was well below 5.29 percent a year ago.
Record low mortgage rates have lifted demand to refinance loans and buy homes. But the pace has nonetheless been tepid with unemployment flirting with 10 percent, consumer confidence dim and lending standards restrictive.
The refi applications index remains at least 40 percent below the peak seen last year.
Fifteen-year mortgage rates dropped 0.03 percentage point to average 3.92 percent, the lowest since records began in 1991. And five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) at 3.56 percent also set a record low, dating back to 2005.
Read the rest here.
Mortgage Rates at ALL TIME LOWS
Jerry Merrick sent an update on mortgage rates yesterday and pointed out that these are the lowest rates EVER offered. If you’re thinking of buying:
30 year conforming is 4.25%
15 year conforming is 3.750%
30 year jumbo is 4.875%
Also, visit the Lender/Mortgage section of my website to see other providers.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
6 Reasons to Buy a Vacation Home Now - Resort Life Blog
Source
RISMEDIA, August 11, 2010—As the real estate market continues its bumpy road toward recovery, the vacation home market is heating up, causing homeowners around the country to seriously consider buying the vacation home they’ve been eyeing.
Margaret La Grange and Christine Van Tuyl, an award-winning mother-daughter team with Prudential California Realty in Coronado, CA, offer the top six reasons why now is the best time to buy a vacation home.
“Whether you’re looking for a charming beach bungalow or a high rise condo with spectacular views, a host of market conditions have come together to make buying a vacation home a smart move,” said Christine Van Tuyl. “The drop in home prices, incredibly low interest rates and the increase in demand for vacation rentals make it an optimal time to explore a second home purchase.”
1. Prices down 20-40%. In places like Coronado, CA and greater San Diego, you can pick up a beach cottage or high-rise condo at extremely low prices. That’s only the beginning. Lower prices and less competition are the tip of the iceberg-sized list of factors that make it a good time to consider a vacation home buy.
2. Interest rates. Rates, of course, are at historic lows. Lock in a good rate, buy a vacation home in a desirable location, and watch your asset appreciate over the long-term.
3. A relatively safe investment. Real estate has proven itself to be a safe place to park your money for the long-term. (Long-term is key). Stock market woes have always pushed people to look for alternate investments, and real estate is a consistent stronghold.
4. Make a profit. Or, better yet, make your vacation home pay for itself. Only planning on using your vacation home a few months out of the year? Rent it out short-term to vacationers looking for a great place to stay. Many homeowners make a killing listing their homes on VRBO.com. (Vacation Rental By Owner). When your monthly mortgage payment is less than or equal to one peak week rental, twelve weeks of rental will cover your mortgage payments for the entire year.
5. Vacation rental demand is heating up. Overall, vacation rentals are less expensive than hotel rooms, especially for longer visits and for families. Savvy travelers know this, and are heating up the demand for vacation rentals. In addition, the weaker dollar makes U.S. destinations attractive to travelers from countries with stronger currencies.
6. The pressure of bidding wars is off. Sure, you may not get bargain basement prices on a beachfront cottage—but you might if you’re willing to buy a few blocks away. Houses aren’t exactly flying off the shelves these days, but buyers now have less pressure to make a hasty decision. Buyers looking for deals on vacation homes can really do their homework.
Posted by
Jay on 08/10 at 06:12 AM
Real Estate •
(0)
Trackbacks •
Permalink
Friday, August 06, 2010
July 2010 Real Estate Market Update - Residential
There are 53 homes under contract, up from last month (48). Historically, ‘late’ summer sales are always strong, as there are still folks in town vacationing and local buyers have a small window to purchase their new home before school & sports activities start in late August /early September. Also, a lot of people ‘watch’ properties all summer then make their offers later in the summer season, often times taking advantage of a late price reduction or a house that may have come on the market late and slipped through the cracks.
2 properties sold at full price or higher. 13 of these sales were lake area or vacation homes. The rest are primary residential homes scattered around Garrett County.
The average list vs. ORIGINAL sales price was 82.50%, down from last month (88.88%).
The ADJUSTED list vs sale price is 89.53% - also down from last month (93.22%).
The current number of active/for sale residential listings (minus timeshares) is 791 as of today, up from last month. We are still gaining more inventory than we are selling and this will continue to drive down prices from a supply and demand standpoint. With current state of affairs, this is a number that is unlikely to come down anytime soon. That’s a 30 month supply of homes available, which is a very challenging stat to overcome. Looking beyond those numbers will lead you to the understanding that we are at least a 50% or so vacation home market and our sales are seasonal, unlike Florida or Arizona where the weather is nice almost all year long. But still, 30 month supply is a lot.
Another stat I noticed was that there were no new(er) construction homes that sold. The ‘newest’ home was 4 years old, the oldest home that sold was 100 years old.
18 of the 26 homes sold for less than $300,000. One house that was listed for $1.125 mil sold for $875,000. There are several of these ‘motivated’ sellers out there - you never know what someone will sell for unless you make an offer, right?
Here are the statistical breakdowns:
Average Sale Price: $321,685 (last month $448,350) - the $3.5 million dollar sale tweaked this last month
Average Days on Market: 150/302 (last month 177/241) (days on market with current broker/total days on market)
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Deep Creek Lake Law - Gary Sabo - Attorney
I had an opportunity to close a few deals with attorney Gary Sabo last week. Gary is a good friend of mine and I actually sold him his place here at the lake when he decided to move down here from Pittsburgh.
It was a pleasure working with his staff (Brandy & Sherry) - they are very knowledgeable and professional, and they were always a step ahead of everyone in their planning, etc. The office is quite impressive. It was a very laid back closing with children’s coloring books at the table and lots of beautiful artwork and furniture. Overall, a great experience. I highly recommend Gary & his services.
Here is some info from his
website:
________
Deepcreeklaw.com is the online home of the law firm of Gary E. Sabo, Attorney-at-Law.
Gary received his bachelor’s degree from the Pennsylvania State University, and his Juris Doctor from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law, where he served as managing editor of the Law Review.
Gary began his legal career at a large Pittsburgh law firm, where his practice concentrated in areas of corporate litigation, business law, and real estate.
In 2006, Gary moved to Deep Creek to open the Deep Creek Branch of Sage Title Group, LLC which covers western Maryland, southern Pennsylvania, and northern and eastern West Virginia where Gary serves as Managing Attorney. Gary also serves as regional counsel to Sage Title and services branch offices in western Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Gary frequently lectures to real estate agents on topics related to the real estate and title industry. Gary is approved by several education providers to instruct continuing education classes to agents.
Gary is a member of the Maryland Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and West Virginia Bar association. In his free time Gary is also an active wake boarder and head snowboard coach of the Deep Creek Winter Sports Team.
_________
Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or
visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!
Garrett officials nix sprinkler requirement
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
— OAKLAND — New homes built in Garrett County will not be required to contain automatic sprinkler systems, a statewide proposal that sparked heated debate in many Maryland counties.
The county commission removed the sprinkler re-quirement from the building code it adopted July 27.
The measure is included in the 2009 International Residential Code, adopted by the state of Maryland, which applies to one- and two-family homes. The revised code requires a minimum of two sprinkler heads to spray 26 to 30 gallons of water per minute for a 10-minute period, for a total of 260 to 300 gallons of water.
Counties had the option to adhere to the IRC as-is or to adopt it with local amendments, as Garrett County did.
“The argument for the sprinkler system did not measure up to the many objections against it,” said commission chairman Ernie Gregg. “You can argue the safety factor, but in our opinion there are adequate safety measures in place with things like smoke detectors. ... You can’t weigh a person’s life against cost, but this would have placed an additional considerable financial burden on people.”
Despite the commission’s decision, modular homes must contain sprinkler systems, according to County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt. That state requirement could not be waived by the commission.
Pagenhardt said the commissioners received roughly 20 to 25 comments from the public on the proposed sprinkler requirement, but only two supported it.
“The commissioners listened to that commentary and agreed with the majority opinion that they heard,” he said.
Many of the opponents, such as Roger Sines of McHenry-based Roger Sines Construction Inc., argued that the added cost of a sprinkler system would deter people from building new homes in the county.
The cost of such a system could add anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000 to the cost of a new home, Sines estimated.
Previous estimates have figured sprinklers at a cost of between $1.60 and $2 per square foot of space, meaning that a system for an average 2,000-square-foot home would cost between $3,200 and $4,000. And many factors could drive up that cost. For example, homes relying on a private well could also be required to install a reservoir and fire pump to drive the sprinkler system.
The Western Maryland Home Builders Association submitted a letter to the commission requesting that the sprinkler policy be postponed to 2012.
But proponents of the measure said it would make homes safer for occupants and firefighters, and could lower the cost of homeowners’ fire insurance.
Dennis Mallery, president of the Allegany-Garrett Counties Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association, wrote to association members in June that the sprinkler issue comes down to a question of safety.
“There should be no debate over this issue,” Mallery said in his letter to firefighters. “The WMHBA continues to voice their concern that it is not the right time economically to require residential sprinklers in new 1-2 family homes. When is there a ‘right’ time? After a family member or firefighter is injured or killed?”
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Year to Date Real Estate Stats - Railey still #1
I will have a comprehensive update of the July sales tomorrow, but through August 2nd, 2010, Railey Realty is
#1 in virtually every sales category (by a long shot)!
Check out the stats here.
I love
Railey Realty because its a locally owned company. These days, its nice to support those local companies who support local sports teams, events & charities - and Railey Realty certainly has Garrett County covered!
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Sprinklers Will Not Be Required In New GC Homes
Support the Republiucan Newspaper! It’s only $9.95/year for the online edition!
Jul. 29, 2010
One- and two-family homes built in Garrett County after Jan. 1, 2011, will not have to have automatic sprinkler systems. The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) requires the systems, but the county commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to the local code on Tuesday morning that deletes that section of the IRC.
“We have a received a number of correspondence relative to this matter, an almost overwhelming majority asking us opt out of the sprinkler system [requirement] for the stick built homes,” said Commission chair Ernie Gregg.
The commissioners and Department of Planning and Land Development’s Permits and Inspections Division held a pubic hearing two weeks ago to receive comments on possible changes to the local building ordinance, based on new IRC requirements. Only two possible IRC changes were proposed: a new, less steep stair geometry and sprinklers.
Local officials at the hearing indicated they would most likely adopt the stair regulation into the county code and, perhaps, the sprinkler requirement. The commissioners held the record open for two weeks following the hearing to allow for more comments.
“As you know, there was strong opposition to this (sprinklers) in the public hearing, and numerous written comments received during the past two weeks opposing the requirement as well,” Permits and Inspections chief Jim Torrington told the commissioners prior to their voting on the matter. “Therefore, we propose to delete this section (Chapter 3, Section R313.2) from the 2009 IRC.”
As a result of the amendment deleting the requirement, one-family and two-family homes will not be required to have automatic sprinkler systems.
Torrington stressed that systems will still be required for multiple family homes (i.e. townhouses) and modular homes. The county tried to include modular homes in the amendment, but this type of stick-built structure falls under state regulations.
The state, however, does not require sprinkler systems in singlewide and doublewide mobile homes.
“We went so far as to contact Secretary Skinner, Department of Housing and Community Development, about getting the modular homes exempted, but he said we cannot override the Maryland code this comes under,” Commissioner Fred Holliday explained.
Gregg said the commissioners adamantly opposed the issue of requiring that stick-built homes have sprinklers because of the additional cost to homeowners and the infringement on their personal property rights.
“We certainly are concerned about public safety,” Gregg said. “We are also concerned about having what we consider unnecessary costs.”
Read the rest of the article here.
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
______________
Deep Creek Do It All specializes in cleaning services in Garrett County & @ Deep Creek Lake. Give them a call (301-501-0217) or
visit the website - competitive rates and quality results from a locally owned & operated company!
Monday, August 02, 2010
Real Estate for Sale - 105 POCAHONTAS AVE - GA7400775
Cozy 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style home. Part mobile home, this house has been custom modified by a master carpenter on concrete bfoundation. House offers large living room, master bedroom & bath, & separate mud/laundry room w/ mud sink. Detached 2 car garage, 2 storage buildings, 2 town lots @ corner, level grassy lawn. Enjoy quiet evevnings on the covered front porch. No windmill views!
105 Pocahontas Ave, Mt Lake Park (Loch Lynn) GA7400775
$97,900
