maryland – Page 26 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Maryland bans hand-held cell phone use while driving

Cory Galliher
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Maryland drivers who are pulled over for a traffic violation may find themselves facing additional charges if they were using a mobile phone while driving as a result of a bill that passed 125-14 in the House of Delegates on Friday.

The bill, which has been proposed repeatedly for years but failed to pass, will now be sent to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is expected to sign it into law.

The bill only barely made it past the Maryland Senate on a 24-23 vote in March.

“The bottom line is it’s an excellent bill,” said Delegate Kevin Kelly. “The problem is people are so engrossed in the conversation and holding the phone that, quite frankly, their attention is directed away from the primary operation of the vehicle.”

Senate Bill 321, which carries an Oct. 1 effective date, would make talking on a mobile phone while driving a secondary offense, meaning that an offender would have to be pulled over for some other violation in order to be charged. It imposes a $40 fine on first offenders and a $100 fine for second and subsequent offenses, neither of which causes points to be assessed against a driver’s license unless the offense contributes to an accident.

The court has the option of waiving the fine for first offenders and for those who provide proof that they have acquired a method of hands-free capability for their phone.

There are exceptions for using a mobile phone while stopped at a red light and in emergency situations. Law enforcement and emergency personnel acting within the scope of official duty would also be covered by exceptions.

Kelly said that when the bill was initially introduced 12 years ago, there was a larger amount of opposition toward it. “Twelve years ago when this was first proposed, there were hundreds of people who were going to protest the bill,” said Kelly. “The phones now have a comprehensive array of functions and that is contributing dramatically to driver distraction.

“All of us have witnessed the person who doesn’t go forward when the light changes because they’re involved in their conversation, who go through an intersection without stopping, or who are driving down the side of the road and hit the rumble strips,” added Kelly.

Trooper Robert Giffin at the Maryland State Police Cumberland barrack said it’s difficult to say whether there will be problems enforcing the legislation since it hasn’t yet been signed into law. “Until the law actually gets put in the books, they’re not going to address it too much with us,” said Giffin. “It’ll depend a lot on how it’s actually written when they put it in the transportation article and so forth.”

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, similar legislation exists in six states: California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington, along with Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands.

“You shouldn’t have to legislate common sense,” said Kelly. “In this case, we are, because we as a society have witnessed the ever-increasing dangers associated with people who are driving and talking on a cell phone.”

A bill that passed 43-4 in the Senate and 133-2 in the House in 2009 banned writing or sending text messages while driving. It was amended in 2010 to prohibit the reading of text messages as well.

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

March Real Estate Update – Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County. MD

The warm weather of March helped to improve the residential real estate market at Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake! There were a total of 16 sales (versus 14 for the same period last year). The stronger spring I spoke of last month has started to take shape. There are 44 contracts compared to last months 33.

7 of the 16 sales were considered Deep Creek Lake area properties, the rest appear to be primary residential.

The average list vs. ORIGINAL sales price was 69.5%, down 10% from last month. The biggest part of this number is the high listing numbers that sellers start with. I blogged about this last month, and it’s a national trend that is very real – EVERYTHING has adjusted in price. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but homes are not worth what they were 2-3 years ago. That’s a HUGE reason why some properties won’t sell – they are overpriced.

The ADJUSTED list vs sale price is 90% – up from last month. Once the market reacts and adjusts to prices & competition, the Realtors who assist in pricing property can adjust the asking price of properties for sellers who are willing & able to react. This number is a very telling stat – it shows that we are starting to narrow in on the price points for the local real estate market.

The current number of active/for sale residential listings is 605 as of today. This is up from last month (575) and will continue to grow as the spring and summer continue. Slowly but surely, our absorption rates are normalizing.

Here are the statistical breakdowns:

Average Sale Price: $404,031 (last month)$309,200

Average Days on Market: 220/275 (last month 164/296) (days on market with current broker/total days on market)

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

US Second-Home Sales Soar as Fractional Market Slumps

New research from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows vacation-home sales in the US rose 7.9% to 553,000 in 2009. Although well off the market peak of 1,067,000 sales in 2006, this represents the first time in three years the US vacation-home market has seen a lift.

Although the median sales price for vacation homes has increased to $169,000, up from $150,000 in 2008, this “may reflect increased sales in higher priced markets, particularly in areas of Florida and California where prices became highly attractive for buyers over the past year”, according to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

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

More Google for Garrett County

I got my 3 seconds of fame in this Google video 🙂 Great job Brian Oxford on the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVqjahld-9I&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

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

Grants available for solar energy systems

March 28, 2010

Grants available for solar energy systems
For the Cumberland Times-News
Cumberland Times-News

— CUMBERLAND — An incentive program for installing mid-sized solar energy systems has up to $1.45 million available from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Maryland Energy Administration has announced.

This two-year program will can help lower the cost of rooftop solar energy systems for commercial buildings, allowing more Maryland businesses to receive the benefits of clean renewable energy from the sun.

“The challenge for many businesses is that the costs for solar energy systems are all up-front, while the benefits accrue over many years of use,” said MEA Director Malcolm Woolf. “The mid-sized incentive program, combined with the federal investment tax credit of 30 percent, is designed to help lower the up-front cost of these renewable energy systems so that businesses can continue to invest in clean renewable energy despite the difficult economy.”

The incentive program covers two technologies — solar photovoltaic, which converts light into electricity, and solar water heating, which converts light into heat energy to supplement natural gas or electric water heating. Through the MEA grant program, Marylanders can qualify for a rebate of $500 per kilowatt of photovoltaic capacity installed for systems between 20 and 100 KW, up to $50,000 per grant, and 15 percent of the system cost for a solar hot water system up to $25,000 per grant at this time.

“Maryland’s mid-sized solar grant program is a true win for local businesses and workers,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley. “By taking advantage of this new resource, not only will businesses see a reduction in energy usage and operational costs in the long term, but they will also become a part of a Maryland that is Smart, Green and Growing, by taking this step to reduce their carbon footprint.”

For additional information, visit the Web site http://www.energy.state.md.us/incentives/business/MidSizedSolarGrants.asp

Earlier this year, the O’Malley- Brown administration launched the Maryland Green Registry, a voluntary, self-certification program that offers tips and resources to help organizations set and meet their own goals on the path to sustainability. For additional information, make a visit to http://www.mde.maryland.gov/MarylandGreen

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

Bailing out underwater homeowners

This is an excerpt from the Baltimore Sun ‘Second Opinion’ Blog, specifically Andy Green. Mr. Green points out the nearly 25% of all Maryland homeowners are underwater on their mortgages:

Today, the Obama administration is announcing a major new effort to stem the foreclosure crisis by focusing on two groups: the unemployed and the rapidly growing share of homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. Getting banks to temporarily reduce payments for the unemployed — or to let them skip payments altogether for a time — fits in with many of the administration’s previous efforts to help those who find they are unable, because of the economic downturn, to meet their mortgage obligations. But the second part of the plan, helping those with so-called “underwater” mortgages reduce the amount of principal they owe, may be more difficult for many Americans to swallow.

The plan calls for the government to use $14 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program money to provide incentives for banks to reduce the amount of principal homeowners owe and for the Federal Housing Administration to help underwater borrowers refinance into loans they can afford. New programs would also help borrowers who have second mortgages.

That may be galling to many who see it as a bailout of people who made bad decisions. In some cases, it is. But this is an occasion when we have to swallow our sense of economic justice out of self interest. Nearly a quarter of Maryland residents owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, the seventh-highest rate in the nation. In the Baltimore area, the figure is 17 percent. And nobody is forecasting the real estate market to rebound fast enough to change that in a major way for years. That means more homes are at risk of foreclosure, and more people are going to simply start walking away from their mortgages, risking a further cratering of the real estate market. If that happens, people who didn’t make foolish decisions and have kept up their obligations could be at risk if we don’t take action.

The key will be making sure we also enact sufficient regulatory reforms to make sure the excesses of the real estate boom aren’t repeated, just as the financial reform now working its way through Congress serves as some assurance that we won’t soon find ourselves bailing out investment banks again. But Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified before Congress this week that the administration has no plan yet for how to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant publicly backed companies that helped fuel the subprime mortgage boom; the White House has previously said that legislation dealing with that could be more than a year off. We can’t afford to wait that long.

Garrett County has the lowest foreclosure rate in Maryland – Gazette.net

Legislation requires lenders to help stem foreclosures
State had 10th highest rate in U.S. last month
by Kevin James Shay | Staff Writer

Foreclosures jumped to 5,732 in February across Maryland, up 9.6 percent from January and 80.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Irvine, Calif., data company RealtyTrac. Maryland’s rate of one foreclosure filing for every 407 households was the 10th highest in the nation, up from 13th in January and 16th a year ago.

Prince George’s County continues to lead the state in the number and rate of foreclosures with 1,789 filed last month, or one for every 179 households. Baltimore city and the counties of Frederick, Charles, Calvert and Kent also had foreclosure rates above the state average. Garrett County had the lowest rate in the state last month, with only eight foreclosures or one filing per 2,378 housing units.

Meanwhile, foreclosure filings across the nation slowed last month. They were down 2.3 percent from January and up only 6.2 percent from a year ago.

Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) went on the offensive last week to lobby for legislation that would require lenders to work with homeowners to modify their loans before filing foreclosure orders. The businesses would have to send homeowners a detailed explanation of requirements for the lenders’ loan modification program and a loss mitigation application, among other items.

The lenders would have to file affidavits stating that a loan modification review had been done and the reasons they denied modifying the loan. They would also have to document that alternatives other than foreclosures were considered. Homeowners who have not received the loan modification review would be able to request a foreclosure mediation session.

“This legislation will provide homeowners a chance to explore any and all options to find a positive resolution and remain in their homes,” Brown said in a speech at the Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Fort Washington, according to his office.

Kathleen Murphy, president and CEO of the Maryland Bankers Association, also testified last month, saying she was concerned that a loss mitigation analysis would be required before a foreclosure could be filed, according to an Associated Press report. A foreclosure filing often prompts borrowers to talk about loss mitigation, Murphy said.

Among states, Nevada’s rate of one per 102 households led the nation last month, while Vermont posted the lowest rate with one filing per 39,077 units.

Foreclosures in Maryland are increasing despite state officials claiming that a counseling and legal program has provided more than $5.5 million in assistance and helped about 11,000 homeowners avoid foreclosures since mid-2007. The state has also enacted other measures, such as a mortgage fraud protection law and a streamlined loss mitigation process with six of the largest servicers in Maryland.

Factors for the increase in foreclosures despite efforts to remedy the situation include the sour economy, according to a recent analysis by the state Department of Legislative Services.

“Despite the impact of extensive state legislative and consumer outreach efforts … total foreclosure activity in Maryland continues to increase as state residents feel the effects of rising unemployment and declining home values,” the department reported.

Home sales rise

The volume of existing homes sold in Maryland rose by almost 20 percent in February from February 2009, but the average sales price of about $280,000 was down by 7 percent, according to the Maryland Association of Realtors.

The extended and expanded federal homebuyer tax credit is helping fuel sales in Maryland, according to the trade group. The $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers runs until April 30 for signed contracts and June 30 for closings. There is also a tax credit of up to $6,500 for certain existing homeowners who purchase a replacement principal residence.
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

State’s decision to ban booze comes as surprise

March 24, 2010

State’s decision to ban booze comes as surprise
Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

— CUMBERLAND — Local alcoholic beverage officials, merchants and recreationists agree that they had no idea the Maryland Department of Natural Resources had banned the possession and consumption of beer, wine and liquor in state forests until they read about it in Wednesday’s Times-News.

Maryland State Forester Steve Koehn said Tuesday that the policy was adopted because rowdy imbibers at times had ruined the camping experiences for others.

“We realize that some people will be annoyed with this regulation, but we believe that the greater good is being served,” Koehn said.

Contacted again on Wednesday, Koehn said his agency has ongoing authority to restrict alcohol use, thus a public hearing process was not needed for that action.

“We are informing people about the ban on a one-by-one basis when they call in to reserve a campsite,” Koehn said. “For those who use a self reservation system at the forest, we have posted signs at the camping pads.”

Koehn said information about the ban may also be put on the DNR Web site.

A similar ban has been in effect at state parks since last year and one is being drafted for wildlife management areas.

John Stakem, owner of Broadway Liquors in Frostburg and the president of the Allegany County Liquor Dealers Association, said Wednesday that the forest ban was news to him.

“I live in Frostburg and I know that 3 percent of the university students cause problems and 97 percent of the kids are good. It isn’t a 100-percent perfect world. Why regulate the people who do things the right way?” he said.

Stakem, who often attends Maryland General Assembly sessions in Annapolis to represent the alcoholic beverage industry, said he will study the new ban before deciding about any action he may take.

John Boal, sales manager for Western Maryland Distributing Co., said the forest service ban is likely to have a widespread local impact.

“We have four stores we distribute to near Green Ridge State Forest, including Bill’s Place,” Boal said. “This ban will hurt those stores and in turn hurt our business. That means it will hurt our drivers and sales representatives, all local people who spend their money locally.”

Bill’s Place owner Bill Schoenadel said the ban will ruin business at his Little Orleans establishment, tucked between the Potomac River and Green Ridge State Forest. Schoenadel operates a tavern there and sells take-out beer.

Schoenadel contends that there is nothing wrong with hunters or anglers drinking beer at their public campsites at the end of a day of recreation, something that has recently become illegal.

Sen. George Edwards said Wednesday from Annapolis that he considers the alcohol ban to be a major change.

“You would think with a big change in policy that the DNR would call some kind of public gathering and say ‘hey, this is what we’re doing and this is why we’re doing it,’ ” Edwards said. “At least people would have been on notice instead of learning about it after the fact. I didn’t know about it until now. If they want to be a transparent agency, this would have been a good opportunity for them to show it.

“I haven’t heard anything from the state forest people up home about this being a big problem. I guess now if you want to have a family picnic on the state grounds and you have a certain kind of cold drink you are breaking the law,” Edwards said.

Sid Turner, who owns Chestnut Ridge Liquor Store at Grantsville, said Wednesday that he showed the newspaper article to numerous customers.

“I got the same reaction from everybody,” Turner said. “They said ‘that’s (expletive deleted).’ ”

Turner said that the ban on alcohol at New Germany and Big Run state parks has already cut into his sales and he expects the ban at nearby Savage River State Forest to further decrease business.

Turner is also the vice president of the Citizens Rights and Heritage Group, a formalized organization that acts as a watchdog of state government actions that affect Garrett County.

“We will be bringing this up at our next meeting,” Turner said.

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

Alcohol banned in Maryland state forests

Michael A. Sawyers
Cumberland Times-News

—

LITTLE ORLEANS — If you have a Busch beer and want to head for the mountains, don’t make it a public hilltop in Maryland.

It is now illegal to possess or consume alcoholic beverages on state forests in Maryland, according to Steve Koehn, Maryland state forester.

“There is a department-wide policy banning alcohol on the state’s public lands,” Koehn said Tuesday. “The park service got on board first and we are following suit.”

Koehn said strong drink will still be allowed at two pavilions, one on the Green Ridge and one on the Potomac-Garrett state forests, but only when a proper permit is possessed.

“You would be OK transporting unopened alcohol in your vehicle through a state forest, but if you are at a scenic overlook, for example, and can’t wait to pop open a cold one, you may be in for some trouble if a Natural Resources Police officer sees you,” Koehn said.

Koehn said the policy was adopted because people were having bad camping experiences.

“A family would be camped near another group that was not consuming alcohol in a measured fashion and it would ruin their trip,” he said. “We realize that some people will be annoyed with this regulation, but we believe that the greater good is being served. It’s all about the Maryland public having a positive experience on their lands.”

Bill Schoenadel said the regulation will ruin his business.

Schoenadel runs the unique and popular Bill’s Place, a known watering hole and grocery along the Potomac River at Little Orleans.

“Nobody knew anything about this until just the other day when some signs were seen at the state forest campsites,” Schoenadel said.

“Hunters and fishermen don’t cause problems. They like to go back to their camps at night and sit around a fire and have a few beers while they talk about the day. Those are the people I sell beer to.”

Schoenadel said that before a rails and trails program was established for hikers and bikers along the river, hunters and anglers were his main source of business.

“If the state takes a soft approach to this new regulation, I mean if they don’t bother people at campsites who are quietly having a beer and keeping it out of sight, then it might not be so bad. But there are some rangers who like to write a ticket for everything they can,” he said.

Jim Mullan of the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service said that agency too is in the process of drafting similar regulations that would apply to wildlife management areas.

Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.

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

Smart Grid technology on way to Maryland

From the Cumberland Times News:

Public Service Commission must OK meter installation
tiffany march
Capital News Service

— WASHINGTON — Imagine you left town for a weekend vacation, accidentally leaving the air conditioning set on high. No sweat — you can adjust it with an application on your iPhone.

Or imagine getting to work and realizing you forgot to run the dishwasher. No problem, because another application can start your appliances remotely.

These scenarios may sound far out, but they are almost reality for Maryland residents. Thanks to $10.5 billion in stimulus funds from the federal government, the first stage of “Smart Grid” technology will come to your home as soon as this year.

The idea behind Smart Grid is that each house will have a “Smart Meter” sending and receiving real-time information from utility companies using a radio frequency. So when your home loses power, you won’t have to call the utility to complain because the Smart Meter will have already sent out an alert.

“The meter on your house really belongs in the Smithsonian,” said Stephen Sunderhauf, who works for PHI, the company that owns Pepco and Delmarva Power.

But some Maryland groups urge caution, arguing that the government hasn’t had time to create grid standards yet, the technology is untested, huge start-up costs will ultimately fall on consumers and private information about our daily routines could be misused.

Despite these issues, modern electronic devices and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power need a Smart Grid. The electric grid now in use is based on technology from the early 1900s, Sunderhauf said. “The sooner we bring (Smart Grid technology) to our Maryland marketplace, the better off our consumers will be. Embrace the future.”

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. successfully completed a Smart Grid pilot program last year, and Pepco has already begun installing Smart Meters in Delaware, with Maryland to follow soon.

Both companies need the Maryland Public Service Commission’s approval before they can install Smart Meters for all customers or use federal stimulus grants for Smart Grid — $200 million for BGE and $168 million for Pepco.

If the commission approves BGE’s plan, it will start installing 2 million Smart Meters as soon as this year, finishing by 2014. Pepco has a similar timeline.

Smart Grid advocates say consumers will save money by being able to determine times when energy costs are highest, and choosing to run energy-guzzling appliances during off-peak hours.

Initially, customers should be able to track their energy use after a day’s lag time through a Web site. Eventually, customers will have in-home displays with instant information about their energy use and cost.

“Smart Grid technology will absolutely offer consumers options to decrease their rates,” said Maryland Energy Administration spokeswoman Christina Twomey. The Energy Administration, she said, supports BGE’s Smart Grid plan, with some recommendations.

The administration would like to see customers who are uncomfortable with technology retain regular rates, instead of instituting mandatory “time-of-use” rates, when energy costs more during peak daytime hours, Twomey said.

Another problem is that Smart Grid lacks standards, which must be determined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said Theresa Czarski, deputy counsel for the Office of People’s Counsel in Baltimore.

“We really felt we were rushed into this (BGE) case because of the federal money,” Czarski said, adding that major Smart Grid start-up costs will ultimately fall on consumers.

Czarski is also concerned about privacy.

“(Smart Grid) opens a portal into people’s houses,” which can be hacked into, she said.

The Future of Privacy Forum also discussed privacy issues in a November 2009 report, suggesting utility companies may be tempted to sell information about customers’ energy use.

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

Category: maryland

Maryland bans hand-held cell phone use while driving

March Real Estate Update – Deep Creek Lake & Garrett County. MD

US Second-Home Sales Soar as Fractional Market Slumps

More Google for Garrett County

Grants available for solar energy systems

Bailing out underwater homeowners

Garrett County has the lowest foreclosure rate in Maryland – Gazette.net

State’s decision to ban booze comes as surprise

Alcohol banned in Maryland state forests

Smart Grid technology on way to Maryland

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