Testimonial Tuesday

“In short : Jay Ferguson and Taylor-Made Real Estate are the best! Jay sold our home in record time and made it a great experience to boot.

From day one Jay told us ” I am going to sell your home,” and there was an offer on the table less than 8 hours after the house was listed. Jay did his homework. He had a thorough understanding of pricing trends and of the strengths of our unique development before the unit went on the market.

The results : our unit sold faster than almost any other house in our community that had been listed over the past five years and it sold at a higher price than most if not all of those same units.

Jay and his wonderful, friendly staff at Taylor-Made have created a digital marketing juggernaut. They take the time to get it right the first time and are very effective in making sure potential buyers will easily find your home’s listing online with accurate information on well designed, eye-catching web pages.

Jay is honest and straightforward. Jay never made a promise he did not deliver on. Jay is an expert negotiator and we always felt he was looking out for our best interest first. Jay very patiently walked us through all the steps we needed to sell our home. Jay was readily available to answer any questions or to update us on any developments regarding our contract. Jay’s knowledge and acumen are second to none. He is just a great upbeat guy and a pleasure to work with. He is also a cool cucumber. Selling a home can be a stressful situation at times but thanks to Jay’s people skills he always kept things on an even keel.

His excellent support staff (including Megan, Susan and Allie) were also tremendously helpful and friendly. Everything Jay does is deliberate and has purpose. Jay is truly there to serve his clients and exceed his client’s expectations which he definitely did in our case.

I would recommend Jay to anyone who is considering selling their home. Jay is one of the hardest working, most positive, talented professionals we have had the pleasure to work with in any field. While there are a lot of great agents in Western Maryland Jay is in a class of his own. We were blessed to have him in our corner and I promise you will feel the same if you choose Jay to sell your home.” – Rob Paine

Planning for 40th annual Grantsville Days nearly finished

NEW LISTING- 565 Glendale Road #308

Check out my listing at Silver Tree Suites.

Take a closer look at this over-sized unit at Silver Tree Suites. You will feel the difference that this 722sf offers over smaller units – and so will your guests!

This in-demand unit rents more often than most because of the added size and attractive layout with loft bedroom.

Best priced unit compared to other similar floor-plans. Enjoy the lakefront amenities & added bonus of rental income!

For more info, click here.

NEW LISTING- 167 Tenderfoot Road

Check out my new listing!

Yellowstone log home on 4.31 wooded acres. 3BR/2BA on the main and upper levels, and 2 more BR + BA on the lower level are framed, dry-walled, just waiting for paint and flooring.

Construction is 90% finished and most materials needed to finish are stored in basement.

Property is priced $50k under assessment! Two impressive fireplaces and a peaceful front porch. 5BR rental projections ~$25k+/yr.

For more information, click here.

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales Raises Money for Local Animal Charity

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales is a leading vacation rental and real estate firm located in McHenry, MD. With a strong commitment to the local community, their team is involved in a wide variety of charitable activities through sponsorship, donations and volunteer work throughout the year.

In May of 2017, Taylor-Made owners and members of the Deep Creek Lake real estate team broke out their bartending skills to host a Guest Bartender Night at JG’s Pub to benefit HART for Animals, a local non-profit with a mission to improve the condition of animals in Western Maryland. Their adoption center has become a model for compassionate animal rescue.

Lots of members of the Taylor-Made Deep Creek staff were on hand as servers or to help with the silent auction and raffles. The company has partnered with Kate and Fred Collins, JG’s Pub owners, on this event for over ten years. They are always happy to roll up their sleeves for HART for Animals. The event was a huge success raising over $2,300.

Later that month, staff stepped-up to support the Adopt-A-Road program in Garrett County. Members of every department at Taylor-Made volunteered their time to pick up litter prior to the busy summer season on the four “adopted” roads.

“A strong commitment to community plays a key role in our company culture,” stated Jodi Taylor Refosco, Owner. “It strengthens our team and benefits the Deep Creek Lake area as a whole.”

Taylor-Made is family owned and operated by Jodi Taylor Refosco, her husband, Joe Refosco, and her brother Chad Taylor. Betsy Spiker Holcomb and Jay Ferguson are co-owners of the real estate company that was started in 2014.

With over 370 homes, Taylor-Made is the largest vacation rental management company at Deep Creek Lake. Their sister Deep Creek Lake real estate company has become the fastest growing brokerage in the area in recent years.

About Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales

Taylor-Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales has become a frontrunner in Deep Creek Lake vacation rentals, real estate, and property services. Taylor-Made rental homes and sales listings are conveniently located within a few hour’s drive from Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.

JUST LISTED- 1406 Wheeling Ave, Mtn Lake Park

Updated rancher on 4 town lots! Newer roof, flooring, bathroom, paint + central AC & 3 ways to heat. You will love the MEGA yard, a large portion of which is fenced-in and gets plenty of sunshine. Large wraparound deck for entertaining. Attached garage and room to add-on more living space in the partially finished basement. All this, and you are a short stroll to Broadford Park!

You will love the MEGA yard, a large portion of which is fenced-in and gets plenty of sunshine.

For more info, click here.

NEW LISTING- 102 MAIN STREET EXT, ACCIDENT

Gorgeous Victorian era home in Accident!

Home contains much of the original woodworking and trim pieces and has been well-cared for and lovingly renovated.

HUGE kitchen and dining areas, and the potential for one level living with a first floor bedroom and full bath.

Enjoy quiet evenings on the front porch relaxing! Ample yard space. Vintage wormy-chestnut barn included – lots of potential!

For more info, click here.

PRICE REDUCTION- 848 Rock Lodge Road

for more info, click here.

Memorandum of Understanding

Reel Report: Safety should be top priority this holiday weekend

It’s hard to believe the unofficial start of the summer season is already upon us. It sure doesn’t feel like it’s around the corner.

I’m not ready to stand knee-deep in freezing water with my teeth chattering on Saturday when the neighborhood pool opens. There’s not a chance my kids are going to miss the opening day; they’ve been counting down for weeks. Maybe I should be looking at wetsuits instead of bathing suits. If you’ve been by the farmer’s market lately, you’ll see that tomatoes and squash have been missing the sunshine too.

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally one of the busiest times of the entire year out on the water. The list of fun things to do with family and friends is endless, but safety should always be our top priority.

2015 was an especially dangerous year for boaters on Maryland’s waterways with 20 fatalities. Last year, 12 boaters lost their lives. The number one precaution boaters can take is having everyone onboard wear a life preserver.

A lifejacket can’t do its job properly if it’s stowed away and out of reach during a true emergency. The U.S. Coast Guard reports only about 10 percent of adults wear their lifejacket when underway. The statistics for children are better, thank goodness, with about 70 percent wearing them. But that number shouldn’t be less than 100 percent. The law requires children 13 and younger to wear a life preserver.

There’s no good reason not to wear one. Today’s life preservers aren’t bulky or awkward, and they allow a natural range of motion. You won’t even feel like you have one on since the newer ones don’t inflate until they come in contact with water.

More than three-quarters of all boating deaths could have been prevented if people had been wearing lifejackets. Make 2017 the year you wear a lifejacket every time you go out on the water.

Southern Maryland lakes and ponds — Anthony Hancock, assistant manager at Gilbert Run Park in Dentsville, relayed that park employees discovered two bass on separate occasions that had choked to death on large crappie they had swallowed, proving the old adage “big baits catch big bass.” Both crappie were alive in the bass’ throats and were released.

Warmer temperatures are needed to bring bluegill and redear sunfish back to the shallows.

Patuxent River — According to Ken Lamb of the Tackle Box in Lexington Park (301-863-8151), perch are behind schedule. Hopefully there will be some sunshine this weekend to warm things up. Croaker migration is underway and good numbers of this tasty fish should be making their way into our waters over the next month.

Town Creek Pier, which is located within the allowable fishing area for rockfish, opens this weekend.

On June 1, the boundary for rockfish changes again with the remainder of the Patuxent open for fishing. The creel limit is two per person, minimum 20 inches, with only one fish over 28 inches.

Potomac River — Life Outdoors Unlimited guide Kenny Penrod (240-478-9055) reports lots of bass biting in Mattawoman Creek, Belmont Bay and the Occoquan River. Penrod said the combination of milfoil and a weightless Case Magic Stik can’t be beat and recommends slowing down to catch the bigger ones.

Juniata and Susquehanna rivers (Pa.) — Fishing has been exceptional in the non-restricted sections of the rivers, according to LOU guide Jason Shay (717-507-4377). Fish are eager to take spinnerbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits in the current-fed zones near spawning areas.

Deep Creek Lake — Lake activity will kick into overdrive this weekend and traffic is steadily picking up with more floating docks going in the water every day.

LOU Guide Bret Winegardner (301-616-9889) reports rocky areas near the park are good places to target smallmouth while largemouth are favoring coves mid-lake and above, especially spots with new grass growth.

Lake Anna (Va.) — The bass spawn is over and fish are aggressively feeding, according to Carlos at High Point Marina (540-895-5249), with a great topwater bite in early morning and late evening. Midday, fish are chasing faster-moving baits like crankbaits and swimbaits on main and secondary points, deep structure and docks.

Stripers have settled from Sturgeon Creek up past the Splits to the next set of bridges and are mostly in the upper water column. The sporadic weather is keeping them scattered but soon they should be schooling up.

Chesapeake Bay — Lamb has some good news. Lots of striped bass in the 20- to 30-inch range are congregated in our local waters. Plenty can be found at Cedar Point on the lighthouse rocks and from Little Cove Point south to the PR Buoy for trollers who are heading out this weekend (Note: Smaller lures are in order).

Lamb is hoping the rockfish chummers are finding on the Middle Grounds mean they are going to stay local this summer instead of migrating to the north as they have the past few years. That would be a real treat since trophy rockfish season never really took off.

Atlantic Ocean — Larry Jock of the Coastal Fisherman reports the wind earlier this week made for tough conditions and cooler temperatures certainly didn’t help the matter.

Not much offshore fishing has been possible either. Persistent anglers are picking up stripers off Assateague Island. The bluefish bite has slowed considerably.

Tip of the week

Safety should be on every boater’s mind this weekend. While wearing a life preserver can prevent death from drowning, there’s another danger out on the water that people can avoid by following one simple rule.

Never allow any passengers to dangle their feet over the side of the boat while underway, and don’t let people ride on the bow, transom, gunwale, backs of seats or other spots where they could fall overboard.

Bow riding, or sitting on the edge of a moving boat, sounds like a fun idea, but it’s illegal for a good reason. Getting run over by a propeller can cause serious injury or death, so make sure passengers are in a safe seat when your vessel is underway.

For more info, click here.