Tag: garrett county
More Garrett County seniors eligible for property tax break
Commissioners extend 50 percent credit
Megan Miller Cumberland Times-News
Cumberland — OAKLAND — A recent act by the Garrett County Commission could give more residents a tax credit on their county tax bills, starting this tax year.
Currently, county residents who qualify for the state Homeowners’ Property Tax Credit program, are 65 or older, and have lived in Garrett for at least 10 years, can also receive an additional credit of 25 percent of the state credit amount to apply to their county tax bill.
But the income threshold and tax bill guidelines to qualify for the state program left out a portion of Garrett’s low-income seniors who “probably suffer more than anyone else in trying to pay their taxes,” according to County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt.
Now residents who don’t meet the requirements for the state program can qualify for a county credit if they are 65 or older, have lived in Garrett for at least 10 years and have a combined gross household income of $25,000 or less. That extends a county credit to people whose incomes are low, but whose tax bills aren’t high enough to meet the state program guidelines.
“This goes over and above the state’s guidelines,” Pagenhardt said. “It’s not that much money for the county, about $8,300 in lost revenue, but the commissioners felt they wanted to do something to benefit that segment of county residents.”
Those seniors who qualify for the expanded county program will receive a 50 percent credit on their county real estate and landfill taxes, but their state taxes will not be affected.
Pagenhardt said the three commissioners agreed unanimously on the action, which makes about 32 more households eligible for county tax relief.
Wendy Yoder, director of financial services, said residents must still fill out the state application to be eligible for either the county and state credits or the new county credit program.
Applications are due by Sept. 1 for the tax bills that will come out in the summer, she said. The application forms are available online at www.dat.state.md.us, at the State Department of Assessments and Taxation office in the Garrett County Courthouse, or by calling that office at (301) 334-1950 and requesting a form by mail.
For more information contact the county staff at (301) 334-8970.
Contact Megan Miller at mmiller@times-news.com.
Investors Are Buying Houses Again
March 23, 2010 by cloeffler
Good news for the second-home market.
More home buyers are snapping up properties with cash, a trend driven in large part by investors returning to the market after four years of falling prices around the country.
The share of home sales involving all-cash transactions was 26% in January, up from 18% a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. The figures come from a survey of members about their most recent transactions. Many home buyers also are paying cash, but investors are largely using cash so they can avoid paying interest charges on loans and get a larger return on their investment.
Other NAR data also show a pickup in investment activity.
Home purchases made by buyers identified as investors climbed to 17% in January, up from 15% in December and 12% in November.
“We bottomed out in 2008, and in late 2009, prices stabilized and investors have returned,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American CoreLogic. “It’s a different type of investor going after foreclosed properties and expecting to hold on for longer time frames.”
Many investors say they’re financing their purchases with cash on hand, rather than borrowing.
Evan Spinrod of San Francisco bought three rental properties in November and February and now owns 21 in four states. The rent he collects gives him an 8.5% annual return on his investment. Some of his homes are worth about $165,000. “I’m still looking,” Spinrod says. “You can’t build these houses for the prices they’re selling them. I’ve always seen that the real wealth was in real estate. People have been sitting on cash, and there’s no interest from the bank (to pay).”
Leonard Baron, a real estate professor at San Diego State University, has bought three homes with cash in the
San Diego area in the past eight months, ranging in price from $100,000 to $130,000. He rents the properties.
Baron says now is an ideal time to make such purchases. “It’s because prices have dropped so much and rents really haven’t,” he says. “The deals were unbelievable.”
Some Realtors also say they’re seeing increased investor activity.
“Flippers, rehabbers, investors … are, in fact, buying,” says Lisa Johnson, with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Haverhill, Mass. “I’m getting builders who have stopped building and are instead buying up condos and single-family homes to fix them up and sell them. It’s a neat change I haven’t seen in four years.”
All-cash purchases also reflect a growing number of investors buying higher-end properties without credit, says NAR spokesman Walter Molony. That’s a sign that some investors see real estate prices as having nowhere to
go but up. All-cash offers give buyers a competitive edge on rival offers – even higher ones – that are dependent on financing. Cash deals can close faster and are less likely to fall through.
“You have to have cash to be able to close quickly and have negotiating power. Cash is king,” says Tanya Marchiol, president of Phoenix-based Team Investments, which buys about 70 properties a month with cash it raises from investors. “We do want to flip it or generate cash flow (through renting it out). Now is the time to buy for cash flow. We know the market is going to rebound.”
Some investors say the current real estate market is an ideal time to buy because homes are so low priced, they are bound to hold their value.
That’s the philosophy of Jim McClelland of Tinley Park, 111.
He is buying about 120 to 150 entrylevel homes in the Chicago area this year and owns a total of about 300 properties.
He says now is a good time to buy because properties going into foreclosure are no longer just one-bedroom, fixer-uppers but nicer, split-level brick homes with more bedrooms that will probably appreciate to a higher value.
That’s because so many prime-rate borrowers who bought more expensive homes have gone into foreclosure.
He puts about $60,000 into upgrading a property, then rents it out.
“Do I think this year will be a better time to invest than in 2009? Yes,” McClelland says. “There have always been foreclosures. The difference now is you get a better home for the same kind of money. You’re sitting on better inventory. People get into real estate for financial independence. It’s not a quick fix. It appreciates. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
By Stephanie Armour USA TODAY
New Long & Foster Personal Website
Just finished working on our new ‘web friendly’ portal websites with Long & Foster. Awesome accessibility and I really like the larger photos – they make a huge difference with searching.
http://jayferguson.lnf.com/
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
Deep Creek Lake Real Estate Photo Gallery - Picasa
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
New Lot-Land listings - 1-13-10 - Buyer Client Update
Only one new lot/land listing in the last 24 hours. You can see the .pdf here, contact me for more info, plats, permits or details.
GA7235541 0.86 AC RT 219 $50,000 Oakland 37,462 .860 RES
(source: MRIS January 13, 2010, other brokers listings may be included. This market update posting is intended solely for buyer clients of Jay Ferguson & Long & Foster Real Estate)
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
New Home Listings - 1-13-10 - Buyer Client Update
A few new residential listings were added over the last 24 hours. For more information, feel free to check out this .pdf file or contact me directly.
GA7235955 952 HIGH ST E $189,000 Oakland Rancher 3BR 1BA
GA7235773 257 MARSH HILL RD #3 $289,900 Mc Henry DEEP CREEK VILLAGE 2BR 3BA
GA7235557 228 STILWATER DR $1,690,000 Swanton STILWATER 6BR 5BA
(source: MRIS January 13, 2010, other brokers listings may be included. This market update posting is intended solely for buyer clients of Jay Ferguson & Long & Foster Real Estate)
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
Craig Ingram, Real Estate Attorney
Located in scenic Garrett County, Maryland, the office of Craig Ingram provides legal and accounting services. Serving the Oakland, Deep Creek Lake and surrounding area, the legal practice concentration is in real estate transactions. Other services include business organization and estate planning, taxation, and administration. The accounting practice primarily serves those clients requiring assistance with federal and state income tax compliance.
322 Alder Street
Oakland, MD 21550
Telephone: (301) 334-3724
Fax: (301) 334-1028
http://www.cingram.com/
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
Recent Lot/Land Listings - Buyer Client Update
There were 9 new land/lot listings since January 1, 2010. Some larger parcels and several building lots. THere is also one commercial property that includes several different properties, projects and communities (click for .pdf and more photos/info)
GA7234728 1 TURKEY KNOB RD $44,900 Oakland 1.700ac R
GA7235151 YOUNG WOOD LN W $74,900 Grantsville 10.600ac R
GA7234225 TRAP RUN RD $99,000 Friendsville 19.780ac
GA7229995 GARNER DR $124,500 Deer Park 3.073 LR
GA7234494 681 BOY SCOUT RD $149,000 Oakland 50.020 LR
GA7229867 3 GRAND ESTATES DR $349,000 Mc Henry .573 R
GA7233401 65 WESTWARD WAY $369,000 Mc Henry .574 LR
GA7228856 14 PARKSIDE SOUTH CT $499,000 Mc Henry .520 LR
GA7232486 25297 GARRETT HWY $4,900,000 Mc Henry 36.840 C /
(source: MLS January 1, 2010 – January 12, 2010)
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
New Residential Listings - Update for Buyer Clients
There are 5 new residential listings in the Deep Creek Lake/Garrett County area that are now available for sale (click for .pdf):
GA7234937 673 NORTHLAKE VILLAGE $395,000 Mc Henry NORTHLAKE VILLAGE
GA7234193 498 GLEANINGS DR $449,000 Mc Henry THE GLEANINGS
GA7234198 475 PINNACLE DR $449,000 Swanton THE PINNACLE
GA7234716 15 MEADOW MOUTAIN RUN RD $699,900 Swanton MEADOW MOUNTAIN RUN
GA7234339 774 GLENDALE RD $799,000 Deer Park SAND STONES ON THE LAKE
(source: MLS Jan 9, 2010 – Jan 12, 2010)
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
Drafts address land-use in Garrett County
‘Clustering’ now included as an option
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News
OAKLAND — A second round of draft updates to Garrett County land ordinances makes more concessions for development and places fewer restrictions on land use, after public protests caused officials to rethink stricter regulations in a previous draft.
The long process of updating the planning and land development ordinances entered a new phase last week with the release of revised drafts for public review. The documents — drafts of the subdivision ordinance, sensitive areas ordinance and Deep Creek watershed zoning ordinance — contain a second round of changes, following the first changes and public comment period that took place in the fall.
The first versions spurred some public uproar over a provision that would affect the development of rural resource and agricultural resource land. That provision would have required at least 66 percent of subdivision land parcels in those areas to be set aside as “resource parcels,” or open land.
The provisions do not affect the entire county, but only areas specifically designated “agricultural resource” and “rural resource.” However, those two areas do span large portions of the county.
The resource parcel stipulation was intended to protect areas of forest, natural resources and farmland from development, according to its language. It would have prevented sprawling development by requiring the majority of a parcel to be set aside, and clustering development onto lots of no minimum size on one-third of the parcel.
“It’s trying to preserve a portion of the land to keep it as productive farmland or productive timberland,” said John Nelson, director of planning and land development. “That’s the real purpose of the clustering. What we’re saying is, create smaller lots but save a portion of the land. Maybe it would belong to a homeowners association, and they could lease it as a farm.”
But many farmers and other landowners spoke out against the measure, arguing that it directly or indirectly placed too many restrictions on how the land could be used.
Paul Miller, president of the Garrett County Farm Bureau board of directors, said his organization objected because they saw the clustering requirement as an infringement on private property rights, affecting the way landowners could sell their land. It could also have driven down property values by restricting potential land uses, he said.
Due to those and other public objections, the clustering requirement has been removed in the latest draft, Nelson said. Instead, the document includes clustering as an option, and contains incentives to attempt to encourage that type of development, he explained.
Miller said the latest draft of the ordinance has addressed his concerns.
“If it holds as it is, we’re satisfied,” he said.
A provision in the first draft of the updated Deep Creek watershed zoning ordinance also caused a stir because it would have put strict requirements on development on crests and ridge lines visible from the surface or shoreline of the lake. The proposed changes also would have required trees to be planted between structures and the lake to screen them from view.
“About four years ago we had held public meetings about people’s views on changes and development in the county,” Nelson said. “The development that is occurring on the ridge lines around the lake was the No. 1 response. People were worried about the development taking away from the natural scenic beauty of those ridges.”
But the strict requirements didn’t sit well with people specifically interested in those properties for the development potential and unobstructed lake views. In the latest draft, the provision has been changed to require only that trees be planted around the sides and rear of new structures to help them blend into the surrounding vegetation, Nelson explained. No trees are required for the front, or lake-facing side.
The county planning commission has been working on the ordinance updates since spring 2009, mainly because state law requires the ordinances to be adjusted to remain consistent with changes to the county comprehensive plan adopted in 2008, according to Nelson.
A public hearing on the latest versions of the ordinances will be held in coming weeks, though nothing has been scheduled yet.
Updated versions of the ordinance drafts and maps are available online on the county Web site at. www.garrettcounty.org
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350
