Deep Creek Real Estate Blog

Its quickly approaching winter and time to think about FIREWOOD!

A friend and I have split about 500 cords of firewood this year and are ready to start selling it. The price is $169.00 per cord delivered.

• $169.00 Per cord Delivered
• All Seasoned Wood
• All Long Burning Hardwood
• All Cut at 16 Inches
• Quick Delivery
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Email JBell@Railey.com to place your order!

John Simson of MLend called me yesterday to let me know that 10% down financing on second home purchases at Deep Creek Lake, MD is once again available. Most buyers that I have talked to this year didn’t understand that it was not the banks that stopped this type of financing… it was the mortgage insurance companies.

Almost all lenders (if not all lenders) require mortgage insurance on the properties that they finance. Mortgage insurance (MI) aka Lender Mortgage Insurance (LMI) aka Private/Primary mortgage insurance (PMI) is set up to insure the lender or bank against stop payment loss and is used to help offset the lending institution’s loss if the mortgage is not repaid. Banks often will not approve a prospective home purchaser’s loan without this type of protection coverage. The loan is viewed as too risky.

As you can imagine, the mortgage insurance companies that didn’t go out of business due to the recent real estate crisis tightened their belt on mortgage insurance coverage policies and would not issue MI to banks/borrowers attempting to acquire 10% down second home loans.

The optimistic outlook of this new financing change is that the real estate market is improving. Mortgage insurance companies are not considering the Deep Creek Lake area second home market to be a risky (declining) market. According to John Simson of MLend, this particular lender and mortgage insurance company “reference their opinion that the market is stabilizing, and now only designate Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, & Nevada as declining markets. They removed 63 markets from their declining market list.” John states that, “it is nice to see guidelines moving in a positive direction.”

The loan criteria is as follows:
The loan can not exceed $417,000.
Borrower must have a minimum credit score of 720.
The property must be a single family dwelling.
Interest rates as low as 5.25% with 0 points

For more information contact John Simson of MLend
328 Spring Glade Road, Unit 1 Oakland, MD 21550
email: JSimson@MLend.com
Office:866-501-LOCK(5625) x 401

My friend, Adam Cowgill, recently started Capstone Inspections at Deep Creek Lake. My friends and clients, Tim and Elaine Schall, who are purchasing a lake front home (September of 2009) on Skippers Point Road hired Adam and Capstone to inspect the property prior to closing. The Schall’s were very pleased with Adam’s work and emailed the reference letter below.

Dear Adam,

We just wanted to thank you for an exceptional job reviewing the Skippers Point home yesterday! You arrived early and spent more than four hours with us, reviewing every inch of the property. Tim & I appreciated your insight and you clearly were very knowledgeable about the condition of the home. The pictures will be extremely helpful when negotiating repairs. The detail provided during discussion, and in the report, is outstanding.

We have no doubt that any possible issues with the property have been identified. We will use your diligent work as we attempt to bring this to closure with the owner; as well as for future maintenance records (hopefully!).

Last, but not least, your professionalism and honesty is exemplary. Should you ever need a reference, please let us know!

Sincerely,
Tim & Elaine Schall

I refer my clients to Adam and highly recommend Capstone Inspections for all Garrett County home inspections. Email Adam at capstoneinspectionsllc@yahoo.com for more information.

The third annual SavageMan Triathlon Festival will take place at Deep Creek Lake during the weekend of September 19th - 20th, 2009.

The event begins at Deep Creek Lake State Park on Sunday, September 20th. Swimming spectators should plan to be at the state park by 8:00am.

View the official SavageMan website at the following link http://www.savagemantri.org/ for more information on the swimming, biking and running events.

Railey Realty is an official sponsor of this year's SavageMan event and all of my readers and friends are invited to the Miller Hill aid station which is an AWESOME spectating (and cheering) spot. The Miller Hill aid station sits on top of Miller Hill which is the last major biking leg of the race. This is one of the best places to watch the athletes at their finest. Please read the invitation below.

You Are Invited!

WHO: Jon Bell and Railey Realty invite YOU!
WHAT: Come cheer on the SavageMan cyclists as they take on Miller's Hill. Help me cheer on the riders including my friends and fellow Railey Realty real estate agents Jimmy Railey, Russell Bounds and C. Kellyann Green.
WHEN: 10:00am - 12:30pm Sunday, September 20, 2009.
WHERE: "Killer Miller" Aid Station at Miller's Hill (Directions Below)
WHY: Music, Photo-Ops, Free Water & Good Times!

Driving Directions from Deep Creek Lake State Park:
1) Start out going SOUTH on STATE PARK RD toward BRANT RD. (approx 0.2 miles)
2) Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto TOOTH PICK RD. (approx 0.1 miles)
3) Turn LEFT to Stay on TOOTH PICK RD. (approx 0.2 miles)
4) Turn LEFT onto GLENDALE RD. (travel approx 3.4 miles)
5) Turn LEFT onto BITTINGER RD/MD-495. (travel approx 1.7 miles)
6) Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto NEW GERMANY RD. (travel approx 6.9 miles)
7) Turn LEFT onto OTTO LN. (travel approx 1.3 miles)
8) Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto MAYNARDIER RIDGE RD. (travel approx 0.6 miles)
9) Turn RIGHT onto MILLER RD. (travel approx 0.3 miles)
10) 263 MILLER RD is on the LEFT. Look for the aid station at the Railey Realty banner sign.
TOTAL ESTIMATED DRIVE TIME: 25 MINUTES
DISTANCE: APPROX 14 MILES
Click here to view the Google Map of the location.
I hope to see you there!

Update: It turned out to be a great day! Below are some pictures from the 2009 SavageMan Triathlon. Click on the image to enlarge.

Email: JBell@Railey.com

Tired of renting a boat slip every summer?

Want to add a boat slip to your lake area home?

The Department of Natural Recourses has approved Towering Oaks Marina to offer boat slip sales at Deep Creek Lake, MD.

Towering Oaks Marina will be licensing 12 dock slips to the general public. The license grants the owner the right to use the dock slip on a year to year basis and allows the owner to renew that right or to transfer (sell) the ownership.

The marina is located on the Northern end of the lake along Deep Creek Drive. This convenient location is close to all lake activities, offers a private parking area, a beautifully landscaped park like setting, and a beach area including shaded picnic tables. This is a beautiful part of Deep Creek Lake!

Call Jon Bell: Direct (301) 501-0735 Office: (301) 387-2000 or email JBell@railey.com for more information.

We have a dry erase board in the hallway of the Railey Realty office where we keep track of current pending sales. Needless to say, sales have been slower this year and the board has had quite a few blank lines. But recently things have changed. When I was walking by the board this morning, I noticed that it was filling up. It is now well over half full. What’s going on?

While looking at the board I noticed:
Railey Realty currently has 30 of their listings under contract (sale pending) and 9 contracts on properties from other local real estate offices.

That’s not bad…

Even more interesting:
I keep an excel spread sheet to monitor my personal sales for the year. So far in 2009, I have sold (closed) 15 properties… but… I currently have 19 contracts. I have done more business in the past 45 days then I did in the first 5 months of the year.

So, why are people starting to buy again?

There are a number of reasons:
1) We have a huge inventory of great properties for sale. There are so many options for buyers to choose from right now. Search Deep Creek Lake Real Estate For Sale on my website at the following link: http://www.dclrealestate.com/

2) Prices have come down. Follow pricing and new listing updates on my Twitter page at the following link: http://twitter.com/DCL_Realtor

3) Interest rates are still low. Jerry Merrick from the local BB&T sent me an email this morning stating that he has 30 year fixed second home loans as low as 5.25% with no points.

4) Closing costs are lower. Banks are reducing lender fees and loan application fees.

5) Appreciation. Who knows when, but if we are at the bottom now, you will start to see home sales prices go up again sometime.

6) This is the most important - The Deep Creek Lake area is a truly amazing place! If you can afford it, why wouldn’t you want to own a second home here?

I have been selling real estate in the Deep Creek Lake area for years and know the properties that we have for sale very well. Please do not hesitate to call me on my direct line (301) 501-0735 or email jbell@railey.com if you have any questions about a property, if you would like additional pictures of a property that we have for sale, or if you would like to schedule a time to meet and take a first hand look at any property that sparks your interest.