Annapolis, MD

Your "mortgage is canceled, voided, nullified, set aside and is of no further force and effect" were the terse words of New York's Suffolk County Supreme Count Justice Jeffrey A. Spinner when he wipped out the mortgage that Greg Horoski and Diana Yano-Horoski had with IndyMac Mortgage Services, a division of OneWest Bank F.S.B. Read the full story here "Judge cancels LI family's mortgage, berates lender" or here "Judge Voids Mortgage Due to Bank's "Bad Faith". The judge also ordered "that the lender and its successors are 'barred, prohibited and foreclosed from attempting, in any manner, directly or indirectly, to enforce any provision of the mortgage loan'."

At first glance it looks like the Horoski's are winners! Or are they? The bank could appeal the ruling and seek to reinstate the mortgage, then force them into foreclosure again. Judge Spinner's decision makes it clear that he thought that the bank had no intention of faithfully negotiating a loan modification and preferred foreclosure over other remedies. In a world were "you pay you stay, you don't you go" with no in-between, Judge Spinner's ruling should make it clear to banks that they need to negotitate with struggling homeowners and use foreclosure only as the very, very last resort.

Big business doesn't always win over the little guy. And the Horoski's will likely be grateful for the ruling for many years to come. Does this open the floodgates for others homeowners distressed ... maybe ... maybe not. This was probably a stressful situation for the Greg and Diana Horoski with an unexpected outcome. Athough it's doubtful that other banks will learn from this lesson, maybe there's hope for distressed homeowners caught between a rock and hard place.

Home sales should increase again in November then slump in December.

An article run this morning on MSNBC titled "Home sales rise to highest level in 2.5 years" reported that "Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit."

In Anne Arundel County, home sales last month increased by 44.25% over this time last year - 502 units vs. 348 units - and up 4.1% from September. The average sold price declined by 7.97% over this time last year but increased 0.7% from September.

While 502 homes sold in Anne Arundel County is no where the record number of homes sold in any given month (June 2005 holds the record at 1,093 closed sales) it is the highest number of of homes sold we seen since August 2007.

So what can be expected for November? Buyers taking advantage of the tax credit and who purchased when they thought the deadline was still the end of November will continue to drive the high level of sold units though the end of November - so expect another record breaking month. Now that the tax credit has been extended, expect sales to slump in December - due in part to the traditional holiday decline in sales - but then we should expect a strong first quarter with both first-time home buyers and long-time home owners who've live in their homes for five years or more continuing to make purchases.

Today, in the mail, I received one of those mass mailing marketing packages that come cellophane wrapped around cards of local businesses that are advertising their goodies. I always open them as over time I have found there to be some interesting and useful goodies going on and this time was no exception.

Now you know me and restaurants. I go out once a month with friends to try some delectable treats in the area and to my delight there was a card advertising Date Night at 3 local restaurants in the Annapolis Md area. Ohh La La!!

All 3 restaurants are located in downtown Annapolis, the perfect date night location. Each location is offering a $19.95 per person 3 course dinner and 1/3 off select bottles of wine. How perfect is that.

So without further ado here are the 3 restaurants with 'Date Night' specials.

OB's Prime- Located at 111 Main Street OB's Prime offers an elegant setting with romance in mind. Come early and enjoy a glass of their award winning wines in the Wine Bar Lounge or after dinner in the Board Room. Dinner menus includes Certified Prime Beef and Seafood entrees all served in generous size portions.

Middleton Tavern- Located at 2 Market Space is one of the oldest continually operating tavern's in America. The authentic 18th century setting in the heart of Annapolis offers a wide a diverse menu from seafood to crab dishes and even an oyster bar. The bar area is a great place to meet locals and was a favorite of my brothers and his many 'on the water' friends.

O'Briens Oyster Bar & Grill- Located at 113 Main Street O'Briens was known as Fran O'Briens (named and owned by the Washington Defensive Linebacker) back in the day of my single hood. The window high top tables were and are the coveted spots to sit and watch the happenings on busy Main Street no matter the night. Today O'Briens still enjoys the ambiance of those days with nightly dancing and dining on fresh seafood and beef dishes.

Date night is being offered on Wednesday at Middletons, Thursday at O'Briens and Friday at OB's Prime

Anne Arundel County Maryland Public Schools

Are you considering a move to Maryland, but are concerned about the educational opportunities available for your children? Do not worry; the schools of the Maryland public educational system are rated among the best in the entire country.

Maryland tracks key performance indicators to determine how it compares to the nation as well as to compare the school districts within its own boundaries. Maryland continually strives to improve its performance in all of these areas.

In all categories, Maryland is at or near the top. Maryland has information regarding important factors such as:

• graduation rates;
• college acceptance rates;
• SAT and PSAT scores; and
• assessment scores for math, reading, and writing.

Also provided are demographics for the various schools and school districts.

For detailed information about the schools in Maryland you can start at the following web site:

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE

For detailed information about the schools in Anne Arundel County Maryland you can start at the following web site:

http://www.aacps.org/

To determine the specific school attendance area for a particular address in Anne Arundel County Maryland, you can use the following link:

http://www.aacps.org/mapinfo.asp