About Anne Arundel County, MD

It's a November tradition for the Crofton Village Garden Club to make patriotic-themed floral arrangements for wounded soldiers and other patients. Each member makes two or three of them so we'll be sure to have enough for all 120 patients at the VA Rehab and Extended Care Facility in Baltimore, Maryland.

This is a very easy and inexpensive activity that your garden club, scout troop, office or other organization could easily duplicate, following the steps in this brief video. With 40 participants, it can be accomplished in an hour or less.

Please join us in thanking our wounded veterans in November and throughout the year.

There's been a pileup in the court room with foreclosures cases glutting local courtrooms in Anne Arundel County, Maryland according to an article published in The Capital. Staff Writer Elisha Sauers states in a November 1, 2009 article, there aren't enough lawyers to go around for all the struggling homeowners - legal aid lawyers, that is, willing to help struggling homeowners at reduced rates or even pro bono.

The article suggests that manditory mediation between lender and borrower might be the solution. And states that Gov. Martin O'Malley introduced legislation last week in Maryland to require mortgage companies to participate in re-negotiations of loan terms before resorting to litigation. This seems like a good idea, move the process out of the courts and into the mediation conference room (do we have enough mediators?).

In reality, in Maryland, especially in Anne Arundel County, we've been relatively immune from foreclosures. With only about 2,300 year-to-date foreclosures - according to the story - we experienced nothing like areas in other parts of the country. Although the foreclosure numbers for our local area might be up and more lawyers might be needed, there's a strong economic base thanks to the Federal government and its contractors keeping area homeowners employed and in their homes!!!

It does seem to make sense for foreclosure mitigation to occur through mediation. But, the process, whether madated by law or voluntarily adopted by mortgage companies, will take time to become established. And by the time a process is worked out, the crisis may have already passed and too many homeowners who deserved to keep their homes may have already lost them.

The bottom line is "you pay you stay, you don't you go" as one of the settlement officers I've worked with liked to say about the foreclosure process detailed within the hundreds of pages buyers sign when they purchase a home. Whether its foreclosure or mediation before foreclosure for the homeowner who is in arrears, its really capitalism at work. Homeowners in trouble with their mortgages need to wake up to their financial situation and make changes and make them fast (for financial stratgies that work see Robert Pagliarini's e-book Plan Z). But in an era where we bail out big banks, forcing them to the mediation table instead of allowing litigation resulting in foreclosure could well be each and every trouble homeowners personal bail out plan.

Why does it seem to be more difficult to work with the big banks on 3rd party properties? Word around our town was that if the property involved Bank of America, prepare yourself for an extensive ordeal.

As luck would have it, my clients fell in love with a BOA 3rd party property. A brief description of my client: they have been renting for years because they were financially helping family members. They both have excellent jobs with financially stable, name recognizable institutions, AND they have 700 scores WITH a healthy amount of money in the bank, plus they are going conventional with more than 20% down. No, they don't qualify for the tax credit - they make too much money. We presented a VERY good offer on the property, a seriously good offer. The Seller's Agent worked diligently on this deal. Seller's Agent kept getting positive feed back from the bank, my clients collected boxes and started preparing to pack.

You guessed it! After more than a month of this bs, word was finally handed down that their offer was NOT accepted. The bank was going to let the property go into foreclosure. Gee, how many months is this going to take? After many tears, my clients have decided to move on to other properties. We have an offer pending on a different home that is REO by a smaller bank in VA, again - a really decent offer. Keeping our fingers crossed on this one!

I am not at all surprised the banks are failing, are you?

Why is it that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources went to great lengths to drain the pond on private property west of Route 3 in Crofton a few years ago when a Northern Snakehead fish was discovered there? (National Geographic News)

The answer depends somewhat on who you ask, but one common denominator in any conversation about this is the pond's proximity to the Little Patuxent River, just 75 feet from the pond. Officials and biologists were worried that this "air-breathing, land-crawling, voracious predator" would invade the state's river system and even reach the Chesapeake Bay, causing irreparable harm.

However, Maryland Department of the Environment apparently isn't concerned about the impact of development on this site, so close to the Little Patuxent River. In fact, they have issued a permit for a big box store there. I guess they don't anticipate that development of this wetland will impact the environment as negatively as that 24-inch long fish; that pollution and runoff to the Little Patuxent River, affecting the state river system and even the Chesapeake Bay, will not be a problem. Go figure!

I wonder, then, why this property was included in the Patuxent Greenway System established to protect “important” lands" If its location within the bounds of a designated State Scenic River in the critical area doesn't protect this property, can any land in Maryland be protected from a future covered in concrete?

These beautiful wildflowers were photographed at the site where the pond is located and the permit has been issued:

For more about this, please read Will This Maryland Wetland Soon Become Concrete? - Part I.

Crofton residents have successfully opposed the owner of this property and his various development schemes in the area for over 20 years. Unfortunately, this time he has succeeded in getting this critical permit from the government agency charged with responsibility for protecting our environment.

The Greater Crofton Council is an excellent resource for updates about this and other matters of local concern, so be sure to bookmark their website and check it often.

Look for Part III of this series next week on the Maryland Real Estate Blog.

PHOTO: Kathryn Para

Announcing October 09 Home Sales For Annapolis MD

Divided into 3 zip codes. 21401 (downtown and close in areas), 21403 (Eastport and out to Bay Ridge) and 21409 (St. Margarets and up Rt.50 to the Bay Bridge.) this update includes SOLDS, UNDER CONTRACT AND AVAILABLE homes as of November 2, 2009.

Home prices vary in all three areas with many listed way below and way above the average sales price noted for each area. All 3 areas showed a slight drop in number of Solds compared to September.

Absorption rates are calculated using the number of active homes for sale divided by the number of homes under contract.

The Information contained below is deemed to be reliable and every effort has been made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible. All statistics were gathered from the Metropolitan Regional Information Services (MRIS)

Annapolis MD 21401 Market Update

40 Homes SOLD in October 2009. Average sold price was $493,750

31 homes are UNDER CONTRACT as of November 2, 2009

149 homes are actively ON THE MARKET

The absorption rate for 21401 = 4.8 months

Annapolis MD 21403 Market Update

28 homes SOLD in October 2009. Average sold price was $361,154

56 homes are UNDER CONTRACT as of November 2, 2009

297 Homes are actively ON THE MARKET

The absorption rate for 21403 = 8.25 months

Annapolis MD 21409 Market Update

15 homes SOLD in October 2009. Average sold price was $473,783

31 homes are UNDER CONTRACT as of November 2, 2009

149 homes are actively ON THE MARKET

The absorption rate for 21409 = 4.8 months

About the Author- Martha Brown is a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) whose passion is homes in the Annapolis MD area and surrounding communities. Her goal is to help her clients understand the real estate market and to then be able to make sound real estate decisions. Martha is a 3rd generation Annapolitan who writes about her experiences in and out of the real estate market. Her passion has carried over to her granddaughter, Nichole, who is her partner in business. Between the two of them they offer a wide and full range of real estate services that cover 4 counties bordering Annapolis MD. Martha has been in the real estate business for 17 years of which all have been associated with Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., the largest independently owned real estate company in the Mid Atlantic.

Martha can be reached at 800-735-5122 X5011 or Martha@TheRealEstate-Lady.com

To search for homes for sale in the Annapolis Md area or to see Martha's listings visit:

www.TheRealEstate-Lady.com

Martha Brown of Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. disclaims any implied warranty or representation about the information contained within as to completeness or appropriateness for any particular purpose. This includes but is not limited to any information provided by third parties such as the MRIS.