About Nottingham's Perry Hall

In My Room

Do we exist as individuals or do we exist as individuals which are part of a larger entity which is our society?

Perhaps in answering the question we do not have to choose one or the other of these choices, but rather we might say that we actually exist as both.

As examples of how we are both, we only need to look as far as the sports which we play. For instance, with sports such as baseball, football, or basketball certainly there are individual efforts and individual accomplisments, but the ultimate goal of winning is not achieved unless all of the individuals work together as a team.

A quarterback throws a pass, but he throws it to a receiver and he only is allowed to throw it if his blockers give him enough time. So the individual efforts are important for each other individual to be successful and hence for the team to be successful.

In our homes, the design is such that it takes into consideration the importance of the family as a whole, which is seen in rooms like the kitchen, the dining room, and the family room where the members of the family get together and live and interact as one family.

But it is in the bedroom where each member is allowed to go and be as one. The Beach Boys put it perfectly in their song "In My Room":

There's a world where I can go and tell my secrets to / In this world I lock out all my worries and my fears / Do my dreaming and my scheming lie awake and pray / Do my crying and my sighing laugh at yesterday

Our homes are designed to let us rejuvenate as individuals and also let us grow with the interaction of our family.

Like sports, our homes are a microcosm of the society in which we live.

The benefits of a home are evident when a society is prosperously growing and moving into the future.

All families should have a home.

How Did We Miss This?

You went to look at a few houses with the possibility of making an offer to purchase one of them.

One of the houses seemed to meet your needs, so you thought that it would be worthwhile to bring the rest of the family to see it.

When we pulled up to the house with the other members of the family, you were embarrassed. You were thinking that this house looks terrible. How did we miss all of these problems?

But remember how you were in a hurry to get inside. If the inside did not meet your needs, then you did not want to waste time looking at the outside. This house seemed to meet your needs and desires, but then you were anxious to get to the next house so you did not take the time to look at the outside. So, into the car and away we went.

Now excited to show the rest of the gang what you had found, you started to notice the roof which looked like it was ready to blow off, the deteriorating walls, the outdated windows, the overgrown landscaping, the potholed driveway. "Are you sure this is the same house?"

It may sound obvious, but you are buying both the inside and the outside of the house.

By looking at the outside first, you may find that there is no need to go inside of the house.

By looking at the outside first, you may gain glues as to how to look at the inside with a more discerning eye for things such as structural problems, cracks, water problems and so on.

With this thought in mind, you should only schedule enough houses to see at any given time such that you have sufficient time to look at the entire house, inside and outside. You may, also, find that it is best to schedule the appointments during daylight hours. Not only can this allow for you to see the outside, but it will give you a better picture of the inside.

Lock The Lock Box Please

I know that you are in a hurry. You have ten listings to see with one client and then you will look at another set of homes with another client and then you expect to write up two offers before later going to three settlements and then finally you will be able to start working.

So with all of this activity, I can understand how you may not have time to lock the door or put the key back into the lock box or if you do put it back how you do not have time to close the lock box.

Do it anyway! Take the time to do something right!

They Were Shocked By Their Tax Assessed Values

Every three years, in Maryland, properties are assessed to determine their value for tax purposes.

Supposedly, the assessed values are in accordance with actual market values.

When real estate prices went up a few years ago during the boon in the market at percentages reaching 20 percent per year, the tax assessed values went up accordingly.

Fortunately, the property tax for existing homeowners did not go up by the same amount, even though their property's assessed values had gone up. This was due to the Homestead Act, which limited the annual increase in their taxes to 4 percent per year. Unfortunate for home buyers, they would be hit with the full amount of taxes for the assessed value.

In recent years, tax assessed values came down in accordance with the rapid decline of values in the actual market.

One would think that a homeowner would be happy about a lower assessed value in that it would mean potentially lower property taxes. The word potential is used because due to the Homestead Act, they may not actually see a decrease in their taxes, in spite of the lower assessed values.

However, two individuals had just received their new tax assessments and they were disturbed by how much their properties had decreased in assessed value. Their decreases were about 78 percent.

Had they not been following the news? Did they think that none of what was happening in the real estate market had anything to do with them? Did they think that they were immune from the effects of the macroeconomy?

Game PlanMaryland

Under Governor Martin O'Malley, the State of Maryland has been aggressively planning and implementing a comprehensive smart growth policy.

With the PlanMaryland initiative, more of the future growth would occur within existing areas of infrastructure. Efforts would be made to decrease commute times, increase the use of public transportation, and increase the possibilities for walking and biking.

The plan would try to save agricultural land and open spaces, reduce the levels of pollution on the water, land, and air, and keep the costs of growth low.

While the plan would increase the density of existing areas, it would not completely prevent growth in outlying regions.

On the PlanMaryland website, there is an interactive game which shows the impact of different planning options.

Most telling in the game is the map of Maryland, which indicates in bright red the result of different choices for the development of growth and the meeting of transportation needs.

For development, the question is asked where we should focus new development. Should growth be everywhere or should it be more compact?

For transportation, the question is asked how we should meet the growing need for transportation. Should more roads be built or should their be a balanced approach which would include alternatives like transit, walking, bicycling and carpooling?

The map shows a Maryland which is almost completely red when the options are chosen of growing everywhere and primarily using roads for the transportation needs.

Obviously, when the choices are for compact growth and various modes of transportation, the red area on the map is minimized, meaning that much land has been preserved.

Game PlanMaryland