Audrey June-Forshey, GRI, Gaithersburg, MD

Every year my office, RE/MAX Realty Group in Gaithersburg, Maryland supports our community in some way. In past years we have helped the Salvation Army Angel Tree Kids to help make the holidays better for others. I was always amazed at the support and generosity that the agents in my office showed for those in need.

This year we did a Food Drive for the Maryland Food Bank. Kara Hurley, who is part of our office staff. Kara organizes all of our community drives, social and educational activities. Kara is a driving force to our success with the food drive. Besides that, she is the cutest thing you could ever know. Each agent was asked to send out postcards to folks in our SOI and other networks we were involved with in order to meet our goal of 500 lbs of food for the Maryland Food Bank. I, of course, wrote a post about the food drive with all of the pertinent information if anyone wanted to drop food off to the office.

Food came in bit by bit. People in the office, the office building and clients did indeed bring food to the office to help the cause. However, I was amazed when I got a call on the phone and a young lady called me to say that their company also wanted to help the Maryland Food Bank and could they put their food with ours because she read that we were having a food drive on my blog!! We were thrilled to have them put their collection with ours.

Just today I had a phone call from a woman who had food to drop off to the office and wanted to make sure we were still collecting food, she had also read it on my blog. I told her yes and that we would be thrilled for her to drop the food off at the office. I was so excited that the blog helped our cause in a round about way. My broker thought it was great. It lets the public know us on many different levels, not just as agents, but as a part of the community.

I asked both of these women how did they know about our food drive and they both told me they read it on my blog here on Active Rain!!

How close did we get to our 500lbs goal? Well, the last time we weighed we counted 1772 lbs and more food has come into the office. Our office is happy that even in times like these, people know that there are people who need our help and we were able to be there for them. Thanks to everyone who helped the Maryland Food Bank this holiday Season and to Active Rain for giving us this platform to reach the public.

January 20, 2009 is the big money day for the Metro Washington DC area because of the demand for hotel rooms for the inauguration. I heard it on WTOP Radio today. This is amazing to me, I understand but it still amazes me.

First of all every hotel room within about a hundred mile radius is booked solid for the historic inauguration and so they should be. The city is expecting 5 million people to be in the city for the inauguration. 5 MILLION people in DC. That is going to be a traffic nightmare. The Metro, our subway system, is going to start running trains at 4:00 that morning to start moving people through the city.

People have rented camping spaces all over the local area. Can you imagine DC in January and camping? I swear I am such a sissy.

Today, on WTOP radio, people were talking about renting out their basements, extra bedrooms, dividing up their houses to have make shift rooms for people to rent because they cannot find any where else to stay. Cheap, they are not. A woman in Chantilly Virginia said she was going to rent her extra bedrooms out for $300 a night and a gentleman on the radio said he would rent his rooms on Capital Hill out for $750 a night. His fee included breakfast and a tour of the city though. I thought that sounded like a bargain for sure though, do you know how much a cab is in the city? Not really, they are not so bad.

How do you screen these folks? What a strange thing to have strangers running through your home? Maybe if December is slow I might be singing a different tune? ;0)

Supply and demand? I guess some folks could make enough to pay off the holiday bills? For me, I will be happy to watch everything right smack on the big TV in our family room where I wont have to fight the traffic, and be toasty and warm while doing it. Maybe it will be the biggest real estate day of the year???

I am so excited, the Sugarloaf Craft Fair is this weekend!! It is one of my favorite pre holiday activities. There is so many great things to see there at the fair!!

If you have never been to the Sugarloaf Craft Fair this is your weekend to go. There are artists and crafts people from all over the country here in Gaithersburg at the Fairgrounds to sell.

I love getting the hot cider and shopping for treasures to start off the Holiday season. They make perfect holiday gifts for family and friends, maybe a gift or two for yourself.

The show will be this weekend November 21, 22, and 23.

This January 1, 2009 a home energy audit will be required to be conducted in conjunction with a home inspection when selling a home in Montgomery county Maryland. Bill 31-07 was passed in April 2008 by the Montgomery County Council.

The Bill states;

"If a home inspection is completed in Connection with the sale of a single family home, the home inspection must include a home energy audit conducted by a qualified home energy performance rater".

A home energy audit means that someone certified in the home energy field will test the home with the appropriate equipment to test the home's efficiency and determine the steps, if any, that need to be taken to improve the home's energy rating.

I have searched through the State of Maryland's website and Montgomery County Website for more information. I found where they estimate that a home energy audit would run from about $350 to $700. This will include Town homes, I am not clear if condos will be included in this legislation or not.

It is also not clear to me if the purchaser is going to pay for this like a home inspection or if the seller is going to be responsible for the inspection prior to contract? The other issue that is unclear to me is if the seller will have to re-mediate the items the home energy rater finds deficient with the home?

In addition the seller will be required to provide the purchaser with the home's energy bills for the 12 previous months - prior to signing the contract of sale - and any energy improvements that the seller has done to the property. If the seller did not occupy the property for the 12 months prior to the contract of sale, Pepco will give the average electric bill for the previous 12 months.

We are awaiting new forms and updates on how this legislation will be enforced at the beginning of the year. I will keep everyone abreast as I receive the information.

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These days we all want instant everything. From our Internet connections, to our cell phones connecting right away and answers to our questions should have been five minutes ago. We are in tune and on the move.

But what about an emergency? Bad weather? Storms coming, you know we have had a few tornadoes in this area in the last few years. They are so rare, but if one was coming wouldn't you want to know? How about a tree down blocking a road after a storm. What about a water main break that stops traffic. These are inconveniences, but wouldn't you like to know before hand? Sure you would.

Remember how scary 9/11 was here in Maryland? Being right next to the Nation's Capital, what a scary and traumatic day it was for all of us. Now we were not set up back on 9/11, but rest assured our national and even local governments have come up with a way of getting emergency information to the public instantly.

Montgomery County has installed a system called Alert Montgomery County. You can go to the link and sign up and if there is an emergency you will notified immediately through;

• PDA
• Cell Phone
• Blackberry
• Computer
• Online devices
• XM Radio Station 214

If you live in Gaithersburg, Takoma Park or Rockville these cities have their own Alert system. You may follow the links directly and sign up for emergency information.

You will receive text messages to your device as soon as the message is sent. The system is FREE, but you will need to check your wireless or online service provider to see if text messaging charges may apply to you.

Pray we never need to use the system, but thankfully our officials have come up with a way to reach as many people as possible at one time. Please let your friends know about this service.

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