Audrey June-Forshey, GRI, Gaithersburg, MD

Hello Mutta, Hello Fatta I know

I am working with ya dautta,

Dont be scared or nervous,

I am here to be at your service.

One of my friends says that God makes babies so wonderful and cute that you love them through their teenage years. God also makes them teenagers so you are able to let them move on and move out when they are in their late teens. I always thought that was a pretty good analogy.

I know you nurtured and sheltered your child to the nth degree of your love and ability. Now they have gone off and grown up. I know, the nerve of them. They have been out in the working world for awhile and may actually have saved up some of their own money to consider starting to look for their very own home.

This will be a new milestone for them. I know you will want to be there and support them through this transaction. I am going to tell you, as a first time buyer specialist, you - Mom and Dad- need to be there for them, but you MUST let them navigate this transaction on their own with their REALTOR®. They will call you to discuss the transaction and ask for your advice. They will resent you if you try to "do" the transaction for them. I have seen this happen more times than not, but far be it for me to get in the middle of a family squabble.

The questions you, Mom and Dad, will want to ask your kids as they purchase their first home are;

• Who are you working with as your agent?
• How much experience does your agent have?
• Does the agent specialize in the area you are interested in?
• Does the agent have a good balance of Buyer Transactions vs Seller transactions.
• Of the Buyer Transactions - are first time home buyers one of the agent's specialties.
• Did the agent refer 2 or 3 lenders so rates and services can be compared.
• Does the agent represent the buyer or the seller.
• Will the agent have a Buyer Broker Agreement where the agent has a Fiduciary relationship with the buyer?
• Does the agent have a "Buyer Pre-qualification Appointment" to lay a good foundation for a smooth transaction?
• Does the agent have a grasp on basic financing information.

If you are not sure about the agent, you can do a search based on the agent's license number with the state commission. In Maryland, we work under a Fiduciary relationship. That means that the agent has to, by law, put the interest of their client above all others - even the agent's own interests. Fiduciary is the highest form of loyalty in any relationship. As a matter of fact, we agents probably have a higher loyalty to your kids than you do now that they are adults. So know they are in good hands.

Mom and Dad, don't worry. You did a great job raising your children. They know right from wrong. When I work with First time home buyers, they will typically come and see me for the initial buyer prequalification appointment. Once that has been done and we have the ground work set, they will go out with me and look at different homes and pick the ones they like the most. That will be when they call you into the transaction. They will want to show you the work and research they have done. They will also want your opinion about the homes they have narrowed down in their search.

Once you get there to see the house(s) they have picked, look for the major items of concern, but please don't beat the house up. I have had parents be so hard on the house their kids choose, I have had some cry at the house because they think you hate their house. Just help them, don't criticize them. Remember, it is THEIR home, not yours.

I find that the parents that come with the kids to every appointment from start to finish and make all of the decisions during the transactions end up with more friction between family members than friction with the agents. Remember, your kids are no dummies and they have probably done more homework and research on the internet than you did when you bought your first home. Together with their agent, they should make a smart, sound decision.

Just relax, be there for them, let them ask you - because they will want your advice- and it should be a smooth transaction for all.

Hello Mutta, Hello Fatta

The Jewel of Montgomery County, can you guess what it is? It is located in on the Border of Rockville and Bethesda. It is very easy to get to, it even has it's own Metro access. No one lives there, and everyone is welcome. You can sing, eat, learn and be amazed. Rich and poor alike flock to see the famous and maybe not so famous.

Have you already guessed? It is the Strathmore Hall Art Center and they are celebrating 25 years of Art. The Strathmore Art Center is located on the Grovsvenor Metro stop, perfect for anyone to get to!! You would think that an Art Center like this would be in the city directly but, we here in Montgomery County are so thrilled call it our own.

Originally the land was purchased by Captain James Frederick Oyster and his wife for their Summer Home in 1899. They bought 99 acres and built the mansion shortly thereafter. They Oysters sold the home to Charles Corby and his wife, Hattie who remained in the home until her death in 1941.

After Mrs Corby passed away the land was left to St Mary's Academy in which the Nuns turned the mansion into a convent and a school called St Angela Hall. The Sisters then sold the mansion to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as their headquarters. They then gave the property to Montgomery County and it was named Strathmore Hall. Strathmore Hall would be renovated and used for the arts in 1983.

The Mansion has a 100 seat hall for concerts, tea rooms and many other rooms for education and art exhibits. It has hosted weddings, and celebrations of all kinds. It is set up on the lawn and is as beautiful and she is important to cultural events.

Fast forward to 2001. After 25 years of work and under the direction of President & CEO Eliot Pfanstiehl, there was a ground breaking for the Music Hall. The music hall was designed by Architect William Rawn Architects, Inc, Kirkegaard Associates who designed all of the acoustics, theater designers Theatre Project Consultants. It is a masterpiece of architecture. It is built of German limestone, it sets up on the knoll and has exquisite views. The concert hall is the most beautiful concert hall I have ever seen, it rivals halls I have seen in New York, Hamburg, Berlin, and Washington DC. It is as wonderful to see a show as to sit in awe of it's beauty.

The Strathmore Art Center is partnered with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Washington Performing Arts Society, National Philharmonic, Levine School of Music, CityDance Ensemble, and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. These are major players in the music and art world.

The great thing about Strathmore is that there is something for everyone. In the Concert Hall you can see anyone from Neil Sedka to Tommy Tune to Bernadette Peters to Arlo Gutherie To Soweto Gospel Choir to Chanukah Feast in Concert to A Rockapella Holiday to the Musical Adventures of Flat Stanely for the kids. I mean there is something for everyone! I have seen plays, comedy tours, symphony concerts, the Beatle Show tour, which is an imitation, but a darn good one. Strathmore has not left anyone out.

Check out their website Strathmore.org for all the information. You can sign up for art classes, chorale classes, kids even have their own classes. The Mansion has art exhibits featuring different artists.

If you live in Montgomery County or in the Metro area, do yourself a favor and don't miss out on this Gem, it is truly a magical gift.

The Jewel Of Montgomery County Maryland

Friday, September 26, 2008 and GCCAR Summit was held at the North Bethesda Marriot in Rockville, near White Flint. It was a meeting of agents from all companies and our board leaders to listen to reports on the economy , take continuing education classes for our licenses and discuss the impending use of the Sentrilock Keyboxes. It is also fun to see folks you have not seen in a long time.

I was most interested in what in what Ken Fears, Manager, Regional Economics, who speaks to NAR on housing trends had to say. Listening to an economist speak is not the most exciting thing in the world, but in today's climate it does get my attention. This is what I took away from the lecture;

I was pleasantly surprised to hear what Mr Fears had to say. He talked about the obvious. Foreclosures, excessive inventory, and the negative climate we hear about everyday. One subject I was glad he touched on was the low use of FHA loans for first time homebuyers or buyers with lower credit scores during the housing boom is one of the problems we are now experiencing. This is because FHA, which is backed buy HUD, had guidelines for buyers that protected them and the bank in the event of foreclosure. There is mortgage insurance with an FHA loan. What mortgage insurance will do for the bank is insure them in case the buyer goes into foreclosure. The bank can collect their losses from this fund. This would have protected some of the banks from the troubles they are facing today.

He touched on the government backing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He thought this was a good thing for them to be in receivership, it protects them from a corporate takeover.

One of the other things that Mr Fears talked about was that we, in the Washington DC metro area have relatively low unemployment compared to other areas of the country, so this may keep our market moving better than most. They feel we are through the biggest bulk of foreclosures to come on the market.

The reduction of new construction should help stablize our market conditions. It is predicted that the housing starts - new home construction - should be around 750,000 new home to be built in 2009. That will help the supply and demand of our real estate industry. Currently we have had too much supply. This with the Household formation trend on the upswing as a trend indicator should help stablize the real estate market in the next couple of years.

I found it interesting to listen to some of his reports. Actually, in spite of all you are hearing and reading these days, it was very positive for the most part. He felt that the key ingredient to getting the market back in shape was some consumer confidence, keeping the interest rates fairly steady because the core prices are staying steady. The rates are low and the inventory is high. It is a buyer's market for sure.

As for the Bailout, it was not discussed. I am sure there are too many what ifs to have discussed it in a 30 minute lecture. As for me and my business, it is steady and it is good. I have been fortunate to build a large referral base and it has kept me steady in this market. Also, I don't get so bogged down by what the television has to say. For me, I think bad news sells better for the media and they are going to make it as bad as they can. I have chosen not to make their reality mine, you should not either.

I always know the market will go up and down, that is why it is called a market. I always think it is so interesting how balanced we become when the market is down. We make sound, cautious decisions and watch our money. I wonder how far ahead of the game we all would be if we could take that good caution and use it during the upswing of a market?

Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® Summit and Economic Report

Remember Lucy and her wine making fun? Well, here is your chance to experience the same thing. The Sugarloaf Mountain Vinyard is hosting the GRAPE STOMP '08 Saturday and Sunday, October 18th and 19th. The fun will start at Noon until 5:00pm.

What a fine time to come out to the winery for the Fall Harvest. There will be food, music and vineyard tours!! How fun would that be? You don't even have to go out to California!! The winery has a new tasting room and patio.

There will be wine tastings, music, fun for all. There will be a grape stomping contest, told ya you would get to try it. How fun does that sound?

If you are over 21 admission is $10.00, if you are under 21 admission is free. Sugarloaf Mountain Winery is located off of I-270, click here for directions.

Sugarloaf Mountain Winery 301-605-0130, hope to see you there!!

Lucy's Wine Making Fun

It is getting to be that time of year again. Spider webs, cauldrons and spooky characters. Some like to go to Haunted houses, haunted forests, but my idea of fun is the Candlelight Ghost Tours in Frederick Maryland.

Did you know that Frederick is over 250 years old? Many of the major Civil War battles were fought around Frederick County. The Battle of Antietam, South Mountain and the Monocacy Battle. Frederick was the largest city during these battles and many of the wounded soldiers came to Frederick for medical help.

Downtown Frederick has been restored and updated over the years. Just think of the small quaint alley ways, wonder what is lurking there down the way? You can go antiquing down Patrick and Market streets. There are many restaurants for your dining pleasure. You can even live in a downtown loft.

All of this history and energy should conjure up some fun for Ghost walking in Frederick. You can arrange for a tour through Candlelight Ghost Tours of Frederick at 301-668-8922 or www.marylandghosttours.com

Happy Hunting to you. . . . Woooo. . . Wooooo. . . . .

Ghost Hunting on the Streets of Frederick Maryland