Ron Trzcinski

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

Washington 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 Washington County Maryland you can start at the following web site:

http://www.wcps.k12.md.us/

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

http://www.wcps.k12.md.us/our_schools/boundary_maps/documents/road_list_07_29_08.pdf

Frederick 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 Frederick County Maryland you can start at the following web site:

http://fcps.schoolwires.com/fcps/site/default.asp

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

http://fcps.schoolwires.com/152910103114101710/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=54061&152910103114101710Nav=|&NodeID=386

Buyer Agency Protocol

Recently, I heard a question asked from a Buyer about Buyer Agency Protocol. The particular Buyer had been working with a Real Estate Agent for about a month, but without a Buyer Agency Agreement. Eventually, the Buyer found a house on his own and worked directly with the Seller to write the contract. The Agent was not involved.

Afterwards, the Buyer posed the question: "What is Realtor protocol in this type of situation, because I want to be fair?"

In that month, prior to the Buyer going out on his own, the Agent had done copious amounts of work for him. Naturally, the Buyer did not want to take advantage of this Agent.

So, Mister Buyer are you willing to pay that Agent 3% of the purchase price for that deal that you made without him. Not likely. In actuality, it is more likely that you are thinking of paying him a couple hundred dollars, if that.

Let me see if I can determine how this works.

• I have a mortgage. I will call them and ask what is protocol. Can I stop paying my mortgage? Oh, that's right; that has already been answered. Look at all of the Foreclosures and Short Sales.
• I have a credit card that I have been using. I will call and ask if I need to pay the balance. Oh, I can declare bankruptcy and not pay any of it.
• If I go to the emergency room, do I need to pay for the medical service?
• . . . .
• Can I use a Real Estate Agent for nothing?!!

Some Agents are okay with this scenario. "Oh gosh; don't worry about it; just send me referrals."

"Darn right I will send you referrals; you are the cheapest guy in town."

But now I ask, should his question have been reworded. Perhaps to something like "What is Buyer protocol . . . ?"

Should a Buyer pay for the services that he receives, for any service or product, or should he expect that everything should be free? "Let's spread the wealth around", the wealth which will not exist if everyone thinks that they are entitled to everything regardless of what it costs.

That's it for now.

The Vacant Lot

It was a listing of mine, this vacant lot of about 1.5 acres. The area was developing and it was becoming feasible to build on the lot, which was previously in a rural area without sewer systems. The lot did not pass a perc test, but with new development in the area, public water and sewerage systems were becoming available.

The adjacent lots to the right and to the left, which were of a similar size, already had houses, but up to this point these property owners also had the benefit of an open lot being next to them. These were the first people that I approached about purchasing the property. They both declined the offer, afterall, they already had the benefit of the lot without having to purchase it.

So I opened up the marketing to the broad MLS market and beyond.

There was plenty of interest, but also plenty of discouragement from the adjacent neighbors.

Here is some of what happened.

• The back portion of the lot was a bit overgrown with sticker bushes, but was passable. Nonetheless, I came prepared with gloves so that I could push the stickers aside as we made our way to the back of the lot. I got there before my clients and fortunately so. I was out of my car for about a minute when the neighbors unleashed their pit bull, which decided to charge right for me. I could do nothing but hold my ground. You have heard how dogs can sense fear; well, I gave a stance of bravado. Remember, I had my gloves on. Keep coming pooch, you're going down. Apparently they can sense more than fear as he wussed out about half way to me and headed back to his house. Whew! That was a close one.
• On another visit, the other neighbor decided to get into the act. This neighbor's lawn was neatly trimmed, but for some reason, he thought that he should crank up the tractor. It seemed that he thought that the area that formed a circle around my car was what needed some extra trimming. This required a different tact than the pit bull. I got out of the car and got his attention. He stopped and we had a cordial conversation. This calmed him down. It seems that his heart was not really into this bullying stuff.
• The next showing came and neighbor number one was at it again. The pit bull didn't do the job, so weapon number two was unleashed. Little Naked Billy came out of the house and started dancing all around the lot. That's right, a 4 year old boy with no clothes. This was more comical than intimidating. Eventually Little Naked Billy went back into the house. Perhaps he stepped on a sticker or two.
• The next showing came and the neighbors were not out of weapons. Out came Spittin' Marge, an eleven year old or so girl, who started spitting in my direction. Actually, I could not believe it. When I left the showing, I circled back just to see if she was a chronic spitter or whether she was really targetting me. There she was at the end of the driveway spitting in my direction once again. Although disgusting, it, too, was rather amusing.

Eventually, the lot sold and the new owners put up a new house. I have not heard any horror stories, so I guess they must have been accepted.