By: Mike Kennedy December 19th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Market Update, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Wisp Real Estate

The time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is historically a slow period for the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County real estate market. Most potential buyers are usually focused on the upcoming holidays and not purchasing a vacation home. However, the past few weeks has seen the following higher priced properties go under contract.

1038 South Blakeslee Drive - listed for $1,149,000. 5 bedroom lakefront house located in the Blakeslee subdivision on the southern end of the lake. Boat slip is located adjacent to and in front of this property.

1088 Thousand Acres Road - listed for $875,000. 3 bedroom lakefront log home with a private Type A boat dock.

86 Moorings Way - listed for $665,000. This house is a custom 3 bedroom lake access house built in 2004 with wonderful views of the southern end of the lake. Plus, the deeded boat slip is within walking distance of the house - which is located in the neighborhood known as Hickory Ridge.

123 Kendall Camp at Wisp - listed for $999,000. Four bedroom ski-in/ski-out town home built in 2006. True ski slope access at the top of the Main Street slope and easy access to chairlift 4.

Will this level of dollar volume continue into the New Year? No one knows for sure but it is a positive sign. This market has certainly experienced a drop in activity over the past few years - no one will argue that - but the important thing is that real estate values have held their ground (no pun intended) around Deep Creek Lake during this national economic slowdown. Once again our lakefront and lake access markets continue to show their strength when other areas are experiencing significant decreases in values.

Coincidentally, Railey Realty is representing the buyer on 3 of the 4 properties listed above - plus 3 of the 4 properties were Railey Realty listings. If you are thinking about selling your Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake vacation property please contact us - our marketing program and sales team has proven themselves to be the most effective in the area - usually resulting in our brokerage selling about 60% of all homes and lots in the Deep Creek Lake area year after year.

By: Mike Kennedy December 17th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Interest Rates and Loans, Obtaining a Mortgage

John Simson, a local mortgage broker in Garrett County with Sweitzer Simson of Spectra Funding, announced that mortgage rates have come down substantially as of today. Here are some current interest rates you could lock today if you were thinking about possibly buying real estate, a second home, or resort property at Deep Creek Lake or in Garrett County Maryland.

Here is the note from John;

Rates are the best I have seen in a long time possibly ever!!

They are inverse from what they follow typically, but we can do:

Up to $417,000

    15 year fixed  4.75%

    20 year fixed 4.625%

    30 year fixed 4.5%

Above $417,000

    Balloons

        30/15  6.00%

        30/10  5.75%

        30/5    5.5%

        3/1      5.125%

        5/1      6.00%

Pricing is subject to Loan to value, credit scores, & income ratios.

No one can say for sure that interest rates will stay this low or come down any more in the next few days or weeks to come but one thing is for sure - today’s rates on conforming loans (or those loans less than $417,000) are quite possibly the lowest  anyone has seen in decades.  Jumbo rates (or those loans more than $417,000) have improved over the past few weeks but with the spread it still probably makes sense to try and finance $417,000 or less when purchasing a home or piece of land.  It may be an excellent time for those who may be on the fence deciding whether or not to buy real estate right now to take advantage of these low rates. Give us a call or drop us an e-mail - there are certainly some good properties for sale in our market right now.

By: DebraSavage December 4th, 2008 Category: Garrett County News, News

The Lodges at Aqua Mountain Resort will look back on 2008 with a feeling of real estate success.  There are currently 24 cabins under reservation. “This is a certain testament to the quality of the product and the terrific work of the sales staff at Railey Realty”, said developer Jonathan Kessler.

A flurry of activity was recorded this past summer and fall at The Cabins at Aqua Mountain Resort.  Things are on target to have completion of the first group of cabins by May 2009 with rentals to begin by Memorial Day weekend.

There are currently 14 cabins under construction that will provide 21 hotel suites.  The beautifully appointed Adirondack-style cabins will offer a variety of floor plans that accommodate up to ten and offer amenities such as: jetted tubs, kitchenettes, flat screen TV’s and fireplaces.  The project also offers a central location next to the Garrett County Maryland Fairgrounds, restaurants, amusements, attractions, shopping and Deep Creek Lake marinas.

The new entrance from Route 219 was nearly completed before falling victim to the early snowfall in Garrett County.  The final resurfacing of the entrance is projected to be completed in early April.   The project now has public sewer, public water and utilities on site.  A projected hotel office and Sales Center Log Cabin will be started in spring 2009 where guest of the Lodges will check in for their stay and this cabin will also accommodate two model suites on the lower level for buyers to view the finished product.

Upon settlement of the first phase of The Cabins at Aqua Mountain Resort, developer Jonathan Kessler, will begin another phase of 15 cabins in the summer of 2009 and continue to release new phases until the proposed 60 cabins and been completed. 

The much anticipated and still proposed Aqua Mountain Resort Water Park is currently in architectural design phase with details being addressed for state of the art amenities to allow expansion phases, if necessary, so the water park can grow and accommodate any number of new water technologies available for indoor water park facilities.   

Visit the Aqua Mountain web site at www.aquamountainresort.com for more details or contact one of the Railey Realty sales staff for more information or a tour of the project. Below are some pictures of the interior of one of the completed cabins.

By: Mike Kennedy November 25th, 2008 Category: Garrett County News, News, Wisp Ski Resort

Below are some pictures taken last weekend from what is believed to be the first avalanche ever recorded at Wisp Ski Resort. While it’s certainly not on the same scale as other avalanches out west it is certainly bizarre to believe that one can happen here in western Maryland of all places. But for those of you that don’t own real estate or live here full time the weather in Garrett County can be quite different compared to other nearby areas. When it’s raining in Pittsburgh or Washington D.C. it’s usually snowing here at Deep Creek Lake. Our temperatures usually run 5-8 degrees cooler than neighboring areas. The previous week this area got about 18 inches of natural snowfall and the Wisp was continually making snow because the temperatures never climbed out of the 20’s. Don’t worry though; there really isn’t an avalanche danger at Wisp. This one was probably caused when a large pile of artificial snow broke loose when a few unauthorized backpackers/skiers were taking advantage of the winter like weather. The Wisp does officially open the season this Friday, November 28^th.

Credit for these pictures must go to a user named FlyinGuitar08 from the Teton Gravity Research Forums.

And here is a video of the Wisp avalanche that was recently uploaded to YouTube. For those of you not aware, the Face ski slope is on the left in this video and the slope on the right is Squirrel Cage.

 

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By: Mike Kennedy November 21st, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Deep Creek Lake Real Estate

The first question a prospective investor or buyer who wants to purchase a Deep Creek Lake vacation rental home is usually -”How much rental income can these types of homes generate?”

Annual Gross Income

So as a guide, Railey Mountain Lake Vacations has compiled a small chart of the annual gross rental income from their top lakefront vacation rental homes. The chart below depicts the approximate annual owner gross income from their top 3 producers based on number of bedrooms. Please note these are all lakefront homes - not homes with just lake access or no lake access at all.

Features & Amenities

As you can see from the chart above, having an indoor pool as an amenity can dramatically increase rental income. However, there are some other common features and amenities that these top performing homes all share. They include;

• Level lakefront settings
• Beautiful views
• Bathrooms equal to the number of bedrooms
• Quality furnishings and décor

Railey Mountain Lake Vacations also now offers the services of full time interior decorator for your vacation rental home free of charge if you utilize their property management services. Railey Mountain Lake manages the largest number of vacation rental homes in the Deep Creek Lake area - currently standing at 375 houses.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when considering purchasing a vacation rental home - other very important considerations include expenses and Garrett County zoning issues. I’ll try to touch on these items in future posts.

Please give us a call or drop us an e-mail - we’ve provided much guidance over the years to purchasers and buyers for these types of homes. The buying process can be a bit tricky but can certainly yield positive results in the long run if done right.

By: Mike Kennedy November 11th, 2008 Category: News, Wisp Ski Resort

Here is a picture I took this morning of the Squirrel Cage slope at Wisp Ski Resort. As you can see the Wisp fired up their snow guns last night- the low last night in Garrett County was 18 degrees! That’s pretty cold for this time of year even by western Maryland and Deep Creek Lake standards.

The Wisp usually tries to have a handful of ski slopes open by Thanksgiving weekend each year. The weather forecast for McHenry, MD looks like they may be able to make snow here and there for the next few weeks. From what I know the Wisp can make snow when the temperature dips in to the low 30’s or high 20’s.

The long term weather forecast is calling for a much colder month of December than normal. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and the Wisp can have nearly all the ski slopes open by Christmas week. Railey Mountain Lake Vacations still has some choice homes, condos, and town homes available to rent for the week between Xmas and New Years at Wisp and in the nearby Deep Creek Lake area. The winter ski season is just around the corner!

By: Mike Kennedy November 5th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County News, News

While not quite as riveting as the national Presidential election - many Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County Maryland business owners, frequent tourists, and vacation homeowners have taken an interest in yesterday’s election results where a local referendum would allow limited Sunday alcohol sales in area restaurants.

According to the most recent update on the Garrett County government’s website it is projected that the Sunday Alcohol Sales referendum will pass in 3 of Garrett County’s election districts - District 1 - Swanton, District 7 - East Oakland, and District 6 - Sang Run. According to some reports it’s too close to call right now in District 14 -which is West Oakland. Please note all results are not final.

The following are the Deep Creek Lake area restaurants/bars and taverns that will be able to have limited Sunday alcohol sales should the results of this referendum hold up;

• District 7 - Pizzeria Uno’s, Will-O-Wisp, and the Silver Tree Restaurant
• District 6 - the Wisp Ski Resort, Santa Fe, Pine Lodge Steakhouse, Smiley’s Pizzeria, Black Bear Tavern, Canoe on the Run, and Ledo’s Pizzeria
• District 1 - the Fireside Deli and quite possibly the planned restaurant at the new Thousand Acres Golf Course community.

Please note - even though this referendum will more than likely pass in these districts consumers will still not be able to buy alcohol on Sundays at convenience stores, grocery stores, and gas stations in these districts. You will still be out of luck if you go in to the Arrowhead Deli and Grocery store or the McHenry Beverage Shoppe on Sunday to buy alcohol.

It is interesting to note that if this referendum does not pass in District 14 - we will more than likely have a situation where on one side of Rt. 219 restaurants in the lake area (Uno’s and Will O Wisp) will be able to serve alcohol on Sundays and restaurants on the other side of 219 will not be allowed (Brenda’s Pizzeria).

I apologize if I missed any restaurants that may be affected by this referendum.

Garrett County Precinct Map

By: Mike Kennedy November 1st, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate

Bill Franklin, owner/developer, of the Thousand Acres at Deep Creek Lake real estate development and new golf course community provided us with another update on how the project is progressing thus far. Here is a synopsis of some of his comments he provided;

The front nine has been finished and several of the greens and fairways have been mowed several times now.  The practice range is near completion but it will probably be next spring before any good grass growth occurs there.  The cart paths have been installed with a base layer of stone and we have a golf cart on site for anyone who would like to take a tour. HOA members will have access to the HOA grounds along the lake with a swimming area, walking paths, and hand launching of small boats (canoes, kayaks, etc). The colors this fall were very nice and we had some great weather to go along with the colors.

You can always goto www.thousandacresgolf.com for further info.

Enjoy the pics and we are looking to open the front nine next summer.

Railey Realty also now has 6 new golf course building lots currently listed for sale at Thousand Acres;

• Lot 21 Crows Point Road       $198,000
• Lot 1 Thousand Acres Road   $193,000
• Lot 8 Crows Point Road         $191,000
• Lot 5 Thousand Acres Road   $190,000
• Lot 31 Crows Point Road       $158,500
• Lot 24 Poland Heights Lane   $140,000

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By: Mike Kennedy October 31st, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, News

Railey Realty and Deep Creek Lake were featured in an article that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times Great Homes and Destinations section.

The article is titled ‘View from the Blog’ - which reports about the growing popularity of blogs published by real estate agents and brokerages in second and vacation home markets such as ours at Deep Creek Lake.

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By: Mike Kennedy October 27th, 2008 Category: Garrett County News, News

The Deep Creek Lake Property Owners Association (POA) has publicly stated they are in support of allowing Sunday liquor sales in Garrett County as reported on both The Deep Creek Blog and the Deep Creek Lake Property Association’s own web site. The Deep Creek Lake POA consists of over 1,300 members who own real estate on and around Deep Creek Lake.

A referendum to authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays has been added to each districts ballot in the upcoming election - which will be held on November 4^th. For those of you that do not know the history of this issue - Garrett County, Maryland has always been a “dry” county on Sundays - meaning, except for two districts, Sunday alcohol sales are prohibited in restaurants, bars, and all retail outlets (convenience stores, grocery stores, and liquor stores).

It is quite common for visitors and tourists to give you a strange look when you tell them they can’t buy alcohol on Sundays during their visit to Garrett County. Most restaurant owners have stated this law greatly hurts their business as Sunday is one of the most important days of the week in the restaurant industry. Most could argue this law has certainly slowed down the development of new restaurants in the area over the years.

The main highlights of the referendum are;

• Sunday alcohol sales will only be permitted from 1:00 pm until 10:00 pm.
• Anyone purchasing alcohol must also purchase a meal as well.

The POA argues that they would like to see this referendum passed for the following reasons;

• It would help maintain the viability of the local restaurants.
• It would provide more employment at these establishments on Sundays.
• It reinforces the tourism industry in the county.
• And it supports Garrett County’s Economic Plan without costing the local taxpayers anything.

 If you take an interest in this issue, please vote on November 4^th.

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