By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 23rd, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake, Garrett County News, News

Be on the lookout for some new businesses and restaurants to pop up around the Deep Creek Lake area this upcoming summer season.

• A Ledo Pizza is going in the McHenry Plaza on the northern end of Deep Creek near the Wisp Resort. Ledo’s is one of the larger, more popular pizza chains in the Washington D.C. area. They are projecting an opening date sometime in June 2008.
• The cabins behind the proposed Aqua Mountain Resort indoor water park are now being constructed. The site for this proposed indoor water park and rental cabins will be along Rt. 219 in McHenry right beside the Garrett County Fairgrounds.
• Sorellees Pizza Pub and Ice Cream Parlor is now open for business. Sorellees is located south of Deep Creek Lake on Rt. 219 right across from Little Sandy’s Restaurant near Sand Flat Road. Very good, fresh tasting pizza. They also sell groceries and ice cream.
• A new boat cover, upholstery, and canvas repair shop is opening south of the lake as well. This new business is going to be called Deep Creek Canvas and will be located on Spring Glade Road near Oakland, Maryland. Call (301) 387-5931 if you are in the market for a new boat cover. Deep Creek Canvas can also make custom covers for golf carts, ATVs, and snowmobiles. It is also the only upholstery repair shop in Garrett County.
• Cedarworks of Deep Creek Lake is moving offices to our old sales office near the Rt. 219 Bridge. They sell complete Lindal cedar home packages.

Unlike other real estate markets - people looking to buy or rent a vacation house at Deep Creek Lake usually take into consideration the quality and diversity of the restaurants in the area. Restaurants are important features in a resort market like ours. Any new restaurants and attractions, such as the proposed indoor water park, will certainly help continue to bring more and more visitors to the Deep Creek Maryland area.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 17th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Buyer Info, Vacation Rentals

If you currently own a vacation rental home at Deep Creek Lake or considering purchasing one - there are a few interesting trends and insights that continue to evolve in our resort real estate market.

RENTAL BOOKINGS UP

Railey Mountain Lake Vacations reports that rental bookings are up about 7% this year compared to last year - even with the price of gas reaching record highs. Most local business owners have said that the Deep Creek Lake area actually benefits when the price of gas goes up - the reason being is that vacationers from Baltimore/DC and Pittsburgh actually choose to drive the shorter distance to Deep Creek for their summer vacation as opposed to the Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach, the Grand Canyon, or Disney World in Florida.

Larger Rental Homes Still Doing Well

Another trend reported is that the larger homes (8 or 9 bedrooms), with amenities such as an indoor pool, are still doing extremely well - and most continue to see annual owner gross rents increase. In fact one of the larger “pool houses” with an incredible lake view will probably generate gross rents in excess of $200,000 in 2008 - which would be the first time a rental home has broken that barrier. This proves that you don’t really have to be lakefront to be one of the better rental homes - an incredible lake view is something most renters desire.  Since most of these larger rental homes get rented on the weekends during the non-summer months - Railey Mountain Lake Vacations is now pushing mid-week corporate retreats that will probably increase the gross rents even higher in these homes.

The “WOW” Factors

If you are considering purchasing a vacation home at Deep Creek Lake and want to maximize rental revenue below are the “wow” factors that make a good vacation rental home;

• Updated and Above Average Decor - this may be the most important thing to have in your home. Renters want a certain standard of furnishings in a home they rent. This can make a tremendous difference in the amount of rental income you can generate.
• Lake Front or Lake Access Setting.
• Log Cabin - people really like that warm, cozy feeling of a cabin in the woods.
• Big Views of the Lake or Mountains - people want to be blown away by a view they can’t get back at home.
• Private Indoor Pool.
• Home Theatre.

Some factors that detract renters - or the “Un-Wow” factors (if that is such a word);

• The setting is “too” residential.
• Duplex/Townhouse/or Condo - most renters want privacy on their vacation.
• The Interior and Decor are below minimal standards.
• No Access to Deep Creek Lake.

Real Estate Opportunities

Railey Mountain Lake Vacations reports their is still great rental demand for larger rental homes at Deep Creek Lake - 8 bedrooms or more. Our inventory of larger rental homes has not grown much at all since 2003 when more restrictive zoning measures were enacted. Their are still opportunities in this current real estate market to take advantage of this trend. You could (1) buy an existing rental home for sale that already has good rents, (2) buy a really good lot and build, or (3) buy an existing home for sale and modify it so it can be a good rental. Finding an existing rental home with a high rental history is sometimes difficult - the good ones usually get snapped up right way. The more likely path to owning a good rental home would be to either build a new house or renovate an existing one. New construction obviously has a time element involved - but there are currently some really good lake view lots for sale at price points that could make sense building a new house - even if you have the added cost of a sprinkler system and other fire code measures that are required today.

Modifying or renovating an existing house is certainly another option to consider. One of our clients purchased a lake access home with a decent view of the lake a year or so ago - then added an indoor pool and now has annual gross rents exceeding $90,000. 

We hope these vacation rental trends continue. No one would have ever predicted the houses with indoor pools would have annual gross rents between $150,000-$200,000 - but it is happening. What’s the next big thing for these rental homes? Who knows - maybe an indoor bowling lane?

By: JonBell jbell@railey.com 301-501-0735 April 12th, 2008 Category: Garrett County News

Governor Martin O’Malley held a news conference in the Savage River State Forest this morning to announce that his administration will not allow commercial wind turbines to be built on Maryland State Forest Land. O’Malley Stated that “While we must continue to explore and make progress on creating a more sustainable and independent energy future for Maryland, we will not do so at the expense of the special lands we hold in the public trust”

The debate to build wind turbines in Garrett State forest became popular to all Maryland Residents when the Baltimore Sun published its Dec 6th 2007 article stating “A Pennsylvania company is asking the O’Malley administration for leases in two Western Maryland state forests so it can clear up to 400 mountaintop acres to build about 100 wind turbines.”

After today’s news conference David Dishneau of WTOPnews.com wrote that “Opponents had claimed that allowing 40-story windmills on state-owned land in mountainous western Maryland would reduce its recreational value, spoil the landscape and lower property values, especially in the thriving Deep Creek Lake resort area of Garrett County.”

Click here to read the full WTOPnews.com article.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 10th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate

In 2007, Deep Creek Lake area properties south of the Rt. 219 bridge were reassessed. In 2008, the lake area properties north of the Rt. 219 bridge will be reassessed - this will include those of you who own property along Marsh Hill Road, atop Wisp Ski Resort, Deep Creek Drive, Lakeshore Drive, Stockslager Road, Shingle Camp Road, and Sandy Beach to name but a few neighborhoods. In 2009, all other areas of Garrett County will be reassessed.

Below are the average increases reported by the Assessors Office from their 2007 assessment;

• Lakefront Land                                                                  12%
• Lakefront w/Improvements (meaning it has a house)       33%
• Lake Access Land                                                              36% 
• Lake Access w/Improvements                                           42%
• Lake Influence Land (meaning it has just a lake view)      36%
• Lake Influence w/Improvements                                       40%
• Deep Creek Condos and TownHomes                               22%     

The Assessors Office uses the prior 12 months of actual sales as the basis of their assessments. However, when viewing these numbers keep in mind the increases are shown over a three year period since the last reassessment in 2004 - which was right in the middle of a very strong real estate market here at Deep Creek Lake.

These reassessments conducted in 2007 became effective January 1, 2008 and will be the basis for the tax bills that will be sent out on July 1, 2008. Also, these assessment increases are phased in over 3 years at 1/3 of the increase per year. However, if you are permanent resident of Garrett County the Homestead Credit Law now limits any property tax increase to just 5% - something very beneficial to those who qualify.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 April 3rd, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate

The Deep Creek Lake Maryland area was just recently named “Best Four Season Spot” by Forbes Magazine. The article appeared yesterday in the online edition of Forbes and quoted our own Railey Realty salesperson Adam Cowgill. The article’s “In Depth” slideshow also displays one of our lakefront homes for sale, listed by Jon Bell - a $3.3 million custom home on Paradise Point Road.

Very rarely does the Deep Creek Lake real estate market get the national media attention it deserves. It’s nice to finally see a respected media company such as Forbes take notice of the Deep Creek Lake/Garrett County area and favorably compare us to such bigger named resort areas as Lake Tahoe, Bal Harbour Florida, Telluride, the Hamptons, and Hawaii.