By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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 mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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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By: JonBell jbell@railey.com 301-501-0735 October 21st, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Fractional Ownership, Wisp Real Estate

Fractional ownership homes at Deep Creek Lake are growing in popularity. The concept of multiple families joining together to purchase a vacation home is not new to the Deep Creek Lake area, but having a management company/developer to design and manage the project is.

Second Homes at Deep Creek Lake is the Deep Creek Lake area’s primary fractional home developer, and according to owner/operator Pam Scott, was the first company to bring fractional ownerships to Maryland. Pam was recently quoted in the Cumberland Times Newspaper explaining the difference between fractional ownership homes and time shares. “With a time share you are getting time,” Pam stated. “But with this [Fractional Ownership] you get a deed. Each of the six owners has a deeded interest. It’s very much legally owned by each of them.” Pam also clarified, “The other differences include the average size of a timeshare versus a fractional property, with the fractional property tending to be much larger and more conducive to entertaining family and friends, as well as the exclusivity of the property, with far fewer owners of each fractional property than for timeshares. In fact, Second Homes properties have a maximum of six owners with a minimum of eight weeks usage of the home per year.”

Second Homes at Deep Creek Lake’s first fractional ownership project was a town home in the Overlook Mountain Villas community of the Wisp Resort. This home was decorated and furnished far beyond anyone’s expectations. The developer included a fully stocked kitchen with top of the line appliances, custom painted rooms, and even a fully equipped home movie theater. Most Deep Creek Lake area realtors will agree with me when I say that this is one of the most outstanding properties at Deep Creek.

The Overlook Villa property was built in 2005 by Don Nemith Builders, Inc. and was purchased by Second Homes at Deep Creek Lake just after completion. Once Pam and her group took ownership of the property, they started the renovations to create their first masterpiece. According to MRIS, the Deep Creek Lake area’s MLS provider, the first fraction was listed for sale Dec 18th, 2006. It did not take long for the news of this unique product to spread. This new fractional ownership concept offered an upscale quality of life product to two different categories of Deep Creek Lake vacation home buyers. The first group consisted of those who could not have afforded this luxury in the past, while the second consisted of busy folks who could have well-afforded whole ownership, but felt they just did not have time to use their home more than 8-10 weeks per year.

After the first two sales of The Overlook property, the fractional market seemed to slow. However, Pam forged ahead to purchase La Maison de Montagne, located at 316 Moonrise Dr. in the Waterfront Greens community of Deep Creek Lake. La Maison de Montagne is a single family, 4,400 square foot, lakefront home that was purchased and upgraded to Pam’s lavish taste and divided into six fractional ownership units.

The end of summer 2008 brought new life into the fractional ownership market at Deep Creek Lake. Not only did the Overlook Villa property sell out in Oct 2008, but three of the six interests at La Maison de Montagne have been purchased.

I was fortunate enough to represent the buyers of Fraction 2 at La Maison de Montagne. The buyers and their family have been renting properties and vacationing in the Deep Creek Lake area for years. Pam Scott sent a follow up email to the buyers after their first stay in the property and forwarded their response to me. Their description of the experience is better stated in the few paragraphs below than any advertisement that could be written.

Hello Pam

First off - we would like to thank you once again for the very nice “Welcome Basket”. It was much appreciated and enjoyed by many.

Second - our first stay “exceeded all expectations”. We had several of Cathy’s family up on Sunday for a Cookout and your name came up repetitively for all of the amenities that “La Maison” has to offer. From using the baby swing for our cousins 3 month old baby, to the bikes that were ridden by several, the Kayak’s, the Croquet, the game room, the hot tub with CD & speakers, etc, etc. Everyone just had a wonderful time because of the Love and Detail that you put into the home.

As far as Cathy & my daughter - they loved cooking in your kitchen. From your selection of the dishes to all of the appliances (we did have great waffles on Monday), they could not think of a single thing they would have done differently. Our friends could not get over how beautifully decorated the home was. By now, I’m probably boring you - I could go on and on.

Please also extend our thanks to Lisa for the grand tour on Friday. We also followed her suggestion and stopped by the Fireside Deli for some wine and great sandwiches.

The nicest thing about our first stay was that the home just “feels right” for us at this point in time. We immediately took to home owners from watering the flowers to making sure the sap from the pine tree was not tracked inside. As we left our 2nd home this morning, we put to rest any questions we once may have had if this was the right decision. We are thrilled to be part owners and look forward to the new memories awaiting us at La Maison.

Thanks so very much . . . .

Bill & Cathy

Read Jon Bell’s Deep Creek Lake Real Estate Blog

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By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 October 15th, 2008 Category: Interest Rates and Loans, Obtaining a Mortgage

Jerry Merrick, Vice President of Mortgage Lending at BB&T Bank, stopped by our office again yesterday to give us an update on the mortgage industry after what was certainly a turbulent week on Wall Street and other financial sectors. For buyers out there who may be considering purchasing a second home or vacation home for sale at Deep Creek Lake - here are some points to consider if you will be obtaining a loan;

Credit Scores

Lenders still very much want to lend money - however, only those borrowers with 800+ credit scores are going to get the lowest rates without paying any upfront points. Borrowers with credit scores less than 800 can still get loans - but the banks are now charging upfront points to these people to get the same rates. If you are thinking of purchasing a piece of real estate at Deep Creek Lake or in Garrett County Maryland and are going to borrow, it may be a good idea to check your credit score first to see where you stand.

Interest Rates

With all the turbulence in the markets last week - interest rates went up nearly 1 whole percentage point between Wednesday of last week and Monday of this week. In fact, at one point last Friday, Jerry reported he was receiving new rate sheets every 15 minutes! That is how uncertain the mortgage industry was reacting to last week’s events on Friday. Should you lock in your interest rate now? That’s a question only you can answer - but if you are someone who doesn’t mind taking chances then you might want to consider waiting a while to see if rates come back down. If you are someone who doesn’t like to take chances and you are comfortable with your payment terms at the current rate levels then you may want to consider locking in now to avoid the chance that rates may go up again. It all boils down to your comfort level - no one can predict for certain which way interest rates will head in the future.

Appraisals

Lastly, starting at the end of this month a new regulation goes into effect that changes the way appraisals are ordered. Banks and mortgage brokers will now have to order all appraisals thru an independent 3^rd party - this 3^rd party will then order that appraisal from a licensed appraiser who agrees to do it for the lowest price. This is both good and bad. Good in two ways - (1) that it will probably lower the appraisal price for the borrower and (2) it will now eliminate any upfront communication or chatter between the lender and the appraiser - which some would say created most of the current problems in the mortgage industry we have now.

However, it’s bad in the sense that this new system is now searching for the lowest priced appraiser and not the most qualified appraiser. In our real estate market, it may result in the lower priced appraisers from Frostburg and Cumberland coming up and doing appraisals at Deep Creek Lake. Our local appraisers, who do charge a little more, have proven they do quality work in a very specialized market - they understand this resort market - appraisers who work in other markets, who may bid the lowest price just to get the work, more than likely do not have this same same specialized knowledge and experience. This new system may very well create another set of problems for the mortgage industry down the road - underwriters making loan decisions based on appraisals from what some would consider “less” qualified appraisers.

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

Beautiful 3 Bedroom, 3.5 Bath custom Nemith built home in Mountainside development at Deep Creek. 3 open levels of living with floor to ceiling stone fireplace in Great Room! Relax on your back deck and feel like you are in the middle of the woods in this exceptionally well maintained chalet home. Nestled on 1.29 Acres with a paved driveway and 1 car garage. Unfinished full basement is ready for your finishing touches! Dock Slip available through the Home Owners Association.

Click here for more details on this property for sale at 1700 Mountainview Drive - or call (800) 544-2425 or email us at info@railey.com to arrange a personal tour of this home.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 October 9th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, Wisp Real Estate

Just this past week we listed one of the few ‘Green’ construction houses found in the Deep Creek Lake and Garrett County areas. This house sits atop Wisp Ski Resort and is located at 2317 Shingle Camp Road. It has wonderful views of Deep Creek Lake and is offered for sale at $728,000. Here are some of the ‘Green’ features found in this house;

• Architecturally designed to blend into the Wisp Mountain setting, yet stand out from other properties.
• Deep overhangs and radiant heat provides energy efficiency.
• The center Ventilation Stack provides a passive cooling system where hot air rises to the 3^rd level and escapes through the sunroom.
• Clerestory windows provide additional ventilation as well as more natural light without increasing undue heat gain.

If you would like a set up a time to tour this vacation house for sale, please call 800-544-2425 or e-mail us at info@railey.com. Click here for more details and pictures on this latest real estate offering.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 October 7th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Real Estate, News

DNR Deep Creek Lake Manager Carolyn Mathews reports that her office is pursuing several civil cases in circuit court involving activities on certain buydowns that are in violation of the provisions of the Conservation Easement. The most difficult situations appear to be grading and filling of the buffer strip, especially after new home construction.

DNR is also adopting a new policy that any maintenance to existing and approved improvements on the buffer strip requires the prior notification and possibly the approval of the Deep Creek Lake management office. The DNR may require a new Special Permit to be applied for and be issued before maintenance may occur.

This is a departure from historic practice and many property owners routinely provide for ongoing maintenance of structures and improvements that have been permitted. Garrett County Board of Realtors Government Affairs Director Paul Durham recommended to DNR staff that they consider modifications to their permit language to better inform property owners of this new policy. This may also require changes to the lake regulations to better and more specifically articulate DNR’s maintenance permitting requirements.

DNR is enforcing this policy through the issuance of criminal citations. Violations of the lake regulations are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1000 and the potential for imprisonment of up to one year.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 October 6th, 2008 Category: Deep Creek Lake Area Things To Do, Deep Creek Lake Events, Garrett County News

As the leaves change colors here in western Maryland, once again Garrett County’s own Autumn Glory Festival is upon us. The weather forecast right now for this upcoming weekend looks fairly good - mild temperatures and partly cloudy skies. This year marks the 41^st anniversary of this festival held in Oakland, Maryland just south of Deep Creek Lake.

 Some highlights of this annual fall festival include:

The Autumn Glory Kickoff Reception - Wednesday October, 8, 2008 from 6:30 pm to 11:00 pm

Held at the Wisp Ski Resort in McHenry and sponsored by the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce. Cocktails, dinner, and dancing. Entertainment featuring the local band Boathouse. This year’s Golden Ambassador will also be announced.

The Fireman’s Parade & Oktoberfest Dinner - Thursday, October 9, 2008 from 4:00 pm to ??

Held in downtown Oakland, Maryland in front of the Oakland Volunteer Fire Department. Features include a parade of local fire departments that kids of all ages really enjoy. Real German style food served in the fire hall. An Ooompah Band after dinner and beer trucks, for those over 21, round out this annual party. All proceeds will benefit the Oakland Volunteer Fire Department.

The Grand Feature Parade - Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 1:00 pm

The parade starts south on Route 219 near Wal-mart, turns down on to North 2^nd Street, goes thru the town of Oakland, and eventually heads back north on Route 219. The parade features many marching bands, floats, and the always popular Shriners go-cart routine. Get there early - the police close Route 219 late morning and many people have already reserved their spot along the parade route by early morning as well. This year’s Grand Marshall of the parade will be Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps’ mother and sisters.

If you haven’t reserved accommodations yet it’s not too late to make plans to attend this popular fall get-a-way. Railey Mountain Lake Vacations has many houses and town homes for rent in the Deep Creek Lake area - along with the Silver Tree Suites hotel.

Also, as you are leaving town, Railey Realty will be hosting numerous Open Houses in the Deep Creek Lake area featuring various homes for sale on Sunday, October 12, 2008 - most running from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

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

DNR Lake Manager Carolyn Mathews reports that it will soon release the proposed changes to the lake regulations dealing with how and where personal watercraft (PWCs) may be stored or moored at dock permit sites on Deep Creek Lake. DNR’s goal is to eventually remove all PWCs from being beached on the buffer strip and to set standards for how many may be kept at a dock.

Several recommendations to DNR and the Policy and Review Board were made at its October 2007 meeting of things to consider in drafting the new regulations. These included addressing restricted Type-A permits, existing common docks, setting a reasonable “grandfathering” time limit for the removal of existing permitted PWC stands.

DNR reports that the public comment period will be in early October and that the PRB will meet on October 3 to take comments and to discuss the proposal.