By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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 mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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 mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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 mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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 mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 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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