By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 19th, 2009 Category: Garrett County News, News

At the most recent Garrett County Commissioner’s public meeting, many of the local Deep Creek Lake vacation rental companies voiced great displeasure at the potential for upcoming legislation in 2010 that would enable the county to increase the local accommodation tax. This tax is currently 5 percent and is paid by visitors and travelers who stay overnight in any of the local hotels or vacation rental homes in the Deep Creek Lake area. The potential legislation would give the county authority to increase the tax all the way up to 8 percent on overnight stays. If this legislation is approved the county would probably increase the accommodation tax to 6 percent at some point in 2010.

While at first glance a 1 percent increase in the accommodation tax doesn’t seem like much - Nancy Railey, of Railey Mountain Lake Vacations - Deep Creek’s largest vacation rental company, argues that any tax increase - no matter how small - will continue the recent trend of homeowners and hotels having to discount their rental rates just to keep the same amount of tourists visiting the Deep Creek area for overnight stays.  The Deep Creek area has been much more fortunate than other resorts in this recent recession in that the amount of tourists has only decreased slightly over the past few years. She argues now is not the time in this softer economy to raise this tax.

If you currently own a second house, townhome, or condo at Deep Creek Lake that is a vacation rental, any increase in the accommodation tax could potentially decrease the amount of rental bookings at your rental property - or force you to discount rental rates just to keep the same amount of overnight stays at your property. If you are concerned about this tax increase you can contact the Garrett County Commissioners at countycommissioners@garrettcounty.org.

A small article summarizing the tax and meeting can be found here.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 13th, 2009 Category: Community Profiles, Wisp Real Estate, Wisp Ski Resort

Villages of Wisp is a 135 unit townhome complex that sits atop Wisp Ski Resort and overlooks Deep Creek Lake. All townhomes at Villages of Wisp are ski-in/ski-out with slope access. This development was built in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Beside ski slope access, other amenities include a lakefront area on Deep Creek Lake in McHenry Cove that owners can use, a community boat dock with 10 permanent slips and 2 boat slips for day use only. This lakeside family park has a gazebo and sun deck and can be accessed off of Marsh Hill Road.

There are 2 different floor plans at Villages of Wisp (VOW) - a smaller, 3 level, 2 bedroom unit commonly referred to as a 16 foot unit (because it’s 16 feet wide) - and a larger, 4 level, 2 bedroom loft unit commonly referred to as a 20 foot unit. Each building at Villages of Wisp (VOW) has 5 units - two (2) of the smaller units and three (3) of the larger 4 level loft units.  Clusters of these buildings can be found in various locations around the slopes of Wisp Ski Resort and can be accessed from the smaller private roads and courts known as Bright Passage, Winding Way, Slopeside Terrace, Lakeview Court, and Liftside Drive.

Villages of Wisp is a home owners association (HOA) - not a condominium association - and thus each unit is individually owned in fee simple.  All interior and exterior maintenance is the responsibility of the individual homeowner - not the HOA. The association dues go towards snowplowing, grass cutting, trash removal, the boat docks, and common area maintenance.

Click here for all Railey Realty listed townhomes and real estate currently for sale at Villages of Wisp.

Give us a call or shoot as e-mail if you would like to explore real estate opportunities at Villages of Wisp. We’ll be more than happy to send you a free list of available properties or schedule a time to see these properties for sale - or any others you wish to see.

By: Mike Kennedy mkennedy@railey.com 301-616-6106 November 9th, 2009 Category: Garrett County Real Estate

Last week both houses of Congress overwhelmingly passed and the President signed legislation that extends the $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit. The credit, which was set to expire on November 30, 2009,  has now been extended until April 30, 2010.  A quick summary of the credit is as follows;

• First-time Buyer amount of credit is still $8,000.
• A First-time Buyer is defined as someone who has not had an interest in a primary residence for 3 years prior to purchase. (Note - you still qualify if you have previously owned a house more than 3 years ago.)
• Current Homeowner amount of credit is still $6,500.
• For the purposes of this credit a Current Homeowner must have used the home sold (or being sold) as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years.
• The limitation on the cost of a home purchased is $800,000.

This is an incredible opportunity for an individual or a couple looking to purchase a primary residence anywhere in Garrett County. For a married couple it is essentially an $8,000 gift from Uncle Sam. For example, if you and a spouse buy a home in Oakland Maryland between now and April 30th and it’s your primary residence, and your income qualifies, you’ll either get an extra $8,000 as part of your refund when you file your taxes or owe $8,000 less in taxes. It’s like getting a loan you don’t have to pay back! If you would like to take advantage of this credit, give us a call or shoot us an e-mail - there are many good real estate deals all over Garrett County right now - this credit in conjunction with currently low interest rates increases affordability and makes this a great time to buy a house.