President Bush Visits Frederick

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I must say this was pretty exciting news for me. I have never been to any of the Presidential events to see all the hoopla! Of the course the chance to physically seeing him was slim to none, but I did it anyways. I read the article in the Frederick News Post yesterday and thought that would be neat to see. My class in Beltsville was canceled so my schedule was cleared. When would I have this opportunity again?

It was really neat to see it all unfold. I pulled in the parking lot of the Wright Manufacturing as the Security Detail was getting briefed. Fortunately the weather was on my side. Little chilly at times but tolerable. I met up with a few folks wrapped up in the excitement. They will remain nameless to protect the innocent. We probed the Secret Service for information for the best place to get a photo op…they couldn’t tell us anything. They were tight lipped…no times, no idea on arrival route…hmmm wonder what they talked about in the briefing??? Yeah, I know this is serious biz for them..been there done that when I was an MP in the Army many years ago.

One lady and I, we’ll call her Mandy, decided to take a gamble and walk around the back side of the building. Sure there was a lot of activity up front, but we weren’t sure if this was “the” place to be. Around back, we questioned the Frederick County Sheriffs Department on where we could watch. It was funny to watch how it all happened… I asked “Where can we watch to get a good view of the event?” The Deputy let us know “He couldn’t answer that question, just that he knew we couldn’t go past him and he was working for this guy” We turned and looked the gentlemen with glasses and discreet indiscreet ear pieces, he said nothing and look at a women in a business suit (and the funny ear piece), a little taller and friendlier looking. She in turned smiled and looked at another woman with a clipboard who then proceeded to inform us of the locations that we could stand. I just got a chuckle on the chain of events…the fear of giving the wrong answer I guess. So it proceeded up the chain of command quickly. Mandy and I didn’t want to make the front page of the news paper for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We proceeded to head over to the “Authorized” location. It turned out to be a very good spot. It was where we could see most of the activity. We ended up in the parking lot of a dance studio and a handful of “crazy” Bush supporters. I thought I was at a Concert — “Play more Free Bird”

We really had front row seats…we were also accompanied by the counties finest, Frederick County SWAT. They checked all the vehicles around us and kept a “close” eye on the “crazy” ladies. It was amazing to see how well orchestrated the motorcade was. They were in the parking lot and turned around for a Speedy exit as the Presidential Fleet whipped into the building. The doors closed quickly. About 15 minutes later…doors open Fleet pulls out and off everyone goes.

Uploading video of the motorcade departure…check back in little while. Also, click on the photos for access to more photos of yesterday’s event.

January 19, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick Events

13 Comments

Fridays Foto is for Flickr

Baker Park Covered Bridge

If you haven’t tried out Flickr yet, I highly suggest it. I find it is the easiest way to share photos with family and friends. You don’t have to send bulky attachments to someone inbox and God forbid if they are still on dial up…they will hate you. I keep some of my numerous photos on flickr. For about $25 a year, you can store thousands and thousands of pictures…I have a lot more to take.

But anyways here are a few of my local photographers in Frederick, they have some great pictures of Frederick…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjgardner3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniereyesphotography/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/louhamilton/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sondan/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ride/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/avi8tor4fn/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/troyturner/

Have a great weekend

January 18, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick Misc, Friday, Fun

6 Comments

The Squirrels are telling us to Get ready for Winter

My grandfather always told me to pay attention to the squirrels. They are telling us what the winter will be like. Sure they are scurrying for nuts all the time. Look at the tails, are they bushy? Thick and bushy, don’t you think they want to be warm this winter? How about their nest? Higher in the tree, worse the winter. (he said that about the paper hornets nest too!) Thicker the nest, worse the winter. I don’t know about Channel 7 News, but I like to believe my grandfather…not that it came true all the time…I just liked to listen to his wisdom.

And with that I must say, vacant home owners need to be ready…How many times has a Buyer’s agent taken their client to show a houses and couldn’t get in? That’s frustrating for the buyers. This buyer might need to find something real soon and your house wasn’t ready for show. Worse off, your house was perfect for them.

Here are a couple tips to remember with your vacant house.

Shovel the sidewalks - This is just asking for problems. And not only that, you can be fined by the city (with in the city limits)
Winterize the house - If you think you home will be vacant for a long time, call a plumber to removed the water from your pipes. This way if the furnace breaks down while it is freezing outside, you don’t have problems.
Visit a couple times - Either send someone or do it yourself. Pick up the free publications and pizza notices from the driveway and the door.
Vacuum - While at the house at least once or twice a month, vacuum up leaves or dust bunnies that might have been tracked into the house.
Remove Toilet Paper - WHAT? Believe me, if you don’t turn off the water, you are going to want to remove the toilet paper. If available sometimes, people will use the bathrooms. What no plunger? You get my drift or the next visitor will.
Call your Insurance Company - this is for your protection. Not all insurance companies offer the same coverage when the home is vacant. You will need to clear this up before an accident happens.
Hire a Home Stager - Yes it cost some money, but a stager will be able to make the empty home look homey and that’s all it might take to sell your home.

Now these are only a few suggestions, but they will help you with the successful sale of your home.

Good Luck, be patient, price right and make it best of show.

January 17, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate, Staging, frederick real estate, seller

11 Comments

A glance at 2007 Market Conditions

The Frederick market has seen better days. 2007 wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t a complete failure for the housing market. It really started out strong at the beginning of the year but really tapered off the second half.

Here are some some stats that I have pulled off of MRIS and FCAR websites. Monthly, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems and Frederick County Association of REALTORS® provide statistics to their members and to the public. Everyone likes to know what is happening in the real estate market…of course the media loves to generalize the whole nation. But you have to understand that real estate is always local. The numbers I am supplying you here, might not apply to other parts of Maryland.

You can see the prices fluctuated over the last three years have actually remained the same. However 2007 is closing in on 2004’s average price just above $300,000.

As you can see as stated above, the prices really have remained pretty flat for the last couple years. Depending on what expert you listen to, the market in my opinion is going to stick around here for sometime. I would believe by the end of 2008 to 2009 will we start to see an increase in prices again. (Just my humble opinion as I see it today.)

Big jump in the Average Days on Market over the last few years.

The average number of sold home have dropped considerably over the last few years.

Well there you have it. The numbers don’t lie, we haven’t had the best of times lately in the market. I must reiterate what I have said in the past…it hasn’t been the best for sellers that have just purchased their home in the last couple years. You still have equity in your home if you purchased prior to 2004 providing you didn’t already spend it in form of a Home Equity Line of credit (HELOC) That seems to be a common complaint…I am losing money. Really your not, you have chose to spend it already.

Buyers this is truly your time to buy. So I will leave you with this… a look at the history of the Interest rates over the last 30 years.