Friday Foto Funny

You know they are starting to bring gambling slots to Maryland, don’t you?  They have been wondering where to put these slot machines and thought they would try the airports (not that the airlines need to get anymore of your money.)  But I have found that we actually have them in Frederick as well.  In very convenient locations….with drive ups!

I won BIG on this one. Not going to tell you where it’s at, because everyone will want to play it.

Have a great weekend. Hopefully you are having luck with these machines in these trying times.

Frederick County Recycle Program has a new website for pick up times

DEPARTMENT OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Office of Recycling

9031 Reich’s Ford Road • Frederick, Maryland 21704

www.co.frederick.md.us/recycling

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 20, 2009

CONTACT: Annmarie Creamer

Recycling Outreach Program Coordinator

301-600-7405 or acreamer@fredco-md.net

TTY: Use Maryland Relay

County Offers Larger Carts for Recycling Enthusiasts

Website Features Are Also Part of New Program Benefits

FREDERICK, MD – Many residents have shown such enthusiasm for the new single-stream recycling program that the Office of Recycling is offering larger carts to households currently participating in curbside collection. The largest containers available are 95-gallon, wheeled carts which offer 32% more recycling capacity than a standard-sized 65-gallon recycling cart.

Dawn Adams, Frederick County’s Recycling Program Manager, said, “We are pleased with the early success of the single stream recycling program and wish to thank residents for their support of this important endeavor. When comparing recent rates to the same timeframe a year ago, many more residents are now participating in the program. In addition, initial observations indicate that increased quantities of materials are being recycled by many households.”

Residents who regularly produce large quantities of recyclables may exchange their recycling containers for a larger capacity model. This may be done by placing a request with the residential curbside service provider, Allied Waste, via email at frederickrecycles@republicservices.com or by telephone at 301-694-6498.

For occasional surpluses of recyclables, or for households awaiting delivery of a new cart, materials may be set out next to a county-issued cart or bin in paper bags, cardboard boxes, plastic totes or any container approximately the same size as an 18-gallon blue bin. To conserve space, corrugated cardboard can also be placed alongside carts and bins. One key benefit of the new recycling program is that cardboard no longer needs to be broken down prior to collection.

County Offers Larger Carts for Recycling Enthusiasts – Page Two

New “When Do I Recycle” Website Feature

The county’s recycling website is continually updated with information in response to frequently asked questions by residents. One recent addition is a web page where residents can enter their street address and receive information on the recycling collection schedule specific for their neighborhood. Residents are invited to visit http://www.co.frederick.md.us/WhenDoIRecycle to take advantage of this new user-friendly website search feature.

Helpful information about what to recycle, who can recycle and other details relevant to residential recycling and waste reduction can also be found at the county website, http://www.co.frederick.md.us/recycle
or by calling 301-600-2960.

The Frederick Board of County Commissioners and the Department Solid Waste Management officially launched single stream curbside collection of recyclable materials in January for residents in existing service areas. The benefits of this program will be extended to new service areas this spring, with all single-family homes in the county being offered curbside pick-up of recyclables. Residents who have never had curbside service can look forward to receiving recycling carts and program information in the coming months.

The single stream program aims to make recycling an easier, more efficient process in order to increase recycling rates. More materials are now accepted and less pre-processing of recyclables is required. Residents no longer have to sort items, effectively making recycling as easy as throwing something away— but with the benefit conserving resources and protecting our environment.

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Middletown Housing Market and the Glenbrook community

It has been a while since I have taken a close look at the Middletown market and posted it here.  I have had some recent inquiries in this area.  That’s a good sign…inquiries that is.  Activities have started to pick up all over the county.  With the latest stimulus package offering $8,000 tax credit to first time home owners, it should help a few people get off the fence.  In my opinion, there still needs to be some hard work done to keep home owners in their house.  I have written plenty of articles about Short Sales and foreclosures in the area…what I have learned about them over the last few years, the banks don’t know how to make a decision quickly.  Once they are foreclosed, they are able to make quick decisions.  The main reason is that they turn them over to third party asset managers. They should consider this for short sales as well.  I think they would make more money or at least minimize their loss.

So why am I talking about short sales in Middletown?  Because they have their share of them.  Just looking at the Glenbrook Community, there are five out of twelve homes listed are either short sales (“subject to third party approval”) or bank owned already.   Here’s the most recent activity in Glenbrook.

No matter how nice the community, today’s economy has an impact on everyone.   Below you will see some numbers of the whole Middletown area.  You will see some major price drops over last year and also much longer market times.  (you can click here for last years update)

Market Conditions in Middletown MD 2/23/09

If you would like to see the list of homes that make up this report you can check that out here.  This will give you an idea of the homes in zip code 21769.  If you would like a more personalize report specific to your home and neighborhood, feel free to contact me.

Have a great day.

What does the Stimulus Package mean to me – the first time home buyer?

You can read over the stimulus plan for yourself it is all right here (House Bill part A) and here (House Bill part B) for your entertainment. It is broken into two sections because it is HUGE (don’t open links if you are on dial-up, the package would of expired by the time you got to read it.) I think they want to bore the public to death with all the verbiage to hide all the garbage that is going elsewhere. But I am not here to talk politics; I vowed not to bring politics into this little blog of mine. I don’t need the endless bantering about the democrats and the republicans.

I just want Frederick First time home buyers to know what’s in it for them. You have heard of that old radio station WII FM (What’s In It For Me.) Well here’s the low down on it.

• $8,000 Tax Credit
• You got less than one year! This offer expires 12/01/2009
• Must be your principal residence.
• This is a tax credit and you can get a refund for unused amount when you file.
• You can’t earn more than $75,000 by yourself or $150,000 jointly
• First time buyer is defined as not owning a home in the last three years
• No repayment unless you sell before owning for three years
• Effective date 1/1/2009 – NOW!

Here’s the document that outline the changes from the previous credit. You can see it for yourself.

Now what do you need to do? Well, get off the fence first of all. Everyone has been waiting for the golden opportunity. Unfortunately without Madame Cleo Tarot card, we can’t look into the future. (That’s a joke, her cards didn’t work either.) If we knew when the market was going to peak or stop tumbling, we would all be Warren Buffet, but we are not. We are sitting close to the Perfect Storm for buyers. The sellers had their day in the earlier part of this decade. You have near rock bottom prices on homes, a tax credit worth 8 grand, interest rates at the best they ever been and an inventory full of possibilities.

• Contact a local lender and get pre-approved
• Contact me to send you a list of homes that meet your needs
• Contact your friends to show them your new home

Have a great day

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