11626 Hunters Run Drive – Hunt Valley Station – $550,000.00

A Fantastic Single Family Home on Hunters Run Drive in Hunt Valley Station
Four Bedrooms, Two Car Garage, Large Deck and Hardwood Floors Throughout

**Update July 13, 2009, CONGRATULATIONS! WE SETTLED!**

**Update May 5, 2009, Congratulations sellers, we are UNDER CONTRACT!**

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Homeowners awarded an average of $693,000 for losses in Jacksonville House Values due to Exxon Spill

Jacksonville, Maryland is a quiet area in Northeast Baltimore County. The area is also known as Phoenix, Maryland.

Life there was generally uneventful until one fateful day in 2006 when an underground pipe at the Exxon Gas Station at Jarrettsville Pike & Paper Mill Roads began to leak — releasing 26,000 gallons of fuel into the ground.  The leak was not detected for 37 days due to an alarm reset issue.

After that, Jacksonville homes in the area had their wells contaminated and house values plummeted.  While homes in the neighborhoods used to sell for anywhere from $300,000 to over $1 million, they were basically unsaleable.  The leak exposed homeowners to to methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which has not been conclusively linked to cause cancer in humans, but has not been determined as safe either.

After a five month trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court, a jury awarded the homeowners about $150 million as compensation for the drop in their value of their Jacksonville property, their pain and suffering and for medical monitoring.  The average award for the drop in property values was $693,000.

Forbes reported on the verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, also indicating that not all homeowners were happy with the result.

Though I am pleased that the jury found in the homeowners’ favor and that they were awarded compensation for this preventable mess, I am saddened that this beautiful area now has this stigma attached to it.

My hope is that the MTBE will filter its way out over the next few years, and this can just be a horrible memory, though I feel that the likelyhood of that happening is unfortunately slim.

Construction has begun on the Charles Street overpass at 695 and 83 Interchange — Will this effect Towson House Values?

Have you been on North Charles Street in Towson recently and wondered what is going on? Or have you been driving around I-695, merging over to I-83 North, and been curious about where the trees have gone?

Well, the bridge over 695 is being rebuilt, like the ones at Dulaney Valley, York Road, and Reisterstown Road.

The Maryland State Highway Administration has a comprehensive plan laid out that began just last month, with an anticipated completion in Fall of 2011.

So, what does this mean for those of us who drive these roads every day? Who live right at that Interchange? Charles Street will have lane closures, usually one in each direction during this time period. Certain times during the construction 695 will have lane closures 8 pm- 5 am. The best location for this information is the Project Newsletter from the SHA, which I have a link to here. These will be updated over the next two and a half years, and I will be sure to keep you updated as the construction continues.

And now, to the Towson House Value question. Will this affect your home price?

• If you live right around where the work is being done, and you want to sell while the construction is happening? Then, well, yes.
• However, if you plan to sell after it is over? Then it will likely help improve your Towson home’s value. There will be a traffic signal instead of the roundabout on Charles.

There will be new sidewalks and bike lanes along Charles street, and along Bellona to Othoridge Road where Orchard Hills Park is located.

The mess that has been traffic along there will be cleared up (thank goodness!).

So, in the meantime, stay tuned. Be calm. Be patient. And know this will be for the best in the long run. Take alternate routes from 695 at York Road or at Timonium Road at 83. And if you need any real estate advice during this time? Well, simply, contact me!

Zillow Zestimates for Towson Real Estate May Be Misleading

Have you ever wondered about those “Zestimates” from Zillow.com ? How accurate are they really?

I pondered this recently, as a listing I have coming on the market in Hunt Valley has a Zestimate about $40,000 LESS than the value determined during my true, in-depth market analysis as a licensed Towson Real Estate Agent. (On the other hand, using their “My Estimator” tool brings the value up to over $110,000 HIGHER than its true value!)  Read more