Baltimore County Restaurant Week Extended

Baltimore County Restaurant Week has been extended through September 5, 2010 for 14 of the 15 originally participating restaurants.

2010 was Baltimore County’s first restaurant week, and from the look of things, this will continue yearly!

Restaurants from Towson to Timonium to Sparks have been and are continuing to participate with discounts for lunch and dinner!

The participating restaurants, brought together by the Milton Inn in Sparks, are:

Towson:

Cafe Troia on Allegheny Ave in Towson

The Melting Pot on York Rd in Towson

Stoney River Legendary Steaks in Towson Town Center

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Lutherville/Timonium:

The Peppermill on York Road in Lutherville

Michael’s Cafe on York Road in Timonium

Christopher Daniel on Padonia Road in Timonium

Sabor in Mays Chapel in Timonium

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Cockeysville/Hunt Valley:

Vito’s Cafe on York Rd in Cockeysville

Patrick’s on Cranbrook in Cockeysville

Greystone Grill in Hunt Valley Towne Center

Jesse Wong’s Kitchen in Hunt Valley Towne Center

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Other Baltimore County Locations:

The Milton Inn on York Rd in Sparks

Artful Gourmet Bistro in Owings Mills

The Grill at Harryman House in Reisterstown

Mia Carolina in Glyndon

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So enjoy these great Baltimore County restaurants while they have their specials going on for the next two weeks!

Charles Street Construction at 695 Ramp Closures

On August 10, the Charles Street ramp to 695 West closed, and the roundabout entrance to that & I-83N reopened.

Traffic before had been routed coming north into the right lane to enter the Beltway, and those traveling south have used alternate routes to access I-695W since that entrance closed in early April.

According to the State Highway Administration’s press release, this new closure should be temporary, about two weeks.

The big upcoming change should come at about August 24th, when the west bound ramp from northbound Charles Street should re-open. The ramp to eastbound I-695 from Charles Street remains closed for the time being.

Weekend work will really change things. Look out for these big issues the weekend of August 27 -30 (or 9/10-13 in case of inclement weather):

Charles Street Bridge Traffic Switch – Weekend Work

• 9 p.m. Friday, August 27 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 30: Crews will shift all Charles Street traffic from the old bridge to the new bridge.  The Charles Street Bridge will remain open to vehicular traffic during the shift, with flagging operations and intermittent traffic stoppages throughout the weekend.

The ramps from southbound I-83 (Harrisburg Expressway) and eastbound I-695 to Charles Street will be temporarily detoured to the MD 45 (York Road) interchange during the weekend.  The flyover ramp from southbound I-83 to eastbound I-695 will remain open during the bridge traffic shift.

In case of inclement weather, the Charles Street bridge traffic shift and temporary ramp closures will take place the weekend of September 10-13.   This interchange currently carries more than 120,000 vehicles per day along I-695, with 55,000 vehicles per day along Charles Street.

Additionally, the left-turn ramp from southbound Charles Street to eastbound I-695 (Inner Loop) will remain closed until late fall, and the posted detour through Lutherville will continue.

Maryland State Fair in Timonium 2010

The Maryland State Fair in Timonium begins August 27 and runs through September 6, 2010, bringing rides, games, and more to northern Baltimore County for 11 days!

This year, in addition to the regular concerts, one really big one is Justin Bieber, which has caused a huge stir all around Baltimore and sold out right away.

The two other Maryland State Fair concerts are Bret Michaels and Gretchen Wilson, both of which still have general admission tickets available.

A large portion of the Maryland State Fair is designated for livestock and horse shows as well as demonstrations. This year, the Timonium Farmers Market will be open each day to get local foods from local farms to enjoy!

Certain days have ride and admission specials, like a $20 wrist band for all day rides, and Food Lion has a $5 off coupon for 5 days of the Fair. Ride tickets are $1 each, and depending on the rides, they take 1-6 tickets. A book is available at the ride booth for $45 you get 50 ride tickets, and that is available to anyone on site.

Admission to the Maryland State Fair is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, $3 for children 6-11 years old, and free for children under 6 years old.

Parking is $3 in the main lot, and there are many other parking lots around where one can pay to park. Just north of the Timonium Fairgrounds is the Deereco Lightrail Park & Ride, where parking is free.

The Maryland State Fairgrounds are located at 2200 York Road, Timonium, MD 21093.

Timonium Condo FHA Approval

At the end of 2009, HUD changed its’ condo approval process for FHA condo financing.

No longer can a community be given a “spot” approval when a unit goes under contract if a buyer desires to use FHA financing.

Condominium developments must be approved in advance of an FHA sale and the approval is only for a certain amount of time.

Many Timonium condo buildings have been approved already.

Luckily HUD has set up a website to check whether a condo development has been HRAP or DELRAP approved.

I entered the Timonium zip code 21093 to see all approved units. You can do this for any zip code if you are unsure of the condo development’s name!

Contact me if you are considering selling or buying a Timonium condo. I can help you navigate these tough waters!

West Towson Elementary School Fall Registration

It’s time to register your child if you have been redistricted to the West Towson Elementary School.

The Baltimore County Public Schools site has finally been updated so it is correct for redistricting!

To make sure you need to register at West Towson, use the School Boundaries finder and enter your address.

If you did not receive a package, you will need to go to West Towson Elementary School at 6914 North Charles Street, Towson, MD 21204.

For all Baltimore County School registration, you will need, according to bcps.org:

•            When registering a child, you will need to present :

o            Proof of Baltimore County residency in accordance with Rule 5150 (Deed or lease and photo ID with 3 proofs of residency)

o            Certificate of birth

o            Immunization record

o            Copy of the child’s most recent report card (if applicable)

•            If the student is transferring from another public school in Maryland, a copy of the Maryland Student Transfer Record will be required. This form may be obtained at the school from which the student is transferring.

•            Most importantly, contact the appropriate school prior to registration. Schools are open throughout the summer to accommodate parents during the registration process.

Registration is open during the week so make sure if you have a child who should be registered for Fall 2010 at West Towson Elementary School, stop by to do so!

East Joppa Road Closed at Towson Town Center and Towson Circle

East Joppa Road is closed at Towson Town Center and the Towson Circle.

Traffic headed west must take Fairmount Avenue down to Goucher Boulevard to access both the mall and areas west of the Towson Roundabout.

This is due to bridge construction needed on East Joppa Road just east of the circle.

The closure is expected to continue through September 1, 2010.

There are bright orange signs directing traffic through the detour, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled to figure out how to get around. It is a fairly easy & straightforward path, so hopefully there won’t be many issues.

Be careful going around Towson Town Center and East Joppa Road in Towson!

Timonium Farmers Market

The Timonium Farmers Market at the Maryland State Fairgrounds is a great source of fresh fruit, vegetables, and local meat.

Each Wednesday afternoon, the market has local farmers showcasing their great produce and those around are enjoying!

Even in the heat, the market is full of people looking for local food.

CSA members have the convenience of picking up their weekly shared vegetables from Hope Ridge Farms here.

Hills Forest Farm from Kingsville has their bees’ honey available, and since it is local, it has been shown to be good for allergies.

The local meat from Gunpowder Bison & Trading is delicious!

The greatest part about the Timonium Farmers Market is that it is run by these and other local farmers.

During the Maryland State Fair at the end of the month, the market will be open each of the the ten days.

The Timonium Farmers Market is open through October 27.

Come by and get some fresh wares!

What is a Broker’s Open?

What is a Broker’s Open?

Here in Baltimore County, Wednesdays generally are “Broker’s Open” day. There is a fairly small area where Broker’s Opens tend to be highly successful, and that is in the Towson, Lutherville, Timonium, and Hunt Valley neighborhoods.

A Broker’s Open is where a real estate agent and their brokerage invite agents from their own and other brokerages to come view a new listing they have to showcase. Generally, they provide lunch or snacks to the agents, to thank them for taking their time to come. Visiting agents then give the listing agent feedback on what could be done to make the house more appealing to buyers, about the price, etc, to help the listing agent.

Buyers and neighbors are usually welcome to visit the home, as they would a regular weekend open house.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more about a Baltimore County Broker’s Open and how it may help to sell a home.

Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) to be Eliminated

The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) will be eliminated, thanks to a bill signed into law by President Obama.

HVCC was enacted in 2009, and has been a big issue in the appraisal battle many home sales have been experiencing.

In June last year, Tasha Linton and I wrote about how HVCC Could Negatively Affect Towson Home Values , because the appraisers assigned are the lowest cost one available, not necessarily from the area. Real estate is very local — for example, Towson neighborhoods are very unique — sometimes even street-by-street! An appraiser from outside of Washington, DC will not understand the neighborhood nuances, and this could tremendously effect an appraisal value.

The HVCC going away is a huge relief to many in the real estate community, and homeowners should be very pleased as well.

HVCC will be phased out over the next 90 days, with the end of October closing this sad chapter in real estate housing history.

Baltimore County Home Sales Up in June 2010

Baltimore County home sales were up in June 2010.

Baltimore home sales had not seen an increase in the past year, so this is great news.

From RealEstate Business Intelligence, Inc. through MRIS, the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (our local MLS), the numbers show that the Baltimore County average sold price is up 8.25%!

The other very positive number is that the days on the market dropped 12.93% from 116 to 101 June 2009 to June 2010.

These statics are partly due to the Homebuyer Tax Credit, where buyers originally had to settle by the end of June to receive their credit.

573 Baltimore County homes went under contract in June 2010, and 681 homes sold. The good news is that those 573 homes that went under contract did not rely on the tax credit.

Here is the report for June Baltimore County home sales.

What the statistics tell me is that right now is a great time to sell a Baltimore County home. Prices are up, average days on the market are down, so the inconvenience is less.

If you are considering the possibility of selling your Baltimore County home, contact me today.

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