West Towson Real Estate Agent

Towson Swim Club May Not Open

Towson Swim Club says it needs 135 more members or plans for the swim club will have to be scrapped.

The new members need to sign up by Feburary 29, 2012 or the project will be terminated.

According to the Towson Patch article about the issue, the Club has $318,000 in funds raised by members joining, but in applying for a new loan, plus paying for an engineering contract, they need to secure more members to make it happen.

The cost, according to the paperwork from their website, is $1,975 per household plus $250 application fee and $275 initiation fee. The charter membership may be transferable when you sell your Towson home.

Summer fees range from $495 individual memberships to $685 family memberships, with lower Senior memberships also available.

The Towson Swim Club was originally slated to open Memorial Day 2011. It was then postponed to Memorial Day 2012 when a private investor backed out. Now the opening has been pushed back another year to 2013, and only if 135 new members join by February 29, 2012.

I do truly hope that West Towson homeowners can come together and get this pool financed. It would be a wonderful additional bonus to living in West Towson.

Baltimore County Public Schools Considering West Towson Elementary School Enrollment Cap

West Towson Elementary School has been open for one school year, and already administrators with the Baltimore County Public School system are considering an enrollment cap.

Unlike other campuses, where trailers & other mobile units can be brought in to help give more classroom space, the West Towson campus shares its’ space with Ridge Ruxton School, and does not have that ability.

West Towson Elementary is designed for 451 students, and the projected enrollment for the 2011-2012 year is over 500. Just before school started, 463 were actually enrolled. More details are in an article in the Towson Patch.

A cap means that if a certain grade were full, yet someone who lived in the school district wanted to attend, they could not, and would be sent to another school with space in that grade level.

This could affect Towson house values, if you aren’t certain that even if you live in the district, your child would definitely attend the school. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Towson High Schools Rank in Newsweek Top 500

Towson High Schools were ranked in Newsweek’s Top 500 list on June 19, 2011, and Towson residents should be proud.

Seven Baltimore County Schools made the list (18 total for the State of Maryland). According to the Newsweek article:

…each school’s score is comprised of six components: graduation rate (25%), college matriculation rate (25%), AP tests taken per graduate (25%), average SAT/ACT scores (10%), average AP/IB/AICE scores (10%), and AP courses offered (5%).

Carver Center led the Towson pack at #232. Towson High School ranked #413, and Loch Raven High ranked #443.

Other Baltimore County High Schools that made the list were Essex Technical (#131!), Hereford High School in Sparks was #219, Pikesville High #388, and Dulaney High School in Timonium #446.

It goes to show why many feel living in Towson is great!

This Month in Real Estate June 2011

This Month in Real Estate for June 2011 has just been released!

First, Jay Papasan discusses the numbers:

Home sales remained steady in May at a pace of 5.1 million home sales for the past 12 months. The median home sales price is up to $164,000 from last month. The average rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage, according to Freddie Mac, was about 4.6%

This month’s top story revolves around repairs sellers usually make prior to selling, which include roof repairs, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, many issues of which come up on the buyer’s home inspection.

Bryon Ellington discusses more about the home inspection process, and the benefits to buyers of having one:

1) Find out if there are structural problems with the house.

2) “DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF”. He notes, and he is very right, that it is the home inspector’s job to write everything down that he or she finds.

3) If there is a big issue in the inspection report, consider bringing in a specialist, who will know more about that particular problem (and just how big it may be — or NOT be!)

Keep in mind that the issues found during an inspection may very well be a surprise to the seller too. Try to work together to solve the problems, as in the long run, the goal is for you, the buyer, to buy the house, and the seller to sell it.

Also remember, that no house is perfect!

Contact me for more information on buying a home in Towson, and how important a home inspection may be to your home buying process!

Kenilworth Summer Film Series 2011

Kenilworth Mall in Towson has free Friday night movies to bring people out & enjoy time together!

Put on by the Fells Point Surf Shop, these events are happening twice a month.

The first movie will be The Social Network on June 3rd. Movies will be held in the lower level parking lot, and will begin when it gets dark (the plan is 8:45pm).

June 17 will be Despicable Me, July 8 – The Tourist, July 22 – Inception, August 5 – Toy Story 3, and August 19 – Pirates of the Caribbean.

Bring your own chair & come out to relax & enjoy some popular movies this summer. Another great reason to live in Towson!

The Shops at Kenilworth mall is located at 800 Kenilworth Drive, Towson, MD 21204.

Towson Roundabout Construction

The Towson Roundabout will be undergoing some construction, and it may cause some delays as you travel through Downtown Towson over the next few months.

Construction has begun but it is just the first phase, which doesn’t affect traffic as much, since the first five phases only have closures overnight from 9pm to 5am, and will not have closures over the weekend.

The last phase, six, is due to come late summer, with the project due to end at the end of the summer.

Here are the phases as they are scheduled.

Thank you to Delegate Susan Aumann for sharing this information and photo of the construction site with her Towson constituents!

Phase 1: Close right lane on westbound East Joppa Road to right lane northbound Dulaney Valley Road (MD 146)

Phase 2: Close right lane on southbound Dulaney Valley Road and detour northbound York Road (MD 45) north of roundabout
Phase 3: Close right lane on southbound York Road (north of roundabout) and detour westbound Allegheny Avenue and West Joppa Road (one-way section)
Phase 4: Close right lane on northbound York Road south of roundabout; close left lane on southbound York Road south of roundabout; close left lane on northbound Dulaney Valley Road; and detour northbound York Road north of the roundabout
Phase 5: Close right lane northbound York Road south of the roundabout, detour eastbound East Joppa Road; and close left lane of westbound East Joppa Road
Phase 6: Weekend Roundabout Closures: Close and Detour Entire Roundabout on one or two weekends for final paving work and installation of new pavement markings – projected to occur late summer 2011

So every night, it appears there will be lane closures in Towson, which can cause traffic backups. Your best bet is to avoid the area from 9pm-5am Sunday-Thursday, and as it gets closer to the end of the project, to avoid the area on the weekends.

This Month in Real Estate May 2011

This Month in Real Estate for May 2011 is out!

Jay Papasan first addresses the numbers, with both home sales and median price being up over last month. Freddie Mac’s data showed that the average rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage was 4.8%.

Jay then discusses research about the one thing you can do to make sure your house sells for more money.

What is that one thing? STAGING.

Data shows that spending $250 staging a $200,000 home can result in a sales price 2% higher than those that do not. Currently only 1 in 3 sellers stage their homes. Why staging can be important and help get buyers into your home was also discussed in This Month in Real Estate March 2011.

Bryon Ellington discusses what improvements may be necessary and what may not when selling your home.

Things to note:

1. Improvements to your home may not result in full return when you resell your house. In general, the only thing that got the highest return was replacing your front door — and that was only at 85% of its’ initial cost.
2. Though improvements may help a buyer to choose your house over another, it doesn’t mean that they will offer more money.
3. The price of the home matters the most to a buyer.

What this tells me is that Towson houses for sale need to be priced right to bring buyers to the house. Once it is priced right, they may come in to your home and see your great improvements — but don’t expect them to pay extra for those improvements!

Dumpster Day at Riderwood Elementary School

The Ruxton-Riderwood-Lake Roland Area Improvement Association (RRLRAIA) has their annual Dumpster Day this Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 8am-noon at Riderwood Elementary School.

Not only will there be a Dumpster, but The Loading Dock will be there to accept building materials like cabinetry, lighting fixtures, and flooring materials for reuse instead of dumping.

Goodwill will also be there to accept donations!!!!

So if you live in the area, clean out your closets, your garage, your shed, your attic, and make it to Riderwood Elementary on Saturday morning, and donate and dump to clean out your Towson house!

Towsontown Spring Festival 2011

The 44th Annual Towsontown Spring Festival is this weekend, April 30 & May 1, 2011.

The Festival kicks off with Towson Gardens Day on Thursday the 28th from 10am-3 pm with Wine & Jazz from 5-7 at the Historic Courthouse Garden. Friday night showcases a concert by Mood Swings from 5:30-9pm.

Saturday, the festival runs from 10am-7pm and Sunday is 1pm-7pm.

My son had a great time at last year’s Towsontown Spring Festival at the Moon Bounces and Carnival Games areas — and loved seeing the ponies. These activities are an extra charge, but children love it!

He also loved seeing the firetrucks that both block off the streets and are there for show.

The food is wonderful — the smells wafting through Downtown Towson are amazing!

The Freedom Fun Zone, sponsored and staffed by the Maryland National Guard will have NASCAR racing cars to view as well as inflatable obstacle course and Halo Jumper.

Mix 106.5 has their stage with $2 entry, and Crushing Day plays Saturday 1-3pm, 2U from 3:30-6:30, and Sunday, Mobtown Saints from 1:30-3:30, and Reagan Years from 4-6:30.

Z104.3 is having a Singfest — a singing contest where the winner wins $300 and a trip to the next American Singing Competition!

98 Rock has their Beer Garden for $2 entry, where music & bands play.

There is so much going on, and so many activities for the weekend.

Come to Downtown Towson this weekend and enjoy the fun!

Charles St Ramp to Westbound 695 to be Closed

The Charles St construction continues and will cause more snafus beginning this week as the ramp to Westbound 695 will be closed beginning Tuesday.

The sign announcing the closure went up last week.

The Charles St entrance to 695 East is still closed.

It appears the ramp to Bellona from Charles St, with the entrance to 83N & 695W will be open at this time.

Alternate routes would be York Rd, which is not a far jaunt, and Falls Rd, which is to the west of Charles St off Joppa Rd, coming from the other part of Bellona.

Be cautious and watch for directional signs to help navigate through the closures.

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