As I sit here and reflect on 2009 and enjoy the beginning of 2010, I am reminded at what a new year can bring. There is always a sense of excitement -- that a new year can mean great things. What will happen in the Towson real estate market? Will it rise? Will it fall? [...]
The new tax assessments for the State of Maryland are due to come out in the upcoming days, and the state's assessment office says it will show an unusual thing -- a drop of an average of 19.7% in value since 2005-6, the last time many of these homes were assessed. What does this mean [...]
A few month back, I received a phone call from Jamie Smith Hopkins of the Baltimore Sun because she knew I know Towson real estate very well, and had sold homes in Loch Raven Village and Knettishall. Jamie was putting together a series of articles called "Hidden Gems" about areas in Baltimore County and City [...]
Yesterday morning, my son & I got up excited to head to the Shops at Kenilworth to visit the Holiday Train Garden, as we do each year. This time was made fun for us both by having some new friends meet up with us, plus my niece and sister-in-law. We hadn't planned on the Winter [...]
I checked my Google Analytics statistics on Friday and found one set that really made me laugh. I had a number of people visit my website from searches for "Marney Thanksgiving Letter" or "Thanksgiving Letter Marney." I had to find out what this letter was, because my first name is an unusual one, and I [...]
Beginning December 12, 2009, Fannie Mae will have new requirements on credit scores and debt ratios for all of their conventional loans. Prior to this change, the lowest credit score a borrower could have for this type of loan was 580. The new lowest score is 620. This is not negotiable, even if you are [...]
David Kramer, President and General Counsel of Castle Title, LLC asked me back for another interview about Social Media and my successes with it for business. (You can visit the first interview here.) This time the topic began as "How Much Time Should You Spend on Social Media", and we discussed this as well as appropriate [...]
On June 15, I wrote about the Old Towson Jail's new life as a community pool and how charter members may be able to convey their memberships with their West Towson homes when they sell them. The Towson Swim Club Founding Committee is having an informational meeting on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 from 7:30-9:30 pm at [...]
Monday, November 2, 2009 -- Baltimore Business Journal reports that Towson-based Black & Decker is to be acquired by Stanley Works, with the deal/merger being completed in the first half of 2010. What does this mean for its employees and the surrounding Towson community? Stanley, based in Connecticut, states that the B&D Power Tools division, which has [...]
The day after Halloween this year brings the long-awaited "extra hour of sleep", the end of Daylight Savings Time. What it also should remind you to do is change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Many newer homes are hard-wired, meaning their smoke detectors are connected to the electrical system, and sometimes even to sprinklers. [...]