Baltimore, MD (May 7, 2008) – According to Forbes.com (April 15, 2008), Baltimore ranked among the top 10 worst markets to try to sell a home. In a two-day live event, ABC2 News works to help a Timonium family sell their home.  On Tuesday, May 13^th and Wednesday, May 14^th, the welcome mat will be rolled out for stagers from Bright Idea Interiors to prepare the Cape Cod style home for staging and Long & Foster Real Estate to conduct a brokers open house. ABC2 reporters, Joce Sterman and Christian Schaffer, will give live reports from the home.

After eight years in the quiet Timonium neighborhood, the Fields family plans to move to a bigger home in Baltimore County, but before they go, a team of experts will do some extensive spring cleaning and renovations to the home.  On Tuesday, May 13^th, beginning at 6a.m., Bright Ideas Interiors will stage the home.  Carpets will be ripped out, walls painted, and curtains hung in preparation for placement on the housing market. The entire renovation can be viewed on ABC2 News and on abc2news.com, via a live web broadcast, along with before and after photos. On Wednesday, May 14^th, from 11a.m.-3p.m., Long & Foster agent Mary Wodka spearheads a brokers open house. ABC2 News cameras will be there as real estate agents as they move through the newly redecorated rooms in hopes of matching the home with prospective buyers.

About WMAR & Scripps

WMAR TV is owned by The E. W. Scripps Company.  The E.W. Scripps Company  (NYSE: SSP) is a diverse and growing media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, interactive media, and licensing and syndication.  The company’s portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks, with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country; daily and community newspapers in 18 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center; 10 broadcast TV stations, Scripps Interactive Media, Shopzilla, uSwitch; and United Media. 

(410) 372-2668,Baptiste@wmar.com 

I visited this house a week or so ago. It’s listed at $32,900. That’s not a typo- $33K. Offer $25K and see what happens. I managed to get inside after some fumbling with the lock box. The key was in the door, but the lock wasn’t working. Eventually just before giving up I managed to push the door open and in I went. Why do I always forget to bring a flashlight? Luckily there were a lot of windows so I could see. No holes in the floor and the steps inside leading up to the second and third floor are sturdy.

I almost fell on my keister when exiting the front door though- one of the marble steps on the stoop is loose.

It’s a large rowhouse. It’s not in such bad shape either- it needs a lot of painting. There’s a window pane missing from one of the rooms upstairs and it’s starting to cause water damage, but I couldn’t see any major issues which was surprising.

This is not in a glamorous neighborhood- far from it. However, this is a neighborhood that I think will come back sooner or later. It could possibly be rented once fixed up. It’s less than a block east of Greenmount Ave. and a couple blocks north of North Ave.

I didn’t take the photo- it’s off the listing agent’s website. It’s the middle one, but you can’t tell how big it is from the photo.

www.joshuaberlow.com/real.htm

I just Google’d BRAC: it stands for Base Realignment and Closure. They’re marching our way.

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The Live Baltimore Home Center will host a FREE Relocation Fair in the City of Baltimore for BRAC-impacted individuals and families considering relocation to Maryland and APG.

Live Baltimore is providing complimentary motor coach transportation to Baltimore City or participants can provide their own transportation. The event will begin with a community fair, showcasing the charm of Baltimore’s 225+ neighborhoods, variety of housing options and quality of life amenities. Lunch will be provided during the fair, followed by narrated bus tours of different neighborhoods and housing options in Baltimore City.

http://www.livebaltimore.com/brac/greenlight/

I was intrigued when I read an article the other day reporting that a developer plans to build 99 new townhouses and condos in Pigtown near th B&O railroad museum (expected to go on sale in 2010).  The developer also wants to revitalize a block of Pigtown’s commercial district along Washington Blvd. bringing new restaurants and shops.  Pigtown has been gentrifiying for a while, but I didn’t expect to hear this kind of announcement.  It’s definitely a good thing for the area.  Maybe it has to do with Pigtown’s name change to “Washington Village”, but has this area finally become the next Federal Hill or Canton?  Seems like there might be no stopping it at this point, especially with University of Maryland creeping across MLK.  However, I haven’t been over that way in a while.  I’m interested to hear perspectives from anyone who lives over there…especially the early pioneers…as to how redevelopment is going in that area. 

Federal Place a 49 unit town-home community being built on the hill overlooking Key Highway and the Harborview town-homes, and adjacent to Digital Harbor High School.  These are very impressive looking properties, no wonder they are priced from $900,000 to $1.25 million.  Amazingly they are 5 stories tall.  I’m not sure how the builder - Patriot Homes, a Lennar Corp. subsidiary - managed to get the permits to build such high structures.  They easily exceed the 35 foot limit enforced on much of the properties in south Baltimore, and tower over the height limits of the nearby controversial Pier Homes.

These houses are pimped out with elevators that run from the 2 car garage level all the way to the rooftop terrace, 2 car parking pad, 3 bedroom, 3.5 baths, professional kitchens, and amazing views.  But for that much money I might go with a 6 bedroom estate in the county.

Photo tour of properties

Official Website

Green Harbor Point - the green homes being built in Baltimore’s Locust Point community are well under way.  These are the first green town-homes to be built in Baltimore. I snapped a couple pictures while walking by them the other day.  They look pretty interesting and unique from the outside.  The builder (Dan Rieth) and builder (Hawkeye Construction) have taken a different approach than most of the town-homes currently being built in the city.   I guess you could say they look a bit out of place among Locust Point’s standard row homes that typically feature a pretty flat and basic front facade.  But to me it makes them a lot more visually interesting.

The standard floor plan seems to have only 2 bedrooms, but there is an option to do a third on the lower level with the garage.  The lower level sits partial underground.  This blueprint below comes from the Green Harbor Point website.  The split level design is unusual for the area, but the result is pretty cool. Prices are starting in the mid $500’s.  Which is pretty standard for new construction. Apparently the “green” tag doesn’t command a much higher price than similar “environment killer homes.”  The materials used and feature offered on the inside are pretty impressive - range hoods, bamboo floors, designer sinks, etc.

If your not yet familar with the term “green” for construction - it basically means that they are more energy and resource efficient than typical construction. 

More specifically from the website…

The homes at Green Harbor Point are LEED Certified Green Buildings by the U.S. Green Building Counsel (USGBC) and have earned Energy Star Rating by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Green

Building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. The many elements addressed through

Green

Building include: Energy Management, Water Conservation, Improved Indoor Environments, Choice of Building Materials, and Construction Waste Reduction.

Homes that earn the ENERGY STAR must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the EPA. ENERGY STAR qualified homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).

I came across this cool mailbox on Towson street in Locust Point today.  Thought I would grab a pick since it’s the only freestanding mailbox I have seen for a row home. 

Who said you couldn’t have a front yard in the city? The house shown here (with the fence) sure is making the most of their limited space.

The new townhome development by NV Homes on Fort Avenue is well under way.  The community sits between the entrance to Locust Point and the Riverside Community.  Which is funny beacuse the flyer I got in the mail, and magazine advertisements say “in Federal Hill.”  In any case it is a pretty convienent location.  It is amazing NV Homes was able to carve out such a large piece or property along the densely developed Fort Avenue.  The community will have roughly 20 homes, with 4 already partially complete.  The property sits at a relatively high point, so the view should be great.

The homes a pretty large - roughly 2,000 square feet, 3-4 bedroom, 2.5-3.5 bath, 3 stories with a roof top terrace.  The sign along Fort Avenue in Locust Point, the NV Website, and the recent ad in Baltimore magazine says the “Starting Upper $490’s”.  So basically once you have picked your upgrades you can expect to be spending close to $525 - $550.  That puts them roughly in the same price range as the McHenry Point Homes built by Pulte Homes - located at Silo Point (in Locust Point).

 There are floorplans up on their website.  They seem pretty standard, but a bit stripped down. It doesn’t seem there is an option for a separate shower and bath in the master bathroom - which seems pretty small.  Most of the new construction in the area allows for this option as it seems to be popular.