Hughesville, MD Real Estate

The Charles County Sheriff's Office will conduct multiple sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols throughout the county beginning Dec. 21 and continuing throughout the holiday weekend. 

The Sheriff's Office is not disclosing the location of the checkpoints but signs on the roadway will advise motorists as they approach them. Officers will check all vehicles that pass through the checkpoint and drivers who are found to be intoxicated will be arrested. Delays for motorists are expected to be minimal.

Please remember when you drink don't drive. Use a designated driver, call a cab or stay put. Have a safe Holiday!

Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)

Hughesville, MD Real Estate

www.hughesvillehomes.com

As I watched my oldest son, who is in the sixth grade, complete a Social Studies project on Interdependency of World Cultures, it dawned on me I might be missing something. Not that Peru has a diverse culture, but the search engine that people may be using and where my business was placed.

It was no surprise he used the Internet to find information to complete his project, but he surprised me when he went to Ask.com to find the information he was looking for. I assumed he would use Google. I use Google, why wouldn't he? Like father like son, right? Nope.

I asked why he used it, he said it was easier and it took less time. Less time for what?? I prodded... less time to find what I'm looking for dad. With that look like "you don't use Ask.com?" and a raised eyebrow...

The search results are returned just as quickly, but I think when he said "took less time" he meant the quality of the top results were better. He didn't have to sift through a few results to find his answer, he felt could rely on the top couple of returns confidently.

So I did some searches on Ask.com with terms that I come up on the first page of Google. I was surprised and dismayed I wasn't even on the first couple of pages. Naturally, I began to think about my business and how I optimize for Google and Yahoo. I don't optimize for Ask.com, don't know if the process is similar and don't know if it would make a difference to my bottom line. At the very least I figured, it may give my sellers additional exposure.

Because Google and Yahoo have such a large search engine market share, I suspect the lack of "placement" on Ask.com may not be much of an immediate concern, but it got me thinking my organic results may be lacking "depth".

I thanked my son for the lesson.

Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)

Hughesville, MD Real Estate

www.hughesvillehomes.com

The Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Company 2 have published the 2007 Santa Run Schedule. This is a fun event for children and parents alike.

Santa's coming and his elves have finished the schedule. Santa will arrive with a parade of fire trucks and ambulances at locations listed on Company 2's website between the hours of 6:30pm and 9:00pm each night.

Santa wants everyone to have a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Parents are reminded that it will be dark outside and difficult for Santa and his helpers to see everyone clearly. Please hold the children tight until the fire trucks stop moving. Santa also wants to tell everyone that he can not get to every street because of the size of the fire trucks. Santa's elves have tried to identify streets that Santa can turn around on. *Group meeting places* have been established for those children that do not live in or near a subdivision and will be Santa's first stop.

Santa's run will go from December 10th through December 19th. For a complete list of times and routes please visit Company 2's website.
 

Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)

Hughesville, MD Real Estate

www.hughesvillehomes.com

Josette Skilling's blog on "No, Putting the Text of the Bonus in Bold Doesn't Work" got me thinking about price reductions. I've actually been thinking about price reductions for awhile. I know, who hasn't, but her blog moved me to write. I also saw a term today I had not seen before, reduction-aversion, on Mish's blog. As I read the blog it struck me. The blog is about new home inventory and how various Home Builders are handling price reductions, but the principle is the same. Supply and Demand.

When warranted and generally speaking, the purpose of a price reduction is to generate additional buyer interest and the call-to-action of seeing your listing and ultimately writing a contract. But what if the price reduction doesn't generate the desired result? Do you advise your sellers to cut again and again, and again? You get the point... you're chasing a downward market.

When the price reductions don't work, the obvious question is "Why didn't it work?" Was the price reduction not dramatic enough to impress the potential buyer to make the desired call-to-action? Or were the price reductions never going to work because the buyer was waiting for more? In this scenario, the sellers fear is "leaving money on the table" and the buyers fear is "paying too much". I think both are very reasonable fears, but I believe generous and dramatic price reductions are more effective.

What if the seller decided they were satisfied with the original list price and dismissed your advice of a generous price reduction? Would the sellers reduction-aversion eventually have the desired effect of the call-to-action? I don't think it would. Do you?

Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)

Hughesville, MD Real Estate

www.hughesvillehomes.com

I've been following an interesting subject that affects the quality of life for residents of Hughesville and Southern Maryland. The subject is the addition of Commuter rail cars on existing CSX rail lines. This is an excellent opportunity to provide a valuable service to the residents of Hughesville and all of Southern Maryland.

Maryland Senator Roy Dyson has been trying for years to get some traction on this issue and it appears we may have some. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer apparently contacted Governer Martin O'Malley and Transportation Secretary Porcari to urge them to include Southern Maryland in MARC Train plans. Following are excerpts from an October 1, 2007 article in St. Mary's Today.

"We got our transportation study commission in place and we have seen some reports and officials visiting the area and right away we have ridiculous talk about examining the Rt. 5 corridor from Waldorf to Clinton for a right of way to connect Waldorf to Metro," said Sen. Dyson. "That option is no option at all and all it does it take valuable time and money away from the possible while holding out hope for the impossible. We will never be able to afford the bill for that option, not with the current fiscal crisis we are in and the state of the economy. I have never seen the time when the state or federal government would fund a potential $3 billion project like that, why not do what is affordable?"

"We can, however, work with CSX to add commuter trains to the existing rail lines, they want double tracking and at least the right-of-way is in place and using the rail system in place gives us a chance to link our region with the rest of the state," said Sen. Dyson.

CSX has rail lines which extend from the two power plants in Charles County, one at the Potomac River at Morgantown and the other at Chalk Point on the Patuxent River. The CSX rail line straddles part of the Prince George's and Charles county line through Hughesville.

"We can add locomotives and passenger cars, we can work with the railroad to make improvements to accommodate passenger service and we can work to get a lot of vehicles off the road, save on gasoline, save on emissions from traffic and save on a lot of people’s nerves," said Sen. Dyson.

Dyson pointed to the rail line right-of-way which extends from the CSX line at Gallant Green in Hughesville to Lexington Park as an easy way to further extend rail service to the region.

"They never sent light rail to Glen Burnie because they didn’t have a right-of-way, there from Baltimore and couldn’t afford to buy it," said Dyson. "We still have our right-of-way 95 percent intact and we had a feasibility study conducted by the Department of Transportation 7 years ago which called for this valuable asset to be protected from further encroachments and easements and I am concerned that the recommendations of the feasibility study be followed."

"We need to set priorities and concentrate on the possible," said Dyson.

Delusional Duck has blogged about the issue and apparently Commissioner Gary Hodge has an opposing view he expressed to the Washington Post. Commission Hodge proposed light-rail similar to trolley-type cars because he fears the growth will be more rapid than with another rail solution. I assume the trolley-type car is smaller and will carry less people. I think this solution is short-sighted and will not be able to handle the current and future needs of the entire Southern Maryland region.

I think Senator Dyson and Representative Hoyer are right. We need a quality solution that will serve the transportation needs of the current and future residents of the entire Southern Maryland region. Growth in Hughesville and Southern Maryland is unavoidable, the growth will come and all agree controlled growth is best. Progressive, local solutions enhance quality of life. The solution of using existing CSX lines for commuter rail makes sense.

Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)

Hughesville, MD Real Estate

www.hughesvillehomes.com

November saw several changes in the Hughesville market. Most notable was additional inventory through an increase of new construction. The newest subdivision is Ole Field Estate on Route 231 next to Old Field Chapel. It is a Marrick, Inc. community.

Average Days on Market increased two days from 92 to 94. We've seen some fairly stable conditions in Hughesville recently.

The number of homes for sale in Hughesville is 99, of those 38 are resale. There were six homes that went under contract in November and of those two were resale.

Six homes went under contract in November and of the six, two were resale.

The number of sold homes in Hughesville is two, one in Brookleigh Woods and the other in Lake Jameson. It was interesting to note the sold price for both homes was about 97% of the original list price.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)

Hughesville, MD Real Estate

www.hughesvillehomes.com

I ran in the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon and raised money for Injured Marines and their families. My fundraising campaign was successful. I raised more money than my goal, I actually reached my goal early and raised it because folks were so generous. Donations came from friends, family, colleagues, and past clients. I started raising money in mid-May and stopped the last week of October.

When I received a donation I immediately emailed the donor with a thank-you. I didn't expect any response and rarely got one. During the course of the fundraising, folks asked how my training was going and how long I had until the Marathon. They were interested in how I was doing and that got me thinking I should let them all know when the Marathon was over, how the fundraising went, and how I ran (btw it wasn't pretty, but I finished lol).

I wrote each person that donated a short, sincere, handwritten thank-you note that told them thanks, how much I raised, where their donation went, how helpful their donation was and that I completed the Marathon. The thank-you card was "branded". I received several emails, phone calls, and pats-on-the-back thanking me for sending them a nice thank-you note. I was little surprised with the feedback.

I started sending thank-you notes to clients when I received one myself about a year ago after buying life-insurance. I send them immediately after closings thanking them for their business and trust.

I think we don't send them in today's faced-paced world, because it's easier and quicker to send an email, a text message or make a phone call. However, a handwritten thank-you note will have a greater impact and will be more effective and appreciated.