Do you like live Jazz, Rock or Blues? How about some Country Honky Tonk!? Well the Sunset Concert Series at O'Donnell Lake will kick off on Friday, May 15, with a concert by Alpha Jazz, a young trio from Waldorf who have a repertoire of jazz standards and original songs. Each week thereafter will feature family-oriented bands of a variety of genres, and the organizers hope to have local artists displaying visual arts for sale along the boardwalk of the property.

Bands will perform in the promenade area of the boardwalk, which is in the center of the property. Plenty of free parking is available, and concert goers are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs for seating. Concerts will begin at 7 p.m. and end at dusk. All
performances are free and open to the public. The O'Donnell Lake Restaurant Park is located at the intersections of St. Patrick's Drive and Smallwood Drive West in St. Charles, across from the movie theater and the St. Charles Towne Center.

The schedule of performers is as follows:

May 15 Alpha Jazz (Jazz)

May 22 Higher Hands (R&B)

May 29 Padovan-Hickman-Devine Family Band (Family/Children's entertainment)

June 5 Sin Miedo (Latin)

June 12 Karen Collins and the Backwoods Band (country/honky tonk)

June 19 The Wise Guys (classic rock)

What a wonderful opportunity to spend some time relaxing with family and friends while enjoying the arts!

I just love this time of the year in Maryland! Why you ask? Blue Crabs! I know we have a baseball team called the Blue Crabs, but I'm talking about the crabs that you can eat! The Saint Mary's County Crab Festival is coming up on June 14th!  There are crabs, crabs and more crabs at the festival.  You'll also find live music, crafts, a big playground and food for those who aren't crustacean enthusiasts.   For more information, visit the Lions Club's website...

http://www.stmaryscrabfestival.com/ 

I took my family to see "Marley And Me" this weekend and I have to say that is was probably one of the best movies that I've seen. If you have the opportunity to see it, I'd highly recommend it.

As a child growing up in Arlington Va, my brothers and I always had a dog. In fact, some of the fondest memories of my childhood included times spent with our dogs. Until this weekend, I had forgotten the significance of the relationships the we as humans have with our pets. My kids have been bugging me about getting them a dog for the last three years but I've consistently declined their request. I think that my wife and kids conspired to have me see this movie to try and soften me up a little.

I have several issues. First of all, my neighbors call us every time they decide to go out of town to ask us if we'd watch their dogs. It starts to get old after awhile. Personally, I wouldn't want to put that burden on anyone else because I've been there. You want to do the neighborly thing and say "sure, I'll be more than happy to watch your dogs", but what you want to say is "I'm getting tired of chasing your dogs all through the woods!".  Secondly, I'll probably be the one that gets stuck with training, feeding and walking the dog. Third, I want a Rottweiler. My wife and kids want a small (cute) dog. Finally, I think that I'm going to need to fence-in my back yard which backs to woods and plenty of wildlife. So there you have it. Can you see why I've been a little hesitant?

Having said all of that, I think that the conspiracy worked. I've decided to get the kids a dog. Sure, we"ll have to work out the details and may even decide to get two dogs to compromise but thanks to "Marley And Me", I'm going to start planning for some Spring puppies. I'm sold (I think)! I'll let you know how it all works out.

If you are considering purchasing a short sale, it's important to understand that while you may be able to get a great deal, you need to have a lot of patience to get that good deal! Here's just one example of why...

In February, 2008, I listed a home for short sale in Prince George's County, Maryland. At that time, the asking price was $525,000. The seller ratified the first full price offer around April but it took Countrywide (seller's lender) until July to assign the file to a negotiator. This one step in the process took so long that the buyer got frustrated and withdrew his offer. I put the house back on the market in July and received a second offer around the first of September. This time, it only took two weeks to have the file assigned to the negotiator (when the first buyer walked away, the file was closed which means the whole process starts over).

Once the appraisal was received with updated seller financials, the negotiator submitted the file for approval. It was approved around October 15th but we still hadn't received the approval letter by mid-November from Countrywide (needed to close). The second buyer withdrew her offer and Countrywide closed the file again. (They said the approval letter could've come at any moment). 

I put the house back on the market and received an offer 1 week later. This was exciting because the offer was for the same amount previously approved by the investors a few weeks prior (I finally received the approval letter for the 2nd offer after the file was canceled). I figured that this would be a no-brainier! In fact, the net to the bank was greater on this offer because Countrywide asked me to cut my commission by 1%. Guess what....the negotiator refused to review the previous APPROVED offer and declined to submit the new offer because she felt the buyer was asking too much in closing help. The negotiator closed the file! Of course, this means that we had to start all over again.

Upon my persistence, a supervisor willing to look at the entire history of this file decided to reopen it. She instructed the next negotiator to review the entire file and notice the approval of a previous offer with a less net to bank than the current offer. As of today, we are awaiting assignment to a new negotiator. Hopefully, that negotiator will be willing to review the entire file and submit it to the investors for an approval.

Here is the important thing to note... the current offer is $465,000 with $27,000 in closing assistance. Countrywide is not concerned that they lost at least $60,000 and could very well loose more if the current buyer walks away. Countrywide is probably the worst bank to deal within short sale negotiations; however, they all have similar issues with respect to obtaining approvals. These negotiators have very volumous workloads to work at one time so it's important to understand this as you consider your options. Please, if you decide to write an offer on a short sale, be patient and know that the acceptance of your offer is never guaranteed.