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fort meade: Grants for Military and DOD/DHS Civilian Homebuyers - 03/26/12 07:14 AM
PCSing to Fort Meade, Andrews AFB, Naval Station Annapolis, or The Pentagon? Relocating for a civilian job at the Department of Defense or Homeland Security?
You may be eligible for a $5,000 grant to help you buy a detached home, townhome or condo, using a 30-year fixed-rate loan. This grant is available through the Dream Makers Program of the Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) Foundation, but you don't have to be a member of PenFed to qualify.
Eligibility requirements:
Military (Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard or Veteran) OR civilian employees at the DOD or DHS First-time home buyers OR you haven't … (7 comments)
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fort meade: What makes a "Military Specialist" different from any other agent? - 09/25/11 10:53 AM
A columnist for The Washington Times contacted me last week for an article she is writing, and this is the question she asked me: What makes you a military specialist?
Of course, any agent can work with a relocating military family, whether they're coming or going. And most of those transactions will be successful. However, many military families prefer to work with a so-called "military specialist."
There's no professional designation or rulebook for real estate agents to be considered a "military specialist" but there may be certain expectations on the part of service members and their spouses. My military clients tell … (8 comments)
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fort meade: Fort Meade Community Outraged at Protest Yesterday - 04/15/11 10:17 AM
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day - sunny, mild, tulips coming into bloom as the cherry blossoms fade... My husband and I headed down to the Academy Club at the U.S. Naval Academy for lunch - a nice break in an otherwise crazy-busy day. We walked around like a couple of tourists for a few minutes and snapped some photos for future blog posts before heading back to work.
Had we known in advance about the protest at Fort George G. Meade yesterday morning, our day would have been quite different. That's because we would have joined the hundreds of counter-protestors … (12 comments)
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fort meade: Can I Use HAP if My Underwater Property is Rented? - 02/15/11 05:43 AM
Q. I rented my Bowie MD home when I got PCS orders from Fort Meade to Fort Bragg because I couldn't sell it for enough to cover the mortgage. Now that my home is a rental property, will I still be eligible for the Department of Defense Homeowners Assistance Program known as HAP?
A. Yes, you can use HAP if the property is rented, provided it was your primary residence at the time you received PCS orders.
There are some additional requirements, as well:
Your permanent reassignment to a new duty station or home port must be outside a 50-mile … (26 comments)
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fort meade: Spacious Crofton Colonial on 2 Acres for Rent - 12/15/10 07:43 AM
Not many homes in the Crofton area are located on 2 acres, so it's a rare opportunity when one becomes available for rent. If you're relocating to the Baltimore-Washington area, your timing couldn't be better.
Three military installations are located within a half hour - Fort George G. Meade, Andrews AFB, and the U.S. Naval Academy - not to mention the various U.S. Government offices in D.C. (just a little farther but still an easy commute). Maryland public schools are ranked #1 in the nation, and recreation opportunities abound in nearby Annapolis, Baltimore and D.C. Now you can enjoy it all … (8 comments)
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fort meade: VA Mortgage Loan After A Short Sale - 09/15/10 09:44 PM
Many of our home-buyers in the area around Fort Meade, Andrews AFB, and the Naval Station Annapolis are either active duty military or veterans. And some of them are asking whether they can buy again after a short sale.
North Carolina mortgage lender Eleanor Thorne does a great job of answering this question in the following blog post (re-blogged here with her permission). Thanks, Eleanor!
NOTE: Comments are disabled below; please click on the title of Eleanor's post to comment there instead.
Via Eleanor Thorne 919-649-5057 Cary Mortgage Loans NMLS #67179 (First Financial Services, Inc):
We just answered a question from … (0 comments)
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fort meade: Crofton Area Military Families Save $$$ Shopping at Commissary - 06/24/10 04:46 PM
Military families who live in Crofton are just a half hour from three different military commissaries: Naval Station Annapolis, Fort Meade, and Andrews AFB. (...Not to mention other family-friendly facilities at these three locations.)
It's so easy to be lazy and shop at the nearest grocery store - I did that sometimes even when Larry was on active-duty and we were (always financially challenged) young newlyweds. Since he retired, we've seldom shopped at the commissaries even though we have that option.
My refrigerator and cabinets were very empty today, so I needed some staples as well as the week's groceries. That … (13 comments)
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fort meade: Ice Cream Social at Odenton Historical Center & Museum - 06/04/10 09:13 AM
Who doesn't like ice cream on a hot summer day? Or behaps a cold drink of lemonade?
On Sunday, June 6, there will be plenty of hand-dipped ice cream and homemade lemonade at the Annual Ice Cream Social to be held at the Odenton Historical Center & Museum (1367 Odenton Road).
Plenty of other fun things, too, including a Vintage Hat Contest, prizes for kids dressed in vintage costumes, and entertainment by local talent including a Barbershop Quartet. Costumed historians will be on hand to introduce you to Odenton history, which is steeped in agriculture and the railroad.
If ice cream … (5 comments)
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fort meade: A Tour of Local Public Schools for Crofton Newbies - 06/03/10 06:00 PM
Homebuyers relocating to the D.C. - Baltimore - Annapolis Triangle, including military families headed to Fort Meade, Andrews AFB and the USNA, often discover the greater Crofton area for the first time when they start digging into the quality of schools throughout the region. It's hard to find anything "not to like" about Arundel H.S., South River H.S., and their respective feeder systems in Crofton, Davidsonville, and Gambrills.
Of course, any school or even classroom is only as good as the individual principal and teacher at that moment, so you're bound to find some exceptions anywhere, but I can't imagine … (7 comments)
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fort meade: Shop for Mothers Day at Gambrills Flower Farm - 05/08/10 11:14 PM
If you live in the greater Crofton area and haven't yet discovered Gambrills Flower Farm, you need to head on over there today! It's located on Route 175, about a mile or two west of Route 3, and about 5 miles east of Fort Meade.
They brought three truck-loads of hanging baskets, annuals, perennials and patio-size containers to display in front of Crofton Country Club at the garden club fashions show last week. I've never seen such magnificent flowers... 'not surprising that they nearly sold out.
Yesterday, instead of buying summer annuals at my favorite garden center in Davidsonville, … (0 comments)
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fort meade: Bowie MD - Affordable Homes For Military Families - 04/05/10 11:08 AM
TOP THREE REASONS MILITARY FAMILIES CHOOSE BOWIE:
If you have PCS orders for duty in the D.C. area, you're probably both excited about the opportunity and nervous about the cost of living. Even though I grew up in the area, that's exactly how my husband and I felt when we were faced with a move from San Diego CA to Annapolis, where he would teach at the U.S. Naval Academy.
One of the first places we looked for a home was Bowie MD, and here's why:
1. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION -
Bowie MD is less than a half hour to … (0 comments)
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fort meade: Operation Christmas Stocking - REALTORS as Santa's Elves - 10/20/09 08:28 AM
Long and Foster agents in Crofton, Maryland, jumped into action when I told them about Operation Christmas Stocking, just five days ago.
There were so many bags and boxes of goodies in my office, two days later, that I could barely make a path to my desk. Yesterday, several agents and family members showed up to fill 101 holiday gift bags!
Toiletries, toys, playing cards, puzzle books and pencils, notepaper and pens, candy and lots of other things overflowed the holiday gift bags, along with a hand-wrtten Christmas card to say "thank you" to the gift bag recipient.
… (19 comments)
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fort meade: Hermitage - An Upscale Community Near Crofton - 09/22/09 07:15 AM
As you leave Crofton and head east on Route 450 towards Annapolis, you'll spot this entrance into the community of Hermitage - a community of 62 custom-built homes on spacious lots.
You can see from these photos that Hermitage is not a "one size fits all" community... in fact you'll find homes and settings for every taste, from colonials to ranchers, tudors to contemporary, and wooded to open space. Yet it's not a hodge-podge, either, because the homes are far apart on winding and sloping roads that seamlessly take you past one home to the next.
There are no … (7 comments)
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fort meade: Neighborhoods in Crofton Maryland - HABITAT CONDOS in Crofton Meadows - 08/24/09 07:59 AM
HABITAT Condos in Crofton Meadows, Crofton Maryland - Affordable Homes Near Fort Meade
There are some homeowners in Habitat who are younger than their homes - but that doesn't seem to bother them. That's because Habitat is ideal for first-time buyers as well as empty nesters, retirees and anyone looking for a rock-bottom price and a Crofton address. That's been the market for Habitat since Day One, when they were first built.
Habitat is located off Reidel Road in Crofton, easily accessible from Fort Meade and BWI on the north and from the Crofton Triangle on the south. Commuting … (3 comments)
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fort meade: THE KNOLLS in CROFTON - Affordable Homes Near Fort Meade - 07/29/09 07:06 AM
THE KNOLLS IN CROFTON, MARYLAND - Located in Crofton Village on the west side of Waugh Chapel Road between Johns Hopkins Road and Nantucket Drive.
No list of Affordable Homes Near Fort Meade would be complete without including several neighborhoods in Crofton, MD.
THE KNOLLS is one of them - a townhome community located in North Crofton, just 15 minutes from Fort Meade, Annapolis, and Bowie Town Center. All the homes in this community have basements and a few of them even have a garage.
This subdivision is one of several townhome communities built in Crofton by The … (3 comments)
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fort meade: Four Seasons Estates in Gambrills MD - 07/27/09 06:13 AM
Affordable Homes Near Fort Meade include hundreds of detached homes in the community of FOUR SEASONS ESTATES in Gambrills, Maryland, about fifteen minutes east of the post.
While SEVEN OAKS and PINEY ORCHARD appeal to many civilian and military personnel stationed in the area because homes are a little newer and closer to the post, others much prefer to find an Affordable Home Near Fort Meade and NSA that's NOT a townhome or condo.
Detached homes in FOUR SEASONS ESTATES are older, but they're also priced in the same range as townhomes and condos of other nearby communities. Many of … (5 comments)
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fort meade: PINEY ORCHARD in Odenton MD - 07/26/09 09:50 AM
As I mentioned yesterday in the first post of my series about Affordable Homes Near Fort Meade, you'll find lots of different options beyond the Fort Meade gates if you prefer to live off-post. In fact, there are many desirable communities in five nearby counties: Anne Arundel, Howard, Prince George's, Montgomery and Baltimore Counties.
Two nearby communities in Odenton usually top the wish-list for military and civilian personnel relocating to Fort Meade and NSA, however, so we're looking at them first: SEVEN OAKS (yesterday) and PINEY ORCHARD (below). Chances are good you'll find your next home without looking any further!
… (20 comments)
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fort meade: How to Get Your Free Crofton Area Map - 06/23/09 02:45 PM
This post is included in Your Online Relocation Package for Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Home of Fort George G. Meade, NSA, Northrop Grumman, BWI, and the U.S. Naval Academy.
With GPS and Mapquest, who needs a map to get around in the Greater Crofton area?
If your answer is “I do!”, you’re in luck because I just happen to have a box of Crofton area maps in my office. Simply ask, and you shall receive. I also have a limited number of full-color maps for the area between Baltimore and Washington, which are ideal for anyone relocating to work … (13 comments)
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fort meade: Odenton Maryland Real Estate Update - May 2009 - 06/16/09 06:52 AM
Real Estate statistics for Odenton, in May, were "not too bad" - which is another way of saying they were "almost good" by comparison with almost everywhere else in the area last month! I'm fairly sure this is a reflection of the community's proximity to Fort Meade, BWI, and major defense contractors such as Northrup Grumman because they contribute a steady turnover and boost to the local economy and real estate market.
The best news of all was the fact that days on market have declined to 102 this year from 134 last year. The bad news was that 70 new … (2 comments)
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fort meade: Commuting Guide for Fort George G. Meade and NSA - 04/24/09 07:24 AM
Included in Your Online Relocation Package for Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Home of Fort George G. Meade, NSA, Northrop Grumman, BWI, and the U.S. Naval Academy.
If you have PCS orders to Fort George G. Meade in Maryland, a map of the huge D.C. – Baltimore area may seem a bit overwhelming as you try to decide where to look for a home when you arrive.
Let me re-assure you that everywhere within this circle I’ve drawn around Fort Meade (and even some communities beyond) will be less than a half-hour commute on a normal day. Of course, … (15 comments)
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Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation Services
Crofton,
MD
More about me…
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Crofton, MD
Address: 2191 Defense Hwy., #120, Crofton, Bowie, and Davidsonville, MD, 21114
Office Phone: (410) 721-1500
Cell Phone: (301) 346-2923
Email Me
Real Estate and community information for homebuyers, sellers, and rookie agents in Bowie, Crofton, Crownsville, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Odenton, Millersville, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Proven systems - combining local expertise, professional experience, and technology - to give you a competitive edge when you buy or sell a home.
Margaret Woda
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