Brendan's Blog

The entertainment budget in our household (as well as many others I'm sure) has been slim as of late.  Thank goodness we live in Charm City!  This is the first of a series of posts which will document how easy it is to enjoy Baltimore on a budget.  I will chronicle ten outings, in and around Baltimore, and I am giving myself a whopping budget of fifty bucks!  Wish me luck!

My first event took me to Baltimore's Homeland neighborhood.  This fantastic North Baltimore neighborhood, close to Loyola University and the College of Notre Dame is home to some of Baltimore's most beautiful homes, and to the breathtaking Cathedral of Mary our Queen, where I was lucky enough to spend a few hours last evening.

The Cathedral which was dedicated in 1959, and took over five years to build, is truly one of Baltimore's most beautiful landmarks.  I have the pleasure of visiting this awesome structure twice a week, as a section leader in the Cathedral Choir, but I sincerely appreciate any opportunities to visit this awe inspiring space when I am not "on the clock."

Yesterday evening was one of those occasions.  As part of the Cathedral Music Series, Daniel Sansone gave a recital of organ music on the brand new Cathedral organ, completed one year ago by the Schantz Organ company, of Orville Ohio.  Although I am rather educated in classical music, my knowledge of the organ repertoire is blissfully limited.  This allows me to truly "unplug," rather than being in "work" mode.  I spent ninety minutes bathed in glorious sound as I enjoyed the inspiring architecture of the Cathedral.  The recital began just as the sun was setting in the stained-glass window on the western wall above the altar.  Mr. Sansone chose to play the first selection (Bach's Fantasy in G Major) from the front console, giving the audience a unique perspective, one couldn't help but feel as though they had just stepped into the cockpit of a jet, with the four keyboards and myriads of controls...thank goodness this organist knows how to fly!  The majority of the recital was played from the gallery, which features 104 Ranks, and 75 stops, a truly impressive instrument that was handled with virtuosic flare.  The highlights of the program for this listener were the Toccata, Fugue and Hymne sur "Ave Maris Stella" by Flor Peeters, and the Sonata in G Major of Sir Edward Elgar, which closed the program.  As I sat there in this remarkable space, I reflected on the great deal of work that went into creating such beauty...the countless man-hours spent building and maintaining this limestone miracle known as the Cathedral of Mary our Queen, the ornate stone and woodwork, the miles of stained glass, the mamouth task of building the new cathedral organ, the hours that went into planning this recital not to mention the lifetime of devoted practice that allows the organist to bring this music to life.  All of this work, which inspires the cathedral's parishoners (whether consciously or not) on a weekly basis, provided me with ninety minutes of pure relaxation, reflection, decompression...joy.

An added bonus, this great evening didn't effect my entertainment budget in the least...the Cathedral Concert series is free to the public (they do accept a free-will offering, but for the purpose of my project, we're calling it free~)  Check the cathedral's website for a schedule of upcoming events...and stay tuned for more posts!

OK, we are in a tough time right now, and every piece of business in important, but I still feel that in a "karmic" sense, educating the public needs to be priority number one.

I am in a rather unique situation at my current brokerage, the agents are busy!  My partner and I are two of only a handful of agents that are doing any on-line marketing.  As a result, when someone sees a sign in front of a home and "googles" our company name, our info tends to come up.  We do get a number of qualified leads this way, and for the most part, the listing agents are too busy to field all of the calls, and are pleased that we are working the business.  After all, the buyers are contacting us directly through OUR private website, or AR, so I do not feel as though we are poaching any leads.

This scenario leads to usually 7-10 phone calls per week.  I continually marvel at the percentage of those calls where the buyer thinks that they are saving money by contacting the listing brokerage directly, and even more, the number of people that actually verbalize that thought.  All that I have to do is explain that if they contact the listing agent directly, they are not represented, and the listing agent gets paid twice!  Today, the lead did not go to me...it went where it belonged...to an agent who had been working with this client for weeks (apparently without a brokerage agreement...but that's another story) and was about to get cut out of the deal because the buyer thought they could save some cash.

How as an idustry can we get the idea out there to the public that buyer representation is important, and for all intents and purposes, free.  Any thoughts, short of "one buyer at a time?"

I had the opportunity yesterday to tour Turner Development's newest project in Baltimore's Locust Point neighborhood yesterday, and the day before.  I feel that I need to consult a thesaurus prior to making this post, as I don't think that my feeble vocabulary is stocked with enough superlatives to describe this truly amazing project.  I want to be clear, that I have been skeptical of this project since its inception, but am truly blown away by the progress, and with the finish line is sight, the end result.  I originally and naively thought that it would be crazy to build a luxury development like this in South Baltimore, without the businesses in place to cater to the residents, but now firmly believe that Silo Point is about to be the anchor that turns Locust Point into one of the premiere neighborhoods in Baltimore.

Silo Point is a 228 unit development is a conversion of a 1920's grain elevator silo, nestled in perhaps the most attractive piece of water-front in Baltimore, near Fort McHenry.  The northern side of the building has absolutely stunning views of the Baltimore City Skyline, and the Inner Harbor.  The neighborhood has building restrictions in terms of height, but Silo Point is grandfathered, meaning that nothing is going to block these truly extraordinary views.

To me, this project redefines luxury.  The insdescribable views aside, this development offers every amenity one could look for.  I found myself speechless at the level of workmanship that went into the conversion of this structure, retaining much of the original concrete (especially breathtaking are the columns in the main lobby) while bringing all of the modern amenities one could want, including AMX touchpad technology, closets by closet innovations, a myriad of available floor-plans (I think 30 at my count), terrific restaurants, a concierge, 24hr gym, and the list goes on.

My clients and I stopped in on Sunday afternoon while we were touring other properties in the area and were met by very friendly staff, and a stunning sales center.  Sadly, we were unable to take a tour that day, but quickly rescheduled for the following day.  We were met the next afternoon by Scott, the very personable and extremely knowledgeable sales manager.  We viewed a number of different floor-plans and models, and were impressed by just about everything, including the price (most of what we looked at was under the $750k mark).  There was a flurry of activity, with workmen everywhere as they get ready for an opening event in the coming weeks.

If city living is your thing, take a look at Silo Point...here I am, publicly "eating crow," I was wrong...way wrong...Congrats to the folks at Turner Development, this project is a home run (did I mention you can see Camden Yards)

I am amazed that the number of blog posts on AR regarding the presidential campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama.  I understand that this is a great format where people can truly speak their minds, but is it really a good idea to broadcast your political beliefs like this?  I mean, I am just as happy to sell a home to a John McCain supporter as I am to a Barack Obama supporter.  I don't mean to discount the importance of this election.  I have very strong beliefs about who I am going to vote for and why.  I just really would hate to alienate a potential customer who happens to disagree with my politics.  Shouldn't the laws of a first date apply to blogging?  Never discuss politics or religion?

Cheers,

Brendan

At the risk of turning an otherwise positive blog into a world-class rant fest, I thought I'd share an experience that just boggles my mind in this slow market.

I have a young, qualified, eager and responsible client who is looking to purchase a multi-family here in Baltimore to live in one unit and rent the other.  We had scheduled to see eight properties today, and were actually able to view TWO.  Of the other six, there were five who just didn't return my calls for showings (after three days of trying) and one who insisted that the key must be picked up at his office (miles out of our way) in order to show.  I left early, so as to not take time from my client to play go-fetch, and headed to the listing agent's office (incidentally, and office that I was once affiliated).  Needless to say, the key was not there, after I was assured that it would be waiting for me at the front desk.

Long story short, people...I cannot sell it if I cannot show it.  You are not serving your client well if you cannot arrange a showing on THREE days notice.  I can almost guarantee that these agents are also the ones who are complaining about how bad the market is.  Do your job, I want to sell your listing...at least call me back...you remember the phone, right?  That thing that used to ring off the hook when the market was HOT?

I take solace (as does my client) in the fact that if we have to work so hard to view the property, so do other folks...I'm a persistent bugger, and we'll get in there before the competition.

Thanks to those of you who have called back this week....I'll return the favor!

We've known for a long time that Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood is super convenient for DC commuters, but today we decided to put it to the test! My partner, Catrin Davies, agreed to start in "ms. davies takes the train," a video short showing the ease of the Marc Train commute.  Just one of the many things that makes Baltimore City, and Mount Vernon a terrific place to live!

I realized a long time ago that I don't just sell houses, I sell neighborhoods. It's a good thing that I love my neighborhood! Here is some video footage that was shot on a lovely Spring day this year of the Mount Vernon Cultural District in Baltimore City. It is home to the Baltimore Opera Company, The Baltimore Symphony, The Peabody Conservatory, Walters Art Gallery, Center Stage and many more wonderful arts organizations, not to mention a ton of fabulous restaurants. I hope to get some more little video tours of my favorite place up and running soon!

I am not a big complainer about the slower market, in fact, things have never been better for my business. I am not the type that stares at the phone and wonders why it doesn't ring. My business partner and I have been able to move a large number of listings in this challenging market through proper pricing, adequate preparation, and aggressive marketing. For the most part, our strategies are working...this makes it all the more frustrating when we can't move a particular property. Why do strategies work in some places and not others?

We have a wonderful listing in a beautiful, highly sought after neighborhood, a stone's throw from our office in Baltimore City's Mt. Vernon neighborhood. We've had an huge number of showings, and the feedback is always stellar. The owners really prepared the property well, priced it right, and are incredibly flexible about showings (even with a newborn and a two year old!). Our website gets about 7500+ unique visitors per month looking at this property, yet nobody has been able to pull the trigger.

Normally, I would trust that this is just going to take a little time...we're doing everything right, and a buyer is truly around the corner. Unfortunately, the sellers NEED to move as with their newborn they have outgrown the place, and they have already located the property that they would like to buy. Short of advising them to have a firesale, or staging a hunger strike until we get it sold, I just don't know what to do to get this listing any more attention.

My bag of tricks is nearing empty...if there any any ACTIVERAINERS out there who happen to be looking for a STUNNING two bedroom condo in Mt. Vernon at a great price, give me a call...and bring me a sandwich.

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930 Stubblefield Lane Baltimore, MD 21202

For Sale $249,000

Great two level condo with parking right outside your back door! Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 1 Area: Mount Vernon Style: Contemporary Square Footage: 1,315 Year Built: 1983 Fantastic condo/rowhome in the heart of Mt. Vernon. Outdoor access and PARKING! Two levels, 2 bed 1.5 bath. Beautifully renovated!    Home    Video Tour    Full Details    Photo Tour    Print Brochure    Property Documents    Property Map    Area Schools    Schedule a Showing    Email Property Info    Mortgage Calculator    About Me    Contact Me    Census Information    More Information    Area Amenities    My blog    Our other listings    Our website    My ACTIVE RAIN Profile Brendan Cooke Realtor-Associate Broker Passport Realty, LLC Office: 443.524.4660 Mobile: 410.591.1683 Fax: 443.836.0208 Email: brendancooke@earthlink.net Website: www.opera-houses.com

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