Friday, December 19, 2014

Living in Chesapeake Beach, MD

Chesapeake Beach Town Hall


Thinking of living or moving to Chesapeake Beach, MD? I am biased since I call the town my home; but it's a great little community. It's about 45 minutes from Capitol Hill and 20 to 30 minutes from Andrews AFB. About 5800 people call Chesapeake Beach home. The bayside town has a community beach, water park and Railway Museum and Trail.


Chesapeake Beach Railroad
Source Library of Congress


The town became a resort location in the early twentieth century. It was a short ride on the Chesapeake Beach Railway from DC. Baltimore steam ships also brought weekend vacationers to the area. The town thrived until the economic depression brought the end of the railroad. Families continued to vacation during the summer though.




With the building of the Bay Bridges in the 50's families started to go to the Eastern Shore for their getaways. Today, the town is home to vacationers who don't want to battle the traffic and year round residents. The homes are a mix of the old cottages and newer homes.


The town has a community beach called Brownies Beach. There is a small parking lot but that will get full quickly during the summer season. You can also reach the beach by taking the boardwalk that starts on 17th street. The boardwalk is a great place to take a walk or a jog. You can also just sit and relax on the benches and watch the ships go by.





On Fishing Creek you will find a second boardwalk, the Chesapeake Railroad Trail. The trail starts at the Marine West Marina and takes you past crab boats and Osprey Nests. This trail takes you to two main neighborhoods as well, Richfield Station and Bay View Hills.


Schools
Chesapeake Beach's elementary school is Beach Elementary. The school is located right on the main street of the town. The school has 10 acres that include nature trails. It is a Maryland Governor's Green School. There are about 500 students pre-k to 5th grade that go to school. The school is a big part of the community, holding the Wobble Gobble Run and performing at the town's holiday lighting celebration. 

 The middle school is Windy Hill Middle School . About 700 students grades 6th through 8th. The school is located near by in Owings.  High schoolers also go to Owings for school. They attend  Northern High School. About 1500 kids go to the school. The school offers AP classes and about 44 percent of the students take AP classes.  Calvert county schools as a whole, rank #1 in the state of Maryland by U.S. News!

 Grocery Stores
1.  Roland’s – Smaller grocery store & liquor store in the heart of Chesapeake Beach on Bayside Rd/Rt. 261, Shopping center is next to the Chesapeake Beach Resort. The store is known for it's country ham and potato salad. It also has a wide variety of craft beers and a great wine selection.

 2. CVS - located in the same shopping center as Roland's.  

 You will have to go to either Prince Frederick or Dunkirk for larger grocery stores. 

 Dunkirk Stores

 1.  Safeway, Dunkirk, MD – At the corner of Rt. 4 & Ward Rd. on the left going Rt. 4 North, there is also a Safeway in Prince Frederick on the right side, if you take Rt. 4 South,
2.  Giant, Dunkirk, MD – On Rt. 4, just past the light at Ward Rd. when going north on Rt. 4, it will be on the right.
3. Wal-Mart, Dunkirk, in the same shopping center as Giant.  There is also a Wal-Mart in Prince Frederick on the right side going Rt.-4 south. 

 Prince Frederick Stores


1. Giant: This is about the same size as the Dunkirk store. From Chesapeake Beach, take Bayside road to route 4 South. This will take you into Prince Frederick. Giant is in the first shopping center past the Hospital.

 2. K-Mart:  Same shopping center as the Giant in Prince Frederick

 3. Food Lion: This is across Route 4 from Giant. It sit back off the road.

 4. Safeway: This is farther south on Route 4. Its at the intersection with Dares Beach Road on the right had side. A TJMax is in the same parking lot.

 5. Walmart: This one is larger than the one in Dunkirk. It's located on Route 4 south of the intersection of Dares Beach Road. There is a Wendy's in the parking lot.

 Other Town Information:

 If you live in the city limits, the cost of trash removal is a part of your yearly taxes. During the summer season, trash is picked up twice a week. The rest of the year it will be picked only once a week. There is also recycling in town. During the summer season that is picked up one a week. All other times, recycling is picked up every other week.  The Complete Schedule
The town sends water bills every quarter. You can pay the charges on line. When you move in, you will need to call Town Hall to change over the name. The number is 410-257-2230.

The local cable company is Comcast Cable. They can be reached at 800-COMCAST.  You can pick-up your equipment at the Comcast office in Prince Frederick and do your own self-installation as opposed to having to wait for the cable guy.  If you choose to do this instead of calling Comcast, here are directions:
1.    Take a right onto Rt-260 toward town
2.    Turn right onto Rt-261/Bayside Rd and follow this down for about 6-7 miles.  Rt-261/Bayside will change to Rt-263/Plum Point Rd. automatically about half way down.  Just keep going straight until the road comes to an end at Rt.-4.
3.    Turn left at the light onto Rt.-4 South
4.    As you enter Prince Frederick, turn right onto Stoakley Rd.
5.    Turn right at the first light onto Prince Frederick Blvd. – Comcast is about ¼ mile down on your left.

 The electric company is BGE a division of Constellation Energy Corporation; they can be reached at 800-685-0123.  Call BGE to have electricity put in your name

A lot of the older houses in the area have oil heat. Some also have propane. It's something to look for when you are thinking about the house. It is an added expense. There are several vendors in the area that will either fill up when you call or you can have it set up for an automatic refill. It all depends on what works best for you.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Off Base Housing Near Andrews

Are you trying to figure out where you should live when PCSing at Andrews? There are a lot of options for off base housing, but most will require a drive. Calvert County and Charles County are two of the areas that offer off base housing. Each offer different things and both are roughly 20 to 30 minutes south of Andrews.




Charles County is directly south of Andrews. The most direct route is down Route 5 but that road can be very busy during rush hour adding to that 30 minute time frame. Waldorf is the main town in the county. It has a lot of shopping including St Charles Towne Center with Macy's, Old Navy and many other stores. Waldorf also has Target, Sams Club and other big box stores. 4 bedroom homes run from $1900 to $2700 per month, depending on the size and where they are located. There are also townhouses that are for rent as well.



School Digger has Charles County Schools ranked 15th out of all the schools in the state. They have the middle schools ranked in the 8th slot. The district's high schools are ranked at 6th in state.





Calvert County is southeast of Andrews. The trip will take you about 20 to 30 minutes on route 4. In full disclosure I have to say I am biased to this county because it is where I call home.

The shopping here is not as good as Waldorf. There are two main areas of shopping in the northern area of the county. Dunkirk has several grocery stores, Walmart and Petsmart. If you drive farther south on 4 you will go through Huntingtown to get to Prince Frederick. That area has all the same grocery stores, but also has a TJMaxx, Walmart, K-Mart, Peebles and other stores, but no mall.


There are several cities were you can get rentals, including: Dunkirk, Owings, and Huntingtown. A lot of my clients from Andrews move to North Beach and Chesapeake Beach. Homes in this area can go anywhere from $1600 to $2600. There are several townhouse communities in the area that have rentals as well.


The schools in Calvert County are very good. According to School Digger, Calvert Schools is the top of the heap when it comes to schools in Maryland. U.S. News and World Report ranks Huntingtown High School as the 14th high school in Maryland. It also has a nationwide ranking at 520.


More information on Calvert Areas



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Calvert County Rentals

Calvert County Rentals
By Michelle Doell


In full disclosure, I live in Calvert County so I am biased... but I would recommend Calvert County.  The schools in the county are very good.  School Digger ranks Calvert County as the number one school district in Maryland. U.S. News and World Report ranks Huntingtown High School as the 14th best high school in the state.

Dunkirk:

Dunkirk is about 15 minutes away from Andrews. It is right down route 4. In the center of town, you will find several grocery stores, a small Walmart and Dunkirk District Park. The park has baseball fields, a dog park, walking trails and much more. Finding a rental in Dunkirk can be difficult. Not a lot of them come on the market and when they do, they go quickly.



Owings:


Owings is located on the way to Chesapeake and North Beaches. This area is close to Route 4 and the shopping of Dunkirk. It's a mix of farms, newer homes, homes built in the 70's and historic homes.


Chesapeake Beach:

Chesapeake Beach is about 20 minutes away from Andrews. The town has a marina, water park and community beach. The town is a mix of beach cottages and newer homes. The town has several community events including Trick or Treating at the Water Park and the Brightest Beacon on the Bay. It also hosts Wounded Warriors every year for a day on the bay.


The town has a great walking trail & board walk called the Railroad Trail.  It connects two neighborhoods to the waterfront area.  The first neighborhood is Richfield Station. It's located on 260 on the way into Chesapeake Beach. The neighborhood is a mix of town homes, condos and single family homes. The neighborhood also has playgrounds, basketball courts, and tennis courts. There are normally town houses for rent in this neighborhood.


The second neighborhood that is connected to the Railroad Trail is Bayview Hills. This community is a mix of townhouses and single family homes. The neighborhood over looks the town and some homes have bay views or views of the marina below. There are not as many rentals in this neighborhood. But there are some.

Rentals in Bayview Hills

The main elementary school in Chesapeake Beach is Beach Elementary School. The school is located in the middle of the town on 260. Most of Chesapeake Beach proper goes to Northern High School. 

North Beach:

North Beach is located right next to Chesapeake Beach. The two beaches are called the Twin Beaches.  It has a great boardwalk with a sandy beach. Right off the boardwalk you will find shops, including Old Town Candy Store with candy from when I was a child.  You will also find several restaurants. The town hosts farmers markets every Friday night during the summer and early fall. There are also movies on the beach during the summer, Dragon Boat Races, Bay Harvestfest and the Hound of the Town contest in October. 


One of the bigger areas for rentals is the townhome neighborhood of San Francisco by the Bay. This neighborhood is a newer one in the area. Some of the town homes here have garages while others do not.  You can usually find a rental or two on the market in this neighborhood.

Rentals in San Francisco by the Bay

Most of North Beach proper goes to Windy Hill Elementary School. The school is located in Owings right outside North Beach. If you have a teenager, they will go to Northern High School.







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Monday, December 15, 2014

Should I Rent or Buy?


Should I Rent or Buy?



I am going to go ahead and say what you are thinking. Of course a real estate agent is going to say that it is better to buy than rent!  They sell houses for a living! So I completely understand why you might say why should I read any more? I hope my honesty has encouraged you to read on.

The biggest question I have for you is why should you pay a landlord when you can pay yourself? Most rentals in the Chesapeake/ North Beach area will run between $1800 and $2000. If you are stationed here for 2 years, you will pay a landlord between $43,000 and $48,000. So my follow up question to you is why not use your BAH to pay yourself and build wealth?  By renting, you are literally lining a stranger's pockets instead of your own!

How will I get a down payment? It is possible that you could get a VA or USDA Rural Development loan without having to come up with any money out of your pocket. If you get one of these loans, you can purchase a home with $0 down payment. It can also be negotiated that the seller pays your closing costs so it's possible you won't have to come to the table with any money.  A mortgage lender should be able to give you the details of both loans.  Keep in mind, when you rent, you will need money for at least one month's rent and  your security deposit. Once again it's money you will be paying someone else. The $3500-$4000+ you would be paying for the first month and security deposit could go toward closing costs.


What will you do with the house when you have to move? I know your life is filled with uncertainty. You never know when new orders will uproot you and your family. Having to sell, rent and/or maintain a home from the other side of the country or world can be a scary thought.  A good realtor will help you with all of this to ease your stress.  No two situations are the same.  When you have to leave the area, if the market is hot, you may decide to sell the house. The other option is to rent your home and create extra income for yourself while building even more equity in your home.  I would recommend that you sit down with a real estate agent and discuss your options. The agent will be able to tell you what you should be able to get for your home and what you could get each month for rent.  In most cases, the rent you would be collecting will be more than what the mortgage payment is... so you would be making money!



Related Blogs

Can I use a Real Estate Agent if Just Renting

What Can I Afford to Spend?

Getting Read for a Home Loan



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