Estate Agents

Many retirees are opting to stay closer to the communities where they lived during their working years, deciding to be near their families and the areas they know. And builders and real estate agents are working to meet this demand by creating and finding communities where homeowners can have recreation, maintenance-free living and first-floor amenities as they choose a place to retire. Nearly six out of 10 homeowners said they expect to move to another home when they retire, according to the annual Baby Boomer Report by Del Webb Corp.

The House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to reprimand Del. Tony McConkey after the General Assembly's ethics committee found that he failed to disclose a conflict of interest and improperly pushed for legislation that would have made it easier for him to regain his suspended real estate license. The vote on the recommendation by the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics was 127-3. McConkey, an Anne Arundel County Republican, was present in the chamber but did not vote.

To live in Carroll County and not visit the community college is like "living in Paris and not going to the Eiffel Tower," says Michael L. Mason, a Westminster real estate broker.That's why Mason, who also serves on CCC's advisory board, has sponsored two get-to-know-the-college breakfasts. The first scrambled-eggs-and-ham affair catered to real estate agents. The second served brokers."I felt it was important for Realtors to know about the college,"Mason said during a breakfast in the college's executive board room last week.

A legislative ethics committee on Monday recommended a reprimand for an Anne Arundel County lawmaker it said lobbied and voted for a measure that would make it easier for him to regain his real estate license. The committee's report found Republican Del. Tony McConkey failed to disclose a conflict of interest or abstain from voting when he should have. Aides said the House of Delegates is expected to address the report by the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics on Tuesday. The report recommends House Speaker Michael E. Busch request a public apology to the House.

Honoring their current real estate agents and trying to recruit some more, Long and Foster sponsored a champagne breakfast at Wakefield Valley Golf Club yesterday morning."

The rape and slaying of a 57-year-old Columbia-based real estate agent in West Baltimore on Dec. 21 has county realty firms re-evaluating safety and turning to police for advice."

Real estate agents who work the Baltimore metropolitan area -- from the toughest city neighborhoods to the most serene of suburbs -- know that showing empty homes to strangers can be risky business.Still, the beating death this week of a real estate agent while she was showing a house in Hunting Ridge jolted fellow sellers with a heightened awareness of how vulnerable they can be -- and has them rethinking the way they sell homes.Agents said the death of Lynne McCoy, a 57-year-old agent with O'Conor, Piper & Flynn in Columbia, would prompt them to take more precautions when showing properties.

David and Gillian Pommerehn of Canton knew they wanted to buy a home near Annapolis. But they didn't want to make a trip only to find another house for sale that didn't meet their needs. "My husband and I work long hours. So the idea of going down to look at another house that wasn't worthwhile just wasn't appealing to us," said Gillian Pommerehn. "You tend to get frustrated." So when their real estate agent, Shelley Smith, showed them a photograph of the outside of an Eastport home that had just come on the market, they were not overly impressed.

Few people in the real estate business will tell you that these are the brightest days of their careers but they are quick to point out some solid reasons why they are holding on.Relatively low interest rates, a large inventory of houses and the lucrative Baltimore-area real estate market -- these are market indicators that usually translate into a healthy business climate, real estate agents say."There really isn't any excuse except for mind-set," said Mary Bell Grempler, of Grempler Realty in Towson.

As officials in Anne Arundel County discuss redrawing school boundaries to save the government money, some homeowners may be wondering how the outcome might affect their own property values.Real estate agents and home sellers, even those without children in the public schools, have more than a passing interest in how school boundaries are drawn.Good schools aren't the only or even necessarily the main selling point in buying a new house. But they can be a significant motivator, agents say."

Suzanna "Sue" Miller, whom friends called "Mrs. Baltimore" for her role in selling homes to those moving here, died of pneumonia Saturday at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Pikesville resident was 80. "She was an irreplaceable person," said Lynne R. Miller, who with her husband, Dr. Edward D. Miller, former Johns Hopkins Medicine chief executive officer, was a close friend. "She brought together so many people. She was such an ambassador for Baltimore, we called her and her husband Mr. and Mrs. Baltimore.

Melvin G. "Mel" Trimble Sr., a colorful and loquacious character I got to know some years ago, had one of the more interesting and necessary jobs with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and with its successor company, Chessie System. It relied upon his powers of persuasion and absolute patience. Mel, who was 89 and lived at the Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville, died late last month. After graduating from City College in 1941, the South Baltimore native began his B&O career as a stenographer in its real estate department.

Can a computer algorithm find you a steal of a real estate deal? That's the idea of SpotProperty , an online service that's expanding today from a few metro areas to dozens, including the Baltimore region. Founder Henry Shao, who also started real estate brokerage Movoto , said he wanted to reproduce automatically what it can take buyers a lot of time and effort to do by hand -- cull all the listings in a price range down to the ones that are actually good deals.

The home next door is an empty foreclosure, the former owner long gone. But when you look up the property online , it's still in the ex-owner's name. And when you check the online court docket , you can't even tell which company foreclosed because the listed plaintiffs are the attorneys at a local law firm that specializes in foreclosure cases. Whom do you call if the house is falling apart? A task force made up of financial industry players and homeowner advocates suggested a foreclosure registry -- specifying who purchased the home at auction, who is responsible for maintenance and the name, telephone number and address of both parties.

Mary Callis Eyring, a retired residential real estate sales agent and former president of a hospital auxiliary, died of cancer Sunday at Gilchrist Hospice Care. She was 79 and lived in the Village of Cross Keys. Born Mary Callis in Catonsville, she was the daughter of George R. Callis, an architect who designed the Baltimore School for the Arts, and Elizabeth Eisenhardt, a homemaker. She was a 1950 graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School and attended Bradford Junior College and Goucher College as an adult.

Helen Anna Ferrell, a retired real estate agent, died of lung cancer Dec. 20 at the Cockeysville home of her daughter. She was 80. Helen Anna Ena was born in Baltimore and spent her childhood in Highlandtown with her seven siblings. She graduated from the Catholic High School of Baltimore in 1947 and married Frank J. Ferrell in 1950. The couple, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in October, raised three children in Lutherville. Mrs. Ferrell obtained her real estate license in 1975, and specialized in residential real estate.

Sigrid Kingsbury and Sandy Saddler stuck pink flamingos and seashells in the snowdrifts near their office yesterday, broke out grills and lawn furniture and declared winter over -- at least from noon to 2 p.m.The managers at O'Conor, Piper & Flynn's Glen Burnie office threw the year's first "Downey Ocean" beach party on the brick sidewalk out front. They threw on shorts and sandals, spread out beach towels, grilled hot dogs and turned the radio up."We want to get people's mind off the snow," said Ms. Saddler, as she grilled the dogs and bopped to "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees.

Carroll developers, real estate agents and building contractors overwhelmingly objected yesterday to a controversial measure to control growth, arguing that the proposal would hurt their businesses, mean layoffs and stifle the local economy.Greg Dorsey, president of the county chapter of the Home Builders Association, said the proposed ordinance, developed by a nationally known planning consultant, does not provide a solution to growth-related problems and ignores his industry's economic impact.