Archive for the 'Takoma Park Real Estate' Category
For a Real, Old Fashioned, Hometown Celebration on July 4th Hit Takoma Park, Maryland
July 1st, 2011 Categories: Old Vintage Silver Spring Takoma Park Houses, Takoma Park Events, Takoma Park Real Estate
This celebration is one of the oldest in the nation. Takoma Park is an artsy 
enclave with tree lined avenues and Victorian Homes, the perfect setting for an annual patriotic Independence Day parade. This celebration is one of the oldest in the nation and the Takoma Park Community has had 121 years of practice!
On Monday July 4th 2011, enjoy what people living in Silver Spring and Takoma Park have have been enjoying for the past 121 years. This will be the 122nd annual Takoma Park 4th of July Celebration.
Parade
The parade starts at 10:00 am beginning at Carroll & Ethan Allen Avenues, follows Carroll Avenue towards DC, crosses over to Maple Avenue along Carroll Street, then returns along Maple Avenue.
Community BBQ – 12:00 to 6:00 pm
Hosted by Steve Francis – Lincoln and Maple Avenues
Wiffleball Tournament – 2:30 pm
Sponsered by Takoma Park Recreation Department
Lee Jordan Field – Takoma Park Middle School
Evening Program and Fireworks - Starts at 7:00 pm
Takoma Park Middle School – 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, Md 20912
Master of Ceremonies: Howard Kohn
Joe Uehlein and the U-Liners
Announcement of Parade Winners
Acro-Airs
Greetings from the Mayor – Bruce Williams
Takoma Park Community Concert Band
Drawing for Raffle Prizes
National Anthem – David Goettee
Fireworks at 9:30 pm by Bay fireworks!
| Discussion: No Comments »
Local Crossroads Farmers Market – Shop Wednesdays No Need to Wait for the Weekend
June 2nd, 2011 Categories: Takoma Park Business, Takoma Park Real Estate
This small Farmers Market is located in the Langley/Takoma Crossroads area, where Silver Spring kind of overlaps into Takoma Park. Located at 7676 New Hampshire Ave near the corner of New Hampshire and University Blvd.
Nice place to pick up fresh, local (with a capitol L) produce at mid-week. Smaller and not as crowded as the weekend markets, it is open on Wednesdays from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm. It’s open rain or shine till October.
There was a laid-back guitar duo playing there yesterday, that was very good!
It is stawberry season now. The strawberries you get here are unlike anything 
you can buy in the grocery stores. There is just something about local that is fresher, juicier and tastier.
I can’t wait till it is tomato season!
The Crossroads Farmers Market is a producers-only market. All vendors grow and/or process their own goods within a 125-mile radius of Takoma Park, Maryland.
Vendors for the 2011 Market Season
Check out the Crossroads Farmers Market website for updates on events, what is in season and some great recipes
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Azalea Peak in Silver Spring and Takoma Park – Best Viewed in Sligo Park Hills
May 9th, 2011 Categories: Famous Silver Spring People, Old Vintage Silver Spring Takoma Park Houses, Silver Spring Neighborhoods, Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Azaleas are native to Silver Spring and Takoma Park, Maryland. Right now they are at their blooming best. In the older mature neighborhoods close to Downtown Silver Spring, the azalea cover is like no other. If you take a drive or walk during azalea season you’ll see about 8 of every 10 homes sporting at least one or two of these beautiful blooming shrubs.
The older sections of the neighborhood of Sligo Park Hills (sections 1 & 2) that run from Sligo creek up to Piney Branch Road might have the best displays, due to a resident that worked with the Director of the National Arboretum to hybridize azaleas.
Stuart Armstrong lived on Park Crest Drive in Sligo Park Hills from 1938 till his death in 1970. Armstrong was an avid amateur horticulturalist who served as 
president of the American Horticultural Society between 1957 and 1960.
He was said to have given plants to his neighbors in Sligo Park Hills as gifts. There is an azalea named “Stuart Armstrong” grown mostly in the mid atlantic and the south.
Over a period of more than 30 years, Armstrong amassed a sprawling collection of azaleas in his yard overlooking Sligo Creek Park.
Homes for Sale Now in Sligo Park Hills, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20910
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
What’s the Age of Your House? Start by Looking in the Toilet
March 14th, 2011 Categories: Old Vintage Silver Spring Takoma Park Houses, Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Yes, that’s right, I did say look in your toilet. Look inside the tank of the toilet in your home, there is a date stamped in the tank somewhere either on the inside of the tank near the top over the water line (thank god) or on the underside of the tank’s top. This is the date your toilet was manufactured.
Of course, this won’t work if the toilet has been replaced in your house. If you have more than one toilet in the house, check them all for the oldest date.
I’ll bet the powder room or basement mud room toilets that weren’t used as much may still have the original toilets installed.
When I was a new real estate agent, a home inspector told me that’s the first place he always looked when trying to date an old house. Since most of the houses in Silver Spring and Takoma Park are of older vintage, I was looking in the tanks of all the houses I previewed or showed, just to see if the date was there and what that date was. I remember doing this for awhile without regard for how icky or unsanitary it was to be looking inside a bunch of toilets.
Now that we have ready online access to tax records, I can find out when a house was built without looking in the toilet. Once in a while I will still look inside a tank or two just for fun.
Someone has started a blog about this called Toilet Birthdays. This guy has gone far and wide including looking in a lot of public bar, restaurant and hotel room toilets all over the US and beyond. This is where I would draw the line, toilet tank checking in public restrooms? I don’t think I would do that, that is, unless I had a pair of latex gloves and some hand sanitizer with me!
You can get tips for toilet owners here ( they are serious good tips) and you can/add submit your toilet’s birthday here.
My toilet tank stamp says: JUN 17 1933.
What does yours say?
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Old Fashioned, Overlooked, Out of the Way Dive with the Best Burgers and Breakfasts in Silver Spring, MD
October 6th, 2010 Categories: Silver Spring Neighborhoods, Silver Spring Takoma Park Restaurants, Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Step back in time behind the cases and coolers of beer, wine, snack displays and 
the cramped cash register to one of Silver Spring’s best kept secrets, the Flower Delicatessen Restaurant.
A little lunch counter/restaurant and bar that’s been in business since 1937. Located in the Old Flower Avenue Shopping Center where most of the original businesses have been replaced and the historic Flower Theatre sits closed.
The current proprietor “Hadi” took over the Flower Deli from the original owner in 1979 and “redecorated” the bar/restaurant. Nothing fancy here, just good food, friendly staff and what everyone can appreciate, prices from another era!
One regular named “Jim” has been coming to the Flower Deli since 1975. Jim Lives in nearby Takoma Park and was in the “music business”. Jim comes for lunch at least 2 or 3 times a week and always sits at the bar. He says he loves watching the Redskin games there during the season.
An elderly lady with a cane has been having lunch there for a least 30 years. She says you can’t beat the prices, “where can you get a hot dog (Genuine Hebrew National) and a cup of coffee for less than $3.00?” She says the Deli beats the Tastee Diner hands down.
The red headed waitress, Gloria has been working at the Deli for over 27 years. She’s efficient and personable. Gloria works the breakfast and lunch shift.
Some people think that the Deli has the best breakfast in town. The owner says people rave about his 
breakfasts. He say’s it’s all about the sausage. A few years back he changed the sausage meat brand he was buying, many of the customers noticed and complained, so he has switched back to his original brand, and no . . no one would tell me what brand of sausage it is.
The most expensive Breakfast on the menu is the “Flower Special”
That’s 2 Pancakes – 2 Eggs with choice of bacon, ham, sausage, corned beef hash or scrapple served with hash browns, white toast, butter and jelly . $4.59
No wonder the Flower Deli is beloved by all construction workers and contractors.
In my humble opinion, the hamburger is the best one in Silver Spring. For some reason it tastes familiar, like the burgers my mother used to make when I was a kid.
The 1/4 lb hamburgers are $2.29 and cheesburger $2.49.
Located at 8707 Flower Avenue, Silver Spring , Md 20901
Open 6:30 AM – 12 Midnight Monday through Friday
Saturday and Sundays 7:30 AM – Midnight
BTW - The other old fashioned thing about the Flower Deli, besides the ambience and the prices, they don’t take Credit Cards – So bring some good, old fashioned CASH.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
4th of July Weekend 2010 in Silver Spring and Takoma Park, Maryland
July 2nd, 2010 Categories: Silver Spring Neighborhoods, Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Friday
Kick off the weekend tonight by attending a good “old fashioned” amateur wooden-bat summer baseball game. It’s a home game for the T-Bolts ( Silver Spring – Takoma Thunderbolts) vs the Southern Maryland Nationals.
Tonight is Hawaiian Shirt Night.
Gates and Concession open at 6:00 pm. The game starts at 7 pm at the Montgomery Blair Baseball Stadium, Silver Spring, MD. The Stadium is located at Montgomery Blair High School, 51 East University Blvd., in the Four Corners area.
Admission is only $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for kids under 18.
Youth baseball and softball players in uniform and children under 5 get in FREE
Saturday
On Saturday don’t miss the now very popular Fenton Street Market as the place to be on Saturdays. From 9am to 3 pm on Saturdays a vacant parking lot at the corner of Fenton Street and Silver Spring Avenue at the edge of Downtown Silver Spring transforms into a small business festival. Local artists, craftspeople, entrepreneurs and collectors exhibit their wares. There are different special events and a scavenger hunt every weekend, each weekend gets more interesting than the last at the Fenton Street Market.
Sunday July 4th
On Sunday enjoy what people living in Silver Spring and Takoma Park have have been enjoying for the past 120 years, the 121st annual Takoma Park 4th of July Celebration.
Parade
The parade starts at 10:00 am at Carroll & Ethan Allen Avenues, follows Carroll Avenue towards DC, crosses over to Maple Avenue along Carroll Street, then returns along Maple Avenue.
Evening Program and Fireworks
Takoma Park Middle School – 7611 Piney Branch Road, Takoma Park, Md 20912
Starts at 7:00pm
Concerts with Rizzy “King of Harmony”, Acro-Airs and Takoma Park Community Bands
Announement of Parade Winners
Patriotic Songs and the National Anthem
Drawing for Raffle Prizes
Fireworks at 9:30 pm by Bay fireworks!
| Discussion: No Comments »
The Silver Spring Real Estate Market’s Crystal Ball
June 17th, 2009 Categories: Home Sellers, Homebuyer, Silver Spring Neighborhoods, Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
The Real Estate Market in Silver Spring and Takoma Park continues to pick up momentum. The question is, have we hit bottom and are we heading out of this or is this just a short upswing before the bottom really falls out?
I wish I had a Crystal Ball but . . . . . “Those that live by the Crystal Ball eat glass”!
My suggestion right now would be that if you are wanting to buy, jump in now. You can’t go wrong. If you are selling or need to sell, sell now and price your home to move fast. If this is a short upswing then you don’t want to miss your chance to sell now during an upswing. How long of a window might we have? This is another question that is begging for a Crystal Ball. I would guess that we might see a better market for at least the next 60 days. The problem longer term could be interest rate increases or the increase in inventory of foreclosed homes. Either of these could have a negative impact. My suggestion is NOT to watch national trends, but focus mostly on what you see taking place in our community. This will certainly give you the best perspective on our market.
To get your own “Real Time” Market Trend Statistics for any zip code or property type in Silver Spring and or Takoma Park Check out: www.SilverSpringStats.com
| Discussion: No Comments »
Enough Already with Real Estate – We’re Launching Pigs!
January 26th, 2009 Categories: Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Tired of hearing about the housing market Doom and Gloom? While the economic news 
is universally negative, there is some good news in the Silver Spring Real Estate Market:
We closed on 5 Silver Spring Properties in December through the middle of January. In the last 2 weeks showings on listings have tripled since the previous month. We’ve recently been involved in 4 multiple contract situations (multiple buyers making offers on the same house), who would have thought in this “terrible” market? We have 5 ready, willing and able buyers that we’re helping to find Silver Spring Homes for.
Interest rates are the lowest they have been since 1955! I think the market will still struggle on in 2009 and we may still be a ways from the bottom but in reality, it’s not as bad as it is being made out to be.
If you listen to the news, watch TV, surf the net or read the paper, you would think houses are selling only when pigs fly!
From now on the Silver Spring Team will be launching pigs.
Click Here to search for your own new Silver Spring piglet, pig or hog
Click Here to find the approximate value of your Silver Spring piglet, pig or hog
| Discussion: No Comments »
Silver Spring’s Pretty Older Sister
November 13th, 2008 Categories: Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Takoma Park, or “Granola Park” as some locals call it now, was the first planned suburban community of Washington, DC. Founded in 1883, by Benjamin Franklin Gilbert, Takoma Park was developed along a branch of the B & O railroad. It was originally 
conceived as a “summer resort” area, as a healthful clean-water alternative to Washington, DC’s malarial swamps. With a population of 18,000 it rests along the upper northeast boundary of D.C. and strattles Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland.
B.F. Gilbert named his community TAKOMA, an Indian word meaning “High Up – Near Heaven”. Takoma Park has it’s own city government, police department, library and is served by Montgomery County Schools.
Religion and politics has shaped the Takoma Park community. From the early 1900’s to 1990, Takoma Park was the world headquarters of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Two of the church’s institutions remain today, The Washington Adventist Hospital, and Columbia Union College. The coming of metro service to Takoma Park has made it a perfect ”bedroom community” for young professionals. It is a 15 minute commute to the middle of Downtown D.C. by Metro from the Takoma Station on 
the Red Line.
Takoma Park is a friendly “laid back”, independent, small town with liberal politics. The residents are politically active and have put in place a number of progressive measures such as the declaration of a nuclear-free zone and legal recognition of non-marital partnerships.
In the historic district you will find grand old Victorians, Bungalows, American Four Squares and other old timey styles, along tree-lined streets.
The Old Town offers an eclectic, funky mix of small, locally owned specialty shops and small restaurants, cafes and a very popular FOOD COOP. From the end of April to mid December there is a farmers market every Sunday in the center of town. To celebrate July 4th, the town puts on its own parade and its own fireworks display.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Silver Spring, Md Famous People’s Houses – Nora Roberts’ House
March 30th, 2007 Categories: Famous Silver Spring People, Silver Spring Neighborhoods, Takoma Park Real Estate, silver spring real estate
Romance Novelist Nora Roberts aka J.D. Robb grew up in this adorable bungalow
| Discussion: No Comments »
