Charles County Realty » Land

Holiday Weekends and Wet Dogs

Admin — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:17:09 +0000

This past weekend was the first time in nearly a month that I took some time off. Granted, it was only a day, but taking time for yourself is important, and it’s nice to get away from time to time.

I spent Saturday at my parent’s home in Virginia(literally, smack dab in the middle of nowhere), and enjoyed the beautiful weather and some time with the dogs.

They say happiness is a WARM puppy. As far as my dogs are
concerned, they think happiness is a WET puppy. Perhaps my dogs made a
mistake. They could have a lisp for all I know.

I had a great time, aside from the smell of wet, muddy, salty dogs that I had to endure on the way home. My arm is still sore from playing fetch, and my clothes smell like fresh grass clippings. Ah, the finer things in life….

(Hmm…. How did he get this boat to move again?)

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com

15 acres of secluded bliss in Mechanicsville, MD for sale!

Admin — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:23:45 +0000

Swan Point TIF Bond is approved

Admin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:12:31 +0000

Looks like Swan Point will be getting it’s fancy new hotel after all! The Charles County Commissioners voted to approve the Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) Bond recently, which will pave the way for the development infrastructure there.

Under the tax incremental financing, agreement, the county will issue $26 million in public bonds to fund the project’s infrastructure. The debt service for those bonds would be repaid using a portion of the new taxes generated by the increased property value that would result from the project’s improvements on the land.

Link- County approves special financing for Swan Point

I’m excited to see what the final plan will actually look like! This project looks to be a great opportunity for the county, and has the potential to make swan point a first class resort destination! I will update more information as the development grows, so check back from time to time for new information! If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear more views on the new development and growth plans!

12/11/2007- Swan Point TIF Proposal Meeting
12/07/2007- Swan Point Site Plan
10/30/2007- Swan Point Development *Finally* Moving Forward

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com

Charles County Perc Season 2008 is open!

Admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:48:49 +0000

As of 9am this morning, the county health department has announced that perc season is officially open. They don’t anticipate that it will be open for long, however, so if you’re scheduled to get a perc done this year, make sure you find out when you can get your testing done! If you’ve got any questions, give me a call!

Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com

Charles County Perc Testing 2008

Admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:37:18 +0000

I’ve had a lot of people asking about the perc season this year. It’s been incredibly delayed, largely due to the low water tables that the Charles County is experiencing. I am hoping to have word on if there will be a perc season by 5pm this afternoon, and I will post the info as soon as I hear!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000 office
301-653-8116 cell

How Do I Determine Southern Maryland Land Value?

Admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:43:00 +0000

We do a fair amount of
land sales here in Southern Maryland, and trying to determine land
values is a complicated process, much more so than determining the
value of someone’s home. Everybody wants to make top dollar for their
land when they go to sell it, but how do you know what top dollar
really is?

With home sales, this is a straight-forward process. With land,
the financial factors of the analysis becomes far more difficult. It’s
because of this reason that so many Realtors do not work in land sales
(It’s a ton of work, and it can be very tedious!). Land values can
also be affected (positively or negatively) through improvement, much
like renovating a home.

When I’m asked to research a property to determine a home’s
value, many of the variables I need to know have to be researched.
Simply checking a tax record will not provide me with enough
information (I wish it was so easy!) to properly evaluate the land. I
have a list of questions I need answered:

How Well Does Your Land Drain?

What is the Zoning?
What is the Zoning Density?
Is There a Survey Map?
Is the Land Perc’d?
What is the Soil Content?
How Much Road Frontage Does It Have?
Is there Public Sewer/Water Access?
What Does the Topography Look Like?
What Sort of Easements Exist?
Does it Have it’s TDR’s?
Was it Logged Recently?

This requires finding(not all land has an address, or even road access!) and walking
the property to make sure it’s not an obvious cliff or swamp (both of
which exist in the area), and then pulling any and all surveyors
reports and records that have ever been filed in regards to the
property.

What I’m putting together (Ideally) is a packet of information I
can use to clearly pinpoint why I am placing a given value on the
property. This packet will include Topography Maps, Aerial Images,
Satellite Images, Sewer Maps, Geo-Survey Studies, Tax Maps, and Zoning
Maps.

No Such Thing As Too Much Research!

Here’s where the real art of pricing land comes in! I have to
determine what the highest and best *likely* use of the property would
be. If it can’t be built upon, it’s worth only a fraction of what it
would be if a home could be put up on it’s location. I also determine
what the property would be worth to the surrounding owners (sometimes
they’re willing to pay a premium to ensure that it will not be
developed!).

It’s a matter of determining how much money it would cost to
develop the land, and how much development can be done. The more
building lots a property can be split into, the more the parcel is
worth. The biggest challenge to that is estimating how much of the
land must be used for roads (subtract that from the acreage), how much
must be used for forest conservation (again, possibly subtract that),
how much limitation is incurred by easement (you get the idea), ill
terrain, etc.

If you want to raise the value of the land, you need to improve
it, much like you would a home. Be sure to check out my upcoming blog
article on Land Perc’s to find out more!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog