Free Veggies for All! Should We Follow the British Example?

Planting flowers in public spaces adds beauty to any area, but what if vegetables were planted there instead?

Have you noticed abandoned patches of land in your community suddenaly springing to life? It could be the work of an underground movement called guerrilla gardening — the practice of taking unused land and planting it with flowers and shrubs, just to beautify the area a bit.

Now, a group of British women are bringing the same concept to light — except their aim is not only to beautify, but to feed their neighborhood.

Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear of Todmorden, West Yorkshire, believe flowers are well and good, but planting vegetables in public spaces would benefit their town much more. Incredible Edible Todmorden replaces flowers in public gardens with vegetables, then invites local residents to help themselves to ripe veggies whenever they like, free of charge. This means food has to travel much fewer miles to get to hungry mouths, reducing impact on the environment.

Within 10 years, they aim to have their town producing their own fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products.

Norah Hamill, who runs a similar project in the nearby town of Huddersfield, encourages her neighbors to plant vegetables wherever possible — back yards, public gardens, schools, even cemeteries. Shopkeepers and café owners are invited to put container gardens outside their establishments, and passersby can pick at will.

Occasional acts of vandalism, or people taking more than their fair share, can be expected, but organizers still say the educational and environmental benefits outweigh this risk.

Incredible Edible Todmorden and Incredible Edible Huddersfield have already been inundated with donated seeds, tools, and volunteers. Other nearby towns, such as Wilmslow and Wakefield, are following suit with their own community agriculture.

Do you think Americans would be open to adopting this practice?

Source: www.houselogic.com

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD & VA areas. I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions on Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium.

Foreclosed Homeowners Get a Big Break

Five of the nation’s largest banks have reached a $25 billion settlement due to discrepancies in handling foreclosures. The deal will force the banks to overhaul their mortgage-servicing practices and reduce loan balances for many borrowers who owe more than their houses are worth. This is in no way the end to the pain and suffering families have had to endure over the past several months, but it is a step in the right direction.

There are three groups of homeowners who would fall under the settlement agreements in seeking restitution: Homeowners who need to adjust or modify their current loans, borrowers who are current and will be able to refinance, and borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure. But don’t expect to see your check in the mail tomorrow; it’s going to take some time for things to get sorted out and evaluated before they can determine who is eligible.

Will you benefit from the deal? Find out here

Only the Borrowers who used the five banks involved in the settlement are eligible. You could receive a cash payment, a principal reduction or refinancing with the money from settlement.

For more information visit www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com or call any of the five banks affiliated with the settlement:

Ally/GMAC: 800-766-4622
Bank of America: 877-488-7814
Citi: 866-272-4749
J.P. Morgan Chase: 866-372-6901
Wells Fargo: 800-288-3212

Interested in working with a Realtor who is up to date on all of the issues and the market? Contact us today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas!

Down on the Farm in Montgomery County

Montgomery County has a rich history in the agricultural field.  If you want to know how it developed, what is happening now, and what to expect, you may want to visit the Agricultural History Farm Park (AHFP).  It’s a 455 acre complex near Rock Creek in Derwood, Maryland.

This sprawling complex contains a wealth of authentic historic buildings, implements, and etc., which gives a visitor first-hand knowledge about farming in the area around the early part of the 20^th century.  Besides the original farmhouse, there are other buildings to explore, including a woodshed, a smoke house, a water tank house, a corn crib, and more.

Since it is the original farm of the Bussard family, you can trace the history of the business by seeing how the first buildings were constructed.  One can see how the growth of the family paralleled the growth of the farm and the business. 

Included in the park complex is the 39 acre parcel known as Newmantown.  It was occupied by an African-American community, who were somehow or another all related to the original founders, Albert and Mary Newman.  It has a fascinating history which would take another whole article (and more) to explore.

Whether you are interested in the past, the present or the future, you’ll find something to grab your attention at this park.  From the historic buildings, to the orchards, to the live animals, to the 4 miles of hiking and equestrian trails (no bikes at the present), to the modern farming activity center, you’ll probably need several days to do it justice.   

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, and Whitehall Condominium.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Middle School #2 Site Selection Advisory Committee - FINAL TWO MEETINGS!

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Middle School #2 Site Selection Advisory Committee (SSAC) is comprised of volunteers representing each school, homeowner's association and neighborhood making up the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster and working with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to evaluate and recommend a new site for the second middle school to be opened by August 2017. This includes all of my neighbors, friends and clients in Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest and Whitehall...and obviously Chevy Chase and a large part of Bethesda.   

If you have a strong opinion about the process and/or final outcome, you should attend the final two meetings, which are on February 8th and 22nd in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (BCC) High School cafeteria from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Summaries of recent meeting and events can be found on our website on the special notices page.

Want to work with a Realtor who is plugged in? Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, and Whitehall Condominium.

In Montgomery County, You Can See a Lot for a Little

This weekend, come out and bring the family to the various reasonably priced attractions in the D.C. area. Your biggest decision will be where to start. A good place would be the National Capital Trolley Museum. They’re sponsoring a commemoration of 50 years without trolley cars in the Capital. That is coupled with a celebration of a RETURN of trolley cars which will begin soon. You can see presentations at different times, and, for a small extra charge, even take a ride on a trolley car. Admission to the museum is only $4. For details call 301-384-6088, or visit www.dctrolley.org.

If you like live drama, you can go the Rockville Little Theatre at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre. They are presenting their interpretation of “The Royal Family”, a play written in the late 1920’s by Edna Ferber and George Kaufman. It’s a spoof on the Barrymore family. If you’ve seen any of the old movies with these great dramatic/comic thespians, you’ll enjoy the parody. Tickets are a very reasonable price. For details call 240-314-8690, or visit www.rockvillemd.gov/theatre.

Another theatrical presentation will be presented by the Lumina Studio Theatre Group at the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring. They are performing “Tom Jones”, John O’Connor’s comic adaptation of Henry Fielding’s novel, “A HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING”. This tale about the antics of an 18th century youth in England, and is accompanied by music from John Gay’s “The Beggar’s Opera”. These tickets are also very reasonable. Call 301-565-2281, or visit www.brownpapertickets.com.

Perhaps music is your cup of tea. The Swedish National Youth Orchestra is being hosted at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. Maestro Tonu Kaljuste will conduct music by Sergey Rachmaninov, Arvo Part, and August Soderman. Another feature will be a newly commissioned concerto, “Samsara”, by composer Tobias Brostrom, performed by violinist Hugo Ticciati and marimba player Johan Bridger. Tickets are a veritable steal. Call 301-581-5100, or visit http://www.strathmore.org/.

As you can see, there is something to entertain just about everyone in the Montgomery County area, even if you’re on a budget. Come out and see D.C.!

Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, and Whitehall Condominium.

Tell Congress Use Housing Dollars for Housing!

Congress is debating how to pay for a 10 month extension of the payroll tax cut, an extension of unemployment benefits, and increased Medicare payments to doctors.


The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, which extended the payroll tax for two months, established an initial 10-basis point increase to the guarantee fees (g-fees) on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA mortgages to cover the legislation's costs. That 2-month extension is costing new home buyers approximately $4000 - $5400 over 30 years on a $200,000 loan, or $11 to $15 monthly.
By tapping housing again to "pay-for" non-housing related issues, Congress will impose another de-facto tax increase on homebuyers and raise costs on the very same Americans the underlying bill seeks to help.

We as REALTORS® are reminding Congress that paying for these programs by raising the cost of housing is not acceptable to many home owners.We oppose ANY increase in the fees borrowers pay to Fannie and Freddie and increasing FHA mortgage premiums to pay for non-housing programs. 

Even though the initiative is created for REALTORS®, we would love for any you to tell Congress to protect the housing market. Increasing the cost of a mortgage is not the way to end the housing downturn.

Please take action today by clicking here.

Interested in working with a Realtor who is up to date on all of the issues and the market? Contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda, and Whitehall Condominium.