Annapolis Maryland Luxury Real Estate

Making Better Decisions With More Information

This is an example where having just one additional fact can change the decisions we make.

Believe it or not...this is the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. The Radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on Oct. 10, 1995.

US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.

CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!

US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!

CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

SOURCE: NAVY.MIL Official Website of the UNITED STATES NAVY

Someone once asked me "how can you change your mind about that".  I don't remember the exact matter over which I had changed my mind, but, I will not forget my answer, "It's because I have new information".  Do we ever really have all the facts when it comes to deciding something?  Probably not.  But as we learn more, gather more information, we can make better and better decisions.

Someone else asked me "how did you get where you are".  Asked in connection with some success or another that I had achieved, the answer that popped out startled the other person.  I said "though a series of bad decisions".  I really meant that if I had made better decisions, I would have ended up achieving something else, something more.

In this radio transcript the Commander of the USS Coral Sea is negotiating with a Canadian lighthouse operator.  He doesn't know that he's negotiating with an immovable object (just yet).  Initially taking a position that might is right, with new information he's going to change his mind and divert the course of his vessel away from the lighthouse.

In any negotiation, the more we learn about the other parties involved, their goals and objectives ... whether there are movable or immovable objects involved ... the more effective our negotiations will be.  We can chart safe courses around immovable objects and negotiate effectively with the other parties involved.

Like the response from the lighthouse operator in the mythic Navy tale (above), whether we run aground or alter course when we get new information, it's our call!!!

Here is an interesting commentary on the real estate market's vanished values.  Do you think that the market will rebound?  If prices rose 3%, would you consider that a rebound?

The Winter Beach - Beverly Beach on the Chesapeake Bay

It was cold today when I stopped at the beach.  I drove all the way down to the end of what feels like the end of the world.  Starting in Annapolis, then crossing over the South River Bridge into Edgewater.  Turning left onto Central Avenue which turns into Mayo Avenue.  Passing downtown Mayo (careful not to blink and miss it) and on into Beverly Beach.  At the end, of Beverly Avenue you'll find one of several streets named after the body of water they front - Chesapeake Drive.

When I stepped out of the car it was cold.  About 42 degrees today.  But the beach was no less beautiful.  The clouds were coming in from the SW, signaling a change in weather.  There wasn't a sole around today.

There were a five white swans in the water.  Their heads were all tucked under their wing as they floated with great contentment in the cold bay water.

It was very clear today.  You could see all the way across the bay - about seven miles - to the Eastern Shore.  Bloody Point was visible at the tip of Kent Island.

If I had put a little more planning into my drive, I might have taken Rocky with me.  He could have run the beach.  For the most part except on specific beaches, dogs are not allowed off leash.  But today, with no one around, I probably would have let him have a run up and down the beach.

Beverly Beach is located less than 25 minutes from downtown Annapolis, Maryland.  From cottages to upscale contempories, Beverly Beach has properties from $185,000 to $1,100,000.  For a list of active listings in Beverly Beach, click here.

Family Plot - Hollowed Ground, Material Fact, What Else?

Is hallowed ground a material fact needing disclosure in the sale of real estate?  Today while out photographing a property for a colleague I came across the family burial plot on the lot upon which the house sat.  In the pictures you can just see the nearby homes.  If it hadn't been early winter, I might have missed this sacred spot in the woods where many family members and relatives now rest.

As I carefully tread around the outside of the family burial site, I realized there where both marked and unmarked graves.  Many of those that had headstones dated back to the turn of century (around the 1900's) while a few were more recent.

This family burial site may now be long forgotten, but, what happens when a buyer considers purchasing the land?  The house is a "tear down" and now longer habitable.  Any buyer considering a purchase is going to build a new home on the site which could encroach on the burial site.

Will the family plot stigmatize the sale of this property?  Should this matter be disclosed to potential buyers?  To answer those questions, I found a field guide at Realtor.com offering "some creative marketing tools and advice for selling properties with an unsavory past".  While a family burial site isn't "unsavory" (like a haunted house or a home where a murder/suicide occurred), some buyers could shy away upon discovering the site.

So that got me to thinking.  What obligations does a new owner have with respect to maintaning a private cemetery?  Can a family burial site be relocated?  Blogger Jonathan wrote an excellent post that outlines the basics.

The laws governing cemetery relocation vary by state, county, and even city so it's impossible to give a full overview ... Generally state laws govern cemetery relocation and protection, but there may be local county or city level ordinances as well.

In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, local code specificies what needs to be done when development occures nearby such sites as a family burial site. Article 17: Subdivision and Development Regulation, Title 6: General Development Provisions, Subtitle 5 - Historic Resources, Archaeological Resources, Cemeteries and Scenic and Historic Roadsof the Anne Arundel County Codes outlines identification and preservation requirements in "§ 17-6-503. Cemeteries".

According to Anne Arundel County's Cultural Resources Planner:

Development must be planned accordingly and we require a preservation easement on cemeteries when permitting or development plans are put forward. Few real estate professionals are aware of this requirement, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to share this regulation with those of you on "the frontline."

The other challenge we have is the presence of unmarked or unplatted cemeteries. That can often be a surpirse for owners when the cemetery has been lost to time and only grave depressions survive without markers.

In 1991 The Coalition To Protect Maryland Burial Sites was formed as a non-profit organization that (according to their website):

... is committed to the protection of human burial sites from unauthorized and unwarranted disturbance, by man or nature. The membership includes historians, genealogists, archaeologists, cultural preservationists, Native Americans, legislative members, and residents and nonresidents of Maryland who care about their heritage and ancestors.

Coalition members appreciate the importance of human burial sites as sacred grounds, as irreplaceable cultural resources, and as sources of valuable genealogical data, often found nowhere else.  The Coalition recognizes that many human burial sites are established through the purchased right of sepulture, protected by the laws of Maryland, which passes on to the relative of the deceased, and which cannot lawfully be abridged by others at will.

Most of us imagine human burial as a respectful and dignified laying to rest of a person who touched our lives and contributed to our culture.  In time, however, human burial sites, left unprotected, can fall victim to expediency and the impulsive exploitation by others who are seeking a short-term economic or personal goal.  The Coalition believes that the willful desecration or destruction of human burial sites is unacceptable in a civilized society.

For more information on the Coalition and how you can help in guarding against the desecration of burial sites in Maryland, please visit The Coalition To Protect Maryland Burial Sites website.

In conclusion county and possibly state regulations will governed the preservation, protection and maintenance of family grave sites.  While it seems possible to move a private cemetery, there will archaeological and culture requirements, mapping and surveying needed to document the site, and relocation services as well.