316 Drew St., Baltimore City

Hopkins Bayview is within walking distance and this home is minutes from downtown Baltimore. The convenient location is just one feature of this well maintained rowhome at 316 Drew St. (Baltimore City).

The home offers a fantastic option for a first time home buyer or savvy investor. Another option is that you might be looking to put your finishing touches on this home with great bones.

You will find t...

4102 Chardel Rd. #3-G, in Nottingham, Baltimore County

Tucked back nicely from the hustle and bustle of Belair Road, this condo at 4102 Chardel Rd. in Nottingham offers a convenient locale. In addition, it’s in a quiet neighborhood too!

Features

E...

35 Nakota Ct. in Middle River

From the moment you step foot into this delightful Middle River townhome located at 35 Nakota Ct., you’ll be asking “where do I sign?”

No detail was missed in the renovation of this stunning NEW kitchen...

While meal prepping is not difficult, it can be tough to get going. Once you have a system in place, moving forward will be easier.  In my Monthly Item of Value, get some tips on how to begin planning your weekly meals to make your life easier.

Try your best to make foods that are nutritious and then track your food by using an app. You need only to do quick a search on your phone to find food tracking apps.

MyFitnessPal and Delish are handy food blogs that can help you with food prepping. Pinterest can be a big help in finding easy recipes. In fact, you can use Pinterest as your digital recipe file and they will always be handy no matter where you are.

For the full Monthly Item of Value on Meal Prepping click/tap here.

You’ll get all sorts of tips on how to make your mea...

Thanks to Tom Benisch of State Farm for this episode of Tips from the Pros about DNA testing privacy.

Understand the basics of how DNA testing works and learn how to remain vigilant over your data.

Genetic testing has gone from a novel curiosity to big business. More than 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test, which uses DNA to analyze their genomes. The explosion in testing companies and use have a lot of people asking about at-home DNA testing privacy and wondering about the risks. Here are the basics and what you need to consider.

How DNA testing works

Wider availability and advanced technology have made DNA testing much more affordable and much less intrusive...

Thanks to Maryland Grows for letting me reprint these garden tips.

For Ornamental Plants:

• Late August through September is usually a good time to transplant, divide and plant perennials such as daylily, liriope (photo left), and echinacea. (HG 99) Be sure to keep them well watered during dry periods.
• Annuals and perennials, like yarrow and salvia, may have grown spindly and are not flowering well. Cut them back to encourage re-bloom. Deadhead the spent blooms of annuals like zinnias and marigolds. This will encourage them to continue blooming more vigorously.
• Plant hardy mums for fall color this month so they will become well established prior to the winter.

Garden Tips For Lawns:

• In dry periods grasses go d...

The second quarter of 2019 ended about the same way it started, with positive returns across financial markets. In our 2nd quarter market commentary we’ll recap what happened, what we learned and where we go from here.

Best Planning Ideas for 2019

Each year at the annual AICPA Personal Financial Planning conference, Lyle moderates a panel discussion with leaders from the CPA financial planning profession. These leaders discuss the best planning ideas they are implementing with clients right now, and there always a number of great takeaways.

We’ve touched on many of these topics in our writing over the past couple years, but here’s a reminder of the top planning ideas to consider now.

The Kiddie Tax

The tax on the unearned income of children has long been a pai...

Thanks to Clean Sweep for this episode of Tips from the Pros about reasons your chimney might be leaking.

The recent thunderstorms and downpours have led many area residents to wonder if their chimneys have a leak problem. While the rain is awesome for cooling us off and keeping the lawn watered, the last thing that you want to encounter is a leaky chimney.

The Symptoms of a Leaky Chimney

Some people assume that every chimney with a leak problem will have a puddle of water sitting in the flue or fireplace. However, since most chimney systems are complex, leaks are often not found until they have already caused serious damage. Some of the signs of a leaking chimney include:

• Water or condensation present in the firebox
• Moisture, leaks or water damage on t...

Find activities and August events that are happening in and around the Baltimore area. In addition, get the details on what’s happening and where.

Baltimore Improv Festival

Be a part of the Baltimore Improv Festival presented by the Baltimore Improv Group. It will be held at The BIG Theater, 1727 North Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21201. Check it out through August 4 at 7:00pm.

Fort McHenry Crab Feast

The 6th Annual Crab Feast will be on the grounds of Fort McHenry. The event includes BBQ, drinks and music by the Eastport Oyster Boys. Saturday, August 3 at 4:00pm-8:00pm at Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine.

Best of Baltimore Party 2019 

Thanks to Maryland Grows for letting me reprint this gardening advice.

Every month, we will highlight a few timely, key tips for Maryland homeowners’ lawns and gardens.

Fruit Growers:

• Fruit plants have shallow root systems which are easily damaged by cultivation. Do not cultivate or dig into the soil around small fruits or tree fruits. Hand-pull the weeds and then apply organic mulches to control weeds.
• Practice good sanitation by removing and discarding all fallen leaves and fruits.

Vegetable plants:

• Squash vine borer larvae are feeding inside squash and pumpkin stems. Monitor plants for signs of wilting and entrance holes on lower stems. You may see sawdust-like frass around the hole. Stems may contain more than one larva...