Real people make real neighborhoods.

In Dundalk, neighbors say hello when they see you. When you move in, they’ll genuinely welcome you to the block, ask if you need help with anything. That just doesn’t happen every day, everywhere.

That said, your neighbors won’t live in your pockets. You may be as private as you want.

Lots of interesting people to discover in Dundalk! New residents, those who have been here a lifetime – they have stories to tell.  Meet some of them here who have made Dundalk their community.

Katie Marks

Katie moved to Old Dundalk in 2016, along with Bailey and Sasha, her best (4-legged) friends. She went from being a renter in Greektown with a roommate to becoming a home owner in Dundalk, thanks to the DRC Market Boost program and the $10K Historic Dundalk Home Buyer Grant. “I wanted to be a home buyer but didn’t quite have the resources. I was familiar with the quality renovation work by Charm City Builders in the City, but the taxes were too high.”

“I just love my house.”

Because our Market Boost program gives funding to the developer for projects in Dundalk and includes a buyer’s incentive to assist with closing costs, Katie got her quality renovation from Charm City and help with her down payment with the Historic Dundalk Home Buyer Grant. Now in Dundalk, although she works at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, her commute is only 18 minutes!

“The City is so close.”

Katie notes that she appreciates the quiet neighborhood and the quaint, historic charm of Old Dundalk. It’s still so easy to visit her favorite spots and her friends – “It takes me only 6 minutes to get to Canton, which is so fast and easy! I salsa dance and ballroom dance all over the place, so being close to 95 and the tunnel makes it easy to get everywhere quickly.”

We’re glad that Katie partnered with us at Dundalk Renaissance and has the best of the City and Dundalk.

The Murray Family

“Great to buy new!”

Jamal Murray and his wife Dawn came to Dundalk in August 2017 via Essex and Brooklyn, NY. They are now completely at home at Admiral’s Landing, the townhome complex by K Hovnanian Homes in North Point Village, with their three girls, Victoria (17), Kayla (12) and Taylor (9).

Jamal and Dawn are surrounded by youthful energy, not from their own daughters only; Jamal teaches 9th grade algebra at Patterson High School, a 10-minute commute, and Dawn works at It Takes a Village Holistic Childcare in Middle River, where she spends her time with children ages 1 – 6. No wonder they appreciate that their home is “private, but close to everything”, with plenty of space to hang out, either as a family, or alone.

The work commutes are easy, and trips to Aldi’s and Walmart for all their essentials are just minutes from home to parking lot. Jamal also likes the ease of banking at a nearby MECU office. For family-friendly dinners, Papa’s Smokehouse and Texas Roadhouse are local favorites.

Jamal is a first-time buyer, and his search included Essex, Dundalk and Middle River. Events unfolded in perfect synergy – he learned about the advantages of home buyer certification and enrolled in classes offered by HARBEL Housing Partnership, his counselor told him about the DRC Home Buyer Grants program, and Jamal noticed the new townhomes under construction just off North Point Boulevard. Although Jamal and Dawn never thought they would be able to purchase new construction, they spoke with Sales Manager Deb Teel about financing. They found ways to trim $300/month off their spending, and the numbers worked for a townhome with payments close to what they had been paying for rent.  “It’s so much more (space) than we thought we could get!”

Jamal appreciates that it’s “great to buy new!” His DIY inclinations lean toward furniture refurbishing (he finished a large hutch for the dining area) and Dawn plans to do a little painting in a few months when their new townhome has settled. They have 2 full baths and a half bath; another half bath is nearly finished with their own contractor, a money-saver K Hovnanian allows.

Now Jamal and Dawn are encouraging their friends in Essex to seriously consider home ownership. Their advice? “Be serious, be ready”, because the path they followed indeed turned a dream into a goal into a reality.

Frank Wagner

Frank Wagner is living his home ownership dream, thanks to an affordable Dundalk home and the DRC $5K grant. He moved on June 15, 2015 into Colgate, the neighborhood where he grew up!

Purchasing that first home can be a little daunting, but Frank described the process for receiving the grant as ‘pretty simple’, though he said he wished he had done the steps described on the UnexpectedDundalk.com website. “I was trying to find the house I wanted first, because I was so eager to get into a home, but if I had to do it again I would have been working on the preliminary steps.” Frank’s referring to getting his housing certificate, which is mandated for many state and county-funded home purchase grants, including our own. “If you get your housing counseling done first, you’ve opened the doors to many opportunities, instead of picking out a house first that could disappear by the time you get your certification.”

Frank was an attendee at our 2014 Dundalk Housing Fair and Neighborhood Tours; his favorite part of the event was the bus tour rides to beautiful properties on the market in the heart of Dundalk.

Frank is a plumber and a mechanical contractor, and he was especially happy that the home he purchased was move-in ready. The walls had been painted and the floors carpeted. There were some minor changes and improvements, such as caulking, that he easily handled himself – things every home owner learns!

“The best part about residing here is that it’s so close to everything. I can go bowling with my father in the bowling league (which he’s done for the last 6 years) at Pinland on Dundalk Ave. Also, I can hop on to 95 for work; go to White Marsh, the City, or Canton without spending lots of time traveling. I tell others it’s a nice place to live because the location is so convenient.”

When Frank’s not out and about, he and his girlfriend like to just kick back on their comfy couch with their dog Charlie and watch a movie. “When other people visit, I like to take them by the water to enjoy some lunch at Hard Yacht Café and admire the view. People are always surprised by that.”

Shelly Pruitt

At age 40, Shelly Pruitt decided that she was more than ready to be a homeowner, and Dundalk was her community of choice. She was raised in the area, and this is where she wanted to own. Her decision was more than just going with the familiar, however – it was appreciating that neighbors are friendly and respectful, and her Stanbrook neighborhood is safe and quiet.

Shelly had started to house hunt but hit the pause button when she learned about home buyer certification, the Maryland Mortgage Program and the DRC Home Buyer Grants program. She earned her certificate through HARBEL Housing, attended our April 2017 Dundalk Housing Fair and moved into her end-of-group row home in Sept. 2017 – thanks to extra funds that made the home purchase process come together.

Shelly’s commute to circuit court in Towson, where she is a family law court clerk, is typically 20-25 minutes. Because shopping ranks high on her list of favorite things to do, she appreciates the easy drive into Baltimore City and the road system that makes greater Baltimore so accessible. Many of Dundalk’s eateries, especially Texas Roadhouse and Chili’s, are within walking distance. And Stansbury Park, a favorite local spot for Shelly and her boyfriend before moving to the neighborhood (he likes to fish) is just five blocks away.

December 2017 marked Shelly’s first Christmas as a homeowner, and she plans to stay forever! “It feels like home.”

Pauline Tiako

Pauline Tiako, a former resident of New Carrolton (a few minutes from DC) was in search of a place she could call home. Wanting to get away from the busy streets and cold neighbors, she explored areas that were safe and convenient for her family.

During her search, she received a flier for Dundalk Renaissance Corporation’s September 2014 Dundalk Housing Fair and Neighborhood Tours. Pauline attended the housing fair and gathered information she felt was useful but had reservations about qualifying for a mortgage. Tyler Banks, a vendor at the fair and CEO of Charm City Builders, had some encouraging words, “You’d be surprised. You never know till you try.”

Motivated by the tour, Pauline attended every DRC housing event to date, including the September and April Fairs (now annually held in April) and the two Neighborhood Close Ups that took place last spring. She was able to secure DRC’s $5,000 Golden Key Grant, $10,000 Historic Dundalk Grant, and the $5,000 Market Boost, as well as other grants her lender identified. She qualified for the Maryland Mortgage Program, You’ve Earned It, a veteran and student mortgage program and Home for Keys, for State employees who live near their work. “One flier led me to this great place and a lot of grant opportunities I never would’ve discovered.”

$32,000 and a house later, Pauline and her family sit comfortably at her home in Old Dundalk, a renovation by Charm City Builders! “This house has quality product that you would see downtown, yet I’m paying a fraction of the cost here. Where I came from, housing was smaller and expensive. The main reasons why I chose to live in Dundalk was its family-friendly nature and proximity to my work. (Pauline works for the State MDTA as administrative assistant and is currently getting her Master’s in Business Administration.)

When asked what she was most surprised about Dundalk she said, “Everything is nearby. I can take my kids to Kids First Swim School and American Kenpo Karate, where they are taught karate lessons, self-discipline and self-esteem,” (which Pauline feels is a phenomenal skill for children today). “No cars, calm streets, shopping around the corner, and I can go bike riding at all the nearby parks. I can’t wait to try Poplar Inn!”

Pauline has become a socialite and has already met many neighbors whom she describes as friendly and diverse. “Neighbors always greet me here with a ‘good morning’ while getting their newspapers. There are people from Ghana, Egypt, North Carolina, and now Kenya!” Her daughter shared, “I love everything about this house, I have a nice big room and a community where I have a lot of places to go to with friends inside and outside of school.”

In Pauline’s closing thoughts she wanted to leave readers with this:

“I was able to secure a mortgage, where just last September I said I could never afford to do, but here I am! DRC opened my eyes and shared with Dundalk with me. For that I am forever grateful.”

Zachary Moturi   

“It’s time to get more young people buying houses.”

At age 27, Zach is a busy man – he has a full-time position at Johns Hopkins University as a budget analyst, works part-time as a financial consultant and is pursuing a master’s degree online from University of Maryland University College. He also found time to attend home ownership certification class at Belair-Edison, received his certification on Oct. 2, found a home to purchase, followed the lending process and went to settlement on November 30, 2017!

Just one month later, Zach is completely settled in his Inverness neighborhood and appreciates his friendly neighbors and his quiet street. He’s eager to explore the nearby parks once the weather improves; meanwhile, he likes to cook and finds that the nearby Weiss Market on Wise Ave. has both quality and reasonable prices. Zach also heads to Merritt Blvd. for most of his other shopping needs.

Zach used a DRC $5K Home Buyer Grant to purchase his end-of-group row home and believes that “it’s time to get more young people buying houses”. He has gone from living in Kenya till age 19 to living with his family in Baltimore City to renting for three years in Essex to becoming a home owner.  The key? “Goal-setting, learning about available programs, and following the process.”  Zach is a great example of all of that and a welcome addition to the community!

Tamara Maggard

“It’s exciting to buy!”

Tamara didn’t think she could buy a home, but her best friend, a real estate agent, encouraged her to try and connected her with Residential Mortgage Solutions. Kathleen Dilegge knows all grants and available programs, has a menu of lenders, and has helped many first-time buyers become homeowners. So Tamara pursued her home buyer certification with HARBEL Housing Partnership, looked at properties in Dundalk, Essex, Middle River and Parkville, and decided to hone in on Dundalk. She found more space for the money here, and the DRC $5K Home Buyer Grants program was an important part of her financing.

Tamara found a detached home in Old Dundalk and enlisted a couple of family members for floor refurbishing and painting. She and her 9-year-old cat Ping moved in at the beginning of December 2017, and she had a great time decorating her home for the holidays.

Her transition from growing up in Essex and renting in Middle River to owning in Dundalk means daily commutes are a thing of the past. Because Tamara is an instructional assistant at Patapsco High School (she’s a grad) and is a coach for girls’ sports each season, getting to work and back home takes only a few minutes.

She also appreciates the quick trip to Canton, although much of her bargain hunting is local – Ollie’s, Big Lots, Save-A-Lot and ReStore. Thanks to easy highway access, TJ Maxx, Harbor Freight and HomeGoods are also convenient shopping destinations. She’s close to Donna’s Tavern and Restaurant, where she plays softball with a social league; as far as eating out, “Texas Roadhouse is great!”

A quiet neighborhood and wonderful neighbors are even more positives for Tamara, and she looks forward to the new townhomes that will be built nearby at the old Seagrams property. Observing other signs of growth in the area, she knows that new housing nearby will benefit the entire surrounding area and attract more new residents, like her, who are Dundalk’s next generation.