Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

RealAstute.com Team Member Earns Esteemed Realtor Certification

For Immediate Release
Contact: Kevin Shirley (Kevin@RealAstute.com)

RealAstute.com Home Team Member Earns
REALTOR e-PRO® Certification

November 26, 2007 – Michael Dillon, the top producing agent at Long and Foster’s Capitol Hill Office and the RealAstute.com Home Team has successfully completed the REALTOR e-PRO course to become one of a select few real estate professionals to earn the prestigious certification offered through the National Association of REALTORS.® Kevin Reid Shirley, Michael’s business partner on the RealAstute.com Home Team has already been an e-PRO for several years.

The REALTOR e-PRO certification course is an educational program unlike any other professional certification or designation course available, comprehensive and interactive. It is specifically designed to provide real estate professionals with the technology tools needed to assist consumers in the purchase or sale of a home.

With more than 70% of consumers beginning their real estate research on the Internet, e-PRO certified agents have the experience and expertise to meet the demands of today’s buyer and seller.

“The real estate industry has undergone a fundamental change over the past several years,” said Michael Dillon of Long and Foster. “A majority of consumers are taking the time to conduct their own research prior to contacting an agent. In turn, real estate professionals must be knowledgeable of how technology can assist them in serving the needs of the buying and selling public.”

The exclusive REALTOR e-PRO certification course is presented entirely online and certifies real estate agents and brokers as Internet professionals. Because of its innovative design, students are able to complete the course at their own pace, when and where they want, via any Internet connection. The course is designed to help REALTORS stay at the leading edge of technology and identify, evaluate and implement new Internet business models.

Once completed, the e-PRO certified real estate professional joins the ranks of a special community of highly skilled and continuously trained professionals who provide high quality and innovative online-based real estate services. Consumers can identify the e-PRO through the exclusive e-PRO Internet Professional logo.

Both the content and the delivery platform were created by San Diego-based technology company InternetCrusade®. The course instructs participants in the professional use of e-mail, the development of an interactive Web site, and the use of online research tools. Graduates use the skills they've acquired to provide clients information on properties for sale, local communities, and the local real estate market.

For more information or help with your personal real estate needs, please e-mail Michael Dillon at Michael@RealAstute.com, call him at 202-369-9821 or visit the RealAstute.com Home Team website at http://www.realastute.com/.

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Michael Attends Condo Auction in DC

On Tuesday afternoon I attended an auction for 3 condo units in NE DC’s Deanwood neighborhood. I am familiar with the Deanwood neighborhood because I already own some investment property there. I think it’s a smart investment because of the convenience to Capitol Hill and the rest of the city, with easy access both by road and by the Deanwood Metro Station. There is talk of a trolley or light rail eventually connecting Deanwood both to Benning Road as well as the retail and historic areas of Anacostia. The city’s Office of Planning has been working this year to create a comprehensive plan for Deanwood. In late September they had their latest public meeting about opportunities in Deanwood and other parts of Ward 7. Click here to see the encouraging development report.

The auction on Tuesday was conducted by Fox Residential Auctions LLC and took place on the steps of the condo building. Fox Residential Auctions LLC has a strategic partnership with Long and Foster in the Baltimore Region. They conduct residential and commercial property auctions primarily in Maryland, but also in the District and Pennsylvania. You can see both past and future auctions and learn about their auction process at their website at: http://www.fox-residential.com/.

Some people believe that property auctions are just for foreclosed properties or tax sale properties when in fact anyone can choose to sell their property at auction. In the case of these 3 condo units I was told that the owner had decided he was tired of waiting on buyers in this market and wanted to finish selling off the final units in the project before the end of the year.

The condo buildings where this auction took place were at 4200 and 4202 Grant Street, NE. These condo buildings have a total of 12 units, 6 units in each building. They have been sold over the last two years for between $154,000 and $170,000. They are each 1 bedroom units around 500 square feet completely renovated with central heat and air, granite counters, Berber carpet and washer/dryers in the unit.

Property auctions come in many different shapes and sizes, for instance an auction can have a “reserve” number or they can be “absolute” auctions. When an auction has a reserve number the seller has established a minimum dollar amount they will take for the property. If that amount is not reached during the auction the auctioneer does not have to sell the property to the highest bidder. For example, if a seller asks an auctioneer to sell a house valued at $500,000 he or she may set a “reserve” of $400,000 in order to insure a certain profit margin at the sale. If the highest bidder only reaches $380K the seller can tell the auctioneer to refuse the sale.

In an absolute auction, there is no reserve meaning the property will absolutely be sold to the highest bidder, no matter how high or low the winning bid may be. This is a risk for the seller and a huge advantage for the buyer. At the auction on Tuesday 2 of the condo units were being sold with a reserve number, but one of them was being sold absolute. I am guessing that the auctioneer encouraged the seller to sell one unit in absolute as a come-on to get people to the auction, assuming they would bid that unit up to a similar price as the reserve units.

I was surprised that they decided to start the bidding on the absolute unit. After everyone who was interested in bidding had proven they had $5000 in cash or certified funds they were issued a bid card and asked to gather in front of the building for the bidding. If you haven’t been to an auction like this before, I would highly recommend attending one. Even if you aren’t interested in buying the property the people watching is terrific. There must have been nearly 50 people hanging around by the time the auction started. Of those gathered there were less than 10 folks with bid cars participating in the auction. There were neighbors, police, investors, friends and even a homeless man who tried to bid at one point by raising his brown bag 40 oz beer as if it were a bid card!

I was there to try and purchase the unit being sold in absolute for between $50K and $80K. My investment partners and I decided that was a good range that would allow us to make a slight profit if we rented the unit out and probably wait a few years to build equity and for the market to perk up a bit before re-selling for a profit. When you go to an auction like this you need to have a concrete number that you will not go above where you will stop bidding. Each investor has a different number they are comfortable bidding up to based on their own investment strategy. If you are ever interested in pursuing this type of investment please let me know (Michael@RealAstute.com) and I would be happy to help you run comps and help you determine the right number for you and your investment.

The auctioneer started the bidding for the absolute unit at $175K. You could hear the crickets chirp. I actually chuckled when he said that number. Finally someone in the crowd hollered $10,000. The auctioneer laughed, but he had to proceed with that number for the bidding since this was an absolute auction. Needless to say the bidding ran up quickly to $50K, then me and 3 other bidders quickly ran the bids up to $75K at which point I was fairly certain by the lack of bidding that I would be the winning bidder and would be getting a great deal on one of these condos. Sadly, I was mistaken!

Just as the auctioneer prepared to award me the condo for $75K a gentleman just a few feet away took the bid to $77,500. I went to $80K. Then my competition went to $82,500 and like a smart investor I turned to my competition and congratulated him and started walking to my car parked along the side of the building. Even though you can get wrapped up in the bidding you must remember that you have a cap and you don’t want to go over that cap. I knew that my fellow investors trusted my judgment and would be pleased that I didn’t get carried away and pass our cap.

Once we passed my cap I was disappointed but I know there will be many more auctions and opportunities and this one was simply not meant to be. The auctioneer was quite funny and actually called out to me to stay and keep bidding by saying, “You know it’s still a steal at $100K, don’t leave yet.” But it was too late; I pulled off and headed back to the office, with a quick stop at McDonalds for a Big Mac!

If you think you or someone you know, or even a group of investors you want to put together might be interested in learning more about this type of auction I am happy to share my knowledge. My small investment team has successfully purchased property through the annual DC tax sale as well and I am happy to advise my clients on how to navigate that process. Further, there are more and more auctions every week with foreclosed properties being sold at discounted prices. Next Tuesday I am planning to attend one of these foreclosure auctions and I will share what I learn on upcoming blog posts.

Michael Dillon
Michael@RealAstute.com

Dump This House: Unloading Your Property in a Slow Market

GETTING GOING
Dump This House: Unloading Your Property in a Slow Market. It could be the kindest cut of all.

Look at the prices of homes getting sold, and the property market's decline seems no worse than a rough day in the stock market. Look at the number of unsold homes, and you realize there's a world of financial pain out there.

True, these unsold homes may eventually get bought at decent prices. But in the meantime, the owners are often bleeding money -- and many of them would be smart to slash their asking price and go for the quick sale.

Taking time. As you can see from the accompanying chart, home prices are down just 4.5% from their July 2006 peak.

Yet even as prices appear pretty much unchanged, the number of unsold homes has soared. At the current pace of sales, it would take more than 10 months to clear this backlog, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sure, it would be emotionally draining to have your home on the market for more than 10 months. But it probably wouldn't be a financial disaster -- as long as you're still in the house and you can comfortably cover the mortgage.

Maybe, however, you have an adjustable-rate loan that's now unaffordable. Maybe you're trying to unload a vacation home. Maybe you moved cross-country for a new job, but your old house still hasn't sold.

The monthly cost of carrying a vacant home could equal 1% of a home's value, figures Charles Farrell, an adviser with Denver's Northstar Investment Advisors. After all, you still have to pay utilities, insurance, property taxes, maintenance and, of course, the mortgage.
What if the mortgage is paid off? There's still an opportunity cost. The equity in your home could instead be invested in, say, bonds yielding 5%.

To make matters worse, "prices could be lower a year from now," Mr. Farrell warns. "There's also the risk of owning a physical asset. I'm thinking about things like fire, broken pipes, theft."
Cutting deeply. Despite all this, sellers are loath to cut their asking price, which is the reason prices have barely budged -- so far.

"People focus on what their home was worth two years ago, or how much they've sunk into it, or on their desire not to bring a check to the closing," notes financial adviser Bert Whitehead, author of "Why Smart People Do Stupid Things With Money."

His advice: Ditch these emotional hangups -- and unload your property now. "If you really want to sell your house, you have to cut deep," Mr. Whitehead says.

"If there are 2,000 houses on the market and 200 houses sold last month, that means it's taking 10 months to sell a house," Prof. Mayer says. "That's pretty simple math, but nobody ever does it. If you price your house like everybody else, it might take 10 months to sell it."

Suppose you price your home like everybody else and it does indeed take 10 months to sell. Figure out how much you would be out of pocket over that stretch, either because your home is vacant or because the mortgage has become unaffordably large.

Spend your Sunday going to open houses in the neighborhood. That should give you an indication of what you need to ask if you want to get your home sold now. Given the cost of carrying your home and the risk prices will fall further, would it be cheaper to slash your asking price?

If you're going to lower your price, Prof. Mayer advises doing it right away -- or waiting until early next year. He notes that very few houses sell between Thanksgiving and mid-January.
"The best scenario is that prices fall through the spring and then stabilize," Prof. Mayer says. "But I'm more pessimistic than that. I would sell now.



The Wall Street Journal
November 7, 2007
By Jonathan Clements

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Real Estate Costs Keep Politicos Down

By: Samuel Loewenberg
Nov 7, 2007 10:56 PM EST

The 100 block of D Street Southeast just next to the House office buildings, has long had a reputation for being home to fun-loving Republicans.

Former Congressmen Clay Shaw (R-Fla.), Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and Chris Chocola (R-Ind.) used to be known not only for their conservative credentials but also for their fab block parties.

That all came crashing down with the 2006 Democratic sweep, and the partying Republicans were forced to give up their pads.

But Washington’s housing values have more than doubled since 2000, so don’t feel too bad for the former lawmakers.

In fact, you can call them “the 900 Club.”

Shaw, for instance, was able to sell his house for $900,000. It’s unclear from tax records how much the three-bedroom, two-bath home cost when he bought it in 1997, but based on prices at the time, he probably paid around $300,000.

Former-congressman-turned-former-CIA-Director Porter Goss sold his three-bedroom abode, which he’d owned since 1990, for $950,000. Foley, who purchased his house in 1995, sold for $899,000.

Chocola appears to have gotten into the market a bit late, buying his place in 2002 for $640,000. Still, by the time he lost his bid for reelection in 2006, he got $799,000 for it.

For rank-and-file members who are struggling to get by on their current salaries of $165,200, the D.C. housing boom of the past decade has meant that for those who could afford to buy, serving the public good has served them exceptionally well.

One of the best — albeit tainted — deals appears to have been had by former Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.). Ryun has been the subject of allegations that he received a sweetheart real estate deal from a nonprofit group tied to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the GOP’s former “Hammer,” Tom Delay (R-Texas).

Ryun bought his D Street town house for $410,000 in 2000 from the U.S. Family Network, even though that group — allegedly a front for shady fundraising by a former DeLay aide — had bought the house two years earlier, in the midst of the property boom, for $19,000 more.

Either way, Ryun, who has denied any improprieties and said he has substantially improved the house, is sitting on a golden egg.

The three-bedroom, two-bath brick row house is currently valued at $920,870, according to D.C. property records.

Ryun’s house was at the high end, given its proximity to the Capitol.

The average going price for a house near the Capitol is $750,000 — up from about $330,000 in 2000, according to information from Coldwell Banker Real Estate. Real estate values in the rest of the District have risen even more.

Of course, many lawmakers, particularly in the House, don’t have the funds or the will to buy in Washington.

For members who have come here in the past few years, the housing boom has its downsides, said former Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.).

“It has certainly priced people out of the market. I think you find more and more members doubling up, sharing apartments,” she said.

Veteran Washington real estate observers are familiar with horror stories about California Democratic Rep. George Miller’s D Street group house.

His three roommates, a revolving line of Democrats, are said to return home after a hard day of handshakes and filibustering to sit around in their underwear, eating Cheetos and cereal.

Then there are the five members who all share a C Street town house, paying little rent ($600 each) and living in bipartisan harmony, united by their Christian faith.

The owner of the house is a group called the “Fellowship” and is described in press reports as a “secretive religious organization.”

So what makes a member want to buy?

“Most want to get a cycle or two behind them before they make that kind of investment,” said Donald Denton, who runs the Capitol Hill office of Coldwell Banker. During the early 1990s, he said, “the whole class couldn’t afford, or didn’t want, to buy up here, so they all rented.”

Even so, buying a house can put a member of Congress in an awkward situation. Members generally want to be within eight blocks of the Capitol, 12 at most.

That means they are looking at spending three-quarters of a million dollars and up.

That can be a difficult expenditure to explain to voters back home for members eager to portray themselves as plain folks, particularly those who represent rural or low-income districts.

As a result, many members simply prefer to rent, said Denton, a former Appropriations Committee staffer who went into real estate in 1979.

“They don’t want the bad press back home.”

An example of someone who ran into trouble is Democrat Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader who lost his reelection bid in 2004, largely because he was perceived as too much of a Washington insider.

His and his lobbyist wife Linda’s purchase of a $1.9 million house on tony Foxhall Road in 2003 apparently didn’t play well with South Dakota voters, who ousted him.

Oh, well. According to tax records, it’s gained more than $1 million in value since then.

Schroeder remembers that when she came to Washington in 1972, she was staggered by the prices but finally found a home in the Northern Virginia suburbs.

“I used to live in mortal fear that somebody would take a picture of my house and write what we paid for it, and people in Colorado would think I was out of my flaming mind,” she said.

The house, purchased for $55,000 in 1972, sold several years ago for $300,000.

For the members who have graduated to, or come from, the Washington establishment, Capitol Hill is often left behind for more exclusive digs in Georgetown, Kalorama or McLean.

“Most of those people who are experienced don’t want to live above the store, so to speak,” said Jim Bell of Washington Fine Properties.

Bell, who specializes in the Kalorama area, said that the average home price in the area is $2.5 million, with some going as high as $10 million.

Denizens of the area, according to Bell, include Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, whose house has doubled in value since he purchased it in 1998 for $2.7 million, and House Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.).

Other power players include former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton; and socialite/lobbyist Juleanna Glover Weiss.

For lawmakers-turned-lobbyists, especially Republicans, McLean is the preferred destination. The New Republic called the area “the new Georgetown” and “middle-American nouveau riche.”
McLean residents include former Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.), who has his own lobbying firm (and a $2.7 million home); former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (with a home valued at $2.9 million — up $1 million from when he purchased it four years ago); and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose $1.5 million manse has doubled in worth since he purchased it in 2000.

Other members appear to be taking advantage of the booming D.C. property market by purchasing investment properties.

These include Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), the House’s wealthiest member, who owns six properties in the D.C. area, in addition to her residence, according to congressional personal disclosure forms.

Other members have made more modest real estate investments. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) reports on her disclosure forms she made as much as $200, for “rental income from [a] parking space” in her apartment building.

Click Here to view more on the Politico Website.

How Historic Is Chevy Chase D.C.? Residents Split on Designation for Area of Eclectic Architecture

By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 1, 2007; DZ01

Chevy Chase residents recognize that they live in one of the District's oldest planned suburbs, a place founded a century ago as a bucolic escape from the bustle of downtown.
But whether "old" is synonymous with "historic" is a question that has provoked contentious debate in a neighborhood otherwise known for peaceful streets, charming homes and civil discourse.

Fearful of developers razing houses and replacing them with mansions, preservationists are lobbying the city to designate Chevy Chase D.C. as a historic district, thereby regulating how property owners can alter the exteriors of their homes.

But their campaign has provoked heated opposition among residents who worry that new regulations would create additional bureaucratic review and financial burdens if they seek to replace roofs or windows or build additions.

"In the last five years, it is the most controversial proposal we have faced," said Jerry Levine, chairman of the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission that encompasses most of the area. "On this one, every home is affected."

David Maloney, the District's state historic preservation officer, said that because of the neighborhood's history and reputation, "it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that it has a good chance of meeting the designation criteria."

"The sense I get is that most people are not contesting that," Maloney said. "They agree it's a wonderful suburb. What they are contesting is whether it's something they want to deal with in their daily lives. And that is an issue for us."

The District has designated 26 neighborhoods as historic districts, including Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Shaw, Cleveland Park and Anacostia. In many cases, residents have nominated their neighborhoods, a nomination ultimately decided by the District's Historic Preservation Review Board.

When a neighborhood is deemed historic, property owners seeking to demolish buildings or make exterior alterations first must obtain permission from the D.C. Planning Department's Historic Preservation Office, which subjects proposed construction to a design review.
Historic Chevy Chase D.C., a community group, initiated the campaign to designate the neighborhood, an area of more than 900 residential and commercial properties, roughly bounded by Western Avenue to the north, Harrison Street to the south, Reno Road to the west and Chevy Chase Parkway to the east.

In recent years, as real estate values have soared, property owners have built additions or torn down homes and replaced them with mansions that loom over neighboring properties, particularly in the portion of Chevy Chase that is in Montgomery County.

Although preservationists acknowledge that far fewer homes have been razed in Chevy Chase D.C., they say the neighborhood needs legal protections to ensure the future of its eclectic mix of Tudor and Colonial Revival houses homes, many of them built in the early 1900s.

"We're seeing McMansions, in considerable numbers, in Maryland, and in Arlington, and every close-in residential neighborhood is at risk," said Richard Teare, acting president of Historic Chevy Chase D.C. "We would like to forestall it here. We like what we have, we value it, and we want to see it preserved."

But opponents of the designation say that landmark status would saddle them with additional government oversight and costs if they seek to renovate their homes. In historic areas, for example, the District can require that homeowners use wooden windows, which cost more than vinyl replacements.

Allen Seeber, a neighborhood resident who opposes the historic designation, said that Chevy Chase's architectural styles are too varied to draft a set of design regulations. "There's no consistency here," he said. "How do you make rules about an eclectic collection of structures?"
Furthermore, he added, the encroachment of McMansions "is a threat, not a reality. There are some, but I'm not going to faint when I walk by them."

Although community meetings devoted to the issue have drawn large turnouts, neighborhood leaders want to ensure that all Chevy Chase property owners get the chance to express their views. The two Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that include Chevy Chase plan to poll residents on whether they support or oppose historic designation.

The commissions had planned their survey for September. But District officials asked for a six-month delay so they can study the neighborhood's housing styles and issue broad design guidelines, which they hope will answer questions about how property owners can alter their buildings.

Although a historic designation is primarily based on architecture, the District government also takes into account the views of neighborhood residents. In Brookland, for example, the District rejected an application for landmark status after residents raised objections.

"We don't impose them on neighborhoods that don't want them," Maloney said.

Referring to Chevy Chase, he said, "We need to make sure that there is broad community support. The question is, 'How do you know?' My stock answer is I know it when I see it. It's usually pretty obvious. In Chevy Chase, it's not clear yet."

Feeling Nosy about DC? MD? VA?

Ok, I know you're probably not planning on moving this very second, but here's this week's list of interesting-looking listings that have just come on the market. Mind you, they may not actually be my personal listings --- just intriguing properties I've come across that week.

Feeling nosy about the District of Columbia?
Feeling nosy about Virginia?
Feeling nosy about Maryland?

If you know someone who might be interested in this list, please forward it on to him or her. And if there's a listing that you're curious about yourself, just let me know ... and I'll show it to you ... just for the hell of it ... no obligation ... *I promise*. Really. (One of the perks of being the friend of a real estate agent ought to be that you get to freely snoop around other peoples' homes!

Mortgage Rates Drop to Five-Month Lows

Mortgage rates have fallen to lows not seen in five months, according to the latest weekly report from Freddie Mac. The average interest for 30-year fixed loans was 6.26 percent, compared to 6.33 percent a week ago; and this was the lowest level since rates averaged 6.21 percent during the week of May 17.

"Continued market concerns about weaker economic growth and further declines in the housing market have kept mortgage rates low over the last few weeks," according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist at the mortgage finance giant.

Also, rates on 15-year fixed products fell to 5.91 percent from 5.99 percent last week; rates on five-year adjustable rate mortgages declined to 5.98 percent from 6.03 percent; and rates on one-year ARMs slipped to 5.57 percent from 5.66 percent a week ago.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, Martin Crutsinger (11/02/07)