Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

Cleveland Park is a neighborhood of great architectural diversity.  There are small row houses that sell in the high $600's and historic mansions with price tags in the $4.5 million range.  Some are on tiny lots, with just enough room for the house and a postage stamp garden.  Others have expansive lawns and gardens.  And so far this year, the demand has been for the smaller homes at a relatively low price point.

The list of homes currently for sale includes two in excess of $4,000,000.  And they are bringing the averages up.  The highest selling price year to date is lower than that, at $2,407,000.

Here are the figures:

Currently For Sale:  15 homes (current asking price)
Low:   $715,000
High:  $4,500,000
Average: $1,993,467

Under Contract:  8 homes (asking price at contract)
Low:  $699,000
High:  $2,950,000
Average:  $1,343,438

Sold since 1/1/2009 15 homes sold (asking price at contract)
Low:  $863,000 (selling price)
High: $2,407,000
Average:  $1,122,800

Average original asking price for sold properties: $1,219,190

There have been a bunch of times when I've included a homeowner's warranty to get a transaction done.  And I'm constantly amazed at what I'm finding in the fine print!

Now, I am one of those nutty people who actually read fine print, at least some of the time.  Most people do not.  But if you are either purchasing a warranty as part of a listing agreement or including one as part of a sales contract, here are some important questions you should be able to answer:

• How much are service call deductibles?  If the dishwasher is acting weird, how much will you have to pay out of pocket for someone to show up and determine whether it should be repaired or replaced?
• What does the agreement say about pre-existing conditions?  If the dishwasher is really, really old and past it's prime and breaks down the first time you turn it on, is it covered at all?
• What about stuff like the Jacuzzi in the master bath, or the ice maker in the fridge?  And the septic system?  Sometimes a lot of items that are typically problematic are excluded altogether, unless you pay a bunch extra.
• What about structural elements of the home?  A few warranty companies, for example, will include the roof.  Most do not.
  
• If you are the seller, does it cover items that show up on the buyer's home inspector's report?  And does it cover your heat and central air conditioning systems?  Some leave these items out of the seller's coverage.

I've found that many of my buyers break things that were operating well at settlement, just because they don't quite understand how to use the systems or appliances in their new homes.  And for this reason alone, a home owner's warranty can provide some additional peace of mind for today's somewhat edgy buyers.

Some of the major warranty providers in this area (and I'm not advocating any of these companies) are American Home Shield,  Nationwide Home Warranty, Choice Home Warranty, and Home Warranties of America.

And, while a warranty can be a good idea, it's also a good idea to do some serious comparative shopping.

The next time you fly into Washington's Reagan National Airport, look to your left as the plane comes in for a landing.  There you will see the Watergate, a complex that includes a hotel, office building and coop apartments.

It was built in the late 1960's, and has been home to many members of Congress, diplomats, cabinet secretaries, and an infamous White House intern.

The apartments are spacious and most of the 600 units have large balconies.  They also have spectacular views, usually of either the Potomac River or the Washington Monument.  

If you are a music lover, you can walk over the the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and hear the National Symphony, or enjoy a night at the Opera or ballet.

For the convenience of the residents, there is a retail level in the basement with a Safeway, liquor store, bakery and a drug store.

When touring apartments in the Watergate, you never know what you will find.  There are still a few units with original kitchens and baths, but most have been updated to some degree   Many have had walls added or removed, and some units have been combined to form huge spaces.

There are currently 36 units listed for sale on MRIS.  

1-bedrooms:  11 for sale, ranging in price from $375,000 for a 7th floor 1045 square foot unit with a city view to $1,895,000 for a 15th floor penthouse with 2230 square feet of space, a large terrace and an incredible river view.   

2-bedrooms: 12 for sale, ranging from $450,000 for a 10th floor 1384 square foot unit, to a high of $4,500,000 for an 11th floor unit with 2915 square feet and a view of the Potomac River and Georgetown.  

3-bedrooms:  8 units from $799,000 for a 2136 square foot unit on the 8th floor at the point of the building, with both river and city views (offered in "as is" condition), to a 10th floor unit with wonderful views and a thorough renovation.

4-bedrooms:  4 units for sale $999,000 for a 2850 duplex on the 7th floor in "as is" condition, to $2,000,000 for another 7th floor duplex, 3675 square feet, that has been renovated. 

If you would like more information on the Watergate, please email me or call at 202-549-5167.

If you've ever seen "Designed to Sell", the HGTV hit, there's a moment at the end when, after the first Open House, the sellers are gleefully picking through multiple offers - or they are saying that they are going to hold out for the right one. 

Today, I showed a house where the sellers were hold outs.

Now, I wasn't blown away by the staging in this house to begin with.  And I was stunned when the seller told me that HGTV had done the living room, dining room and master bedroom.  It was just OK.  Lots of browns and tans - colors that don't appeal to a lot of people. 

But that's sort of not the point I'm trying to make.  The house has been around for a while, and it's not about the staging. 

It's the price, stupid!  At $525,000, the house was overpriced by about $100,000.

So to all of the sellers out there, it's really important to put your house on the market looking its absolute best.  It's also important to put a number out there that is related to actual value of the house!

Yesterday, I showed a lovely granny house in Chevy Chase, a close-in DC suburb.  It's a large, stately home with pillars that reminded me of a lovely antebellum Gone With The Wind sort of place.  The 1920's vintage home was well taken care of and sort of reeked of years of love, happy family holidays, wedding receptions, and decades of memories.  It was almost like you could tell this house had taken wonderful care of the people it sheltered.

And granny was there! 

Normally, it's best for the sellers to be far away when their homes are shown.  But sometimes you have to make exceptions if there is a new baby or little old lady in the house.  And this time, the listing agent made sure it was OK. 

This seller was utterly charming.  After introductions, she and her agent moved to the well-tended rose garden while we went through the house.

She was warm, welcoming and then scarce.

I don't know if this will be the house that my buyers actually buy.  It's wonderful in so many ways, but near a very busy street.  And while it's been lovingly maintained, it does need some renovations.  But I'm sort of rooting for it.

And hoping that maybe granny will convey!

This house was totally amazing!  It was marry for money gorgeous.  It was marry old and ugly for money gorgeous!

But there was this one little thing! 

The house was wearing a scent that I call Eau de  Kitty Litter!  It did not pass the sniff test.

Not to be judgmental or anything.  OK, I am being judgmental!  But I am planning to put my house on the market, and it has not only tow pussy cats in residence, but also Willie the Labradoodle who sometimes smells a bit funky.  And Yikes! 

Oh, well, maybe I'll just have one of those buyer specific houses that will appeal only to folks with no sense of smell whatsoever!

© 2009 Patricia Kennedy. Unless otherwise noted, the content, both written and in pictures, is the property of Patricia Kennedy . If you would like to use this image, please  email me (housepat@mac.com) with your request. I'll almost certianly say yes, and ask only that you provide a link back to my original content as well as an acknowledgment.  The same thing applies to any other material you see posted here on Active Rain or on any of my other blogs.

When you list a house that you are living in, it's really, really important to get the showing instructions clear.  Really, really clear!

There have been many posts written here on Active Rain about how important it is to make our listings user-friendly for buyer agents who want to preview or show them.  Agents are less likely to show a house with complicated arrangements needed to get the front door open.   Fewer people looking at the house translates into reduced exposure to the marketplace, which in turn means longer time on the market and a lower selling price.

When the property is vacant, that's no problem.  We just hang a lock box on the front door.  But when you're living there, you need some reasonable way to know when people are going to be going through the place.

So typically, on an occupied house, the instructions are call owner first, leave a message with the time and date.  Well, with cell phones and all, this is what that scenario can look like.

You come home early from work.  You are exhausted.  You peel off your clothes and hop into the tub. 

Then your phone rings, but you don't hear it over the motor that's pumping bubbles into your relaxing Jacuzzi!  It's an agent calling from the curb to let you know she's coming in with some clients.  And you become another one of those funny stories with which we regale our friends and colleagues!

Oops!

Now, here's what I suggest.  Have an extra lock put on your door - even if it's one of those chain locks.  When you're home, use it!  That way, you might get home from work and find strangers in your house.  And that is acceptable.  But what you avoid is having people come in when you are totally indisposed.  And that is not acceptable!

I'm not saying, by the way, that I think agents should call from the curb.  We try to give advaced notice when we plan to show a house or apartment.  But most of us, when it's a choice between showing a house or not, err on the side of showing on short notice and hoping for the best.

Arnold is my next door neighbor.  He's what some of us might call an old hippie - his old car boasts bumper stickers like "Love Animals, Don't Eat Them" and "If You Don't Go Within, You Go Without - Meditate!".  He's a wonderful neighbor to all of the single women on the block, as he possesses significant handyman skills.

Arnold was literally born in the house next door, and when he was a little boy, he planted some lily bulbs in his front yard and in the little garden strip between our houses. 

When I first moved into my house back in 1982, his front yard was still full of lilies.  And every June, his yard and our shared garden strip were wall-to-wall bright orange lilies. 

A few years later, he decided that after several decades in the house, he wanted grass, and he dug up all the bulbs in the front yard (almost all of them).  I took advantage of the empty strip to plant some flowers and herbs.

And then, the lilies came back - at least in the shared garden strip.  And I'm not going to do any thing to disturb them.

Every June for a couple of weeks, they are just amazing!  And this happens to be their time this year!  So I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Today, I went out to preview a bunch of houses with colleague and blog buddy Ed Schneider.  And we say a whole bunch of nice houses, and a few that were not too exciting at all.  But there was one that could have been a total WOW House except for one leetle tiny thing!

Here in Washington, We don't see a whole lot of swimming pools.  And when we do, especially when the house is for sale, the pools are usually crystal clear and inviting.

So the house today was pretty high end and listed by a company that specializes in mansion market homes.  This mini-mansion was freshly painted, beautifully renovated (especially the kitchen), and professionally staged.  But the pool was full of cloudy water, dead bugs and leaves, and if there had been a frog or two, it wouldn't have surprised me.

The last time I sold a house with a pool, it was in February.  I had the seller roll back the cover, turn on the heat and bring in the pool boy to make the thing sparkle.  Oh, and I had him turn the heater way, way up.  At the Open House, there was this gorgeous pool with hot water and steam floating up.  By the end of the day, we had a full price contract. 

A pool can be a really great asset - or not!