Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

Yesterday, for the first time in what seemed like forever, the sky was a totally gorgeous blue.  And I saw it through the first baby buds on a red bud tree - the real first sign of spring.  In another week or so, theses amazing trees will be blooming around town.  Lots of people come from all over to see our cherry trees.  But me?  I wait for the red buds!

© 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 certainly 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.

It's almost gone, but not quite. 

Please!

Melt!

© 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 certainly 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.

The bridges real name is the Dumbarton Bridge, and it connects Dupont Circle to Georgetown across Rock Creek Parkway.  The buffalo is the creation of Canadian sculptor, Alexander Phimister Proctor.  This is one of four of these creatures, two at each end of the bridge.  They were made in 1914.

© 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 certainly 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.

Rosalinda Morgan, this post is for you!  Just a few short weeks ago, this was bright and white and fluffy.  It looked sort of like the snow in the beautiful photo you posted today!  And now it's piled really, really high and melting really, really slowly and getting really, really dirty!

I took this with my I-Phone on the way home tonight. 

© 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 certainly 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.

Every Saturday on National Public Radio, there is a funny weekly news quiz called Wait!  Wait!  Don't Tell Me!  And yesterday, my friend and across the street neighbor, Jean Cochran, got to fill in as a guest for Carl Kasell, who is on vacation. 

Jean is on NPR's Morning Edition every morning on the news broadcast that is aired on the half hour.

Wait!  Wait! is taped in Chicago in front of a live audience, so when it aired yesterday, Jean  invited a few of us over for brunch so we could listen to it. 

If you are one of the members of the public who is chosen to call in and answer the questions, and if you win, the prize is Carl Kasell's voice on your home answering machine.  Now, if I won, I would want Jean Cochran's voice on mine.

If you need a little pick me up to make you smile, you can listen to the show while you're reading your favorite bloggers here on Active Rain!

Yesterday, I showed a house that was rather disturbing.

If it was being sold because of a divorce, he didn't leave her for someone younger, thinner or prettier.  He left her for a Zen minimalist.

The house, listed Friday night, is in one of Washington's most popular neighborhoods, and it has a price tag we haven't seen there since about the Millennium.  The MRIS information warns that the place is very messy and to not let the cats out.

When we got there, several agents and their buyers were inside.  One of the agents warned us to watch our steps.  The house itself was not terrible.  It was filthy dirty, and I should have handed out face masks for my buyers, and the basics and bones were not in awful shape.  It had what looked like updated systems, including new central air.  But every square foot of floor was covered with several feet of stuff, and every once in a while, we'd find a little cat asleep on top of a pile of something.  And there was grime all over everything.

In this day and age, where we rarely see homes that are not spiffed up and nicely staged, this was the opposite extreme - an opportunity to look past a mess.  It was a chance to pay less than top dollar in a great neighborhood in return for some serious elbow grease.

Once we got over the initial shock, I realized that my buyers like the place.  And while the agents were pulling our designer scarves over our noses and mouths and rolling our eyes (feeling so sorry for the poor listing agent having to deal with the place), our clients were getting pretty excited.

The listing agent here is no fool.  It might be the ugliest, dirtiest house she's ever listed.  But guess what?

It's priced perfectly! 

I think I smell a bidding war here!  Stay tuned for more!

Anyone know a good exorcist?

Today I was the hair dressing equivalent of a FSBO (For Sale By Owner).

I cut my own bangs.

First of all, the scissors were not sharp enough, and I wound up sort of hacking at them.  So I found another pair of scissors (sharper this time) to even them out. 

My bangs got shorter and shorter, and my forehead now sports the Mamie Eisenhower look, and the bangs are way too short for the rest of my hair. 

So, I'm embarrassed to drive to Georgetown to see James who will tut tut and give me a huge lecture and probably want to make the rest of my hair a bunch shorter.  But wait!  I like my long hair, and the bangs will grow back eventually!  I can look a little goofy for a month or so. 

A hair FSBO is not as consequential as a house or condo FSBO, at least not in this market.

Every year, there are people out there who sell their own homes, and much of the time (like most of my bang trims), the results are quite satisfactory.  But when things go wrong with a property sale, they can really go wrong.  And when they do, trying to do it yourself could have much more serious consequences than my giving myself a bad haircut.

If you are thinking about selling and, for whatever reason, you want to sell it yourself, contact me.  I'm currently rewriting my book, The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate, and the section on For Sale By Owner is still pretty timely.  Email me (housepat@mac.com) or call me at 202-549-5167 for a copy.

It's great!  I'm booked!  No time to goof off.  Not even a lot of time to blog!

The Blizzard of 2010 that brought Washington, DC to it's knees is over (I hope).

All of my clients who were unwilling to risk life and limb to look at houses and condos during the blizzard are ready now.  The streets are just clear enough to get around, and while parking is tricky, it is possible.  While some steps are a little icy, they are manageable.  

Between the affordable interest rates, reasonable asking prices and in some cases, the possibility of a federal tax credit, melting snow is bringing my buyers out of their cozy homes and into the chill in the search for Dream House.  

I'm having fun this week.  It sure does beat shoveling snow and blogging about cabin fever!

It's The Snow Shovel, Stupid!

Finally, I ventured out to show a house.  It was a beautiful townhome in an upscale Arlington, Virginia neighborhood just across Key Bridge.  And just in case there was no place to park, my favorite guy acted as chauffeur.

When we got there, the streets were in pretty good shape.  So were the sidewalks throughout the subdivision - maintained by the owners' association. 

The steps leading to the lock box and the front door, however, were another matter.  The front of the house faced north, and it's not likely to see any ice melt on it's own until sometime in freakin' May!

It was lucky that there was a contractor there doing some last minute paint touch ups.  The garage door was open, and we entered through the lower level.  But anyone who wanted to see the place when painter guy wasn't their would have to risk a tumble down brick steps to get inside.

Now, this was not some bargain basement short sale or bank owned property.  It is in the lower upper brackets.  The agent had to come in at some point to get the lockbox on the front railing and had to know what ice on steps the situation was.  If he didn't want to deal with the icy steps, he should have called the owner to have it taken care of.

I'm going out to show short sales tomorrow and for those, I'll pack my snow shovel into the back seat.  But I certainly didn't expect to need one for this showplace. 

Maybe the steps will get taken care of during the completion of the staging?

Right now, I have three groups of clients who are looking for their first place together.  But they have yet to tie the proverbial knot. 

In my book, The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate, I actually have a chapter called "Buying in Sin" where I tell people who are not yet married how to intelligently buy a place together.  And I suggest that they sign an agreement - you know, a "what if".

And my sister, Joan, gave it a name today.  Its a "No-Nup". 

And having one makes total sense if you are buying with anyone other than a spouse.  This includes a sweetie, a sibling, or anyone who doesn't qualify for a marriage license.

I suggest a sit down with a real estate attorney who can explain the issues and draw up an agreement that will cover however you decide to address them.  Laws vary from one jurisdiction to the next, to it's important to be sure you are covered wherever you are buying.

The big questions marks in any purchase are what happens if the partnership breaks up or what happens if one of the partners should die.  These things are resolved by laws that govern purchases by married couples - at least in the absence of a pre-nup.

These are the kinds of things that a NoNup should cover:

• How much ownership will each of you have?  While some couples go with equal shares, it's common for one to have more money for a down payment.  Or perhaps one has a much higher income and can pay a larger share of the mortgage. 
• How will you take title to the property?  This will depend on whether you will have equal shares and how you plan to handle inheritance issues.
  
• What happens if one of you croak?  However you take title, this would be the time to make sure that you have a will that reflects your desires.  If you take title as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, your interest would go to your partner and vice versa.  If you take title as tenants in common, the decease's share would go into his or her estate, meaning the heirs could force a sale.
  
• And if you break up, how will you handle the house or apartment?  It's not quite as simple as breaking a lease.  Who moves out and who stays?  Will you sell the place or will one buy out the other, and if so, how will the equity shares be calculated?  What if you are under water when it's time to sell?  How do you handle the short fall.  

Most of my couples are not siblings.  They are not just business partners.  And it's really hard for them to even think about this stuff when they're smitten crazy and have a world of wonderful possibilities in front of them. Still, most agents who've been in the business for any length of time have at least one or two cautionary tales among their past clients - I actually have about four of them.

Buying a house or apartment is always a huge undertaking, even when you are buying it alone or with a spouse.  And selling the place can be just as daunting.  It's the largest financial transaction that most of us enter into, so it makes sense to be smart about how you go about it. 

This means that your supporting cast should include, not only a wonderful real estate agent, but a wonderful attorney as well.  It's not romantic, but it is smart.