Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

Every year in September, right around the time of my youngest sister's birthday, Adams Morgan throws her a party.  When she first moved into DC, this was her neighborhood, and she helped to organize several of these festivals before she moved to Baltimore. 

This year's was last Sunday.  It was a mob scene of people,sounds, tastes, smells and all kinds of neat stuff to buy!

It was also the perfect day for an Open House in Adams Morgan!

Every year, there are local groups playing all sorts of music, from folk to Caribbean.  You can hear it pretty much all over the neighborhood, but just for this one day!

And the shopping opportunities are almost unlimited!  Need some good smells to sweeten your bath water?  Looking to add to your family jewel collection?

Perhaps some socks, pillows, textiles or a new hat? 

Or, if you want to dress like an authentic 1960's hippie, there are the vintage clothing booths that will let you see what your parents looked like - or if you are the parents, a little nostalgia!  And don't forget the little stuffed birds, an addition to your collection of staging props!

And I cannot believe that I wandered through with my camera and forgot to capture images of food - from several continents!   Oh, well, I'll do the food thing next year!

Today I wrote an ad that my client loved.  She has a coop to sell in Adams Morgan, and the coop market is not quite as hot as that for single family homes.  So I did a "Re-ad", using one that got a house sold in a crummy market a bunch of years ago.

It reads:

Motivated Seller...Just married the man of her dreams.  Must sell chic 2-bedroom bachelorette pad

Then there was stuff about the gorgeous wood floors, renovated kitchen, balcony and other cool stuff.  The last time I used it was the weird market of the early 1990's, and it got a plain Jane house sold really fast - and the first Open Hosue was crawling with single women, perhaps hoping for that good luck in love house?  Well, this is the good luck in love coop!   And I'm hoping it will bring us good luck in finding a buyer!

Of course, I'm taking no chances and will deliver the St. Anthony statue tomorrow!

When I moved to Washington to harass airlines for Ralph Nader, my first home was in Adams Morgan in what is now the Valley Vista condominium.  Back then,it was a building with rent controlled apartments that even I could afford on a non-profit salary.  As with much of the rental housing in the neighborhood, it went condo.

My 1-bedroom apartment was gigantic compared to my New York City brownstone - I had 835 square feet of space, compared to about 300 in New York.  In Washington, I also got an amazing top-floor view of Rock Creek Park and the National Cathedral. 

And while I no longer live in Adams Morgan, I do go there often - and not just to show houses and condominiums.  The neighborhood has my favorite restaurants and grocery stores. 

Every time there is an uprising in a far corner of the world, some of the affected people immigrate to DC and open a fabulous restaurant.  Then there are places like Millie and Al's, a pizza and beer place that was a hang out for the kids who worked in various Democratic administrations.  Somehow, I think the kids in the Bush administration have opted for something a little less seedy.  Millie and Al are probably rooting for Obama so the crowds will return.

There are the funky little book stores, gift and clothing shops.  You can find high end bicycles, political buttons, little Washington Monuments and White houses in glass with snow, incense, all kinds of T-shirts, and exotic home decor.

September 14th is a great day to visit Adams Morgan - it's the day of the annual neighborhood festival where they block off two blocks for a street fair with great food, music and crafts.

Here in Washington, there was a sad lead story on tonight's 11 o'clock news.

A lovely old condo building on Adams Morgan had a 4-alarm fire that burned today for seven hours.   There was a sad looking shot of the unit owners sitting in a large circle in the park across the street talking with the building managers.  The building itself looked pretty sorry, with a wrecking ball hanging overhead from a tall crane.

Thank God no one was hurt. 

Another building on that block had a serious fire about fifteen years ago, and that fire brought home to me the importance of advising clients buying condos and coops to make sure they call their insurance agent.  Many people are under the false impression that the owner's association master insurance policy will cover them in the event of a fire or other catastrophe that seriously damages the property.

It doesn't.

While the master policy will cover repairs to the building, owners need their own policies to protect their personal belongings - things like furniture, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments, your DVD and CD collection, and your computer.

The people who own units in this building will have to continue to pay their mortgages and condo fees during the months of reconstruction, even though their apartments are not habitable.  Those with unit owners coverage will have their interim living expenses paid by their insurance companies. 

For the past bunch of months, I've been whining about the contractors who invaded my house after a pipe burst.  I've been living in my basement apartment with two cats and Willie-the-hyperactive Labradoodle puppie, which is somewhat inconvenient.  Compared to the victims of this fire, I got off easy.