DC Cleans Up Eckington?

Driving around today I ran into menagerie of DC city workers cleaning up the building at 1831 2nd Street in Eckington. The building is a massive brick finished classic built in 1929 and is controlled by the DC government. I have had my eyes on this building for some time because of its size, location, and neglect.

Stopping to talk to a few of the city workers I found out that they received an order to secure the building and clean up the yard. Being the curious type, I decided to have run an associate run a title search on the property and I found out some interesting things.

The building, now controlled by the city and rumored to be in the middle of a lawsuit, sits on three individual lots all with leans on them. The assessed value by the city is drastically lower than the actual value of the building and annual tax on the building is just under $12,000 a year.

I enjoy the city taking a moment out its day to fix the broken windows and replacing them with brown painted wooden panels. If you had a chance to develop this property what would you do? How would you use this amazing building to improve the community?

Post 22 No More Uba Tuba Granite

We are sick and tired of seeing the same generic Uba Tuba granite in condo developments in Washington DC. Lets think outside the box a bit here, get creative and show this city what luxury really is.

Should Your Realtor Be Held Responsible for Building Fines?

The housing market is in trouble. We constantly hear of foreclosures, multi-million dollar buildings remaining vacant and home owners simply abandoning their homes. Atlanta has run into a different problem, multi-state ownership of buildings makes tracking down people who are legally responsibility for the property difficult. I came across an interesting article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how Atlanta is combating this problem. Fine the listing agent.

Atlanta has been placing hefty fines on agents who represent buildings that incur code violations, back taxes, and unpaid utilities. To say the least this is ruffling the feathers of my Atlanta agents. The agents view this as an attack on already hurting industry, while the city sees the agent as the only person that legal action can be taken against. While I always enjoy reading a good news article, this story hits close to home because of the unique structure of the DC/MD/VA market.

As a city DC has a unique problem, its jurisdiction is a mere 10 miles across. Many of the property owners in DC don’t actually live in DC but can be found across the river in Virginia or located in Maryland. Everyone knows properties aren’t moving like they did a year ago and DC could face a similar problem with vacant properties or buildings that have numerous code violations. As a property investor it makes sense to sit on a property and let it incur violations.

Think about this from the developer’s perspective: my property’s value is at an all time low, I am probably not going to move my property for at least two years, if I sit on my property long enough the value of the property will be worth more than the total violations. There really is no incentive for a large property investment firm to worry about the violation fees.

Now think about it from the agent’s perspective: I try to move properties in a timely manner, I am concerned with all parties involved in the sale, I live in the city where I do business, my reputation is just as important as my results and I am legally bonded to any property that I represent.

Looking at these two logics it makes sense that cities would target agents instead of developers. The agent has much more to lose than the developer... But so does the city. DC is a city that needs development, around every turn we find vacant buildings and underline space, agents work WITH developers to help develop a city. If that city starts attacking its agents, even if the agent is a legal target, than the city runs the risk of driving out one of its strongest catalyst for development.

Currently Atlanta is setting the precedent for this imitative, I have not heard of any other cities trying a similar program, so we will have to watch these developments closely. With DC’s unique geographical/financial/political structure you can be assured that DC city government is also watching Atlanta right now. The real question is this: who is responsible and who will pay, the two aren’t always the same.

Take a look at the Atlanta article; let me know what you think. Do you think agents should be held responsible for the properties they represent? Will DC take a similar stance in the hopes of helping speedily develop the city? Do you think that this is a city’s attempt at attacking an easy political target? I would love to hear from you.

DC Housing Market on the Rise?

I was reading over a BusinessWeek article the other day and I came across an interesting stat. While the media is predicting doom and gloom for the housing market, DC is expected to have a 2.6% rise in home prices.

The causes for this rise are numerous and much like anything in the economy no one factor can say why homes in DC will cost more next year. The one economic stimulus that experts point to is the dependency of government jobs.

Typically in times of economic depression the government will see a flux in new hires from people looking for secure jobs and good benefits. Whatever the cause for the increase we can expect to see a nice little upswing in the DC market for home cost in the upcoming year.

What does this all mean for DC? A rise in the cost for homes could mean an increase in tax revenue for the city. More taxes could mean more city services (transit, police, fire). As fuel and living cost rise, cities with excess cash can position themselves to attract younger residents looking to enjoy life.

Community developers should be looking to create a lifestyle in their community, not just a place to live. Many of today’s buyers are looking for an exciting place to live, not just a place to live; walking to shops, casual eating and light entertainment will bring new buys in and make them stay.

If the cost of housing goes up in DC, and there is an influx of cash, urban developers should focus on creating communities that will attract buyers for years to come. It would be foolish of DC to pass up an opportunity to excel while other markets are stagnant.

With proper planning and superior execution DC can position itself as a city that lets people work and play in a safe and friendly environment. If the market predictions are right, and DC does see in increase in home coast and in turn tax revenue, what would you like to see the city do to improve the quality of life?

Will Town Centers Save the Suburbs?

Since the baby boom of the 1950’s America has had a love affair with the suburbs. The dream of owning a 4 bedroom home with the white picket fence is so entrenched in the American lexicon that we refer to it as “The American Dream.”

Rising fuel cost, a housing boom that broke, and people demanding services has caused many young buyers to rethink The American Dream and consider moving into the city to satisfy their housing needs. Many urban planners in the ‘burbs’ recognize this and are prepared to do battle with urban living using the only tool they have… The Town Center.

Town centers offer the walking culture that many young buyers want; shopping, restaurants, entertainment and safety can all be found in the town center of many burbs surrounding DC. It is interesting to see where town centers work and where they don’t.

The Rockville Town Square is an interesting example of where the town center is not moving along as planned. When the center opened condos sprung up and restaurants moved in but people failed to show up. Slowly people are starting to show, but not at the volume that Rockville planned.

When town centers work they offer all the amenities of living in the city, while still living in the burbs. The problem is that town centers rarely offer employment options beyond retail. Many of the young professionals still have to work in the city even if they live in the burbs. Here in is the problem for many of the town centers. Work and play are still separate meaning that commuting cost remains. Hence young buyers apprehension to move out of the city.

There are plenty of examples where town centers work as a tool to anchor home buyers into an area. Do you know of any? What are some of the local town centers that you enjoy and would you consider moving somewhere because of the strong town center?

Buy and Bail - Would You?

Definition: Buy and bail is the result of purchasing a new home with the intention of walking away on the old before the bank forecloses. For example, you owe $400k on your home and the identical property across the street is a foreclosure and is selling for $250k.

The legal stuff: It is considered mortgage fraud. Even extenuating circumstances do not give a home owner the right to commit mortgage fraud. The FBI defines mortgage fraud as, "any material misstatement, misrepresentation or omission relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase or insure a loan."

The moral question: Is it wrong to purchase another home today when you have good credit and have been making current payments on time? The caveat - the identical property across the street is, for example, is selling for $250k and you owe $400k and are going to be foreclosed on anyway.

Reality: YOU TELL US

5 New Rules Home Buying

I just read an interesting article from CNN.com called 5 new rules for home buyers -
There's no guarantee that prices have hit bottom yet - but that doesn't mean that you can't get a great deal now...Especially in DC...

Rule 1: You can't time the bottom
Rule 2: One reason to buy now - mortgage rates
Rule 3: Another reason to buy - rates on big mortgages
Rule 4: Don't buy cheap; buy good schools
Rule 5: Make sure your agent has your interest at heart
And my personal favorite (and my own rule)
Rule 6: DC is becoming ever more affordable with all factors taken into account....

...with rising gas prices, longer commute times, falling home prices (and some good negotiating tactics from your agent), improving school districts, millions in commercial/retail real estate development - the list goes on - DC has become ever more popular in recent months for suburban families to pack up and move closer to their jobs, mast of which happen to be in DC. Why spend all of that time in the car in bumper-to-bumper traffic wasting gas with the A/C turned up barely crawling at 5-8 mph when you could wake up at the same time, walk to your local Starbucks, have breakfast, read the paper and walk to work all in the same amount of time. What do you think?

Post 20 The next generation of buyers and consumer confidence

The next generation of buyers is out there, using new tools and resources available, making better educated clients. Its going to change the way real estate is done forever.
HPAP
DC Tax Abatement
Homestead Deduction
First time home buyer tax credit

post 18 gas prices increasing means owners move back into the city

Post 6 What do you think about DC USA coming to Columbia Heights?

post 19 madrigal lofts marketing tactics and the real estate market post 19 madrigal lofts marketing tactics and the real estate market

Recently, the sales company for Madrigal Lofts in downtown Washington, DC has used some unusual marketing tactics to help expose the building however I am not sure if the Mayhood Company's efforts are reaching the right target audience. Watch to find out more.

Average listeners household income

Average household income in Washington, DC

Class-action lawsuit?

Brook Rose Development Purchases in Columbia Heights - Again

The famed Brook Rose Development, owned and operated by - you guessed it - Brook Rose. The companies newest purchase/development is located at 2719 13th St NW in the heart of Columbia Heights and just around the corner from his most recent knock out at 1207 Girard St NW, a two unit building. My expectation is that 13th will have a similar floor plan to Girard with each bi-level unit having three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms with off street parking. Rose's understanding of luxury and ability to produce nothing short of what we call a masterpiece should only be fulfilled again in 13th St. Girard, as far my research shows, sold for a premium at $765,000 and $710,000 per unit and I expect 13th to overshadow those prices by a mile.

1207 Girard Photos