A visit to the National Park Seminary in Forest Glen

These days the redevelopment of the National Park Seminary is old news to many long term Silver Spring residents. I personally think it is one of the most successful cooperative efforts between developers and the community to both preserve and enhance a historical property that we have seen in a long time. Once an exclusive girls boarding school and then purchased by the army during World War II for the care and rehabilitation of wounded soldiers, by the early 1980s. most of the National Seminary campus had fallen into disuse and decay. It can be argued that the army allowed a local treasure to decay over the past three decades but it is also true that if the property were not owned by the government it would have not been preserved at all and developed long ago into some sort of residential housing.

Two years ago some of the detached homes on the property were placed on the market. All of these unique homes were in horrendous shape and needed total rehabilitation.  Eventually they were purchased and today all save one home have been rehabbed. Part of the problem is that most of these properties were designed and built to accommodate the different sororities at the school and were not designed as residences. As a result most of these homes were not only in poor condition but were what we call "functionally obsolete." due to the floor plans. The challenge was how to preserve the unique interiors while designing  spaces that could accommodate single families.

Did it work? Well, I suggest that you go visit the site and see for yourself. It is a great place to take a walk. The main buildings of the site had previously been converted to condos and now that the single family homes are  restored the place just oozes charm. There is one home remaining that is in private hands and needs to be restored but all others are completed or near completion. A major restoration of the old Gymnasium is now under way. It is a massive project due to the sad condition of the space but should look stunning when it is complete. Forest Glen is one of the nicest communities in Silver Spring and due to the redevelopment of the downtown area home values have been rising at a nice pace.. One of the restored seminary homes (the Swiss Chalet) is currently on the market for sale, and another (the Windmill Home) is offered for rent.  If you have further interest, you can visit my web site to see what other properties are selling for in Forrest Glen and it's surrounding neighborhoods.

The Silver Spring Library Continues to Grow

I can't help but get a little excited when I drive up Wayne Ave and see how the construction on the new Silver Spring Public Library is progressing. It will be a while before it opens (perhaps a year) but from the design and photo published it is going to be a lovely structure and add to the excitement of downtown Silver Spring. The new Metro Purple Line  is slated to go right by the library and there is to be a stop there. Hopefully, that will draw a lot of patrons as the Purple Line will run from Bethesda through Silver Spring and on to parts of Prince Georges County. My local library is the old White Oak Branch located near the intersection of New Hampshire Ave. and Colesville Rd. That particular branch has gotten a little old in the tooth but I love it dearly and spend a lot of time there. I have always loved libraries ever since I was a little kid. Lately I have been checking out a lot of books on tapes and the movie collection at the White Oak Branch has grown quite extensive. I expect the new branch will offer a whole lot more for all county residents.

For more information about the new downtown branch you can go to the Montgomery County Website associated with it.

Home Staging. Why it is so important.

Today I have posted a nice little video on home staging. Selling real estate has changed so much in the past five years. It is important for Realtors to adapt and make sure their sellers understand the philosophy behind selling a home in today's market. Frankly, staging was not such a big deal a decade ago. However, nowadays so much home marketing is dependent on the Internet. For this reason it is key to have you home in top shape the very first day you put in on the market. This means photo and video ready because with the move to high speed Internet, the average buyer is aware of your home within hours of it being entered into the local Multiple Listing Service. And, that means they are going to go on the Internet  to try and find visual images of your property. This is where staging comes into play because it is critical to make a great first impression with the buying public.

Remember the three Ds when getting your home camera ready. De-personalize, de-clutter, and decorate. Take a look at this nice, well made video that explains it all in just a few minutes. If you are thinking about selling your home, pay a visit to  my website and I will set up a free valuation for you.

Outlook for 2013

As we hit mid January and the threat of the fiscal cliff is behind us. I feel that this is a good time to write a brief  post on the current market for the Metro area and state where I think we are heading. First and foremost, the real estate market is looking pretty darn good. Well, darn good for sellers that is . Not so much for home buyers who are facing a shortage of suitable homes to look at and a very competitive market in most jurisdictions. It is hard to believe but we are experiencing a critical shortage of listings on the market. We simply have very little inventory to offer home buyers. And, this shortage of homes for sale means that there will be pressure on home prices to go up. We are already seeing may full price and above price offers, along with multiple offers coming in. A well priced home that has been updated will not usually go unsold for more than a few days.

The improved market is visible everywhere around Washington DC and it's suburbs but some jurisdictions and price ranges are seeing it have a more dramatic effect. The best market is in the District and Montgomery County but even Prince Georges County which had been hit very hard by the downturn and featured a record number of foreclosures and distressed homes is finally beginning to turn.

There are a variety of reasons for the shortage of listings for sale. A lot of unsold homes were taken off the market and rented out by the owners. Many of these homes are now tied up in long term leases. Also, there are still a lot of  "underwater" homes out there and many homeowners who survived the downturn and do not have to sell will opt to wait for prices to go up before selling. I expect to see more homes on the market as the weather warms this year but also expect to see more buyers out there as our local economy continues to expand. For this reason I do not foresee listing shortage situation improving this year and predict that we will be in a good market for home sellers all year. And this means that home values will have to go up.

For a detailed report on the current market data click here.

Salvation comes to Colesville

When you think of fine dining, Colesville does not come to mind that often. The whole New Hampshire Avenue strip from the beltway out to Cloverly leaves much to be desired as far as good eats go. When we moved to Hillandale 25 years ago it was so bad that we were unable to get pizza delivery to our home. With the passing of time and the addition of the FDA White Oak campus the availability of eating choices has improved but that does not mean that the situation is that great. Your choices seem to range from the good, the bad and the ugly and most recent additions tend to be franchises and fast food restaurants. There are a few exceptions-usually ethnic restaurants. Most of the better new restaurants are located close-in, around the White Oak and Hillandale shopping centers. However, there is a great new Mexican Restaurant located in the lowly Colesville Shopping Center at the intersection of Randolph Rd. and New Hampshire Ave.

I discovered Pollo Mex about four months ago although they have been in their location for about a year. They are in a store front that has seen a few failed eateries come and go over the past decade but I think this one is a keeper and will be there to stay for a while. There are plenty of Hispanic restaurants in the area but not so many in Colesville. But it is not just the Hispanic menu that is drawing crowds but the excellent quality of the food and service to be found there. The place is a notch about the competition both in ambiance and taste. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful-mostly because it is the new owners waiting tables. Service is slower than you would expect but that is fine when you are getting the right service and food.

My favorite menu item is the Mexican Tacos made with pork, and fresh red onions. Marinated in lime juice and coming with three types of sauce, these things are just heaven. It is not on the menu but if you ask they will make you fresh lemonade or limeade, served without ice. Don't be bashful about asking them to make it for you. It is worth it. You had better give this place a try soon. It is getting noticed and the crowds are starting to get large.

Sears Catalog Homes

This home is located in my old neighborhood of North Woodside. I always admired this cedar sided home and was surprised to find out that it was a Sear's Kit Home. Usually, Sear's homes in Silver Spring look more like bungalows and this is one of the only examples of this type that I know of in this area. When I lived in North Woodside over 25 years ago the home was run down and in need of repairs. But it has since been lovingly restored and shines like a jewel.

There are quite a few Sears homes in this neighborhood. Sears catalog homes are found in many neighborhood in our area. The homes were usually ordered directly from Sears and the home plans and all of the parts were shipped by rail. For this reason most Sears homes are found near a railroad line. You can find them in towns such as Takoma Park, Hyattsville and Rockville as well as Silver Spring and the District of Columbia. It was not unusual for the buyer to construct the home on their own but most purchasers hired a local contractor to put the home up for them. The homes are unusually well built and durable. Most are all wood construction but Sears did sell a variety of homes including some high end homes that featured brick and stone.

Is your home a Sears home? You can go the the Sears Archives and check out the various models and years that they were offered for sale. However, you have to be careful as there were other stores offering catalog homes in competition to Sears. JC Penny and Montgomery Wards also sold home but not as many and not for as many years as Sears. Many of these homes were very similar to those sold by Sears.

Oh, almost forgot. In the catalog this home was called The Cedars and sold for $2236.00

Barry's Magic Shop-RIP

I read in today's Washington Post that long time downtown Wheaton instution Barry's Magic Shop is closing its doors after 38 years. It is a bit anticlimatic as the store's long term location on Georgia Ave was taken by the county a few years back-forcing the shop to locate to Rockville. Still those who know and love Wheaton will remember the shop well. I have stopped in a few times over the years ant the place was quaint and friendly. I still have my "foolbox" which I pull out at family gatherings to mystify the current generation of nieces and nephews with. I bought my first box at Barrys over two decades ago.

It is great to see tired old Wheaton get a face lift but I worry that so many of the quirky old stores and fine family owned ethnic restaurants that I have known for years will be phased out in favor of franchise "fat palaces" and more upscale stores. It seems to be the cost of progress when an area goes upscale. Rents go up too and many old timers get priced out of the market.

Condo Buyers Need to Beware

I am getting a lot of calls lately from first time buyers looking to buy condos. Primarily because so many people are priced out of the market for single family homes and townhouses. With the lower prices these days there seem to be a lot of good condo deals on the market these days. However, all is not as it seems and I caution  prospective condo purchasers to be careful. Right now, I can think of three problems associated with condos that are popping up and making it very hard to get loans to purchase or for sellers to sell.

Non owner occupancy. There has been a flood of investors snapping up condos for cheap. They are mostly all cash buyers looking for attractive short sales or bank owned properties. In the past many of these investors were rehabbing and flipping the homes-which is a good thing. However, with the low costs of units and cheap financing many are buying condos in order to hold and rent them out. Typically, rental properties get less care than owner occupied properties and if there are too many rental units in a condo development then it becomes very difficult to obtain financing for prospective buyers who are looking to use FHA or minimum down conforming loans. Currently FHA guidelines allow no more than 50% of the homes in a condo project to be non-owner occupied, and a lot of projects are failing to make the grade and losing FHA approval.

Delinquent condo association payments. FHA refused to approve a project where more than 15 per cent of the units are 30 days or more behind on the payment of condo fees to the association. With the state of the economy this is a growing problem as many condo projects are now falling above this level.

Condo projects that are entering a new maintenance cycle. During the last boom in the late 1980's many apartments were rehabbed and converted into condos. These units are now entering into a 25 year cycle where key upgrades and repairs are needed. Things such as expensive new window or roofs or parking lot repaving come at about this stage. These major repairs cost big money and a lot of condo projects have underfunded reserve funds and just do not have the money on hand to pay for this work. When this happens it usually means that special assessments are passed on to the current unit owners and these generally are added to the monthly condo fees. I am seeing some units in the area where the monthly fees are topping $1,000 per month. When faced with the reality of this tough market many sellers have to cough up the full balance for these assessment at settlement. Smart buyers are checking and passing up on projects have a history of passing large assessments to the owners.

This does not mean that all condos are a bad buy, and certainly there are some very nice condos in the area. However buyers need to be very careful when looking at that condo "deal' in today's market. The best bet are newer condos or units that have been recently rehabbed and converted. In this case, FHA financing is usually readily available and you are pretty sure that you will have at least two decades before serious physical upgrades are needed. I really like some of the condo conversions that I am seeing in the District these days. Some really fine older buildings with modern units inside. A nice mix in my opinion. 

Sailabration comes to Baltimore's harbor.

Over a decade ago, Baltimore hosted the "Tall Ships" exhibition in Baltimore Harbor. My wife and I went up to Baltimore and using the excellent water taxi service and an all day pass, spent a day visiting some just incredible old sailing ships. My only regret is that we did not get to see more than a half dozen of the many ships that were visiting Baltimore at that time. Well, another chance has come and I plan on making the most of it. As part of the three years of events commemorating the War of 1812 (Why they want to celebrate a war where we pretty much got kicked around a lot-I just don' know. But there you have it.) the tall ships are coming back. I highly suggest you put it down on your calendar and make a point of going up to "charm city:" for a visit. 

The event is scheduled to take place between June 13th and 19th of this year and so far there are about 30 various ships committed to the event. Some are modern naval vessels but there will be a lot of beautiful tall ships to see as well. And, it is all free. Yes, you will probably want to buy a water taxi pass and of course will blow some coin on food, however, there is no charge to go onto any of the ships. You just can't beat that. 

I am surprised how many Washingtonians do not spend much time in Baltimore. A wonderful town that is as different from DC as any city can be. It is worth a visit to the harbor and I for one will be at the Sailabration. Don't miss it. Check out the schedule as some ships will be in town longer and if you can't make the dates you still might want to check out Baltimore around that time.

Streamlined Short Sale Process

I read a good article recently in the Christian Science Monitor about how banks are doing a better job of working with homeowners to streamline the short sale process. This has been very noticeable in my office as some banks (did somebody say Bank of America) have really changed course in the past few months over this matter. It does depend on the bank but almost all of them have moved towards speeding up the process. Basically, a short sale is where the bank allows a property in distress to be sold for less than the note owned on the property. Usually, the bank just eats the loss (but not always). You might wonder why any bank would do this. The reason is simple. You might not believe it but it is cheaper for the bank to allow a short sale than it is for them to foreclose on a property. It seems like a lot of banks had trouble accepting this but now after five years into a poor real estate market most have now seen the light.

Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask your lender to let you sell your home short. Millions of American homeowners have done it and it is not a bad way to get out from under a house payment that is wrecking your life. Remember, that you are going to have to prove that your are under a hardships, so you will have to be prepared to write some letters and provide financial information to back up your claim. But in the end, selling your home short is much better than ignoring the problem and allowing it to go to foreclosure.

This Just in, The Recession is over!

This past Sunday I took a new listing in Elkridge, Maryland. It is a nice house in great shape and is priced around $450,000. Within a half hour of entering the home in the computer, I got a call from a fellow agent to show the house and she delivered an offer to me that evening. In 25 years this may be the fastest that I have ever seen an offer come in on a listing of mine. And this seems to be happening on a lot of homes. The housing market in the Metro area is not just recovering but is "hot" and taking off. Purchasers have been flocking to open houses and I know for a fact that three new listings out of my office had multiple contracts presented this week after just going on the market. Only three months ago agents were crying about how nobody was showing their listings. Now, just a few months later my fellow agents are crying about the shortage of suitable houses to show their clients! It has been that way in Montgomery County for about a month now and I am seeing this market activity expand out to Howard, and Frederick Counties in the past two weeks or so. The DC market is a little different as it has been very hot since the middle of last year.

Well, I am a bit cautious as I know that there are still things that have to be sorted out in Europe and many parts of the US still have an oversupply of homes on the market. In addition, we still have good number of distressed homes that will come on the market both in the region and nationwide. However, the expanding market is to me a refection in a resurgence of consumer confidence. I firmly believe that where the housing market goes the economy will follow. Right now it looks pretty darn good to me and this is the first time in over four years that I can say that. Let's see how this plays out.

Underwater on your loan? Bank of American customers might get some help.

This kind of passed under the radar last week but if you have a underwater home loan mortgage with Bank of America. (including old Countrywide Mortgage loans) you may want to give them a call to see if you are eligible for some help. You could potentially have your loan balanced reduced by thousands of dollars. Bank of America is not doing this out of charity but in the hopes of reducing the penalties it owes to the government under the big settlement announced previously. So far, BOA is the only bank to be doing this but they hold a lot of loans in the Washington area and this could come as relief to some homeowners in the area who purchased their home at the height of the bubble. For more information on this see this article.

Speaking of mortgages, I think one of the key reasons that the economy is starting to work again is that consumer spending is up. One of the reasons is that many home owners are refinancing due to the amazingly low rates being offered today. I have been in real estate for over 25 years and never thought I would see interest rates so low. (I recall they were 17% when I bought my first home in 1982) The savings in monthly payments for the average five year old home loan can be quite a bonus, and this is freeing up extra money in households for people to spend on consumer items. Overall this is good for the economy as our economy is driven by consumer spending more than anything else.

If you are sitting on an older loan it might be a good idea to talk to your lender about refinancing. You may cut your monthly mortgage expense by hundreds of dollars by refinancing now. I can't imagine rates going any lower than they are now, so better look into it.

New Child Care Center comes to FDA White Oak

Employees at the FDA White Oak Campus will be pleased when the new child day care center operated by Children's Creative Learning Centers begins operation on January 30, 2012. CCLC is a private organization that runs over 100 centers nationwide. CCLC has an excellent reputation and the children's center at FDA/White Oak should be a good match and provide an attractive alternative for employees.

Where are the houses for sale?

A quick look at the listings for sale in the Silver Spring area shows a remarkable shortage of decent homes on the market. Interesting considering that this is considered a "buyers" market. A couple of reasons for this in my opinion. One is that rates are so low that the small amount of buyers out there are snapping up the small amount of decent homes on the market. And two, not only is there pent up demand these days but I think we are seeing a case of pent up supply. That is, with housing prices so depressed these days there simply a lot of potential home sellers who are delaying placing their homes on the market. This would include folks who have opted to retire a little later, thinking of buying up but are waiting for the market to improve, or who just refuse to sell and have placed their properties on the rental market for a year or two while waiting for some good news. There still are good deal of distressed properties on the market but a lot of folks are staying away from these homes because the sale can be problematical and very few of these homes are in what we call "market" condition.

What does this mean? Not really sure. However I think we might see home prices actually start to go up this spring. Not because of the booming economy but because the amazingly low rates combined with this shortage of decent homes might just create a supply problem and have buyers out there in competition with other buyers for a change. That generally means sellers will get better prices. We will just have to see how this plays out.

State of the Market

As we wind down 2011 and head into 2012, I think it is a good idea to give you a few of my thoughts on the market and what to expect in the next year. 2011 was an erratic year for real estate in the Washington area. What looked liked to be shaping up as a decent year this past spring came to a screeching halt when congress got caught up in the budget crisis. The situation never really got better as we passed from one crisis to another. Right now with the uncertain financial situation in Europe the market remains in the doldrums. It is hard to find much in the way of consumer confidence when everybody is worried about the global financial situation. The problem is not being helped by the partisan battles that continue to plague our own congress.

The good news is that there will be a housing recovery and prices are bound to go up. The bad news is that nobody really seems to know when this will happen. Some areas in our regions have felt the pain a lot more than others. The western portion of Montgomery County is doing well and the District seems to be one of the strongest real estate markets in the nation. But the rest of the region is still bothered by low prices, high inventory and an abnormal number of distressed properties that keep prices depressed.

But there is one thing that I do know and feel pretty confident about. Recessions do eventually end and when they do, area property values in this area should rebound and prove to be very healthy. I firmly believe that the Washington area is one of the best places to own property. My 25 plus years in the industry and proved this to me. We are going to be just fine. Just be patient and give it a little time.

Spring in Hillandale

This is a great time of year in my community. My wife and I have the job of going through the neighborhood and selecting the winners of the Hillandale Home and Garden Awards-which we do three times a year. We are assisted by some able judges who are all long term residents of Hillandale. We find it fun to do as the neighborhood is full of azaleas and flowering trees. Everything just looks beautiful this time of year. Old Hillandale is the show piece and is well worth a drive through but the rest of the neighborhood looks lovely as well. There is a lot of pride of ownership in Hillandale and spring brings out the best.

Going Green Redux-Refrigerators

(article written by my wife, Elizabeth)

In Montgomery County, approximately 1/3 of our greenhouse gas emissions come from our homes. Refrigerators use the most energy out of all home appliances. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, pay close attention to your refrigerator. According to Pepco, a refrigerator purchased prior to 1993 often uses more than twice the energy of a new ENERGY STAR qualified model. On average, a unit from that era costs over $50 MORE per year to operate than the latest efficient models. Models from 1980 and earlier are estimated to cost an ADDITIONAL $150 to operate annually!
Excess use of energy and the wear and tear on your wallet can really add up. Utilities in some parts of the US and in other countries are actually paying customers to get rid of these old refrigerators. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any references to this kind of “cash for clunkers” in Maryland. However, many new refrigerators do qualify for special energy star rebates.
If you are keeping that extra refrigerator or freezer around simply for convenience, think this through very carefully. We all really do not to be paying attention to how much energy we use. And take a close look at Pepco’s Home Energy Savings details to determine what you should do about the refrigerator in your kitchen. Go to http://homeenergysavings.pepco.com/md/faq#refrigerator .
Your neighbor is not going to peek into your home to see what you are doing – and neither will this editor. But all of your neighbors will benefit when we all take steps to reduce our impact on our fair planet. AND – KEEP THAT REFRIGERATOR DOOR CLOSED!

Light at the end of the tunnel?

A recent article in the Washington Post indicated that the Washington area is one of the few metropolitan areas in the country where home prices have not declined over the past year. According to the Post, Montgomery County saw about a 2% increase in sales prices over the same period last year. Well, it is not bad news but must be taken with a grain of salt. The housing market is still very soft and prices are very low. In Montgomery County there is a wide gulf between the west portion of the county vs the eastern portion. The west which includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac currently has a very strong market and I would say it is there where we have seen the price of home increase over the year. The east part of the county continues to suffer from an overabundance of listings with many distressed properties dragging the overall market down. I have not see any price increases in the east county. If anything the average price of a home has dropped over the past year. However, all is not doom and gloom. A recent survey of my neighborhood (Hillandale) shows that there is about 23-25 homes on the market but almost 40% of those are under contract pending sales. Some of these are short sale contracts and I would say about half of those fail to settle but still, that is an overall healthy percentage. An indicator that the market is turning. We shall see....

Subaru Repairs

Elizabeth took her subaru to the dealer today because the muffler was making that good awful noise that speaks of decay. They quoted her $1,300 to replace the entire system and said it had to be done.

I talked her into taking it over to my friend Hi at Colesville Exxon who said he would patch it up for $125 and it should be good for at least two more years. He said if he had to replace the exhaust system it would cost just over $600......

I think it would be wise to avoid repairs at the dealer in the future.

Women's Collective

This year my Silver Spring office has been gathering up gifts for kids who normally could not expect to get gifts. We have as an office been doing this for about 15 years now. The program is part of the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church "Angel Gift Tree" program which I am proud to say has been one of my wife's major undertakings over the past few years. I have done my little part by getting my fellow agents to each take a kid's name (or three) and then go out and buy a gift for that child. This has worked very well over the years and usually my office has been able to take care of about 40 or more children. I have to admit it is pretty satisfying to do this, and it provides me with a sense of purpose over the holidays.

This year and for many years in the past, my office has been buying gifts for children associated with the Women's Collective in Washington DC. -an organizations that helps women, girls and families that are coping with HIV/AIDs. This is a great organization and like so many foundations of this type they are constantly short of funds to provide the demands of Washington's AIDs epidemic. We can't do enough for them. If you are interested in helping, you can contact me or just pay a visit to the Women's Collective web site.