Archive for December, 2008

In addition to preparing for a New Year’s Eve party, some of you also might be addressing some end-of-year financial matters.

If you need help finding professional financial assistance, Brandon Green Companies has excellent contacts—brokers, CPAs, tax advisers—to which we’re happy to refer you.

Please e-mail us if we can be of assistance.

And have a great new year!

Happy holidays from all of us at Brandon Green Companies! We’re looking forward to serving you in 2009 and beyond.

And safe travels to those of you leaving the DC area for the holidays.

Best,

Brandon, Amber, Veronica, Christian, Troy, and Ken

The New Homes Section Blog has a great run down of ways in which a home can go green:

Is the planet in peril?

This thorough post highlights ways in which you can use state-of-the-art green home technology and become energy efficient and eco-friendly.

Sure, with the holidays and inauguration coming up, most DC residents probably aren’t thinking about what they’re doing in February. But tickets for the Washington DC International Wine and Food Festival have gone on sale.

Tickets are $85 per day before Feb. 9, or $140 for a two-day pass. After Feb. 10, the prices increase.

This year the festival is going to focus on food and wines from the  Chesapeake, a great theme with America’s new interest in sustainability.

(Via D.C. Foodies, which has an additional discount on tickets—check out that website for details)

Via Cyberhomes:

Calling themselves the “Weapons of Mass Construction,” complete with official T-shirts, nine neighbors in Sacramento, Calif., banded together for two years to tackle home improvement projects on a rotating basis. From building raised garden beds to remodeling an entire garage, members of the five households took turns working on each other’s homes, finishing projects in one party-like day that would have taken several weekends of back-breaking work on their own. For homeowner Michelle Johnston, that speed was the group’s biggest advantage. “It’s amazing how much work you can get done in a day when eight or nine people are involved,” she says.

Layton Turner, the Cybehomes contributor who wrote the aritlce, interviewed me for the piece:

Expect to see more neighborhood cooperation in the near future, says Realtor Brandon Green of Brandon Green & Associates in Washington, D.C. When money is tight, homeowners cut back on home maintenance, often out of necessity, he explains. One of the first things to go is exterior upkeep.

Unfortunately, deferred maintenance can impact the whole neighborhood, potentially devaluing nearby properties. But Green is seeing more neighbors banding together to pitch in and help out, “sometimes with [the homeowner’s] approval and sometimes not.” They may make needed repairs, paint or cut the grass.

These gatherings are a great way of interacting with your neighbors saving money, improving your home, and having fun.

The Dwell blog recently posted about house nutrition labels that would detail a home’s sustainability.

While it seems the amount of paperwork and disclosures for a real estate transaction is always increasing, sustainability reports sound like a good idea, especially if they were able to replace some existing documentation and not just add to the paperwork.

Here’s some preventative maintenance suggestions for this fall to protect your property investment.

• If you have a fireplace, get your chimney cleaned before the cold weather arrives.
• Check all filters for HVAC as well as clean out condensation lines for AC compressor units.
• Do an informal plumbing inspection of all faucets, toilets, sinks, showers, tubs, and appliances to ascertain if there are any leaks or faulty mechanisms leading to a waste of water.  Don’t forget to check your hot water heater;  water leaks in even the smallest amounts waste valuable money.
• Check the tile around your tubs and showers for grout deterioration. Areas that appear dried and cracked should be removed and replaced with fresh grout.
• Check the hoses on your clothes washer. If they look dried out, replace them.
• Dryer vents should be checked and cleaned if necessary. If you have a floor drain in your HVAC or laundry area, be sure it is kept free of debris.
• In addition to smoke detectors, we recommend that you have at least one carbon monoxide detector and more than one if you have a larger home. If they use batteries, be sure to replace them twice a year when the time changes (as an easy reminder).

And as even the best laid plans can fail to prevent every problem, we recommend an annual checkup with an insurance agent for yourself as well as tenants should you own any rental property.

We sent this information as an e-newsletter a few weeks ago; if you’d like to get on our distribution list, please e-mail info@brandongreen.com.

Katie Wethman, who writes the Thoughts on the Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia Real Estate Market blog wrote a great post on how much a buyer should put down:

How much do I need for a downpayment?

While her second sentence sums it up well (”It depends.”) she does a great job explaining the variables that buyers need to consider.

(You also can download this report as a .PDF.)

October saw 21 single-family homes sold, as well as two condos in the Petworth market.  The singe-family homes sold for 90 percent of their asking price, with the condos getting 94 percent of of their asking price.

The condo market is approaching a balanced supply, with 8.6 months supply currently on the market. While still a buyer’s market, five to seven months of supply typically is considered a market at equilibrium. The market for single-family homes, however, is a strong buyer’s market, with more than a one-year supply on the market.

To show how strong of a buyers’ market Petworth is, 31 percent of all single-family homes listed are short-sales, foreclosures, or estate sales. This situation will continue to keep pricing low in the market, but will provide great opportunities for first-time home buyers.

Housing product profile of the month:  Three bedroom, two-plus bathroom row home

This month we are looking at three bedroom row homes with two or more bathrooms.  Doing a search on all active listings, plus homes that sold in the past six months, we get an idea of what these homes are going for.

Twenty-eight three-bedroom row houses have sold in the past six months, with an average price of $356,205 and a maximum price of $499,900. Thirteen properties are under contract, ranging from $210,000 to $399,500 and averaging $298,000. Active listings range from $224,900 to $479,000 and average $341,994.

The average days-on-market for the sold units was 88 days, versus 148 days for the active listings.

For more information, contact me at ken@brandongreen.com or 202-318-1623 x4.

Are you thinking about renting your home for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration?  Ready to cash in on the big money coming to Washington, DC, the third week in January?

Here are several things to consider, however, if you want to rent your home for this special event.

• Are you going to charge a security deposit? If so, how much? Local jurisdictions limit the amount you can ask for, so know the law. Most limit you to one month’s rent.
• What about an upfront deposit to hold the reservation?  Most hotels are charging 50 percent now, 25 percent close to the event, and the remaining 25 percent at the conclusion of the guest’s stay.
• Do you wish to provide auxiliary services (such as cleaning, meals, and travel) and will those services be included in the price or separate?
• Have you spoken to your insurance agent?  You may need to buy a short-term policy to cover the event.
• Do you have a short-term lease document to execute?  An attorney can draw up a document for you, or we at Brandon Green Companies can provide you with some of the necessary forms.
• Be aware of landlord/tenant laws where you live and consult with an attorney if you’re unsure.
• Understand the tax implications of the income and any loss sustained in the event of damage.

Brandon Green Companies can provide you with referrals to attorneys and certified public accountants should you have further questions. E-mail us at info@brandongreen.com or call us at 202-318-1623.