Pat Kennedy - Home in the Capital

Last Week's Favorites on ActiveRain: June 1-8

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 09 Jun 2024 12:59:19 -0700

Last week brought some more interesting posts on all things real estate - and a few things other. Here are some that caught my eye:Kat's continuing life journey: Kat Palmiotti – I just found this one, and it struck a nerve. We never quite retire, do we? Besides, Kat looks way to young to even consider seriously packing up her Sentricard.Creating a "You" Space: Dr. Paula McDonald – This post has inspired me to get to work on my own little me space, so thank you, Paula, for your great ideas.!Paddles Up, Boston! The 2024 Dragon Boat Festival Makes a Splash: Lew Corcoran – What a great way to use a river! Loved the picture, and seriously considered trying to catch a flight this morning!New Construction – Advice for going this route! Thomas SantoreThere’s a lot of great advice in this one. Most buyers have no idea of what can happen in the new homes arena.ActiveRain is Still a Learning Platform: Ed Silva – OK, Artificial Intelligence gives me the hives, and I loved reading Ed's take aways from last Tuesday’s presentation.The Anti-Planner Dani Donovan Lauren Williams, CPO This sounds, well, useful. Except, I wonder if they have a naughty version as well as the clean edition?I SEE YOURS WHY CAN'T YOU? (blind sides) Richie Alan Naggar – Here are Here are some more of Richie’s Pearls, and I love to read them at the start of a new day.The Ultimate Guide to Farmers Markets in Catonsville and Beyond: Ellie McIntire I’m gaining a real appreciation of farmers’ markets and some of these are even close to where I live!So that's all for this week. Hope to see you next Sunday with some more interesting posts that can teach or amuse, or even do both! So blog on!PS This thing looks like a ransom note, and I'm just giving up on trying to unify the fonts and inserting photos. AARGH! Sorry about that! Subscribe in a reader

Should I Re-think My Relationship with AI?

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 13:58:00 -0700

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a post, Should Your Client Get a Pre-Listing Inspection? It was well written and posted by “Kukun--240-483-3649 Franklin Carroll”. It looked a little wee bit too perfect to be written by a blogger who was a real estate professional – more like a service that provides blog writing services to Realtors who are too busy selling houses to do their own stuff. Or, um, maybe it was AI. Their tag includes: “Services for Real Estate Pros with Kukun, Inc. So I didn’t include it in Last Weeks’ Favorites.Then I saw it again in Carol Williams’ Second Chance Saturday Posts and read it more closely. It really is a great post with wonderful information for us and our clients. Then I went to his page on LinkedIn and found some pretty interesting services that they provide to Realtors. I found a Home Renovation Cost Estimator and an iHome Report. Like what he displays in his blog posts, these indicate that Kukun seems to know the territory pretty well.Which brings me to why I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s Zoom call where Paddy Deighan will be giving us an overview of how we can use AI for our business. Whenever AI comes up at the office (my young Brokers love the stuff) I break out in hives. I’m way too old for this stuff, I say. No, you are certainly not, the young ones reply. But what if the youngsters are right? Maybe I’m really not too old to use AI to write a better blog post more quickly, cutting down on the time I spend blogging instead of listing and selling houses – or taking a road trip through France? Can’t wait until tomorrow at 2:00 pm Eastern!Subscribe in a reader

Neighborhood Bunny Invasion!

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 02 Jun 2024 17:16:58 -0700

The backyard gardeners in my neighborhood are in a bit of an uproar. We've been invaded, not by cicadas, but by dozens of amazingly cute little fur guys who adore what's popping up in our vegetable patches. Even the carnivorous wildlife that drops in from Rock Creek Park don't seem interested in helping to control the rabbit population. And they seem to multiplying like, well, rabbits!It also gets interesting to those of us who are walking dubiously trained dogs. Picco hasn't spotted one yet, but it's only a matter of time.Urban rabbits are just what we all need!Subscribe in a reader

Last Week's Favorites on ActiveRain: May 26 - June 1

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 02 Jun 2024 08:16:20 -0700

It's another sunny Sunday morning here in our nation's capital, and time for another list of interesting posts I found over the last week. So here goes!Who Ya Gonna Call? Stress Buster: Carol Williams* By Carol Williams Carol gives us all hints about how to present ourselves as a client's Easy Button.Ask An Ambassador: Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes By Liz and Bill Spear This was a fun read for me, as I am becoming far more appreciative of honey bees than ever before – and the people who create homes for them.Here Come the Pandas! Get Ready DC! By Lise Howe This will be exciting! I think the pandas are just about the coolest creatures at the National Zoo, and we missed the panda family that moved back to China last year.The Whit Sisters Hold an Open House Event By Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can! Don’t start to read this one until you have swallowed every drop of coffee in your mouth, or it will be spattered on your computer screen!The Most Unrealistic Expectation In Real Estate By Thomas J. Nelson I agree with much of this, but I think agents who virtually never answer their phones are making a big mistake. 3rd Carlsbad Art Wall for 2024 By Jeff Dowler, CRS This mural in Carlsbad made me want a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice! Great mural art adds a lot of character to any community.Another Scary AI Example By Paddy Deighan MBA JD PhD Oh no! This is not good. This means my rule of never ever replying to schemes for getting easy money is a good one. Are you thinking about building an Accessory Dwelling Unit in Menifee?By Denise Gentile What a great idea! ADUs are becoming more common here in the DC area, but nobody thought of getting pre-approved plans.WHY YOU SHOULD NOT MOVE TO NORTHERN VIRGINIA! By Dan Rochon Really? This post is a first. But I have to say that these are all reasons I decided to stay in DC!7 Fresh Reasons why your property won't sell! By Alan May This wasn’t done last week, but I just found it and it’s so on point! And of course, it showcases Alan' timeless wit.Now it's time to head out for the local farmer's market for this week's food shop. Hope you all have a great week, and I'll see you next Sunday. Blog on! Subscribe in a reader

Last Week's Favorites on ActiveRain: May 19-25

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 26 May 2024 08:56:07 -0700

Last week, these ActiveRain bloggers caught my attention, leaving me entertained, enriched and/or inspired. So here goes: Craig Brown: Beyond the Sign: The 30 Crucial Roles of a Real Estate Agent If you’ve been wondering how to articulate your value proposition, Craig’s post certainly gave me some ideas to incorporate into my own. Joh Sanborn: Top 5 Tips to Save Money on Kitchen Remodeling in 2024 Kitchen advice is always a great way to get my attention, even though I won’t be doing a reno any time soon. Great to keep handy for your clients. Kathy Streib: This Week…Family, Heat, and Grilling Kathy provides some great food, and not just for the grill! It’s food for thought, too. She shares some great and timeless quotes with us. Lew Corcoran: The Wild Snort: How Feral Pigs Became Unwitting Narcotics Agents This one has an amazing picture and it’s a really funny story. Does cocaine smell like truffles? Um, not that I've ever smelled either one. Patricia Feager: Flowers & Remembrance from Krakow, Poland This is a lovely Memorial Day weekend post, and Patricia’s flower photos are just lovely. It also make me want to add some time in Poland to my next trip. Tom Gilliam: How a Humorous Realtor Can Make Home Buying Stress-Free No kidding, Tom. In most transactions there’s we can count on some challenge that the ability to laugh will make easier. Lauren Williams: MD Fish Tanks This post was sort of a surprise. I loved Lauren’s message and also got totally hooked once I clicked on the link to the fish tank guy – awesome! It was almost as much fun as the Bear Cam. Richie Alan Naggar: EVOLVING or DEVOLVING (your life choice) It was really fun coming across a Richie post. It made me smile. It made me scratch my head. And the goat? At least give it credit for giving us wonderful cheese! Alan May: Snap, Crackle and Crunch? Our little guys are still working their way up through the soil. The neighborhood dogs are getting silly with anticipation. And if you haven't seen it, "Unfrosted" on Netflix? Highly recommended. Carol Williams: Who Ya Gonna Call? Stress Buster: Carol Williams* Carol does a nice job of differentiating herself from the pack. Maybe she should come out of retirement? Oh, and who ever heard of a real estate agent retiring? That's all for today. Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend, and maybe even get to take a little time off! And I'll be back next week, so blog on! Subscribe in a reader

Last Weeks Favorites on Active Rain: May 5-11

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 12 May 2024 11:04:13 -0700

This morning, I got a bit of a late start, then a bunch of distractions. But hey, at least it's still Sunday, and somewhere it's even Sunday morning. So here goes: Bill Salvatore: So, where were you 54 years ago today? OK, this one really brought back some memories for me, in my little apartment in New York City watching the landing on my little TV set. And totally awed! Michael Jacobs: And So It Goes… There is so much in this post that resonated with me, a reminder that it’s not really what happens in our world, it’s how we deal with it. Lise Howe: Thinking of Downsizing - What are Your Options? There are a lot of choices for seniors these days, and reading Lise's post is a good way to think of how to discuss it with clients. Michael Elliott: What if We Don't Click? This happens to all of us from time to time, and it was fun to read because it reminded me that this is an almost universal experience for Realtors. Nina Hollander: Homoring All The Lost Socks on Lost Sock Memorial Day Nina struck a nerve with this one, reminding me that I've never met a sock that I could throw away. Nick Vandekar: Plants don't always do what is expected While my garden skills are not strong, I do enjoy watching what my plants do as they grow (when they grow).Jeff Masich: Real Estate FABLES Or TRUTH? YOU Decide If you believe any of these possible truths, I have a bridge in New York City you'd really like to buy! And great "Featured Image"!That's all for today! Hope I'll see you back here next Sunday - maybe seeing your own post on the list. So Blog On! Subscribe in a reader

Want to Live in Cleveland Park? May 5, 2024

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 05 May 2024 19:44:12 -0700

Cleveland Park really has it all. There is a Metro Station, the National Zoo, and lots of interesting neighbors. It's got some wonderful old houses, a few dating back to the 1700's. Most were built to allow the citizens of Washington to get away from the hot, humid capitol with its heat, humidity and especially aggressive mosquitos. Some are Victorians and others Queen Ann. There are many architectural details. like turrets, gables, and gingerbread. There is nothing cookie-cutter about this neighborhood. Houses: There are only two for sale right now - the good ones fly off the shelf in about a nano-second: View Listings One is listed for $2875,000. It's situated on a heavily wooded lot surrounded by parkland, and it's new construction by Washington standards, built in 1989. The other is right off Wisconsin Avenue. and is next to a large new condo project. It's had a contemporary renovation and is for sale at $2,395,000. Condos and Cooperatives: There are currently 18 condos and coops for sale between $999,900 to a low of $250.000. View Listings There are two available in my favorite building, a coop called The Broadmoor (3601 Connecticut Avenue). It's across the street from a Metro, and back in the day it was the Washington home of Senator Huey Long. The units are large, sunny and I'd live there if I could pass Picco off as a service dog, something highly unlikely as he is a big leg bumper in elevators.Oh, and the house in the photo isn't for sale. It's just always been my very favorite house in the neighborhood.If you're interested in a move to Cleveland Park, I'd be happy to help you set up alerts as new listings come on the market. This is a neighborhood where the good ones really do sell quickly. Please text or call me at 202-549-5167 and I can help you find a wonderful place. Subscribe in a reader

Want to Live in Georgetown? May 5, 2024

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 05 May 2024 18:48:57 -0700

Georgetown has been awfully chic and trendy since I moved to Washington back in the 1970’s - and long before that, as well. It got its start in 1745 as a tobacco inspection center and since then has become a bustling part of our nation’s capitol, and home to politicians, diplomats and other really interesting people, as well as Georgetown University. It’s now a highly desirable place to live, with great diversity in the ages, sizes, types and prices of the properties. If you wanted to begin your search for a new home in Georgetown, there are many possibilities. Houses: Here is a list of all of the houses for sale in Georgetown as of May 5th: View Listings There are 30 active listings, with a wide range of prices. The highest is $15,995,000 for Prospect House, a 9000 square foot mansion above the Potomac River where famous people have been hanging out since it was built in 1787. And it has amazing entertaining spaces, with 8 bedrooms (some with river views) and almost half an acre of grounds (very generous by Georgetown standards) and a 41-foot swimming pool. At the other end of the price spectrum is a tiny house that packs two bedrooms into under 1000 square feet with an amazingly efficient use of space. It can be yours for an affordable $1,100,000. Twelve of these properties have had price reductions. The average price is $4,629,000 and the median price is $3,095,000. It takes an average of 59 days for one of these homes to go under contract. Condominiums and Cooperatives: If you had something more affordable in mind, here are 30 condominium and cooperative units that are good way to get into the Georgetown market: View Listings. While most of these units are above the million dollar threshold, they tend to give you more space and luxury features than many of the houses in the neighborhood. My personal favorite in Gateway Georgetown (2500 Q Street NW) It's a large building overlooking the Buffalo Bridge, where $399,000 buys you a 1014 square foot 1-bedroom unit with an all-important parking space included in the price. The building is on the cusp of Georgetown and Dupont Circle, has many interesting residents, and is an easy walk to Metro and all kinds of fine dining. If you would like updates on properties that become available in this iconic Washington neighborhood, please contact me. You may text or, better yet, call me at 202-549-5167.Subscribe in a reader

Last Week's Favorites on ActiveRain - April 28 to May 4

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 05 May 2024 08:58:51 -0700

It's Sunday morning again! As the week flew by, these posts (for one reason or another) caught my eye:Andrea Bedard: Fair Housing: military status, a new protected class in Maryland This is a good idea that might have a few unintended consequences. Many of the comments are as interesting as the post!Alan May: Dance like nobody's watching There comes a point in every ActiveRain bloggers experience when you figure out that you can't buy Jimmy Choo's with AR Points!Liz and Bill Spear: Ask An Ambassador: I Don't Have Time For This! So this is great advice for bloggers with writers' block, or maybe what I call "thinkers' block".Jeff Dowler: Update on our Monarch Butterfly Nursery There is something about monarch butterflies that is beautiful, fragile and especially magical. And Jeff nabbed it.Michael Elliot: It's Not What You Say, But How You Say It You just can't hear this bit of advice too often! And Michael spells it out so simply that all of us can understand it..Ed Silva: What Makes Me the "Who You Gonna Call" Agent This has a lot of the basics, and they are basics because they have worked through all kinds of real estate markets.Lew Corcoran: Feast on Wheels: The Greenway Food Truck Festival at Rowes Wharf Plaza Lew made my mouth water with this post as I sit here with my morning cup of mushroom coffee!Laura Sellers: Navigating the Affordability Challenge in Housing - First-Time Buyers The person who finds a solution for this one might just win a Nobel Prize!Marte Cliff: Stop! Read what you wrote before you publish it. Following Marte's advice could save you a lot of embarrassment. Maybe we need someone to do a weekly bloopers list!That's all for this week. And if your next week's posts read like they were written by a human who is not a ghost writer (that is probably you), it just might get included! Subscribe in a reader

Iris Week

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sat, 04 May 2024 06:51:56 -0700

It's not unusual for clients to sent flowers after a great settlement, but one of my buyers completely outdid herself she downsized from a house in Chevy Chase to a condo in my favorite building in Georgetown.She passed on some iris bulbs that her father had planted in front of her childhood home in Takoma Park (another in my history of sold listings). Over the years they have grown and multiplied, and now, every year late April and early May, I have a hedge of irises that bloom like crazy. Neighbors stop to admire them as they walk their dogs or children down the street, which is nice because most of the perennials in my front yard are yellow before they turn to powder puffs - um, dandelions! This is so much cooler than buying my bulbs at the local lawn and garden place!Subscribe in a reader

But Why Didn't They Accept Our Offer?

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sat, 04 May 2024 06:11:00 -0700

When you are the only offer on the table for any house, you may have some bargaining power with the sellers. But in today's market with a small inventory, it's more likely than not that the sellers will be in the driver's seat with two or more (often many more) buyers for their homes. So the sellers are sitting around their dining room tables making comparisons among all of the people who want to buy their house. And when it's all over, the agents whose buyers lost out are typically peppered with questions as their clients try to figure out what just happened.Well, here are some of the answers: If you offering price is not competitive and the other offers are high, the listing agent will probably put yours in the "no" pile at the beginning of the process. Even if you have a high number in your offer, you may have other terms that won't work for the sellers, like contingencies for home inspections, financing and appraisals. A lower offer with fewer risks of the transaction failing usually trumps a high offer with various ways for the buyers to void the contract after it's accepted. It's important to provide either a strong lenders' letter and other financial information showing that you are actually able to buy the house you're bidding on. If the listing agent learns that you have gotten out of a previous deal on a contingency, or just because of buyers' remorse? Game over!If your agent has a reputation for being very difficult to work with or otherwise unprofessional, it won't help your cause. He or she needs to pass the mensch test.If your contract has missing addenda or is improperly filled out, it sends a message to the listing agent that the buyer's agent may flunk the competence test. The sellers are making a choice based on, not just the price and terms, but the likelihood that you will actually show up with money at the settlement table. Clean offers reduce the seller's risks. With real estate offers, being the first offer to reach the sellers isn't always a plus, unless it is an extremely good offer and your agent has a short deadline for response time. Even then, most good agents will wait, usually until after the first weekend on the market, to consider offers. Before I write any offer, I try to have have a conversation with the listing agent to find out just what her sellers need to make the deal work for them. When do they want to settle? Will they need to remain in the house for some period of time after settlement? Do they want the buyers to agree to continue to feed the feral cat who stops by for breakfast every morning? Will they want to take the pretty chandelier in the dining room to their new home? We often have buyers' agents call after a bidding war to ask why the sellers didn't take their offer, and they will often ask, "Well, why didn't you call me?" And guess what? That's usually not how it works, at least not unless you are one of the finalists in the competition. And as in many areas of life, when you make an offer on a house or condo, you only have one chance to make a great first impression. And if yours falls short, you'll just have to do better on the next place you want to buy!Subscribe in a reader

NAR Did It Again! Make It Stop!

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Wed, 01 May 2024 14:56:44 -0700

OK. I'm ready to completely give up on NAR.When I did my tax return, I choked on the dues they get out of me every year. But that's not what this is about. And perhaps I was a wee bit annoyed by the whole sexual harassment fiasco that recently got us some great publicity. But it's not about that either. Then there was the recent settlement with the Justice Department that left a lot of us scratching our heads. But I still hung in there.No, this is something far less forgivable than anything I mentioned above:"Hi!!!! This is Betsy. I work with Members of NAR to offer health coverage at discounted pricing for realtors [note the small "r"]. May I text you for pricing? Reply N to opt out."And they come in two and three times a day. I've replied with "N", with "Stop", with "STOP', sometimes adding a polite text back that I have great coverage and request that they not email me again. All to no avail.The NAR junk texters are more persistent than all of the political candidates for everything from President of the United States to someone running for town dog catcher in a place I never knew existed. And whenever Congress passes a bill dealing with robots calls to spam of any sort, they make exceptions for politicians, something they haven't done for NAR. Does anyone know who to contact to make it stop - if that is even possible for a mere mortal to do?And of course, I'll pay my dues when the time comes to renew at the end of the year!Subscribe in a reader

My Shiny New Oura Ring!

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 09:02:29 -0700

Yesterday it finally arrived - my shiny gold "Gen 3 Heritage Gold" smart ring. It was a birthday present to myself that promised to make it highly likely that there would be many birthdays to celebrate in the future - um, in my case, the Oura ring and my daily consumption of mushroom supplements.There is only one problem. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how to sync it with my iPhone. During my next trip into the office, I'm sure I'll be able to find a colleague younger than my real estate license who will be able to coach me on how to do it, but I'd really love to be able to figure it out all by myself! Perhaps I'll be able to find a YouTube video that can help.This morning, I looked at how it tracked last night's sleep, compared to the "Pillow" app I've been using on my Apple Watch, and the Pillow app score was a whole 12 points higher than the Oura ring's. The Oura's activity tracker made me look like the EverReady bunny, even though the ring was on my finger for just a few hours. Not an auspicious beginning!The one benefit is that, once I get it figured out, I can ditch my Apple Watch and start using the pretty one that just tells time but needs a new battery.Subscribe in a reader

Last Week's Favorites on ActiveRain - April 21 to 27

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 08:49:56 -0700

Last week, I found a bunch of interesting posts that cover the range of issues that are important to real estate professionals. And here are my favorites:Wanda Kubat-Nerdin: Heavens to Betsey This is one of those cautionary tales about taking shortcuts maintaining your home, or any other piece of property you might be responsible for.Walter DiLoreto: Foreclosure Numbers Are Nothing Like the 2008 Crash Walter points out differences between the current foreclosure activity and what happened during the big meltdown.Dorie Dillard: The Numbers are in! Do Buyers and Sellers use Real Estate Agents? They sure do, and most of them even like us, or at least appreciate what we do.Brett Furniss: Fix or Replace Broken Appliances? Factoring in Sunk Costs at Carowinds This brings up a lot of issues that complicate the appliance choices we make.Mike McCann: Hupudia - I Wonder If You Even Knew It Existed? Lighthearted Friday! Hmmm. Perhaps "hupudia" will become the Webster Dictionary's word of the year!Marte Cliff: Clarity in communication? For me at least, Marte Cliff's posts are all must reading. And this one makes a great point with very few words, something Marte does wellAlan May: Falling apart at middle age This is a pretty scary trend, and it is about a lot more than aching joints or a spreading waistline. And it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.Hannah Williams: News Stations Need To Provide Accurate Information to The Public Yes, I realize that real estate news is complicated, but that doesn't let the media off the hook.And that's all for today! Hope you all have a busy and fun week in whatever your spring market is doing, and I'll be spending a part of mine looking for more great posts to include next Sunday. So blog on!Subscribe in a reader

Purchasing a DC Area Cooperative: What Makes a Good Fit?

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 10:24:08 -0700

Here is the DC area, many buyers steer away from cooperative buildings. Usually it has something to do with the ground rules for living in the complex. Oh, and there is also a usually pleasant meeting with to members of the coop Board who must approve your purchase. Still, some of the most desirable units in the area are located in coops, and most are worth the potential hazards inherent in the process for buying. Some of my favorites include Tilden Gardens, The Westchester, The Broadmoor and the iconic Watergate - and there are many more. Right now, there are 100 coops for sale in Northwest Washington, with prices ranging from an affordable $135,000 for a 525 square foot 1-bedroom near Logan Circle, to a high of $3,795,000 for a 4,640 square foot duplex penthouse in the Watergate. Here is a complete list of what's for sale as of April24th: View ListingsWhat makes a coop a good fit? Maybe a better question is what makes a coop a tricky fit? Here are some things to consider:Rentals: most coops have very restrictive rules when it comes to owners renting out their units, with some saying no to pretty much all rentals. If they are allowed at all, buyers typically must live in their unit as an owner/occupant for a set period of time, and it's usually years. They also limit the reasons you will be out of the unit to situations regarding your job.Pets: if you have a pet, especially a dog, both you and the dog will probably be required to show up for the meeting with Board. And if your fur buddy decides to hump a board members leg or has a barking fit during the interview, you will probably get a resounding "no" vote. Even service animals covered by Fair Housing laws can be rejected for behavioral issues.Financing: while you can finance a house or a condo with a small down payment, most coops require at least 20 percent down, and sometimes more than that as a minimum.Coop Fees: while they look like they run higher than condo fees for similar units, remember that coop fees include local real estate taxes. And because the buildings are usually older, they tend to include some or all of the utilities. So before you rule out a building for high fees, be sure you know what's included.Recognition Agreements with Lenders: your choice of lenders is restricted to those who have agreements with the particular cooperative association. It's always good to check the approved lenders list before you get attached enough to the place to make an offer. Also, interest rates may be slightly higher than for condos or houses.Financial Disclosure: your personal finances will have to pass muster with not only the lender, but also the Board. They will generally have financial disclosure requirements to be met before they will set up a meeting to approve your purchase.Property Condition: cooperative tend to be old, sometimes very old, construction. This makes it crucial to get a home inspection and to carefully examine the budget, the reserves for repair and replacement, and look for any information you can find about upcoming repairs and projects that might not have made it into the disclosure paperwork. Things like window replacement, brick work, electrical and plumbing upgrades may be handled responsibly, or they might be in the serious deferred maintenance category. If you are a good fit for a coop, keep in mind that some of the best addresses in the area fall into this category. Also, some condos have the same requirements regarding rentals and pets. My advice? Don't rule out coops, but maybe do rule out agents who are not experienced in selling them. They are an important part of our currently limited housing stock.Subscribe in a reader

Perennials in My Garden

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 08:13:33 -0700

We all do little things that probably annoy our neighbors, and where I live it's having a less than manicured front yard. And right now, most of the perennials that are blooming in mine look like the flower in the photo. Now, the guy next door does not totally appreciate my choice, since in a few days the yellow flower will be replaced by a fuzz ball that will shoot seeds into their yard. Still, when I was outside playing with the Picco, I was pretty awestruck by its simple beauty. Now, if I can just remember to go dig it up as soon as the seed pod starts to form!Subscribe in a reader

Last Week's Favorites on ActiveRain

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 09:25:10 -0700

Here are 10 posts that taught me something or made me smile - usually both! How will I pay my buyer agent, I've barely enough for a down payment? - Nick Vandekar This is a good read during this time when so many of us are putting together new scripts for buyer clients on this very subject!STAY AWAY - Peter Mohylsky -If only walls could talk! Well, as Peter points out they often do. But what they say to buyers may not be the sort of message that the sellers think they are sending! And today's buyers are often imagination impaired.Creekline Trails in Opelika, AL!!! - Laura Sellers This is one of those posts where the writer made her home market sound like a very neighborly place to live, with residents working together to their community fun.Do You Have "Realtor Ears"? - Michael Elliot This one made me laugh! Been there, done that! And once I had a dinner date interrupt the conversation on my behalf, which was a little embarrassing. This one will make you smile!Happy Birthday to the Ford Mustang - 60 Years Old Today - Looking Good! - Lise Howe Ah, the Ford Mustang. Once a guy dumped me when he met another woman who drove one of these. Now they're divorced. Great car!Blooms A Poppin in Prospect, CT 2 - Ed Silva This is the second in a series where Ed has shown off his ever-blooming home garden. And this spring, he makes me so aware that my front yard is the shabbiest on my block!What If I (or Someone Else) Already Wrote About It? - Kathy Streib This is for those times you just can't figure out what to write about, and even I get those. It's a great remedy for both writer's block and thinker's block!Unveiling a Gem: History and Adventure in Madison, NC - John Turner-McClelland John has been writing some of the best local posts I've seen on ActiveRain. Be careful, though. They make you want to relocate!Wordless Wednesdays: Citrus Tree pruning in the back yard - Endre Barath, Jr. After checking this one out, I peeled and ate a Whole Foods organic orange, and it couldn't begin to match what Endre's tasted like.How to take Professional Quality Photos of Your Home - Lew Corcoran Great post, but I think the real answer is to call Lew and have him take real professional photos if whatever you are selling. There is no real substitute!So, that all for this week. And all week, I'll be out there looking for more great stuff to include in next week's post. So blog on! Subscribe in a reader

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 09:28:13 -0700

Back in the day, a wise old broker told me, "Pat, if this was easy, they wouldn't pay you so much for doing it!" And through the decades, there have been so many situations were this wisdom snuck back into my brain.Here are a few transaction-destroying examples of unexpected surprises that can derail the trip to the settlement table: For the buyer, it was love at first sight - a huge 1-bedroom coop unit with a sunken living room with more than enough room for his grand piano. Within an hour of the place hitting the MLS, we had a ratified contract, all cash, totally non-contingent, with a huge earnest money check and a price that was more stunning than the apartment (more came in by the end of the day). The evening before our 9:30 am appointment with the title attorney, my buyer called. "Pat," he said, "You have to get me out of this - my psychic told me not to buy this place!" It was an adorable old house that my buyers loved. They made a successful offer and planned to settle right after Christmas. On Christmas Eve, there was a serious fire caused by "careless candling". Oops! At the pre-settlement walk-through, I first learned that none of the eight "wood burning" fireplaces in my circa 1890 listing were functional. The only thing that would burn if someone lit an actual fire would be the wood in the lovely old place's structure. The seller had lost his dream job and was selling his dream house to avoid foreclosure. He arrived at the settlement table literally in tears - after months of unemployment, he found a really great job and no longer wanted to sell. When the lender did the final update of the buyers' credit, they found a lien that had been filed against the buyers and pulled the loan approval. Any transaction can go pear-shaped at any time. And there is no substitute for experience in creating a happy ending to a goofy transaction. In only one of the above situations, the transaction failed - I was unable to convince my client to defy his psychic, but I did get him most of his earnest money back.Things still get goofy and complicated, but over the years, I've learned how to mitigate the consequences. And that's a huge part of any Realtor's job. Subscribe in a reader

Where In the World Is Cindy Jones?

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 19:32:10 -0700

One of the first ActiveRain bloggers I met in person was Cindy Jones. She lives and sells homes in nearby Virginia, and she could be counted on to make any local RainCamp, meetup or just a fun lunch somewhere near the Occaquan River a whole lot of fun. Cindy was at my first ActiveRain meetup (see the grainy old picture above!). Cindy, Brian Block, Margaret Woda and I had a fun lunch at Harry's Tap Room in Arlington, Virginia. Even though we'd never met in person, I remember how it felt like lunching with three old friends. By then, I'd been reading and commenting on their posts for about a year.Cindy's posts about her market area in Prince William's County made me want to pack up and move down there. Another favorite topic was how she helped veterans find homes and buy with VA financing. And back then, if you did a Google search for VA loans, Cindy's blog actually out-Googling the Veterans Administration's own web site.Last week, I realized we hadn't spoken for many months. Also, a dear friend called me to ask if I know anyone with a couple of extra kittens who might need a home. Since Cindy is a great source for rescue kittens, it seemed a perfect time to give her a call. I caught her in her car, driving a kitten from the vet to a new home - the last one she'll have up for adoption for a while. We were talking about how goofy the market is. We talked about ActiveRain, and like me, Cindy said she would check in every so often, maybe even writing a post or a few comments, then (like me) she'd check out. When she gets home from her upcoming vacation, I'll call her again - kitten season should be in full swing by then!And maybe she'll come back and we'll have to form a support group to deal with our Rain addictions!Subscribe in a reader

Last Weeks Favorites on ActiveRain - April 8-14

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 08:12:53 -0700

Last week was pretty busy, but not too busy to catch up with some of my favorite bloggers on Active Rain. Here are some I especially enjoyed:Paula McDonald: An Eclipse of a Lifetime Paula was lucky enough to be right in the path, and her account of watching it with her family was, well, not quite as much fun as being there, but close!Robert Siciliano: Surf Safely: Armoring Your Digital Life on Public Wi-Fi Waves If you find yourself getting sloppy around your computer, especially your laptop, this is an important read!Laura Sellers: Should You Tap into Your Home Equity? Sometimes this seemingly easy way to raise cash quickly may not be a great idea. Here's some great advice.George Souto: ActiveRain Weekly ZOOM Meeting 04/16/2024 I can't wait for this week's Zoom call! If you can't get away for an around-the-world cruise, here's your chance to live vicariously! Michael Elliot: Things We Stress in Real Estate Stress can be, but doesn't have to be a big deal in real estate. Read this and laugh about it. That always helps!Wanda Kubat-Nerdin: Plan B or Not to Be: After A Cash Cow Runs Dry You may remember that I have a real thing for cows, so this one caught my eye, and I'm glad it did!So that's all for this week. I'll be on the lookout as I read through posts next week, and who knows? I might stumble upon one of yours - so blog on!Subscribe in a reader

Picco's Walk

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 18:43:41 -0700

Here in Washington, DC, the cherry trees get a lot of attention, with people coming from around the country each spring to see them lined up along the National Mall. But my favorites are our beautiful redbuds, which bloomed a little late this year. This afternoon, Picco and I saw this one around the corner from my house. I stopped to take this while the dog was jumping around on the end of his leash trying to pull me along our route. Geez, he's a handful, but really adorable.To me, the redbuds are the first real sign of spring. Subscribe in a reader

How Mushrooms Saved My Life

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 20:31:19 -0700

This afternoon, I shared my mushroom story on the Tuesday Zoom call, and spoiler alert. The story was a little scary, but it has a great ending. Um, I got lucky!In June of last year, I was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer. It's usually pretty nasty, and the prognosis is not exactly optimistic. Then luck kicked in, first when a neighbor (and client) introduced me to Integrated Medicine through a stack of amazing books.Then I was introduced to my Kaiser Permanente medical team, which included a nutritionist who helped me put together a really healthy diet - and she introduced me to Ryze Mushroom Coffee, which became my gateway drug to the world of "functional" mushrooms. It was a complete game changer - during chemo I had no side effects other than a little hair loss.Then, when I met with the surgeon who removed the big old tumor that I'd been feeding for the past couple of decades, it turned out not to be stage four. It was taking up space but hadn't yet invaded any other organs, and with the help I got from the books below and the mushrooms, and six or so brilliant surgeons , we sent the bad stuff off to a lab where I guess it's enjoying retirement in a big old jar of formaldehyde. Oh, and the lead surgeon knew more than I did about Integrated Medicine. And on rounds over the next few days, they all dropped by and told me to keep up the mushrooms! I plan to for the rest of my life! So, here are the books my friend brought:Radical Remission - Surviving Cancer Against All Odds by Kelly A. Turner, PhD: this book came out of her PhD dissertation, based on a ten month trip to interview holistic healers and people who lived through the disease. Then she studies over 1000 cases and interviewed another 100 people who achieved what she calls radical remission. The stories were fascinating, and reading them helped me to pick out some strategies these people had in common and to incorporate them into my own cancer journey. She also has a lot of great information on foods to eat and other ways to stay healthy.Anticancer: A New Way of Life - David Servan-Schreiber, MD: This is part memoir and part how to increase your chances of avoiding cancer, and if (like me) you never thought about it until you got a super-scary diagnosis, how to mitigate the impact by adding Integrative Medicine basics to the standard of care, which in my case was chemotherapy and surgery. He has a gold mine of information about basic life style changes that in my case turned things around, used in combination with good old Western medicine. He was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer when he was 30 and working as a researcher. After his doctors successfully removed it, he switched to patient care and spent his career working to educate his colleagues about the importance incorporating lifestyle changes into cancer care. He lived for 25 years after he was diagnosed.Anticancer Living: Transform Your Life and Health with the Mix of Six - Lorenzo Cohen: Dr. Cohen is the Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center (which is said to be the leading cancer treatment hospital in the world). He updated and expanded a lot of the information Dr. Servan-Schreiber's book in 2018, and explains how to incorporate the six pillars of the program (love and support, food, exercise, stress reduction, sleep, and eliminating toxins) into your daily life. The idea is to create an optimum environment in your body for good health. Then there are the mushrooms, which I learned about after reading all of this. I start each day with a large cup of Ryze Mushroom coffee, and I also take seven additional types of shrooms in capsule form. Now, mushroom growers seem to be bickering among themselves about which is best, the fruit or the root. Most mushroom products are sold as powder in capsules. And many producers argue that the good stuff is all in the fruit, or the part of the mushroom that you see at supermarkets and put into your stews or omelettes. Others say the magic comes from both the root and the medium in which they are grown, usually fermented oats or rice (mycelium). Most of the products I use are either mycelium or a mixture of mycelium and roots. The National Institutes of Health recently did a study on Turkey Tail mushrooms, they used Host Defense Mushrooms, which were mycelium based. And if it's good enough for NIH, it's OK with me. And the Host Defense web site is fabulous. I buy my Agarikon from them.I get my Lion's Mane, Turkey Tail, Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps from Whole Foods, whose 365 house brand is the best buy I've seen. Because their stores here are a little sketchy stocking everything, I order online on Amazon, doing a search "365 Mushroom Supplements". They are a combination of fruit and mycelium.Usually, I stay away from mushrooms that are shipped in from China. The Chinese really know their mushrooms, but they are not so great at shipping them halfway around the world. Theirs have always tasted a little bit off, which is hard to do since they are packaged in capsules that usually mask bad tastes.So that's it. Today I feel ridiculously healthy, have lots of energy. The life style changes have eliminated lots of health-related issues, from Charlie horses to joint pain and high cholesterol - and far fewer senior moments! And I feel so much gratitude to the many people who helped along this journey. And as I said on the Zoom call, I don't view it as a battle with cancer. Instead, it was a journey - filled with love and compassion and even humor. As a friend said the other day, "You chose life!"And now, I think it's time to pay it forward.Subscribe in a reader

April 1-7: Last Weeks Favorites on ActiveRain

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 07:33:26 -0700

This was my first full week of posting, reading and commenting on blogs on ActiveRain in a few years. And it was interesting trying to find ten posts that were reasonably well written and interesting and appeared likely to have actually written by the blogger on the by-line. While I really wanted to include new-to-me bloggers, it became apparent that an awful lot of people, especially newbies, on this platform now outsource their blog writing or get a whole lot of help from AI. How can I tell? I just can. At least most of the time, and with the professionally written posts.So here are the ones that made my favorites list, all I which I read, but were not necessarily written, last week: Unveiling My Secret Journey: From Real Estate Success to Open Heart Surgery: Greg Brown - This clearly did not come from a rent-a-blog service! Greg has something important to say here and I really appreciate him for sharing his experience. Artificial Intelligence | Eat or Be Eaten: Kathleen Daniels - I could really relate to Kathleen's take on AI. A lot of the younger agents in my office love it for streamlining fact sheets and other products it takes to get a house sold. It just make me feel old. Inspecting my blood pressure: Alan May - I can always count on Alan to say something important in a way that makes me both laugh and learn. For those of you who skip your buyers' home inspection, it's a must read. Alan gives "Old School" a good name! Fresh Market Vegetables Just Begging You To Buy Them: Joyce Marsh - I just wish that the produce manager in her Whole Foods would come to DC to train the people up here how to display vegetables in a way that actually keeps them fresh! Whiskey’s Wisdom: Smell The Flower and Blow Out The Candle: Thomas J. Nelson - Posts about dogs always get me attention, and I’d love to set up a play date with Whiskey and Picco. My puppy could use some lessons in wisdom that I don't give him! So that's all for now. See you next week, and the one of the posts I'm looking for could be yours. So blog on! Subscribe in a reader

A Prodigal Blogger Returns to the Rain

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 07:27:24 -0700

On June 10, 2007, I came across ActiveRain doing a google search, joined and wrote my first post, and by late 2018, I found my way to the coveted Number 1 spot on the Leaderboard. The addiction was so strong that my broker had to step in with an intervention. So I went cold turkey, checking in every once in a while and writing an occasional post. But my efforts turned to a weekly post I emailed to my base, Monday Morning Coffee. It’s been a wonderful source for business and kept me writing about my favorite subject. Then, last week, Kathy Streib called me out of the blue, and it was like old home week. So I’m back, trying to pace myself and having some fun. But it’s really different this time around. This week, I tried to resurrect my old “Last Week’s Favorites”, where I had 10 posts that had been written during the past week. And guess what? Most of the posts that are showing up tomorrow are a lot older than a week! It was hard to find material that appeared to be written by the author with the byline. By the time I left ActiveRain, a some posts were being written by professionals, outsourced by a busy Realtor, agent or stager who wanted to spend more time plying their trade. Sometimes six or eight identical posts would show up under six or eight different names of so-called bloggers. This time, there are even more posts that are perfectly written with great images, but you know what? I can tell in a second that the blogger who posted the article almost certainly didn’t write it. Then there are some that looked a little too AI-ish. Did the author use AI for a little help in cleaning up a post he or she actually wrote? Or did AI do all of the heavy lifting? It’s such a joy to see a post that is funny, current and relatable. And that’s really hard for a Rent-a-Blog writer or AI to do, at least here on ActiveRain, where so many of us worked very hard to find out voices. Professionally written materials may have their place, but if you’re using them for some or all of your posts in the Rain, you’re missing out on a lot. Just my humble opinion!Subscribe in a reader

Waiting for Interest Rates to go Down?

Patricia Kennedy, Home in the Capital (RLAH@properties) — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:23:56 -0700

Here in Washington, DC, the real estate market is a little goofy, leaving buyers sitting on the fence wondering what to do. There are far fewer people putting their homes on the market. But homes that are for sale seem to be taking longer to sell, and while there are some bidding wars, they are fewer and far less bloody than they have been over the past couple of years. And a lot of us are blaming it on the recent interest rate increases. This has a lot of would-be buyers scratching their heads. "Should I wait," they ask, "or should I jump in now?"Here are some things for your fence-sitting buyers to think about as they try to figure out what to do: For most buyers, the interest paid each year on their mortgage is tax deductible, so Uncle Sam may absorb some of the added cost. Their tax professionals could give them a good idea of their savings. When interest rates do go down, the number of people actively trying to buy will go up. So will the number of serious bidding wars - and home prices as well. When they settle on their new home, they typically sign a mortgage that will bet paid off over the next 30 years. But they are likely to refinance the home many times during their tenure. When I bought my home in the mid-1980's, I was thrilled to get a rate of 13 percent (they had recently come down from 18 percent). It's been refinanced five times, and the current interest rate is around 3.5 percent. It might be a good idea to consider an adjustable rate mortgage. Last week the 7-year ARM's looked great. Buying a house or condo is always a little scary. Buyers may fear that once the ink is dry on all of the settlement paperwork, the market will go completely pear shaped, Then they will lose a job just a a big old hurricane will come along to flood the basement and blow off the roof. And while I'm not saying that bad things never happen, every poll I've seen shows that the vast majority of people who buy homes are really glad they did, regardless of what was going on in the world around them when they took the leap.I'm advising my own buyers that they can buy now and have close to a "normal" transaction where they don't have to do anything completely crazy to get an offer accepted, or they can wait for rates to drop and find themselves in another crazy sellers' market that can make getting a great house an expensive, not to mention nail biting, experience.Oh, and after a while, that silly fence really gets uncomfortable! Subscribe in a reader