Instead of going to work I went to Ocean City, MD (for a professional meeting) and grabbed some seaweed and small shells for the compost bin. I’ll wash off the salt and throw what I have in compost bin tonight. Seaweed (once you wash off the salt) is very good for compost and the shells I guess provide calcium.
If you spend more than 10 minutes on Google and can’t find what you’re looking for it may be time to consult a librarian.– Lesson learned at conference.
Has anyone noticed that a bunch of houses on Bates are up for sale? Has anyone also noticed that it seems to be the same realtor? Or is it just me?
Lastly, I’ve been thinking of the whole, well now our Truxton/Shaw houses are worth 2x or 3x as much so such and such should happen. The fault I find in this is that houses in more established DC neighborhoods are also worth 2x to 4x as much. It is not that anything has happened. There have been improvements in transitional neighborhoods such as ours that make the price raises just more than inflation. However, my $300K (formerly $100K) fee simple house with yard is worth as much as a studio sized condo in Dupont with no parking or balcony. On the plus side I could trade it in for a small detached house with a lawnmower worthy yard in the uncool section of College Park, MD (PG County). I guess my rambling point is although we know how much our own and our neighbors’ houses are worth, we should also know the comparables across town.
I think the Bates houses are those owned by North Capitol Development Corp (NCDC) – which is basically belly-up due to mismanagement and is looking to recoup some money.
– JM
That same 300k gets you a large 3 bedroom in a highrise in Alexandria. No yard, no fee simple though.
Also, I am inspired. I’m going to do my own Alexandria blog. With any luck, it will actually happen.
Hello MM,
I’ve been lurking on your blog the last two months, as I have been hoping my job search would bring me back to D.C.
I used to live at 8 Logan Circle in 1995, when there were still boarded-up houses on the circle, and the last ‘hip’ place heading east from Dupont Circle was Studio Theater.
I did get a job in the District, and am house hunting. I would love to buy a two or three-bedroom house or condo in Petworth, Brookland, Shaw or maybe NY Ave Metro areas. And yes, I know we’re talking 300k plus.
I know you’ve described several realtors as ‘crackheads,’ but do you know any you recommend?
Any advice is welcome.
Mara,
E-mail me at “inshaw AT att period net” and I’ll dig up my realtor’s info. There is another fellow who rehabbed a house on the block whose name escapes me now, who is also a Realtor and he knows the area VERY well…. John Bratton! That the name. But e-mail me anyways. Put *blog* or *Shaw* or something in the title so it doesn’t go into the trash file.
As far as Realtors being on crack, the more I talk to some people it is more like sellers on mary jane or something. But there are Realtors that don’t help matters and help with the inflated sense of the value of some properties.
The RE market can be discouraging but if you can tell the difference between what you WANT and what you NEED, you should do ok.