Why Hyattsville Real Estate Blog

Luxury Foreclosures, Having your cake and eating it too

This morning the Washington Post has an article about the foreclosure problem in luxury home sales, titled Luxury Foreclosures: Growing Number of Affluent Homeowners Can No Longer Afford Their Mortgages.  One of the investors in the story purchased multiple million dollar homes with adjustable rate mortgages that started with a 1% interest rate.  A 1% interest rate!  If you are a bank that is offering a mortgage program with a 1% interest rate to investors you deserve to have the home foreclosed on.  Offering a 1% interest rate to an investor is like leaving a chocolate cake at a Weight Watchers meeting.  "I trust all of you to be responsible with this chocolate cake and only take as much as you need.  Even though you have a history of over indulgence, and by definition need to be part of a governing organization due to your lack of control with desserts, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt".  That cake will be eaten immediately!

"Hyattsville is the new Bethesda"

"I said it first.  It is happening right now" says Lance London the restaurateur and owner of Carolina Kitchen Bar and Grille which is coming to Hyattsville in late May.  The article in the Prince Georges Gazette says the new restaurant will have a fireside lounge, waterfall, two rooms for private events and a tunnel where Jazz bands play every Thursday night.  Check out the full article here. Download CarolinaKitchen.pdf .

It's Million Dollar Monday! The Bicycle Trail Edition

This weekend before the Gods of rain descended on DC, Christina and I were able to take a fun bike ride along the Northwest Branch Trail.  We caught the trail at Magruder Park in Hyattsville and took it up to Lake Artemesia in College Park.  In total about a 12 mile trip.  There was some beautiful nature along the trail including birds, flowers and a turtle that was trying to cross the paved trail.  (Why did the turtle cross the trail? Please insert a punchline in the comments section.) For million dollar Monday, I want to showcase a home that borders another great nature/hiker biker trail of the East Coast, the C & O Canal.

3303 Water Street NW, Washington DC 20007 is right around the corner from all of your favorite boutique shops in Georgetown.  The home features 2 Bedrooms, 2 Full Bathrooms, and a Study/Den with a custom built-in Murphy bed.  The home has a wonderful view of the historic canal plus a rooftop pool with views of the Potomac River & Key Bridge. Other amenities include a Luxury kitchen, a Parking Space, Extra Storage, 24 hour security, a Doorman, and is Pet Friendly.  From the home you can jump on your bike and take the 184.5 mile C & O canal trail up the Potomac to Cumberland, MD.  The home is listed at $1.7 million.  View the Photo Tour.

Cafe Azul - Open for business at the Arts District Hyattsville

One of the large developments being built in Hyattsville is the EYA project, Arts District Hyattsville.  Many townhomes have already been sold and condo presales are going on in the community.  So where are all of these people going to eat?  Enter, Cafe Azul.  The townhomes that are located on Route 1(Baltimore Avenue) are live/work homes with commercial space on the ground floor and living space upstairs.  Cafe Azul has the prime location on the corner of Baltimore Ave and Longfellow Street. 

Cafe Azul specializes in Mediterranean and Latin style Salads, Soups and Paninis. As well as delicious pastries, fresh gourmet Mayorga coffee and tropical smoothies.  For a long time in Hyattsville there has been a question of where can I eat outside?  Cafe Azul has outdoor tables for that Spring/Summer meal that needs to be in the sun.  Christina and I ordered the Andaluza Salad (artichoke, avocado, olives, mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes and vinaigrette) and the Mediterranean Panini (lots of tasty meats plus provolone).  Both were delicious.

There is currently one more live/work rowhome for sale in Arts District Hyattsville.  I am offering a credit of up to 2% of the purchase price to new clients that hire me as their buyer agent for immediate delivery townhomes.  That is right, I am paying you to work for you.  Take a look at the live work unit currently available here.

What You Get For The Money - DC, PG and MoCo

I do the majority of my real estate sales work in Washington DC, Montgomery County and Prince Georges County.  I always find it interesting to compare how far your hard earned dollars can go in each area.  Today we are looking at the $400,000.00 - $410,000.00 price range.

The first home is a Cape Cod in downtown Silver Spring.  Located at 7901 Woodbury Street, this home is walking distance to the Silver Spring metro and the restaurants and shopping.  The home has 2 bedrooms on the main level, 1 bedroom on the top level and 2 bedrooms in the basement.  It is priced at $409,000.00.

The second home is a Victorian in Historic Hyattsville. Located at 4916 40th Place this home has 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths.  Some unique features include a wrap around porch on the ground level and a sleeper porch upstairs.  It is priced at $409,500.00. Photos.

The final home is a 1 bedroom and 1 bath condo at 1314 Massachusetts Ave in the Logan neighborhood of DC. The 1937 Art Deco building has been restored with all new amenities. Don't miss the brick accent wall or the hardwood floors. It is priced at $404,000.00. Photos.

It's Million Dollar Monday! The Hollywood Edition

This past weekend was the 48 Hour Film Project in Washington DC.  Over 100 production teams gathered at the Warehouse Theater to write, film, edit and score a 7 minute movie based on a genre pulled out of a hat.  My production team drew the Thriller/Suspense genre and made a movie about what can go wrong at a dinner party.  All of the lights, camera and action inspired me to find a little bit of Hollywood contemporary architecture here in DC.

3811 Inverness Drive is a contemporary home found in Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815.  The home sits on a half acre lot (very private, away from the paparazzi).  The home has a heated two car garage (One spot for your every day driver and a second spot for your Bentley Phantom).  The home also has a lofted office space (A workspace where you can edit your films) that looks out over a projection TV media room (Where you can screen your films).  All of this is inside the beltway for just $1,199,000.00.  There are some great interior pics on the photo tour.

 

Hyattsville Victorian Photo Tour

Thank you to everyone who was able to come to my open house on Gallatin Street in Hyattsville this past Sunday.  We had people beating down the door at 1pm to come and see the home.  If you didn't have a chance to stop by, don't worry.  I have put together a photo tour of thirty photos that you can watch here.  Below are some of my favorite pictures of the home. The first picture is the front view of the home that showcases its Victorian style architecture.  The second photo is of a goldfish pond in the backyard.  The third photo is a view of Saint Jeromes Church through the window above the shower.  The final photo is the unfinished space above the 3 car garage.  This would be great for a home office, yoga studio or artist's loft.

Bank Owned, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Oh My!

If you have turned on any news program in the last year, you have heard about the rising amount of Bank Owned, Foreclosure and Short Sale properties for sale.  Or as I call them BOFSS.  (I just coined that phrase so if it turns up anywhere else, just remember it started here).  In many cases it is tragic that home buyers were given bad loans they didn't understand and are now losing their homes.  In other cases it is poetic justice that home buyers lied about their income and over extended themselves and are losing their homes.  Regardless of how it happened, BOFSS are now a part of the home buying arena.

BOFSS are in every sector of the market, million dollar mansions, five hundred thousand dollar condos and two hundred and fifty thousand dollar starter homes.  Many home buyers are actively pursuing BOFFS because they expect to get a deal of a lifetime.  While that can be true, I think the real opportunity is for homes that are not BOFSS but are in neighborhoods that have BOFSS.  For example, when you submit an offer to a bank for a BOFSS home, it can take the bank up to 90 days to give you an answer yes or no.  A non BOFSS home will usually give you an answer in 24 hours. 

Once a BOFSS home accepts your offer, they start doing the research on the home and can come back to you at any point and say they changed their mind and want more money.  When a non BOFSS home signs a contract it is legally binding and cannot be changed. 

When you negotiate with a BOFSS home you are negotiating with a banker who does not care at all if he sells the home.  When you negotiate with a non BOFSS home the seller cares a great deal about selling the home and is willing to make concessions to get the deal done.

Sellers that are surrounded by BOFSS have lowered their prices and are ready to make a deal.  So if you are thinking about buying a home, you can still take advantage of Bank Owned, Foreclosure and Short Sale homes without even buying one.

It's Million Dollar Monday! The NFL Draft Addition

This weekend was the NFL Draft.  Hundreds of Collegiate stars made the jump to professional status.  The Washington Redskins selected Devin Thomas of Michigan State, Fred Davis of USC, and Malcolm Kelly of Oklahoma with their first three picks.  Needless to say, Michigan, Southern California and Oklahoma are a far drive from FedEx Field in Landover, MD.  My suggestion for these soon to be Pro Bowlers is to buy a home with their big signing bonuses.

I have selected three extravagant homes in three of Maryland's finest neighborhoods near FedEx Field.  The first is 12506 Pleasant Prospect Road in Bowie, MD.  This home has a list price of $1.25 million and sits on two acres of land in the gated Woodmore community.  The Cribs photo tour. 

The next home is 12501 Haxall Court in Fort Washington, MD and priced at $2.75 million.  This home in the Tantallon on the Potomac neighborhood is just minutes to the new National Harbor project plus it backs to the water so feel free to splurge on a large boat or mulitple jet skis. The Cribs photo tour. 

The last home is 131220 Croom Road in Upper Marlboro, MD.  Priced at $1.755 million this home has a guest quarters for your entourage, a media room for studying game film and an indoor swimming pool to stretch tired muscles after games.  The Cribs photo tour.

Open House (Party) Sunday 1-4pm Hyattsville Victorian

This Sunday I am holding an Open House (Party) at my listing on 4305 Gallatin Street in Hyattsville.  I like to call it an Open House (Party) because I am inviting all of my friends, neighbors and readers to stop by the home.  Much like a Professor, consider 1-4pm my office hours.  This completely rebuilt home on Gallatin Street might not be for you(it probably is, though. It's an awesome home.) but you might know a friend who is looking or will be able to give us some great feedback to make the house even better.  So if you are a diligent reader of the blog and we have never met, come out on Sunday and introduce yourself.  I would love to see you.