October 2006
Monthly Archive
28 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Chips Off an Old Sandstone Cutter’s Block
Rural, winding Berryville Road can be as difficult to pinpoint as it is to navigate. Just ask lifelong Berryville Road resident Shirley Shields.
28 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Developer Claiming ‘Force Majeure’ Must Prove It
Q: I signed a contract a little more than two years ago to purchase a to-be-built condominium unit. I gave the developer a hefty down payment. My sales contract says that settlement must take place within two years. I inspect the building weekly, and it does not look like a lot of work has been done.
28 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Tax Panel Backs More IRS Clout
Watch out: Home real estate is back in the sights of Capitol Hill tax writers.
28 Oct 2006 12:00 am
At Mount Vernon, New Centers Offer Lessons in Harmony
This has been a big week for George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, the official name of that extraordinary property overlooking the Potomac River.
28 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Q: DEAR BOB: My house has been on the market for more than 18 months. Despite scores of open houses and showings by agents, no offers. It is a gorgeous five-bedroom, four-bath home with a three-car heated garage. The area is not economically depressed. We can't figure out any ideas to sell it,...
24 Oct 2006 12:00 am
On Loudoun’s Horizon, a Taste of Opulence
Think cathedral ceilings, marble countertops and a back door that opens to a golf course represent the ultimate in luxury living?
21 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Q Our basement is infested with crickets. For years, they have resisted our efforts to control them with sprays. We are considering trying an ultrasonic device because we do not like to use strong chemicals in the house. Do ultrasonic devices really work? Are there better ways to deal with this...
21 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Empty Nests Clear Way for Big Changes
Phyllis and Ronnie Zweig loved the six-bedroom Bethesda house where they lived for 23 years and raised three children, now ages 25, 24 and 22.
21 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Cardinal Forest’s Woodsy Roosts
Deborah Rhoad is always pleased with how many people she meets while walking her beagle, Carolina, around Cardinal Forest, on the northwest side of Laurel in Howard County.
18 Oct 2006 10:32 am
In Showtime's cult hit "Weeds," Mary Louise Parker plays a recently widowed housewife who resorts to pot dealing to pay the mortgage in a fictional planned community called Agrestic.
18 Oct 2006 10:06 am
Real estate brochures love to tout "location, location, location." But if they're meant to sell a condominium or town house in Georgetown, the hyperbole might be true. The historic streets and brick sidewalks of D.C.'s oldest neighborhood may well represent the ultimate capital address.
18 Oct 2006 12:00 am
House Sales In Region Increasingly Called Off
NVR Inc., the region's largest home builder, said yesterday that four out of 10 of its new-home sales in the Washington area were canceled last quarter, making it the latest builder to report that more buyers are backing out of deals.
14 Oct 2006 12:00 am
The real estate ad calls the condo a "charming 1-bedroom in the heart of Dupont." The online review, however, says it "Smells Like Cats." A D.C. rowhouse is being advertised as "newly renovated" and "spacious," but a critic labels it "possibly the most overpriced unit I have seen in Washington."
14 Oct 2006 12:00 am
As Julie Eisenhower tells it, her mother, Patricia Nixon, favored the English Tudor home her family occupied in Wesley Heights over any other -- maybe even the big white one on Pennsylvania Avenue.
14 Oct 2006 12:00 am
In Mount Airy, Panoramas at the Right Price
Something about scraping the manure off their shoes at a rainy county fair a few years back convinced Rick and Mary Anne Smith that "hobby farming" would suit them.
14 Oct 2006 12:00 am
CHICAGO -- Investing in real estate most likely won't produce the get-rich-quick results promised by many a late-night infomercial. But for investors willing to do some homework, make a good purchase and properly manage a piece of property, the rewards can be substantial. First, consider what...
14 Oct 2006 12:00 am
With all the dismal reports about the home real estate market, don't lose track of something critically important: Mortgage interest rates have been falling quietly but steadily for weeks and are now at their lowest level in half a year, barely a percentage point above 40-year lows.
14 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Most Building Projects Exceed Ballpark Estimates
No real estate developer, construction contractor or architect is surprised that the cost of the Washington Nationals baseball stadium keeps escalating.
13 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Liveliest D.C. Neighborhoods Also Jumping With Robberies
Some of Washington's most vibrant neighborhoods, destinations for suburbanites, barhoppers and urban professionals, share a lesser-known distinction: They have the highest concentrations of holdups in the city. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said he worries about the potential for lethal... Some...
12 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Around D.C., a Cheaper House May Cost You
One of the lures of the outer suburbs is more house -- maybe even one with a big yard -- for less money. But a new study shows that the savings are illusory: The costs of longer commutes are so high that they can outweigh the cheaper mortgage payments.
10 Oct 2006 06:18 pm
D.C. Area Homes Stay on the Market Longer
It's taking longer and longer to sell homes in the Washington area--and even longer in the outer suburbs, a new survey reports.
07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Jackson and Julia MacInnis's house in Alexandria boasts six bedrooms.
07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
‘The Super Bowl of Real Estate’
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Donald Trump's property for sale here has all the big-time extras one might expect. Pricey marble and 24-karat gold fixtures decorate bathrooms. There's a gargantuan fountain in the driveway and 475 feet of oceanfront out back.
07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Front-Row Seating for Nature’s Parade
Carol Chambers once found a timber rattler napping on her front stoop. However, that unsettling occurrence has long since been overshadowed by the many delightful nature encounters she and her husband, Frank, enjoy on their wooded, waterfront property in Waterview Plantation.
07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Tony Hix, a do-it-yourselfer who recently renovated his Washington house, has now decided he can sell it himself, too.
07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Waiting Is Often the Best Move
NEW YORK -- Someday, 26-year-old Lisa Carlson would like to own her own home. But now, she's happy sharing a rented apartment with a friend in suburban Minneapolis.
07 Oct 2006 12:00 am
DEAR BOB: What recourse does a home seller have against a deadbeat real estate agent?
03 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Most Blacks, Hispanics in Area Own Homes
A majority of black and Hispanic households in metropolitan Washington now own their houses instead of renting, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
01 Oct 2006 12:00 am
To Get Your Bearings, Start Here
All of us need a little help finding our way sometimes.
01 Oct 2006 12:00 am
Depending on whom you ask, the housing market is either taking a little breather or perched on a cliff, returning to normal or headed for a bust.