washington dc: For Rent in Capitol Riverfront, DC's Hottest New Neighborhood - 12/16/12 10:33 AM
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washington dc: Makeshift Home For A Week - 10/05/12 12:20 PM
You might have seen the "booths" or huts this, public ones in the street or private ones on balconies or in backyards, in which mane families take their meals this week. It's the Jewish fall festival of Sukkot, a kind of Thanksgiving for our homes, for everything that sustains us and that others did not have in the past or even today. (You can read the original blog on this here.)
The snapshops in this slideshow, some from Downtown Washington, but most of them from the DC suburbs, were taken by friends and clients of mine (and a couple of them … (1 comments)

washington dc: How Not to Renovate Your Historically Significant Home - 12/19/11 05:18 PM
Seeing the house in person was a bit like an encounter with a vampire: A once charming creature, full of life, adventures and stories, had turned into a bloodless, lifeless shell, generic, functional, and ... dead.
Not that I ever have encountered a vampire, but you will get my point here very soon.
For the past few weeks, I have been scrutinizing new listings in our area--in particular, houses built in the 1920s--for their kit home potential. Imagine my excitement last week when I came across a 1923 Sears "Fullerton" that's for sale right now--in a NE Washington D.C. neighborhood near … (9 comments)

washington dc: When Men Were Still Handy, Part II - 12/12/11 01:04 PM
Well, turns out that--at least in Washington--the average middle class guy in the early 20th century might not have known that much more about house building after all. But we'll get to that later.
Yesterday, I promised more on kit homes. Here we go.
The next amazing discovery I made when I was browsing all kinds of libraries and websites to find out more about the other big pre-cut/catalog companies. (Sears, Roebuck and Co. has not only been the most written about, most well-known and largest in numbers of units sold; the term "Sears home" has also become more or less … (10 comments)

washington dc: When Men Were Still Handy - 12/10/11 10:07 AM
Original Source: The House In The Post
  1917 Sears mail order bungalow in Washington DC's Shepherd Park neighborhood. Photo: Piers Lamb/Evers & Co.
Last week, my business partner, Marcie Sandalow, and I had a listing appointment at a great old house. The owner mentioned it had been a mail order home, not from the Sears catalog but rather from another, a little less well-known kit company.
That was a neat little fact because there is a growing fan base for these homes. There are dozens of them hidden in Washington’s old “streetcar suburbs” –such as Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, the … (15 comments)

washington dc: Wow! What A Morning In Chevy Chase! - 10/05/11 04:25 AM
"What?!," asked my pre-teen daughter, "we are what?" 
"Getting up a bit earlier and walking to school," I said. "October 5th is National Walk-To-School Day."
"You've got to be kidding."
My daughter normally takes the bus to a magnet school that is--according to Google--2.7 miles from our house.  Walking allows for a cut through public park land--according to Google Maps 2.3 miles and an estimated 50 minutes.
When she heard that fresh croissants from a bakery on the way could be part of the picture, the kid came around.
We took off in perfect walking weather.  It was a crisp, sunny … (7 comments)

washington dc: New in North Cleveland Park - 09/17/11 06:25 AM
(Under contract as of 9/30/2011)
Just entered a fabulous new listing--lots of space and charm, and WalkScore gives it a great rating of 91 (on a scale from 0-100). 
Meanwhile, fall seems to circle in on us in DC.  It's a grey and cool day--let's hope things will look better when we're starting to show the house tomorrow.

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washington dc: Faster, Less Expensive, Less Permanent - 08/30/11 05:56 AM
It was a joyous day on Sunday, when we all came out of our houses to assess the damage that wasn't.  I had fallen asleep to some scary wind gusts that occasionally bent the 120 foot trees in my neighbors' backyard much more than I liked.  When I woke up in the morning I instantly noticed the humming of the AC--we still had power!  Outside, the air was fresh and clean. 
My parents--visiting from Berlin--didn't understand a thing that was going on, neither the three-day hype before nor our fears when the winds arrived or the relief when they had passed, … (6 comments)

washington dc: To Car Or Not To Car - 02/14/11 09:53 AM
What’s the ultimate dwelling here, the true staple of real estate in Washington, DC? Yes, of course: the 3-bedroom brick or stone colonial. Sure, we have plenty of grander architecture as well. And yes, there are tons of 19th-century townhouses, some scattered farm houses and the split levels and ramblers of the mid-century sprawl development. But if there is anything that you’d call “typical” for this town and its close-in suburbs, it would be a smaller, solidly built 1930s or 1940s colonial.
By then, garages—probably a sign of post-depression prosperity--had become very common as well, many of them built into the … (3 comments)

washington dc: Drain, Drain, Go Away... - 11/04/10 08:28 AM
Help!!  This one is for you house doctors, you diagnosticians of home anatomy. 
It happens all the time, especially in the DC area where former swamp land and clay soil have formed a hostile union:  mold in the basement, wet carpets, rotten doorposts, peeling paint, a nasty, mildewy smell, and all the  other indications of chronic water intrusion.
Such we found in an otherwise beautiful and well-kept house.  The inspector thought that a detached downspout/drain extension pipe might have been the reason water was standing at that corner of the house, and a visit to the property in the rain seemed … (6 comments)

washington dc: The Shark on The Kitchen Counter - 11/02/10 04:41 PM
Here we are: It’s late in the day, and I’m trying to pick out properties for a buyer I’m going to meet in the morning. It doesn’t help when all the places look alike in that price range, does it?
Next on the list is just one more renovated condo, number 17 of 23, or something like that. It’s in a nice place in a charming landmark DC building on 16th St, but the interior looks rather non-descript. I must have seen this a thousand times: blonde cabinets, black granite counters, stainless steel appliances, stackable Euro-style washing machine, exposed duct work—you … (25 comments)

washington dc: Wooo...How To Find The Most Spooky Houses - 10/26/10 08:50 AM
Now, if you're reading this because you're expecting some tips on where to take the kids for a little Halloween thrill this weekend, I have to disappoint you.  Rather, I'm talking about the real thing. 
Opening the Zillow "PRO" newsletter today, I got pointed to an apparent new service they offer--identifying the "most hauted houses in the U.S."  (PROS: Make sure to check there before your next listing appointment--it might help you avoid unpleasant surprises!)
For an alternative, and probably more comprehensive, directory, visit HauntedHouses.com.  The site's operators make a very professional distinction between "real" (i.e., serious) and "fun" (i.e., … (1 comments)

washington dc: Sitting Tight On Your Money Seat - 08/31/10 06:46 AM
Mind you, this is the master bathroom of an old, architecturally amazing "upper brackets" home in Washington DC's most expensive and exclusive neighborhood.
If you want to make it in this world, you must never lose your focus. Not even here. Instead of pouring money down the drain you’d better sit on it. The owner of this home seems to be, well, leading the way here.
I’m not an expert or collector of coins, but it looked like there were some pretty cool special editions incorporated. And I’m aware that part of this home’s stunning charm comes from its time-capsule-like thorough datedness. And … (6 comments)

washington dc: Mansion Murder Mystery - 08/30/10 04:29 AM
My jaw dropped when I started reading. This was not what I had in mind when I was looking for some cool old stories or trivia around the house.
I had just come back from a listing appointment with smart and pleasant sellers. The “subject” was an old house, and--as always—it tickled my curiosity. DC is an old town with lots of history, and many of the homes have seen fascinating events and/or have had fascinating owners. As buyers and sellers alike love to learn about the history of their houses, I often go through a variety of sources—picture archives, newspaper … (9 comments)

washington dc: The Architectural Demands Of Trash - 08/01/10 12:59 AM

The lines between trash and recyclables are blurry and a favorite source of arguments, at least in our house.   We've never gotten straight answers on issues like cardboard packaging with glossy outside layers (does it go in the paper can or not?), broken glass (with the bottles or the trash?), or plastic toys.
The Germans, however, seem to have got this down.  The city of Berlin, for instance (where I arrived a couple of days ago), mandates everybody to sort their trash into 6 categories, and with great educational effort, the government makes sure every trash-producing citizen gets it.   
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washington dc: Please Explain This Nasty Blackout To Me - 07/25/10 05:41 PM
 
What am I missing here?  It's Sunday night, close to midnight, and I'm sitting in the Evers & Company office, presumably the only person left in the building.  Am I here because I'm writing a contract? Or because I'm putting this awesome listing presentation together for tomorrow morning?  Or because I love the mountain of chocolates for "visitors" Billy keeps at the front desk?   Oh, no, none of the above.
I'm sitting here because my house, like - as of this minute - 211,000 others in Montgomery County and DC, has no power.  Why is that? I really don't have … (9 comments)

washington dc: Inside The Beltway, The Homes Are Smiling: Has Washington DC Been Insulated From The Housing Bubble? - 07/23/10 06:18 AM
Aren’t we lucky to live Inside the Beltway? Once again I was reminded of how differently the real estate and even the job market have weathered the crisis in DC when I listened to my broker on NPR yesterday. Donna Evers, together with the Washington Post’s real estate editor, Elizabeth Razzi, and Lisa Sturtevant, a professor from George Mason, was invited to discuss “A Housing Market Recovery” on the Kojo Nnamdi Show. The talk was on “healthy signs of recovery” that we might see here, and even the ever-so-cautious Razzi admitted that this is a great time to buy in the … (0 comments)

washington dc: DC’s “Real” Colonial Homes – A Well-Kept Secret - 07/19/10 09:50 AM
No, I’m not talking about 18th century houses which we don’t have a whole lot of here. (There have been too many termites, fires and riots in the Nation’s Capital.) Nor am I talking about the type of house we have more than enough of—probably 90 percent if you believe the realtors’ classification in the MLS--: the brick “Colonial.” (When in doubt, it’s always a Colonial.)
I’m talking about an amazingly beautiful NW Washington DC neighborhood that many of the city’s inhabitants west of Rock Creek Park have barely heard of: the original part of the "Colonial Village" near the northern … (2 comments)

washington dc: Kalorama Triangle--New Listing - 04/09/10 10:32 AM
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washington dc: Renting Out or Losing Out? Help!! - 01/08/10 06:28 AM

"Well," said the seller when she called me back, "I think I changed my mind.  I have decided to move away, but rather than selling, I'd rent out my house for a year or two."  In her new town, she could rent something for herself, and when she was ready to buy again, she'd just sell the DC property then.  Also, in case she wanted to come back, she might otherwise not be able to afford a house in this hot neighborhood.
Of course, we all have heard this idea a lot more often from potential sellers in recent years.  … (6 comments)