pat kennedy: DC's Eastern Market: Foodie Heaven on Capitol Hill - 05/06/12 07:26 PM
If you live on Capitol Hill, what you pay for your house probably had a lot to do with how close it is, not to our nation's Capitol building, but its proximity to DC's Eastern Market.
Built in 1873, Eastern Market is the oldest continuously operated farmer's market in the city. It's a great place to buy meat, seafood and produce. You can also find beautiful flowers and a fix for that sweet tooth.
The lunch counter is famous for its crab cake sandwiches, a treat that I enjoyed just this past Friday coming home from a morning listing appointment.
On … (4 comments)
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pat kennedy: This House Blew That Only Chance To Make A First Impression! - 04/14/11 10:46 AM
A house in my neighborhood recently went on the market, and being the Crestwood expert, I ran right over to see it. Like many Washington, DC homes, it has several sets of steps leading from the sidewalk to the front door. And they look like this:
Now, let's talk curb appeal - or the lack thereof - and the real life impact it has on people who see your home.
This is a house with a past. It sold a few years ago in "as is" condition - a granny house needing a serious face lift with a very funky … (52 comments)
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pat kennedy: Search For a New DC Home: Your Voice Says “No, no, no” but Your Eyes Say “Yes, Yes, Yes!” Or Do They? - 04/05/11 11:13 AM
Search For a New DC Home: Your Voice Says “No, no, no” but Your Eyes Say “Yes, Yes, Yes!” Or Do They?
Once before I was a real estate agent, an ex-husband and I were on a search for a new DC home. And I’ll never forget one of the agents who showed us one apartment.
It was way too small. It was dark as a dungeon. I hated it and just wanted to get back out into sunshine.
And this guy proceeded to aggressively answer objections. As I look back on this experience, I remember that, while I … (32 comments)
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pat kennedy: Friday Fotos: The US Capitol Early This Morning - 03/19/11 12:15 AM
This morning, I got up very early to take some friends to catch the Megabus to head for North Carolina. Then I headed over to Capitol Hill to get a few photos. So here is the Capitol, looking west, away from the sun.
When I got there, I realized that I'd forgotten to put the memory card back into my Lumix. Drats! but my I-phone was in my pocket and there in a pinch.
So here you see the Capitol building early in the morning, before our congressional representatives have even thought about heading over to do an honest … (40 comments)
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pat kennedy: The Dupont Circle Farmers' Market: Foodie Heaven - 05/16/10 11:09 PM
The Dupont Circle Farmers' Market
This morning, I woke up with a huge yen for strawberries. Not just any strawberries, but some of the locally grown berries that you can smell from half a block away.
So we headed for the Dupont Circle farmer's market, where local farmers bring fresh produce, organic meat, very fresh eggs from happy hens, and potted plants.
On Sunday morning, neighbors grab their shopping bags and people drive in from other parts of town, on the naive hopes of actually finding a parking space. And we were lucky to find one.
We … (19 comments)
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pat kennedy: Pick Me! Choose Me! Love Me! And When They Don’t - 04/30/10 12:26 PM
In early 2009, I got a very nice call from someone wanting to see Rosedale Cottage, a lovely historic property that I had listed in Cleveland Park. He found me on Trulia and asked me if I could also show him some other properties in that neighborhood and in Georgetown. I was to keep it under $3,000,000. I can do that!I Googled him, he looked pretty impressive, and when he came to town it was with an appointment with me to see some pretty fabulous houses.But when he got here, he explained he and his wife were planning to move to … (5 comments)
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pat kennedy: Shingle Wise, House Foolish - 09/23/09 10:20 PM
My seller just signed one of the offers that came in on her adorable house in Brookland. And they were both strong. One agent is had a lucky day, and the other, well, didn't.It was just one tiny, but at the same time huge difference in the offers.Lucky Agent’s offer included a lender’s letter is from a medium size local lender. The loan officer has been in the business for longer than I have, and when I called to ask how they would handle the appraisal, I liked his answer. They use a local appraisal firm familiar with in-town neighborhoods. Unlucky … (25 comments)
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pat kennedy: Using the "L" Word - 09/16/09 08:07 PM
There comes a time in every relationship where one or the other person – maybe even both of them - wants to use the “L” word. But it gets tricky. Neither one wants to go first. Then you feel like the writers for Sex and the City are taking over your life.It’s dangerous to say it first. What if you say it and he’s not there yet? What if you thought you heard him say it but he really didn’t? Then you say it and he gets that look on his face. Ewww!Well, Brad Blanton, author of Radical Honesty and my … (27 comments)
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pat kennedy: Wordless Wednesday: Ain't Love Grand? - 09/16/09 10:08 AM
© 2009 Patricia Kennedy. Unless otherwise noted, the content, both written and in pictures, is the property of Patricia Kennedy . If you would like to use this image, please email me (housepat@mac.com) with your request. I'll almost certianly say yes, and ask only that you provide a link back to my original content as well as an acknowledgment. The same thing applies to any other material you see posted here on Active Rain or on any of my other blogs.
… (20 comments)
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pat kennedy: What Makes A Kitchen A “Gourmet Kitchen”? - 09/14/09 09:26 PM
What Makes A Kitchen A “Gourmet Kitchen”?I was just running through some virtual tours on rather high end real estate here in DC, and I was struck by how many of the kitchens in these fine homes had the adjective "gourmet" in front of them.And some of these kitchens were indeed gourmet kitchens, nice enough to turn even me into a frequent and enthusiastic cook. But others were pretty blah.One of the less inspiring models was a narrow galley kitchen with granite counters over builder-grade cabinets with inexpensive appliances. It even had an old electric stove - but not old enough … (21 comments)
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pat kennedy: Termites: Things That Go Munch In The Night - 08/28/09 04:23 PM
There is an old saying that when you're buying a house in Washington, DC there are two kinds of houses. The first are the ones that have termites. The second are the houses that will get them.
As a new agent, I used to freak out whenever I listed or sold a house in the first group. But today when I have a listing, I always hope that termites are not going to be an issue. And when I'm representing the buyers, I look at it a little differently. Even if it's not a huge issue, I'd rather that it be … (28 comments)
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pat kennedy: Are Contract Presentations A Lost Art? - 08/11/09 04:02 PM
Back in the day, when I was going to rookie school at the Shannon & Luchs Academy of Real Estate, they spent a lot of time on the rituals that ensue once we'd written a contract. We were taught to call the listing agent, who would almost always arrange a meeting with her and the sellers so the selling agent could "present".
So this meant that you went to either the listing agent's office or the seller's house with offer in hand. And you would go over it with the agent and her sellers, introducing them to both the sellers and … (59 comments)
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pat kennedy: Pumpernickels: Don’t Walk Past This Place When You’re On The “General Motors Diet”! - 08/10/09 11:43 PM
Pumpernickels: Don’t Walk Past This Place When You’re On The “General Motors Diet”!
Chevy Chase's Pumpernickel's Bagel Bakery is a place to avoid when you’re trying to slim down for a big reunion or any other reason. And today was the day I started the infamous GM diet – well General Motors has nothing to do with it, but still. It’s a little extreme, but my neighbor has lost enough weight on it that we’re starting to call him “Slim”.So on day one, you eat fruit. Just fruit. Best if it’s just a day of melon. So, I had several meals … (5 comments)
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pat kennedy: Where's That Nutsy When You Need Him? - 03/11/09 04:17 PM
Dear Mr. Home Inspector:When they passed out the brains, you thought they said "trains", and you took one!You were hired to do a "for information only" home inspection on a listing of mine that is being sold in "as is" condition. And before you came through the door, that condition was pretty darned good.First of all, you tested the alarm system. What???????? In 25 years in this business, I've never known an inspector to test an alarm system. Well, guess what? It worked perfectly! It went off! And you didn't have the code to give the alarm company when they called … (41 comments)
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pat kennedy: Oh The Weather Outside Was Frightful! DC Active Rain Gathering. - 01/28/09 11:41 AM
Yesterday afternoon and early evening, my phone was ringing out of it's little belt holder, with bloggers from all over the region calling to say they were afraid to brave the area roadways. The sidewalks in front of my house started to look like a winter Olympics skating venue as a steady drizzle of freezing rain coated the city, and I couldn't blame them.
Still, the gathering happened! It was smaller, but in some ways almost better!
Last night, I sat around my dining room table with Jonathan Washburn and some favorite area blog buddies, and we talked about all kinds … (38 comments)
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pat kennedy: The Perfect Settlement! - 09/05/08 04:14 PM
This morning, I scooped up a favorite buyer and we were off to Federal Title, where we were finalizing the sale of the new condo he and his wife are buying.
These buyers are major foodies. And I found them a beautiful place with an amazing kitchen, and the Georgetown Whole Foods is only a block away! The place is even pet friendly and welcomed their little dog with open arms!
Not only was the condo perfect, but the listing agent, Judy Ross of Coldwell Banker Residential Properties, and her sellers were wonderful! There was a lot of give and take … (25 comments)
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pat kennedy: So Who Are Your Meeters And Greeters? - 09/02/08 07:42 PM
When your home is for sale, there are two elements of a great first impression.The first, of course, is curb appeal, and a lot has been said about that in other posts. The second is the first thing buyers lays eyes on when they walk through the front door.So today, I was greeted by the little guys on the right as I was going in to preview a house (that did, by the way, have quite fine curb appeal). Now these fellows were not bad. I’ve seen much, much scarier masks in my travels through houses. But should they have been … (33 comments)
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pat kennedy: DuPont Circle: Mixing History With Fun - 08/30/08 10:16 PM
DuPont Circle is an historic neighborhood just inside the “Old City”, that part of Washington included in Pierre L’Enfant’s original plan for the capital. It was a popular place for the late 19th century captains of industry to build mansions for their families, although all too many of these lovely historic residences have fallen to the wrecking ball. Today, there are many Victorian bay front town homes on the side streets, and a few of the original mansions remain as clubs and embassies. At 15 DuPont Circle, The Washington Club occupies the only remaining original mansion on the Circle.After World War … (3 comments)
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pat kennedy: Kalorama: Once And Always, Washington Posh! - 08/30/08 03:51 PM
If you were a rich guy who moved to Washington in 1909 to serve in William Howard Taft’s cabinet, you’d need a really fabulous house. And the coolest new subdivision of that time was up the hill from Dupont Circle, called Kalorama - from Greek meaning “beautiful view”.Some of the mansions built by those turn of the last century moguls are still among the finest residences in the District. This neighborhood is full of Washington’s finest homes and embassies, including the amazing French Embassy on Kalorama Road.So if you are invited to serve in an Obama or McCain administration, you will … (4 comments)
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pat kennedy: The Uninvited Guest Blogger! - 08/28/08 10:56 AM
Pat Kennedy is not home right now. She is never home. She’s out with clients showing some stupid house. She won’t take me with her just because I get carsick and hump legs!I want to be a client!!!So, hi! I’m Willie, and I am the purebred Labradoodle so often maligned in Pat's blog posts. I am also very smart, and Pat has no idea that I know how to use her Mac and have figured out her blogging passwords. (Hint - she does not use the name of her beloved puppy dog! Grrrr!)This is not just an attempt to defend myself, … (44 comments)
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