chevy chase: Kenwood Forest Active Listings for Rent or Sale
- 07/23/09 03:20 PM
One of my favorite parts of Bethesda (actually technically Chevy Chase) is the townhouse community of Kenwood Forest located near the intersection of Bradley Blvd and Arlington Road.
Currently there are two homes on the market at Kenwood Forest. 4886 Chevy Chase Drive is a 2 bedroom (previously 3 bedroom), 2 full bath and one half bath townhome with a table space kitchen, separate dining room, and living room. This house is an end unit and sits at the intersection of Hillandale and Chevy Chase Drive. There is no basement. It has been freshly painted and has new beige carpet throughout. The appliances appear to be … (1 comments)
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chevy chase: A Letter to Buyers about Appraisals
- 07/22/09 01:59 PM
Dear Buyer,
You may have heard about the new changes in the appraisal laws for any Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages which took effect recently. Beginning May 1, the responsibility for managing home appraisals moved to a middleman, known as appraisal management companies or AMCs.Under new federal regulations, mortgage brokers and loan officers can't directly order appraisals. Instead, they are expected to go through third-party AMCs, which are supposed to prevent them from pressuring appraisers.
One fall out of these new regulations is that there may be fewer indpendent appraisers since the majority of them will now be on staff. This … (0 comments)
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chevy chase: The Purple Line Moves Ahead (Slowly Still)
- 06/18/09 03:16 PM
The proposed Purple Line will be a 16 mile light rail line between Bethesda and New Carollton.Maryland. It has already received approval from the Montgomery and Prince Georges County councils and Chief Executives. Now, it has received unanimous approval from the National Capitol Transportation Planning Board. The chief criticism of the Purple Line has come from Bethesda/Chevy Chase residents who worry that the Purple Line, if built, will negatively impact the Crescent Trail, a favorite spot for bikers and walkers of all ages.
Other concerns were that the planned location of the Purple Line's Bethesda depot at Woodmont East (near the Barnes and Noble) is too … (0 comments)
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chevy chase: Chapter One of Shift
- 05/05/09 03:06 PM
My goal this month is carefully to read Shift by Gary Keller and really try to apply it. As part of my discipline to accomplish this goal, I am going to share my thoughts about the chapter that I read each day. Hopefully it will encourage you to read Shift also.
Chapter one begins with a review of how markets shift. As Mr. Keller points out, we live through seasonal market shifts each year. June July and August are busy. December generally gives us that welcome time to spend with friends and family.
Seasonal shifts are fine, but the local shifts from sellers … (1 comments)
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chevy chase: My First Market Leader Client
- 04/27/09 04:42 PM
I have been doing Market Leader for a little less than a month, and I am delighted to report that I am working with one very active buyer and am actively emailing a young doctor in Florida who will be moving to DC this summer. I am happy with the results so far, even though I don't seem to be meeting my total performance quotas according to the weekly status checks from Market Leader (worse than talking to my manager!). I definately will give it another month at least, and I even recommended it to another agent. I think the website name is … (6 comments)
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chevy chase: A Slightly Broken Leg and a Likely New Client
- 04/16/09 01:04 PM
On spring break with my 15 year old, I tried to race one of her friends on the slalom course and it ended predictably - My daughter's friend won and I fell and fractured my leg - at least I didn't tear my ACL. Instead, I spent the rest of my spring break recuperating on the sofa in the condo while my daughter and her friend skied all over Vail mountain. I was pretty happy with my computer and time to work without interruptions and grateful for the really superior medical treatment that I received from the Vail doctors. Not … (9 comments)
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chevy chase: The Apple Store is Open
- 04/15/09 03:39 PM
After months of secrecy (that really wasn't a secret), the new Apple store has opened on Bethesda Ave in Bethesda. The new space is directly across from the old Apple store, but easily three times as big as the old location. I ducked in to the new location today to retrieve my 15 year old daughter who was hungrily eyeing a new computer - funny how her "old" IBM is suddenly unsalvageable! The store is beautiful, even on a grey rainy day, but I was struck by how empty it seemed. There probably were just as many people in the new … (3 comments)
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chevy chase: Watching "On the Beach."
- 04/09/09 01:42 PM
I am checking my emails, reading ActiveRain and watching the movie, "On the Beach." I loved and feared this movie as a kid! Do you know this movie? I remember reading the book that preceded the movie when I was 7 years old and being scared witless of nuclear attack - the combination of the book, duck and tuck in school, and the Cuban missile crisis was too much for a child! While "On the Beach" seems a little sophisticated in retrospect, I should explain that my mother had the idea that I should be allowed to read anything I want … (9 comments)
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chevy chase: Market Update on Kenwood Forest
- 03/31/09 01:48 PM
One of the best neighborhoods in Chevy Chase is Kenwood Forest, a community of nearly 400 townhouses and one level one bedroom or studio condos, created between 1978 and 1980 from an apartment complex built after WWII. While prices have dropped over the last 2 years, buyers still call me frequently asking to be notified whenever a new listing comes on the market. Small wonder since Kenwood Forest townhouses are well designed with at least 2 baths upstairs and a half bath on the 1st floor; the community is very well maintained with amazingly low condo fees; and homeowners can walk to … (3 comments)
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chevy chase: No Heat/ No Water - Just Another Day Showing Houses
- 03/21/09 01:28 AM
When I got my associate broker's license in 1989, I joked with my family that I was going to sell $1M houses, pop bonbons, and drive a Jaguar. Of course, the market tanked immediately after I got my license, there were no bonbons (bad for my waistline). I never drove a Jaguar - always drove a Jeep (but hey- they both start with "J"), and I told my family that I was now selling $1M houses for $300k.
Then the market improved, and even rocketed beyond itself. Suddenly I was selling $300k houses for $1M. At least my family and my accountant were happy - … (20 comments)
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chevy chase: The Reality of a Realtor 2009
- 03/20/09 04:03 PM
When I got my associate broker's license in 1989, I joked with my family that I was going to sell $1M houses, pop bonbons, and drive a Jaguar. Of course, the market tanked immediately after I got my license, there were no bonbons (bad for my waistline). I never drove a Jaguar - always drove a Jeep (but hey- they both start with "J"), and I told my family that I was now selling $1M houses for $300k.
Then the market improved, and even rocketed beyond itself. Suddenly I was selling $300k houses for $1M. At least my family and my accountant were happy - … (1 comments)
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chevy chase: The Lament of a Hockey Mother
- 03/16/09 01:45 AM
\ If you have never seen a girls' ice hockey game, you have missed a great sporting event. Girls aren't allowed to check, but otherwise, the game is the same as boys ice hockey. It is fast, and very exciting. Girls play ice hockey really well.
We had our final hockey games this weekend at the PonyTail Tournament in York and Lancaster Pennsylvania. Our girls started out the season so badly that at times we never thought they would win two games in a row. I guess that is the problem with starting a new season - it takes time for the team … (4 comments)
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chevy chase: What Would You Like to Tell the Banks about Short Sales
- 03/12/09 03:39 PM
Before you respond - remember - this is my fantasy - where everything is rational and orderly according to my rules. And yes, I know that the banks are working hard, and we all need to be patient, but this is my fantasy.....
We have been waiting for 6 weeks for the bank to respond to my buyer's offer on a short sale property which was ratified by the seller, but of course is subject to approval by a 3rd party - the bank. In the mean time, the listing agent was directed to increase the list price and continue to market … (6 comments)
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chevy chase: Get Involved. What Would You Like to Learn to Do? Suggestions Welcomed
- 03/08/09 03:12 PM
I am chairing a charity auction this fall to raise money for cystic fibrosis research because my daughter has cystic fibrosis and I am trying to raise as much money as possible for a very worthy cause. Having said that, I should also add that fund raising is not easy these days with the down turn in the economy. Auctions don't raise as much money as they did last year, and I don't think that people donate "stuff" as easily either. (Which is probably a good thing because how much more stuff do any of us need?)
My thought about the auction is that … (8 comments)
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chevy chase: Much Needed Info About Short Sales
- 03/04/09 12:37 PM
I recently posted a blog, Trapped in a Short Sale Nightmare, and got lots of comments and even more information and advice. Since almost all of us are all dealing with short sales, I want to share the benefit of everyone's advice with you in a shortened form. Here is what I learned:
•1) Short Sales are long in time. If your buyer is under a time constraint, a short sale is not the answer.
•2) If you get involved in a short sale, you need a lot of patience!
•3) Each bank treats short sales differently. It is really important to talk to … (3 comments)
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chevy chase: Trapped in a Short Sale Nightmare
- 02/25/09 07:51 AM
I read Corey Samson's posting this morning about short sales - Hoax or Opportunity, where he said the following:
Experienced agents qualify a property and a seller with the bank before setting a price. They request and receive a "Broker Price Opinion" on the value of what a Realtor thinks it would sell for. The price is not based on retail or on foreclosure value but somewhere in the middle.
The experienced listing agent also has a "negotiator" assigned to the transaction to move swiftly once a contract has been secured.
To find the opportunities, look for words like "approved" "BPO" … (50 comments)
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chevy chase: There is a Silver Lining to Foreclosures
- 02/22/09 03:51 AM
Yes, I realize that it is hard to put the words "foreclosure"and "silver lining" together in the same sentence. However, while the foreclosure is a tragedy on a personal level for someone or a whole family and a national tragedy for all of us, it does create an opportunity for home ownership for someone who had been priced out of the housing market before.
The Washington Post just did an article in its real estate section this weekend talking about the beneficiaries of the housing bust - young couples who couldn't afford to buy a home before. These buyers are helping all … (45 comments)
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chevy chase: What is on Your Bucket List?
- 02/17/09 02:55 PM
No doubt you saw the movie, Bucket List, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The two of them, who met in the hospital, spend the movie living life to the fullest as they both plan for imminent death. They race cars, climb mountains, and generally have a great time together as they make up for lost time and do those things that they always wanted to do but never did.
So what is on your bucket list? In this economy which is wearing on all of us as we try to stay ahead of the curve, it seems even more important to reward ourselves … (11 comments)
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chevy chase: FACEBOOK PARTICIPATION CAN SAVE LIVES!
- 02/15/09 03:03 PM
FOR EVERY 200 MEMBERS ON FACEBOOK THAT JOIN THE CYSTIC FIBROSIS RESEARCH GROUP ON FACEBOOK $1WILL BE DONATED TO THE Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. While $1 isn't much, it is really important because the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation had to cut its research budget by $10 million dollars this year. We have to work really hard to raise that extra money and keep the resarch budget going! My daughter has cystic fibrosis so this is very important to me and 30,000 other Americans. There are already over 46,000 members, and I hope you will be part of that growing group. Can you imagine if everyone on … (3 comments)
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chevy chase: What has your Experience been with Short Sales?
- 02/08/09 09:13 AM
Hooray! the seller accepted the contract! but now it has to go to the bank for approval. I have sold other properties that were short sales, but the final sales prices were more in the range of 10% below market value.
This one seems a little different. It originally started out on the market at $2.2 million, then went below $2 million, then to $1.75 million, and finally came to rest at $1.55 million, where there were four offers and a tiny bidding war.
The sellers accepted our offer; we have done the inspection; our financing is great; and now the waiting … (12 comments)
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One of my favorite parts of Bethesda (actually technically Chevy Chase) is the townhouse community of Kenwood Forest located near the intersection of Bradley Blvd and Arlington Road. 
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