A New Look for Southeast DC

St. Elizabeths Hospital Gets Green Light

After years of delay, DC’s St. Elizabeths Hospital (home to criminally insane people such as John Hinckley) possibly will begin a huge redevelopment effort to become the next headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). General Services Administration (GSA) has received two crucial approvals necessary to relocate the DHS to the vacant St. Elizabeths West Campus, in Southeast Washington DC. According to GSA, the only hindrance now is to allocate the funds and select the team.

In December, the agency received a favorable Environmental Impact Statement concerning the project; in January, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) gave approval of the GSA’s master plan for the site. This is the first relocation of a federal government agency east of the Anacostia - and one that paves the way for the District to pursue their own redevelopment initiatives in the surrounding Congress Heights neighborhood.

Since DHS is currently housed in 70 buildings at 40 locations throughout the city, GSA determined a move to St. Elizabeths “to be the only reasonable alternative.” It’s a maneuver that will require the construction and renovation of some 4.65 million square feet of office and shared use space, plus construction of a new Coast Guard headquarters and the requisite parking.

With approvals in hand, the GSA expects actual construction to commence by the third quarter of 2009. While this all seems to be great news for the area, locals fear the project may become a high-security fortress that encourages no interaction with the local economy. Others worry about potential harm to the environment from such a massive build-out. Preservationists are most disturbed about changes to St. Elizabeths historic character.

The NCRC report acknowledges that damage will occur to St. Elizabeths buildings, despite the fact that the West Campus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior in 1990. Since the West Campus is a federally-owned parcel, the District's own, typically stringent Historic Preservation Review Board has no bearing on what happens to the structures on the property.

The Fenty administration, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Office of Planning also has plans to redevelop the District-controlled Eastern Campus into more than 2 million square feet of mixed-use development.

St. Elizabeths West is to be built in three phases over the next 8 years – the first of which is intended to start by the end of the year. Though the District has yet to commit to a timeline for their development of the campus' eastern flank, McGill says that, “In terms of putting people in place on campus, the Coast Guard is going to be the first tenant. We anticipate that to be far enough along for them to begin moving in in 2013.”

WHY BUY NOW?

Okay - I admit that I like selling homes, and I like helping people like you find a new home that is that perfect match and a good investment for you. I came across the following remarkable quote from the author, David Bach, which says, "The average homeowner is worth 35 times more than the average renter." If that is true, then that is an amazing statistic!

David Bach advises renters to take action immediately and start saving part of their paycheck every month to help accumulate a down payment. He also encourages renters to borrow 10-20 percent less than what the bank is willing to lend; that way they're only buying as much home as they can afford. (I promise as a point of honor that I never will push you to buy more than that which your comfort level allows.)

The longer you rent, the longer it may take you to eventually get into homeownership. If the market conditions have scared you, perhaps you're not looking at the other side of the coin. Even though you are buying a home for shelter and emotional factors, owning a home still becomes part of your investment portfolio, provides tax benefits, allows you to build equity (it still exists), and, if you buy now, you may get an excellent deal.

However, it is a scary time to jump into the market. As the Washington Post has continually noted, buyers are sitting on the fence, waiting for something to change. In fact, someone recently told me that they were still casually looking for a home, but planning to make a purchase in 6 months since property values were going to continue to go down.

Now, I absolutely agree that property values probably are going to stay soft. Certainly, I don’t expect prices to start to turn up for quite a while – years in fact. However, I don’t agree that waiting is necessarily the best approach.

According to a MarketWatch news article, buying a home now can provide some real negotiating power to request improvements, price reductions, help with closing costs, and more. "People can get a lot of what they need and almost all of what they want today," said Jay Papasan, one of the authors of "Your First Home".

While poor market conditions have created a troubling situation for some homeowners, the downturn has made the buying market ripe for others. The affordability of homes is better than ever. The National Association of Realtors' housing affordability index concluded that homes in December of 2008 were more affordable than at any other point since 1970 (the start of the index). And with numerous foreclosures on the market and prices dropping in many areas, now is a good time to buy. But in order to make your purchase profitable, here are some things you should consider.

How long will you be in the home? Some experts advise that if you are planning to move within a year or even two years, buying may not be the best option because of the expenses associated with moving. However, if you're searching for a place to live for, at least, several years, buying now could be a good choice for you, particularly if you buy a property that has good rental potential in case your plans change unexpectedly.

How much you can afford. Don't let tighter lending regulations scare you off from making a purchase. Instead, understand what you truly can afford. Don't get caught up in buying too much home. In fact, these days, the trend is moving toward smaller homes - simpler living.

Mortgage rates drop to historical low. How much home you can afford is affected by mortgage interest rates that, right now, are highly appealing. Good credit, documenting your income, and a substantial down payment will make you a better candidate for the better mortgage rates.

Freedom to choose. Now, unlike several years ago, the market has a large inventory in many areas. The market time to sell a home has increased which creates a large inventory of homes, everything including new, existing, and foreclosures. Buyers can peruse the market and have the freedom to select the home they really want. If you're interest is in a new home, know that many developers are getting more competitive with their pricing because they also have taken a hit by the ailing economy.

Quality of life. Buying a home can create a higher quality of life, giving you pride of homeownership, and something to enjoy improving and developing over the years.

Tax credit benefit. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides for a $8,000 tax credit that would be available to first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1.

There are lots of opportunities out there. Last night I saw a new listing just posted - a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo on 13th St. near M St. It is a foreclosure listed for $339,900 - 1000 sq ft - loft style. A one bedroom in the same building sold in October for $333,000- but was only 680 sq. ft. The foreclosure is being sold as is and is a perfect candidate for a loan that includes renovation financing. (That is the building at the top of this blog.)

So - if you are ready to take advantage of this very interesting market, just give me a call. I will be glad to help you find your dream home.

Last Year When We Used to Be Rich - or the Tale of My Washing Machine

I have been waiting for over 5 weeks for Sears to repair my one year old washing machine. Sears repair men have come out four different times with various new replacement parts but the washing machine is a big, new, complicated front loading steam washing machine, which can't be fix. These days, nothing is fixed any more - whole panel boards are pulled out and replaced because all our appliances are so computerized that they defy repair. Of course, every time that Sears replaced a component in my washing machine, they either ordered the wrong part or identified and fixed only part of the problem. Hence, the 5 week wait.

Finally yesterday I lost my temper when Sears said my next appointment was scheduled for March 20th. I demanded that they replace my unrepairable machine. Surprisingly, Sear agreed! Score one for the home team. Not only that - they are giving me a full credit for the machine. Now here is the embarassing thing. I had spent a ridiculous amount of money on the now old machine - because I could. I bought the best machine I could - not the best machine for my family of 3 - the machine I had bought before was (1) in retrospect, ridiculously expensive; (2) more "versatile" than I ever needed; and (3) way too complicated.

Now of course, all I want is a basic machine, powered by two gerbils in the basement, so that I know it won't break, but I am using the credit they are giving me to buy my new machine (and I hate to leave money on the table....)

The lesson I take away from this is that the last few years have been an incredible ride of unnecessary consumption - I didn't need a machine that complex or that offered so many bells and whistles that I never used and only broke faster. All of us have been spending our energy acquiring shiny toys rather than things we need. In addition, I really do believe that we no longer make anything in this country, and apparently we can't even fix anything that we rely on. We really are in a sorry state of affairs.

Now that everything is crashing, we have stopped consuming entirely. Instead, we all are pulling in our belts, as we now lurch the other way, afraid to spend on anything. There has got to be a better balance.

So, on behalf of Americans every where, please go out and buy something - something with quality and value. Buy something that should work longer than 3 nanoseconds and stimulates the economy (like a house) or a car or even a good washing machine. Don't be a spendthrift like we have been for the last 10 or 15 years, but don't be so frugal that we stall the economy even more!

We have got to get back to some kind of rational thought process, and where better to start than with a revival of the US real estate market, which is the engine of the US economy. It is filled with great deals for buyers! Go to it!