The D.C. Real Estate Guide

Have you ever mulled over stacks of color options only to realize you picked the wrong color several coats too late for that room in your place? I have a hard time putting on matching socks in the morning, let alone picking out the color scheme of a room. Not to worry, there is a paint preview tool I learned about through the RealCentralVA blog designed help people preview what rooms would look like with thousands of different colors. Visit the Personal Color Viewer on the Benjamin Moore site to upload photos of your rooms and apply paint schemes that will help prevent you from making those mistakes before its too late.

Check out the local and national real estate trends and headlines that made the news this week.

The real estate headlines from the Washington Post, RealEstateJournal.com, CNN Money, and Bankrate.com dove into the following topics: D.C. planning commission, new appraisal models, 2007 market forecast and gauging housing trends, the risk of candles in homes, second-home markets, winter preparedness, and tips for successful closings. Keep reading →

One of my favorite aspects of Washington, D.C. real estate is the variety of housing styles found all over the city. The hard part is being able to identify these styles by their name, so I searched high and low for definitions, characteristics, and examples of many of the housing styles that influence the real estate in our nation’s capital. Keep reading →

The D.C. Neighborhood Spotlight provides the geographic location, location of shops and restaurants, public services, and real estate statistics for a specific neighborhood.

Brookland, named after the Colonel Jehiel Brooks family estate, is known for all of the religious institutions that surround it. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (shown above,) Catholic University, Trinity College, and the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center surround this Northeast Washington, D.C. neighborhood. Served by the Brookland-CUA Metrorail Station, residents are only a 10-minute ride downtown. Col. Brooks’ Tavern and Kelly’s Ellis Island Pub offer residents a place to grab a drink and a bite to eat, and 12th Street NE provides the neighborhood with a strip of pharmacies, hardware stores and eateries. Architecturally, Brookland has every style found in D.C., including Victorians, bungalows, Queen Annes, and Georgians. Keep reading →

Most people understand that discrimination based on race is illegal; however, the majority of people are unaware of the other 15 protected classes in the District of Columbia.

As a real estate agent, I’m often asked about the demographics of neighborhoods; however, Fair Housing and DC Human Rights laws prohibit real estate professionals from answering questions like that. For example, if I said, “There are alot of young single students in this neighborhood,” it could be considered a violation of a D.C. human rights law. Most people understand that discrimination based on race is illegal; however, the majority of people are unaware of the other 15 protected classes in the District of Columbia. In this article, I will list all of the protected classes under Federal and District of Columbia law, explain what acts are considered discriminatory, list exemptions from human rights laws covering housing and commercial space, and explain how to file a claim if you feel you have been a victim of discrimination. Keep reading →

Check out the local and national real estate trends and headlines that made the news this week.

Several news articles this week discussed the Adjustable Rate Mortgage. Specifically, the new ARM model (5-1) and weighing in on the tax implication of the ARM. Technological advancements (blogging, Craigslist, Zillow) also made headlines. Keep reading →