MyLife in Metro DC – In Search of the Perfect Condo

300 seconds.

That’s all the time it took for my new landlords to rent their condo. In those five minutes, not only did I contact them, but they also had six other inquires about their home. How did they do it?

The Internet.

The days of sitting down with the Sunday paper to browse for a new place to live are over. The Internet is now an extremely powerful tool to help people search for a new place to call home.

Personally, I’ve found my last three apartments online. With everything right at my fingertips it’s easy to search and sort through hundreds of listings, view pictures, take virtual tours and contact someone for more information all within minutes.

I planned on starting my search for my new Arlington condo the same way. This time around I’d have a roommate, and we both had our own top 3 “Must Haves” for our new place. I wanted my own bathroom, a gym and a parking spot. He wanted a place close to the metro, a gas range (I’ve quickly learned having a great cook as a roomie is AWESOME), and it had to allowed pets (see below for a picture of our incredibly awesome pup – Nattie).

Nattie - The Incredibly Awesome Pup

And so the search began…

My “go to” search is Craigslist.org. It’s like the Twitter of apartment searches. Listings are constantly being added and posts from a week ago are ancient history.  As I started to search, I became hooked. I’d check Craigslist every ten to fifteen minutes for new posts…I couldn’t bear to think I might miss out on a potentially amazing apartment. I had to be “in the know.”

But just like Twitter, everything you read is not always as it seems.

I looked at listings that boasted of the apartment’s hardwood floors and gorgeous city views. The post’s professional photographs made me feel like I was turning the pages of House Beautiful. The price seemed too good to be true and the landlord called back right away to set up a viewing.

Then I’d arrive at the apartment.

The hardwood floors were old and splintered. The city views were of a back alley, complete with a gathering of the local homeless shifting through the dumpster by the master bedroom window. The Landlord admits the pictures might be a “bit outdated” and tells me the rent actually has some “extra” fees and an outrageous security deposit, but the place is a real “steal” for the location.

Yikes.

Weeks of this went on and time was running out – I was starting my new job in a week and still had no place to live. We had found nothing but dead ends, disappointments, no pets, no parking and nothing but electric ranges. I started to feel like our perfect condo didn’t exist.

One Last Look…

Then, that Friday evening, I decided to break from packing up my apartment – I couldn’t fight my urge to check Craigslist one last time before going out. And to my delight a new listing had just been posted three minutes prior. I read the listing almost in disbelief…it was …the PERFECT CONDO. Two bedrooms, two bath, located two blocks from the metro. It had a pool and a gym and came with a garage parking spot. Then came the last line, it read – “One small to medium sized dog is welcomed – no cats, reptiles or other pets allowed.” It was like the listing was made just for us!

I emailed, five minutes has past since the listing was posted.  The landlord called back immediately and from the very start of our  conversation, I got a great vibe from her. It was a welcomed surprise to find out their unit was in a building we had previously visited and loved.  I excitedly set up a viewing for that Sunday.

My roommate was on a sailboat, in the middle of the bay all weekend, so I when ahead and visited the place without him. As soon as they opened the door fell in love both with the condo and our future landlords – the place was adorable, they were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met and they too had an incredibly sweet dog. I made the bold decision of paying the deposit without my roommate ever even seeing the place, but I knew (or more so hoped) he’d agree that I had finally found the right condo for us.

Luckily, after seeing it for himself, he did agree. So did Nattie.  Three weeks later we all moved in.

So after endless hours of searching, it all came down to 5 minutes. 300 seconds. In the world of Internet searches, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time…maybe with a little bit of luck sprinkled in too.

View of Arlington and DC from our Living Room

- Kristin

MyLife in Metro DC – New Beginnings

When you decide to embark on the tumultuous journey of finding the perfect job, it can feel like a cycle of lost hope and endless rejection.  It’s like going through a bad break up… on a weekly basis.

“What do you mean I’m not good enough?  Why won’t he call me back? Does this mean you want to see other people?”

And then, right when you’ve reached rock bottom, when you are ready to settle for mediocrity, to work as one of the masses in a dead end job, it happens.

As you stare defeated at your computer screen, hidden behind the banner ads and posts for terrible sales jobs, you find it.  The endless hours submitting applications and scrolling through job posts suddenly all seems worth it; you’ve found – the ONE.

You walk down the street to your interview, birds start chirping, everyone stops to say “hello,” the Starbuck’s barista even gives you your coffee for free.  This is it, the day you knew would one day come, the day you’ve been waiting for – Utopia found.

There is nothing better than this feeling; all your hard work has finally paid off.  For me, as I floated around on my cloud of euphoria, I quickly remembered accepting the perfect job meant moving to Metro DC.  From past experiences, I knew finding the perfect city to call “home” was just as challenging as finding the perfect job…thus my journey continued…

Choosing Your Perfect City

Trying to decide on what area of a new city to live in is an extremely important decision. The area you choose can totally influence how comfortable you are, shape the first experiences you have in your new city and affect your overall happiness– this makes it crucial you pick the right place.

I was very fortunate during this part of my journey.  A huge benefit of moving to DC was that I already knew plenty of people in the city.  This was extremely helpful when it came to finding the perfect part of the city to call home.  I thought about the cities my friends lived in, the ones I enjoyed visiting and started calling old friends and classmates to find out how they liked where they were currently living.  From these chats, I came up with the three most important things for me to consider when picking my new city.

1)  Traffic – Morning commutes in Metro DC can be some of the worst in the country! My office is near Tysons Corner, which as many know can be a maze of endless traffic that stretches on for miles.  I knew living in Tysons wasn’t where I wanted to be, so I was looking for other cities that had a “reverse” commute.”  (In Metro DC, this means it only takes 30 minutes to go 5 miles instead of over an hour…)

2)  “Walkability” – There’s something irresistible to me about having everything you could possibly need within a few blocks from your house.   I love being able to park my car on a weekend and not see it again until Monday.  Being able to walk to everywhere, to the grocery store, friend’s houses, bars and restaurants was critical in my city choice.

3)  Active – I’m a 26 year old single female.  I was moving to a new city, wanted to meet lots of new people and was not ready for the “burbs” (and don’t know if I ever will be…).  I wanted to find a city that had an energetic social scene with people my age and lots of options of things to do.

For me, Arlington became a clear winner.  It’s a quick (again quick in DC is a relative term) reverse commute on 66 West to Tysons, you can walk everywhere (if you can’t, you can just hop on the metro), and there is an abundance of “20 somethings” living in the area that partake in the endless choices of happy hour specials.  The next chapter of my journey was now complete and I hopped back on my cloud and floated happily along.

New City – Check.

My advice to you – Come up with a list of three or four characteristics that are critical for your new city, then start researching.  Talk to your friends, family members, and new coworkers.  Google cities until you can Google no more.  As you do this, places will start to eliminate themselves, leaving you with a few great options.  Before making the “big move,” visit these places and see which city fits you best. I guarantee one will stand out from the rest and be perfect location for you to call “home.”

-  Kristin

Sunset in Georgetown overlooking my new city - Arlington

Up next:  Finding a Condo and Making the “Big Move”

Arlington County Market Report – 4/7/10

Depending on who you ask, Arlington is either the biggest small town, or the smallest big city you’ll visit. The many neighborhoods (or urban villages as they call them) are mixed with soaring high rise buildings and well-kept, turn-of-the century homes, high end shopping or funky little boutiques, 5-star dining and little neighborhood deli’s and pizza shops.  Arlington is home to several national historic landmarks like the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima), Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon Memorial and many more. And, it’s just a few minutes from the nation’s capital. It’s no wonder that Arlington is not just a fabulous tourist attraction but a wonderful, dynamic place to live. 

The first few months of 2010 show a slight upward trend in the housing market and the year over year figures indicate a rise from the same period last year. The total number of homes sold is up by nearly 50%, the average sales price continues to go up with a 3.5% increase, the average days on the market has decreased from 90 to 61, a 32% decline. Sellers are getting 95.5% of the asking price as opposed to 92.5% last year.

The market, while not fully “recovered,” is certainly headed back in the right direction. We should continue to see improvement as we get closer to the April 30^th deadline for the Federal Tax Credit benefits for first time and move-up buyers.

Commentary and analysis provided by Charlie Carroll, Managing Broker, Avery-Hess, Realtors

Find Your Home. Plan Your Life. www.averyhess.com

Arlington, VA Market Report – 2/22/10

All the prognosticators have been making their predictions as to the state of real estate for 2010. On balance, 2009 was a positive year in Arlington. The total dollar volume of sales increased by 7% and the total units sold increased by 11%. The average sales price decreased by nearly 4% and the days on market dropped by 8.5%. This shows that while prices dropped, more properties were sold in a shorter period of time. January 2010 statistics point to some interesting things to keep an eye on in Arlington County, Virginia.

There’s good news and bad new for buyers and sellers in Arlington this month. The average sales price for single family detached homes increased by nearly 14%, good news for sellers, and actually good news for buyers knowing that values are going up. Of the 132 sales in January, nearly 70% were condos and townhouses. The average sales price for these attached homes decreased by 16% from the same period a year ago. As the prices on these units dropped, more sales occurred because of the affordability factor.

The Federal Housing Tax Credit is still in place but there are just two months left to act. It seems like we’ve been snowbound for most of the winter so far, but as the weather improves I predict the ready buyers will be unleashed into the marketplace and sales of affordable homes will rise as the incentive deadline approaches.

Interest rates have remained steady but indications are that the Federal Reserve will consider rate hikes as the year progresses. If you are in the market to purchase or sell, now is absolutely the best time to act. Inventory is still low but the shadow inventory (pending foreclosures) is lurking and could be released anytime. List your home now while competition is limited. Buyers, have your agent prepare a rent vs. buy analysis to show you the benefits of home ownership. Don’t wait too long and miss an opportunity.

Market data and commentary by Charles J. Carroll, Managing Broker at Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Arlington, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Arlington, VA Market Report – 12/21/09

Last month I closed my report by suggesting that perhaps we were beginning to see a return to normalcy in the Arlington market. The November statistics show a significant improvement over the same period last year. Compared to the previous month the numbers are relatively stable with one exception. Here are the latest numbers from Arlington, Virginia.

• Active listings: 803
• Closed sales: 230
• Pending sales: 213
• Average sold price: $509,003
• New Listings: 208
• Average days on market: 53

The significant concern is a 50% drop in new listings from October, resulting in a 15% drop in the total number of homes currently on the market. Declining inventory is problematic in a period where incentives are provided to both first-time and move-up buyers. This drop in inventory could be attributed to a seasonal change. Some homeowners may have decided to wait until early spring to list their homes because the Federal Housing Tax Credit has been extended to the end of April and they anticipate prices to be more favorable then. Regardless, it remains a good time for buyers with favorable interest rate, and reasonably priced homes.

Market data and commentary by Charles J. Carroll, Managing Broker at Avery-Hess, Realtors.

Search for homes in Arlington, and the rest of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com

Community Video: Ballston, Arlington, VA

Seated along the Metrorail’s Orange Line, the Ballston neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia has a terrific mix of luxury condos and apartments, along with townhouses and single family homes. Learn more about Ballston and why it’s the perfect blend of business and entertainment.

Avery-Hess Community Video: Ballston, Arlington, VA from Amit Kulkarni on Vimeo.

Search for homes in Ballston, and all of the DC Metro: www.averyhess.com