Archive for the 'Information for Buyers' Category
East Bethesda Colonial for Sale
Update 1/27/12 – UNDER CONTRACT
4411 Maple Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814
Welcome to this classic East Bethesda, center-hall brick colonial home featuring 3+ bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Located on a lovely tree-lined street, this fabulous house is a half-block walk to Lynbrook Park, a short walk to Bethesda Metro, 3-blocks to the Capital Crescent Trail, a few blocks to B-CC High School, and an easy stroll into downtown Bethesda. The location can’t be beat!
The first floor has beautiful hardwood floors. As you enter the house, a lovely living room with a fireplace can be found to your left. To the right of the entryway is the dining room with chair railings and lots of sunshine. The renovated kitchen is bright and cheerful with decent cabinet space, overlooking the back yard. Just beyond the living room is a family room with a half-bath, opening to a brick patio in the back yard.
Second floor features 3 bedrooms and one full bath with a tub. All the floors are carpeted… but wood floors reside underneath. We’ve pulled up a corner in one of the closets to give you an idea of what they look like.
The lower level features a finished walk-out rec room (currently used as a spare bedroom) with an abundance of sunlight. The sellers installed a 2nd full bath in 2009. The utility room has houses the W/D, furnace and sturdy shelving for all of your storage needs.
There is a driveway in the front yard, along with ample street parking for residents.
Estimated taxes for FY13 are $6,622
Offered at $699,000
Directions: From DC, North on Connecticut Avenue, R- Maple Avenue to 4411.
4411 Maple Avenue, East Bethesda, MD 20814
If you’re unable to make it to the open house, please call to schedule an appointment.
Marcie Sandalow: Telephone: 301/758-4894. E-mail: MarcieSandalow@bccdcrealestate.com
Catarina Bannier: Telephone 202/487-7177. E-mail: CBannier@EversCo.com
Click here for information on The Top 10 Reasons to Live in East Bethesda
FHA Raises Loan Limits!
Despite recent grumblings about lack of inventory and lackluster numbers, there is a bright spot on the horizon. Dave Jacobin, long time lender, and on my list of favorites, is here to tell us a little bit about the new loan limits:
Great News! FHA loan limits have gone back to $729,750 in High Cost Areas (that’s our DC marketplace). This is good news for local homebuyers.
Features of FHA financing include (but are not limited to) the following;
- Only 3.5% down payment required
- Down Payment and closing cost can come from a gift from a relative
- The Seller may contribute up to 6% of the Sales Price towards closing costs and pre-paids
- Higher qualifying ratios vs. conventional allowed
- Please note the increase in Read the rest of this entry »
Live Near the Red Line
Traffic these days is a miserable thing. People want to live near Metro so they can stay away from their cars. So, if you’re looking to buy a house in a neighborhood that’s convenient to the Red Line, search no further. I’ve got the skinny on the best neighborhoods within walking distance of Metro AND within the beltway:
NIH/Medical Center Metro: Since they closed access to NIH right after 911, your best and only access to the metro stop here is on the east side of the campus just off of Wisconsin Avenue. The closest neighborhoods include the north side of East Bethesda (aka Glenbrook Village), Locust Hill Estates, Alta Vista/Maplewood and Parkview Estates.
- Glenbrook Village/East Bethesda is a great neighborhood with about 300 homes. Most of the houses started off as modest colonials and capes, but many have added sizable additions and/or been replaced over the years with new construction. Houses in this neighborhood start at roughly $600,000 and top off around $1,500,000. The average walk to metro can range from 5-15 minutes depending on the lights.
- Locust Hill is a lovely enclave of older, more distinguished homes and larger Read the rest of this entry »
Another Cool Real Estate App
Finding the perfect house just got a little easier. Or maybe I should say “remembering stuff about your perfect house just got a little easier.” As a real estate agent I see a lot of houses. Sometimes my recall is spot on (when I’m in my idiot savant mode), but often I get that deer in the headlights look when asked to recall specifics of a property. It’s a trait I’m sure I share with a lot of people looking for a house. So… someone got smart and finally designed an app specifically to help you remember your most recent house tour (or even the one that took place 2 months ago).
House Hunter is a pretty nifty little app. It offers up the ability to go into detail about property features and rate them. You can take photos of your specific house and add them to the address file. You can share all the info you’ve gathered with your Read the rest of this entry »
Garage Wannabes
Over the years, as a real estate agent, I’ve seen people do a lot of neat things with their garage. Some have turned their garage into an artist studio or workshop. Some are offices. Some are just for cars. Others have been converted into guest houses or hot tub cabanas. And one of my favorites belongs to an old client… they managed to get some HGTV-type show to pay for their renovation- they turned theirs into a practice studio for a band. Fun!
Recently a client contacted me about what he could/couldn’t do with a garage on a property he was considering. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Hire the Best Contractor- 13 Easy Steps
Getting the right contractor for the job is key to any project’s success. Trust me… I’ve been there. According to Angie’s List, the two items critical to a job’s success are verifying a contractors license and READING the home improvement contract before signing it. In addition, you’ll want to focus on the following hiring guidelines:
1. Who will Manage the Job?: If your job involves more than 3-4 different specialists (electrician, drywall, plumbing, masonry, etc) things will go better if you have a general contractor to oversee the various tasks and timelines.
2. Define your project: Before you jump in, know what you want. And if you don’t know what you want, learn about what’s out there by reading remodeling magazines, taking a picture of a friend’s kitchen (or bathroom or entryway). Put these ideas on paper to give a potential contractor a sense of what you hope to achieve. Read the rest of this entry »
The Evers & Co. Sept. 2011 Real Estate Report
The average price in our Washington, DC marketplace was up for the 17th consecutive month, 3% higher than September 2010. The number of days a property stays on the market was up 8.7%, and the dollar volume of sales was down 3.3 % this month,- both being attributed to consumer concern to recent fluctuations in the economy.
While mortgage interest rates were at record lows for most of September and banks have money to lend, lenders are restricted in the amount of loans and the loan-to- value ratio, which in turn limits buyers’ ability to purchase. These restrictions were a reaction to the mortgage meltdown our economy experienced a few years ago and should ease up in the coming months, allowing more purchasers to enter the marketplace. Meanwhile, we expect prices to improve modestly and steadily, and that goes for the state of the close-in Metro market in general.
*Statistics are taken from the Metropolitan Regional Information System for three areas: Washington, D.C., Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia.
Montgomery County Grape Stomp
A lot of people fantasize about stomping a grape or two. Not me, but some people. If you’re part of that club, and a trip to Italy, or even Napa Valley isn’t in the immediate future, you might want to head to the Sugarloaf Mountain Winery over the next two weekends to catch the 2011 5th annual Grape Stomp.
You can participate in a friendly little wine stomping and win prizes if you produce the most amount of juice. You can also take a wine tour. There will be live music and food will be available for purchase.
Advance purchase tickets are $15. At the door they will cost you $20.
Bring your chairs and blankets.
Noon – 5pm on October 1/2 and again on October 8/9. Enjoy!
Refinancing & Tax Consequences
A lot of people are refinancing these days. Mortgage rates are, once again, at historic lows. But what are some of the tax consequences of re-financing? Here’s a simple primer:
Deducting Points:
A point = 1% value of the loan. So, if you are taking a loan on a house for $600,000, a point will = $6,000. 1-1/4 points = $7,500, etc. In general, each point purchased reduces your mortgage rate by roughly 1/4%. Banks will generally allow you to buy up to 3 points on a loan (it’s like pre-paying interest). The longer you plan to spend in your house, the more points make sense – assuming you have the cash to pay for them!
Unlike points paid at the time of purchase (which can be deducted in full), points paid for a refinanced loan must be deducted equally over the life of a loan… not all at once. This also goes for investment Read the rest of this entry »
BCC High School at Dusk
What a pretty picture… if I do say so myself.
Fabulous school. Wonderful Principal. IB Program and more. For more information: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School
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