In another sign that the housing market is strengthening, CNN Money is reporting what Real Estate professionals have been seeing for a while now: homes are not just appraising, they’re often coming in even higher than the agreed-upon sales price.

Until very recently, this wasn’t the case, which caused big headaches for buyers and sellers:

During the housing bust, sales were often derailed by low-ball appraisals that fell far shy of a home’s selling price.

For example, if a home cost $500,000 and required a 20% down payment of $100,000, the buyer would need to finance $400,000. But if the appraiser valued the home at $450,000, the buyer would only be eligible for a $360,000 loan — making the home too costly for some buyers.

But now, as home prices climb and housing inventories shrink, appraisers are valuing homes at or above their selling prices, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Between 2008 and 2010, appraisals for more than a third of Seattle-based real estate agent Michael Ackerman’s sales came in below the selling price. So he had to get creative.

“I started pulling out the key boxes at the homes so the appraisers couldn’t get in,” said Ackerman. “They had to call me to let them see the home. I would bring a packet of comparables along and explain what I used to price the home.”

But now, with home prices posting such strong gains, those strategies may not be necessary anymore.

“I’ve closed 15 homes so far this year and none of the appraisals have come in below the selling price,” said Ackerman.

This is good news for both buyers and sellers.

For buyers, it means that getting the financing for your home is a lot less of a roll of the dice. If the house is priced well and you’re qualified for a loan that’ll cover it, the appraisal won’t be an issue.

For sellers, it means that if you work with a knowledgeable Realtor to price your home correctly, you’ll get competitive offers (and possibly higher ones than you were expecting) without having to worry about deals falling through at the last minute due to financing contingencies.

This is why it’s so critical to work with a Realtor who knows home values in your area and can give you an up-to-the-minute market analysis of your home. Don’t just trust public data, or the information that shows up on popular sites like Zillow. When home values are changing quickly, you want to be sure you have an evaluation that prices your home in a way that maximizes your net proceeds from the sale.

If you’ve been thinking about selling, it’s a great time to find out what your home is worth. We’re heading into busy listing season, so contact us today for a free market analysis and get ahead of the curve.

Things are heating up in the DC Metro area, and we’re not just talking about the weather.

The average time for homes on the market is now just 11 days — the lowest period of time in eight years, and on par with the housing boom of 2005.

Median prices are rising – up 7.4% – and more new listings are hitting the market as sellers look to capitalize on favorable conditions, multiple-offer scenarios, and even bidding wars. The average sale-to-list price ratio in the DMV is now 98.2%, which means buyers are offering full price or better most of the time.

What does this all mean for you?

If you’re a seller, it’s time to take action. Find out what your home is worth. Get your home ready and listed before more sellers put their homes on the market, opening up the inventory bottleneck and giving buyers more options to choose from. If you want to sell fast and for the best price, this is the time to get started.

If you’re a buyer, it’s time for you to get moving as well. Even with more inventory coming on the market, it’s still going to be a seller’s paradise for a while. With interest rates rising (slowly, but rising) and home prices going up even faster, tight inventory means that if you find a home you love, you need to make a strong offer, make it fast, and be ready to work with the seller on the concessions you might have come to expect over the past 8 years. You need to be sure you’ve got an agent who knows how to negotiate on your behalf, is not afraid to go to bat for you, and can navigate multiple-offer situations with you coming out on top. If you’ve been thinking about buying for a while but were holding off, start searching. Figure out what you want, what you’re willing to spend, and what your timeframe is. Talk to a lender and get prequalified. Be ready to move, and know your boundaries. This is a serious market with homes moving in less than two weeks, and you’ve got to be willing to put your best offer on the table to get the home you love.

If you have questions, concerns, or want to know more, please contact us. We can give you a free home value analysis, put you in touch with lenders who have access to a variety of financing options, and help you decide next steps.

After much searching and no small amount of trial and error, we’ve settled on a search solution that we think you’re going to love. Forget being limited to searching only basic criteria like bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage requirements. Our new Home Search provides much more depth and detail.

I’ve provided a few demo map images on this page. These are NOT live maps, so if you’d like to work with your own search criteria and be able to see full pictures and listing details, visit our Home Search page.

So let’s get started. Our default search starts you off in Northern Virginia, centered near our office in Prince William county:

Once there, you have the option of changing and layering any number of filters. Let’s say I want to only search for 3 bedroom homes under $350,000. I simply click the blue “Homes” icon and select the criteria I want using the fields and sliders in the box with on the right. With these filters applied, my search has been reduced to only those homes that match the results I’m looking for:

But we can refine that even further. I don’t like living far from the grocery store. I’m always running there at the last minute for something we need. I simply click on the orange “Lifestyle” icon, and select Shopping > Grocery Stores and then put in the radius I’d like to search. In this instance, I wanted to see homes within a radius of 1 mile from grocery stores:

But additionally, I’d like to ensure that I find homes within a 3 mile radius of a high school for my daughter. For this search, I chose private schools:

Do you see how your filters layer on? Each successive set of criteria narrows the search, helping you find exactly what you’re looking for.

You can also add additional data visualization through tools that let you map out geographic areas, such as zip codes, school districts, cities, neighborhoods, and so on. This is done under the purple “Areas” icon. This is what a zip code map (with none of our other search criteria included) looks like :

As you can see, the possibilities with the new Home Search option are virtually limitless. It’s a really cool tool and fun to play with to look for homes, find interesting places to shop or visit near your home, or just to see what’s selling in your neighborhood.

Then, once you’ve added all your criteria, you can save your results and have them emailed to you as alerts:

When you come to our site, you can use the “Search for Homes” widget on the home page or sidebars, and you can always find it by clicking on the navigation menu item labeled, “Home Search” at the top left of the screen.

If you live in the DC Metropolitan Area, you’ve been hearing a lot about “Sequestration” and its expected effects on our area. We’re heavily tied into Federal Government spending and jobs, which by some reports accounts for as much as 30% of our region’s economy. The loss of funding and jobs (or income levels, in the case of furloughs) has a lot of people worried.

The Real Estate market in Northern Virginia has weathered the recent years of recession far better than many other areas of the country, in large part because of the stabilizing influence of the Federal Government. We’ve actually seen appreciating home values in 2012, and homes have been moving quickly. What many current homeowners are wondering, along with those in the market to buy or sell a home, is what effect the Sequester will have on our housing market.

The short answer is: probably not very much.

I don’t have a crystal ball. Analysts and news outlets alike have been having a field day with their predictions of what could happen, what’s likely to happen, and how it will effect you. Every channel, every day this week, it’s all you hear. But in the midst of all this speculation, let’s take a look at some facts that will likely impact the outcome of what happens tomorrow:

• According the the Congressional Budget Office, the actual cuts for the 2013 fiscal year are $44 billion, not $85 billion. These are still significant cuts, but they are half the number that’s being talked about and a small percentage of total federal spending.
• How small of a percentage? $44 Billion is only 1.2% of the total federal budget. That’s a little over a penny cut from every dollar spent.
• Federal spending is not decreasing. The Federal Government will still be spending more money this year than they did in 2012. The Sequester is merely going to reduce the amount of increased spending that will occur.
• According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in January 2013 the the D.C. Metro area had an unemployment rate of just 5.2%, significantly better than the 7.6% national average at that time.
• The D.C. Metro area is currently one of the top five markets for selling a home, having experienced a 16.3% increase in median list price over the same time last year.
• Our housing market is currently experiencing extremely low inventory, with a 7-year-low 6,466 active listings in the D.C. Metro area at the end of 2012. Homes are selling fast, and they’re selling for more.
• Northern Virginia experienced a 33% reduction in foreclosure activity in January.
• New federal spending on projects like the proposed FBI Headquarters could infuse large amounts of capital (and people in need of housing) into Northern Virginia.
• According to a recent survey, many Americans aren’t very concerned about the Sequester, with as many as 40% of those polled saying that they’re OK with letting the cuts happen.
• The U.S. Government is still looking at more than $16 trillion in debt and climbing – $1 trillion more than our annual national GDP of $14 trillion. We’re spending more than we make, and that creates long-term problems for our economy that are likely to outweigh the damage that may be done by the current cuts in spending.

While I believe that the picture is less dire than many are painting it to be, I don’t mean to downplay it – people in our area are going to feel the pinch. Reductions in spending at agencies like the Department of Defense are going to cost jobs and lower incomes. AAA Mid-Atlantic is predicting an improvement in commuting times due to fewer people on the road, which is a pretty interesting way to find an upside to higher unemployment. It’s possible that foreclosure activity will head back up if people can’t make their payments, and an increasing number of homes may be put on the market in the coming months as people re-evaluate their own financial situations. It’s even conceivable that staffing shortfalls at government agencies like HUD and FHA could hamper those agencies abilities to process paperwork, although I think that’s a stretch.

The bottom line is that for the majority of people in the DMV, the housing market will continue to go like gangbusters.  There is so much pent-up demand and so few houses on the market, any increase in inventory will be absorbed. Interest rates are on their way back up, FHA guidelines are tightening, and people want to get a house while the getting is good.

This is why in the current climate, it’s extremely important to work with a knowledgeable agent. For buyers, programs and conditions are changing rapidly, and artful negotiation and access to lesser-known funding options could be the difference between getting the home you want and losing a bidding war. For sellers, it’s a great time to put your home on the market, but you still need to stage it properly and make sure you’re getting the best available offer.

For those holding on to see what’s going to happen, here’s my prediction: values in Northern Virginia are going to keep going up. Maybe not as fast as last year and maybe not forever, but they’ll continue to move in a positive direction, and even if they level off I don’t see homes in our area losing value any time soon.

It’s all over the news today: housing prices are going up, and there isn’t a lot of inventory available for buyers looking to cash in on interest rates that are still near historic lows.

Fewer and fewer homes are going up for sale, according to data collected by MRIS.

In the Washington, D.C. region, single-family homes on the market plummeted by 36 percent from January 2012 to January 2013.

Condominium listings fell by 43 percent during the same time period.

However, the limited market appears hot.

Condo settlements, which occur when sales are finalized, increased by 27 percent in January 2013, while sale prices rose by 17 percent.

The median sale price for single family homes rose 5 percent.

Housing experts say the low inventory may be artificially pushing up sale prices, but it is helping to give sellers the upper-hand.

Earlier this month, Ryan Price, a research associate with the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, told WTOP, inventory was at an eight-year low.

So if you’re in the market for a home, or looking to sell, what does this mean for you? Let’s break it down for buyers first, then sellers.

IF YOU’RE IN THE MARKET FOR A HOME:

This situation makes things a little tougher on you. You’ve found a lender, you’ve got a great interest rate, you’re ready to go. But every time you look at a place you like, it’s gone before you have the chance to “sleep on it.” Sometimes, even if you act quickly, you find yourself in a multiple-offer situation. If you’re a first-time homebuyer, that can be a particularly difficult situation.

Through all of this, it’s important to make sure that you find the right home. Be careful not to let a sense of urgency push you into a place you’re not comfortable with. Don’t let scarcity force your hand. Take your time. Do your homework. Be creative, but be realistic. Depending on your price range, you may have to make some concessions. With home prices going up, however, you’re in a good place. Even if you have to buy a home today that you think you’d like to sell in a few years, chances are good you’ll build equity and be in a better position when it comes time to upgrade.

There are new FHA rules coming April 1, 2013, that will affect buyers using that form of lending. After that, mortgage insurance premiums will be going up 10 to 15%, and that PMI payment is going to be sticking around for the life of your loan.  In the past, when you owned 22% of your home (by paying down the principle) your PMI got cancelled, and that extra payment went away. Not so anymore.

Rising home prices should not make you overextend yourself. Again, be realistic. Be careful about buying too much home. If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you may need to consider that really nice four-bedroom townhome instead of the 3 bedroom single-family you’ve had your eye on. Make strategic decisions. Stay within budget. It’s very easy to let a competitive market lead to “pricing creep” – that situation where you just keep upping your limit on what you’re willing to pay for a home in the hopes that you will find something better. If you have room to increase, fine, but be sure not to let emotion lead to a bad financial decision.

Also, allow me to be a bit self-serving for a moment: in a market like this one, buyers need a qualified agent. When homes are plentiful and prices are low, any agent can probably get the job done. When inventory is scarce and multiple-offers are the norm, you need a proven negotiator. You want to be sure your agent is knowledgeable, dependable, and resourceful. They should know unconventional ways to find a home in any given neighborhood. They should know how to sweeten the deal for the seller if your offer is only one among many, while still keeping you in your price range. They should have access to good lenders and have experience with all available funding options. (For example, do you know about VHDA funding? Many agents and lenders do not. I’m a certified VHDA instructor. If you want to know more, sign up for one of my free classes or contact me.)

IF YOU HAVE A HOME YOU NEED TO SELL: 

Right now is a fantastic time to sell. You won’t have any problem listing and selling, provided that your home is well-prepared, priced right, and correctly marketed.

That said, low inventory and rising prices don’t absolve anyone good home selling practices.

Even with too few homes on the market for all the buyers out there, nobody gets a pass on making their home presentable. In any market, properly preparing your home for sale will ensure that you have offers on the table quickly and obtain top dollar.

Don’t believe that buyers so desperate that they’ll go for anything. You may think this is obvious, but you’d be surprised how little some sellers seem to care. I’ve seen homes left dirty and full of trash on final walkthroughs, even after contractual agreements were made that professional cleaning would be done before closing. That may very well cost you money at the settlement table. Buyers have good representation too, and any agent out there worth their salt is going to make sure their clients get a good deal and are treated fairly, and that contracts are honored.

Choose your listing agent carefully, then make sure you follow their advice. Perform all minor repairs. Make sure the home is clean and tidy.  Maybe even do a bit of updating or throw on a fresh coat of nice, neutral color (but not white!) paint. Make sure gutters are cleaned out and your yard is tidy and not overgrown. Just because inventory is limited does NOT mean buyers have no other options. I work with buyers every day. They have fewer options than they did six months ago, but they still have options. 11,268 new listings were entered into the MRIS in January, 2013. A house that is well-presented will sell a lot faster than one that isn’t, and will attract more qualified buyers. 

Make sure to disclose important information to your potential buyers and also remember transactions need to be fair, and banks will only loan based on appraisal. If a home doesn’t appraise, you may have to lower your price so that your buyer can complete the purchase. 

And finally, if you want a smooth transaction and a quick close, don’t skimp on your listing commission. Consider this part of your marketing budget. Buyers’ agents invest a lot of time and money showing houses in a competitive market and often writing multiple offers on multiple homes before obtaining a ratified contract. A full buyer broker commission of at least 3% says you’re serious about selling, and that you respect buyers’ agents enough to pay them fairly for bringing qualified buyers to the table. It also makes it far more likely that your home gets shown first and frequently, before the homes of sellers offering a discounted commission.

There’s no telling how long the current trends will last, but in changing market conditions we all have to adapt for success. Following these simple guidelines will help you to get the most out of your home buying or home selling experience.

Happy New Year! I hope the holidays were kind to you. As we start off 2013 the big talking point has been the “Fiscal Cliff” and how it will impact real estate.

The Fiscal Cliff has been a major concern for all Americans. But its effects on homeownership were a particular concern. Pending legislation would have had a major effect on thousands of current home owners and potential home buyers. A decision was made on January 1, 2013 and while the discussion of the ongoing economic difficulties facing our nation continue, there is some good news to share!

The Senate and House passed HR 8 legislation and the President has signed it into law. This bi-partisan deal extended tax-cuts for the middle class and making provisions for homeowners and home buyers that will help keep the market in good shape.

I’ll summarize the major provisions that are real estate related in the bill which will affect the majority of homeowners:

Real Estate Tax Extenders

• The Mortgage Cancellation Relief is extended for one year to Jan. 1, 2014 – meaning that even on a moderately priced home, this can save tens of thousands of dollars in taxes!  The 2007 act allowed taxpayers to exempt mortgage debt forgiven by a lender in a loan modification, short sale or foreclosure. Taxpayers could avoid federal taxes on any unpaid mortgage the bank couldn’t recover through an auction. Up to $2 Million in forgiven debt is eligible ($1 Mil if married and filing separately). This provision applies to debt incurred from 2007 to 2012 and now is extended to Jan. 1, 2014!
• Deduction for Mortgage Insurance Premiums for filers making below $110,000 is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012.
• 15 year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements on commercial properties is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012.
• The 10 percent tax credit (up to $500) for homeowners for energy improvements to existing homes is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012.

Capital Gains

The Capital Gains rate will stay at 15 percent for those at the top rate of $400,000 (for individuals) and $450,000 (for those filing a joint return). After that, any gains above those amounts will be taxed at 20 percent. The 250/500k exclusion for sale of principle residence remains in place.

Estate Tax

The first $5 million dollars in individual estates and $10 million for family estates are now exempted from the estate tax. After that the rate will be 40 percent, up from 35 percent. The exemption amounts are indexed for inflation.

With the recent increase in loan modifications and homes on the market sold in a “short sale” the Mortgage Cancellation Relief extension is huge! Unfortunately there are still thousands out there facing difficulty and need to consider selling their home “short”. If you’d like more information about this, I’d love to schedule a time to sit down with you. There has been a consistent shift in our current market and it’s important to understand what impact it will have on your home – or the home you want. If you’d like more information about how any of this affects you or if you’d like to find out what your home is worth, feel free to contact me any time. I can provide you with free information that just might help you decide if selling now is going to be right for you.

I’m most thankful this year for the many opportunities  I was given to work with the people I have. From all of my first time home buyers to the seasoned investors. I very warmly thank you for your business.

I look forward to continuing to serve you and your families needs in all your real estate transactions! 2012 was a great year and I know 2013 will be even greater.

I hope that for you, this Thanksgiving may be filled with laughter, plenty, and the joy of being with those you love. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Did you know that real estate disclosure law covers hauntings? Or perhaps I should say, it doesn’t cover them. In most states, disclosing a suspected haunting is not considered material to the purchase and thus not required by law. (Although in some cases, if prospective buyers find out a house they’re looking at might be haunted, it might actually work as an incentive!)

In the D.C. Metro area, we have a lot of history, and with it, our share of spooky old homes. With Halloween just around the corner, I decided to get the scoop on some of our more famously spooky real estate. Here’s what I found, in no particular order:

1. Robert E. Lee’s Boyhood Home –  Alexandria, Virginia

This brick mansion, located at 607 Oronoco St. in Alexandria, was the childhood home of legendary Civil War General Robert E. Lee. In the 1960s, the home was owned by Henry K. and family. According to HauntedHouses.com, there were several interesting manifestations during their time at the home:

The K family moved into the mansion on June 10th, 1962, and immediately experienced ghostly occurrences.

1) Always during the daylight hours, the whole family heard the pitter-patter of running, little feet of a young child and a delightful giggling coming from the upstairs, as well as up & down the stairway, leading to the upper floors of the mansion, and the front hall. This unseen child of about 4 yrs., (Mrs. K estimates), also liked to walk along with the various family members, giggling, sometimes circling around them at the level of their knees, at the three above mentioned places. These occurrences happened 2 to 3 times a day, almost every day for 6 months straight. The occurrences tapered off after the 6 months, though they still happened sporadically, much to the family’s disappointment.

2) A lost cigarette lighter suddenly came flying out of nowhere and landed right at Mrs. K’s feet.

3) Mr. & Mrs. K, as well as a neighbor, have all seen a happy, tail-wagging black dog apparition, with a long body, short legs and short, floppy ears, trotting around their well-fortified backyard. The K’s two beagles, who would normally chase anything that dares to get into their yard, didn’t even react to this ghostly trespasser. Perhaps, they realized that this friendly, unseen pooch wasn’t of their world of the living.

4) The K’s experienced an awkward, social moment one day, when their new neighbors came to visit. All of a sudden, their lady guest found herself getting wet from a snow fall which began about a foot above her head, as she sat in the K’s living room. She finally got up to leave, gracefully excusing herself because she was all wet.

5) Both Mr. & Mrs. K have heard at different times, waves of beautiful, music made from an unidentified string instrument, which came from the upstairs part of the mansion. Some unseen resident loves stringed music and willingly shared it with the rest of the family.

B) These occurrences continued with other owners of this house.

6) The giggling little voice of the four year old was heard all over the house. His presence is most often felt in the downstairs hall, right underneath the second floor landing.

7) This little fellow still enjoys playing jokes on the living. Ringing the doorbell, moving objects around, and dropping snowflakes on visitors on at least 2 occasions has happened.

8) More recently, residents of the neighborhood have seen the apparition of the little boy playing with this black dog in the backyard.

9) In recent years, witnesses have seen the ghosts of two little girls as well.

As haunted houses go, the Lee Mansion sounds fairly innocuous, but I can’t say I’d jump at the chance to have a sleepover there.

2. Kenmore Plantation – Fredericksburg, VA

Built in the 1770s by Colonel Fielding Lewis — George Washington’s brother-in-law — the Kenmore Plantation is located at 1201 Washington Avenue in
Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Col. Lewis was a successful local merchant who also grew tobacco, corn, and wheat on the plantation’s 1300 acres and exported his produce to England. When the Revolutionary War began, Col. Lewis devoted much of his fortune to the production of munitions to aid in the fight against the British. His trade with England interrupted and his finances strained by his contributions to the war effort, Lewis worried a great deal about the continued maintenance of his estate and provision for his family. He died in 1781, at the end of the war, but according to legend, his ghost continues to inhabit the Georgian mansion to this day.

The Entity of Colonel Fielding Lewis is still residing at Kenmore, focused on his financial worries.

His apparition, dressed in 1776 era clothing, is seen sitting in an upstairs room, sitting at a desk, intensely studying his papers, not in a happy mood!

His strong presence is felt in the downstairs hall as well.

The living hear steady heavy footsteps pacing back and forth.

Door knobs turn all by themselves.

Worrying about finances for all eternity is one thing. What about carrying the weight of the world? Which leads me to our next haunted house…

3. The White House

Wikipedia says that:

A very high number of apparitions of deceased American presidents have been reported in the White House, the most famous of which is Abraham Lincoln, reported even by later presidents such as Harry S. Truman, and apparitions of presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and John Tyler have all been witnessed, as have the spirits of many First Ladies.

And according to FrontDoor.com:

For years there have been reports that the White House is a hotbed of haunted activity. Visitors, staff and even White House residents have reported seeing the ghosts of Abraham Lincoln, Abigail Adams and Andrew Jackson, to name a few. FDR, Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill are among those who claimed to have seen the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. More recently, the Obamas claim to have repeatedly heard strange sounds and felt a sensation of someone gnawing at their feet in the middle of the night.

Maybe the Obamas are the first people in 70 years to experience the notorious D.C. “Demon Cat.” Whatever it is, apparently not even the Secret Service can prevent the President from feeling the effects of the supernatural. Abraham Lincoln seems to be the top “visitor” to the White House. Suite 101 has more about the Haunting of Honest Abe:

Abraham Lincoln is the most frequent ghostly visitor. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was staying in the Lincoln Room on the second floor when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door, saw his ghost and fainted. A secretary saw Lincoln donning his boots while he sat on the bed. Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Carl Sandburg and others sensed his presence. Lillian Rogers Parkswas an employee in the White House. She was getting the Lincoln Room in order after it had been painted. She repeatedly heard foot steps going toward the door. She couldn’t see anyone. Finally, she went out and found a coworker. She asked him why he was stomping in the corridor. He replied he just started work that day and had not been on the second floor. Then, he added she must have heard Lincoln’s ghost.

So if the White House is haunted, what about Congress? Yeah. You guessed it.

4. The U.S. Capitol Building

Known as the origination point for the D.C. Demon Cat legend (attributed to the old practice of placing cats in the Capitol Building’s basement tunnels to hunt rats) the home of the U.S. Congress has other things that bump in the night. What, exactly? Well, plenty:

• Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s, phantom has been seen. He was not paid for work he did to design the city that George Washington offered him, but he never got paid for it. He looks unhappy as he hurries along the hallways. John Quincy Adam’s luminous ghost has been seen and heard.
• James Abram Garfield, the second President to be assassinated died four months after he was sworn into Office is a haunter. Also present is the shade of Charles Julius Guiteau, his assassin, which has been sighted lurking on the stairs.
• Vice-President Henry Wilson died of pneumonia while in office when he contracted it by bathing in a tub that had been in the basement. He haunts the Senate Wing. Guards have heard him coughing and sneezing when they could see no human being. People have felt a cold spot near his former office and smelled old time bath soap.
• William Preston Taulbee, a Representative from Kentucky, is said to haunt the Capitol. He was killed by a feuding reporter, Charles Kincaid, who shot him on the stairs leading to the House Press Gallery. He died 11 days later. The steps leading to the pressroom are still stained by Taulbee’s blood. When a reporter trips on those steps, people say ghost is tripping them..
• Capitol Police working at night say they have seen Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton working at his desk in National Statuary Hall although he died in the 1800s.
• The apparition of General John Alexander has appeared at 12:30 AM, looking displeased while he stood at the door of the room once used by the Senate Committee on Military and Militia, one had had chaired in life. He has also been seen in one of the basements.
• Mr. Twine was a dedicated hard worker. Guards still hear stamping books or papers in his office. One of his coworkers died of a stroke after putting $6,000 dollars worth of government bonds in a seldom used library book because he didn’t trust banks. He opens books and flipping through them looking for his money. The bonds have never been found.
• A custodian died at work and helps people do their jobs. Workers have seen a mop guided by unseen hands mopping the floors.
• Perhaps one of the most intriguing ghosts is DC, the black feline named Demon Cat who lurks in the cellars and is usually sighted before a tragedy and administration changes.

Rumors are not yet confirmed whether the occupants of the U.S. Capitol are also haunted by the ever-expanding U.S. Debt.

 5. The Stephen Decatur House

Across Lafayette Square from the White House, this former residence, built in 1818, now serves as the National Center for White House History. The Decatur House is named after its first occupant, Stephen Decatur, a naval hero who lived there with his wife Susan. Other famous occupants of the home included Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, Judah P. Benjamin, each using it as the unofficial home of the Secretary of State during their years in the position. Under the ownership of John Gadsby in the 1830s, an adjacent structure was erected to house slaves, marking a historical record of such practices even within view of the White House. The Washington DC Metro Area Ghostwatchers label the Decatur house as “A house of slavery and death … one of the most haunted places in Washington DC.”

The Washington Examiner‘s Sheridan Alexander writes:

If, at the Stephen Decatur House, you happen to see a shadowy figure gazing out of the second floor window or stealthily leaving the house from the back door, many will tell you that it is the ghost of Stephen Decatur. Located on Lafayette Square Park, which is considered among paranormal enthusiasts to be Washington’s most haunted area, Stephen Decatur House has had its share of unexplained sightings and events.

Celebrated Naval hero, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., and his wife, Susan Wheeler moved to Washington, D.C. in 1816 and purchased a plot on Lafayette Square for their new house. The Decaturs commissioned Benjamin Henry Latrobe to design a home fit for entertaining in a style that would reflect their prominence and social position. It was the first private residence built on President’s Park, neighboring the White House.

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While sitting on the trial of his former friend and colleague, James Barron, Stephen Decatur agreed to a guilty verdict, which expelled Barron from the Navy. A thirteen year quarrel ensued between the two men, which finally culminated in a duel at the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds in Maryland. Just 14 months after moving into their new Lafayette Square Park home, Stephen and Susan Decatur’s expectations of a fine life at the center of Washington’s elite came to an abrupt end. Stephen Decatur was fatally wounded during the duel and died several hours later at his home.

In addition to the numerous sightings of the sad ghost of Stephen Decatur at the house, the unexplained sound of mournful weeping has been heard. Many stories attribute the weeping to the ghost of Stephen’s broken hearted widow, Susan, who moved out of the house following the death of her husband.

In my search for information about these properties I found many more references than I originally expected to haunted real estate in the D.C. Metro area. I suppose it makes sense. In an area rich in historical intrigue, assassinations, power players, and war battles, there are bound to be countless stories of the supernatural, both seen and unseen.

What’s your story? Have you had an experience with haunted real estate? Do you know of a place in the area that should be included in the list?

Feel free to keep all the lights in the house on when you type. Nobody needs to know.

As we wind up the final weeks of election season, I’m noticing more and more lawn signs for the various political races in front of houses I drive past. While I don’t think I’ve ever put a lawn sign in front of my own home, I recognize the importance to many people to exercise this essential First Amendment right.

But if you’re selling a home, a political lawn sign is not a good idea.

First, it clutters up the view of your home, and can distract passers-by from seeing the “For Sale” sign in your yard. That sign should be the only call to action you want people to see.

Secondly – and most importantly – not everyone is going to agree with your politics. The last thing you want is for someone who loves what they see when they look at your home to decide they’d rather buy elsewhere because they can’t stand the guy you’re voting for. We make home purchasing decisions in large part based on our emotional connection to the house. It may seem silly to pass over a place you love because you disagree with the people who lived there before you, but believe me, it does happen.

Remember Jamie’s 7 Rules to Stage Your Home on the Cheap, and pay particular attention to #1 and #7.

You have every right to believe in, advocate for, and promote your candidates of choice leading up to the election, and vote for them when the time comes. My advice? Just don’t let it get in the way of smooth home sale transaction.

Image Credit: John Cook/Geekwire

At the TechNW event in Seattle, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff gave the keynote address. When asked by an audience member when the traditional real estate commission structure will finally be disrupted, Rascoff gave a candid assessment: “Don’t hold your breath.”

Rascoff explained that Zillow really has “no skin in the commission game” when it comes to what real estate professionals get paid, comparing Zillow to information provider WebMD.

“You have as much information sometimes as the doctor, but you are still seeing the doctor because they are the expert,” he said.

Rascoff said the best real estate agents today are those who understand complex real estate transactions and are good negotiators, adding that the “door opener” agents who have “access to a secret database” are fading away.

GeekWire reached out to Rascoff to get more insight on his comments. He explained further:

In my opinion, most home shoppers select a real estate agent based on their expertise and their overall fit with the potential client more so than based on price. For evidence of this, look no further than the many companies that started out as discount brokerages but which have reduced their discount over time, in most cases to the point where their product differentiation has become the quality of their agents rather than their price point. Brokerage after brokerage that have tried to gain market share based on offering discount services have tried and failed, because consumers don’t respond to it. The real estate transaction is too infrequent, too expensive, and too emotional for people to select an agent primarily based on price. True, there are also industry forces which make it difficult to operate as a discount brokerage; but the primary reason why discount brokerages fail is because consumers don’t choose to work with their agents.

What does this mean for you? Why should you care? Don’t Realtors get paid too much for what they do? Aren’t companies like Redfin upsetting the model?

Realtors don’t get enough credit. I feel comfortable saying this, because even though I’m no longer a Realtor, I’m married to one. I see how hard she works. I see her giving up her time, her effort, her money, her nights, her weekends, her opportunities to just relax and hang out with the family. She’s always going. And she doesn’t  get paid until a deal goes through. No matter how many contracts fall through, no matter how many times something comes up in the home inspection period that winds up being a deal breaker, no matter how often her clients realize that they need to keep looking for just a few more weeks, she gives and she goes. She answers the phone late at night. She works first thing in the morning. She goes to bat for her clients with other agents, lenders, appraisers, you name it. She’s not just a mom, or a wife, she’s a rock star. She’s dedicated to her business, to her clients, and to constantly increasing the depth of her expertise.

I tell people that even though I’m biased, they should really consider working with her if they’re looking to buy or sell, because nobody – and I do mean nobody- is going to work harder to get them what they want and get them through the obstacles that pop up along the way. Buying or selling a home can be simple, but it often isn’t. And when the road gets rocky, you need someone who knows how to get you over, under, and through.

That’s worth something. Agents who can do that deserve to get compensated for what they do. They work hard. They’re always learning. They invest in their clients up front knowing every time that they may not get any return.

And what Rascoff is saying is that these are the people who succeed because there’s no substitute for that effort and knowledge and experience. No startup DIY business model can replace that. These are the agents you want on your side when you want to be confident that despite setbacks, they’ll make the deal happen when you want to know that your agent is as hungry to get you what you want as you are.

What’s that worth to you?