Selling your house during the Holidays

The holidays are a time of family, great-eating, and relaxation. This time period also provides a great opportunity to sell your house. Most sellers are faced with a whirlwind of questions when debating whether or not to place their home on the market.

Is this really the best time?

Should I wait until the holiday season past?

Maybe the new year is when I should start showing my home?

CityDwellers believes that the holiday season, although a stressful time, can be a great time to sell a house, and to sell it quickly and painlessly. In our experience some of the  great reasons you should place your house on the marketing during the month of December are:

There is less competition

Most people don’t want the hassle of the holiday season and selling a house. With a great realty company and extra dose of patience, the holiday season provides a low competition market.  Which means you don’t have to compete with dozens of other homes like in the springtime. This is amazing news for you, because ..

You can make more money

People take their homes off the market around this time!  The supply of homes decrease, yet there is still a demand. Less supply and more demand means more money for you.

Buyers are serious and motivated  

Anyone who takes time away from their family and love ones, to look a  new home is serious about buying NOW. Issues can arise in flexibility in showing times and negotiating the terms of contracts, but the holidays seem to make everyone a little more giving and kinder.

People are more emotional during the holidays

It’s just something about the holiday season that gets people all emotional! These emotions are beneficial for you, because these emotional people are spending more money. They are more than likely to spend more money with you on your house.  

Your house looks great this time of year

Who doesn’t like Christmas trees, stockings, and mistletoes! The holiday season provides the perfect opportunity for you to show a cozy, cheery, beautifully decorated home. Seasonal decorations allow families to visualize themselves celebrating the holidays there next year

Holiday Cheer on Florida Avenue

The holiday season is HERE! With Thanksgiving behind us, Hanukkah in full swing and December 25th days away, our neighbors are filled with holiday cheer. Florida Avenue is lighting up with holiday season.  Here is just a taste of how the residents of Florida Avenue are celebrating this holiday season.

The Citydwellers office is location at 29 Florida Ave NW,Washington, DC. 

The Block of Q

55 Q Street NW is the first investment property for owners, Khaliah Hall & Kellee Baker. The duplex was purchased in early 2003 and has been a successful investment property for CityDwellers.

Originally constructed in the 1900s as a 2 family flat home, the current property that stands on the corner of 1^st and Q Street has had several renovations, face lifts, and updates.

The house has enabled many families to call this place home, and once it was purchase by Citydwellers it became a successful investment property.

The current space is going through an extreme makeover and we are excited to share the journey with you all.

Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2
Listing Type: Residential
Type: A-Frame
Neighborhood: OLD CITY #2

Is your home winter ready?

Today DC experienced its first snowfall of the winter!  Although it was only a few flurries, it got us thinking

Are we ready for winter?

Moreover are our  homes prepared for the winter season?    

If you answered NO! to the questions above, don’t worry, we have you covered.  The CityDwellers team has put together a list of ways you can get your home winter ready in time for the next snowfall.

For those of you that answered yes to the above questions, let us know what you did to get your home winter ready. We will had your tips, techniques, and checklist to our Winter Home Prep Pinterest Board.

Let’s get started:

• Close off any room you aren’t using in the winter: Attic, porches, sitting rooms or spare  bedrooms

Windows and Doors

• Check all the weatherstripping around windows and doorframes for leaks to prevent heat loss. Replace weatherstripping, if necessary.
• Examine wooden window frames for signs of rot or decay. Repair or replace framing to maintain structural integrity.
• Check for drafts around windows and doors. You can check for leaks by holding up a lit candle to common trouble spots like:

• Window frames
• Door frames
• Outside vents to your dryer
• Baseboards
• Spaces around window air conditioning units

If the candle flickers, you’ve got a leak. Pick up a tube of caulk (about $5 in hardware stores) and use it to seal up any leaks.  

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

• Check that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order.

• Remove air conditioners from windows or cover them with insulated liners, to prevent drafts.
• If you have an older thermostat, replace it with a programmable unit to save on heating costs.
• Make sure fans are switched to the reverse or clockwise position, which will blow warm air down to the floor for enhanced energy efficiency and comfort.
• Examine exposed ducts in the attic, basement, and crawl spaces, and use a sealant to plug up any leaks.

Gutters, Roof, and Drains

• Check for missing, damaged or warped shingles and replace, as necessary before you get stuck with a leak.

• Check for deteriorated flashing at the chimney, walls, and skylights and around vent pipes. Seal joints where water could penetrate, using roofing cement and a caulking gun.

• Check the gutters and downspouts for proper fastening, and re-secure if loose or sagging. The weight of snow and ice can pull gutters off the house.

• Clean gutters of any debris. Make sure downspouts extend away from the house by at least 5 feet to prevent flooding of the foundation and water damage from snowmelt.

• Clean leaves and debris from courtyard and pool storm drains to prevent blockages.

• Ensure all vents and openings are covered to prevent insects, birds, and rodents from getting inside to nest in a warm place.

Miami Beach Condos (June 2013 Visit)

Our Miami Beach visit was fun & productive.  Miamians LOVE their HEAT team which we must say did a great job and they performed in one of the best Finals series match-ups ever.  While there visited quite a few properties.  Here are the highlights:

Property 1: 4000 169th St

Location: Good location right of the Sunny Isles Blvd Causeway at 163rd St between Sunny Isles Beach on Collins (Rte A-1-A) and Biscayne Blvd (Rte 1), with Adventura located only about 1 mile north. Off the Causeway, you must pass through a guarded gate to enter this section of town.

The Building: Very old concrete balcony motel style...

 

The Lobby: Shabby...Mirrored Walls & Vinyl furniture of decades past...Agent says that they plan to upgrade the interior one day.

Elevator to the 6th Floor:  The elevator (which is modernized) leads you...back outside to walk the outdoor hallway, which was not expected.
 

Once Inside:  The views are amazing with two sliding doors leading to the wrap-around balcony of this corner unit.  Corner dock is 35' but larger boats will fit since the dock is on the corner.

Interior is renovated very nicely.

Note: Just down the road at 3551 NE 169th St was a building with docks available, but the view is less than desirable as seen from the rear of the building below.

Property 2: 18061 Biscayne Blvd

Location:  Continuing over the 163rd St Causeway to Biscayne, leads to an odd complex of high-rises, mid-rises & a hodge-podge of parking lots after entering the manned security gate.  Anything in the community gets a thumbs down for the run-down look of the complex, the one slow elevator serving 18 floors, the odd parking situation, and a lack-luster view.  This one unit, however, looked fabulous on the inside...

Property 3:  6820 & 6830 Indian Creek (**Favorite**)

Location:  Great location on Millionaire's Row (you can tell this is actually a higher-end community based on the residents and the upkeep of the buildings in the area). 

These units go quickly.  There is a corner unit available for $315,000 with 2 bed / 2 bath, 1,296 sf, condo maintenance fee $384/mo.  A dock space can be rented for $150/mo.  Click here for a virtual tour of unit 6F.

D Street on Capitol Hill is Complete!

The D Street property is now on the market for $599,999!  It was a journey, but now it is complete and on the market.  Take a look at the pictures below.  You can view the entire virtual tour here: http://slideshow.mris.com/slideshow/slideshow.htm?ListingKey=97989166986

People love our coffered ceilings:

And our state of the art kitchen:

View the entire virtual tour here:  http://slideshow.mris.com/slideshow/slideshow.htm?ListingKey=97989166986

CityDwellers January Announcements

 Be sure to take advantage of our upcoming Winter Seminars.  Our favorite event will be the evening open house featuring a tour of our new Capitol Hill Renovation.  Visit www.DStreetEvent.eventbrite.com for more info & to RSVP.