U r b a n T r e k k e r

Future of Tysons Corner & Dulles Rail Update

This video was produced to document the transformation of Tysons Corner. Here is the link to view clips of the 'Future of Tysons Corner.'

The latest update from Dulles Rail for Tysons Corner area in its entirety.  

Utility Relocations and Right-of-Way Acquisitions Proceeding in Tysons Corner 

Construction crews, cranes, and bright orange cones along Route 7 signal progress on the relocations of utilities along the Route 7 and Route 123 corridors in Tysons Corner. This is in preparation for the future construction of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

This work increased after the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved the request by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to move the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project into the Final Design phase of the FTA's New Starts process on May 12.

Project officials work daily with businesses near the construction zones to minimize disruptions. Traffic patterns are changing, but access to all businesses remain open.

The project team is also working to update its financial plans and is following the FTA process for obtaining a $900 million Full Funding Grant Agreement.

When FTA approved the project into Final Design, they committed approximately $159 million for continuing project design, utility relocations, engineering, and project administration.

For traffic update, check here.

Virginia New POA and Real Estate Related Laws

[The new laws took into effect July 1. Because last week was slow-week..posting is pushed back.]

Virginia has this thing about date for a new law to take into effect July 1 (last week). The new legislation was supposed to resolved complaints filed on condominium and property owners' association resale packet process. What's added to the new law is the requirement for licensing individuals who manage properties.

There's a lot in the details to cover in this post. I'm just going to round up the most important part of the laws. If you're selling or thinking about putting your property on the market, you want to read the following.

SUMMARY of HB 516 (house bill) /SB 301 (senate bill). [h/t NVAR]

• The resale certificate must disclose any post-closing fees charged by management company and copies of 6 months association minutes.
• Two copies of certificate or packet will be provided in electronic or hard copy format. There should not be fees to access management companies electronic system.
• Association and/or management company will have to disclose to sellers the scheduled fees. There's a cap on how much management companies can charge. For example: $100 for inspection. $150 for hard copies or $125 for electronic.
• Cost can only be collected at settlement (before this law, it's collected when you made the request).
• Packet expiration: 12 months from issue date. Updates must be delivered within the 10 days limit.

The rest of the two bills dealing with licensing requirement for community managers (or property managers).

A House bill deals with predatory lending (HB 408) and Senate bill (SB 797) foreclosure prevention also passed. The House bill prohibits predatory for-profit foreclosure help services those are defined as services with upfront fees to apply homeowner payments to property lien or offer repurchase - unless - it's spell out in the contract. The Senate bill requires high-risk mortgage lenders and servicers to provide notice and additional time before starting foreclosure proceeding.

In this market, the last thing a bank wants is another foreclosure in the books.

Other things real estate related laws.

• On property management (HB 264) requires an out-of-state rental owners to have in-state resident agent for their property.

• On environment and energy efficiencies, there are three bills passed. 1) dealing with expansion of green buildings certification (HB 239), 2) locality tree ordinances (HB 1427/SB 710) and 3) removes the requirement of the only method to certify green buildings (to exceed 30% of state requirement) to include other certifications: LEED, Green Globes, EarthCraft and Energy Star.

For other legislations real estate related, summary read here or dig GA info here.

Free Green (Home) Renovation Guide

The American Society of Interior Designers Foundation collaborated with US Green Building Council to produce the free guidelines helping you to understand about green home renovation. 'REGREEN,' information is available at no cost to you, free, gratis!

The guidelines is project-based and it's chock-full of info. Contents organized primarily into 10 common types of projects for the house, i.e. bathroom, bedroom, living and working, basement, home performance, gut rehab, and more. Then it also offers part of it if you decided to do energy retrofit and going outdoors.

The one thing you have to know. The REGreen guidelines is not a rating system like LEED for homes. (Watsa green home info here). However, it does use different ratings if and when applicable such as HERS (Home Energy Rating System), EPA Energy Star for energy rating. EPA WaterSense, the rating for water efficiency criteria. Then there is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for wood certification. The list goes on and on.

Kitchen is one of the most popular remodeling projects according to NAR survey. Before and after case, from the kitchen renovation case study.

kitchen after

Here is where you can download the REGREEN guidelines (.pdf)*.

*Warning: it's a big file!

Whatsa Green Home?

With rising oil prices and electricity (read: Dominion Power to increase electricity rates), there couldn't be better time than now to go green.

You know the trend is when it received MSM's attention which bring it to the mainstream. Check this out. Washington Post has created a new section dedicated to 'Green' topics, which means that green is in. Green is no longer for enviro geeks only. It is 'officially' mainstream! Because sooner or later, it'll be costlier to maintain a non-green home than a green one.

In other words: Going green is good for your wallet.

Here is the first question before we even go that far: What is a green home anyway? The organization that certifies green buildings known as LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - has a very simple definition of a green home.

"A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living inside compared to a standard home. It’s as simple as that!"

A standard home is simply on the other side of a green home.

image: USGBC

A green home can take different shades: green, greener and greenest. It all depends how deep of a green shade you want to create. You want to just build or green remodeling your home to be more energy-efficient, or want to take it to the next level by using certified green products and produce your own 'renewable energy' from solar, geothermal and wind. I meant, the sky's the limit. The possibility is endless. It all depends on what your budget is. And what you want to achieve. Efficiency. Sustainability. Eco-friendly.

image: solar-powered grid connected home

If you want simply build or green retrofit your house to be more energy-efficient, i.e. you can be looking at using better insulation, energy-efficient appliances (like 100% Energy Star appliances), high performance windows.

To find out how to retrofit the house more energy-efficient, you can start with this web-based DIY energy audit tool to guide you through the process.

Or, you can also check it out here. And decide what you want to do next.

Say, you want take it to the next level. The use green building products is your next stop. For reference, here is a checklist (.pdf) of what green building products are and links where to get them re:sources.

Beyond that is the 3rd level, the more comprehensive approach. The third level achieved when you take holistic approach for the whole house which include the target of generating energy from renewable sources like sun, wind or down under (thick layer of soil).

In Washington DC region, if the energy produced is more than your house need, you can sell the power  back to the utility co. This is a way to read your meter backwards via 'Net Metering.' Depending on where you live (DC, MD or VA), you pay a minimal amount just to connect to the grid. The power from the grid serves as backup for your just in case.

Once you decide how green you want to be. What comes next is very important in the green homes business. That is, the 'voluntary' certification for the home itself. Green homes typically is certified by independent third-party verifier. Stockwell Manor in McLean is a Energy Star qualified homes, Cromley Lofts is LEED condos.  Carsten Crossings in California is LEED homes. These communities were either Energy Star certified homes, or LEED.

Think of certification like 'seal of approval' for the green homes.

There are so many certifications, somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 certification programs that exists in many different parts of the country. Here is a few of the certifications, via Green Home Guide.

• LEED Homes
  
• Energy Star Qualified Homes
• Arlington County Green Home Choice Program
• NAHB (the Association of Home Builders) has National Green Building program
• EarthCraft House
• EcoBuild
• Florida Building Coalition
• Building America

And more.

Does it mean that without certification we won't be able to put a label that this house is green? Yes you got it right. Though, the certification itself is 'voluntary' but, you can be assured that this is almost a 100% sure thing. For labeling purposes, it is required to get the homes 'independently' certified. The thing is without certification, there won't be green homes. Who's to say that the home is in fact a 'green home?' How do we (customers) know it? 

On the other hand, if your green home is geared towards energy efficiency, the labeling is a bit easier. All you need to do is to show how 'ridiculously' low (like $12 a month for connection fee) your home's utility bills and the type of clean energy from where you get the electricity from - be it solar/wind or geothermal - that might be all you need to back up your claim. You need no labeling.

Other than that, if you want to attach a 'green' label for your home - the 3rd party verification is needed - to tell the world that your house is indeed certified.

** UPDATE:

Perhaps I should explain how Net Metering works in DC-MD-VA. Other states here.

District of Columbia

"Credited to customer's next bill at utility's retail rate."

Maryland

"Credited at retail rate and carried over to customer's next bill; granted to utility at end of 12-month period with no compensation for the customer."

Virginia

"Credited to following month at utility's retail rate; either granted to utility annually or credited to following month."

Weekly Real Estate News Roundup

Foreclosure Stigma Haunts Would Be Renters
As if losing a house on the court steps wasn't enough, some former homeowners may find themselves turned away by apartment owners spooked by the foreclosure history on their credit reports.

America's Most Livable Cities
When Monocle published its list of the top 20 most livable cities last year, only one American metropolis made the cut: Honolulu, Hawaii (which, let’s be honest, barely qualifies as an American city.) Now the magazine has released its second-annual ranking—expanded to 25 cities—and added two from the U.S. mainland: Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon. Surprised?

Credit Scores Hit by Card Limits
NEW YORK (AP) — Just as Americans grow more reliant on credit cards to help pay monthly bills, they're being hit with a one-two punch: Card companies are reducing borrowing limits for tens of thousands of consumers, which then can lead to lower credit scores.

$19.5 M Hampton Mansion in Foreclosure
The foreclosure mess is casting a shadow over New York’s Hamptons this summer. One result: An 18,000-square-foot Bridgehampton home has been reduced from its $27 million asking price to “just” $19.5 million.

Trouble in LI Paradise
Homeowners in the some of the toniest ZIP codes in the Hamptons are facing a frightening reality - they can't afford to foot the bill for their high-priced homes, The Post has learned.

Update: Pete Sampras
For some weeks now Your Mama has been beating and banging the brains of our better connected tipsters and sources trying to figure out just exactly WHO purchased tennis titan Pete Sampras' big Bev Hills mansion that was on the market for and spine tingling $23,000,000.

Most Polluted Cities
"The World Bank estimates that 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are found in China’s industrial areas."

A Lot of Lots but Not Enough
On Avon Court in Halethorpe, there's an unwritten law that says the parking space in front of your home is your spot. But the commuters who flock to the Halethorpe MARC station don't follow that code.

San Diego Loan Collateral: Torrey Pines and Police HQ
How ignominious things have become in financially struggling San Diego. To secure some loans, it has, in the past, put up as collateral the Torrey Pines golf club. Yes that Torrey Pines, the one that just hosted the Tiger-won U.S. Open.

Geothermal Hits Home
Geothermal heating and cooling systems are increasingly taking root under the green, green grass of homes.

How to Control Your Credit Ratings
From buying insurance to getting a mortgage, your credit score is your financial DNA. Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here with her dos and don'ts of establishing good credit.

Carbon Counting Cheat Sheet
If you're concerned about climate change, and want to reduce carbon emissions, you might be surprised how easy it is to figure out how much carbon dioxide is produced by, say, driving to work.

FROM AROUND THE REGION: DC-MD-VA

Research Before Bid on Foreclosure
The more you hear about foreclosures piling up, the more you may be tempted to buy one. There's a lot to consider if you do - but first things first: Finding them.

F.C. Council Unanimous, It OKs Hilton Garden Inn
"They might not have gotten what they'd hoped for, but the input of the St. James Church, the St. James School parents and the neighborhood vastly improved the project, and it will be a great benefit for the City and the area."

Greening a Home with Energy Audit
With home energy costs jumping almost 31 percent over the past year in the Washington-Baltimore area, homeowners are trying to figure out how to reduce energy usage.

Prince William Supervisors Present Vision for Future County Transit
Prince William County would have Metro stops, extended commuter rail lines, more bus routes, and reconfigured roads and highways under the county’s proposed transportation plans.

The Anxiety and Mystery of Architect Fees
Most people have no clue how much it costs to hire an architect, and with good reason. The way most architects charge for their services is confusing.

Mailbox: Condo Coercions, Short Shrift on Short Sales and Testing the Bath
My mailbox has been full of comments on recent columns about life in homeowners associations, uncertainty with short sales and deciding how much money to invest in a bathroom.

The HOT Lanes are Coming
With less than a month to go before construction officially begins on the new beltway toll lanes, the final plans are wrapping up their warp-speed procession through the usually slow public process.

Residents Weigh In On Diamond Hotel Proposal
Last week, nearly 40 Herndon residents aired their concerns with the new Element Hotel proposal by Diamond properties at a special Herndon Planning Commission work session.

Housing Market a Mix Bag
Five homes in Charlie Waddell's small Herndon townhouse community have gone through the foreclosure process or otherwise been vacated by their owners, but he thinks his neighborhood has fared well, as a relatively stable community with many longtime homeowners. Herndon has seen hundreds of properties in its 4 square miles vacated over the past year and a half.

Arlington New Transit Hub and Projects Approval

The new Shirlington Transit Hub, county's first enclosed bus transfer station, is officially open for business. The station located at 2975 North Quincy Street next to Shirley Highway/ I-395. This station should complement the already hip Shirlington Village that offers lots of community amenities, such as anchor grocery store like Harris Teeter, Busboy and Poets, Capitol City Brewery, etc.

As you probably know Arlington has 11 neighborhoods designated as 'urban villages.' Seven of those have access to metro station. A few of those, like Shirlington doesn't have direct access to the metro station. The closest metro is Pentagon City but that is not something walkable. So, having an enclosed bus transit (helpful in the winter time) is a plus for the hood.

As the principal transfer point for Metrobus and Arlington Transit (ART) bus service in South Arlington, Shirlington Station connects thousands of regional commuters via 11 Metrobus and ART bus routes to locations throughout Northern Virginia.

Oh what's cool about the station. It has indoor waiting area equipped with customer seating and restrooms.

::

The county also OKs two projects: Monument View and expansion of Arlington Mill Community Center. Monument View project, is that off-and-on land swap deal with Monument Realty. Via BizJournal.

The board voted 4-1 Tuesday night to approve the deal, which transfers 28 acres of county-owned land to Monument in exchange for 5.5 acres. The county will build the multimillion-dollar sports complex, while District-based Monument plans a $250 million mixed-use site with 343 residential units and 326,000 square feet of office space.

Monument View

Arlington Mill community center

Arl. Mill community center site plan

The 4.71 acre site is bordered by I-395 on the West, George Washington Parkway on North and East and southern edge of 10th Street South. The project is slated for 8-story office building with ground floor retail and a four-to-seven story building for the residences (condominium?). The two buildings aim to achieve to be on the green: LEED for building and homes.

Arlington Mill Community Center is a private-public partnership development aim to expand the community center and transform it to a mix-use development with homes, shops, public plaza and parking. When they say, public-private partnership in which part of the funding will come from bonds (for gym, community center, plaza and parking) financed through county voters, then there is $11M through Fed income low-income housing tax credit program and some $3M from upfront value of land lease to support the 61 affordable housing units.

The plan calls for adding supply of affordable housing desperately needed for the county. Furthermore, according to the county.

"The plan also calls for a 159-unit residential building on the northern portion of the site and a six-story mixed-use building on the southern portion that will house the community center, ground-floor retail and 33 residential units.  In addition,an underground parking garage to serve the entire project and a new public plaza facing Columbia Pike are planned. The Board approved a use permit under the Columbia Pike Form Based Code. The mixed use community center will have a LEED Silver certification. The residences will achieve either the LEED Homes certification or the Earthcraft certification."

It will also provide 192 residential rental units in which 61 of those will be set aside for people who are earnings at or below 60% area median income which means that the rent for the affordable housing approx. between upper-$900 to upper-$1400.

Potomac Club Residents Bitter: Post

The new home owners were looking for Fairfax County alternative and thought Pr. William would provide them with alternative, such as Potomac Club. Wrong. The market shifted. And PW has one of the largest portfolio of foreclosures in Metro DC region. Of course they'd be bitter.

From Washington Post.

• By the time the new residents moved in to the community, they see their housing valuations declined by - $100,000! - while their tax bill go up.

But Klepac and other Potomac Club residents' confidence in the county has slipped. Klepac paid $412,000 for his 2,100-square-foot townhouse. By the time he and his wife, Renee, moved in, the asking price for a similar unit was $319,000. His home was valued at $337,000 in March.

• Delivery of homes were delayed. The word 'estimate' delivery have a meaning in a builder's vocabulary. It might be buried somewhere in the contract that you signed.

• The Potomac Club, which supposedly the 'it' community center, still not completely build out.

So, basically they're stuck.

The good news is: The new wave coming in to PW will find better deals there, since prices of all kinds of homes new or resale, have gone down so much since then.

Take home message when buying a new home: Have a 'wait-and-see' attitude. First, you want to see how the community grows over time before jumping the band wagon just because price is affordable and they showered you with all kinds of incentives. Unless the new home community is in close-in hoods, it is always good to wait.

And in a market where prices still have to find new ground, you have to think twice before moving forward. Because you're paying for 'delayed delivery price' of your 'new' home.   

FHA About to Scrap Down-Payment-Assistance

Sometime last week, a Federal Housing Administration official talked something about that they wanted to take buyers' subsidy program aka 'down-payment assistance' or in their jargon 'DAP' program off the table because of higher rates in foreclosures.

“Data clearly demonstrates that FHA loans made to borrowers relying on seller-funded downpayment assistance go to foreclosure at three times the rate of loans made to borrowers who make their own downpayments,” Montgomery said at a National Press Club event.

Such loans are currently one-third of the government agency’s portfolio, he added, and led the agency to book an additional $4.6 billion in unanticipated long-term losses in an annual re-estimate. [h/t Housing Wire]

Now the story has hit the mainstream. Via Wall Street Journal. 

That's raising concerns among critics who blame no-money-down mortgages for many of today's housing market woes. And while federal housing officials are moving to end the practice, for now home builders are promoting the programs to move unsold inventory.

I think the problem is not so much the program, but it is how affordable is the payment for the house. If you make only $50,000 and trying to buy a house with payment more than 50% of your salary - that is pure wrong - from a financial perspective. What if the person gets 'pink slip?'

And if home builders trying to use it as a marketing tool - and pushing the envelope! - as opposed to 'truly' helping buyers, that's not right, either.

"The bottom line...is these promotions work," John F. Eilermann Jr., chief executive of McBride & Son Enterprises Inc., the parent company of Vantage Homes, said in an email.

So bottom line: Price and affordable payment for the house. Not so much focused on the assistance. The assistance should be there for those who needs help the most.

image: WSJ

We know now that FHA loans take up a higher percentage of closed sales transactions in Washington DC region. (here, and here) The numbers are out there. What we don't know is what percentage of the home purchase was financed using DAP. (Data is not available)

Based on 'personal' observations, I found that only a small percentage of "single" buyers, have some savings saved up for a house compares to - two household income earners.

There's always two-sides of the story. Critics say that DAP is a some kind of money laundering program. Supporters says that 'it helps first-time buyers and low to moderate income purchase homes.'

Here is my client side of the story. (Yes, she's got her '15-min claim to fame' on front page of Wall Street Journal.)

Gloria Harris, a 57-year-old human-resources consultant, says she couldn't have bought her $216,000 two-bedroom condo in McLean, Va., in January without the $16,000 contributed by the seller to cover the down payment and closing costs. "I was having a hard time just trying to save because I was spending from week to week trying to live," she says. [emphasis added]

And that's her story.

Foreclosure Watch: McLean, Vienna, Oakton and Great Falls

Foreclosures, short-sales truly affects everyone regardless. The McLean, Vienna, Oakton and Great Falls hoods are the areas you find mansions and luxury (read: multi-million dollars) home.

I noticed that a few of the sold properties (either foreclosures or short-sales) looks like these houses got into some multiple contracts situation, which is a nice problem to have these days. These were properties sold for more than it listed for.

These two properties definitely went above its original price. Bid above listing still happening but not 'common' anymore.

1. 607 Meadow Ln. SW (Vienna). A single family house. Orig. price $460,000. Went for $490,000 or 6.52% above listing.

2. 1952 Kennedy Drive #201 (McLean). A foreclosed condo. Orig. price $189,900. Went for $215,000 or 13.22% above listing.

The rest of the pack, sold for below the original price.

A Few of 'THE' Best Deals

1. 627 Echols St. SE. -25.33% of its original price. Chevy Chase bank foreclosed this property for $560k.
2. 8704 Park St. Sold for -24.86% of its original price.
3. 1580 Spring Gate Drive #4203. Sold for -19.91% of its original price.

On average, these listings were sold 91.71% of original price. And the average median price was 97.3% of listing. Which tells us that 50/50 rule: There were properties sold close to or above listing price and there were those that sold way below. Higher 'average' tends to show that more properties get sold close to the price it listed for.

YTD Stats:

* Total number of foreclosed sold= 36 homes.
Under contract= 12 homes.
Active=14 homes

* Total number sold (conventional or non-distressed)= 624 homes.
Under contract=338 homes.
Active= 1049 homes

* Months supply of homes= 7.08 months (strong buyers' market)

So you see, the number of foreclosed homes ain't that bad for McLean-Great Falls and Vienna-Oakton corridors. It hardly make a 'dent.' What that means to you, if you're still waiting on the fence to buy in these areas, once you see something, gotta make a quick move.

Sales for Month of May 2008

link:

* listings (good for 30d)

data: MRIS

Home Energy Audit

This video on home energy audit shows how homes' wasting energy and tips of fixing it.