Tim O Healy, Real Estate

Brought the Buyer!

2012-02-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

We have this card to send out soon.

SOLD!

2012-02-13T08:57:00.000-05:00

We'll be sending this celebratory card out shortly.

Community (and a hat)

2012-02-02T12:48:00.002-05:00

Just added the following sentence to my bio:

Tim was recently appointed to the Chevy Chase Fire Board and is hoping to be given a hat with the insignia of Fire Engine 707 emblazoned on it.

Maybe there will be a picture of this in the future.

Looking for properties?

2011-12-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

Take a look at these properties - ready and waiting for you!

New Property: Elegant Dale Drive in Silver Spring, MD (Woodside Park)

2011-12-16T15:41:00.002-05:00

You're Invited to the Open House THIS Sunday, December 18th!
1pm - 4pm.

The owners of this lovely home are the original owners and have taken care of it with great love and affection. Perhaps you know someone who might find this property appealing. Letting them know about it early would be wise... It would be a real holiday present!

See you then!

There used to be a castle in Chevy Chase!

2011-11-11T16:58:00.001-05:00

Located in, what is now called, the Town of Chevy Chase on East Woodbine Street (near Beach Drive), this castle overlooked Rock Creek Park. It was called Rossdhu Castle or Calhoun Castle.

The Washington Post described this castle as a replica of the 12^th century, Scottish ancestral castle of Clan Colquhoun from Loch Lomond. (February 1, 1975)

(Click for picture and more of the story by William Duvall, from TownofChevyChase.org)

Today, what is left of the castle is the turreted five-bedroom gatehouse and the small "moat" in front.

However, in the subdivision below the Rossdhu Castle, the even numbered homes on nearby streets all share a stone retaining wall in their rear yards, one of the last graceful remnants of the landscaping of the 100 acre site.

Tim O. Healy - (301) 980-4085

Price Change for 829 52nd Street, NW (DC)!

2011-10-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

829 52nd Street, NE Washington DC

Dear Friends,
What an opportunity! Just wanted to share that there has been a price change for the listing at 829 52nd Street, NE, in Washington, DC!

See my listing here: Price Change for 829 52nd Street, NE Washington, DC

This property went from $174,900 to $164,900, which is a 5.6 % reduction in asking price, or a pretty good reduction. Now, the cash flow potential is quite significantly positive. Ask me for more details. (301) 980-4085.

Please pass it on to anyone if you know anyone who might be interested and have them give me a call!

-Tim

What a Treat!

2011-09-24T18:52:00.000-04:00

Imagine yourself in this neighborhood, near a local bakery!

Tim will provide samples from a local bakery to give you a better idea of what it might be like to live in this home and neighborhood: 10200 Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910!

The Open House takes place, Sunday, September 25th from 1pm to 4pm. Come on by and experience this house for yourself! Feel free to contact Tim at 301-980-4085 for a private tour.

For Sale!

2011-09-23T12:16:00.000-04:00

*Original* Front of the house

*New Picture* Sunny Breakfast Room!

*New Picture* A View of The Kitchen

Check out the Tour Factory Tour

You think you have seen this all before? Guess again! We have new photos and a new price for this home in Capitol View: $368,999. These are just some samples of the new photos for 10200 Grant Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910. See the Tour Factory Slideshow here. See the Mouse On House Floorplan here!

And better yet, please stop by for our Open House, this Sunday, September 25, 2011 from 1pm - 4pm. Hope to see you there!

Property in Deanwood neighborhood (DC)

2011-09-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Deanwood in DC!

Take a look at the slideshow for this great investor's property!

Please let me know if you'd like to take a look!

- Tim

(301) 980-4085

timothy.healy@longandfoster.com

Property in Capitol View, MD!

2011-09-10T10:11:00.001-04:00

Take a look at this photos slideshow of this refreshing view from Capitol View!

Located 1.3 miles from the Forest Glen Metro, it's poised very close to all of the amenities of downtown DC and suburbs but just far enough away to enjoy some of the luxurious charms of Capitol View, once named because a person could see the Capitol building from around here.
Built in 1946.

4BD, 2BA (full), located on a large, level premium lot. Central air, cedar shake and brick, cathedral ceilings, artist's studio, walk in from curb.
Fully functioning alarms on every door.

Let me know if you have any questions. Tim Healy (301) 980-4085 or email: timothy.healy@longandfoster.com

Brought The Buyer!

2011-09-04T11:44:00.000-04:00

Another one, SOLD!

2011-09-04T11:43:00.000-04:00

SOLD!

2011-09-04T11:42:00.000-04:00

Open House at 4817 RODMAN ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20016

2011-06-29T11:47:00.000-04:00

4817 Rodman Street NW

Come join us for some cider and cookies this weekend, Saturday, July 2 from 1pm - 4pm. Can't make Saturday? We also have an Open House on Sunday, July 3, from 1pm - 4pm.

It will be a beautiful weekend to come see the house! See you there!

Thanks for the Plate!

2011-06-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

Recognition for 25 Years with Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

Open House June 26 - Cool & Refreshing Capitol View

2011-06-24T12:09:00.001-04:00

Cool and Refreshing Home in Capitol View!

Dear Friends,
Come by Capitol View to see this cool and refreshing residence! We will have it open this Sunday, June 26th from 1-4.

10200 Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD

If you'd prefer a private tour, please call me at (301) 980-4085 or send me an email: timothy.healy@longandfoster.com

Open House - June 19th from 1- 4pm, a Father's Day Special!

2011-06-17T15:59:00.000-04:00

Open House Sunday, June 19th4817 Rodman Street, NW Washington, DC 20016!
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

A Father's Day Special!

Please visit my website http://www.timohealy.com
and view a photo tour and floor plan photo tour.

Open May 8 from 1-4 pm. You might want to invest in it for your favorite mother!

2011-05-07T16:44:00.004-04:00

8517 Milford Avenue, Silver Spring, MD

Open House Sunday, May 8th at 8517 Milford Avenue in Silver Spring, MD! 1pm to 4pm. Stop on by to take a look!

See you there!

Open House this Sunday in Silver Spring, MD!

2011-04-29T19:51:00.000-04:00

You are invited! I am having an Open House this Sunday, from 1pm to 4pm on 8517 Milford Avenue in Silver Spring! We'll have cookies and apple cider! It's a lovely brick Colonial in Rosemary Hills area.

If you have a smartphone, you can scan this QR code (even on your computer screen) and it will take you right to the TourFactory Website to see our photo tour!

Hope to see you there!

Check out my QR Code

2011-04-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

Have a smart phone? Get the free tag reader (http://gettag.mobi) and "read" my QR Code.

If you are on my mailing list, you may be receiving mailings from me with these QR (quick response) codes on my mailings. Check this one out and see what it says!

PS...They tell me that you can read it off of your computer screen, also!

Do you know the history of your home?

2011-04-26T12:24:00.002-04:00

The Montgomery County Historical Society is doing it again! April 26th, the Genealogy Club will be hosting a workshop on Researching Your Home and Land.

If you ever wanted to find out more about the history of the home you're in or the neighborhood you'd like to be in, this might be a club to check out!

Click here for more information: http://www.montgomeryhistory.org/calendar-events

Welcome Back!

2011-04-14T10:34:00.000-04:00

After a great class with Brian Buffini recently, I have decided to go back to the wonderful items of value he offers on a monthly basis. I will be sending these out to my best friends and clients. You could be one of them. If you think of someone who might benefit from these mailings or my services or both, please let me know. I'll be glad to send these informational pieces along and always glad to help your best referrals.

My daugther Meagan has agreed to help me these days and I welcome her assistance. She is a graphic designer and a willing worker who has helpe me immeasurably in gaining a foothold in the cyber world. This new world offers many opportunities to agents, intent on staying in touch with a moving marketplace, the better to serve and assist.

Interest rates are still amazingly low...in the 5% range for conforming money ($417,000) When we bought our house in 1983, the general market rate for fixed rate, 30 year mortgages was 12.625% down from 17%, the previous year.

We refinanced when it went down to 9.5%, then again when it went to 7.5% then again when it went to 5.5%.

One footnote from Brian Buffini's seminar: Opportunity never shows itself with no risks.

Local Lunchtime Walking Tours

2011-03-09T13:29:00.000-05:00

Walking tours in your neighborhood might reveal more than you ever knew.

The Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, MD is offering local lunchtime walking tours as part of an art exhibit at the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery. Sounds like a great way to view your current local area or perhaps get a preview of one you'd like to be in.

If you'd like more information, click here!

Do You Know The History of Your House?

2011-03-09T13:26:00.000-05:00

How well do you know the history of your house? The Montgomery County Historical Society Geneology Club is offering a workshop on researching your home, March 12th and also April 26th. See this link for more information!

Rainy Days Good For Real Estate Visits

2011-02-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

Rainy Days are always good times to look at real estate for two reasons. #1, you get a water view for no extra cost, #2, the real reason is that you can see if the property leaks!

"Your Market Minute" - a new video by Tim

2011-01-25T21:05:00.001-05:00

I have just redone my website: timohealy.com. Take a look! I've got two very successful slideshows of my last two properties, one on the front Property page and the other Pending because it's...pending.

If you like this video, "like" my Business Facebook Page for Tim O. Healy Real Estate.

Heros vs Champions, part II

2010-11-08T14:42:00.000-05:00

It's hard to find a hero or a champion story in the world of real estate these days. Mostly there are casualties and "underwater" stories that dominate the subject.

Not so with a condo complex in Northern Virginia, although it could have been a disaster. This complex is a bit older and suffered from some sense of neglect...its hidden assets are the building and the long term owners.

The story began when my client bought a unit in this building. I advised him to go to the Condo Board meetings to meet his new neighbors and consider running for the Board. As a first time home buyer, he was a bit apprehensive, figuring that the members of the Board were probably all specialists and he was a novice. The unit he was buying hadn't been updated, but at the time the real estate market was "hot", so he bought a unit and moved in and began and completed an extensive renovation. A year or so later, he called to ask me if I would join him to look over the books of the Condo Association to discuss some concerns he was having. We met for lunch on Capitol Hill where he works. After lunch, we pored over the financials and came to a terrible conclusion: repairs to the pinhole leaks were causing the building's financial reserves to dwindle to a frighteningly low point. There was enough left to cover one more disaster, if it wasn't a BIG disaster, and then, THUD, the bottom would drop out of the Condo's world...no more money, none, nada, zilch.

Past boards had been unconcerned with the dire warnings that the outside management had proffered, preferring in Board meetings to discuss the movement of plants and chairs in the lobby. Here's a description of what happened in his words:

"Past boards here were overly concerned with paying as little as possible each month for management and upkeep, and paralyzed by personality conflicts, inability to look ahead and complacency. The place needed a crisis to wake everybody up. The pinhole leaks which depleted our limited reserve fund over 2005-06 did that and got me interested. Then after I joined, I forced issues, which pressured the two holdover board members out (they couldn't keep up) and I got to pick their replacements. One of the replacements (3 years now) is an accountant who had visited me a few days after moving in in late 2006 asking to be considered ASAP after I'd managed to swing a 52% increase in the monthly fee just one month after the previous board had raised it by 10%. She wanted to know what was up and to help fix things so that that wouldn't occur again. She's been invaluable, too. In the past, too many potentially good board members hadn't been involved. The place had had bad management, too. We fired the old company in December 2007. Now in 2010, everything and everyone is different. We've pressed the case for continued investment for actual improvements to the building and the grounds. Also, with our new management company have come new contractors and even expert consultants. Now not one contractor working for us is a holdover from 2007 - and they're ALL exponentially better. The whole thing has made everyone in the building feel more confident about the future. I even think that by the end of 2011, we'll be able to attract new buyers. At the annual meeting this month, an owner who had served on the board off and on for 19 years congratulated me on the turnaround and said before the whole group that we'd done a great job. There are no hard feelings. That's good, too."

What got my attention and caused me to write this posting are these simple truths:

Getting one's house in financial order is a job, but not an impossible job.
Being active in your neighborhood is not only being civic minded and a duty but also protective of your investment in real estate.
Going through a crisis successfully has a lot of pluses and it draws people together in wonderful ways.
Raising the condo fee was the only solution available...and it was not without pain.
Tackling this problem is not for everyone. But champions and heroes are created by scary and terrible circumstances.

Units in the building that were once attractive on the market suddenly have high condo fees, reducing prices to a pretty tough level (value in condos is usually a factor of the monthly payment to own).

Good news update...breaking news!

My client tells me that they now have fixed the pinhole leaks throughout all of the building, have just started trimming and removing the overgrown and dead trees on their property, have renovated the lobby and the elevator and have enough of a reserve that they are considering dropping the condo fee and lightening the load a little on their neighbors...and themselves. In short, the light is visible at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Congratulations to you all for "...seizing the day." (in this case, seizing the past 5 years!)

The difference between a hero and a champion...

2010-11-08T12:41:00.002-05:00

The difference between a hero and a champion...It's just a matter of time. Both characters require a troubling and scary crisis.

Heroes are sometimes created in an instant in a sudden and shortlived crisis. Champions are created in a longer crisis, more long term workers who create an environment and sense of worth over a long period of time. A hero in real estate might be someone who saves a small child in a tragic apartment fire. A champion might be a person who saves an entire building by careful attention to details and a realistic plan for it's salvation.

Knowledge is Power

2010-09-05T09:44:00.000-04:00

As I said to my clients just yesterday, "My job is to make sure you understand the ins and outs of real estate as it directly applies to your specific investment. I'd like to give you a brief overview of Real Estate 101, Tim O Healy-style. You will be able to talk intelligently about your investment at any cocktail party or Thanksgiving get-together. You will also know how to detect when others are making statements that are false or misunderstood. A little research and a little education in making an investment is never a bad thing. Knowledge is Power."

Tim O Healy, a former teacher with storytelling skills, has successfully engaged clients for the last 24 years, with hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate sales.

Neighborhood Walks

2010-07-31T11:28:00.000-04:00

Tim on Saturday morning walk

Well, it's a beautiful last day of July today. We tried to get out before noon when the heat of the day hits. It's a nice way to get some exercise, to say hello to the neighbors (and their dogs) and to see what's what in the local real estate world.

We saw a house being built on this corner. Progress!

Contemplating life at 102

2010-07-24T11:41:00.003-04:00

Contemplating life at 102. Not me; the temperature that Maryland will be today.

In my last Open House, the property was so wonderfully well-insulated that we placed a single air-conditioner window unit upstairs in one of the bedrooms and then placed a fan on the landing of the stairwell that "oscillated" the air back and forth. It cooled the house considerably.

When we had visitors to the Open House, one of them exclaimed, "I thought that this house didn't have central air!" It didn't.

It's just surprising that that unit worked so well!

Ratified!

2010-07-21T13:49:00.002-04:00

We just ratified a contract for a very nice townhouse in historic Cleveland Park in DC. We had a choice of one out of seven applications! What a terrific moment for the sellers. They are pretty pleased with how this went forward!

Happy Spring from Tim O Healy, Real Estate

2010-04-05T11:23:00.001-04:00

real estate thoughts

2010-02-08T05:51:00.000-05:00

For a lot of people, just the idea of planting roots in a community is the strongest reason, by far. The other side of that motivation is the idea that no one can ask you to leave, that you can decorate any way you want, that you are in a "home", not just a house. If you shop well, you will have a place in a thriving community filled with wonderful people who share many of your same motivations for home ownership.
There is the "pride of ownership." When you rent a house, there is always that lingering sense that the landlord/owner can come at any time and claim the house for the landlord's personal use.
Saving for retirement is perhaps the next strongest reason, as each payment draws the buyer a little closer to a "paid up" house by paying part equity, part interest.
The fourth reason people indicate is "appreciation." We have seen this investment questioned lately, but over the long haul, real estate has proved to be an effective "hedge against inflation." Make no mistake about it...real estate is a long term investment. Ask anyone who has owned for 10 years. I see homes that are significant assets, paid up over time, as an example: A modest home in a nearby neighborhood, purchased 11 years ago at $140,000 just sold for a whopping $240,000 profit, with no tax liability...see reason 7.
Mortgage interest deductions are a fifth reason some cite for buying a home, as they have high enough incomes to warrant a large deduction from their income for tax purposes.
Property tax deductions are another reason.
The capital gain exclusion of $250,000 from any gain, per owner if the property is held as a primary residence and lived in for 2 of the preceding 5 years, is yet another.
Use of the capital in home equity loans, as a deductible loan and a way to tap equity in the house.

The first three on this list probably make up the dominant reasons for owning real estate for the overwhelming majority of buyers. It's not uncommon for people to buy a house and begin to pre-pay the mortgage right away, the better to get the loan paid off. It's a device to help you control your retirement and to build a source of equity in your declining years. Most young people can't imagine that old age will ever come to them, but if they're lucky, it will.

Some last thoughts; invest like you'll live to see the value of it, dance like no one's looking and work hard for your community.

real estate value

2010-01-25T02:16:00.002-05:00

Cutting to the chase

Prologue:
My mother loved the flying red horse, emblazoned on the wall next to the Mobil Gas Station, at the corner of 8th and Main Street in our little town. As she would recount her dreams to us each morning at breakfast, she reported that she would find herself on this mighty steed, visiting distant locations and returning, amazingly, just before she awoke. Sometimes she would go back to her home in Burlington VT, sometimes, the upper east side of New York City…sometimes, she would visit the Spanish steps of Rome.
The set up:
We real estate agents sometimes encounter sellers who can’t bring themselves to sell their homes, really. They list them for sale, often at a too high price or for unrealistic terms…they have a tremendous emotional attachment. Sometimes, their spouses want/need to sell, one owner adamant and the other reluctant but seemingly interested in selling. On one such occasion, I had some good friends who wanted/needed to sell out. One of the Sellers got stuck, though. Though I had no idea about this fact, there had been a child who had died in the home that was on the market now, for four months, at a too-high price. The Seller must have felt that a lower price would represent abandoning this child if it actually sold out. The seller was hanging on for dear life!

I was re-thinking my role in this sale…it had been going on forever! "Listings for life" are not a good tool for success for anyone, neither agents nor clients.

This seller’s emotional intensity reminded me of my mother, a little. I called the seller one fine afternoon, prepared to release the listing and abandon the quest of a new owner for the house, at least on my watch. In relating the story of my mother’s late night dreamy wanderings to this seller, I recalled the ease with which my mother visited far distant places, and noted that my mother was able to visit each location with alacrity and at will in her dreams and on a fabulous and legendary steed. Furthermore, she most certainly didn’t need to own the property she visited.

A couple of days after our conversation, the seller relented, lowered the price and we sold the home. What I didn’t know at the time was that this transaction was a critical piece in a larger familial struggle, in which other family members many miles away were in a murderous conspiracy to take over their estate by the elimination of the heirs of the sellers’ estate (the seller’s children). The sellers had sold out, just in the nick of time ane were able to foil the plot!
The moral to the story:
We don’t always see the totality of people’s problems. Sometimes we don't even see so clearly the ones in front of us. We certainly don’t often understand the outlying ramifications of either action or inaction. What we do see is the frustration of inertia, indecision, and hand-wringing grief...the most obvious. When a solution comes that clarifies and resolves, we are all greatly magnified and rewarded. When the solution disarms heinous plots and conspiracies, we are indeed and in deed, “…making a difference.” Vive le real estate agents!

Action steps:

As my father once remarked, “Stay alert! The world needs more lerts.”

Tim

property values

2010-01-22T21:03:00.014-05:00

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. as of 22 January, 2010. Here's the report on some real estate in Washington, DC.
                                           total tax value       Land              Buildings
1600 Pa Ave, N.W. '07     $193,926 M   $115,200 M    $ 97,306 M
                                        '08       $381,850 M   $284,544 M    $ 97,306 M
                                       '09       $398,926 M   $298,771 M    $100,225 M
The observation is that the land increased in value by a factor of 247% in the year between 2007 and 2008. I wonder what might have happened between the year 2007 and 2008 that would make the value of the White House rise so amazingly in the eyes of the DC tax assessor?

We have heard that property values are decreasing all across the country. However, the tax assessors in Washington must know something we don't. These statistics indicate a tremendous rise in tax value has occurred. I wonder what might have happened between the year 2007 and 2008 that would make the value of the White House rise so amazingly? It can't be for the tax revenue, as government buildings and property are exempt from paying taxes.

Pressing on...

Now, the year the White House was built is noted as 1840. If my history serves me correctly, the British military torched the President's house at this address. At the time it was grey. After the British left, the house was rebuilt and painted white, thus the title The White House. Here are some other statistics, culled from a History of the White House on the internet:
•There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 6 levels in the Residence. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators.

•At various times in history, the White House has been known as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion." President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.
•Presidential Firsts while in office... President James Polk (1845-49) was the first President to have his photograph taken... President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09) was not only the first President to ride in an automobile, but also the first President to travel outside the country when he visited Panama... President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) was the first President to ride in an airplane.
•With five full-time chefs, the White House kitchen is able to serve dinner to as many as 140 guests and hors d'oeuvres to more than 1,000.
•The White House requires 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface.
•For recreation, the White House has a variety of facilities available to its residents, including a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool, movie theater, and bowling lane.

I wonder if the assessors actually went inside to make their adjustment in value?

FHA guidelines about to change

2010-01-20T17:11:00.001-05:00

From what we hear, the guidelines for FHA financing are about to change. It's not a minute too soon, some say. We hear this from Dave Stevens, now the head of FHA and a one time president of Long and Foster. After witnessing a burst bubble because of financing that was historically too easy for the market and which has created a massive headache in the real estate world, the FHA determined that they would raise the limits for financing to over $700,000, up from a cap in the mid $300,000s. This was done rather hurriedly, in the midst of all of the stimulus excitement in an effort to keep the real estate world from collapsing. With conventional financing before the change, it was possible to get 100% financing. Now with FHA, and for a little while longer, you can get 97% financing. If you thought that was a scanty difference, you would be right.

So what FHA and their guidelines will be dealing out, we hear, is the emergence of an old fashioned mode of selling real estate...make the buyer put some skin in the game. We are liable to see a requirement of 10% down payment, as a minimum.

For those agents who have been counting on 100% financing (if there are any left standing), this is a noisome wakeup call. For those buyers who want to buy but have no down payment, it may be a time of saving up funds in preparation for buying. If you need some guidance on how to do that, please call. I am always glad to help.

Now, VA financing is still able to be 100% financed...that's not likely to change.

Why do people come to Washington, DC?

2010-01-20T17:03:00.001-05:00

Apart from the multiple flamingos in the previous post, there are interesting people who come to town. This man, as an example, wearing what appears to be the color of a redskins visor, is in fact the Dalai Lama. We went to hear what he had to say and it was great. He talked about intentions. Even if you do a good deed and it might be a wonderful thing you have done, if you have done it with poor intentions, your deed has lost its luster. In fact, it could be a negative deed, if done for a completely bad reason.

infestation of flamingos

2010-01-20T16:54:00.004-05:00

Every now and then, flamingos makes their way into a neighborhood like this. Getting them on this scale is a bit scary. What happens next is anyone's guess.

This is our neighborhood: Section 3, Village of Chevy Chase.

I'll keep you posted on what happens to them in the spring, when all of the other birds return from the south.

Washington DC, is a good place to work and live

2010-01-05T15:47:00.001-05:00

Currently, Washington, DC is the best place in the country to work. For every job there are only 2 applicants. In other cities, like Detroit, there are 21 people applying for every job. This is a sign of a solid marketplace.
One other statistic: for fiscal year 2009 the estimated property, deed recordation and transfer tax revenues total approximately 34.7% of the general fund and local source revenue for the City. For DC, the real estate industry is the anchor for tax revenue.

The word Maverick defined

2010-01-02T16:56:00.000-05:00

I would like to offer a clarification of the word “maverick” for once and for all. Clearly the body politic is not that interested in looking up words and is intent on rough riding our language. Today is the beginning of the end of that bring down.

A maverick is simply an unbranded calf, akin to a motherless child. It is not a “rogue” or a “renegade”, or an animal with his/her own mind. Generally speaking a Maverick might well be expected to be poorly fed and quite thin, due to his/her lack of maternal attention. Bawling or excessive mooing might be another characteristic. Further, he/she might well be expected to be hard to get along with, i.e. cranky, not because of an elevated brain pattern but simply because he/she has to “make a living” without any help from the older generation.

The most common usage for this term occurred when the calf was born in the early Spring out on the “open range”and the mother cow didn’t survive the birth. Naturally, the calf wouldn’t have a brand to determine ownership until later on in the Spring roundup. These roundups were generally run by the larger ranches but the word Maverick had been hatched earlier.

It seems there was a Texas rancher named Maverick who took 100 cows and a few bulls to an island in the Gulf of Mexico. He just dropped them off, figuring that in a few years he would have doubled or maybe tripled his investment, simply by leaving the animals to their natural ways. A few years later, Maverick returned to the island and was disappointed to see that the only animals on the island were the ones he had brought over and which bore his brand. His neighbors, you see, had learned of his investment scheme and had visited the island in his absence and simply took the unbranded calves. The “get rich quick and without work” scheme was indeed a scheme that didn’t/couldn’t work. Thereafter, the neighboring stockmen would see an unbranded calf and say, “That must be one of Maverick’s.”

Okay, that’s enough for today. Next stop, decimating.

reverse mortgages

2009-12-28T20:16:00.001-05:00

Recently, I spoke with two neighbors here in Chevy Chase on the subject of reverse mortgages. Two in one week is a lot, considering I hadn't ever spoken to anyone who was actually considering the idea. So I decided to do some investigation about the product and get ready with some referrals of competent and solid loan officers who are able to explain it well.

I have one referral ready and will have another one in another day, I expect.

Basically, it is a loan that someone who has a lot of equity in his/her house can take out, either in lump sum or in a monthly payment to allow the owner to remain in his/her house. In fact, in order to qualify for this loan, the owner has to be living in the house. There is a cap on the amount of money the bank will loan, and there is an interest rate, which can rise or fall. Presently, as the market rates for mortgages are down, it may be a good time to "refinance." Obviously, this idea is a bit different than other loans on real estate, so there are a host of caveats that will accompany this essay. The first and most important is to speak with your financial advisers, your tax experts, and legal help. I will have a brochure for anyone who is interested. Just give a call at 301-980-4085 or email me at timothy.healy at longandfoster.com

insulation observation

2009-12-19T22:58:00.001-05:00

Picture 1 is an example of a potential heat loss on a Dutch colonial. Picture 2 looks like a heat loss from the ridge line at the top of the house. Picture 3 seems to be a heat loss near the chimney.

a new video series--real estate

2009-12-19T18:17:00.011-05:00

These video clips are meant to provide my clients with "real" information about the real estate market. There will be onsite observations of ways to make your home more "green" and energy efficient, updated costs of mortgage money and refinancing, helpful referrals of service providers, putting a face to the name. Enjoy the show!

publicity and critiques

2009-12-11T08:48:00.003-05:00

I wrote this note of encouragement to a band from Wyoming living in one of the best towns in Wyoming...Tensleep. They are a good band but they got knocked by a Denver Post column about something they did that was "rude". I didn't know about that part. I guess I came in late.

On the subject of music critics and home grown heroes lies a tale:

(A note of caution: This longwinded recollection might be saved for one of those nights when sleep just won’t come. By the end of this, you’ll be glad to get horizontal.)

Mary-Averett Seelye was a performance artist who grew up in Washington DC. She was about 6’6” and thin enough to slide through an unopened door. (Remember the comic book guy, Plastic Man?) She had developed an art form that was unique: she recited poetry while moving like a dancer. Needless to say, she had to memorize all of the poetry. Beyond that fairly impressive feat, she also had to make her angular movements match, in some fashion, the mood she felt was created by the words of the poetry. Finally, she had to build a stage set to accompany this whole operation and dress accordingly. There were elaborate stage sets and costumes, but she tied the poetry together so that the whole thing didn’t have to get broken down for each new work. And the poetry was not for the faint of heart. She hit the books with a vengeance, tackling all of the poems you might have heard about and some that you had never heard or would likely ever hear about without someone putting a gun to your head in school. Let’s face it, trying to pierce the meaning of life ain’t dealing out chopped liver. Making a living out of that search…ah, that takes some thought.

I mean, take Edgar Allan Poe. That guy was weird. He got dressed all in black (John Cash?), wore a flat flamenco looking hat and used to sell his stuff on the street corner in Baltimore, hand published. These days, he might have been taken for a homeless man and beaten up and poured gasoline on and lit up like a candle. Or shot up a parking lot full of innocents. And the stuff he wrote was very strange…a raven? Come on, a raven is like an owl, with a sharp turned down beak, a real predator…not a crow. And can you imagine having a Raven sitting above your front doorstep saying, “Nevermore?” Yikes, that’s creepy.

But he got so famous they named the Baltimore football team from his poem. Pretty cool, but this takes a longer view of poets and their “audience.”

Back to the story:

Mary-Averett developed quite a following. In those days, she had a mailing list of 1200 people who would hear about what she was doing. The audience would number 300 sometimes and sometimes 100, but she always drew a crowd….a paying crowd.

She had a non-profit organization develop up around her called KINESIS, with a Board of Directors and a team of PR people who would get the word out about coming presentations. She was unique and that’s saying a lot in this world. You may not like poetry readings; you may feel that TS Eliot’s got nothing for you. For me, it’s an ordeal to get through his stuff without a crowbar, so I am not sure I “get” all of what he was about. Watching this lady recite his poetry while moving her angular frame through all kinds of contortions, over unusual stage sets…well, it was like watching a person do a modern dance in an imaginary cave, through all of these strange and wonderful words...like a slow motion St. Vitus dance, but controlled and refined and so intricately organized. Some observers got so amazed by what she did; they wrote Master’s theses on it for Graduate School. It’s hard to describe any better than this so you’ll have to trust me that it was remarkable.

Moving along to the critic part:

If you were heavily involved in poetry, you would be able to listen to her cadence, her reading, her general understanding and make a comment for the people who might be interested in stuff like that. On the other hand, if you were a person involved in expressive movement, or stage sets or “performance art”, you could take a shot at saying something interesting. Short of that, you would have to be pretty all around thoughtful to make much sense out of what she did. Getting an all around observer is not that easy. You can see why it might be hard to write something intelligent about a profound and thoughtful event, unlike anything in the creative world you had ever seen before.

One day a hapless critic from the Washington Post appeared at one of her “readings/interpretations/dance-outs/whatevers”. If this observer of cultural phenomena had been dumbstruck, he would have been a step ahead. Unfortunately for him, he wrote a tongue in cheek critique that got Mary-Averett a little wrapped around the axle. He was just the wrong guy in the wrong place and he said the wrong thing. So Mary-Averett memorized what he wrote and incorporated it into her next presentation. She blended it into her routine in a kind of curious way, just enough to let the guy know that she read it but also enough to let him understand a bit better what he had clearly missed about her art form. Assuming he was of average intelligence, he should have been embarrassed for the cheap shots he took. But what I am driving at, she didn’t let the guy dictate how she would operate in her own world. After all, the critic sometimes is a person who gets paid $75 to write an epitaph, or so he might hope. He might have gone home that night and likely watched Maverick re-runs like everyone else. Or maybe he came home and knocked down a fifth of cheap tequila and sucked his way through two packs of camels and beat his wife. Or maybe he beat someone else’s wife.

Now that I see how long this silly note has gotten, I am realizing I could have suggested having El Jefe write a song like Alice’s Restaurant which made fun of the police department who had charged poor Alice with littering, but I didn’t know Arlo or Alice.

Summing up:

Getting mentioned by a Denver critic may be a good thing. Getting panned by a Denver music critic is not terrible either…after all, what you all are doing is unique. Shoot, you live in Tensleep! That’s already unique. But beyond that, you are all surviving in a musical presentation, singing music for our times. And getting paid to do it! As they say in show biz, don’t let the bastards get you down.

Our friends at the Kennedy Center

2009-11-24T10:10:00.004-05:00

Just when you thought classical music couldn't be more fun, along come the Golden Rules (see the Playbill) of performance etiquette from our friends at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Item 7 is the best example of great editing to obtain the best effect: THOU SHALT NOT TALK, or hum, or sing along, or beat time with a body part. Now that covers everything that could be used to beat time, I guess! It's not clear if the enforcement is imminent

And as you depart from the parking lot, one final rule, not written in the handout, but signed prominently in the garage: "No Drilling in the ceiling." We asked the attendant if we could just make one little hole? She said, "No. Read the sign."

He seems to myth the mark

2009-11-17T11:24:00.007-05:00

Mr. Joseph Gyourko wrote an article in the Washington Post on Sunday Nov. 16 entitled "5 Myths About Home Sweet HomeOwnership" which was a curious blend of misstatement and simple rot. Sometimes it's hard to figure which is which.

As we all know, location is the operative word for good real estate investing, and the story below is an example of a good investment. Is it an anomaly or could other agents find similar stories? Maybe in Philadelphia and near the U. of Pennsylvania, the market is sinking like a rock.
A case in point: A recent sale. I had sold this person a house 11 years before, so I knew the numbers quite well. It was a 3 bedroom 2 full bath brick colonial, acquired through a foreclosure sale in 1998. The purchaser took advantage of the FHA 203K program for acquisition and construction. This new owner bought the house at $107,000, and dedicated $35,000 to restoration and renovation including a new roof, ac compressor, a renovated kitchen, regraded rear yard, sanded and sealed floors, and was painted inside and out.
Eleven years later, we priced the house at $419,000 with $18,000 in fix up and cleaning in preparation for the sale. We did succeed in selling it in one week, for full price. It closed in one month, priced within 1 percent of the final appraised price.
The seller, my client and good friend, has roughly $218,500 in clear profit at settlement, which is not taxable as it is under $250,000 profit and the owner has lived in the property for 2 of the past 5 years. At this juncture the owner has amassed enough money to buy another house in a different state for $145,000. The new house was completely paid in cash, yet left a sizable chunk of hard cash to help subsidize life in the new location and retirement. What part of the myth did we miss?
The myths, one by one:
1. Was it as good a return as the Stock Market? I guess so, have your accountant or tax professional do the math and tell me where you could buy some stocks or bonds that would return this kind of money and allow you to live in the investment. 3.5% of the $142,000 cost of the property and let’s consider the cash on cash return. The client put up about $5000 in cash and another $4000 in closing costs...let's say $9000 in hard cash at the settlement table. The net profit on the transaction was $218,500. not counting the interest rate deductions over the time in the house. She was in the property for 11 years so whatever you determine was her total rate of return has to be divided by 11 years.
2. Did she worry about the tax credit? No
3. Did it make her a better citizen? This isn’t about civics but the client enjoyed great times in the neighborhood as an owner.
4. Did she worry about the safety of her investment by making a low down payment? The buyer was a single parent of three grown children out of the house who practiced as a financial planner. FHA allows for a 3.5% down payment on the total value of the loan, so the client was able to finance the renovation as well as the purchase of the house. The FHA 203K is an extremely useful tool, which has been available for years and is underwritten by the Federal Government to upgrade homes and communities.
5. Was it cheaper to own the home rather than rent it? Her rent would have lacked any tax shelter, so she would have paid out about $1200 per month for 11 years or $14,400 per year for 11 years or a total of $158,400 of money that would not have had any return. The owner of the house would have enjoyed all of the tax shelters of the investment, not the tenant.
In short, it was a grand slam home run, no pun intended, in my opinion. Our client got to live in this house for 11 years at less than the cost of renting an apartment, taking advantage of all of the interest rate and real estate tax deductions over that time, and a stable environment with nice neighbors. There was room for a hammock in the back yard for long lazy afternoons with a good book.
Was this a lucky break? Was it a fluke?
I guess when our esteemed scribe from Pennsylvania wrote his essay about real estate in general; he was talking about some locations which might not be typical. Perhaps he was talking about the real estate on the Big Island of Hawaii, in the volcano flow and tsunami zones? Or perhaps he was talking about properties abutting a high speed expressway or near an active railroad line, or near an airport. Perhaps he was considering property adjacent to Three Mile Island. Perhaps he was talking about Detroit?

He really misses the mark because his thesis is so broad and generalizes over the entire country. In Myth 3, he branches out to a world generalization and doesn't cite any statistics at all, just his speculations.

And who are these venal real estate agents that he describes in Myth 5?

The real trick in real estate is time. People do make money and sometimes lots of it, but the idea that one can make it overnight is a tough canard. That would have been a more useful myth to explode.

video log or VLOG

2009-11-14T01:29:00.004-05:00

So there's a new item in social network marketing called the VLOG, which is a Video Log. I wondered about this until I remembered the FLIP mini video camcorder with little tripod that I bought at the end of last year. So, I tried it out at lunch on Thursday with a good friend from Bank of America, Jim Feely. He talked on camera about the state of the interest rates and what the prevailing thoughts are for the near term. He opined that the interest rates are expected to increase in the late part of the 1st quarter of 2010, as the Federal government is expected to stop investing in mortgage based securities. He is not alone in this expectation, as this is the word we are hearing from our friends at Wells Fargo as well.
We recorded this 47 second spot at the lunch, but determined that the noise of the restaurant made it "not ready for prime time." I have learned the message of video, which is to find a steady background with no extra sound. The news media folk often buttonhole politicos in the hallway, but they have highly directional microphones, and camera people who are able to hold their cameras steady. Being a one person crew has its challenges, but this little camera is so convenient!

a perspective on inflation

2009-11-12T11:35:00.004-05:00

When we hit inflation in the 70's, there were lots of places to invest to preserve purchasing power: coal, re-insurance, gold, silver, natural resources (copper, zinc, lead, iron, gravel, etc), real estate, personal education. The remarkable trends of recent times have caused adjustments to this thinking.
1. Coal is bound by the political policies of cap and trade, though we use it a lot here in the US to keep warm and to keep the electricity running...so far it's not too popular.

2. Re-insurance was thought to be a means of investing in insurance on a safer scale, as the insurers all wanted to be "re-insured". The advent of unregulated credit swaps have made this avenue less popular.
3. Gold is an investment device which is hitting some ground these days as the price rises like a rocket. That is a thought.
4. Silver is actually more useful than gold so it is running into the cyclical argument that makes it less desirable because it's part of the industrial process, thus relegating it to a posture more like copper than gold.
5. Natural resources are a thought, and part of the allure of the railroads, since they have to be transported somehow and the rail transport for such heavy products is cheaper, greener and more cost efficient. The problem is that the economy has not recovered enough to warrant investing in this arena. Yet.
6. Real estate is reeling from the bubble of poor investing and overspending. I see it in the foreclosure houses I showed to some clients last month. The houses we saw were in terrible shape, but they all had new thermal windows, re-finished hardwood floors, some had extensive stonework...in short, the previous homeowners had done the conventional thing, upgrading their homes with energy savings, and home improvements. They just got caught by the declining market and perhaps by losing their jobs.
7. So we're down to personal education. More on this later. I am going to meet a banker friend to compare notes and see what his thinking is on this subject. More later.

halloween, 2009

2009-11-03T00:59:00.001-05:00

Our Halloween was brief. I felt like a refugee from another era, dressed in the kind of clothes I used to wear in earlier times when we lived in Wyoming. My Tony Lama boots, which I used to wear daily, were so stiff, they actually were hurting my feet, so I had to go for some shoes that sort of resemble moccasins...made of elk skin. When the subject came up about chewing the leather to make it softer, I realized what a non-starter that topic was, and changed the subject. It made for a more pleasant evening.

Susan and I went to a house with Magdalena and Eddie (a fine guitarist from Uruguay and her husband Eddie who is not only a violinist but a violin maker from Cremona, Italy, where the Stradavari's and Amati's were created so many years ago) that 2 weeks before had been a moldy foreclosure and was now rejuvenated and painted and ready for a new life. It made me feel quite useful in the grand scheme of things, actually. What's more, I managed to get through the night having only had two pieces of candy...a record for me. There was a Paraguayan paella which was mighty good and loads of Sangria. There were two little ones there also, one who seemed to be afflicted with St. Vitus dance, but was probably just on a massive sugar high.
I was pleased to have helped them to get this house. There had been 12 offers and we prevailed, I am happy to report. The steps to successs were a little convoluted and funny so I might have time another day to put them on this blog. The lady at the courthouse said her name was 369. I loved that. It had a ring of 1984 in 2009.

Our neighborhood was awash in the little people. As I stood so lordly on my front stoop with a huge bowl full of candy, I was tempted to say to them, like the Grinch might have said, "Go home to your parents and tell them not to train you to beg." But they were too amazingly fun for me to be so unhospitable. We probably had 50 little rascals in the early part of the evening. All of the costumes that had rubber masks had come off by the time they made it to our doorstep, with the exception of the kid in the George W. Bush mask.

Tim

the new world order

2009-11-02T19:56:00.000-05:00

How tweet it is. Today's lecture on the future of internet marketing by Bernice Ross was enlightening, but it was simply "twoo" much When she got to "twellow", the audience went into a swoon that was both audible and palpable. It was clear that we had learned as much as we could absorb (from a group perspective, at least) Anything she said after that one word, was just like pouring water into a full bowl...it ran all over the room, in a figurative way.