Photo by PoPville flickr user clif_burns
“Dear PoPville,
We bought a home two years ago in Bloomingdale with very little down payment and, given the rise in prices in the area, we are thinking on refinancing to get better terms in the loan. We are quite confident that we have more than 20% equity in the house considering numerous recent comparables.
Our surprise is that some lenders are offering more stringent terms because the house has a separate legal basement unit. When we bought the house two years ago it already had a Certificate of Occupancy and it was already classified with a use code 24 (Residential-Conversions less than 5 units). However, no lender raised the question of the second unit, and we closed without any problems or amended terms.
We would be interested in knowing how people are financing the houses that have legal rental units with C of O nowadays. If the terms are indeed more stringent for houses with C of O, that would be yet another reason not to go through the painful process of “legalizing” an english basement.”
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We are excited to announce that the 2024 Washington Award application opened today!
The 2024 Washington Award offers four cash prize awards of $15,000 for individual artists working in the field of music, dance, visual arts, and interdisciplinary practice (one award per category). This award, one of the largest grants in D.C. available to individual artists, provides unrestricted cash support to artists at critical moments in their careers to freely develop and pursue their creative ideas.
Since its inception in 2001, the Washington Award has recognized artists in music, dance, interdisciplinary practice, and visual arts. In a renewed commitment to supporting the artistic community of Washington DC, the Washington Award is eligible to DC artists who prioritize social impact in their practice.
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The reason is threefold.
First, using safe cleaning products ensures toxic chemicals won’t leak into waterways or harm wildlife if disposed of improperly.
DC Labor History Walking Tour
Come explore DC’s rich labor history with the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America and the Labor Heritage Foundation. The free DC Labor History Walking Tour tour will visit several landmarks and pay tribute to the past and ongoing struggle
Frank’s Favorites
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