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Love Live DC: Buying in DC — Step 5: The Home Search

By PoP Sponsor (a)

This column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Edgewood resident Jessica Evans. Email her questions at  [email protected].

This week we are moving on to one of my personal favorite parts of the homebuying process, the actual home search!

Now that you’ve lined up your team of professionals (including your agent and lender) and decided what you are looking for and where, it’s finally time to hit the ground running and check out some properties.

For some buyers this part of the process is fun and enjoyable, for others, it can be understandably stressful. While no two buyers home searches are the same, there are some recommendations that I can offer to help make sure that your time spent looking at houses is productive and beneficial:

Shop before you buy

  • For buyers with a flexible or extended timeframe, I recommend casually starting your home search a little early, 4-6 months from when you want to move.
  • If you are someone who thinks you will fall in love with a house right away and then be devastated that you can’t buy it, this strategy is not for you.
  • This allows time for a less focused, more casual exploration phase – think “window shopping” but not looking to purchase, where you can look at houses that may not be 100% what you are looking for, but can be valuable for helping define what you want as well as what you don’t want

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Last Day for DC Bike Ride Early Bird Registration

DC Bike Ride is the region’s only car-free, closed-road bike event and celebration of life on two wheels. We invite you to join the ride on Saturday, May 19, 2018 for a fun, recreational, family-friendly bicycle adventure.

Early Bird Registration ends tonight, Wednesday, February 28 at Midnight! Register now at www.dcbikeride.com/pop.

DC Bike Ride celebrates bicycling as a form of healthy living, fitness, transportation and fun. The event raises support for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s work on Vision Zero, a campaign to make streets safer for *all* roadway users. DCBR has given more than $72,000 in two-years to WABA for street safety neighborhood programs.

You can save $10 per standard registration if you register today before the price increases on March 1. Kids ages 3 to 7 are always FREE and youth ages 8 to 17 are always half-price. Watch our 2018 video to learn more about the event at www.dcbikeride.com/video.

Participants will receive access to the closed-road course that starts in West Potomac Park overlooking the Potomac River and the Washington Monument. The 20-mile ride will feature on-course entertainment, music and rest stops, as well as a short-cut to the finish that offers a 7-mile course (in case you get tired). The ride ends with a Finish Festival party with beats, eats and activities for all-ages at the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol. Participants also get a DCBR 2018 water bottle.

No bike? No problem! We partner with Bike and Roll DC to bring you easy bike rentals. Find us on social: @dcbikeride on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Make DC Bike Ride your favorite springtime activity!

Real Estate Fresh Finds: Feb. 28

By PoP Sponsor (a)

Real Estate Fresh Finds is a weekly selection of newly-listed properties in the District, brought to you by Real Living At Home. 

February is already over, meaning less than a month until the official start of the spring season. If you haven’t already started looking at homes, you better check out some of these Fresh Finds before someone else does:

  • It appears this manor near Embassy Row is having some trouble selling since it’s been listed 3 times over the past year, which is now down to the low, low price of $5.995mil for your Most Expensive Home of the Week.
  • Two units in the same Columbia Heights rowhouse each with 2 levels, 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms — with unit #PH-B featuring a slightly larger floor plan than unit #A.
  • I guess this is Petworth rowhouse is technically a 4-bedroom, but that ‘office’ likely won’t sleep anything other than a newborn.
  • This Mount Pleasant condo is so fresh that it’s only been on the market for a couple of hours at the time of posting.
  • Out of 3 new foreclosures, this is the only one that has photos, making this Benning Ridge end-unit the Foreclosure of the Week.

What You Need to Know About Primary Care in DC

1/5

The current state of primary care in the District isn’t pretty.

On average, it takes 17 days to get an appointment with a family physician. Between 2010 and 2014, the number of primary care providers in DC dropped nearly 15 percent. And with continued instability and increasing healthcare costs, primary care’s focus on preventive care and identifying problems before they’re big is more important now than ever. 

But with good primary care so hard to find, how do you know what to look for?

“We all need a health sherpa to guide us through the medical (and non-medical) bumps in life,” said Casey O’Bryan, FNP, a primary care provider at One Medical’s Dupont Circle office. “Establishing a relationship with a primary care provider should be an extra force field of goodness and reliability in a turbulent, internet-rabbit-hole world.”

“Primary care is more than just an annual physical. It’s your medical home,” said Julia Lim, MD, from One Medical Tysons.

Essentially, quality primary care becomes the hub for everything related to your health, with your primary care provider, or PCP, guiding you through it all. That means your PCP becomes an expert in you and your health goals, listening, translating test results and working with other medical professionals to make sure you’re getting better — your partner in health.  

“When you have a trusting relationship with your PCP, you’re more likely to be honest about your health concerns and lifestyle,” added Amy Stulman, NP, from One Medical Union Station. “And providers who know their patients well are better equipped to offer individualized care and health recommendations.”

“It can be challenging in DC to find those qualities in a health practice that is also accessible and timely,” Lim said, “and One Medical can do just that. With same- and next-day appointments, you can get care when you actually need it from a provider who knows you.” 

Book your appointment at one of our six DC area offices today.

Legal Insider: U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Wins Gold on Ice After Equal Pay Demand and Win

By PoP Sponsor (a)

This is a sponsored column by attorneys John Berry and Kimberly Berry of Berry & Berry, PLLC, a local employment and labor law firm that specializes in federal employee, security clearance, retirement and private sector employee matters.

By John V. Berry, Esq.,

The U.S. Women’s Hockey Team not only just won Olympic Gold, but significantly advanced the equal pay argument for all women.

Their victory and Gold Medal ended a difficult year on and off the ice for the team. They worked together despite almost losing their positions on the team in a hard fight for equal pay before the most recent Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

In March 2017, about twelve months before the Olympics, the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team threatened to sit out of the Ice Hockey Federation World Championship unless USA Hockey agreed to treat them the same as the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team. The female hockey players sought equal treatment in comparison to the men’s team. Specifically, the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team sought the same salary, equipment, staff, travel, per diems and media publicity as the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team.

It is hard to believe that the dispute lasted nearly a year, but the U.S. Women’s Team won. They were awarded up to $70,000 a year in salary (up from $6,000). USA Hockey also agreed that the women’s hockey team would receive the same travel stipends and accommodations as the men’s hockey team, along with better marketing and media efforts.

In our practice involving equal pay, we are seeing more women employees challenging and demanding equal pay for equal work.

In April of 2016, we wrote about a similar challenge that was advanced by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team, despite the fact that they had already won the World Cup in 2015.

The combined efforts of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and U.S. Women’s Soccer Team illustrate the fact that collective action and success by women can be key to eliminating egregious pay disparities for the same work. Their efforts also have a direct and positive impact on all other types of employment and equal pay disputes.

We represent employees in Equal Pay matters. If you need assistance, please contact our office at (703) 668-0070 or at www.berrylegal.com to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook.

DC Open House List for This Weekend

By PoP Sponsor (a)

In a surprising downtick for the week, there’s only around 85 new open houses scheduled across the DMV this weekend. Rather than scanning a bunch of different websites, check out some recommendations below. To see the entire DC Open House List click here.

  • 4526 Westhall Drive NW — $1,999,000 — Palisades
    Open Sun. 1-4 PM — Mary Saltzman
    “3 bedrooms, 4.5 baths on 4 luxurious levels.”
  • 13 R Street NE #1 — $599,000 — Eckington
    Open Sat. & Sun. 2-4 PM — Greg Masucci
    Including a MBA walk-in shower large enough for a party.
  • 522 Hobart Place NW — $749,000 — Park View
    Open Sat. 1-3 PM — Jeff Tanck
    “Stunning new townhouse style condo.”
  • 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue SE #208 — $599,900 — Barney Circle
    Open Sun. 2-5 PM — Steven Swank
    If you love massive, floor-to-ceiling windows, this is the one.
  • 111 Orren Street NE #405 — $399,999 — Trinidad
    Open Sun. 1-4 PM — Tracy Renken
    That building exterior looks like something straight out of Blade Runner.

The Think Tanck: The Honey Do List

By PoP Sponsor (a)

This weekly column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Kalorama resident Jeffrey Tanck.  He can be reached at [email protected].

Everyone has one: the mental list of “quirks” or “wants” in our home that we live with on a daily basis that we really should have taken care of but just don’t have the time, know how, motivation, etc.

It can be as simple as replacing the burned out lightbulb in that ceiling fixture that requires a ladder to reach, or repairing the leaking faucet in the bathroom that has been dripping since you moved in or installing a cool new tile backsplash in the kitchen. The Honey Do List.

Maybe you’re a seasoned homeowner or just purchased a new place. Regardless of where you are in your personal real estate cycle, I am willing to bet that you have a list of things in your home that you’d like changed, fixed or improved.

When I meet with a seller client to discuss preparing their home for sale, one of my first questions is, “what’s on your Honey Do List?” The list that is produced (and there is ALWAYS a list) usually includes minor repairs as well as a couple of major projects.

The list is an honest assessment of how the property should be improved so that it is appealing to buyers. The list also represents a lost opportunity for sellers who could have enjoyed their home more had they made these adjustments during their time of ownership.

If I had a dime for every time I have had a seller say “I wish I had done that sooner,” I’d be sitting on a big ole pile of dimes.  (more…)

Real Estate Fresh Finds: Feb. 21

By PoP Sponsor (a)

Real Estate Fresh Finds is a weekly selection of newly-listed properties in the District, brought to you by Real Living At Home. 

With 150+ homes hitting the market in the past week, one thing is clear–the DC market is hot and it’s only February. Check out some of our Fresh Finds below to jump on one of these properties before it’s too late:

  • At $3.9mil, The Most Expensive Home of the Week is “6,000 sq.ft. of modern Kalorama luxury. Formerly the #4 Airbnb in the world,” including 2 koi ponds, an indoor stream and waterfall as well as a heated saltwater pool.
  • An incredible detached single-family home renovation in Brookland includes 5 bedrooms, 4 levels, full lower level inlaw suite and the perfect rear deck for summertime.
  • This 1-bedroom condo in Petworth might be a good deal, but it’s one you’ll have to see in person since this is also the Worst (and blurriest) Photos of the Week.
  • Wesley Heights 2-bedroom/2.5 bathroom end-unit townhouse in “one of the most desirable neighborhoods in DC.”
  • Your REO Property of the Week is a surprisingly new-looking 3-bedroom row house in Pleasant Plains.

DC Open House List for This Weekend

By PoP Sponsor (a)

There’s been close to 180 listings to hit the market this past week, but less than half of them are holding open houses this weekend.

While the temperature is set to drop off on Saturday, that 50 degrees and sunny forecast on Sunday is the ideal time to get out and see some of these featured open houses. To see the entire DC Open House List click here.

  • 5118 3rd Street NW — $750,000 — Petworth
    Open Sun. 1-4PM — Evelyn Guzman
    “Beautifully brand-new top to bottom” with several smart home features.
  • 5643 Clay Place NE — $409,900 — Grant Park
    Open Sat. 1-3 PM & Sun. 2-4PM — Curry Robert
    A 3-bedroom with 1,800 sq. ft. seems unusually affordable.
  • 2301 Champlain Street NW #301 — $699,000 — Adams Morgan
    Open Sat. & Sun. 2-4PM — Kerry Muldoon
    A contemporary loft with huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
  • 3934 Burns Place SE — $370,000 — Fort Dupont
    Open Sun. 2-4PM — Al Elliott
    “Great buy of this one owner home. Mr. Clean lives here and it shows.”
  • 2427 Chain Bridge Road NW — $2,950,000 — Palisades
    Open Sun. 2-4PM — Adam Rackliffe
    Not only does it have a swimming pool, but it also has a rock climbing wall.

Love Live DC: How to Choose a Real Estate Agent

By PoP Sponsor (a)

This column is written and sponsored by D.C. real estate agent and Edgewood resident Jessica Evans. Email her questions at  [email protected].

In part 4 of my “Buying in 2018” series, I will explore how to choose a real estate agent. The order of these first four steps isn’t that important, you may choose to work on them simultaneously or in whatever order works best for you. If you missed the first 3 columns, here they are:

1: Define Objectives
2: Financing
3: Location

One of the most important yet underrated steps in the homebuying process is choosing who you plan to work with. This is, and should be, an intentional choice. The person you choose will be responsible for helping you make one of the biggest investment decisions of your life, a decision that will impact your financial future, day to day happiness and overall life trajectory. I can’t emphasize this enough, choosing the right agent matters.

Tips for finding a real estate agent:

  • Start the process before you find the house you want to buy. You may notice a common theme with my last few columns, one which I cannot emphasize enough, do not start your home search by looking at properties. Please do not go to an open house, with the intent to submit an offer on that house, before you have an agent. Don’t get me wrong, I love DIY, but not when it comes to a major financial investment.
  • Accept that you may not fully understand why who you decide to work with is so important before you begin the homebuying process. You will understand by the end of the process. The majority of horror stories that I hear from buyers are a result of working with the wrong person (or with no one). Working with a good agent does not guarantee that you will have a smooth transaction, but it does guarantee that you have someone representing your interests and have the best possible chance for success. Real estate transactions, more often than not, will come with challenges, overcoming these challenges requires skill and experience.

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