Thursday, May 18, 2006

Pictures



For sale signs in Washington, DC suburbs


Two townhouses for sale, right next to each other.




Crispus Attuck Park in DC [for you Bryce]
Posted by David at 10:38 AM

40 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 8:39 AM

    Thanks. Is it still too much to ask that you walk instead of drive?

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:02 AM

    Why does it matter if he walks instead of drives? So you can have something to complain about?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:03 AM

    http://www.crispusattuckspark.org/

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:04 AM

    exactly, so I can have something to complain about. How far did you drive this morning? Do tell.


    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  5. DavidMay 18, 2006 9:04 AM

    You don't know how if I drove or walked to the park.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DavidMay 18, 2006 9:05 AM

    I took the metro to work this morning. Plus these picture were NOT taken today.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:05 AM

    The angle from which the camera is situated suggest that you were either sitting on the pavement or sitting in a car.

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:07 AM

    I wasn't asking you about how far you drove, David. It was the anonymous troll I was asking. Whoops, that's me according to all the anonymous trolls out there. My bad.

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  9. DavidMay 18, 2006 9:39 AM

    " The angle from which the camera is situated suggest that you were either sitting on the pavement or sitting in a car."

    That area where i took the pic from cannot be driven to.
    http://tinyurl.com/gm8ae

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:39 AM

    bryce,

    your assumptions are annoying

    ReplyDelete
  11. MyTwoCentsMay 18, 2006 9:54 AM

    Bryce is pedantic and redundant.

    My $0.02.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The EconomistMay 18, 2006 10:08 AM

    Im not sure I would even drive thru
    that area...It looks a little scary

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 10:14 AM

    Crispus Attuck Park

    I can imagine a realator adverstising lakefront views and jacking the prices $200K up from a already ridiculus price.

    ReplyDelete
  14. dcwatcherMay 18, 2006 11:13 AM

    "For sale" signs have no connection with "bubble". I'm sure you'll see more signs when it's in house boom.

    ReplyDelete
  15. DavidMay 18, 2006 11:20 AM

    There are 5 on that corner. It was very diffucult to find that during the days of the boom as there was low inventory.

    Keep drinking the kool aid.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 11:26 AM

    In all fairness, that particular photo doesn't really show off the park at its best. The link that Bryce sent shows that there is an active neighborhood association attached to the park, as well as trees and flowers. It's an urban neighborhood park.

    Slightly off topic, but I read an article in a Baltimore monthly, the Urbanite, that talked about a group of neighbors in Highlandtown transforming their trash-strewn alley into a nice garden and park. It can be done with an active neighborhood association.

    Anne Onimus

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 11:26 AM

    dcwatcher, you couldn't be more wrong.

    One of the first signs of the slowdown last fall was in October when I was driving through my neighborhood in Alexandria and saw for sale signs and open house balloons on every corner.

    It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't seen any in that neighborhood in YEARS.

    ReplyDelete
  18. steinravnikMay 18, 2006 1:27 PM

    HAudidoody said...
    dcwatcher, you couldn't be more wrong.

    One of the first signs of the slowdown last fall was in October when I was driving through my neighborhood in Alexandria and saw for sale signs and open house balloons on every corner.

    It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't seen any in that neighborhood in YEARS.

    That's right, during the boom years, a house could easily sell with hours of going on the MLS. No sign was needed. The sudden abundance of signs is sure anecdotal evidence that the market has changed.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 2:53 PM

    David, huh? the whole thing is ringed by alleyways. So you drove into an alley and took a picture, right? Did you know where the place was without looking it up?

    Let's face it, "the economist's" post about it being "scary" is _exactly_ the point you've been making on this blog for some time. You claim to "love DC" but you know as well as I do that you go out of your way to minimize time spent outside of a car in areas for which you are unfamiliar. And so; you post negative things about that which you really have incomplete information. Such is human nature, but lets hope you evolve beyond that at some point in your life. If people didn't grow out of your mindset, we'd all still think the Earth is flat.

    The photos were taken either Sunday or Wednesday. I hope your shoes didn't get damp with all the rain.

    Two Cents, coming from you, that is a compliment. Thank you. As long as my wholistic worldview is diametrically oppossed to yours, I'm know I'm doing fine. Enjoy your afternoon commute to your apartment. I hope you manage to not get rained upon during the process. (you strike me as the kind of guy who avoids being outdoors)

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sarah in DCMay 18, 2006 3:01 PM

    steinravnik said... That's right, during the boom years, a house could easily sell with hours of going on the MLS. No sign was needed.

    Yep, our townhouse was a case in point. It didn't even come on the market. One of the real estate agents I was interviewing brought in an investor who bought it 'as is'.

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 3:13 PM

    How are things in Ballston, Sarah? High-risey? Mall-y? Non-human-scale-y? Yuppie?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Sarah in DCMay 18, 2006 3:32 PM

    Nope, not from where I sit. Low-risey, walk-to-metro-ey, walk-to-grocery, two blocks to bicyle path. Apt. building is same 50's vintage as the townhouse, but the townhouse was a twenty minute walk to the metro even with the short-cut. The rent is about the same as our PITI was on the townhouse, but all utilities are included. And when we had a short on Easter weekend the maintenance guy came out and fixed it on a Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 3:37 PM

    Ohhh! 1950's style apartments in outer Arlington County! Low ceilings, right? Long, short windows too? NICE! A couple of grand per month for all that? You're livin' the dream.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Sarah in DCMay 18, 2006 3:46 PM

    A couple of grand??? About half that. We're not rich, unlike all you anonymous posters here.

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 3:51 PM

    Oh oh oh. You recently sold a "townhouse" in Alexandria, and your monthly PITI payment was only $1000?!!

    You musta been living in Alexandria, Egypt. Not VA. Easy mistake to make though. If not, let us all in on the secret of how you managed that.

    (ps. "Sarah in DC" is soooo much less anonymous than "Anonymous")

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 4:02 PM

    "A couple of grand??? About half that. We're not rich, unlike all you anonymous posters here."

    Two full time workers can't cough up more than $1K for housing? That means, if you adhere to general budgetary common sense, your monthly gross income is about $3K.

    Are you both Baristas at Starbucks? Don't hold a grudge against the good people whom you serve each morning. (Those who can afford a $3 latte each day)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Sarah in DCMay 18, 2006 4:11 PM

    Wrong again, anonymous. Cost in 2000: $120,000. Neighborhood: Del Rey. Easily affordable on my administrative and my husband's construction-worker salaries. That's why I think there's a bubble, and that's why I think it's going to burst. Prices cannot continue to rise indefinitely beyond the ability of the middle class to afford them.

    Those of you anonymous ones (making the generous assumption that there's more than one) too young to have lived through this before should do some reading.

    ReplyDelete
  28. MyTwoCentsMay 18, 2006 4:14 PM

    Bryce,

    All of your posts are a variance on the following themes:

    1. Quit Trashing DC - it's awesome.
    2. You don't like DC so you're anti-walking/urban/wealth/convenience.
    3. If you disagree with anything I say, see 2.
    4. If you don't live in DC see 2.
    5. I'm a super elegant and persuasive writer - see 3 then 2.

    My $0.02.

    ReplyDelete
  29. MyTwoCentsMay 18, 2006 4:19 PM

    Sarah,

    Another point: since when is 1/3rd of one's income "supposed" to be spent on housing?

    This has historically been the maximum cut-off that banks would be willing to lend you.

    The problem we're rapidly approaching is our country's obsession with living on credit. Having now and paying later. Well later is going to eventually get here.

    Personally, I think the 1/3 comment was meant to be a personally disparaging attack against you. And as such, the poster displayed how little thought they put into the implications of that post.

    My $0.02.

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 4:31 PM

    Two Cents, you said:

    "My $0.02"

    You have placed an appropriate value on your perspective. It is Right. On. The. Money.

    Now, what is that worth after inflation is factored in?

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  31. MyTwoCentsMay 18, 2006 4:34 PM

    Bryce,

    My perspective is worth what you paid for it! ;)

    And after inflation, we're probably talking negative equity...

    My $0.02.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Sarah in DCMay 18, 2006 4:41 PM

    mytwocents said... This has historically been the maximum cut-off that banks would be willing to lend you.

    Yes, and when we got our loan they still did use those standards. That's what makes this bubble scarier than the others I've seen-- all the people with salaries no larger than ours getting no-doc, variable rate, and even negatively amortizing loans.

    Normally you just sit it out when you have a bust. It's not fun, but assuming you don't lose your job or have to relocate, you do alright in the end. And if you do have to sell, at least with 20% down you didn't usually have to bring a check to the table.

    But these people with the 'innovative' financing aren't going to be able to do any of that. Anyone who doesn't see trouble written all over this just can't read.

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 4:46 PM

    LOL! Thanks .02. I think you should save all your "back of the napkin" calculations and publish them as a coffee table book five years into the future.

    (You know, something like: "Page 37 shows where mytwocents acurately illustrated Bernake's flawed approach to monetary policy")

    I get a discount on the book, right? I'll be homeless by then given my reckless approach to my own personal finances (like the fact that I bought a house years ago), so I'll need that discount!

    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  34. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 4:53 PM

    ...and .02, all of my previous post was meant in good spirits (just in case the intent it was lost in transmission)


    bryce

    ReplyDelete
  35. MyTwoCentsMay 18, 2006 5:13 PM

    Not lost. And I do appreciate your posts more than my flow chart would indicate. :)

    My $0.02.

    ReplyDelete
  36. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 5:13 PM

    Sarah in DC,

    In retrospect, do you feel that the 'investor' took advantage of you?

    Do you think back and realize that if you had spent a few dollars to spruce that place up, you could have sold it for $50k or $100k more?

    That's what the investor did.

    ReplyDelete
  37. AnonymousMay 18, 2006 9:37 PM

    Nice handwritten sign on that "No Money Down". On the downward side of a bubble market, at least look presentable.

    Chances are the "No Money Down" is where you get someone in with bad or ugly credit where the bank loans 80-90% loan-to-value and the investor takes back a mortgage for the other 10-20%. The investor can kiss that 10-20% goodbye when the buyer defaults on their option ARM.

    ReplyDelete
  38. AnonymousMay 20, 2006 8:33 AM

    This site is awesome! I wanna play with the trolls. Can I mommy? Can I play with the trolls?

    Hey David, that lake in the picture of Crispus Attuck Park, is it, um, suitable for like swimming &/or fishing? It looks lovely. Ah, spring time is lovely in D.C. (or so they tell me). I can almost hear the police sirens now. I can pay only a million bucks to live there? What a deal! Better start packing now... So much to do. Where did I put my toothbrush and rubber ducky?? Look out D.C. here I come.

    ReplyDelete
  39. AnonymousMay 21, 2006 8:59 AM

    + Yesterday's yard sale at Crispus Attucks Park was smooth sailing. The weather cooperated, residents and visitors came out and everyone had a good time. Lots of new babies in the community! Plus candidates for political offices made appearances. Hats off to John Corea, the Crispus Attucks Development Corporation board members, and all the volunteers who helped make this neighborhood-building event a first-class success.

    ReplyDelete
  40. DavidMay 22, 2006 11:58 AM

    Cool. :-) Great things are happening in many parts of DC.

    ReplyDelete

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