All Blog Entries by Ben Puchalski

Found 85 blog entries published by Ben Puchalski.

Investment properties available in Washington, DC.

Please note that all MLS listings are in real time. If the link is not working, it's because that property has been sold or is under contract. Don't worry, each month we send out the best investment properties! Check back soon or subscribe to our newsletter for automatic updates.

 

4301 Brandywine St. NW

The property is allowing a $7,000 seller credit for repairs, a great incentive to invest. The 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath detached home in American University Park is minutes to the Tenleytown-AU metro, the Tenley Whole Foods, shops, restaurants and more. It includes four levels of living space (including an in-law suite with a partial kitchen in the basement), hardwood floors and two master…

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If you're starting to save on a down payment for your home, you’ll want to build credit in the meantime. To get your credit report 100 percent ready to go, here are simple tips and tricks.

It's important to remember your credit report and credit score aren’t the same—but they’re definitely similar. Your credit report is your history of all the borrowing you’ve done but your credit score is the number that represents it.

To get your credit report in tip-top shape before home buying, here are some ideas for you to consider:

  • Spread out time between other big loans and a mortgage. If you’ve recently taken out a car loan, student loans or anything similar, you’ll want to hold off on those applications.

  • Building credit isn’t hard.…

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Home Loan Programs for Teachers
Home loan programs that are offered for teachers in Washington, DC.

If you're a teacher in the D.C. area, did you know there are home loan programs available for you? There are many incentives too! Programs involve up to $800 in reduced closing costs for teachers and discounted real estate agent fees—combined with the discounted closing costs you can get up to $1,600 in credits while closing.

There’s priority loan processing and donations to your school. Up to $400 in donations can be given to your preferred school program. Teachers can even choose what particular program they want to give to—music, arts, science lab, you name it!

There’s also homes for heroes programs, or discounts of up to 25 percent of your realtor fee when you’re buying and…

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Property Condition

Bank owned properties are sold in “as-is” condition and often times bank owned properties are in disrepair.  If it makes financial sense, some banks will make repairs prior to listing a property. Unlike most regular sales where the seller has intimate knowledge of the property, the bank has never lived in the home and has no past knowledge of major systems such as the roof, foundation, plumbing, wiring etc. Since a bank has obviously not lived in the home and does not have prior knowledge of the property, they are not required to provide buyers with any sort of property condition disclosure statement. Typically when banks sell a property they will not allow the buyer to negotiate on repairs; instead, banks will normally allow a…

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Thursday Hot Property List

1274 Simms Pl NE, Washington, DC 20002
List Price: $289,900
This is a 4 unit multi-family property in Trinidad.  The home was listed today and I expect it to get a lot of interest.  This property is a short sale so it could take some time. 

809 OTIS PL NW #102, WASHINGTON, DC 20010
List Price: $309,900
The prices at the Otis Flats are reasonable for its proximity to the Petworth metro.  Its hard to find anything under $350K that is decent in Columbia Heights these days.  Petworth is booming.  Jump on board! 

242 14TH ST SE, WASHINGTON, DC 20003
List Price: $325,000
The price will go up for this Capitol Hill shell close to the Potomac Ave metro station.  What an opportunity to fix and resell.  Homes that are fixed up are…

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Here is this weeks list.  Inventory is still extremely low so it is slim picking out there in just about all price ranges. 

2810 BRENTWOOD RD NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20018

$569,900

This is a giant home in Woodridge.  The property is a short sale so keep that in mind.  The homehas been on the market for 211 days.  The price started at $669,000 on this 4 bed/4 Bath single family with a .06 acre lot.  The home is listed at 3,200 sq ft.  That is a reasonable price for the square feet and who knows...maybe you can get that price down more. 

1326 CONSTITUTION AVE NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20002

$649,999

This is a 2 unit on Capitol Hill.  The value of owning real estate on Capitol Hill is only growing. The parking in the rear will hold over 4 cars.  Solid piece…

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522 RIGGS RD NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20011

List Price: $248,753

This is a reasonable price for a home in Riggs Park just 5 blocks from the Fort Totten metro station.  This home is dated and needs some work but could be a nice home for the right buyer. 

1509 CHANNING ST NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20018

List Price: $299,000

This home in Woodbridge has been on and off the market since December.  It is a short sale that is currently tenant occupied.  The home has great bones and would make a solid home for a buyer willing to do some fixing up. 

702 4TH ST SE, WASHINGTON, DC 20003

List Price: $449,900

Homes on Capitol Hill are rarely this affordable.  This is a 2 bed/1 bath attached home within walking distance to the Eastern Market metro station.  A buyer…

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1851 NEWTON ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20010

List Price: $599,900

This is a large estate sale of an attached row home in Mount Pleasant that needs some loving.  It is best suited for a homeowner using the FHA203K program or an investor using cash.  The square footage on this home is 2,760.  This 1911 built row home has a nice size lot of .06 of an acre or 2,600 square feet.  The property features a 1 car garage. 

422 N St NW, WASHINGTON, DC  20001

List Price: $485,000

This is a bank owned 2 unit in Shaw right by the convention center.  What a great opportunity.  The basement unit will bring in $1,400 a month in income.  The property has the potential for 2 car parking.  A lot of buyers will get scared by the boarded up windows but the property is…

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219 5TH ST NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20002

List Price: $740,000

This is a home on Capitol Hill that needs some renovation.  The location is prime being that it is just 3 blocks from Union Station and the senate office buildings.  This would be a good buy for a homeowner looking to use the FHA203K program to fix up the home

1215 Morse St NE, WASHINGTON, DC  20002

List Price: $480,000

The Trinidad neighborhood in DC is one of the more affordable areas still left.   This is a rare 3 unit of 4 bedroom units.  The square footage is 3,570.  That is huge!  Buy this home in Trinidad and hold onto it while the area continues to improve. 

1200 HEMLOCK ST NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20012

List Price: $425,000

This is a massive (over 3,300 sq ft) semi-detached row…

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339 18TH ST NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20002

List Price: $390,000

You would need to get the price down on this one for it to make sense.  The listing agent told me that the seller has some flexibility in the price of this outer Capitol Hill home.  Buy and hold or buy and flip.  The property can be turned into a two unit. 

1160 Neal St NE, WASHINGTON, DC  20002

List Price: $250,000

This is a two unit in the southern part of Trinidad in northeast DC.  Great buy and hold property.  The Trinidad area is seeing record sales so it make sense to buy this property and rent it out while the area continues to go up in value. 

414 SEWARD SQ SE #202, WASHINGTON, DC 20003

List Price: $299,000

This one bedroom on the southeast side of Capitol Hill is 557…

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