Beasley Real Estate

January 17, 2014

Beasley Real Estate, the boutique property brokerage firm that started up Feb. 1 this year, has a clear vision of how it can give its clients the best service.

“Our clients come first, and our brand comes second,’’ said founder and managing partner Jim Bell. After only three months in business, Beasley has already sold more than 40 properties in the Washington area. The properties sold range from $300,000 condos to $6-million houses. Already, with the launch of its new mobile application and a strategic partnership with auction house Bonhams, Beasley Real Estate has expanded its client services in old and new ways.

Jim Bell’s background is in banking and finance in addition to a number of years in real estate brokerage with Washington Fine Properties. Bell said he believes that it was time for a company model to be focused on the client and the client’s properties.

“We want to be the foundation for our client’s success and absolutely everything we do is based on that,’’ Bell said. Beasley’s advertising is a perfect example of how they do things differently compared to other companies, he added. Instead of having the brand name on top, with many small photos under with the same size for each property, Beasley Real Estate have chosen to highlight two or three properties in its ads, using larger photos and only having the brand logo down in the right corner. ‘’So many of my clients in the past has come to me and said, ‘Hey, Jim, where am I? Where’s my house? I can’t find it.’ I had a really tough time with that,” he said.

“Now that it’s not about the company but about the client, you visually see our client’s properties in our advertising,” said Bell enthusiastically. “I feel very strongly about that, and that’s one of the core reasons why Beasley was created.’’ Beasley was his grandfather’s name. “I didn’t want the name to be about me,’’ he said, emphasizing the importance of putting the clients interest first. Although it cost more to advertise fewer houses in each ad, Bell pointed out that in doing so they make their client’s houses shine.

“The best agents, the best properties, the best results’’ is the company motto. To ensure that all clients get top-quality services, all agents at Beasley must have a minimum of ten years experience before they start and a minimum of $10-million annual production.

The company has a worldwide presence as well. At the moment, 60 percent of its clients are actually from Europe. Beasley currently has four agents based in Washington. ‘’We will also have a London representative soon, hopefully by the fall. We want a person there to help our clients in the United Kingdom with their needs,’’ Bell said.

To tune with its international connections, Beasley and the auction house Bonhams celebrated their partnership at the George Town Club April 5 with a Bonhams exhibit, “The Mapping and Discovery of America.” Antique maps, manuscripts and books were on display at the club before heading to New York. Martin Gammon, D.C. regional head of Bonhams, said he was more than pleased to partner with the real estate group and its clients.

“I love Bonhams,” Bell said. “When I really started strategically mapping out the company, a lot of my clients over the years have always come from London. So, it was logical for the number of people in Washington that had properties in and around London and the U.K. to have that connection. Bonhams is worldwide partner of us, they branded very well with the opening of our Washington office.”

“I’ve been a Bonhams client for a number of years,” he continued. “We have the same client base. So, it’s a real treat for our clients to have direct access to an auction house. We introduce our clients to Bonhams and our clients are very much using their services. At the end of the day, that’s what the collaboration is there for: to be another service for our clients.”

Also, an online presence has always been a big part of what Bell does. “Making it visually appealing to people is really important,” Bell said. The website has had 240,000 hits since Feb. 1. “We’re only three months old,” he added. “So, that’s incredible. We’ve got 3,400 unique visitors, which is an incredibly high number. Those are people who are on our site every 48 hours looking for information.’’

A couple of weeks ago, the company launched the Beasley Real Estate application for smartphones and tablets. The app combines information about properties with Google Earth technology. If you are walking around with the map function on, the map will populate the neighborhood around you as you walk. First of all, the map will show you which houses are for sale around your location. Then, you can click on it and view information and photos. Second, you can also see what other properties in the same area sold for. The map will also show you rentals and commercial properties. “It’s not just information about Beasley properties,” said Bell, who appeared on Fox 5 Morning News a week ago to explain the app as he stood in front of a P Street house. “With this app you can become a market expert. It’s a great tool for consumers to help them know what they’re doing and to make the best decisions.”

84th Georgetown Garden Tour:


Some of them are grand. Some are architecturally intriguing, some full of plants with exotic names, like chocolate mimosa (you don’t drink it) and Cambodian buddhas. The 84th Georgetown Garden Tour takes place Saturday, May 5, and it is all about the eight paces, large and small, tucked behind high walls. One of the recurring themes of the tour is how inventive Georgetowners can take a tiny space and turn it into a dynamic and interesting outdoor “room.”

The garden tour, which is, after all, an urban garden tour, focuses on the problems inherent in small, enclosed gardens: the neighbors, their trees, their children, sun, the lack of it. It is impressive what people can do with small gardens. They create spaces on different levels, they “borrow” views, install marvelous statuary from exotic lands, put in charming water features, plant masses of very dark purple foliage (almost black). All of these are on show in this year’s tour.

One such garden is 3200 P Street, according to long-time garden tour organizer and local tyrant Edie Schafer. “It is extremely interesting, it has everything in it, they’ve got a water feature and they’re really into the plants. It is a small space, but they’ve done a lot with it,” she says. That’s part of what draws a crowd to the tour.
These gardens don’t necessarily start out with beautiful bones and knockout views; their owners have to work to turn them into something special.

There are plenty of big, grand gardens as well. Bowie-Sevier house, which stretches from Q to P Street, has old boxwoods, a pool and a play area for the young family which lives there. You could get lost there, the space is so vast. The garden on the corner of 28th and Q is also attached to a stately old house, and the trees there have probably seen more intrigue than your average member of Congress.

Some houses interact so well with their gardens that you can’t really see one without engaging with the other. A house on 28th Street boasts a low curving wall, a windowpane mirror and a terrific, multi-trunked Kousa dogwood. But what’s really alluring about the space is the way the big light-filled living room opens into the
garden. It makes you want to grab a book and sit in the sun, though the house’s owners might have other ideas.

For a Georgetowner, one of the best parts of the tour is the authorized snooping. The neighborhood is full of pleasant little houses and vine-covered walls. But when you get behind the front walls, it really gets interesting. Spectacular secrets lie in wait, swimming pools, Balinese dancers, rare cacti. To the outsider, Georgetown is closed up, has its street face on. To tour goers, all is revealed.

Gardens are always changing, Schafer says. “When you put a vine on a house it often has its own plans, like taking off all over the place or refusing to climb where you want it to climb, and ends up somewhere you don’t want it to be. This is also true of low-growing perennials and groundcovers: you put them in a bed and the next thing you know they are all over the lawn, not what you had in mind at all. So, then you dig them up and put them back where they should be. Do they stay there? Not necessarily.” That’s the reason why the garden tour is so interesting, she says.

Some of these homeowners are “fearless gardeners,” Schafer adds, happy to try new ideas, new plants, new ways of looking at the world in their backyard. After all, the word, “paradise,” comes from a Persian word for walled gardens.

The tour runs Saturday, May 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can get tickets for $35 at (http://GeorgetownGardenTour.com)[GeorgetownGardenTour.com], or call 202-965-1950.

Christ Church, 31st and O Streets, N.W., will serve as headquarters for the tour. In addition to purchasing tickets at the Church, you may also peruse the unique Garden Boutique which will offer beautiful topiaries, fine porcelain vases, and unusual gardening tools for sale. Included in your ticket price is an afternoon tea served at Keith Hall, Christ Church, 2 to 4 p.m. The not-to-be missed tea features cookies, tea sandwiches and sweets, all handmade by members of the Georgetown Garden Club. [gallery ids="100770,123483,123469,123478" nav="thumbs"]

Long & Foster’s Detwiler: Strategist in a Reviving Economy


From his Chantilly, Va., office near Route 28 and Dulles Airport, Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer of the Long & Foster Companies, sees the dynamism and traffic of Northern Virginia. Here, he keeps tabs on the company’s wide-ranging real estate activities and checks updates on his iPad as he speaks confidently about the national and local real estate market and a company that has become a real estate icon.

“The epicenter of housing recovery is Washington, D.C.,” Detwiler says. Centered here, Long & Foster operates offices from Pennsylvania and New Jersey down through North Carolina and tracks the trends, such as seeing Richmond nine months behind the Washington area.

“The Mid-Atlantic region is the best performing region in the nation,” he says. “The real estate market is so local, and Long & and Foster is the best place to be during tough times.” One thing is for sure: Other corporate real estate giants have come and gone and have tried to buy the company, co-founded by chairman and CEO P. Wesley Foster, Jr., in 1968. Indeed, the legendary Foster is the one who has bought other firms adding to his army of 12,000 sales associates with 170 sales offices.

In a competitive field during an economic downtown, Detwiler says he knows that agents need any extra edge they can get. We are in “a never-before-seen real estate market,” says the 50-year-old president. “It is harder today than ever before. From the agent to seller, we have to be 24/7 business-ready. We have an e-real estate team to help.” And he is well aware that the “next generation is using social media to find agents, too.”

“The years 2003 through 2007 were an anomaly,” he says. “There was a mortgage bubble.” The additional agents who jumped into the market are gone now. As for the housing economy, he says, “The banks are scared to death and don’t want to make mistakes. Appraisers are scared, too, and people are scared to buy. Consumer confidence affects sales.”

Detwiler lists four fundamental issues affecting housing: overly tight credit; negative equity; consumer debt, especially sub prime loans; distressed assets. “They complicate the system,” he calmly says. “The government can do more. So many loans are dinged up. In January 2010, we began to adjust to the new world. . . . It will return to normal in 2015 or 2016.”

Nevertheless, “spring has been a great selling season,” relative to business last year, Detwiler says. In Georgetown, specifically, number of units sold is up 24 percent over last spring. Median sale price is down roughly 15 percent year-over-year, but inventory continues to tighten, which leads to a more balanced real estate market, and sellers in Georgetown are receiving about 95 percent of their list price when they sell, on average.
 
Long & Foster made the biggest neighborhood and D.C. sale of 2011 with Evermay, the estate on 28th Street, going for $22 million. Right now, it is listing a 31st Street historic home, across from Tudor Place, for $6.75 million. Over near Massachusetts Avenue, it has two listings within four blocks of each other: one on Benton Place for $12 million and another on Whitehaven Street for $6.95 million. A different company holds the highest-price listing in D.C.: a Chain Bridge Road property across from Battery Kimble Park for $16 million.

Luxury home listings and million-dollar-plus homes have become a greater part of Long & Foster’s strategy; it already has almost 30 percent of all the million-plus sales in the Mid-Atlantic region. Aware that local sales can go global, its Extraordinary Properties group includes exclusive affiliations with Christie’s International Real Estate, Luxury Real Estate and Luxury Portfolio International. More worldwide connections mean more sales.

For these efforts as well as for Long & Foster’s mortgage and insurance entities, Detwiler has at least 25 years of finance and real estate-related experience to draw upon. “My previous businesses share the same model,” he says.

In fact, when Detwiler arrived at Long & Foster in 2009, the charming, down-to-earth, yet tenacious co-founder Wes Foster appeared incredulous. “At first, Wes could not fathom a non-real estate guy running the show,” he says. “What I brought to the table was a different view. The company is at a different point in its life: it has more structure and financial discipline.”

A Princeton graduate, who majored in psychology, Detwiler brought 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry along with his other work in traditional banking, insurance and portfolio management. “Detwiler has benefited from having direct responsibility as the senior executive for all facets of the mortgage business that included sales and production, capital markets and trading, finance and risk management, operations and technology, and servicing,” Foster announced at the time.

According to Long & Foster, “Detwiler was the chief production officer for the Correspondent Channel at Countrywide/Bank of America. The Correspondent Channel included correspondent lending, warehouse lending and Landsafe origination services. In this role he was accountable for all revenue-producing activities. Prior to Countrywide, Detwiler worked on Wall Street for Credit Suisse First Boston in the mortgage trading and finance group. While at CSFB, he built and managed the warehouse lending business, and reengineered and oversaw the servicing operation. In addition, he designed, built and managed the mortgage conduit. Before Detwiler moved to Wall Street, he spent ten years at GMAC/RFC and was the chairman of the Conduit Operating Committee.”

For a firm which began in a single, 600-square-foot office in Fairfax, Va., and became the largest privately-owned real estate company in America, Detwiler looks like part of its continual plan for more firepower. Long & Foster has that developing foresight and zeal — and well-regarded, connected executives. Detwiler’s predecessor was David Stevens who left Long & Foster to become head of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and is now president of the Mortgage Bankers of America.

Long & Foster’s headquarters in Chantilly opened five years ago just as the housing bubble burst. It is a massive Williamsburg-style office building, built with handmade, rough-hewn bricks and filled with art, sculptures along with murals depicting a developing Washington in the mid-1800s. There are other tenants in the five-story structure with adjacent land available for new construction in a healthier economy.

In 2011, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., sold more than $22 billion worth of homes and helped more than 69,000 people buy and sell homes.  The combined sales and equivalents for the Long & Foster Companies in 2011 were in excess of $42 billion.

After Detwiler came from California to head the parent company — it includes Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Prosperity Mortgage Company, Walker Jackson Mortgage Corporation, Long & Foster Settlement Services, and Long & Foster Insurance Agency, Inc. — one corporate trait stuck him. “It was eye-opening to me,” he says. “People have been here 20 to 25 years. It makes a big company seem small.”

Such staying power is owed in no small part to Wes Foster himself, now in his late 70s, and known for his honest, personal touch as well as hard-driving spirit. And you can bet that Detwiler with his ready smile and business acumen has a similar competitive glint in his eyes. Just what Foster ordered. [gallery ids="100719,120646" nav="thumbs"]

20 Years of CORE Building the Cornerstones of Georgetown


For the team at CORE Architecture and Design, their story of success began with Dean & Deluca.

Twenty years ago, the fledgling practice was building its business in the middle of a recession, finding most of their projects redesigning corporate interiors.

When Dean & Deluca hired the company to redesign the historic market house on M Street, a landmark piece was added not only to Georgetown’s growing pedigree, but also to CORE’s.

“That’s what really launched our retail and restaurant practices because, once it was built, we had immediate credibility,” said Dale Stewart, managing principal of CORE. “People said, ‘Well, if you can do Dean & Deluca, you can certainly do my retail.’”

That project lead to increasingly creative ventures in retail, restaurants and historic renovation and adaptation. Fast-forward to the practice’s 20th anniversary, and CORE has grown to hold one of the largest and most diverse resumes in the District.

Some of the company’s most recognizable projects include Mei n You, Ping Pong, Georgetown Cupcake and the Bank of Georgetown’s multiple locations, among others.

Located at 1010 Wisconsin, just a couple blocks away from Dean & Deluca, CORE’s office is a sleek, modern space conducive to the firm’s collaborative nature, one of the keys to its many achievements.

In the back room where all of CORE’s members can see them, idea boards are filled with pictures, fabrics and trinkets that will eventually grow to inspire the architecture and design of spaces across D.C.

“The great thing about us right now is that we have this diversity of projects and also this diversity of talent,” said Guy Martin, CORE principal. “We have people who will work on some place the like Sweetgreen for two weeks, then switch to an office building, then switch back.”

The practice consists of over 30 architects and designers. Many of those people will work on multiple projects simultaneously, and communication about projects is encouraged throughout the office.
“I think the culture of our office is very casual. We’re a very collaborative office so there’s not a lot of hierarchy,” said Allison Cooke, a senior designer at CORE. “We’re lucky to have a lot of people who are very talented but also very self motivated.”

Over the 17 years CORE has been located in Georgetown, it watched the community grow around it.

“Georgetown is still a very design-centered community. The sheer number of architects, interior designers, show rooms, furniture retail – it’s kind of marvelous,” Martin said.

“It’s definitely our home,” Stewart added.

For Martin, who joined CORE in 2007, moving to the firm was a true homecoming. He was raised here, and his father, now at the healthy age of 101, still resides in Georgetown. He remembers the replacement of biker bars with French bistros, the migration of antique dealers up and down Wisconsin, and the old storefronts of hardware and tack stores on M Street.

On many occasions, CORE aided that transformation. Sweetgreen, for instance, used to be a Hamburger Hamlet.
The projects Stewart, Martin and Cooke enjoyed most are those that tested them in their abilities and acted as catalysts for the expansion and growth of surrounding communities. Dean & Deluca was one example, along with the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street.

Their restaurants, retail stores and other venues draw people in, helping businesses grow their brand and communities profit.

The ultimate goal of the practice, according to Stewart and Martin, is to take on a project that will converge all of the firm’s talents in one building: a boutique hotel that they would build from the ground up.

Such a space would challenge their knowledge of the restaurant, hospitality and retail industry, it would draw on their experience building luxury apartments and hotels, and would stretch them further by combining them in ways they haven’t faced before.

The business itself, however, does not want to build up too far.

“We don’t ever want to get awfully, awfully big because I think the success of the firm rests on this collaborative effort,” Martin said. “You can’t do that with 100 people.” Stewart agreed, saying that he never wanted to grow so large that the principals couldn’t be involved in every project.

“I think that high level of quality,” Cooke added, “is something that we’ll stress overall.” [gallery ids="100518,119188,119180,119160,119173,119168" nav="thumbs"]

DC Market is Getting Hotter: Get Pre-Approved Now


Over the last several months, I keep hearing DC realtors saying the same thing, “Buyers are wanting to buy, but there is very little inventory on the market to sell.” In desirable areas, multiple offers seem to be common once again and buyers are getting frustrated loosing out in these competitive situations. According to a report released by the national housing research firm, Metro study Report, the volume of DC metro listings on the market has dropped down to 3.6 months of supply from a peak of 11 months existing supply back in 2008. The limited home inventory in our area is likely to continue through 2012 with strong local job growth, decreasing short sales and foreclosures, and a lack of new buildings coming to market.

The best advice for someone looking to purchase is to get pre-approved. Don’t wait till you find the house of your dreams, as it may be too late. Do it up front – maybe even before finding a realtor . With the implementation this year of the Dodd Frank bill and FHA (Federal Housing Administration) tightening lending guidelines, sellers are sure to scrutinize, more than ever, a buyers’ ability to get to closing. Nobody wants to accept a contract from a wishy washer buyer, even if they may be offering a little more. Getting pre-approved lets the seller know that you are credible, with FICO scores and income that meet the strict criteria of today’s lending climate.

The benefits of getting pre-approved are many, First, it saves you time and heartache by looking in the right price range. Second, as described above, it makes you a stronger candidate when you do make an offer, thereby increasing your negotiating power.

Here are some great tips in starting the pre-approval and buying process:

1) Determine how much you can afford up front, Remember that when you hear the total monthly payment make sure you are looking at the approximate after tax payment. If your lender tells you that you can not qualify for what you want to buy think about a family member co-signing.,

2)Have a lender run your credit report to check your scores, sometimes the credit scores you get on line can vary from the scores lenders get from mortgage credit reporting companies, good credit scores are important if you want a good rate, Sometimes it can take as much as 6 months to improve your scores so act now before you start looking for a house.

3)Make sure you enough for a down payment and closing costs. Have your lender calculate what you need for cash in the bank. A rising numbers of young people struggling to buy their first home are being forced to ask their family for help with down payment and closing costs, Work out an arrangement where one day you will pay them back with interest, With FHA and conventional financing you can put down as little as 3% these days!!!!

4) Hire a real estate agent: As a buyer of a home, especially being a first time buyer, you will want to have an agent represent you on your purchase. A buyers agent that you hire will have your best interest in mind and help you in evaluating the value of the property and negotiating the best possible price and terms in making an offer. Additionally your agent can help you with the many facets of the transaction process, connect you with a reputable lender and inspector and other service people. The buyer agent is paid from the transaction by the seller. One of the best ways to select a Realtor to help you find a home is through a referral from a friend, work colleague or neighbor. Another is by going to open houses and talking to the different agents holding the various homes open.

Finally, since a full mortgage approval is taking somewhat longer these days it is to your advantage when you make an offer to shorten your financing contingency to 21 days or sooner. Being pre-approved can allow the lender to speed up the loan process and get the appraisal ordered immediately once you have a ratified sales contract. If you can accomplish a faster close date your offer will be looked at more seriously by the listing agent and seller if there are multiple offers.

Gregg Busch is a licensed mortgage loan officer and Vice President of First Savings Mortgage. Gregg has over 20 years of mortgage banking experience and can be reached at Gregg@Greggbusch.com.

Modern Wings


With their traditional high backs and winged arms, wingback chairs provided much needed warmth but very little eye catching creativity. Yet there have been a few designers (past and present) who have taken liberates with the body hugging silhouette and created pieces that will not only stand beautifully by any fireplace, but provide the perfect conversation starter. From investment pieces to functional art, a modern wingchair can add not only comfort but be the perfect place to curl up and read this year’s first issue.

Wegner Papa Bear Chair – Designed by Hans Wagner
World renowned for blending a variety of natural material in his classic designs, Hans J. Wegner has received many international accolades for his work. Like many other Wegner chairs, The Teddy Bear Chair seems to refer to the animal kingdom with its characteristically playful and organic design. The chair received its name after a critic had referred to its armrests as, ‘Great bear paws embracing you from behind.’

The Egg – Designed by Arne Jacobsen
The Egg sprang from a new technique, which Jacobsen was the first to employ: a strong foam inner shell underneath the upholstery. Like a sculptor, Jacobsen strove to find the shell’s perfect shape in clay at home in his garage. The cooperation between Arne Jacobsen and Fritz Hansen dates back to 1934. Fritz Hansen products, including The Egg, can be found at Furniture from Scandinavia by Annette Rachlin in Georgetown.

Metropolitan Chair and Ottoman – Designed by Jeffrey Bernett for B&B Italia
In 1996, Jeffrey Bernett exhibited his first collection at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York and was honored with the Editor’s Award for “Best of Show.” The Metropolitan is an inviting swivel armchair and ottoman. Its high back is the perfect mix of Italian sophistication and comfort, while the neck rest is held in place with magnets to make it adjustable for people of all heights.

Klasse Wing Back LoungeChair- Designed by Polly Westergaard
The Klasse wingback chair is based on the traditional iconic British wing back chair, which has been used and adapted through centuries. The sleek finish of this adaptation combined with the natural materials used ensures a contemporary, eye-catching piece. Polly Westergaard explores elements of past trends in her work, updating traditional designs for contemporary living, drawing on the influences of historical pieces and examining the ways in which these designs can be re-invented to function in today’s interiors.

Wingback Chair, Black Legs Designed by George Smith
A series of upholstered furniture inspired by the 18th Century British Gentleman’s Chair. The frames are made of wood from sustainable forests and stuffed with layers of natural cotton and boar bristle. The chair comes upholstered in one of 15 colors of mohair velvet. The British designer, Tom Dixon, a designer, a brand, and a personality, has been a fixture of many a design show. Dixon established his namesake design firm in 2002. Tom Dixon recently teamed with the traditional British upholstery company George Smith to create this one of a kind piece.

Big Chair- Designed by Jens Risom
Built on a walnut frame with unusual angles and three peg legs, Big Chair still provides the body hugging effects of any wingback chair. Risom was highly influenced by his father, an award-winning architect who encouraged Jens to pursue academic studies in business and contemporary design. Jens Risom is regarded as the last bastion of mid-century modernists.

Star Treck Chair – designed by Roberto Lazzeroni
Built of either American Cherry or Walnut, the Star Trek chair takes on the fimialiar form of a traditional wingback chair. The chair defies all logic of the material its constructed from. With basic elements of the classic, Lazzeroni takes liberties by using heat resistant materials and plywood to create the frame. The chair was designed for Ceccotti Collezioni. Lazzeroni has had a very dynamic career, in which he is engaged on several fronts today, with prestigious collaborations, art directing and designing of interiors and contracting throughout different parts of the world. [gallery ids="100456,115490,115481,115443,115473,115465,115458" nav="thumbs"]

Mortgage: Dodd-Frank Brings Changes for 2014

January 6, 2014

As we close out 2013, the mortgage industry is bracing for significant changes.
The new year will usher in updated rules, emanating from the Dodd-Frank legislation, as well as the tightening of FHA loan standards. These changes will make obtaining a mortgage more challenging for some folks.
The high-cost loan limits on FHA loans are being lowered in 2014. The present high loan limit is $729,000. The new limit will be $625,500. This will put the FHA high limits in line with the high-cost loan limits. Washington, D.C., and most of its close-in jurisdictions are treated as high-cost areas. FHA mortgages enable a borrower to buy a home with a down payment of only 3.5 percent. There are no income limits on FHA borrowers.

The allowable debt ratios will be tightened in the new year. The new rule limits the debt limit to 43 percent of income. This number is derived by taking the overall house payment and dividing it by the required payments on installment and credit card debts. The old limits were 45 percent or higher.

These rules pertain to any mortgages that will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which back up the vast majority of mortgages.

One option that some lenders will have is to issue mortgages that are not backed by Fannie and Freddie. These are commonly called portfolio mortgages. A portfolio mortgage is a mortgage that is held in a specific bank’s portfolio, instead of being bundled and sold to Fannie or Freddie. The rules on portfolio loans can be more flexible than the rules for non-portfolio mortgages. Portfolio mortgages are usually jumbo mortgages, which start above $417,000, the limit for non-high-cost conventional mortgages.

Among the more flexible rules for portfolio mortgages are higher debt-to-income limits and, in some cases, high LTV loans with no mortgage insurance. Expect strict asset requirements with the jumbo portfolio loans. Also, for the super jumbo portfolio loans (higher than $1,000,000), larger down payments are typically required. These requirements get stricter as the loan amounts increase.

One result of the new rules will be seen in the once “more nimble” smaller lenders losing some of their flexibility. The larger banks which have large cash reserves will tend to be more eager to lend the jumbo money. This will be seen in aggressive rates and more flexibility.

Bill Starrels lives in Georgetown. He specializes in home purchase and refinance mortgages. He can be reached at bill.starrels@gmail.com or 703-625-7355. NMLS #48502

Thanksgiving from the Very Beginning

December 6, 2013

The so-called first Thanksgiving occurred in Plymouth Colony, Mass., in 1621. It was a feast held one year after the Pilgrims landed to celebrate their first successful harvest, a three-day joint celebration by the colonists and the resident Native American tribe. They had plenty of reasons to celebrate, including being lucky enough to have survived the perilous Atlantic crossing a year before. Only about half of the people on board the Mayflower actually lived through the ordeal.

The accommodations might have been a large part of the problem. There were 102 passengers and 26 crewmen on board a ship that measured about 25 by 100 feet and was not meant to carry passengers but rather freight. They were on board for two months and hit many dangerous storms, finally landing in Plymouth, instead of their planned destination at the mouth of the Hudson River.

Some of the leaders who emerged from the group—including John Alden and Miles Standish—were crewmen who had been hired by the Pilgrim Separatists to help out on the trip and build houses when they went ashore. And some of the crew had actually crossed the ocean on previous trips exploring the New World. One of them, Stephen Hopkins, who had been shipwrecked on Bermuda during a prior trip, was a neighbor of William Shakespeare. His Bermuda shipwreck is said to have been the basis for “The Tempest.”

These hardy survivors started the tradition we celebrate today, but it took nearly 30 years of campaigning by Sarah Josepha Hale, the first woman to edit an American magazine (and incidentally the author of the nursery rhyme “Mary had a Little Lamb”), to make it official. Finally, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, who had other things to think about, declared the last Thursday in November to be the national holiday of Thanksgiving.

This last-Thursday designation lasted until Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it up to the third Thursday in November. The idea was to extend the Christmas shopping period and give businesses and the economy a boost—something merchants can sympathize with this year, given the late Thanksgiving and a mere 26 shopping days until Christmas. But people didn’t like the earlier date and nicknamed it “Franksgiving.” In 1941, therefore, Roosevelt signed a bill declaring that the holiday would fall on the fourth Thursday in November.

Though we think of the fearless Pilgrims as the creators of the first Thanksgiving, theirs was but a one-time celebration. The more important fact is that 53 persons survived such a tough journey across the ocean to start the great adventure in the New World, a circumstance for which we will always be thankful.

Donna Evers, devers@eversco.com, is the owner and broker of Evers & Co. Real Estate, the largest woman-owned and -run real estate company in the Washington Metro area.

The Auction Block

December 5, 2013

Doyle New York
Platinum, Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond,
emerald and diamond ring
Auction Date: Sept. 12
Estimate: $80,000 – $120,000
Doyle New York’s auction of Important Jewelry will offer exquisite jewelry spanning the Antique, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modern eras by such designers as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Webb and Tiffany & Co. Certain to attract attention will be this 1920 ring featuring an old-mine cut oval Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond flanked by emeralds and diamonds.

Sotheby’s
Egyptian Revival faience and jeweled brooch from Cartier
Auction Date: Dec. 11
Estimate: $300,000 – $500,000
Designed as an Egyptian fan, centering an ancient green faience bust of the goddess Sekhmet, this jeweled brooch is among the highlights of Sotheby’s Auction of Magnificent Jewels. Set against a lapis lazuli sky, twinkling with diamond stars and bordered by a black aureole and diamond-set lotus motif, there are a total of 100 diamonds throughout the piece. It is complete with the original fitted box stamped by Cartier.

Bonhams
Diamond-set engraved and enameled gold singing bird snuffbox with musical movement and watch
Auction Date: Dec. 12
Estimate: $120,000 – $180,000
Bonhams will auction this historic snuffbox as part of its Auction of Fine Watches, Wristwatches and Clocks. The box, with lozenge maker’s mark of Jean-Georges Reymond, bears the monogram of the 19th-century Ottoman Prince Shehzade Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi, son of the Turkish Sultan Abdul Aziz, who likely had the box embellished for his son. The diamonds were added during the mid 19th century.

Sloans and Kenyon
Portrait of a nude Norma Jeane Baker Dougherty
(later known as Marilyn Monroe)
3D filmstrip
Circa 1945
Auction Date: Dec. 14
Estimate: $2,000 – $3,000
This rare filmstrip depicts a young woman named Norma Jeane Baker Dougherty, who later changed her name to Marilyn Monroe and became the seminal, sultry icon of American desire. This full-length image is attributed to W.O. Schwartz, located in 1945 just six blocks from the Blue Book Modeling Agency, Norma Jeane’s first employer. Thought to be the first nude photograph of the future Marilyn, predating Tom Kelley’s famous 1949 pinup image. The full image is on view at the Sloans and Kenyon gallery prior to auction.

Freeman’s
Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (American, 1835-1918)
“Still Life with Wrapped Orange”
1893, oil on canvas
Auction Date: Dec. 8
Estimate: $50,000 – $80,000
Freeman’s American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists Auction has a wealth of consignments from private collections across the country, featuring this still life by Lemuel Everett Wilmarth, a rarely auctioned artist admired for his genre scenes and still-life paintings. As seen here, Wilmarth’s still lifes are celebrated for their polished realism and deft display of textures. Additional works include portraits by William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargent.

Long & Foster Celebrates 45 Years — and Wes Foster’s 80th Birthday

December 2, 2013

Over the last couple of weeks, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., the largest independent residential real estate company in the United States, has been celebrating 45 years in the real estate industry. Today, Nov. 25, it also celebrates co-founder Wes Foster’s 80th birthday.

Well known in Washington, D.C., and Georgetown. Long & Foster prides itself as a company that was “founded on the principles of integrity, innovation, honesty and good old-fashioned customer service—values it continues to support today.”
Here are some detailed from a company news release:

Long & Foster was founded in 1968 by P. Wesley (Wes) Foster, Jr., and Henry Long in a 600-square-foot office in Fairfax, Va. The company then comprised Foster, Long and one employee. It provided residential and commercial real estate services, selling about $3 million in volume in the first year. Since then, Long & Foster has grown to more than 11,500 agents and employees in seven states in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and it is now part of the Long & Foster Companies, which also includes Prosperity Mortgage Company, Long & Foster Insurance, Long & Foster Settlement Services, a corporate relocation services division and one of the largest property management firms in the United States. The companies’ combined sales for 2012 were in excess of $48 billion, about half of which resulted from the real estate business.

“From the time I started this company, our goals were to provide the best service possible to our real estate clients, create wonderful career opportunities for real estate professionals, and do better today than we did yesterday,” said Foster, chairman and CEO of the Long & Foster Companies. “It is with great pride that I can now say Long & Foster has been doing so for more than 45 years. It couldn’t have been done without the support of my family and the many real estate agents and employees who have worked so hard to make Long & Foster such a successful company.”

“We are thrilled to be celebrating 45 years of success at Long & Foster as well as Wes’s 80th birthday,” said Jeffrey S. Detwiler, president and chief operating officer of the Long & Foster Companies. “As a company, we’re greatly looking forward to continuing to provide top-notch real estate services and the total homeownership experience for clients across the Mid-Atlantic region for the next 45 years and beyond.”

See the March 13th Georgetowner for a profile of Wes Foster and his company Here