The new law will force New York landlords to make upgrades, as well as make formerly illegal lofts eligible for rent stabilization and protect tenants against evictions.
A tiny studio in Lenox Hill proved a fine home for a 20something starting out in the city. Decades later, when she married, it became a cozy modernist nest.
On Fifth Avenue from 48th to 49th Street are three very different buildings. Two are designated city landmarks; the third and arguably most deserving is not.
Home prices are up in White Plains and Westchester County in general, according a quarterly report issued by the Westchester-Putnam Multiple Listing Service.
"It's the first time in our lives we've been hip. And it came to us -- we didn't go to it," said Melissa Talley, 51, winner of The Post's Mad Men Look contest.
Washington Post - United States - Maryland - Silver Spring - Washington
The housing bust isn't over, but the worst is past, according to economists participating in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel this week.
Housing - Real estate - Business and Economy - Affordable and Low Income Housing - Property
When Kathy Weigel moved into her brick rambler in the community of North Town Creek in St. Mary's County in 1993, she got an unusual housewarming gift: a military-base ID card for the wife of Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad. The Conrads lived in the house in the 1950s, and the card was discovered...
Maryland - St. Mary's County Maryland - United States - Counties - Saint Mary's
Take a seat on a front porch in Colmar Manor, and it's easy to watch the world go by. You'll see residents tending to gardens, working on home projects or walking their dogs. And because many of the cottage-style homes are stacked like rowhouses, residents say, you can't help but get to know your...
Maryland - Prince George - Prince George's County Maryland - United States - Counties
People who applied for a mortgage as of June 1 might see their finances -- specifically their debt -- under renewed scrutiny days before they are scheduled to complete a home purchase.
Business - FannieMae - Financial Services - Loan - Personal Finance
Drive on River Road in Potomac, and you'll see them on both sides: the McMansions, the faux chateaux and other oversize revisions of one architectural style or another.
United States - Architecture - Arts - River - Potomac
Q: In 1997, we created a living will for estate protection in case my mom went into a nursing home. It was set up so my sister and her husband received half the house while my sister's three kids got the other half.
Real estate - Foreclosure - Business and Economy - Business - Africa
Call it the great real estate disconnect of 2010: Mortgage rates have been at half-century lows and home prices have stabilized, but applications for mortgages have declined most weeks during the past three months, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Mortgage - Business - Financial Services - United States - Loan
If you are trying to sell your home, you can rise above the competition by designing curb appeal into your property.
Landscaping - Green - Business - Business and Economy - United States
Real estate settlements are often shrouded in mystery. There are many moving parts, multiple parties sitting impatiently at the table and piles of documents filled with legal mumbo jumbo.
Law - Language - Health - Social Sciences - Natural
BOUNDARIES: Shady Mile Drive to the north, Route 235 to the west, Maple Road to the south and Dent Drive to the east.
Maryland - St. Mary's County Maryland - United States - Counties - Saint Mary's
DEAR TIM: I'm restoring an older home that has a patio porch deck. It's covered, so perhaps it's just a deck porch. The wood was painted but is in bad shape due to neglect. What material would you install if you wanted to maintain the character of the house? I've seen composite porch decking, but...
Deck - Construction and Maintenance - Business and Economy - Shopping - Business
Although home builders have the opportunity to make a huge impact on reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming, very few mention it in their sales pitches.
Business - Construction and Maintenance - Building Types - Sustainable Architecture - Consultants
Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary will be online to offer her advice and answer your questions
Literature - Reading Groups - Arts - Books - Shopping
EARNINGS Goldman Sachs Group said quarterly earnings tumbled 82 percent, coming in well short of expectations, as trading and underwriting revenue slumped, raising questions about how well Wall Street's preeminent bank can navigate a shifting industry landscape.
Business - Goldman Sachs - Investing - Day Trading - Commodities and Futures
After President Obama signs into law an overhaul of financial regulation at a ceremony set for Wednesday, his administration will turn to reforming an area at the root of the financial crisis: the U.S. housing market.
Barack Obama - United States - President - Government - History
When D.C. Council member Kwame R. Brown wants an escape, he can climb into a Cadillac Escalade, head down to a private yacht club on the Anacostia River and fire up Bullet Proof, his 38-foot powerboat, before returning to his four-bedroom Hillcrest home.
Kwame Brown - United States - Government - Organizations - Recreation
Q: Is there any way to prevent my tank-type water heater from eventually flooding my basement, which has no floor drain? --V. Saunders
Water - Business - Construction and Maintenance - Materials and Supplies - Mechanical
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed loans were unchanged this week at the lowest point in decades, but it hasn't been enough to jump-start the housing market.
Mortgage - United States - Business - Financial Services - Freddie Mac
"It's not the heat, it's the humidity!" a complaint often heard in Houston, where I grew up, is wrong. In fact, it's the heat and the humidity.
Air conditioning - Mechanical - Construction and Maintenance - Business and Economy - Contractors
DEAR TIM: Recently our neighbor's house burned to the ground, and the fire spread to our home. The firefighters and our domestic fire sprinklers helped save our house, but the water damage was enormous. I'm wondering what we could have done differently to minimize the damage and prevent the fire ...
Water - Business - Water Resources - Environment - Utilities
Important paper records and documents, photos with great sentimental value and so forth can be duplicated with relative ease. There are digital scanners that can scan stacks of paper in just seconds per sheet. Dedicate 20 minutes each day until you're finished going through all your things. Once ...
Video Games - Games - News and Reviews - Awards - Business
We are looking at refinancing this week. We have about $250,000 equity in our home on a 30-year mortgage at 6.2 percent. We are three years into the mortgage. We are in our mid-50s. We know we will stay in this home for at least seven more years. We have just come into a very nice inheritance....
Real estate - United States - Services - Property Law and Real Estate - Law
BOUNDARIES: Bladensburg Road on the north, the Anacostia River on the east and south, and Fort Lincoln Cemetery on the south and west.
Maryland - United States - Politics - Earthquake - Baltimore
Gardeners and kids have a lot in common. The most conspicuous similarities being that both like to pluck flowers, pick fruits and berries, study insects and, not least, get wet and dirty. It's a natural match, and adults can nurture young people's interest in horticulture by inviting them to help...
Garden - Home - FAQs Help and Tutorials - United States - Kids Gardening
Rumors are flying that the health-care legislation Congress passed this year will impose a sales tax on all real estate sales. But the rumors are based only partly on fact. Although there is a new tax, it will not apply to everyone, and existing tax breaks for home sales will remain in place.
Health care - United States - Services - Law - Lawyers and Law Firms
Khalil Ghannam moved his home and founded his business in NoMa two years ago based on hope for what the neighborhood could become.
United States - Washington - NoMa Washington D.C. - Business and Economy - Northeast Washington
Picture this: You've signed a contract to sell your house. Your buyers say they have nailed down the right mortgage. All is well. But then the appraisal comes in low -- $25,000 to $50,000 under what was agreed upon in the contract.
Fannie Mae - Business - Real estate - United States - Appraisal
When you buy something with an Energy Star label on it, are you getting ripped off for trying to be green?
Energy Star - Business - Electronics and Electrical - Energy - Technology
NoMa Date Published: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT
BOUNDARIES: NoMa is roughly bordered by Massachusetts Avenue to the south, New Jersey Avenue and North Capitol Street to the west, Q and R streets NE to the north, and the CSX/Metrorail tracks to the east.
Dog - Pets - Recreation - Activities - Dog Sledding
Mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell to the lowest level on record for the third straight week, reducing borrowing costs for home buyers as unemployment and foreclosures stifle demand.
Mortgage - Business - Financial Services - United States - Loan
The federal government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, or HAFA, announced in April, may actually achieve some success where its predecessors have failed.
Business - Arts and Entertainment - Beauty Pageants - Short - Miss America
Usually by this time of year in the Washington area, we have had about 20 inches of precipitation. As of this writing, we are within a couple of inches of the average at Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall airports, but Reagan National is more than six inches belo...
Garden - Rain garden - Home - Rain - Environment
Q: I recently found out that one of my sisters filed a quitclaim deed on all three of my mother's properties -- two houses and lake property -- just three days before she passed away. I have not been able to locate any power of attorney papers filed in the appropriate county, but my mother was ho...
United States - Real estate - African American - History - Caribbean
DEAR TIM: I just bought a home with a large bathroom that's perfectly suited for a vintage tub. Are the plumbing requirements any different for these fixtures, as opposed to standard built-in tubs and showers? If you were installing a vintage tub and bath at your home, what would you do to make s...
Bathroom - Shopping - Business - Construction and Maintenance - Remodeling
As crazy as this sounds, make sure the bathroom door is wide enough to allow you to bring the tub into the room after the finished floor is installed and the room is basically finished.
Materials and Supplies - Doors and Windows - Construction and Maintenance - Business - Hardware and Accessories
Q: I want to do some interior repainting, but the ceilings have dark stripes that I was told were caused by burning candles and my wood stove. The stripes don't seem to wash off. The stripes coincide with the locations of the ceiling trusses. The attic is well insulated. What really causes these ...
Candle - Shopping - Home and Garden - Accessories - Scented
Here are my top 10 reasons for building a small house:
Business - Construction and Maintenance - Building Types - Sustainable Architecture - Vegetarianism
Federal Reserve officials, increasingly concerned over signs the economic recovery is faltering, are considering new steps to bolster growth.
Federal Reserve System - Central bank - Economic - Government - Social Sciences
The June 24 Economy & Business story " No bubble, please, we're Canadian " correctly noted that the Canadian mortgage markets generally had less leverage, less risk and less subprime lending than did those in the United States, key factors in why Canada avoided a housing crisis. Unfortunately,...
Canada - Real estate - Business - Housing - Residential
Spectacular views of Washington can crop up in the oddest places, delighting -- and occasionally startling -- the observer. There's a fine view of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception from the parking lot of a Home Depot in Northeast, for example. And the Washington...
Washington - United States - Washington DC - Law - Sales tax
The small-town charm that defines the tiny Fairfax County town of Clifton becomes apparent even before a stroll down the town's historic Main Street.
Fairfax County Virginia - Virginia - United States - Fairfax - Counties
With tougher mortgage underwriting rules a virtual certainty under Congress's financial reform legislation, lenders have begun confronting still another vexing issue: Can homebuyers who have high credit scores be trusted not to pull the plug -- strategically default -- when the economy hits a rough...
Mortgage - Business - Financial Services - United States - Loan
Mortgage rates have sunk to the lowest level in more than five decades, but consumers aren't rushing to refinance or buy homes.
Mortgage - Refinancing - Business - United States - Financial Services
BOUNDARIES: The incorporated town of Clifton comprises a quarter-mile square around Main Street and Chapel Road in southwestern Fairfax County.
Virginia - United States - Fairfax - Counties - Fairfax County Virginia
After showing signs of a fledgling recovery from the worst downturn in decades, the U.S. housing market appears to be heading back toward the doldrums, as the expiration of a lucrative tax credit for buyers and increased uncertainty about the economy cause home sales to plummet.
Mortgage - Business - Financial Services - United States - Loan
A Goldman Sachs executive on Thursday told a panel examining the causes of the financial crisis that the company had no regrets about collecting billions of dollars in taxpayer money for correctly predicting the collapse of the U.S. housing market.
American International Group - Goldman Sachs - Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission - AIG - Business
If you've been looking to buy a condo in the Washington area, you know there are deals to be had. But look carefully before you leap, say real estate agents and some buyers. A multitude of rules could block your way.
Financial services - Business - Games - Computer Financing - Commercial Lending
1. Directors, officers, and employees of WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post and its affiliates, subsidiaries, and divisions (as well as each member of their immediate family and of their household) are not eligible to submit an entry/submission. The contest is only open to residents of the ...
MadMen - Men - People - Business - Contests
It's one of those tiny D.C. neighborhoods with an identity known only to its residents. Real estate agents call it part of Brookland, maps indicate it's in Edgewood and Wikipedia has the location wrong.
United States - Washington DC - Northeast Washington D.C. - Washington - Neighborhoods
A few times each year, I like to review products that I hope will be useful to home gardeners. After a tryout, I find some promising products to be disappointments, and those I allow to die on the vine. Only the winners make it into print.
Mosquito - Insect repellent - Shopping - Home and Garden - Pest Control
BOUNDARIES: North Capitol Street to the west, Michigan Avenue to the north, Glenwood Cemetery to the east and Prospect Hill Cemetery to the south.
United States - Washington DC - Washington - Neighborhoods - Business and Economy
The average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent from 4.75 percent last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday. That's the lowest point since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.
Freddie Mac - Mortgage - Recreation - Picture Ratings - Loan
Short sales have been the hot solution for financially stressed homeowners and their lenders for the past year, but here's another potent foreclosure alternative that's about to take center stage: deeds in lieu.
Business - Mary Harney - Investing - Health - Newspapers
Knotty pine. Wallpaper. Formica. Venetian blinds. Those lamps! They help form the distinctive look of homes portrayed on AMC's "Mad Men" television series, set in the 1960s.
MadMen - Arts - Contests - Songwriting - Music
Dan Bishop, production designer for the "Mad Men" television series on cable network AMC, is responsible for creating the overall appearance of the sets. He offered some advice on how the Mad Men Look contest could be judged:
MadMen - Men - People - Games - Shopping
Mortgage rates have hit an all-time low, but consumers are responding with a big "So what?"
Mortgage - Business - United States - Financial Services - Freddie Mac
TORONTO -- When he bought a home last week with a 40 percent down payment, lawyer Kevin Fritz didn't see the transaction as particularly relevant to the debate over global financial stability.
United States - Canada - Financial services - Business - Mortgages
Sales of previously built homes dropped in May after huge gains the previous two months , a sign that the federal tax credit that helped energize sales at the start of the selling season has sputtered out sooner than expected.
United States - Business - Real estate - Residential - Ray LaHood
More breathing room could be on the way for people racing to meet the June 30 closing deadline to qualify for a home-buyer tax credit.
Business - United States Senate - Tax credit - Contract - Harry Reid
That the circa-1810 barn in Loudoun County had burned down twice, in 1914 and 1932, certainly did not prepare owner Peter Burnett for the call he received on Feb. 2, 2009. Come home, a neighbor urged him; your place is on fire.
Virginia - United States - Loudoun - Counties - Loudoun County Virginia
There's a running joke in Dowell that the tiny waterfront community in Southern Maryland is at the opposite end of Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House -- literally and figuratively.
Pennsylvania - United States - Business and Economy - Pennsylvania Avenue - Washington DC
Dowell Date Published: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT
BOUNDARIES: Mill Creek and St. John Creek to the east, Back Creek to the west and Route 765 to the north.
Golf - Graeme McDowell - United States - Ryder Cup - Celtic Manor Wales Open
Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages backed off from yearly lows this week but still remain historically cheap.
Mortgage - United States - Financial Services - Business - Loan
Q: My neighbor just gave an easement in her property to some company and claims that she will get a huge tax benefit when she files her next income tax return. What is that, and are there really any tax benefits available?
Easement - Property - United States - Law - Legal Information
We are selling our home in Maryland, and it is listed for $499,900. We're willing to offer $10,000 to the buyer, and we're wondering whether we should offer to pay $10,000 toward closing costs or reduce our price by $10,000. Which benefits us most as sellers?
Closing cost - Real estate - Business - Home - Legal
The recently rebuilt "Social Safeway" on Wisconsin Avenue NW, at the northern edge of Georgetown, is not just another remodeled supermarket. It represents a positive evolution in thinking about merchandising strategy and about being a good citizen through pedestrian-friendly architecture and urban...
Supermarket - United States - Education - Washington DC - Colleges and Universities
Here's a sobering message for anyone who has a federally insured reverse mortgage or plans to apply for one: If you don't pay your local property taxes or hazard-insurance premiums, the risk of losing your house to foreclosure is about to increase.
Reverse mortgage - Loan - Mortgage - Home - Personal Finance
_______________________ Michelle Singletary: Hello everyone, thanks for joining me today. And of course this is a hot topic today -- student loans. So let's get started.
Literature - Arts - Reading Groups - Books - Shopping
For years, Amy Lamke's answer to her affordable housing dilemma was bouncing with her daughter, Katlin, from one place to another, sharing space with strangers whom she met through classified ads.
Mobile home - Travel and Tourism - Lodging - Business - Residential Housing
The federal regulator overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ordered the mortgage finance giants on Wednesday to delist their shares from the New York Stock Exchange, dealing another blow to the battered companies.
Freddie Mac - Fannie Mae - Federal Housing Finance Agency - Macintosh - Apple
After the bank foreclosed on Fernando Palacios's Gainesville home in March, he thought he was done with what he described as the most stressful financial situation of his life.
Foreclosure - Real estate - Business - Investing - Mortgage
Laura and David Poisson had outgrown their ranch house in Arlington. They considered Reston's spacious suburban houses with yards, but those were out of their price range.
Loudoun County Virginia - Virginia - United States - Counties - Loudoun
Look up toward the ceiling. You may notice that it's ringed by a strip of crown molding along the top of the walls. This sometimes simple, sometimes ornate strip of architectural embellishment represents a mix of classical Greek aesthetics, Victorian sensibilities and modern ingenuity.
Shopping - Home improvement - Home and Garden - Building Materials - Millwork
Dear House Lawyer: I am a 60-year-old widower with no children. I own my single-family home with no mortgage outstanding, and I'm gainfully employed in a secure government position. I plan to retire in about five years. I have lived in my home for the past 20 years, but now find it to be more bur...
Business - Financial Services - Seller financing - Real estate - Loan
Cleaning up after a paint job is an art. You can ruin a high-quality paintbrush if you clean it incorrectly. Never hold the brush upside-down in a stream of water. This drives paint up into the bristles and fans them out. Dip the brush in a can of soapy, warm water and shake it back and forth. Do...
Business - Equipment - Clean - United States - BP
I want to install reflective insulation in my unfinished attic. Can I do this myself?
Business - Construction and Maintenance - Materials and Supplies - Thermal and Moisture - Insulation
The University of Maryland's Home and Garden Information Center encourages gardeners to take these steps to help stop a serious plant-disease problem before it worsens:
Business - Signage - Business Services - United States - Potato
DEAR TIM: I'm embarrassed to say that I've never painted walls or woodwork. My dad always did it, and I had no interest in helping. I now need to know how to paint, as I just bought my first home. I tried painting the walls in my living room and made a huge mess. The paint looked good going on, b...
Tools - Business - Shopping - Tools and Equipment - Construction and Maintenance
More than in most years, there is acute concern associated with pest control in the Washington area. On May 7, late blight was detected in a greenhouse in St. Mary's County. Measures have been taken by the grower to eradicate the disease, but plant scientists don't know whether it will spread or ...
Potato - Agriculture - Field Crops - Root Crops - Pests and Diseases
Need advice about how to handle your personal finances? Whether the struggle is saving for retirement, organizing your bank files, or talking about money responsibility with your spouse or loved one, Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary was online to offer her advice and answer your questions on Thursday, June 10 at 12 p.m. ET.
Color - Graphics - Web Design and Development - Authoring - Online Tools
In 1986, the rose, official flower of the District of Columbia, became the national flower of the United States as well. It's also the official blossom of Georgia, Iowa, New York and North Dakota -- making it most popular choice for a state flower. But this popularity is somewhat curious, as...
Shrubs - Plants - Roses - Home - Gardening
Though the Wall Street and banking features of the giant financial industry overhaul bill taking shape on Capitol Hill have drawn most of the attention, home buyers and mortgage applicants should be major winners when the legislation is finally signed into law, probably early next month.
Business - Financial services - United States - Financial Planning - Engine Overhaul
Expedition Great WhiteA team of experts lands the ocean's fiercest predators, studies them live on deck, and releases them unharmed. New Series Premieres Sunday at 9P on National Geographic Channel. Learn more at natgeotv.com/greatwhite
Ads by Pheedo
LOS ANGELES -- Timm Freeman's Santa Monica apartment has 17-foot ceilings, granite countertops and a guitar collection hanging on the wall. He has a built-in microwave, dishwasher and central air-conditioning.
Business - Shopping - BookRenter.com - Consulting - Renting
Q: My wife and I have owned our house for many years. I am several years older, so she is likely to outlive me. I want to make sure she will be able to stay in the house for the rest of her life and have heard that a "life estate" could take care of that. Can you explain how it works?
Law - Real estate - United States - New York City - Performing arts
I wanted to check out Thermador's $2,199 Sapphire dishwasher, which I had glimpsed at last winter's International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. Billed by a publicist as a luxury appliance for "the cooking enthusiast with money," it features a really cool "Sapphire Glow Lighting System" that...
Maytag - Dishwasher - Magic Chef - Heating element - Amana Corporation
DEAR TIM: I just bought my first home, and I need to learn how to stain a deck. I have so many questions. For example, how do you clean a deck before you start? Is there a difference between deck stains? Should I just paint my deck instead? Are there decks that don't have to be stained? -- Jamie F.,...
Business and Economy - Deck - Shopping - Home and Garden - Outdoor Structures
I would never paint a wood deck. Recently, I was on a friend's wood deck that had been painted a few years ago. The paint was peeling off in many places, and as you might imagine, the deck looked horrible.
Paint - Deck - Business - Shopping - Home and Garden
For 100 years, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has ridden herd on Washington architecture, especially within the city's ceremonial core. In its role as design reviewer and adviser to the government, the CFA judges the aesthetic quality of every federal building; avenue, bridge, park, museum,...
Fine art - Arts - Education - United States - Organizations
Issues concerning transportation, education, the environment and land development affect decisions about where we live. Here's how some of these topics were reported this week in The Post's Metro section or on the breaking news blog PostNow at washingtonpost.com/local .
Real estate - Business - Services - Law - Lawyers and Law Firms
DALLAS/FT. WORTH
Capri Capital Sells 725,351-SF Office Portfolio in Dallas
By Timothy Houseal
Four Dallas office buildings have changed ownership as Capri Capital Partners sold 725,351 square feet at 8111-17 Preston Road and 5949 Sherry Lane to...
CoStar compiles news of company expansions and relocations, as well as consolidations, closures and layoffs. Look for Lease Up and Lease Down every week, to stay updated on major corporate moves affecting commercial real estate.
In this week's issue...
CoStar announced it is launching the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sales Index (CCRSI), the first comprehensive repeat sales index for commercial real estate. The index is intended to provide consistent and timely information to help answer some of the fundamental...
VSC Fire and Security Inc. leased the entire freestanding industrial facility at 3109 Westinghouse Blvd. in Charlotte. Headquartered in Ashland, VA, the safety and security company will use the 14,540-square-foot building as its Western North Carolina...
In this week's Pipeline, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and general contractor PENTA Building Group break ground on $20 million expansion of a Harrah?s Casino south of Phoenix; a Denver-based electrical contractor completes a new design-build $64 million...
This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Raleigh/Durham.
ATLANTA
Avison Young Acquires Hodges Management and Leasing
Avison Young purchased Hodges Management and Leasing Co., an Atlanta-headquartered...
Newk?s Express Café, a casual restaurant with nationwide locations, signed a 10-year, 4,000-square-foot lease term at 101 Independence Center in Charlotte, NC. This is the restaurant's second office building location in the area.
The 20-story, Class...
In this week's Pipeline, a consensus of construction industry experts delivers a sobering forecast for commercial and other nonresidential building activity for the remainder of 2010; CGA Capital has pulled together $687 million in financing for Center...
CoStar compiles news of company expansions and relocations, as well as consolidations, closures and layoffs. Look for Lease Up and Lease Down every week, to stay updated on major corporate moves affecting commercial real estate.
In this week's issue...
SEATTLE
Cole Acquires City Center Plaza for $310 Million
By Brian White
In one of the largest real estate transactions of 2010, Cole Credit Property Trust III Inc., a non-traded real-estate investment trust managed by Cole Real Estate Investment...
