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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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12 comments:
6337 Gildar St MLS # FX6804386
From my morning's Redfin new listings we have this bit of humor.
Price: $270,000
"Nice brick townhouse, 3 BRs 2.5 Bath, close to Metro, shopping, 395/495, Springfield mall. Home shows well, make your offer. "
purchase: Jun 29, 2005 $340,000
This is a comparable price to the others in the neighborhood, some of which have actually been nicely upgraded (but not extravagantly which would be out of keeping with the house itself), like my favorite one that's $279k right now also on Gildar Street.
Anyway my interpretation of their weak listing with no new pictures (the one shown is from 2005)? We overpaid, give us an offer and let us out of this albatross. And the thing is at $340, they didn't grossly overpay at all, and this is probably not a short-sale if they can get near asking price, but it's just such a weak effort, one has to assume there's absolutely nothing in particular to like about this place.
Thanks for the link, Cara. The lot square footage on the Gildar St home gave me a double-take. We're looking in Springfield a bit, too, though hoping that prices will reach our budget in 22030, 22032, or 22015 (in that order). Also hoping that some will have a quarter acre or so, but that is probably asking too much of a non-fixer-upper...
Things definitely look promising in those zip codes. Average price per square foot under 200 in the last one.
We condensed to one car this winter, so we have to be walking distance to a metro, and the yellow and blue lines are what go to King Street, plus I work in Anacostia of all places, so we need to be over near the Wilson Bridge. So sadly, your search and our search don't align too much. But if I see anything particularly noteworthy out your way I'll be sure to post it.
I apologize in advance because this is so off topic, but I had to ask as Leroy and possibly others may have some advice:
I am going to a wedding this weekend in Avignon, France. My wife is in the wedding and I will have 1 free day and a car to myself. My question is, if I wanted to get out and see another town in the area, does anyone have any recommendations? I have heard good things about Nimes and Aix en Provence, but am open for suggestions.
Again, very OT, but I dont know anyone who has been to the area, so I thought I would throw it out here to see if anyone had any thoughts. Thanks.
crt,
From my friend, Etienne, who is from the south of France (actually he's from Paris, but no one is "from" Paris):
There is so many things real close about 1h driving.
No it depends on what they want to see/discover:
If they are more interested in Roman ruins and cities, they should go to Nimes or Arles. Nimes is a larger city, more important, with more roman ruins but Arles is part of the Unesco world heritage and I think that it is globally more preserved. Besides every wednesday at 5 pm there is a the local version of bullfighting (no killing, no blood see:
french bullfighting )
In addition Arles is more embedded in the Camargue region, which is the Rhone Delta (wiki Camargue). It is a very atypic region in France. I don't know so much what they can do in but just driving in there is probably very nice.
They can also go to "Aigues-Morte". This is a mostly a mediaval city from where the Crusades uses to leave. The p[oint is they may have enough of medieval stuff is they stay in Avignon.
I would not recommand so much to go in Montpellier.
In they prefer to have a real "Provence" atmosphere they may wander around Aix en Provence which is a bit touristy and with no so much thing to see. I would eventually recommand to go to "Manosque" if they want to have a more in-depth Provencal feeling (but I don't think that there is much to see there). It would probably be more laid back.
Another they can do is of course going to Marseille!
I would have other suggestion if they prefer to do thing more nature oriented.
Sorry, crt, I don't know that part of France at all. If you and your wife come through Prague, though, give me a shout.
Speaking of that part of the world, though... UK house prices in grip of slump posted on Calculated Risk today. So much for the part of the 'new paradigm' that says wealthy foreign investors will support the indefinite growth of housing prices close in.
CRT,
Avignon itself is very nice and deserves some time. Pont du Gard is very impressive and is 30 min west. If you like wine, lots of interesting southern Rhone areas to check out, Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the best known. If you cycle at all, the climb at Mont Ventoux is a blast.
Have fun,
All - thanks so much for the info. Unfortunately this is more of an obligation than a vacation so I wont get to do so much the area has to offer.
Cara your friend Etienne gave me a good planning guide next time I go back with more time - I hadnt even heard of Manosque - and thats the stuff I like to do best. Sarah - I will let you know as I do plan on visiting Prauge in the relatively near term.
Eponymous - thank you very much as I happen to really like wine, and the fact that I was that close to the Southern Rhone wineries was not even on my radar screen. The Chateauneuf-du-Pape will certainly get high consideration!
Again, thanks to all. This was kind of last minute and I didnt have much time to plan so I appreciate you letting me temporarily hijack this oh so informative blog!
CRT,
That's some of the best wine country in the world, with a rich history dating back to vineyards planted during the Avignon Papacy. I'm jealous. You'll find something to keep yourself busy.
The place on Gildar St. won't last. It's fairly convenient in terms of close to shopping and Metro, but not super-close to grocery stores. IIRC, there is a Shopper's Food Warehouse about a mile from there, and a Giant a little further but nothing really close by. Also, the traffic in that area has gotten horrendous. I lived in Amberleigh for about 5 years in the late 80s-early 90s and then in Manchester Lakes for another 5 years and (hate to sound like an old fogy) but I remember when Beulah was only 2 lanes and there were still horse farms out there. Now it's wall-to-wall development.
Blech.
Edison,
Cool, can I pick your brain for good apartment complexes in the area then?? We'll be moving down there once our current lease in Rockville MD is up to shorten our commutes now, while building up our 20% down. (Buying under the pressure of needing to get a better commute didn't seem like a good plan, even if we do have well over 10% now, and plus we don't have the local knowledge to decide where down there we really want).
The Gildar Street stuff isn't moving. There's similar ones that have been on for way over 90 days. Based purely on green versus blue dots on Redfin, I'd put average time on market in the area of 6-8 months for the low end of the housing spectrum, although there has been a recent pick-up finally. The 400k+ stuff is indeed moving rapidly still though, and there's a lot of that to compete with. As you say the area's exploded with development. But, because of that, this particular unit is almost literally a dime a dozen.
Cara, I haven't lived out that way since 1996. It has changed a LOT since then. I rented out my townhouse for about five years, then sold it for about what I paid and bought in another part of NOVA. Afraid I can't give you much in the way of specifics about current trends out there.
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