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Thursday, September 24, 2009
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50 comments:
MM -- Looks like that California Contemporary near EFC went under contract in 7 days. Wasn't me. I swear. :-)
Wanting to move, Ace,
to be honest, i expected it to go UC sooner. i just don't like the yard. i'd trade near metro for a decent yard any day.
MM, agreed.
I heard something this weekend that made me feel a little less crazy. A neighbor told me that another neighbor on our street had also been looking to move forever (primarily to get a little more space but not McMansion space). Like us, they simply could not find the right house for the right price.
Upper 22207 market is maddening.
UC in 12 days yet the contract price was 12% lower than asking? I can't imagine what the original offer would be. $450?! OK it's a 2-lvl rambler and on main road and has other flaws, but still. Maybe it's really really really disastrous inside.
i just don't understand this the market. time to enlist help from a Realtor...
Ace,
Is this a good deal at 1MM? To me it's a lovely house but I'm sure there're flaws for buyers in this price range.
MM-
It looks nice, but I would like a little more yard for a house that size. I am also a little curious about the kitchen, it is weird that they don't have a better picture of the kitchen.
I am confused at what this means
http://franklymls.com/FX7166109
"Great 1.3 acre buildable lot with 5 bedroom perk"
Is this saying it is just a lot or as a perk you get a 5 bedroom house on it. The bing picture shows some absurd houses in this neighborhood.
For Robert:
Tim Kaine and the new SAIC CEO were here today officially announcing the move of the corporate headquarters from San Diego to McLean. The governor claimed 1,200 new jobs as a result of the move. I had a post last week written commenting on this, but took it down since the news wasn't official yet.
I don't see where they are putting 1,200 new people. Our offices are getting reshuffled to make one floor available to new people. My guess is one floor will hold about 100-120. Maybe the 1,200 figure includes all the jobs that have slowly been moved here since that 2006 article you posted rumoring the move. I'm sure we'll get a few more lower level people like HR and such, but will those people really relocate from San Diego for that kind of job?
At first I was worried about the prospect of all these people also wanting houses with a good commute to the same place as me - but then I realized they all make a lot more than me and will buy the "out of my price range" homes in northern McLean and Great Falls.
Mm,
Why did they take a picture of the side of the house? Is that brick-work that interesting?
I don't know, the architecture does nothing for me. It's big and blah. And only one bathroom for the other 3 bedrooms seems a little skimpy, as well as fairly small bedroom sizes for the secondary bedrooms, and a lot of wasted hallway space on the way to the master... For a million dollars I'd like some interest to go with my space. Maybe colors other than museum white would help a little. At least it's a blank slate.
housebuyer said...
I am confused at what this means
http://franklymls.com/FX7166109
"Great 1.3 acre buildable lot with 5 bedroom perk"
It means the lot itself was tested and approved to build a 5 bedroom house on it. They dig holes in the ground and fill them with water and see how long it takes to absorb the water. It's called a perk test (percolation). It measures capability of a potential septic system.
Jeremy-
Thanks. I was confused, because I couldn't see how you could possibly get a house and the lot for that price. Either way its not too bad of a price for that sized lot. My guess is a developer could probably make some decent money building there but I really have no idea.
Looks to me SAIC took advantage of Tim Kaine.
WaPo article on employer's hiring, firing, and pay plans for this year.
(most but not all of the text)
"The survey results, released Wednesday, were prepared by the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area, which has collected data from hundreds of companies, government agencies and associations for 30 years. The organization earlier this month reported on the compensation packages the employers had actually given workers this year. In the new study, employers were asked what they plan to do next year.
...
And data in the Washington region, which because of the large federal government presence did not feel the full brunt of the downturn, are beginning to show improvement. A study released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution shows the region's economy grew 0.6 percent from the first to the second quarters of this year, compared with a 0.2 percent drop in the U.S. gross domestic product.
Moreover, the federal government is expected to hire more than 100,000 new workers in the area over the next few years, and housing sales and prices have been rising.
"We're in a favorable position relative to other metros," said Alice M. Rivlin, senior fellow at Brookings.
Still, from August 2008 to August 2009, the Washington region experienced a net loss of about 50,000 jobs, said Stephen S. Fuller, director of George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis. The largest losses occurred in retail, leisure and hospitality, and construction.
The good news for the region, Kostopoulos said, is that employers appear to be putting the brakes on layoffs for next year. Only five of the 245 employers that responded to the survey said they planned to cut staff by more than 10 percent.
But fewer employers this year said they expected to expand their staff. This year, 33 percent said they would increase the number of salaried employees, compared with 54 percent last year. Their plans to hire more hourly workers followed the same pattern.
This year, 13 percent of the employers surveyed said they would freeze salaries for 2010, compared with 2 percent who said so last year. On average, the employers' pay budgets will rise 2.8 percent, compared with 3.8 percent last year.
"
Yes, the DC area's fundamentals are strong, and fewer people will be laid off than last year, but it's not exactly looking rosey for raises and new jobs in 2010.
I know there are some economists that calculate a multiplier effect of job creation like the move by SAIC. And the salary level of the job created must be a second variable. Reasonable to assume the SAIC move creates 2500 jobs in NoVA? It will most certainly take 250,000 sqft of office space off the market, which I think is about an averaged size building in Tysons as well as the Dulles corridor.
Wonder what the reaction is in San Diego and Sacramento for that matter?
The governor claimed 1,200 new jobs as a result of the move.
I can claim to be a direct descendant of our first President George Washington, and as long as no one cares to validate the claim, I am good to go.
In other words, you can say just about anything you want to a lazy press corps in a PR conference and get away with it.
A few years ago while working for a large OEM, we had the usual ribbon cutting and the CEO stood in front of the entire City Council, County Commission, Mayor, and Lt. Governor and said "This plant will bring 50 jobs to the area".
As the operations manager, I was surprised to discover how rapidly my work force of exactly 3 people had suddenly grown to over 50.
In short, the CEO meant that as many as 50 people from other locations would be visiting the new site to support the effort.
Devils is in the details. Since there are so few professional reporters left, anyone can say just about anything at one of these press conferences and not have to worry about repercussions.
Except of course me, who was suddenly overwhelmed with 600 job applicants that appeared the next day at the facility to apply for those 50 jobs.
I left 4 weeks later and decided another job was the cure to chronic CEO potty mouth.
The public investment of $8.5 million is contingent upon SAIC creating 1,200 jobs in the county within the next three years.
1,200 direct hires with SAIC or 1,200 net from the effect of SAIC moving their HQ to VA?
The devil is in the details...:)
TN, you are right to be skeptical.
I doubt the negotiation was fair. What I'm saying is, I would rather play poker with Tim Kaine and his economic staff than against the top lawyers at SAIC.
MM, I thought it was a pretty good deal. It doesn't appear that the owners have done much updating (everything looks like 1997, when it was built), which is probably why it sold for a lot less than assessed value. I remember that it got a contract REALLY quickly after they dropped the asking price so substantially (from $1.1+ to $1 mill.). So that says to me that others had their eye on it and thought it was a good deal at $1 mill. so you had to move fast if you wanted it.
tbw,
The point of my post is thus: Anyone, be they left or right, can say anything they want in a press conference. Rarely, if ever, are they held to task for their promises, be they promises of jobs, taxes, health care, or a promise not to raise taxes for that new football stadium. Ahem.
That was my point. It's not about SAIC or Kaine, just that these types of self promoting chest beating articles are open loops that lazy reporters never close. Will someone ever report on those 1,200 jobs? Maybe...maybe not. It would have been nice to hear the breakdown of those jobs, because I have to ask, if they know its 1,200 jobs, why can't they provide the detail:
117 PM's
183 Payroll Clerks
22 Donut Getters
etc...etc...etc...
I miss shoe leather reporters and reporting. Google is not shoe leather and never will be.
FWIW
TBW,
I have sat in on a lot of negotiations with government customers. I'm sure there were times when the government had the smarter people, but I can't remember a single one of them.
I do believe that SAIC is sincere about the 1200. Otherwise, why pick 1200 instead of 1000. Kaine would get just as much mileage out of 1000. And it's probably even a conservative estimate. SAIC doesn't need any bad publicity that they didn't deliver what they promised.
Robert, you are toting a very broad brush.
Some of the smartest people I have ever known have worked in the government. And some of the dumbest are high level private sector managers. And vice versa.
There are smart people working for the government. SAIC tries to identify them and give them job offers. Half-joking.
Any of you schools experts have any thoughts on Stenwood Elementary, right near Dunn Loring metro? I wonder whether the highway noise bugs the kids.
Would it be appropriate for an intellectually advanced kid who will also be a year old for his class because of the way his birthday falls and will need a fair bit of challenge?
We had thought that Haycock Elementary would fit the bill (and is also near metro) but there is very little inventory there.
WantingtoMove-
To be perfectly honest if you are correct about your kid being smart and old for his grade none of the elementary schools will be a challenge. Wait until he is in 3rd grade when he can take a test to go to a GT school. If he can not get into a GT school than the school will likely be enough of a challenge.
Thanks, that was our thinking and why we were interested in buying around haycock -- in case he qualified for GT. Both my husband and I went to GT schools as kids (not in this area) and I personally hated the trek (3 buses in my case to get to middle school.)
(I am basing my description of him on the opinions expressed to me by his pre-school teachers and director.)
you don't need your best negotiators unless you're dealing with the best.
half joking
Looks like the FBI and Fairfax Police made some arrests in a major mortgage fraud scheme. Apparently, it involves up to a possible 200 homes and $100 million dollars worth of real estate. According to the police news release most of the houses were in Springfield, Falls Church, Vienna, Annandale, and Alexandria areas of the county.
Wantin to Move-
That sounds like a good plan. Its always good to get good comments from the teacher to corroborate your idea :)
For now, SAIC said it will move about 100 people from the West Coast and hire 1,100 people in the science, engineering and technology fields, with more hires to come later.
I'm not sure people who have worked for the government their entire lives realize how smart the people are that work at the top of the beltway bandits.
I do believe that at the top of the USG there are some of the best and brightest. I would give a few fingers, even one arm to work in the White House - even for a Democrat!!!
My experience with the lower level white collar crowd was that USG workers like three things about their jobs - job security, job security, and job security.
Interestingly, I inquired about doing a school visit at Haycock last spring but they would only do it for people who "already own property" within their boundaries. I guess they must get a lot of inquiroes. We did one at Shrevewood, and took a peak inside Stenwood when we were viewing a property in the area.
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