James Douglass, Broker

When the landlord calls and encourages you to drink water and stay home... it's time to sober up.

I am familiar with the trendy term "overemployed", which came about with ever more remote positions in the workforce, but this was a new level!
DC's DOB already had a lot on its plate before this scandal...

D.C. buildings official resigns after probe finds she had 2nd full-time job Caroline Lian, deputy director of the Department of Buildings, held an undisclosed full-time job with Freddie Mac, a city report said.

Remember folks, when looking for a place to live, don't blindly ask for an application. Ask for a tour and more information about the property. Ask about the area and what's nearby.
I am more comfortable with meeting who I am about to do business with, rather than receiving a piece of paper; one does not equate the other.

When Intuit QuickBooks charges 1%, up to $15, per online ACH transaction, it's unkind to put that on the tenants. So, we moved to Zelle to save everyone an unnecessary cost. 💲

$15 might not seem like a lot to some, but after thirty or more charges, that's the cost of a plumber or carpentry repair that the company can't afford. No need to pay ridiculous fees on an automated service. 😎

Thinking of buying a home in DC? Know someone who is? This would be an event worth checking out!
And if you need an agent, you should talk to my friends Michelle Hessel at Dana Global Advantage and Danny Tippett Realtor!

SAVE THE DATE! 🏠🔑 Learn what you need to know about buying a home at the *free* Dream Big Homeownership Fair on June 22 at the Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Navy Yard Riverfront. Register today at https://www.dchousing.org/RSVPDreamBig
Dream Big is hosted by the District of Columbia Housing Authority and MANNA, Inc., and sponsored by Capital Bank.

It's not one of my properties, but he's a great friend and works for an excellent roofing company! 🦸
If you, or a friend, are looking for a 2BR in DC, check it out!👍

realestate.alexcooper.com

Dear Amazon.com, please be so kind as to keep your delivery staff to respectable working hours. Phone calls from front door call boxes at 4:00AM will continue to be denied. Let your employees sleep.
We wouldn't want them to start a union over long and odd hours now, would we? 😉

If a contractor happens to mention or show where supplies are distributed from, make a note of it.
You may be able to save money by contacting the distributor directly next time, cutting out the middle man!

Another interesting find from the depths of our storage room! Among a pile of long-abndoned random notes and negatives of unnamed persons was this stenographer's notebook from 1935! When was the last time you saw writing in shorthand?
My great aunt, Mary Edward, was the last person in my family who was able to write and understand shorthand.

I am sorry that the courts wouldn't remove these old rent stabilization laws. And I feel the landlords who filed may not have made the right argument.

Don't get me wrong; I don't mind rent stabilization in general. What I mind is the discrepancy between rent-stabilized properties and newer, non-rent-stabilized properties. Larger properties built before the 1970s are the only ones affected by these laws. DC has this too. Newer properties are not affected by such laws and can raise rents and turnover increases at higher rates than properties under rent stabilization.

This leads to an ever-widening affordability gap between newer and older properties. As the cost of materials, labor, repair, and taxes increase with inflation, older properties get squeezed out. Owners, especially of smaller businesses, eventually have to sell off or convert rent stabilized properties into condominiums. Why should renters care? It leaves fewer affordable or reasonably priced options to renters. My own properties have absorbed a few renters whose buildings were being sold off.

Meanwhile local politicians like to tout support for rent stabilization and pass laws to further hinder the older properties because showing support for rent stabilization looks good to constituents. Said constituents aren't aware that the number of properties actually affected by these laws become fewer every year, and the politicians are simply winning quick political points while rents in newer properties continue to rise. One recent case in point is Robert White At Large.
DC Councilmember Robert White led a law, supported by the rent of the city council, capping rental increases that only affected rent-stabilized properties, keeping allowable increases lower than the consumer price index. More properties will be squeezed out and converted to condominiums or demolished. It's good for renters in the short run, but over a couple of years it will look worse.

There will be fewer and fewer small business property managers as larger corporations buy up the old properties, leaving DC's city council to appease ever more corporations and conglomerates.

DC, along with New York and California evidently, are long overdue for new rent control laws. I say let us even the board. We can either remove the rent stabilization laws on older buildings and allow their owners to afford the updates and maintenance they need to keep their businesses afloat (yes, this would be less popular, no doubt). Or a new law can be enacted to place rent stabilization on ALL rental properties, including new developments. Might that make would-be developers hesitant or cranky? Probably. But they would still make good money on new, rent-controlled properties. Business would continue to grow, and politicians like Councilmember White would make his constituents happy.

New York’s rent stabilization laws will stand after Supreme Court declines to hear challenges The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear challenges to New York’s rent stabilization laws, which impose strict rules on how landlords can lease some units in the Empire State.

"There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity. You can smell it. It smells like death." - Big Daddy, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Folks, you have got to be honest and communicative with your real estate agents and property managers. Things can get ugly if information is found out the hard way.

And now I have to give a litigious warning to a tenant for breach of lease.

Well, it took some years, but I believe Apartments.com finally figured out how I was advertising on its website for free. 😅😁

Folks, when inquiring about a property to rent or buy, make sure you have a professional demeanor. That includes your social media profile. Especially if you're inquiring over social media like FB Marketplace.

Profiles like "Bee" only tell me she may be sweet, but it stings when she doesn't show up to appointment. "Oh Yeah" sounds less like a good time and more like signs of early onset dementia when he forgets his appointment.

Be sure to do some initial research too. Find out some basics like the location and what's nearby, whether pets are allowed, or whether you need to improve your credit or have a co-signor ready. These things will save you, and the agent representing the property, a LOT of time and headache later.

Just remember folks; working from home can be very convenient until something at home needs to be repaired. Then you'll have to be flexible with a contractor's schedule and be patient while the work is done.

A great chance for artists to show their work (and a good paying gig for all the bureaucratic background work) and a great way to brighten communities!
I wish more school districts could benefit from this project.

REMINDER:
Now Accepting Applications for our FY24 Color the Curb-School Safety Program

The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH), in partnership with the District of Department of Transportation (DDOT), and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), seeks District-based artists experienced in large-scale exterior murals, youth engagement, and community-based projects to design and install ground murals in the intersections near four DCPS schools in Washington, DC. Selected artists will be awarded grant funds to be used for design, materials, fabrication, installation, personnel, and project management.

Application Deadline:
Friday, December 29, 2023 at 9 pm ET

CAH Staff Contact:
Deirdre Darden
Public Art Coordinator
[email protected]

Full details here: https://dcarts.dc.gov/page/color-curb-schools

My mother was never a fan of National Association of REALTORS®, claiming their tactics were monopolizing the industry. She also didn't believe in seller agents (that is, agents representing the seller, rather than there only being a buyer's agent). I disagree with her on the latter and believe each party should be separately represented.

Well, Mom, you would've loved to read about this.

Americans are taxed $60 billion in real-estate commissions, says attorney who just won a $1.8 billion mega-verdict against National Association of Realtors Stephen Brobeck, senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America, says buyer agent's commission are effectively added in, "inflating the sale price.”

Douglass Management does not utilize Realpage nor communicate rental rates with any other property manager or landlords.
Not only was this illegal, but it fosters distrust from the tenants and communities.

14 of DC's biggest landlords sued for scheming to illegally raise rental prices The RealPage technology was allegedly used to set rental prices for more than 50,000 apartments across D.C., in violation of the District’s Antitrust Act.

A fun read on selling stigmatized properties (including haunted houses) for this Halloween season.

How to sell a haunted house Ghostly tales from real estate agents that are even scarier than this housing market.

Ever since HUD's condemning report, DC's DHS has been scrambling to fix their process. It appears they still have a LONG way to go.

"The journey from the time a person is approved for a voucher to the day they can move into an apartment takes more than four months on average, according to data from the DHS and DCHA. It took even longer before the agencies deployed recent reforms."

D.C. residents face long housing aid delays as 3,100 vouchers sit unused Delays with housing vouchers have cost some D.C. families an apartment. In more extreme circumstances, outreach workers said, homeless people have died waiting.

What's even more disappointing by this news is it comes on the heels of NAR, and GCAAR, pushing programs of diversity, equity, and inclusion of which I signed on early.

Those same programs are a requirement to serve on any committee!

Powerful realtor group apologizes after president accused of sexual harassment Women in the real estate industry have grappled recently with the dangers they face from potential clients. But some also reportedly faced misconduct from one of their own — the head of their powerful trade group. Driving the news: Kenny Parcell, president of the National Association of Realtors (...

There are a lot of thoughts and opinions on "rent control" and affordable housing.
There is a federal policy now being pushed to bring rent control to a federal level for multifamily properties with federally-backed mortgages.🤡
This article, with references to numerous studies, is worth a read. 🧐

National rent control will make the housing crisis worse — here’s why Commonsense solutions exist. Now, what’s left is for policymakers to implement them.

Is this real estate-related? No. But it certainly is a DC thing!

Ben’s Chili Bowl Celebrates 65th Anniversary Tuesday With Free Half Smokes And A Block Party Expect a block party on U Street between 12th and 13th Streets.

Today a lot of things broke in numerous locations. A window, an appliance, a bathtub backed up, leaking ceiling, and more...

Sometimes folks can be apathetic in their treatment of property, and that is very sad to me (and hard to watch in monster movies!).
Sometimes, accidents happen. We all make mistakes.

Time to take a deep breath and schedule repairs.

Rental prices are beginning to drop or flatten a bit from Pandemic highs across the nation.

Rental prices are finally starting to drop from pandemic highs Rent is starting to drop. But housing costs are still by far the main factor driving inflation.

DC's City Council has capped rent increases for the next two years, but ONLY for properties already under rent control (older properties).

The financial disparity between new developments and small business owners/property managers/landlords is going to continue to increase until those small business owners are choked out of the industry.

Renters may think it's all the same to them, but small businesses are more likely to provide more direct, hands-on care and actually acknowledge the renter as a person, rather than the number on his/her door and a source of income.

Robert White At Large hopefully had good intentions but misfired by a WIDE margin. Rent laws like this only work if ALL rentals are affected, not just the ones already under rent control.

DC Council passes emergency bill to cap rent increases for stabilized rent housing over next 2 years - WTOP News The DC Council passed an emergency bill Tuesday to address inflation and high rent issues that many city leaders have said are a huge cause for concern, meaning those who live in rent-stabilized housing won’t see more than a 6% increase starting July 1.

As we move into the rental turnover season, don't forget to know your rights as a tenant!
If you're in DC, here's a link to the Tenant Bill of Rights.
Always be sure to communicate openly with landlords or property managers.
Strong communication makes for better results!

Tenant Bill of Rights | ota Tenant Bill of Rights

For anyone in the AAPI community, DCOHR is hosting a public safety meeting this Wednesday, 6-8PM!

Public Safety Resources for the AAPI Community in DC Community members will be encouraged to engage government as a resource to keep themselves and family members safe.

Checking out the Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo with National Association of REALTORS® and Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors (GCAAR). New ideas, products, and swag!

Don't forget to check the filters on your AC and/or HVAC units and test your smoke detectors!

More funding is being sent to Emergency Rental Assistance Programs (ERAP) nationwide. If you, or someone you know, may need rental assistance, be on the lookout with your local government for additional funds.

Biden administration grants $520M to stop evictions The administration of President Joe Biden has announced it has awarded more than $520 million in grants to help renters facing eviction stay housed.