Downtown Loft Style Apartments – Continue As Hot Sellers

by Nancy Simmons

Over seven years of running Apartment Detectives I have noticed certain requests that have come up quite frequently. Many of my clients have been relocated to Washington from New York and have requested loft style apartments. I have found myself explaining that this is not something that Washington architecture has naturally. There are such a wonderful variety of buildings that can usually accommodate many kinds of personal taste. For years I have not been able to provide that style of an apartment as an option. Within the past year builders have been working to provide options for this demand.
1225 13th Street started renovation of a 50-year-old building in the summer of 2002 and started leasing in the fall of 2002. This building was renovated inside and out from top to bottom. The doors where opened for residents to move in March of 2003. There are currently 20 residents in the building, with more move-ins scheduled. The building converted 112 rental units into 78 apartments on 8 floors. They offer studios, lofts, 1 bedrooms and 2 bedrooms. The building is owned by Robbie Miller of MDC properties and is managed by Reality Management Services. It is quite unusual in Washington to have such a building owned by an individual.
Andreas Charmalaboas of Forma Design designed the lobby, the hallways and the interior of the apartments to maintain the same look throughout the building. The silver lighting fixtures and the unique hallway carpeting blend beautifully. I had the opportunity to see one of their loft style apartments. The first level had hardwood floors, an open kitchen with a breakfast bar and custom maple cabinetry, a powder room and a washer and dryer. There is a spiral staircase that takes you to the upper level that is carpeted. The second level includes a bedroom area, a good-sized bathroom with a larger than average tub and a walk-in closet. The floor to ceiling windows allow a great amount of light and a feeling of more space than your average 727 square feet would normally provide.
There are no balconies with the exception of two apartments on the back of the building, which have 400 square foot balconies. All of the apartments have a full-size washer and dryer in each unit, ceramic tile baths, good-sized walk-in closets and GE appliances. The building offers a continental breakfast Monday through Friday and valet dry cleaning. The building allows up to two cats. Realty Management worked out a discount with two of the local gyms for the residents. The apartments are pre-wired for high-speed internet access, electronically controlled entry system, recessed lighting, thermal and acoustical construction, main entry video surveillance from your TV, reserved garage parking and personal storage units. This building offers a great location, a good amount of space and great perks. All these conveniences are offered with the more personal touch of a smaller building at reasonable prices for downtown Washington.
n Nancy Simmons is a licensed realtor in DC and Maryland with W.C.&A.N. Miller Realtors..

Beautiful As Tulips!

By Bill Starrels
STAFF WRITER

It is springtime in Washington. Tulips are blooming. The tourists are enjoying the sights and interest rates are still very low. The bond market, which is the barometer for mortgage backed securities, has been as beautiful as the tulips. The closely watched ten-year Treasury note hit new lows in the second week of May. In a span of a couple of weeks the ten-year note went from 3.93% to 3.64%. It was the largest movement downward since 1988. The rates have been low enough to prompt bond watchers to double-check the reports.
Mortgage interest rates flirted with new lows. 30 year fixed rate rates have been in the mid 5’s with no points. Rate for adjustable rate mortgages were in the 3’s and 4’s. Customers that had locked in during the Iraq war were being floated down to new lower rates at closing. It was a happy time for mortgage clients.
The fuel for the new and improved rates was no other then Chairman Alan Greenspan and the Governors of the Federal Reserve. The Fed at its latest meeting signaled that their concern was no longer about higher inflation, but fears of deflation. The specter of deflation concerns economists. Inflation is easy to understand and to modify. Deflation is more difficult to comprehend. The prospect of economic growth without inflation would allow the Fed to keep interest rates low even as the economy grows.
The Fed basically committed to an extended period of a sustained low interest rate policy. There is speculation that the Fed may cut the Feds fund rate in the next meeting of the Governors of the Federal Reserve.
Economic data continues to show an economy that is moving forward at a slow pace. Manufacturing remains soft. Employment numbers are still not pretty. The numbers of unemployed are not going down. The numbers of people classified as long term unemployed is now at 2 million.
It will be interesting to see how the President’s tax plan plays out in the next several months. The House of Representatives passed most of the President’s tax plan the way he would like to have it. The Senate has a different, modified version in the works The final tax bill will be a result of a compromise that will be hammered out in a future conference committee where members of the House and Senate and their staff will figure out some type of middle ground.
With no prospects of the Fed tightening for a while, mortgage interest rates should be attractive for awhile. It is a good time for consumers who are refinancing or purchasing a home.

-Bill Starrels lives in Georgetown. He is a senior loan consultant for Washington Mutual Bank. He can be reached at 703-299-8635