Forest Glen: Forest Estates

The area of Forest Glen (a part of Silver Spring, MD) encompasses a number of neighborhoods, as I wrote about here.  Today I want to focus on the neighborhood of Forest Estates.  Forest Estates’ non-official borders are Forest Glen Road to the south, Georgia Avenue to the west, Medical Park Drive and Dennis Avenue to the north, and Sligo Creek Parkway to the east.  The neighborhood is made up of about 700 homes, built from the 1940s to the 1960s.  They are a mix of cape cods, ramblers, and colonials.

Most parts of Forest Estates are an easy walk to the Forest Glen metro station, and it’s also located less than a mile from the entrance to 495 (the Beltway), so it is a great neighborhood for commuters.  Located inside the boundary of Forest Estates are two popular parks with playgrounds, General Getty Park and Forest Grove Neighborhood Park.  Getty Park has tennis courts and a gazebo in addition to its playground, and Forest Grove Park has basketball courts in addition to its playground.  They also both have open field space.  Getty Park has a nice path running through it, which is fun for kids on bikes or scooters, as well as for walkers and joggers.  Getty Park even hosts a Farmer’s Market on the weekend, though I believe that is temporarily on hold due to COVID.  You can get right onto Sligo Creek Trail from Forest Grove Park.  Sligo Creek Trail is a beautiful paved, wooded trail that runs from Wheaton to Takoma Park.

Holy Cross Hospital is right across Forest Glen Road from Forest Estates, and their Resource Center is located just down Dameron Drive, inside Forest Estates.  The Resource Center hosts a number of classes, as well as an Adult Day Care Center.  Also housed in the same building is the Kensington/Forest Glen Children’s Center, which a very popular daycare center/preschool in the area.  St. John’s the Evangelist is also located in Forest Estates.  It’s a Catholic Church that also has a Catholic school as part of it, for grades K – 8th.

The public schools Forest Estates are zoned for are Flora Singer Elementary, Sligo Creek Middle, and Einstein High. Please keep in mind that schools are sometimes rezoned, so please double check and make sure these are still the schools the area is zoned for, if you’re thinking about buying in the neighborhood and the particular schools are important to you.

Forest Estates has a very active community association, which puts on regular yearly events, such as a Halloween Parade, an ice cream social, and a July 4th BBQ.  You can look at their website here.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a home in Forest Estates, or if you have questions about the community, please feel free to contact me. Thanks!

Co-ops in Leisure World

I’m often asked, what is the difference between buying a co-op and a condo in Leisure World?   Thus, I decided this topic deserves its own blog post.  Co-ops in real estate in general are defined as owning a share in a co-operative, rather than owning a physical unit.  You buy and sell this share much as you buy a condo or home, but there are usually a few differences.

In Leisure World, one difference is that the co-op fee covers much more than the typical condo fee.   It covers your property taxes, since the co-operative pays property taxes for all of the units.  It covers much of the equipment in your unit, including the HVAC, plumbing, and any appliances that are original to the unit, since the co-op technically owns the unit.  And it covers all utilities for the unit.  

There are also additional requirements to buying a co-op at Leisure World.  You must have at least a 700 credit score, even if you’re paying cash for the property.  You must show proof that you already have three-years-worth of the condo fee saved (could be in a retirement fund, doesn’t have to be cash).  These requirements were mandated several years back, because many people could afford the initial purchase price of a unit in the co-op, but were then defaulting on the monthly fee.  You also have to use a lender (if you intend to use a mortgage to purchase the property), and a settlement company that have been approved by the co-op.  I have an updated list of the lenders and settlement companies that are approved by the co-op, so please contact me if you want more information about this.

The co-op section of Leisure World, called Montgomery Mutual, was the first section of Leisure World that was constructed, and the buildings date from the late-1960s to the early-1970s.  As such, they tend to be among the least expensive units in Leisure World, and are therefore very attractive to many buyers.  They range from studios with a square footage of 635 square feet, and a price range of 75K – 96K in the last six months, to two-bedroom townhomes with 1600 square feet, and a price range of 168K – 192K in the last six months.  One issue to be aware of is that none of the co-op buildings have elevators, so owners must be able to either do a flight of steps to reach their unit, or do a flight of steps within their unit, as is the case with the townhomes.  Occasionally, though, a ranch-style home becomes available (selling in the mid – high 200ks in the last six months), or a buyer might be able to find a unit on the main floor of a building, therefore not requiring the ability to climb any steps.  Another issue is that some of the buildings have common laundry areas, rather than each unit having a washer and dryer within it.  But many units do have their own washers and dryers.

If you have questions or further interest in buying or selling a co-op at Leisure World, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  Thanks!

How to Successfully Navigate the Housing Market Right Now

I’m sure you’ve been hearing about the crazy housing market for awhile now.  Homes that are priced right and in good locations are selling very quickly.  It’s a great time to be a seller (if you have a place to move to), and a tough time to be a buyer.  I thought it might be helpful for you to read what I’ve been seeing on the front line.

If you want to buy in an area of Maryland that is close to DC, such as Silver Spring, Kensington, Chevy Chase, or Bethesda, you need to be ready to compete.  That means a strong pre-approval letter from a local lender, preferably for a conventional loan, or be ready to pay cash.  It means you need to make your offer with as few contingencies as possible, and be ready to close quickly and offer the seller a rentback.  If you’re a first-time buyer or haven’t bought in some time, let me break down what I mean by those statements.

Using a local lender is important, because the seller and listing agent want to be confident that the deal will close quickly, and on time.  Local lenders can usually close much more quickly than national banks or internet lenders.  They also usually use appraisers who are local and familiar with this market, so the home is more likely to appraise (meaning the value of the home will be at or above what the buyer is under contract to pay for it).  If you work with me, I can provide you with a list of great local lenders that I trust to do a good job.  

Contingencies are clauses in the contract that let the buyer cancel the deal without losing their earnest money.  In a competitive market, you want to have as few contingencies as possible.  In this market many offers even have zero contingencies.  That means if you want to do a home inspection (which I strongly recommend), you need to do it before the seller accepts your offer.  That’s called a pre-inspection.  It means that you work with a lender who can take your application all the way through underwriting ahead of time, so that you’re fully approved for a loan and don’t need a financing contingency.  It might even mean that you save enough cash to be able to waive the appraisal contingency.  That way if the home doesn’t appraise to what you said you would pay for it, you can make up the difference in cash, because the lender will only loan you what the appraisal says the home is worth.

Finally, many sellers in this market want the flexibility to sell their home, collect their money, and then buy a new home.  So, if you’re renting or in a flexible situation, it helps to settle on the home you want two or three weeks after you put a contract on it, but then agree to let the seller stay in the home, and rent it back from you, for 30 – 60 days.  Often, to compete, they don’t even rent it back from you, you just agree to let them stay there for free for 30 – 60 days.  60 days is usually the limit a lender will let you do this, but if you pay cash for a home, you could offer that the rentback last even longer.

Does all of this sound intimidating?  I understand that it might, but if you work with a good agent they will be able to help you through all of these steps, and hopefully take some of the anxiety out of the process for you.  The result is hopefully a home you’ll love and be happy in for many years to come.  If you’re interested in working with me, or just have questions for me about this process, please feel free to contact me.

Forest Glen: Glenview

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I live in the Forest Glen area of Silver Spring.  There are several neighborhoods in Forest Glen, and today I want to write about Glenview.  Glenview, as defined by its neighborhood association, is the area bordered by Dennis Avenue to the south, Georgia Avenue to the west, Windham Avenue to the north, and Sligo Creek Parkway to the east.  If you’re searching for a home in this area, there are several smaller legal subdivisions within the area of Glenview.  They are Evans Parkway, Glenview, Cameron Heights, Northbrook Estates, Chestnut Ridge Manor, and Chestnut Hills.  Whew!  I don’t know why the whole area wasn’t given one name, much like Forest Estates to the south, but it wasn’t.

            Glenview is a great place to live.  It is walkable to two metro stations—Wheaton and Forest Glen, both on the red line.  It is also walkable to downtown Wheaton, which has grocery stores, restaurants, shops, a library, a post office, and even Wheaton Mall, a major mall in the area.  Its elementary school is Glen Haven, which lies within the borders mentioned above, and is walkable from all of Glenview.  Glen Haven has a child care center within the school.  The middle school for Glenview is Sligo Middle School, and it’s also within the boundaries listed above, and is walkable for all of Glenview.  Sligo Middle School has a wonderful sledding hill behind it, for the rare times in this area when it snows.  But, I digress.            

            The high school for Glenview is Northwood High School, but Glenview is part of the Down County Consortium, which means there is some flexibility for what high school your child goes to.  They can pick amongst Northwood, Einstein, Blair, Wheaton, and Kennedy high schools.  Each high school has some special programs to distinguish it.  You are not guaranteed your first choice of school, unless it’s your home school, Northwood, but you can rank which ones you prefer, and the school system will try to give you one of your higher choices.  Northwood High School is deemed walkable from Glenview, as it’s less than two miles away, and Einstein High School has two bus stops located within the neighborhood. There are several private schools also located within easy walking distance of Glenview. 

  There’s a park in the middle of Glenview, called Evans Parkway Park.  It has great walking paths, tennis courts, basketball courts, a playground, fields, and a picnic shelter.  People also make use of the fields and playgrounds of Glen Haven Elementary and Sligo Middle School.  Sligo Creek Trail, a wonderful paved trail that runs from Wheaton to Takoma Park, is also walkable from Glenview and is very popular with walkers, runners, and bikers.  Finally, the Capital Beltway (495) is just over a mile away from Glenview.  So, between the metro stops and the convenience of the beltway, Glenview is wonderful for commuters.

            In the past year, 43 homes have sold in Glenview.  Prices ranged from 335K, for an 864 sq ft rambler with 3 bedrooms, 1 ½ bathrooms, to 748K for an expanded colonial with 2,231 sq ft with 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and 2 half bathrooms.  While there is no HOA in Glenview, and so no HOA fee, there is an active listserve and a relatively new voluntary neighborhood association.  If you’re interested in buying or selling a home in Glenview, or just learning more about it, feel free to contact me.  Thanks!

Condo/HOA Fees at Leisure World

The globe at the entrance to Leisure World.

            When I work with clients who want to buy or sell homes at Leisure World, the questions I receive more than any others have to do with the condo/HOA fees at Leisure World.  What are they, what do they cover, etc.  So I thought it would be helpful to do a blog post dedicated solely to that topic.  

            Leisure World is a huge place—more than 8000 residents living on more than 600 acres.  It’s also very decentralized—each neighborhood is called a mutual.  There are 29 different mutuals at Leisure World.  Some mutuals consist of just one high-rise building, some consist of several low-rise buildings, and some consist of a number of patio homes or townhomes.  

            Each mutual sets its own condo or co-op fees, so they vary a lot, based on mutual, square footage of the unit, whether the unit has a garage spot included, etc.  In general, the combined HOA/Condo fee ranges from $650 - $1250 a month, depending partially on size of the unit and what mutual it’s in.  Does that sound high?  It might, but you get a lot for your money.  

            The HOA/condo or co-op fee always includes a basic cable package, high-speed internet, water, sewer, common area maintenance, snow removal, lawn care, etc.  It also includes most of the amenities at Leisure World such as the outdoor pool, the fitness center, tennis courts, shuffleball courts, walking trails, the shuttle system, etc.  In some of the homes and low-rise condos it also includes electricity.  So, when you add up how much you might be paying for these kinds of services and amenities in your current home, you might find that the condo/HOA fee really isn’t more than you’re currently spending.

            I help lots of people buy and sell homes in Leisure World.  If you’re interested in learning more about Leisure World, or in working with me, please feel free to contact me.  Thanks!