Odyssey vs Clarendon 1021 in 22201 Arlington VA

(Bias alert: I live in and own a unit at 1021 in Clarendon, or see blog post & video and I love it.)

But the Odyssey Rocks.

Construction Material
I’m not a builder, but since 1021 was built initially as a rental apartment, Odyssey was built more solidly. Also the upgrades are all a level nicer from flooring to appliances.

Green Building
I don’t know if the building has an official “Green” status, but the sellers we have helped have shown us their utility bills and they were as low as $35 a month total. About ½ of 1021. Sorry if this post doesn’t add new information. I’m just telling you what I know and not Bsing what I don’t.

The View
If you think 1021 has a great view, the Odyssey’s roof top will blow your mind. Couple that with an amazing rooftop party room (1021 had one, but it got sold off as a unit) and rooftop gym and it puts 1021 to shame. (no hot tub in the Odyssey though)

Location
This is where 1021 skyrockets back on top. 1021 is located in the more expensive Clarendon vs Courthouse. It is just 2 blocks from wholefoods, shops, restaurants, and night life. Meanwhile people that I know in Courthouse (1 metro to stop away) head to Clarendon 80% of the time. But not so fast, the nextdoor Dr Dremos and Taco Bell are being replaced with a retail area similar to Clarendon.

Metro
They are both about the same distance to their respective metro, with courthouse being one stop closer to DC, but also one stop more full of people.

The best thing to do when in these buildings is to talk to the neighbors. Recently I was working with a client and my 1021 bias was apparent so I thought I’d strike up a conversation with a resident.

“Excuse me, we are considering the Odyssey Condominiums and 1021 Condos. When you bought did you look at both?”

He went off on 1021 and how much he loved the Odyssey. On top of that, the 2 br run about $30-40K less for a similar sized 2 bedroom on a similar floor level. For him it was a no brainer, The Odyssey won him over.

When showing places I try to keep my opinions to myself.

It doesn’t matter if I like brown or rooms that can hold a projection TV. Or a condo that is 20% larger. Who am I to say how much room you need to live or how much you might not mind walking a few extra blocks.

Bottom line is the Odyssey is worth looking at. Here is a link to Odyssey Condos for sale today. Here are 40 photos from 3 units we sold here.

Do watch out since some units are wildly overpriced there. As in over $100,000 overpriced. Also email me if you want to see a spreadsheet that my agent Megan (our agent) did. She analyzed 30 past sales and it runs a ratio of the average profit and loss by the initial purchases (don't just go by the tax records, the seller subsidy matters!).

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

Review: Williamsburg Condos in Arlington's Courthouse

Williamsburg Condos on 1276 N Wayne St Arlington, VA 22201

I have 3 friends that live in the Williamsburg Condos in Courthouse. They love it!

The 1st thing that stands out is the huge floorplans versus the newer buildings in the area. This building was built in 1982 1993-1994 and to a certain degree it shows in the common areas and the lack of a rooftop social area.

I didn’t know if rooftop pools are much more expensive, but it seems like a waste that the Williamsburg condos doesn’t use their rooftop at all. No pools, no party room, no nothing.
Since the units were built in 1982 some will have renovations and some will be original.

A renovation can alter the price by $50,000 so make sure you compare apples to apples.

Also each floor can be about $4,000 in value.

The building does have a pool tucked in the back corner.

METRO
This building is about twice as far from the metro vs Odyssey and 1021.

PARKING: I love the 5 short term 30 minute spots in the front. I wish everyone had that. I rarely see even half of them taken. Also street parking is plentiful (I think it is all metered, can somebody verify that?). Spots tend to go for only $10k-$15k (vs $40k elsewhere)

Also the parking inside the building is plentiful. I understand you can rent a spot for as little as $50/mo and buy for as little as $10,000, but now more like $20,000.

So the building is less expensive than Clarendon 1021, since it is older, but also Courthouse is about $40,000 less than Clarendon.

A list of all Actives for sale in: Williamsburg Condos.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this condo, wanna see more photos, or if you would like to contact my friends and ask them specific questions. We have bought and sold several units in this building (see 60 photos of 3 sold units) .

-Written by Frank Borges LLosa- Broker FranklyRealty.com
ps. Here is the official site for this condo.

Bromptons at Cherrydale Arlington Voted to be Demolished

From Cherrydale Arlington's Sweet and Sour News.:

"On May 7, 2008, the Arlington County Planning Commission recommended to the County Board by a vote of 12-0, that the unfinished Bromptons building be considered a blight under County ordinance and that the County move forward with its demolition"

More on Ed Peete and Zoso here.
Here are the homes for sale in Cherrydale Arlington Virginia on FranklyMLS.com (add photos if you visit any of these homes).
-Frank

Builder Pricing... Mark It Up & Go "On Sale"I

It is tricky these days buying a new construction condos (read post on the risk of new construction). Why? You don't know the freaking real price. Some builders are actually INCREASING prices. I think they are doing that because they feel pressure to give a large % off list so the buyer gets a "deal."

Meanwhile other builders are using this as an opportunity to aggressively drop their prices to look like a steal... but then they won't budge. Not even $5,000.

Also I have been hearing from these builders about several buyers coming into their offices after reading my blog. They come in without a Realtor (including me). So I blame myself for obviously not fully explaining our value vs being a paper pusher. Builders love unrepresented buyers... since they have a big "sucker" pasted on their forehead. Why have an agent that knows which buildings drop by how much?

And if you only know the BS that I have heard come out of these builder's sales teams mouths.

It doesn't cost you anything (and some of you now are thinking, but I can get a better deal if I can cut out the buyer agent, and that is also just wrong)

Don't like me? Ok, I probably wouldn't like you. So go buy with Jay, Rick or Brian, (all 3 different firms) I don't care, just don't walk in solo.

Sign up for the main blog over at blog.FranklyRealty.com and I'll try and do a better job outlining a good agent's added value.


Written by Broker FranklyRealty.com

Palatine Condos Give Ups, Returns Deposits

I have to give credit to Realtor Rick Bosl for this one.

People have been asking me about official word on Palatine Condos in the Courthouse area of Arlington. Here is his post on that: Palatine Goes Rental

The only thing I would add is to see if you get some sort of interest on your deposit. Read your contract closely. Some builders are trying to get out of their obligation to pay interest. Sometimes that can be $2,000.

$135,000!? EOS 21 Auction: A Steal or Bait

Only $135,000!? EOS 21 Condos in Alexandria Virginia just announced a condo-conversion auction of 43 units. A "Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!"

This is the second condo-conversion project to take this "liquidation" sales technique. I know I say in my blog "I told you so" a lot, well no exception here. The risks with buying new construction (or conversions) is huge when they have excess inventory. New Construction Bargains: Risks or Rewards?

So what about EOS 21? Well the auction is brought to you by the same people that held the Parkside at Alexandria auction back in October 2007 (see Parkside at Alexandria 1st post). Parkside had "starting prices" at $225,000, but ultimately got bid up to $280,000 to $290,000 (see post #2 the Results show with video). "Down" from an inflated sticker price of $340,000 (2lvl TH).

All in all they sold for maybe 5-10% off the price you could have gotten the week before with a written offer.

And now a few months later... they STILL have units that are priced starting at $290,000 (and there are a ton of short sales on the MLS in Parkside) which is just about what they went for at auction time.

WHAT A STEAL! Ha!

POSSIBLE BIAS ALERT! One thing that really ticks me off is the buyer agent broker offering. They offer only 1% to the buyer agent. In Virginia 95% of the time the offer is 3%. Why would they want to discourage a buyer from having an agent???? Um, because then the agent can get in the way of the transaction and actually represent their client.

So even though I write this post and people will learn about the auction, I won't take any clients to this auction unless they make up the difference. Why?

1) They will not go for anywhere near $135,000, so I won't even get the 1% ad it will be a wait of time for me.

2) My buyer agent contracts state what I get paid, so a buyer would have to make up the difference.

3) But even if a buyer is ok with paying #2, see #1.

Unless you are SERIOUS about bidding up to 90% of list price, and agree to pay my fee, then I can help you. I know, damn greedy Realtors! Why won't they waste 5 hours with me for that Once In A Lifetime!

Why would they want to DISCOURAGE REPRESENTATION??

So you won't know your rights. Did you know that you can still back out of the contract, even after the auction, if you don't approve of the HOA docs? These auctions do not trump the HOA review period (it does for a foreclosure).

(Sidenote, the "out" that you have is a double-edged sword. Because people know they have an "out" they will probably be MORE comfortable bidding $20,000 higher, so don't just see it as a win win for you)

Disclaimer: EOS gave me permission to post their ad, as long as they reserved the right to ask me to take it down if they don't like the blog post. I'm curious to see if they will request for the ad (not the blog post) to be removed.

- Written by Frank Borges LL0SA Broker FranklyRealty.com

Clarendon 1021 Green Day

A couple of months ago, Clarendon 1021 held a GREEN DAY.

They invited several merchants and Fresh AIRE – Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions to teach residents how to reduce energy and recycle. This initiative was created by several owners at 1021 that are very environmentally aware and they work with management to make everything as Green as possible.

Here is AIRE's blog about this event.

Here are some more photos of the Green Event at Clarendon 1021.

For a list of active for sale, go to 1021Clarendon.com a
nd the blog and video walking tour can be found on the other blog post on Clarendon 1021 in Arlington

- Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Owner of a unit at 1021
Broker FranklyRealty.com