Patricia Kennedy

Most of our leaves are now on the ground. So, on this gorgeous top-down Sunday, I saw this gorgeous red tree out in Potomac, Maryland. And I had my I-Phone handy, which didn't quite catch the way the sun reflected off of the bright red leaves.

© 2009 Patricia Kennedy. Unless otherwise noted, the content, both written and in pictures, is the property of Patricia Kennedy . If you would like to use this image, please email me (housepat@mac.com) with your request. I'll almost certainly say yes, and ask only that you provide a link back to my original content as well as an acknowledgment. The same thing applies to any other material you see posted here on Active Rain or on any of my other blogs.

Recently, a family member had a stroke. His stomach was upset. He thought he had food poisoning and looked like crap, and friends insisted on a visit to the emergency room. He was very, very lucky. Not everyone is, because the symptoms often don't look like a stroke, unless you know exactly what to look for.

There might be a fall, the person might be a little disoriented and loopy. There might be a numbness is the face and really bad headache. And the person having the stroke might insist he is fine - just a little trip and fall.

If you are with someone and suspect he or she might be having a stroke, here are some hints:

• Ask him to smile
• Ask him to repeat a simple sentence coherently
  
• Ask him to raise both arms

If he has problems with any of these tasks, call 911.

Then there is another sign. If you ask the person to stick out his tongue and it comes out crooked - off to one side - that is another sign of a stroke. Again, call 911.

A suspected stroke is nothing to mess around with! Getting to the hospital as quickly as possible is key to surviving and making a full recovery from a stroke.

The five highest sales prices paid for Washington, DC properties in October is in stark contrast to the top five listed homes. The five highest priced listings range in price from a low of $10,000,000 to a high of $39,500,000. And here is what actually sold last month:

2716 36th Place NW for $1,850,000: the asking price was $2,150,000, reduced from $2,275,000. The house was on the market for 262 days. Located in Observatory Circle, this center hall brick colonial is pretty much the Washington standard. It has 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and over 3700 square feet of living space. The kitchen and baths had recent high end renovations, and the entire house appeared to be in excellent condition.

P Street NW for $2,200,000: the asking price was $2,275,000. This is a Georgetown classic townhome dating back to about 1900. It has over 4000 square feet of space and has been beautifully renovated and decorated. It's interesting to note that the house does not have parking, which is unusual in this price range - and in Georgetown, parking is a very good thing to have.

4940 Indian Lane NW for $2,400,000: the asking price was $2,750,000, reduced from $2,950,000. This Spring Valley home was what we sometimes call a "granny house", looking well-cared for but with kitchen and baths that were state of the art when it was built in 1956. The interior space was over 5000 square feet, and the house is situated on a beautiful and well-landscaped lot. This one has a lot of potential, and it will be interesting to see what the new owners do with the place.

2400 Tilden Street NW for $3,330,000: listed at $3,595,000. On the edge of Rock Creek Park, this home dates back to 1796, known as the Pierce Still House. The renovation may have been one of the best I've seen, with a kitchen fireplace big enough to roast a cow! It has 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths, and over 6000 square feet of space. It ranks as just about the favorite place I've seen here in Washington - at any price.

2446 Belmont Road NW for $4,350,000: listed for $4,995,000, and previously listed for $5,750,000 and was on the market for a total of 279 days. This stone Tudor has approximately 5000 square feet of space sits on a huge, beautifully landscaped lot overlooking Rock Creek Park. The kitchen hadn't been renovated recently, but it looked like a high quality classic from the mid-century. The house has 8 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, and the dining room is large enough to host a state dinner!

I have some clients who are looking for a great condo or coop downtown. I've found some good possibilities and my clients are adding things that they come across on the Internet.

Most of their finds are already under contract or settled. But there was one that, while not on the MRIS was on a FSBO site.

There was a description and contact information.

But wait!

It said to call Camille. I dialed the number then I noticed the little warning that Camille is on the national "Do Not Call" register, and any agent who calls her is subject to a gigantic fine.

Hang up! Fast!

OK. There's also an email option. But when I tried that, I got a warning from the Realtor® police that my email set off a red flag.

Now, the price is $550,000 and the remarks said it is firm. But wait! That's $75,000 more than anything has sold for in the building. And it's a third floor walk up, and the fees are so high that they should include dry cleaning and groceries - which ought to include delivery up the three flights of stairs!

And before I could talk my clients out of wanting to see the place, a "friend" of the owner called my number, captured from the caller ID that showed up before I hung up. And we do have an appointment to see the place tomorrow, and I'm secretly hoping that they hate the place.

If you're thinking about going it alone, selling By Owner, you can do it. While most people who try give up and eventually list with an agent, you can avoid the major pitfalls -

• Don't overprice your place.
  
• At a minimum, use a limited service company that will put your listing on the local Multiple Listing Service, and agree to pay any agent who brings in a buyer.
• Be careful about the information you have on your promotional leaflets. Camille had a couple of serious mistakes on the piece that her "friend" emailed me. One of them could cost her buyer an extra $8,000 or so.
  
• Don't have an unlicensed "friend" help you sell the place. They won't know any more than you do!

You might think it's easy. It's not.

Now, I don't want your listing. But you might want to buy a copy of The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate. There is a whole section on how to do it yourself.

I have a settlement scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The termite inspector found a few dead guys and a little bit of chewed wood, but it was evidence of a prior infestation. Since there is no record of a prior treatment, we've got to get a bunch of nasty chemicals pumped into the ground around the house before Thursday. And I found out this afternoon.

So I called my friends at Dixon's Pest Control for help. And sure enough, they saved the day. Tomorrow they are treating the place - and it's a federal holiday!. I'll be able to get the last piece of paper to the lender in time to settle at four o'clock.

Like many agents, I sometimes find myself needing last minute termite treatments, sometimes because I just forgot about it. And Dixon always makes it happen. Oh, and they do a great job when it's not a last minute request as well.

So if you need a pest inspection or treatment, they can be reached at 202-882-6565 or email them at DixonsPest@hotmail.com.