Wednesday, July 29, 2009

D.C.'s Poplar Point Development on the Anacostia Keeps Moving Forward

The development of Poplar Point has again been revived by the District’s economic development team. The area is the city’s largest planned development.

At a community meeting at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Anacostia July 18, which I attended, the city unveiled three proposed plans for Poplar Point, the 110-acre site on the Anacostia River being transferred from the federal government to D.C. All of the plans included millions of square feet for retail and housing mixed with 70 acres for park space and two future memorial sites.

The proposals we were given attempted to address local residents ideas, likes, and dislikes regarding development and how best to mix the development plans with the existing park and Anacostia neighborhoods, as well as accessibility to I-295 and the nearby Anacostia Metro station.

The city already has plans to relocate the South Capitol Street bridge and construct a traffic circle to the site. It is considering whether the plans should incorporate the 1,200-car garage owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority at the Anacostia Metro station. I think it's essential in making the area more accessible.

The proposals are being watched by business investors looking to connect their projects to the city’s. Four Points LLC plans a massive overhaul of downtown "Main Street" Anacostia along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and W Street SE.

Since Poplar Point is located at the banks of Anacostia River it makes the Poplar Point development site different from any other park or development in the city.

D.C. will relocate existing National Park facilities (NPS aviation and police stations) which are currently housed on the southeastern end of the park. The city plans to relocate these facilities to north end of Anacostia Park.

What is most exciting to me are the proposals by the city to redevelop the entire Anacostia Park. As mentioned in a previous blog, the park would maintain its tennis courts, swimming pool, workout facilities, basketball courts and playing fields, but will also includes picnic pavilions, more bathrooms, horseshoe pits, an Amphitheater and piers. The road that travels along the river would be moved back from the riverbank and replaced with jogging, walking and bicycling paths.


At Anacostia River Realty Our Sales Are Flying High!

D.C Gets Grant To Spend $125K to Clean Up Anacostia River


The D.C. Department of Environment has $125,000 — federal stimulus funds — to help curb water pollution and dirty stormwater runoff into the city’s Anacostia river.

The funds in this grant program will go toward an effort to devise a public or policy strategy for reducing the amount of litter that ends up in the Anacostia River. After the D.C. Council passed a bill earlier this year that added a 5-cent tax to plastic bags distributed by mostly food vendors and grocers to address the river’s biggest trash offender, DDOE now hopes to focus its attention, and this contract, on the remaining big three trash items found: beverage bottles and cans, snack wrappers and expanded polystyrene foam.

The grants are targeted for nonprofits, educational institutions, and federal and local government agencies. By Verdana Sinha, Washington Business Journal.



Monday, July 27, 2009

Anacostia's Summer Youth Vanguard Poetry Writing Program

Black Aesthetics’ Summer Youth Vanguard
Poetry Writing ProgramAlign Center
July 11 through August 15 2009
Saturdays: 10am – 2pm

Honfleur Art Gallery
1241 Good Hope Road, SE
Washington, DC 20020

The will be providing free workshops on:
African History
Public Speaking
Poetry Writing
Acting
(Successful Participants Will Receive One Time Travel Stipends)

Snacks Included!

Program Culminates with Poetry Contest & Great Prizes!
Call 888-573-7778 for further information or email denise@blackaesthetics.org


Major Partners:
American Poetry Museum, Smithsonian Anacostia Neighborhood Museum,
Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative,
The United Black Fund & The Honfleur Gallery.


2500 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20020
www.blackaesthetics.org





At Anacostia River Realty Our Sales Are Flying High!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Real Estate Tips- Credit Scores


In my chosen profession of helping qualified people obtain their piece of the American dream- Home Ownership, I often get the question of "where do I begin". I will start offering tips on my blog that will help prepare prospective buyers reach their real estate goals.

Today, let's talk about two of the most important words in the home buying process that you should remember - Credit Score.

Mortgage companies use a system to rate a person's financial ability. This credit scoring system is called FICO scores. In the following paragraphs I'll briefly explain how lenders arrive at your credit score.

Lenders look at your credit report and your FICO score when you apply for a home loan. They can know all of the debts that you have, how much you owe, how well you make your payments, and many other things like if you've had any bankruptcies, accounts turned over to collection agencies, or accounts closed due to non-payment within the previous several years.

With your credit report, lenders get a "credit score" which takes all of this information into account and creates a "credit score" for you. This credit score is a number that lenders use to decide which types of loans that you will be able to get and be eligible to obtain.

Some types of loans require that you have a certain credit score to get the loan - with no exceptions. Credit scores change over time. Even applying for credit can lower your credit score. This is called "credit inquiries". An upside to "credit inquiries" is that the credit bureaus know that most people shop around for home mortgage loans to get the best interest rate, so mortgage "credit inquiries" don't affect your credit as adversly as applying for credit with other sources. Today most lenders have a minimum credit score of 580- 600 in order for a buyer to be approved for a home mortgage loan.

If you're considering buying a home don't apply for any new credit cards or consumer loans within six months of applying for a home loan. No new furniture, major appliances, or new cars until after you get your mortgage loan and buy your new home.

Buying things on credit before you apply for a mortgage loan not only hurts your credit score, but it also leaves less money for you to use as a house payment.

Lenders look at this figure also to determine how much money they will lend you and how much they will charge you to lend it.

Wait until after you've bought your home and moved before you make those make those major purchases.



At Anacostia River Realty Our Sales Are Flying High!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Talks Underway (Again) To Bring New Soccer Staduim To D.C.


After what seemed like a fatal blow to supporters of a new D.C. soccer stadium to be built in River East fell through, the president and CEO of D.C. United, Kevin Payne and D.C. officials are in discussions once again.

Payne has met with D.C. Councilman Jack Evans, (D-Ward 2) and D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, (D-D.C.), asking that they reconsider partially funding a soccer-only stadium on Poplar Point. Poplar Point is a 110-acre area of land on the Anacostia River located in D.C.'s Anacostia neighborhood. The land is in the process of being transferred from the federal government to the District of Columbia.

The discussions mark a return to the negotiating table for the city and the team. Five months ago, Payne held a news conference in Prince George's County saying the team was committed to moving to Maryland, but the Prince George’s County Council eventually turned the team away by denying any form of public financing.



At Anacostia River Realty Our Sales Are Flying High!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Calling All Anacostia Artists and Writers




The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) in collaboration with District of Columbia Public Library is seeking River East artists and writers to submit proposals for four prominent areas inside the new Benning and Anacostia Libraries which are expected to open in the spring of 2010. The proposed artwork sites provide artists and writers the opportunity to display their work in a large-scale format in a public building. For more information about the libraries go to DCPL Construction Projects site here. Download the application from DCCAH here.

Deadline: Friday, August 21st at 5:30 pm
Artist Honorarium: $2,500



For more information about either of these projects, please contact Rachel.Dickerson@dc.gov or call DCCAH at(202) 724-5613. See
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
to learn more.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

DC Consumers Will Pay 5 cent Plastic Bag Tax Beginning in January

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

Beginning in January, consumers in the District will have to pay a five-cent plastic bag tax for each plastic bag given if they don't bring reusable bags when they shop at the grocery store, drug store and other retail outlets that sell food.

As expected, the mayor has signed the bill that was passed unanimously by the city council last month. The new law, officials hope, will reduce the amount of trash that makes its way in to the Anacostia River.

Businesses will charge customers five cents for every bag they take out of the store. That money will go into the new Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Fund.

The District Department of the Environment will begin a campaign to publicize the five-cent fee by October and will set up a public-private partnership to distribute free reusable bags to those who need them.

"Under this new law, the simple steps we take every day will result in a healthier Anacostia River," Mayor Fenty said in a statement yesterday. "Disposable bags are a menace to our waterways, and dramatically cutting down on their use will have a measurable impact almost immediately."

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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Developers want part of $33.7M for affordable housing in Anacostia and other DC neigborhoods

Developers of 22 affordable housing projects in D.C. are seeking a slice of $33.7 million the city will receive in federal stimulus money from the Treasury Department.

The money, divvied to D.C. and the states by formula, will allow the city to provide grants aimed at jump starting or completing construction or rehabilitation of below market rate housing units that have stalled in the recession.

The developers applying for funds are working on projects in Anacostia, and other DC neighborhoods. The city’s own sources of affordable housing subsidies have been deeply hampered by the slow real estate market.

The city’s Department of Housing and Community Development began seeking developers in April, two months after President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Projects must be eligible for federal low-income tax housing tax credits, government-issued tax breaks that developers can use to attract private financing. The value of the tax credits has fallen dramatically in the recession, leaving many projects with shortfalls.

DHCD is hoping to maximize funding for projects that will provide units for elderly, special needs or chronically homeless individuals and families in need of supportive services. Spokeswoman Angelita Colon-Francia said she was not sure when the agency will make funding decisions.

In addition to the $33.7 million in Treasury funds, the federal government has committed another $94.58 million to D.C. in stimulus money for housing programs, according to the Web site Recovery.gov. Of that, another $11.6 million will also be dedicated to projects eligible for low-income housing credits.


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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit: Questions and Answers

Q. What is the credit?

A. The first-time homebuyer credit is a new tax credit included in the recently enacted Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. For homes purchased in 2008, the credit operates like an interest-free loan because it must be repaid over a 15-year period.

The credit was expanded in 2009 for homes purchased in 2009, increasing the amount of the credit and eliminating the requirement to repay the credit, unless the home ceases to be your principal residence within the 36-month period beginning on the purchase date.

Q. How much is the credit?

A. The credit is 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $7,500 ($8,000 if you purchased your home in 2009) for either a single taxpayer or a married couple filing a joint return, but only half of that amount for married persons filing separate returns. The full credit is available for homes costing $75,000 or more ($80,000 if purchased after Dec. 31, 2008, and before Dec. 1, 2009).

Q. Which home purchases qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit?

A. Any home purchased as the taxpayer’s principal residence and located in the United States qualifies. You must buy the home after April 8, 2008, and before Dec. 1, 2009, to qualify for the credit. For a home that you construct, the purchase date is considered to be the first date you occupy the home.

Taxpayers (including spouse, if married) who owned a principal residence at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase are not eligible for the credit. This means that you can qualify for the credit if you (and your spouse, if married) have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase. If you make an eligible purchase in 2008, you claim the first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 tax return. For an eligible purchase in 2009, you can choose to claim the credit on either your 2008 or 2009 income tax return.

Q. Can I apply for the credit if I bought a vacation home or rental property?

A. No. Vacation homes and rental property do not qualify for this credit.

Q. Who is considered to be a first-time homebuyer?

A. Taxpayers who have not owned another principal residence at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase.

Q. When do I have to buy a new home to get the credit?

A. The home must be purchased after April 8, 2008, and before Dec. 1, 2009, in order to obtain the credit. For a home you construct, the purchase date is considered to be the date you first occupy the home.

Q. How do I apply for the credit?

A. The credit is claimed on new IRS Form 5405, First-Time Homebuer Credit, and filed with your 2008 or 2009 federal income tax return.

Q. Are there income limits?

A. Yes. The credit is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers. The credit is phased out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). For a married couple filing a joint return, the phase-out range is $150,000 to $170,000. For other taxpayers, the phase-out range is $75,000 to $95,000. This means that the full credit is available for married couples filing a joint return whose MAGI is $150,000 or less and for other taxpayers whose MAGI is $75,000 or less.

Q. Does a taxpayer qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit upon the signing of a contract for deed, since normally the deeds are signed and executed but held in escrow until the provisions of the contract have been met?
A. Generally, no. A taxpayer is not eligible for the first-time homebuyer credit unless there is a completed sale. Under the facts presented, the contract for deed may not be a completed sale because all of the provisions of the contract have not been met. However, the determination of whether there is a completed sale would depend on the facts and circumstance of the particular case and perhaps state law.

Q. I purchased a home that qualifies for the first-time homebuyer credit. I will be renting two of the bedrooms and reporting the rental income on Schedule E. Will I still qualify for the credit if I use the home as my principal residence?

A. Yes, if you meet all first-time homebuyer eligibility requirements. See Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit, for more details.

Q. If two unmarried people buy a house together, how do they determine how much each may take of the credit?

A. IRS Notice 2009-12 provides guidance for allocating the first-time homebuyer credit between taxpayers who are not married.

Q. I am a single co-owner of a home. How do I get this credit?

A. Depending on the year of purchase, you will claim the credit on either your 2008 or 2009 federal income tax return.

Q. I don’t owe taxes and/or my income is exempt from tax and I do not have a filing requirement. Do I qualify for the credit?

A. The credit is fully refundable and, if you qualify as a first-time homebuyer, having tax-exempt income will not preclude eligibility. Although there are maximum income limits for qualifying first-time homebuyers, there are no minimum income criteria. Thus, someone with no taxable income who qualifies as a first-time homebuyer may file for the sole purpose of claiming the credit for a refund.

Q. Does the first-time homebuyer credit apply to homes located in the U.S. Territories?

A. No.

Q. Would I be considered a first time homebuyer if I owned a principle residence outside of the United States within the previous three years?

A. Yes. A taxpayer who owned a principal residence outside of the United States within the last three years is not disqualified from taking the credit for a purchase within the United States.

Q. If qualified, are homebuyers required to claim the first-time homebuyer credit?

A. No.

Q. Who cannot take the credit?

A. If any of the following describe you, you cannot take the credit, even if you buy a new home:

  • Your income exceeds the phase-out range. This means joint filers with MAGI of $170,000 and above and other taxpayers with MAGI of $95,000 and above.

  • You buy your home from a close relative. This includes your spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild.

  • You do not use the home as your principal residence.

  • You sell your home before the end of the year.

  • You are a nonresident alien.

  • You are, or were, eligible to claim the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit for any taxable year. (This does not apply for a home purchased in 2009.)

  • Your home financing comes from tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds. (This does not apply for a home purchased in 2009.)

  • You owned a principal residence at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase of your new home. For example, if you bought a home on July 1, 2008, you cannot take the credit for that home if you owned, or had an ownership interest in, another principal residence at any time from July 2, 2005, through July 1, 2008.

Q. Does previously inheriting a home and living in the inherited home automatically disqualify an individual as a first-time homebuyer with respect to a different home that is purchased within the prescribed 2008 and 2009 time frames?

A. Yes, an ownership interest in a prior principal residence would preclude the taxpayer from being considered a first-time homebuyer. As long as the taxpayer owned and used the prior home as his principal residence, then he is not a first-time homebuyer. There is no exception for taxpayers who did not buy their prior residences.

Q. Is a step-relative considered a related party?

A. Step-relatives are neither ancestors nor lineal descendents and are therefore not related persons for purposes of the first-time homebuyer credit.

If I claim the first-time homebuyer credit in 2009 and stop using the property as my main home before the 36 month period expires after I purchase, how is the credit repaid and how long would I have to repay it?

A. If, within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as the taxpayer's principal residence, the taxpayer is required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full amount of the credit is due at that time the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be the taxpayer's principal residence is due. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year's tax return. Form 5405 and its instructions will be revised for tax year 2009 to include information about repayment of the credit.

Q. If a person does not actually make the payments on a home that’s their primary residence, but the deed and mortgage documents are in their name, can they be considered a first-time home buyer?

A. Yes. If a taxpayer purchases a home to be used as a primary residence from an unrelated person and has not owned a home within the previous 36 months, the taxpayer is eligible for the first-time homebuyer credit regardless of who makes the mortgage payment.


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