Those aspiring to own real estate who didn’t think they’d make the deadline for a tax credit now have eight thousand more reasons to buy: On Nov. 6, the government extended the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers for another six months. Instead of expiring on Nov. 30, buyers now have until April 30, 2010 to sign a contract for a home.

In addition, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 authorized a tax credit of up to $6,500 for existing homeowners trading in for new digs. Both credits are aimed at getting people who would have bought a place in the next few years to hurry it up a little. The government’s hoping that driving up home sales will help shore up the economy.

We checked in with three people you’ll be seeing a lot of if you decide to take advantage of these deals — a Realtor, a mortgage expert and an accountant — to find out how you can maximize your financial savings if you decide to buy.

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BRANDON GREEN RESOLVED to try his hand at real estate after watching a late-night infomercial in 2000. Bored with his job in sales as an IT recruiter in Silver Spring, Green paid $19.95 for Carlton Sheets’s “No Down Payment” video, and applied himself. “My first project was a complete overhaul of a house, 727 11th Street, NE,” he recalls.

He financed his first purchase with a federal renovation loan. He flipped the Capitol Hill house for a tidy profit. He was 22, and he was hooked.

Brandon Green is now the principal broker at Brandon Green & Associates (Brandongreenandassociates.com; 2410 17th St. NW, Suite 200; 202-318-1623), a real estate firm affiliated with Keller Williams Realty in trendy Adams Morgan. Like the rest of the BGA staff, he’s young (31; the median age of real estate agents nationwide is 52) — and he Twitters. He counts his age and his tech saavy as an advantage.

“Many of my competitors are still strugging with e-mail.”

Brandon Green”We’re using Facebook very heavily,” Green says, “[and] LinkedIn. … Statistics show that the consumer expects a response [to an online question] within minutes. Not within hours, but within minutes.”

Clearly, the man is hustling to keep clients’ satisfied despite the recession. People are panicking, throwing property on the market and watching it sit for months. A sale takes 75 days on average, according to an estimate in November 2008, the most recent month for which statistics were available from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems.

But this guy is still selling condos, many in Adams Morgan and Logan Circle.

“We’re actually up about 25 percent from where we were last year,” Green says. Part of his firm’s success comes from the team’s aggressive marketing approach — Green spends up to four hours per day calling prospective buyers and sellers.

Recruiting is only half the battle, however. At the end of the day, to make a buck, he still must actually sell the property.

Green sees his role as a seller’s teacher and advocate, “educating the seller on what is to be done to be successful. A lot of Realtors have not been upfront with people about how the market really is,” he says. “So, they list their house at a very high markup, and it doesn’t sell.”

Luckily, Green says, if your one-bedroom condo’s feeling a little too tight to hold you and Fido, you’re not trapped until 2010 or later — when some say the markets will finally turn around. It’s just going to be a little more challenging to sell.

We asked Green to spill some of the advice he gives to clients eager to help him sell their home.

» You don’t need a huge budget
“The biggest thing we see is people have to do a lot of de-cluttering,” Green says. So, rent a storage unit, beg the in-laws for garage space, or give away whatever you can to make your place look empty. Clearing up need not cost a thing.

“You want to bring your house to the point where buyers walk in [and] they ask themselves, ‘Gosh, does anybody still live here?’” Green says. Cramming stuff into your closet doesn’t count. Besides, Green adds, “Do you want to pay to store and move all this stuff? Maybe now it’s time to get rid of it.”

» Make small, inexpensive fixes
“One of the big rules is three items per surface — at most,” Green says. And look at small details: Make sure light-switch cover plates are consistent throughout; and check for light bulbs that don’t work, leaky faucets, off-kilter drawers and so on.

“De-personalize,” urges Realtor Magazine, the official magazine of the National Association of Realtors. Clear off the fridge, take down personal photos, and think twice about displaying your stamp/action figure/antique gas lamp collection in the open.

» Clean thoroughly — then think about cleaning even more
“Complete that to-do list that’s been sitting on your kitchen counter for the last year and a half,” Green says. Consider new paint, new carpet and new light fixtures. Clean everything. And, Green adds, make sure the unit is easy for buyers to see.

“No appointments necessary — or [be available at] extremely short notice,” Green says. “No babies napping. If you have a pet, it’s best to move the pet out. In many cases, that’s best for the pet, too.”

» Devote time (and maybe money) to the project
How long does all this work take? “A week minimum in most cases, and that’s working pretty aggressively,” says Green.

And — wait, don’t gasp — “It could easily cost $10,000 to bring the property up to sellable condition.” Staging and repairs add up. But if your condo’s going for $400,000, it might be worthwhile to invest 2 percent of the asking price back into the place.

“You used to be able to put a house on the market in any condition, and, gosh, that is not the case now. When there are so many selections,” Green says, “[a buyer] needs to come into a place and think, ‘I could feel good here.’”

Read it at ExpressNightOut.com

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» EXPRESS: Do you think somebody without years of experience being in war zones as a reporter in places like Rwanda, Chechnya and Sudan would be able to do what you did?
» MATLOFF: I think it takes a certain spirit of adventure, and a tough skin, to do it and not feel paroxysms of fear. When you’re in areas where people are actually starving it humbles you. It teaches you humans can adapt to anything. This [experience of renovating a house in a sketchy neighborhood] was not terribly dramatic; it was more of an annoyance.

Also, living abroad helps you deal with other cultures. [Moving to a new area] is a lot like moving into another foreign country, so you try to respect their mores and customs. Living abroad teaches you a little bit about negotiating, because you’re always an outsider. Your comfort level is always being jolted.

» EXPRESS: Would you buy and rehab a house in a gentrifying neighborhood again? Would you ever want to?
» MATLOFF: We were thinking of doing it again when the South Bronx was really cheap. We were thinking of buying an old factory warehouse, but then we looked at each other and — well, really, friends and family looked at each other and said, “You can’t do that again.” It’s a little like childbirth; you forget the pain each time.

Incidentally, the house is still a total wreck. We didn’t manage to fix the stairs totally to the wall; the stairs are coming off again. And the house is still sloping. An engineer came in and said, “It’ll cost just a little bit, just $50,000 to $100,000.” Increasingly, with the mortgage squeeze and food prices going through the roof, every little extra $5 matters, let alone $50,000. So we’ve kind of put that off. … We just hope the house doesn’t fall down in the next few years.

» EXPRESS: To me, your finding a termite nest in the kitchen seemed like the worst part of your remodeling project. What’s your vote?
» MATLOFF: The most horrible part for me was when the back wall fell down. We had these crack addicts living next door, one of whom was named Salami. We had no back wall … and these crack addicts who wanted to take over our house.

The other unpleasant thing would be the money. People always tell you to budget in three times more than you expect, but our renovation ended up being 10 times more expensive than we expected.

» EXPRESS: What’s the most important thing to do when renovating?
» MATLOFF: I would get quotes. Everybody says you should get quotes — and I really recommend you heed this advice. We really did not do things properly. Also, don’t play God with a house. Even if you can build bookshelves, do not think you can take on a job like this yourself. Hire a professional.

» EXPRESS: What’s it like, emotionally, to come home to a house that’s being renovated as completely as yours was?
» MATLOFF: Oh God, don’t even ask. I understand why a lot of couples’ marriages fall apart [during renovations], because it really frays your nerves.

The stuff on the street was nothing compared to the stress of living in this decayed environment with this rubble around us. Hacking coughs from all the dust, not having running water … and these guys would come at 6 a.m. and stay until 11 p.m. You couldn’t get rid of them. They were on every floor [of the house].

We didn’t even have a garbage can. There was no point to vacuuming, and because we were trying to get the job done really quickly, we didn’t really take days off. A normal person might go home to Mom over the weekend. We didn’t.

» EXPRESS: You write in the book about eating Cubano sandwiches day after day because there was nowhere else in the neighborhood to eat. But with gentrification, is that still the case?
» MATLOFF: Thankfully, all the Dominican diners are still there. A lot of Mexicans have moved in, so we also have these really great Mexican restaurants. And we just got a Yemeni restaurant. Some yuppie places have come in, so now we can buy whole wheat bread.

» EXPRESS: One of the first things you did when moving in was befriend the local drug dealers. Is this sound advice for someone moving to a dodgy neighborhood?
» MATLOFF: I like to think we didn’t befriend them, but we established a cordial working relationship. That was the best advice anyone could give us. You’re coming onto somebody else’s block, and you have to play by their rules. You have to make it quite clear that you’re not going to be antagonistic, as much as you might disapprove of what they do. You have to get along.

As for the actual residents on the street, they reached out to us first. We were absolutely thrilled. We would do anything in our power to make life good for them, whether it would be to shovel the snow of old ladies who live alone or have them over for barbecue.

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MARY PFAFFKO was on her way back from the gym, walking down Connecticut Avenue, and there it was. A wood thrush, common in the East but rarely seen outside deeply wooded areas. But there it was, right on the street. The only problem was that it was dead.

In her role as president of the D.C. chapter of the National Audubon Society, Pfaffko, 30, takes field trips to more remote areas (Great Falls, Va.; Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Va.) to get her wildlife fix. If you’re a condo-dweller hoping to go beyond pointing binoculars at Rock Creek Park or on the Mall and actually attract feathered friends to your balcony, this news may come as a bit of a disappointment. But with a little work, it’s very possible to bring nature to your high-rise castle.

First, don’t buy into the stereotypes about bird-watchers. You can enjoy the pastime without it taking over your life. “I’m not one of those people who lives and breathes birding,” insists Dave Davis, 63, a former EPA water quality management employee, who lives in a townhouse-style condo in Arlington. “I have a life.” And so, too, can you, if you start small and manageable.

One feeder should be more than enough to get started, especially considering the unique challenges of a small space in an urban environment. Cramped quarters mean you don’t have room for too many gewgaws, and if you’ve never tried balcony birding, you’ll want to figure out whether your neighborhood is home to cute wrens, pretty hummingbirds or just pigeons.

Speaking of pigeons, they’re not the only feathered friends you can make in D.C. In May, for example, more than 36 species of warbler (small, perching songbirds) passed through the city on their annual migration. More than 300 species of birds make their homes in or wing through Washington and its environs.

Yet even when condos overlook Rock Creek Park or have wide, green common areas, cheepers and tweeters sometimes need a little encouragement to visit.

Enter the pros. Both the Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation are interested in nurturing nature in the city, one backyard or balcony at a time. Each organization offers a do-it-yourself program that’ll teach you how to make your space more critter-friendly. And anyone with an interest can apply for official recognition (and a nice certificate) from the groups for their efforts.

Audubon asks that hopefuls pledge to reduce pesticide use and conserve water, among other things; the NWF has a six-step plan requiring nature lovers to provide food, water, shelter, and so on. You can even play from a high-rise: “The way to [bird-watch] on a balcony is to have plants double” their function, explains Roxane Paul of the NWF. This means putting out a potted bush or a tree to provide food and act as a nesting site, for example. It might also mean planting flowers to feed shelter birds.

The programs are basically self-serve and operate on the honor system; just log on to the Web sites (Nwf.org/backyard/certify.cfm and Audobonathome.org/pledge), read the instructions, make any necessary changes to your balcony, and sign on the dotted line. Audubon’s program is free. The NWF costs $15, but you’ll get a certificate for your troubles, plus bragging rights.

The NWF program — “Certified Wildlife Habitats” — isn’t restricted to individuals, either. Jim Hurley, a resident of The Arlington, got the entire condo complex certified as a nature hot spot after he single-handedly cleaned up a “trashy area” behind his condo and planted bird-friendly shrubs. He reports seeing robins, gray catbirds and a Swainson’s thrush in the new habitat.

Hurley estimates his four-year project has cost him more than $3,000. He’s solicited help from The Arlington’s association, but they “basically don’t care,” he says. “The condo association has provided no support for the project.”

Therein lies the problem for many condo owners. Lack of attention to nature projects from an association is usually the best a bird lover can hope for. Many associations prohibit hanging anything — i.e. feeders or birdhouses — from balconies. Some go further. “We don’t have any formal rule regarding bird feeders,” says Shirlington Village’s owner’s association president, Ray Warren. But “we strongly discourage them. We are already plagued by droppings from the gulls who feast on the trash receptacles associated with the many restaurants in the village. I am sure that bird feeders would exacerbate the problem.” (Warren adds: “We [Shirlington Village] are a very nature-loving group.”)

Still, Warren has a point: Tubes of seeds hung close to the ground can attract rodents, and even if they’re higher up, you may not attractthe kinds of birds you want.

“European starlings are tough,” says Charles Studholme, owner of One Good Tern (1710 Fern St., Alexandria; 703-820-8376), a store for nature lovers in Alexandria. “They can eat everything, and will.” Starlings, a non-native breed widely considered pests, have grown to a population of 200 million in North America from a single flock released a century ago by a mad scientist of sorts in Central Park. (Rumor has it that Eugene Schieffelin, a member of the Acclimation Society of North America, wanted to bring to America every species of bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.)

Starlings “are adaptable and competitive and will out-compete the species you’re trying to get,” says Pfaffko. “They destroy habitat and jeopardize the food supply.”

What to do if you’ve got flocks of undesirable creatures pestering you, a la Alfred Hitchcock’s “Birds”? Simple (and free) solutions include “banging on the window,” Hurley says, but a special feeder can also deter the pesky birds. Starlings “aren’t very acrobatic,” says Studholme, “so if you have [a feeder] where they have to cling to the side” the pesky birds will vanish.

As for repelling mice and squirrels, Studholme suggests using a seed mixture of pre-shelled sunflower, peanut or cracked corn.

The rule really is to keep it simple. “Don’t go out there and put up a whole bunch of stuff,” Studholme says. “If you put up a bird feeder, you have to keep it clean. You wash your silverware once in a while, don’t you?”

Read it on Readexpress.com

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