Things to do in Washington DC: District of Columbia: Washington: Mount Pleasant

Its the most wonderful time of the year. With less than eight weeks left till Christmas,I guess its safe to say that right? Many people are going to be traveling during this Holiday season. So if you are visiting family members or friends during the Holidays in the Nations Capital and don't know what to do,I definitely know one thing you can do. How about attend the National Christmas Tree Lighting.

For 87 years it has been a tradition in the Nations Capital. In 1978,a live 40 foot Colorado Blue spruce was transplanted from York Pennsylvania to its present site on the Ellipse,the greasy area south of the White House. In 1954,a pathway of peace,56 smaller decorated trees representing all 50 states,five territories and the District of Columbia were planted surrounding the National Christmas Tree.

And did you know that each year sponsoring organizations from each state provide tree decorations that are encased in a protective plastic globe to shield it from the weather? Didn't know either. You learn something new everyday. The lighting of the National Christmas Tree is the beginning of a three week Washington DC Christmas Tradition.

Date and time: Thursday December 9,2010 at 5pm.

Tickets: Tickets to the National Christmas Lighting ceremony will be distributed via an online lottery which will be available beginning at 12:01am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 5th. To participate,visit www.thenationaltree.org or call 877-444-6777. The lottery will include 3,000 ticketed seats and 10,000 standing room tickets. Successful ticket seekers will be notified by e-mail or US mail (if applied by phone). Tickets will be mailed to the lottery winners by Nov.15th. Tickets are free and required for every attendee including children.

Location: The Ellipse near the White House. The closest Metro Stations to the White House are Federal Triangle,Metro Center and McPherson Square. Parking is very limited in this area so public transportation is recommended. Also it will help if you brought a map with you.

So I leave you with Andy Williams singing the classic holiday song "Its the most wonderful time of the year" song. Enjoy folks.

Once again,Washington DC was featured on the HGTV hit show "My house is worth what?". This time The house was in Mt.Pleasant Washington DC. This is the second time in like two weeks Washington DC Real Estate was featured on the HGTV show.

Now to some of you who don't watch the show. "My house is worth what?" is a show on HGTV when a real estate expert will come to the house of a homeowner and critique their house. They will give tell them some of the things that they did will improve the value of their house and some of the things that might or wont bring you a lot of money on your return on investment. The home owners always want the advice of a real estate expert because they either are looking to sell and move up to a bigger house,they want to expand onto their existing house,want to know if the improvements that they made to their house was a good choice or just curious of what the real estate market is in their neighborhood.

For today's show was in Mt. Pleasant Washington DC. A young couple who brought their historic Mt.Pleasant townhouse in 2006 for $560,000 right at the peak of the Real Estate Market. They invested $90,000 into renovations of their home and their goal was for their house to be worth at least $675,000 so that can have enough to buy a single family home.

The real estate expert told them that they made some nice renovations to the house. They spent $15,000 on the kitchen and it has a sleek design. But the kitchen is small. It is also small on square footage. They spent $15,000 on the den and $7,000 on the patio. But the patio lacks privacy and the real estate expert told them that they need to get a large shrub. And the house has a different architecture from the other houses in the neighborhood. 

So after the real estate expert crunched up the numbers,he told them that if was to list their house today,he will list it for $585,000. So the value of their house appreciated by $25,000. Their goal was $675,000 considering they put $90,000 into renovating their historic townhouse. But when the real estate market gets better (hopefully very,very soon),the young couple will more than likely be able to sell their house at a price that they will be comfortable with.

Also please read my last blog on "Washington DC Real Estate" home featured on HGTV Show "My house is worth what?" WASHINGTON DC NE REAL ESTATE HOME FEATURED ON HGTV SHOW "My house is worth what?"

To receive your free list of "houses for sale in Washington DC",please visit my website Houses for sale in Washington,DC. I can be reached at (202) 378-0283 (Direct) and (301) 560-6700 x1154 (Office). I can also be reached online at Lanre Folayan "Buy Washington DC Real Estate" (EXIT PREMIER REALTY ... and Washington DC,Maryland and Virginia Houses for Sale. Thank you very much. Looking forward to working with you and helping you make your home purchase or sale a stress free and very happy one. Have a great day. Lanre Folayan-Real Estate Professional with Exit Premier Realty. "Buy a home in Washington DC"