Finally!

Much praise to Politico reporter Nancy Cook for writing a piece about how the inauguration housing market just plain sucks.

Of the roughly 550 listings on inauguralhomes.com, a paid classified website devoted to Inauguration rentals, only 5 percent have been snatched up, according to the site’s co-founder, Kevin Diamond.

A similar site started by the D.C.-area Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. has leased just one of its roughly 150 properties as of Dec. 30, says real estate agent Hill Slowinski. Read More “Inauguration Housing: The Market’s Weak People!” »

Benny Kass:After the inauguration, people still may want to rent your property!

After deciding “I am not sure that we can sink much lower,” Washington Post housing columnist Benny Kass projects some positive developments in next year’s real estate market in his latest column. First, Kass acknowledges some obvious truths about today’s circumstances: that interest rates are low, and that he “ cannot recall a better, stronger buyers’ market.” But then Mr. Housing Counsel steps onto fresher ground:

It’s also a good time to consider renting out your house — and not only for the Obama inauguration. A lot of new people will be coming to Washington to join the new administration, and the old guard usually stick around as lobbyists or publicists. Read More “Renting Your House Post-Inauguration (Why Not Keep the Money Flowing?)” »

This is for real:

want a place to stay on inauguration, but cant find a hotel? don’t have $1000 for 1 night? want to party, but don’t know where? We can Help.

Announcing DC’s 1st and only Drunken Hostel. We give you a place to crash and a place to party. ALL YOU CAN DRINK. crap loads of fun people. A DJ. leftover Obama campaign stickers. tiki torches. jello shots.
You give us 200$.

we have a large 3 bedroom house with a nice backyard. 2 guys and 1 girl. 2.5 miles from the Mall, a 40 minute walk or a 15 minute metro ride.

Go to the inauguration, then come back for our party.

If you need a place to crash Monday night as well, that can be arranged for an extra 50$. we cant guarantee a bed, but we have couches and carpeted floors. bring a sleeping bag, and be ready to party Obama-style.

Hey guy—You like Obama. You know you want to stay at our house!

The Inauguration Rental Chronicles follows the epic story of four roommates as they seek to rent out their Northwest townhouse for a glorious sum while battling the tides of waning consumer interest, pie-in-the-sky expectations, and an untested and entirely unknown market.

For a while it seemed like the girls were giving up. After originally posting their inauguration advertisement a week after the election, receiving one legitimate response in weeks, and reposting their offer time and time again, they were becoming disillusioned.

What was wrong with the world? Didn’t it like Obama?

Why didn’t anyone want to pay thousands of dollars to (perhaps) glimpse him for a few fleeting moments while standing in the freezing cold?

The girls needed to rally, or you know, just give up. They chose to rally. So earlier this week, they re-posted their advertisement on several different sites, including Chicago’s Craigslist in the Vacation Rentals section, Washington D.C.’s Craiglist in the Vacations Rentals and Sublets/Temporary, and on City Paper’s website and in its print edition. They got a ton of responses, though not necessarily the type that they wanted:

First, there were the enterprising people touting their inauguration internet ventures (for more on these types of people, see my blog comments—my favorite of which publicizes a “Where to PEE in DC guide” ):

Hey,

just saw your inauguration listing and wanted to give you a heads up
on a site created for renting out your place by the night called
AirBed & Breakfast. Read More “The Inauguration Rental Chronicles, Part 7: Scammers, Opportunists Take Over” »

And yes, she’s doing it for free. Finally, a little good will in this money-grubbing madness…

Sorry Craigslisters! Here’s one less reason to believe your $20,000 inauguration rental offer is going to bring in the big bucks (via the Washington Post):

About 1,500 rooms inside the Capital Beltway and 3,000 outside the Beltway became available last week, when advance room contracts were not signed, said William A. Hanbury, president of Destination DC, the District’s official convention and tourism corporation. Read More “4,500 More Hotel Rooms Available for Inauguration” »

He’s clearly not expecting to be one of the Republicans appointed to the Obama cabinet. So why hang around and suffer the inauguration crowds? According to the New York Post: Former GOP presidential hopeful, senator, “Law and Order” actor Fred Thompson is reportedly offering to rent his one-bedroom condo in Washington, D.C. for the five-day price tag of $30,000 during inauguration festivities.

Photo by IowaPolitics.com, Flickr Creative Commons

U.S. News and World Report relays nine tips for people renting out their properties for the inauguration. Most of them are pretty obvious, except for the one below. While it may appeal to your paranoid side, it’s probably a good idea:

9. Document the Condition. In the event that your tenants leave your home in poor condition, you’ll want to have good documentation of the property’s condition before they arrived. “Videotape the outside of the house, videotape every room, videotape every closet,” Palmieri says. Read More “Inauguration Housing: Film, Document Everything” »

The National Journal’s Lost in Transition blog has an interesting story out today about how college administrations are tamping down on students’ attempts to rent out their dorm rooms for the inauguration. With their great downtown location, George Washington University units are especially marketable. G.W. has an official Inauguration Overnight Guest Policy up on its website, making clear in bold red letters that “[students] are not permitted to sublease or rent their space per the terms of the Undergraduate Housing License Agreement.”

Insensitive! I say. You probably lure in students with opportunities to “change the world” and start down the path of dutiful civil servant-hood. Then you charge them more than any other college in the country! Then you take away their opportunity to make a quick buck! Read More “George Washington University Administration to Students: No Inauguration Rentals Allowed!” »

The Inauguration Rental Chronicles follows the epic story of four roommates as they seek to rent out their Northwest townhouse for a glorious sum while battling the tides of waning consumer interest, pie-in-the-sky expectations, and an untested and entirely unknown market.

Well it’s been a busy week of disappointment for our opportunistic friends. In the last Inauguration Rental Chronicles update, the grouphouse had received a response from the leader of a bunch of college students. One member of the house rapidly responded with a letter noting nearly every positive thing that existed between Columbia Heights and the National Mall.

Then she waited for her excited and gracious respondent to write back. She got nothing.

Time to go back to the drawing board. Soon after, the group reposted with a lowered price: $9,000, down from $10,000, for six days. Again, no response.

Time to go back to the drawing board once more. What was one tactic that hadn’t been tried yet? Numbers manipulation. Read More “The Inauguration Rental Chronicles, Part 5: Tricks of the Trade” »