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.

And other residents who posted their properties on Craigslist are finding the market weak. They attribute it to the sluggish economy, the rush of the holidays and the fact that many would-be Inauguration attendees remain uncertain of their plans because most of the 240,000 tickets to the swearing-in ceremony won’t be distributed until early January.

I’ve been telling friends—not to mention random people I met on vacation—that the rental craziness being reported around the country is a lot of hype, and not a lot of action. Since November, I’ve been chronicling my friend’s attempt to rent her place. Despite many advertisements, numbers trickery, and a lot of enthusiasm, she hasn’t entered into discussions with a single serious renter. There seems to be a lot of interest in inauguration housing (as this blog’s traffic numbers show). However, I think most of it is coming from people in this area looking for a quick buck.

Image by devonhaupt, Flickr Creative Commons

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. And many people are either unable to qualify for a loan or just plain afraid to jump into the real estate market. Accordingly, I believe that the rental market will remain strong in the Washington area in 2009.

Oh, and another thing in Kass’s 2009 real estate crystal ball: 40-year loans with lower monthly payments.

Photo by KCIvey, Flickr Creative Commons

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.
Your guests pay you online, and you can view their profile before they
stay with you.

http://www.airbnb.com/inauguration?af=3161&c=cdc
-Chris

Then there was shady guy, who was likely attempting a money order scam:

Hello,
I am Engr Owen Hughes of SIEMENS COMMUNICATION LTD SCOTLAND.I
need to make reservation for Two (2) of our technicians
coming from London for installation of fibre optic cable in one of our sites in your area.
Arrival Date : 30th JANUARY,2009
Departure Date :13th February,2009
Number Of Rooms:2(each for single occupancy)
Length of Stay:14 Nights.
Get back to me with the TOTAL COST (INCLUDING
APPLICABLE TAXES)if the dates mentioned
above are free,so that we can confirm reservations
immediately.Your prompt response
will be appreciated.

Thanks and have a nice day.

Engr Owen Hughes
+447035901195
Logistics manager
Siemens communication ltd.

Then there was the nonsensical guy:

Hello,

I want to rent your place for 15 days this is in respect of your rental ad you placed for my God-Daughter and her husband honeymoon it’s my gift to them for my inabilty to attend their wedding as am currently on an Active Duty as a Medical Doctor with United States Navy let me know if there is any availability with the rates, the schedule date is February 1st through February 15th 2009.

Have a nice day.

Then there was one genuine response from a guy who worked for a production company. He asked for more pictures of the house, which were sent promptly. The roommates are awaiting his next response.

Image by Steve Rhodes, Flickr Creative Commons.

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.

“They’re not cheap,” he said of the rooms, but “if you want them, you better go after them.” Local rooms last week were averaging about $650 a night, another tourism expert said.

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

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. ”Also the appliances, the artwork, everything that’s [in the house].” Such documentation will help you prove that your home was in good shape before the tenant arrived, should a conflict arise.

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! And then—and I have this on good authority from City Paper’s resident GW expert—you tell them they can’t drink alcohol in their rooms whenever they want!

For shame GWU administration. For shame.

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.

Instead of posting the entire sum for six days, the group wrote a headline that mentioned the price of each bedroom per night—So essentially their old headline including a sum of several thousand dollars, and their new headline included a sum of several hundred dollars. Which do you think would be more enticing?

Photo by Jimtimages.