The Best of BEST Pizza in DC

The Best Pizza Places in Washington DC

If you are living at Washington Dc or on a visit, you can have a variety of foods available here. Love Pizza? Not a problem. On a diet? No issue here. New York style or Chicago style pizza? If you ask me, neither! I'm a pizza-holic. Enthusiast in everyway. Born and raised around pizza and if I could I would eat it every day.

Living or visitind DC? You are in a great place. Washington DC offers you various selections of delicious Pizzas which you can’t resist. Once your kids have tasted it, they will want to make every weekend a special day with pizza.

Yes, Pizza at Washington DC is one of the best offerings to its residents and visitors. There are many Pizza places which are offering a variety of Pizzas to the pizza-lovers. Here's my personal list of the best in the area: 

Sento Alberto’s Pisa

Located at the famous Sento Alberto’s Pisa bakes Pizza in two styles which is stuffed pie or else the thin crust. It is baked in Chicago style in a stone-oven.

Ella’s Wood-Fired Pizza

It serves thin crust pizza which is baked in the conventional and Neapolitan- style in the wood-fire. If you love the traditional taste, it welcomes you at Ella’s Wood-Fired Pizza.

Luigi’s Pizzeria Restaurant

Originated in 1943, it is one of the oldest Italian restaurants which their great pizza offers. It is situated near Dupont Circle.

Italian Store

Subs of Philadelphia Style pizza are the trademark of Italian Store. Pastas and sauces are also its specialty. It is the most popular pizza places at Washington DC.

Listrani’s Italian Gourmet

Located at MacArthur Blvd.NW, Washington DC, it is popular for its marvelous pizza, Italian sandwiches, and pasta dishes.

Matchbox

Located in China Town, Matchbox is famous for wood-fired pizza though it presents salads and sandwitches.

Mamma Lucia

It is restaurant chain with its branches at Olney, Rockville, Columbia, Bethesda, Frederick, Silver Spring, and Collage Park. Pizza is the identity of this chain while traditional Italian food and pasta are also available. 

Rustico

Wood-fired pizza is a great offer by Rustico at 827 Slaters Ln Alexanderia, VA. You can enjoy the beer from all over the world here. Fantastic! Agreed? 

Pizzeria Paradise

It offers you wood-fired pizza at George Town and finest beer of your own choice is plus. Just plan a holiday celebration and be there.

Two Amys

Pizza baked in wood-fired oven at Macomb St NW Washington DC is another food attraction for pizza-lovers especially those who love Neapolitan pizza.

Tony’s New York Pizza

Enjoy a wide variety of pizzas, subs, pastas, and calzones here at Fair Lake Shopping Ctr Fairfax, VA.

Potomac Pizza

Potomac Pizza offers a wide variety of pizza, salads, subs and calzones with its chains located at Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Chevy Chase.

Isn’t it mouth-watering? 

Yes? Great!

Don’t wait. Have the pizza of your own choice from any pizza place you love.

Relocating to Washington DC

Are you thinking or planning to relocate to Washington?

Yes? It’s wonderful idea. You will definitely enjoy the benefits after relocating to the great Washington DC. It’s a place offering something to the people who come and reside in it. There are so many reasons to relocate to Washington DC. You want to know those reasons?

Well, here are those reasons:

You will live with History

Relocating to Washington DC will be of a great advantage. You will find yourself in the lap of history. Bygone lanes of history will go along with you. How would you feel at a place which is peeping into the windows of history? Present tense embraced with the great past! 

Washington DC has the World War ll Memorial in it which reminds of the great soldiers who laid their lives for the sake of homeland. 

In the form of a Greek Doric Temple, the Lincoln’s Memorial stands there to honor the great president of United States of America. Across from the Washington Monument, it is located in Washington DC on the National Mall. Jefferson’s Memorial, the National Cathedral, Washington Monument and many more are enough to take you into the avenues of the past. If you want to meet the past, Washington DC is the best place to relocate.

Cuisine at Washington DC

Washington DC offers you a variety of foods if you are hungry. Food from all the main regions of the world is available to satiate your hunger. Timing is no issue. The shops and markets remain open till late at night. You can go any time to take food.

Hub of politics

If you are a politician and want to take an active part in the politics of the country, Washington DC is the hottest place. You should relocate to it and be a part of the political hub. Just relocate to the center of the world.

A city with the defined height 

You won’t come across the buildings here disturbing the vertical beauty. One building having 9 stories and the other with 16, It doesn’t happen here.

Only 10 story-buildings are allowed here to maintain the height of the city. That is surprisingly interesting. You won’t see any building higher than 10 stories. What a symmetry this lovely city has! 

Agreed?

Two thumbs up? It’s lovely.

Free Services and entertainments

Though Washington DC is not cheap when you go to the market to buy something, but there are many places where you can enjoy the free membership or at least free visits. Free entertainments are waiting for you at Kennedy Center where the weekly concerts are absolutely free. You can sit in the park at Dupont Circle just for free. Visiting all the sites above cost nothing to you and you can visit them any time without spending a single penny. 

Relocating to Washington DC can be costly to afford but it provides a wide range of benefits you can avail if you reside here.

So when will you decide to shift at the great place? 

Hmm, What is a Home Owner Association (HOA)?

If you want to manage, market, and sell homes from the platform of your real estate at Washington DC, you will need a Homeowner Association. It is a corporation which provides you the voting rights to oversee the association. An interesting part of Homeowner Association is that you don’t need to stay stuck on the heavy responsibilities of finance and law. 

You just feel free as you put the whole responsibility on the shoulders of the Homeowner Association. When you sell off a fixed number of houses, you transfer the ownership of that association to the homeowners. With its permission, civil municipality can increase its tax base though it is not bound to provide its services to all the citizens equally. If someone buys a home, he/she becomes the member of the association.

Homeowner Associations have been in practice in United States of America since 1964 and they are getting popularity among the public. The Common Interest Developments is the category which is growing at the fastest pace. This category includes cooperative apartments, condominiums, and single-family homes. According to an estimation of the Community Associations Institute in 2010, homeowner associations were governing 24.9 million homes in America with 62 million residents.

Most of the associations follow the state law but there are some associations which do not have law for homeowner associations. It varies from state to state.

Homeowner Associations have many benefits for you. For example:

• The people get shared neighborhood values.
• The association becomes the voice of the community and represents the common issues.
• Essentially, a homeowner association limits the rights which are based on municipal codes. An agreement is generally required in the single-family homes’ outside appearance and it restricts any noise created outside.
• The board members of HOAs are elected by the homeowners and have the discretion to remove the members of the board.
• Individual homeowners enjoy their access to the clubhouse, tennis court, gym, and walking trial which is hard to access on t their own expenses.
• All members have the power to assess the estimation of expenses used in the development. These expenses may include maintenance of the amenities of subdivision, mailing cost for the newsletters, security staff, gate maintenance, insurance for commonly known areas and structures, employing a management company, and landscaping for the common areas.

The homeowner association offers many benefits for the municipality. For example:

• The private amenities authorized by the municipality are not taxed otherwise property taxed are levied on these amenities. Instead they generate cash for the municipality.
• The municipalities are not bound to maintain these amenities just because they fall under homeowner association and not owned by the municipality.
• Taxes on certain services by the municipality are exempted for HOA communities.

The homeowner associations have faced some criticism along with the benefits described. According to the critics, the municipalities have been owning and mandating HOAs since many decades and they accomplish it by conditioning approval for the amenities like greenbelts, open areas, retention basins and roads. People are left with no other option as there is no way to opt out of a covered area of a HOA.

New Attraction: The Nationals Children's Museum

Washington DC hosts a number of tourist attractions for the visitors from all over the world. On the other side, new buildings are being constructed to facilitate the citizens and the tourists. The National Children’s Museum is one of those buildings which are under way. Located at National Harbor in Prince George’s Country, Maryland, the Museum has been designed to provide the children and families with the exhibit components and share their ideas with others. They can add value to the museum by expressing their opinions on what should have been there in the museum for children.

The magnificent project will begin in 2013 while the area is 150,000 square-feet. It will serve as the center of the world class center of education and culture. The Museum has a permanent space under way whereas a Launch zone is serving as a temporary space where exhibits and programs are conducted. This space is facilitating the children and families to contribute to the education by sharing their opinions.

Once the National Children’s Museum is constructed, it will spark the talent of children and their families by enhancing their imagination. Exhibits will awaken the hidden abilities of the kids and they will be able to grasp six main areas of civic engagement, play, world cultures, health and well-being, and environment.

The Museum will play a role of teacher for kids with the help of sustainable and recyclable materials. It will highlight the successes and achievements of the children by showing their hidden capabilities. Green features will also be included in the Museum. You babies will enjoy these features in it when it is completed:

A Green Roof will be there which will be helpful for small scale planting in the museum. It would absorb the rain water.

The source of power will be a Wind Turbine which will generate a renewable energy.

There will be a Sun Reflector reflecting lights and will save the energy during day time.

A Living Wall will keep the building cool in summer.

Recycled Materials and bricks from the damaged buildings will be used in the Museum.

The National Children’s Museum will be masterpiece when it is completed next year. It would be the center of focus for the children and their families.

 

Washington DC - Taking a Tour on the Wild Side

If your dream is about to come true and you are visiting Washington DC, it is a great place with grand monuments and buildings. Washington DC, the place you desired! The place you were longing for. It is the place where law doesn’t allow the skyscrapers but where the abundant beauty prevails. A place, with great presidents which rules over the world, invites you. The fantasy of the city encompasses you and you feel the whole of the world summed up into one place, Washington DC. The epicenter of economy, the nucleus of politics, and the beginner of the global policies, Washington DC is before your eyes.

Tourists have a long list of the sights and places to enjoy after entering Washington DC. Starting from any place, they can appreciate the wonders of the city.

The historic park and C & O Canal takes the visitors away from the noise of the urban life and shelters them in the serene lap of nature. Biking, walking and kayaking are the gifts of the park and canal to the visitors.

Theatres and galleries, 500-acre estate of George Washington and the mansions of the 18^th century are reversed in Mount Vernon. See through the windows of the past.

National Monument and memorials present a dazzling view. The real fun is visiting it at night when it is less crowded and easy to see.

Smithsonian Institution Building provides you the maps and locations of the museums. The tourists can explore the treasures hidden in the memories kept in museums.

George Town is one of the areas where the tourists from every race and creed are seen to view the history of the bygone lanes. The historic sites in the town attract the tourists.

Houses of the Government include three houses i.e. the Supreme Court of USA, White House and US Capitol Building. The democracy and the justice are ensured in these avenues. By visiting these houses, you can understand the system of government in USA.

If you are looking for entertainment, John F. Kennedy Center is the best place to see. Theatrical productions are the Center enticing the tourists and the natives with a taste of art and entertainment. You would love to be there.

Pentagon is another place which is globally famous especially after 9/11. See where the defense of the country is decided and implemented.

World War ll Memorial reminds us of the soldiers who laid down their lives for the sake of the nation.

Library of Congress enjoys the status of the biggest library of the world. It preserves some of the unique and rare books or information.

Potomac River flowing in the Great Falls Park welcomes the viewers from all over the world. It is a fantastic view you will rarely come across.

These picnic spots and historical places for the tourists make Washington DC a great city of greatness on display for you. Eye-catching sights are waiting for you to admire the divine and human contributions. Washington DC welcomes you!

To Buy or Not to Buy? That is the question.

How would you feel, if you enter a house as its owner? Fantastic? O yes, definitely. Being an owner and feeling like an owner exalts you. Doesn’t it? You would feel that the four walls of your home are greeting you. A deep sense of comfort comes to you making you feel pride of a home, sweet home.

When you buy your home, you come across a feel of independence. It is liberating!

Buying a home rids you of the queries and questions of the landlord. “You have broken the boundary wall of my home”, “Roof of the kitchen looks damaged. You are responsible for this loss”, “Water tap in the washroom was leaking but you didn’t notify me” “I haven’t been informed of the safety alarm which is not working”. Such questions get on your nerves when you are living in the house of any landlord.  Buying a home keeps you aloof and at an arm’s length from such hassles.

No questions, no disturbances, no objections!

Wow!!

You can modify the house you own and make it up to your own mark. Your spouse wants to renovate the bedroom. Go for it. Your daughter desires to enlarge her bathroom. No problem. Your son wants to build another room for indoor games. Not an issue. You are able to do whatever you want because it is YOURS. When your family is happy, it leads to your satisfaction.

Buying a home brings lots of advantages, rest assured. You are paying no more rents. No landlord is there to refuse the renewal of your lease.

Advantages of buying a home are enormously fruitful. For example:

• Once you buy a home and own it, you are always the owner of that home.
• After buying a home you will enjoy the deductions in real estate taxes.
• You pay less mortgage interest on the home you bought.
• Buying a home provides you the retirement security as it grows your equity. A companion of your old age! You are not alone and homeless.
• Your home is the best investment of your money which goes on increasing and growing every day.

Can you deny it? Definitely not. The decision is yours. Buy a home and in most cases your monthly payment is less than what you would be paying for rent. Amazing!

Moving Forward - Market Recap

It's really all about the economy at this point.  Fortunately, the economy is moving forward, albeit at what too-often seems a plodding pace.

But moving forward we are.  The Federal Reserve noted as much in its latest rendering of its Beige Book, a report of anecdotal evidence of economic progress in the dozen Fed districts.  The Beige Book states, "Compared with prior summaries, the reports on balance suggest ongoing improvement in economic conditions in recent months, with most districts highlighting more favorable conditions than identified in reports from the late spring through early fall.”

Now, that attempt to say something without saying too much doesn't really enlighten, but it does affirm what we've known all along – the economic recovery is progressing.

Home prices might also be progressing better than the national numbers suggest.  Zillow Inc. reports home prices were flat in November, with the average national home price at $147,800.  But the housing market is a local market, and local markets appear to be improving better than the national numbers report (which can be skewed by outliers, e.g. Las Vegas).

Of the 165 housing markets tracked by Zillow, 60 percent reported stable or appreciating home values in November. Notable winning locales include Los Angeles, Washington D.C, Miami, San Francisco, and Detroit.

The flow of private money into housing is also encouraging.  We've noted over the past month that hedge funds, investing platforms for the wealthy, are directing more funds into housing stocks. In addition, Robert Shiller, co-inventor of the S&P/Case-Shiller Real Estate Index, noted at a recent American Economic Association function that the futures market for real estate (basically bets on the direction of home prices) is pointing to rising prices.

We expect interest in residential real estate to further bloom in 2012. Homes are enticingly affordable these days. U.S. Department of Housing and U.S. Treasury Department data show that home affordability is at a level unseen since 1971.  In fact, median-income families today have double the funds needed to cover the cost of owning a home than they did 40 years ago.

Historically low mortgage rates also contribute to the affordability quotient, and rates continue to skim along the bottom, as they have done for the past two months.

But rates aren't the only consideration in the cost of a loan.  Fees come into play.  Unfortunately, borrowers face higher fees in the near future.  The guarantee fee on loans sold to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is set to increase a minimum of 10 basis points effective April 1.  Many industry watchers, though, expect the actual cost to fall within the 20-to-80 basis-point range.

Today, affordability is at a multi-decade high, and mortgage rates are at a multi-decade low. We see few economic reasons for anyone in the market for a mortgage and house not to take the plunge. 

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Patience: The Most Important Virtue

We are always keen to accentuate the positive; we are also keen to accentuate reality.  The reality is that a return to 2006-era home prices and transaction activity likely resides in the distant future.

We looked at other bubbles that have burst – the stock market in 1929, the gold market in 1980, the tech market in 2000 – and found that it can take years, if not decades, for the market to return to pre-bubble levels.  As we all know, the housing bubble burst in full in late 2007/early 2008 and prices tumbled hard over the subsequent three years.

The good news is that the hard sell-off that marks a bursting bubble is an acute not a chronic event.  That means once the sell-off is complete, the healing process begins and markets move forward, thought at a relatively slower pace compared to the pre-bubble pace.

The frustrating aspect of the recovery is that little can be done to accelerate it.  To be sure, the housing market is recovering, but it's going to be awhile before it reaches the level of activity we were accustomed to a few years ago.  Keeping that fact in mind not only helps mitigate frustration but also helps us stick to our guns as we focus on the long-term trend, which, fortunately, will be up.

 

 

 

Post Courtesy of: Elliott Bresler
New Penn Financial, LLC

Residual Income!!

Another Christmas has arrived! Time really flies...

Every Sunday my friends come over to watch Sunday night football. My good friend Alex wasn’t his normal self. Come to find out he has to travel at the last minute for his job and will miss Christmas Eve with his family. He told me that he was tired working for others. The bonus for him taking this last minute trip was welcomed but he would have rather found another way to get those extra $$. Now don’t get me wrong, he makes good income each month, but his monthly bills and kids tuition eats that alive.

He knows I handle my finances conservatively so he asked me if I had any ideas that he could do to make some extra cash. He said that he is getting older and he hasn’t found a way to consistently improve his financing.

Alex is tired of working for longer hours at the office. In a nut shell I told him that he basically wants, he needs residual income.

What is residual income? It is a stable and reoccurring monthly addition to your normal salary/income. It’s almost guaranteed income on a fixed monthly basis.  

I told Alex that the most excellent method to increase residual income, to improve your financial condition and to secure a better future is by purchasing a real estate property and renting it out. It is honestly the best kept secret. It’s so easy. You basically get a loan from the bank, purchase the house, then rent it out for a couple of hundred dollars more than the mortgage. Wow!

 By purchasing a property and renting it out would ensure that you receive a regular, fixed and definite income every month. This income would simply be increasing your residual income and you can secure your future with this amount of money. The best part is you do not have to increase your working hours or change the nature of your profession for this increase in your income. Spending time with family and friends is extremely important and by purchasing a property and renting it would allow you to spend your time with your family and friends and at the same time, your income would be significantly increased.

The time is right to purchase a property and rent it out because of the low home prices and low interest rates. Experts concur that although the market prices are lower right now, the trend of the prices is going upwards which means that the real estate market is recovering. This means $$$! It is the best time to purchase a property.

Keep these few tips in mind and then you can safely invest your money and increase your residual income. Market research is very important. Choosing the right location and area is also very crucial. You should choose an area where people would love to live. Also, before taking any step it important that you do all the calculations. You might want to consider shopping around and to gather information on the best loan and program for you. Try not to be over-ambitious with your investment. Keep your eye on all the negative aspects of the investment. Make a prudent decision.

If you follow the above mentioned tips then you can boldly purchase a real estate property and rent it out. At the beginning of the New Year you can make a decision which would increase your residual income and secure your future.

Needlesstosay, I’m taking my buddy to see possible investment properties soon after the holidays. It just won’t be on football Sunday!