Here are some of our recent projects from this year. Hope you enjoy. Remember to follow us on twitter @MenkitiGroup or Visit Our Fan Page on Facebook. 

Photo courtesy of Con Poulos 

In case you are not familiar with Divinely Decadent Desserts, here is a little background info. Carlynn Fuller, the cupcakes’ boutique owner, began baking at an early age and developed a passion for it. She finally transformed her sweet hobby into a business venture last March here in Brookland. As her next door neighbor we are sure glad she did. Her red velvet cupcake is exquisite. The food, the place and the cook are as genuine and authentic as you're likely to find. It’s all home-made, personalized and friendly. She bakes each cake herself and uses real ingredients. And for $2.75 a cupcake, there is no reason to resist. Have I mentioned they are perfectly moist, and totally delicious?

If I have piqued your interest about Divinely Decadent Desserts and you’re drooling at the mere thought of paying a visit to her little cupcake boutique, here is the address:

Divinely Decadent Desserts, 2703 12th St. NE, Washington DC 20018, Metro: Brentwood Rhode Island- Open from Friday to Sunday from 12pm-6pm.

You can also check out Totten Life for her review of Divinely Decadent Desserts

1.    Unplug electronic devices: Be sure to not only turn off, but unplug your computer, television, and other devices that can drain power even when they’re not on. If that’s too much of a hassle for you, consider buying a Smart Strip, which automatically cuts power when devices don’t need it.

2.    Close doors and vents: If you plan to spend your evening in the family room, there’s no reason to waste energy cooling the basement or guest room as well. Shut doors and shut vents to close off areas of the house you’re not using.

3.    Use fans: Overhead fans get air circulating, which means you might be able to delay turning on the air conditioning—especially if you can also leave windows open on cool summer evenings.

4.    Use compact fluorescent bulbs: Admittedly, some of these bulbs are not the best (weird colored light, dim until they warm up, etc.) but there are some good ones out there. In fact, some of the cheap multi-packs from Lowes and Home Depot often produce the best quality of light. The added bonus is that CF bulbs put out less heat, so they also reduce your AC load in the summer. 

5.    Get your AC inspected: Inspectors can make sure your system is leak-free and operating as efficiently as possible. Don’t forget to clean air filters; some units require monthly cleanings.

6.    Add insulation: Homes often leak cool air during the summer (and warm air in the winter) because of spaces in between walls. Fill these gaps with insulation; Squirting spray foam into drilled holes in the wall might do the trick.

7.    Minimize oven use: Using your oven to roast vegetables or heat up dinner makes your AC work overtime. Try to make more salads and other cold food in the summer, or use the toaster oven for small portions.

8.    Weather strip your doors and windows: Just think, a 1/4 inch gap along the bottom of a 3 foot wide door is 9 square inches of open space. If you had a 3 inch x 3 inch hole in one of your exterior walls you’d fix it, wouldn’t you?

9.    Put a brick, sealed jar or jug of water in your toilet tank: Doing so displaces water in the tank and causes you to use less. Of course, too little water when you flush can cause problems, so you’ll have to experiment with this one. But be careful… Displacing so much water that you have to flush twice is generally more wasteful than flushing a larger volume once.

10.    Plant shade trees in strategic locations around your house: This is a longer term solution, but shade trees can keep your house much cooler in the summer without blocking the sun in the winter. Planting trees also helps offset our high-carbon lifestyles.


The Washington area also posted an impressive annual gain, with median home prices in the area up 7.3 percent in April 2010, compared to April 2009.  (See chart of Home Price Appreciation by state.)

A portion of this increase can be attributed to the $8000 tax credit for first time buyers.  We saw a peak in activity and competition in April, as home buyers sought to take advantage of the credit before the deadline.  In DC proper, settlements were up over 50% for single family homes in April.

With interest rates at all time lows (4.61% for a 30 year fixed), and the $5000 first time home buyer tax credit buying a home in DC, we expect buyers to continue to take advantage of the excellent opportunities, and the local market to remain strong throughout the summer.

Contact us today, if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in the DC area.



Buyers, lenders and realtors are breathing a collective sigh of relief, that they will have an additional 90 days to close all the purchases with contracts dated before April 30^th.   



The House passed an earlier version of this bill in December, which the Senate amended and approved in March. The House and Senate must still resolve differences between the versions before the bill can be signed into law. The National Association of Realtors has supported the amendment- citing Realtor reports that as many as 1/3 of qualified buyers have been told by their lenders that their loans will not be able to close before the initial June 30^th deadline simply due to the sheer volume of loan applications in the pipeline.

What does all of this mean for you? If you are not currently under contract (and the contract was executed before April 30^th) this does not change much for you. The extension of the actual tax credit benefit is not even a part of this recent amendment to HR 4213 the “American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010.” Although this should help new buyers who are the in the financing line behind all the tax credit buyers as some of the pressure is briefly lifted in the lending world. It’s really your local lender that is breathing a sigh of relief, as they faced masses of angry clients, sellers and agents that were all counting down the days to June 30^th.   They may be able to reset the clocks for 90 more days to close and allow clients to still claim their $8,000.

If you missed the $8000 tax credit and are searching in DC, you may be in luck!  Washington DC has a $5000 tax credit for buyers purchasing in DC in 2010. This tax break phases out as income rises between $70,000 and $90,000 on single returns and between $110,000 and $130,000 on joint returns.  The DC credit reduces the buyer's federal taxes.

Ready to start your home search today?  Contact us.



When: Thursday June 24^th  from 7-8 PM

Where: 2701 12^th Street, NE (Corner of 12^th and Evarts, NE)

Seminar will include:

* 10 Tips for Home Buyers
* Info on the $5000 DC First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
* Info on buying a foreclosure or short sale property

* Current market conditions and affordability levels  in D.C.
* Information on special financing programs such as HPAP and FHA 203K loans

* Information on City First Homes 75k down payment assistance program- DC’s newest down payment assistance program! ****

For more information and to reserve a seat, please visit:
http://www.menkitigroup.com/seminars/

or call us at 202.243.7777

Also, feel free to invite any friends or neighbors who are thinking of buying a home in 2010!

This FREE seminar is provided to the community as part of our effort to promote opportunities to build wealth through sound real estate investments.



Event Details: