Byline: Maryann Haggerty

Welcome to Real Estate Live, an online discussion of the Washington area housing market with Post Real Estate editor Maryann Haggerty.

Maryann has been with The Post for 18 years and has served as real estate editor for the last five years. She's been a business and real estate editor and reporter for about 25 years. In all that time, she still hasn't figured out where you can find a lovely but inexpensive house in a charming neighborhood.

She's online twice a month to answer your questions about the local housing market -- from condos and investment properties to contracts and mortgages.

For more on local real estate, visit washingtonpost.com's Real Estate section .

The transcript follows.

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Maryann Haggerty: Good afternoon, folks. Glad you could join me to discuss real estate in this new year.

I'll answer the questions that I can, and hope the rest of you will jump in when I can't.

In the meantime, a request to all: Our real estate reporters, all charged up and raring to go in 2007, would love to hear from you if you are willing to be interviewed about your experiences for publication in various Post articles. We'd particularly love to talk with you if you have been cleaning up your credit in preparation for a home search, if you are currently in the market to buy/sell a house, or recently completed buying or selling. Drop me a note at haggertym@washpost.com.

Now, onto today's questions:

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Moving in: Thanks for the chats, Maryann. I'm moving into the area and not yet sure if I'll be buying a house in D.C., Northern Virginia, or suburban Maryland. Do real estate agents in the area move seamlessly between the three areas? Any recommendations on how to find an agent who can handle this?

Maryann Haggerty: There are a lot of agents who are licensed to work in all three jurisdictions, but I have a very difficult time believing that any single human being could specialize in the entire region--heck, you can barely drive across it in a day anymore! In my experience, the most knowledgeable and successful agents specialize in a smaller area.

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Rockville, Md.: Just got my assessment notice. It specifically says that there is a 10% assessment cap established by the county. But then it gives my previous property value ($350,000) and my current property value ($550,000) that will be phased in over the next three years. Not only is it a 55 percent increase (which, frankly, is accurate considering what's been going on real estate-wise over the last few years even though I couldn't sell it for that much in this market) but the three-year phased in increase is 18 percent followed by 15 percent followed by 13 percent. How are they allowed to do that if there is a cap of 10 percent?

I don't necessarily want to fight the assessment because I think the new number is accurate (and it's very close to my neighbors with similar houses as per the Md. Real Property Data Search page here http://sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/) but I don't get the 10 percent cap versus the actual yearly increases that they're hitting me with. Can you explain? Thanks!

Maryann Haggerty: The cap is not on the assessment, ie, what the state/county say the house is worth--but rather on the amount of tax you actually pay. The following comes from the Md. Dept of Assesment and Taxation:

"Q:What is the Homestead Property Tax Credit?

"A: The Homestead Property Tax Credit, commonly referred to as the Assessment Cap, is a program for homeowners who qualify that limits the taxation of large annual assessment increases on a property owner's principal residence. For State tax purposes any annual assessment increase for a home or homesite that is greater than 10% is not taxed. Counties and municipalities may limit assessment increases for local tax purposes to less than 10% annually."

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Gainesville, Va.: Maryann,

I'm thinking about investing in the NoVa condo market, specifically in Arlington. I've noted quite a number of condos in the River Place Cooperative that are priced significantly below market. According to the information on many of these listings, River Place is a cooperative with a land lease with approximately 50 years remaining. If I purchase a condo, what happens when the land lease expires?

Maryann Haggerty: When the land lease expires, the land and all the improvements--ie, the building--go back to the land owner. This is why buildings on leased land decline in value over time.

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Annandale, Va.: I heard that someone has purchased 142 acres in Ashburn and plans to build a retirement community. Does anyone know who is planning this development?

Maryann Haggerty: I don;t know the answer to this one--but if you;re talking about 55-pkus communities, they are hot among buildes hoping to cash in on the aging of the baby boomers

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Arlington, Va.: Thanks for taking my question. I just bought a condo, and unfortunetly it is costing more than I expected. I need to increase my credit availability on my card, and I was wondering: is this bad for my credit score/rating? I know this is slightly off topic, but real estate can put you in a pinch sometimes! Thanks Maryann! Love the discussions.