(Courtesy of HomeVisit)

The Forest Hills neighborhood of Northwest Washington is home to an eclectic mix of residences that offer privacy and peace to diplomats as well as politicians, broadcast journalists and attorneys.

The home at 3225 Ellicott St. NW, a former embassy residence and currently the home of William E. Kennard, who served as U.S. ambassador to the European Union from December 2009 to July 2013, is now listed for sale at $3.85 million.

Kennard also is the former managing director of the Carlyle Group and former chairman of the FCC.

The fieldstone manor house, built in 1923 by architect Arthur B. Heaton, includes five bedrooms and 5.5 baths. The three-quarters-of-an-acre site has cottonwood, dogwood and holly trees and a swimming pool. The home has a banquet-sized formal dining room with a fireplace and the sunken formal living room includes a second fireplace. The master suite includes a sitting room and a luxury bath.

For more information, contact Marilyn Charity, an agent at Washington Fine Properties, at 202-427-7553, marilyn.charity@wfp.com or www.WFP.com.

D.C.-area renters getting more help 

Urban Igloo, a residential real estate resource that helps renters find apartments and rental homes, is expanding its Washington-area territory.

Founded in D.C. in 2009 by Rick Gersten, Urban Igloo recently added real estate agents with local market knowledge to cover the Brookland neighborhood in Northeast Washington, Columbia Heights, Petworth and Bethesda and other Montgomery County communities.

The company plans to expand its business in the future to Anne Arundel County and Reston. In addition to providing rental search assistance, Urban Igloo has neighborhood profiles, market trend information and tips for both renters and landlords.

For more information, visit www.urbanigloo.com.

 

(Courtesy of Peter Evans Photography)

Forest Hills mansion comes alive for parties

It’s easy to imagine Gatsby-esque parties at 2842 Chesterfield Place NW in Washington. The Forest Hills estate has glass doors opening off the swimming pool onto a flagstone terrace and walls of windows in the great room framing garden views.

Priced at $2.375 million, this 6,245-square-foot residence has four bedrooms, three full baths and two half baths. The main level includes a formal living room, a library, a sunroom and a top-of-the-line kitchen in addition to the great room.

But it’s the 1,300-square-foot contemporary style great room and the lovely garden that make this property stand out.

For more information on this Forest Hills home, contact realty agent Erich Cabe of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage at 202-320-6469 or go to www.cbmove.com.

Tip of the week

If you need to sell your home for less than you owe on your mortgage, you may want to see if your loan is owned by Fannie Mae.

If so, let your listing agent know that Fannie Mae recently expanded the functionality of the HomePath for Short Sales Web site, where real estate listing agents can communicate directly with the organization.

The Web site, open to any real estate professional working on a short sale involving a Fannie Mae-backed loan, allows listing agents to ask for guidance on the appropriate price before a short sale goes on the market. During the short sale process, agents can view the status of submitted short sale cases.

Over the next few months, the site will be expanded further to allow agents to negotiate and receive short sale approvals directly from Fannie Mae.

For more information, go to www.homepathforshortsales.com. Short sale listing agents can also call 800-732-6643 (7FANNIE).

Michele Lerner is a freelance writer. To pass on a tip or news item, contact us at realestate@washpost.com and put “Town Square” in the subject line.