PoPville

Good Deal or Not? “exotic Italian tile” edition (reader request)

This home is located at 2819 12th St, NE:

The listing says:

“WOW!!! Reduced $20,000!!! Gorgeous Renovation nearly completed!! Be the first to write a contract before it’s finished!! Huge fenced in backyard. Over 2,200 SF, practically brand new house – all new windows, new siding, wrap-around porch. Gourmet kitchen with GRANITE/STAINLESS, large breakfast rm. Master Bath w/ VERTICAL SPA shower, exotic Italian tile & much more!!”

You can find more info here and photos here.

Good timing on this reader request. The reader writes:

“I am looking at purchasing a home in DC and I came across what looks to be a really nicely remodeled home in the Brookland neighbourhood. I know very little about that section of the city, I was hoping your readers could help me out. Is $449,900 too much to pay for a house in Brookland? What is the neighbourhood like?”

This 3 bed/2.5 bath is going for $459,900.

Category: Brookland, Real Estate

By: Prince Of Petworth | 17 January 2012 1:00 PM | 24 Comments

mc

Holy counter space…sign me up.

aside from that, wish there were more pictures of the rest of the house…

January 17, 2012 at 1:10 pm
slb

Houses like that typically go for significantly more in Brookland–the price likely reflects the fact that it’s on a very busy street and in a part of Brookland that isn’t as nice as other parts of the neighborhood (though that area is improving).

The neighborhood itself is nice, but more quiet/family-oriented than other parts of town. I moved there over a year ago from Adams Morgan and love it.

January 17, 2012 at 1:19 pm
soozles

+1.

Like other neighborhoods, it really depends on the block. I think this house is really nice, but I wouldn’t want to live at 12th and Franklin across the street from a gas station and near an industrial area. I love the areas of Brookland around the monestary and between 13th and 14th.

January 17, 2012 at 1:22 pm
CeCe

Be careful with this builder. I have seen quite a number of their renovations..They look fantastic, but they do very little corrective foundational work. I have walked on floors that are crooked, in multiple properties that they renovate, which is sad because it only ruins that fantastic wood flooring they put down.

January 17, 2012 at 1:25 pm
- Anon X
  
  Just to clarify, in old houses, slanted, crooked, uneven, or otherwise unlevel floors do not necessarily indicate foundation problems. In fact, I think more often than not, they arent related to problems with the foundation.
  
  January 17, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Julia

Holy cow that is beautiful. It looked like near perfection until I saw the notes on Redfin–standing water in the basement? Plus the previous comment that the builder could be sketchy? I’d tread carefully.

January 17, 2012 at 1:28 pm
a.m.m.

Redfin has several pictures…the renovation is very nice; however, the agent notes that the basement is wet and has a flooding problem.

January 17, 2012 at 1:29 pm
joker

Good timing as I got a tour of this house a couple weeks ago.

The house has quite a few problems:

1. It used to be a doctors office and so the room layout upstairs is pretty weird, odd shaped rooms and hallways. The guy selling it didn’t change the floor plan, just “spruced” it up a bit.

2. The backyard (which isn’t in the photos) has quite a steep grade towards the house with no yard drains. It was raining the day I was there and you could see the water sheet flowing right to the foundation. Not suprisingly, the basement (which is unfinished) had quite a bit of water in it leaking through the exterior wall.

3. The finish quality was less than mediocre.

4. It is on a very busy street, directly across from a gas station and had lots of street/car noise that was easily heard in the house.

All in all, this house is a pretty poor buy. It will go for less.

January 17, 2012 at 1:34 pm
brookland_rez

$459k is really cheap. The little bungalows usually go for $500k, renovated. This is bigger, also renovated. I agree with the other poster, it must be cheap because 12th st is a busy street, and the closer you get to RIA, the worse the neighborhood is. Also, two blocks away on the corner of RIA and Brentwood are some pretty nasty projects.

All in all, I still say this is a good deal. That area is improving. Eventually a developer or someone will hopefully buy the projects and tear them down.

January 17, 2012 at 1:52 pm
brookland_rez

Didn’t read all the comments. With the water issues and layout, I retract my comment that $459k is a good deal.

Could be good if you’re handy and can fix the basement issues. But I would want to pay under $400k to take on that risk.

January 17, 2012 at 1:56 pm
- joker
  
  This is a case of being more than handy. You would need to not only regrade the entire back yard (which is pretty big), but you would need to dig up the foundation on the one side of the house, fix it and then install a pretty heavy duty drainage system. I am thinking a low end of ~25K worth of work, and I am not sure it would be 100% effective.
  
  January 17, 2012 at 2:01 pm
  - brookland_rez
    
    Having not seen it, I’m sure you’re right.
    
    At any rate, if I were serioiusly interested, I would get a few quotes on the cost to fix the issues, and negotiate it off the list price.
    
    January 17, 2012 at 2:03 pm
- Masked Avenger
  
  LMAO. One minute this house is a good deal b/c $459,000 is really “cheap” the five minutes later the house is not worth more than $400,000. This just reinforces my impression that many (if not most) of the commenters to GDoN don’t know a thing about buying residential real estate. I
  
  January 17, 2012 at 2:09 pm
  - brookland_rez
    
    That’s my fault for not reading all the comments before I posted. $459k would be a good deal if it did not have the faults that were pointed out.
    
    January 17, 2012 at 2:32 pm
  - Anonymous
    
    Love seeing Brookland on the up. Went to CUA and 12 street was often a dicey proposition. PoP is all over Brookland today.
    
    January 17, 2012 at 4:18 pm
brookland_rez

The pics look amazing though. I would definitely buy it for a deal, basement water issues aren’t that big of a deal. All it probably needs is a french drain or sump pump. Since the basement is not finished, it should be pretty easy to clean up once the water leakage is stopped. Just clean and seal the walls with something like Killz and you should be good. Just have to check and make sure there’s no damage to the foundation from the water.

January 17, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Anonymous

This house will sell.

There are some significant issues, as noted in previous comments, particularly the basement flooding will have to be dealt with.

But in a city where 2 bedroom condos are often priced higher than the asking price for this property, combined with Brookland being an up and coming neighborhood, make this house a serious contender for a “good” deal. Now the purchaser will likely have to put some money into it, let’s say $50,000 or so. But that will only further solidify the investment. Keep in mind, too, that the location is walking distance from Metro.

January 17, 2012 at 2:05 pm
- hank_chinaski
  
  House looks pretty nice, but those columns look super gaudy
  
  January 17, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Anonymous

will probably sell quickly, but it looks like a Home Depot showroom…

January 17, 2012 at 2:31 pm
- nathaniel
  
  I think 425 is more likely. It started about a month ago at 499 and this is the second drop. As mentioned the layout is a bit weird, which is funny because they did a pretty nice gut job on it, I think they completley redid the layout. The location is less then ideal, on a busy street across from a gas station. The water issue sounds problematic as well.
  
  That being said for those who complain about not being able to buy a house for a family near good transportation, here is a decent one. About 3/4 of miles either direction to a metro. Buses run on 12th street that takes you right there. It is one block up from menomale that was mentioned here earlier today.
  
  January 17, 2012 at 3:32 pm
watts

i love the homes in brookland, but keep in mind that the public school there is pretty crappy. if you want to have kids, you’ll have to play the lottery and try for a charter school. or send your rugrat to a private school. this will cause all kinds of grief.

January 17, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Ward5Res

Take it. This is a really good deal in a neighborhood that is on its way up.

January 17, 2012 at 4:13 pm
- jllc
  
  Agreed! I bought in Brookland/Michigan Park just over a year ago. It’s a great neighborhood with a lot of potential. Within the past year, so many homes have been scooped up by young couples and young families. There’s even been a lot of talk lately about new restaurants and retail along Rhode Island and around Catholic U.
  
  January 25, 2012 at 1:09 pm
houseshopping

anon 2:05 brings up good points. if you have the time, patience, and money to deal with the outstanding issues (namely, the basement/drainage issues) then i think it will pay off in the long run. my first thought, which seems trivial now after learning about the basement issues, is that it doesn’t look like there’s anything over the stove – not even a fan (unless it’s out of eyesight). i’m no expert and it might not be a big deal but i would want some sort of ‘diffuser’. good luck to reader who is house shopping!

January 18, 2012 at 10:46 am