Good Deal or Not? “2-level living” edition (reader request)

by Prince Of Petworth — December 9, 2011 at 1:00 pm 36 Comments

This condo is located at 1205 Morse St, NE:

The flier says:

“Open house 12/11 1-4 pm. Amazing space: new, big, open, fabulous! Look at the pics! Hardwood, stainless, granite, designer tile finishes. 2-level living with access to private rooftop ready for finishing. Close to Gallaudet Univ. , NY Ave. metro, Harris Teeter. H Street corridor re-development just 2 blocks away. Parking available for purchase. Three smaller, less expensive units also availble.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

This 2 bed/2.5 bath is going for $525,000 ($363 monthly condo fee.)

houseintherear

Ooo, I like the layout. Looks like a nice space, and that’s a great private deck. And it’s walkable to my favorite grocery store, The H Teet.

I guess it doesn’t come with a parking spot…?
- kev29
  
  Yeah, wonder how much the spot is on sale for (separately)
  - trinidaddy
    
    35k
seveneye

I’m going to say it’s way over priced. But I’m more curious about the condo fee. Isn’t that steep for a brand new building?
- kev29
  
  I’d say it’s a bit high for a 2 or 3 unit building. Pays for:
  
  Common Grounds
  Fencing
  CAM
  Exterior Building Maintenance
  Master Insurance Policy Included
  Sewer
  Water
  Antenna
  Fencing
mj

$525K for a cono in Trinidad? If they can get that, Herman Cain will be our next president.
- 14thstgal
  
  +1
- trinidaddy
  
  the times, they are-a-changing, my friend…
john

From the beautiful southern exposure, sun. And from the northern exposure, bullets.
14thstgal

So ridiculously overpriced. I’ve seen large rowhouses with rentable basement apts that were recently flipped with finishes just as “nice” if not nicer than this one go for the low to mid 400s in this neighborhood.
anon

Good lord in heaven prices in this city are insane. There always seems to be someone out there desperate enough to pay the price, though….
- Anonymous
  
  i agree. as a current house hunter, i get really discouraged with what i see here.
trinidaddy

this is a great deal if you look at the ad carefully and note two things:
1) 2100 sq ft
2) $240 a sq/ft
3) Private roof deck

But, parking isn’t included…

The price per square foot is actually on the lower end for this area. Either way, I hope they get what they’re asking! 🙂
- trinidaddy
  
  make that 3 things..i can’t count
  - Chris
    
    Trinidaddy,
    Don’t be so hard on yourself. You remembered the third point! You are apparently more competent than the governor of Texas.
    - smilla
      
      LOL, I was going to say, “EPA?”
- seveneye
  
  How are they measuring the 2100 sq ft? Seems like the upper level is just a loft bedroom. I don’t see how you can 2100 sq ft out of that space.
Nick

I use to live 2 or 3 houses down. What this ad doesn’t tell you is that drug dealers are a constant presence on that corner. They are even on Google Streetview: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1223+Morse+St.+NW&ll=38.903416,-76.989044&spn=0.006287,0.013937&sll=38.903051,-76.988723&layer=c&cbp=13,355.42,,0,15.19&cbll=38.903521,-76.989284&gl=us&hnear=1223+Morse+St+NE,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia+20002&t=m&z=17&vpsrc=0&panoid=nl9mTG1sLKAB0eF2tzHHbA
- aurora
  
  I agree that the condo is way overpriced, but was the “Google Streetview” comment really necessary? Nothing in the photo shows that those men are drug dealers (although I’ll take your word on it that there are drug dealers in the neighborhood).
  - Nick
    
    I lived there for 6 months. I saw it. There was always one of those guys at that corner. Often it was just the tall one. The only time they left was when cops parked at the corner. Don’t be naive.
    - aurora
      
      I’m not naive. What I meant is that I don’t doubt that there are drug dealers on that block/in that neighborhood, but it’s not like the Google streetview photo shows those men dealing drugs, it just shows several black males loitering. Just didn’t seem necessary to me, that’s all.
      - Meg
        
        It sounds like Nick actually recognized these men as drug dealers, since he’s lived in the area. I trust he said that because he’s actually seen them deal drugs.
- Meg
  
  That’s a mix of sad and hilarious.
- Johnny Walker
  
  Ha, that’s funny. I had the same thing on my block, could’ve taken a photo yesterday and superimposed it onto the Google map streetview
- imgoph
  
  Nick: If you’d come back to the neighborhood, you’d see that the streetview image that you’re quoting doesn’t exist anymore. The rec center that those kids are hanging out in front of has been demolished. That’s now a large park, with an artificial turf ball field, water feature, benches, playground, walking path, and picnic tables.
  
  I’m not sure the point of indicting everyone you see hanging out on the corner as drug dealers. There are a lot of bored kids in the neighborhood, and they hang out. I don’t want to ascribe too much to your comment, but it seems to be less-than-friendly.
- djbays
  
  Clearly Nick hasn’t been back since he left. I live a few house down from this condo (next door to where Nick rented). That Google street view is very old, and as was pointed out there is a brand new park across the street that spans half the block — that means there is plenty of street parking in front. The corner boys have been displaced. It is like night and day…
MiCoBa

Even if you think the amenities in Trinidad are similar to that of neighborhoods like Rosedale and Kingman Park where a few rehabs have been recently featured on GDoN, then this condo is over-priced (especially with no parking). What is especially hard to swallow are the condo fees. I hope that number includes property taxes.
househistoryman

Its not a new building at all…they modified it from a house built there beginning in march of 1923, designed by architect Thomas McNamara
Anonymous

I t won’t appraise for $525
Anonymous

I wonder why the builder chose to have two showers in the master bathroom? Pretty place otherwise, but I wouldn’t pay that price.
- DCer
  
  I don’t think they intended to have 2 showers in the master bath. It looks like that bathroom originally had the tub (shower head installed) but they wanted to put in a “fancy-looking” shower and created a shower stall as an additional option to a soaking tub, even though the tub is just a regular bath tub. They could have removed the shower head in the tub to better achieve this, otherwise it ends up being silly. Anyway, that example shows a bit of sloppy rehab that I’ve noticed in other parts of the home in the pics. I don’t see the 2nd bedroom or the 1/2 bath, which I’d like to see. I hope they aren’t including that loft-like space on the upper floor as the bedroom. It does seem high plus a moderate monthly condo fee. I say moderate because I’ve seen listings with condo fees that range between 200 and 600. While the main floor is open and seems light-filled, it seems like a great space for a bar/lounge with a dance floor on the upper floor. I know that’s not what it’s trying to be but if I were looking for a new home, I’d be looking for something that was less loungey. It’s not because it’s open that I think it’s loungey because open spaces can be appealing for a home. I just can’t quite shake that loungey feeling, though.
Anon

I guess obscene list prices are the norm in Trinidad right now. This place is only 2 blocks away.

http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1203-W-Virginia-Ave-NE-20002/home/10096616
jim_ed

Considering a house the next block up is for sale for $90,000. I’d say this is a bad deal. That house could be on fire and you’d still save a $200k with a top of the line renovation over this condo.

http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1242-Neal-St-NE-20002/home/10096185
- caroline
  
  That’s pretty incredible considering the land alone must be worth around $200k. I guess it was in really bad shape?
Johnny Walker

How is the public transportation in the area? There is no Metro nearby so just wondering
- imgoph
  
  Three bus lines (D3, D4, D8) stop a few feet away, and run often enough that you have bus service every 10-15 minutes weekdays.

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