Today’s Rental is “Absolutely stunning”

by Prince Of Petworth — September 22, 2016 at 2:25 pm 21 Comments

1423 Montello Avenue Northeast

This rental is located at 1423 Montello Avenue, Northeast. The listing says:

“Private basement Apt in TH, renovated in July of 2016, avail for rent in the neighborhood next to Gallaudet Univ. Absolutely stunning with a private liv room, full kitchen, new bath, patio backyard, and private front and back entrances. Rent includes high speed internet, basic cable, water, gas, electric, and trash removal. NoMa Red Line Metro nearby with bus stop literally across the street.”

bed

You can see more photos here.

This 1 bed/1 bath is going for $1,850/Mo.

Anon

This costs more than my 2 bd in nw. Is that the going rate in Trinidad?
- Emily
  
  Where do you live in NW? Tough to get a true 2-bedroom anywhere near transportation/commercial areas for less than $2500.
  
  That said, this feels a bit high given that it’s an (albeit large) 1-bedroom, and a basement apartment at that. Plus, this is one of the higher crime parts of Trinidad (the Queen/Penn/Montello juncture seems to see a lot of robberies). I’d expect it to go for 1400-1500. But closer to Florida? This would be about right. As you go south in Trinidad, you’re just a few blocks of H Street.
  - Anon
    
    Yea, I lucked out. I’m near all that I need, little farther to what I want in 1000 sq ft. Granted it’s not super close to metro though.
Kingman Park

“Absolutely $500 overpriced”
KK

The kitchen doesn’t appear to have any actual counter space and why would anyone pay this much for a tiny basement in Trinidad (remodeled or not)?????
lm

lol.
Linc Park SE

Rent includes all utilities cable and wifi.
That being said – does that mean you can’t control your heat/AC?
- textdoc
  
  “That being said – does that mean you can’t control your heat/AC?”
  .
  Probably. Odds are that the thermostat is the upstairs part of the house.
- Anonymous
  
  It’s an illegal rental. Price should reflect that.
  - textdoc
    
    It is indeed an illegal rental, but the tenant doesn’t have to be able to control the temperature for the unit to be legal. If the tenant can’t control the temperature, the landlord has to keep it no higher than 78 in the summer and no lower than 68 in the winter.
StrongholdArch

How does a basement bathroom have a skylight? Stunning indeed.

Guessing that’s upstairs, and not the bathroom in the unit.
anon

I thought if there are interior connecting stairs, it can’t get a C of O and be rented as a separate apartment?
- anon6
  
  Check PIVS…its BBL for the rental is “deficient” and hasn’t been renewed since 2015. Perhaps they realized that they wouldn’t be able to get the two-family rental with the interior staircase and shared utilities, and just said screw it, we’ll rent it anyway. Buyer (renter) beware.
  - Anonymous
    
    I think you can have shared stairs, so long as the renter is able to lock the door that separates the basement from the main house. The main issue is the lack of separately metered utilities. This house is a flip and its flabbergasting that the flipper didn’t wire a separate panel and install a separate HVAC when the house was down to the studs. So dumb.
    - anooon
      
      If the owner is reading this, and it’s true that you had problems getting a two-family rental license, you can still get a bed and breakfast Home Occupation Permit and rent it on Airbnb. It doesn’t require an inspection for two years, and even then it’s DC FEMS not DCRA doing the inspection (so they’re looking for fire safety issues and not stairs and HVAC and separately metered utilities).
    - HaileUnlikely
      
      Not sure the flipper is the dumb one. Does anybody know how having an actual legal rental unit with separate C of O affects the typical sales price for the whole house relative to having a finished basement that is not actually a legal rental unit but looks enough like one? (Not how much do you think it “should,” I mean how much does it really?) If it wouldn’t boost the price enough to more than offset the cost of construction, permitting, etc, then the flipper isn’t the dumb one here. (Don’t get me wrong, I strongly dislike flips and flippers, regulars here know that, but I don’t think the flipper did anything “dumb” here considering the interests of the flipper)
    - textdoc
      
      From what others have written before on this subject… the utilities don’t have to be separately metered per se for a rental to be legal, BUT the separate units of the house have to have separate electrical panels. (Which means they’re usually separately metered as a result.)
margaret

Ridiculous. There are nice 1-bedroom, above ground apartments in Trinidad, with actual kitchens, for at least $500 less.
HC

C’mon – there are obvious interior stairs right in the main shot. There’s no way this has a certificate of occupancy. If you’re going to illegally rent your basement at least price it low and find a renter who won’t eventually rat you out.
MR

Ha, this has to be a joke. No one would pay that price for this apartment/location.
kitty

It looks like a bland basement decorated by people with pleasant, but not exactly cutting edge taste. What’s stunning about it, exactly?

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