Author: Prince Of Petworth

I’m Gonna Weigh in on the Henry Louis Gates Controversy

By Prince Of Petworth

So much for a lighthearted Friday… But I’ve been listening to so much talk about this and something struck me right away that nobody has mentioned. As most surely know by now Prof. Gates was arrested when someone called the police as he was pushing in a stuck door on his home. Some are being critical of the Cambridge police and some are being critical of Prof. Gates. For sure, I believe, race to a certain degree was likely an issue with how he got arrested. But I have a problem with the neighborhood. Because I was thinking how this would never have happened where I live. Presumably it was a neighbor who called the police. And as they say it’s good to have folks looking out but on my block everyone knows each other. If I saw my neighbor Joe, black and often casually dressed, pushing in his door. I’d say, hey Joe what’s going on, you ok? It seems insane to me that this neighbor does not know what her neighbor looks like. Perhaps she saw the driver but I’d say this incident says a lot about the neighborhood of Cambridge, MA.

Dear PoP – Help Verify Safeway Nicknames

By Prince Of Petworth

Back in April ’08 we addressed this issue when a reader wondered what was Georgia Ave. Safeway nickname. But since I get this question fairly frequently I thought we could use this post to put together the definitive list.

“Dear PoP,

I was wondering if you could do me a big favor. My friends and I are trying to compile a list of Safeway nicknames. So far, our list is:

* Secret Safeway (20th and S or 42nd and Ellicott sts NW)
* Senior Safeway 2550 Virginia Ave NW (Watergate)
* Sexy Safeway 5th and L St NW
* Social Safeway 1855 Wisconsin Ave NW (Georgetown)
* Socialist Safeway 1747 Columbia Rd NW (Adams Morgan- there’s debate about the Columbia Road one- aka Spanish/Salvadorean/Sandinista Safeway- do you have an opinion?)
* Southwest Safeway 401 M St SW
* Soviet Safeway 1701 Corcoran St NW
* Subterranean Safeway (Rosslyn)
* Superfly Safeway -? We’ve heard the name, but don’t know where this one would be
* Townhouse Safeway 1800 20th St NW
* Un-Safeway 415 14th St SE”

Does the list above look right? Are there others that have been left off?

Friday Question of the Day – What’s Your Favorite Summer Drink?

By Prince Of Petworth

So my attorney told me a while back about mixing Bushmills and Iced tea for the perfect summer drink. I finally did the mix. Holy cow, it’s delicious. Dangerously delicious. But in a very happy mellow state it got me thinking about the FQoTD. Since it’s summer it’s nice to have some lighthearted ones and I’d love to discover some new gems. I’ve also recently become acquainted with and enjoyed a gin fizz and believe it or not a mint julep. Bourbon on 18th Street makes a mean one. Or am I overthinking this and in reality nothing beats a nice cold beer?

So for a lazy July FQoTD – what’s your favorite summer drink?

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc

By Prince Of Petworth

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland.  Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below.  Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system.  Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 3822 10th St NW

Original List Price: $595,000.

List Price at Contract: $595,000.

List Date: 2/19/2009

Days on Market: 76

Settled Sales Price: $585,000.

Settlement Date:  06/19/2009

Seller Subsidy:  $10,000.

Bank Owned?: No. 

Type Of Financing: FHA with 3.5% down payment

Listing History: See below for listing history information

Original GDoN Post is: Here

Recent Listing is:  Here. To see more pics, click the arrows on the main picture.

Last week, a reader had asked if I might profile this property, so here you go!  Comments for the original Good Deal or Not (GDoN) post were overwhelmingly positive, with praise for both the home and location, as well as a few shout outs from the neighbors. 

Back during the craziness that was the 2004 DC real estate frenzy, the property went on the market for $225,000.  The listing agent noted, “GREAT POTENTIAL ABOUND IN THIS PROPERTY”.  The winning bid was $321,500. in cash.  Settlement occurred on April 30th, 2004, and it was back on the market in renovated condition on the 17th of November, 2004.  List price was $525,000.  It was on the market for 18 days and sold at full price with no seller subsidy.  The financing was conventional and the buyers at the time made a substantial down payment.

In contrast to the GDoN-R home located in Petworth that was profiled a week ago, which was last purchased around the same timeframe, this home showed a gain in market value from late 2004.  Considering the $10,000. paid toward closing costs, the net sales price was $575,000., which was at least enough to cover the Seller’s closing expenses.

On another note, for anybody who had read my posts about the renovation of Mark and Charles’ home, or is interested in properties to renovate, the Saturday real estate section in The Washington Post (I believe for this weekend) will feature Mark and Charles’ house in LeDroit Park/Bloomingdale.

Photo Archives Caption Contest Winner

By Prince Of Petworth

It’s unanimous – from WDC:

“Unable to afford the Prius he wanted, Wendell introduced his jeep to a cute tree, and waited patiently for them to produce a hybrid.”

Tattoo of the Week – Public School Hard

By Prince Of Petworth

“So here is my submission, my homage to UDC Law. Simpler than your average TotW, but I sure like it.”

As a fellow public school graduate (South Side High School and Miami University, OH) I dig this tattoo the most!

Dear PoP – Alley Resurfacing on 600 blk of Princeton Place, Quebec, and RCC Road, Thanks Mr. Mayor

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I wanted to let you know that Park View will be getting some new alleys on the 600 block of Princeton Place, Quebec Place, and Rock Creek Church Road later this week. After years of trying to get this done (we started this process in 2005) the Mayor has followed through on his walk-thru promise made just a little over a month ago.

We had a scare when workers said they would be replacing the brick with asphalt, but per the Mayors email below they will be brick! We really owe the Mayor a great big thank you, as this is a major improvement to our neighborhood.”

From the Mayor:

“Brick alleys will be repaved with brick. Non-brick alleys will be repaved non-brick. Sorry for the miscommunication/confusion.”

Hopefully it will look as nice as this.

Garden of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

I’m a huge fan of lavender plants.

Also someone mentioned some nice corn growing on a front lawn. I saw the one below near Cardozo HS. I tried to plant some corn myself and sadly it’s only about ankle high…

House of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

This house has so many cool features. But believe it or not what struck me most was was the sweet porch lamp. I’m finding really nice porch lamps to be really rare finds. Of course the whole house being awesome doesn’t hurt either.

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