Real Estate

Good Deal or Not? We’ve Been Watching This Building Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This building is located at 2719 13th Street, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Living up to its reputation for unparalleled custom detailing, Brook Rose Development unveils a 2-year Columbia Heights restoration filled with intricate carpentry & finishes normally reserved for multi-million-dollar homes. One of only 2 units, this huge 2300 sqft 3BR 3BA + den duplex “lives” like a timeless, elegant residence with private entrance & parking – a “must-see”

You can find more info and here.

Wow, I’m really digging the photos. What do you guys think of the renovations? This house was split into two units. Unit #2 has already gone under contract for $899,000. Does $799,000 sound reasonable for this 3 bed/3bath?

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 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 Properties: 1113 Lamont St NW

Original List Price: $985,000.

List Price at Contract: $985,000.

List Date: 11/16/2009

Days on Market: 60

Settled Sales Price: $940,000.

Settlement Date: 03/10/2010

Seller Subsidy: $0.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN Post is: here.

Recent Listing is: here. I’ve also included the 2001 listing.

Having focused the past three Good Deal or Not Revisted (GDoN-R) posts on cash deals and flips, I was happy to come across this owner-occupied, non-foreclosure, straight forward conventionally financed deal. Good Deal or Not (GDoN) commenters were skeptical of the $900k+ price tag in Columbia Heights, but it ultimately sold within less than a 5% differential from the original list price. Continues after the jump. (more…)

Good Deal or Not? “Wide open spaces!” Edition (Reader Request)

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 516 Buchanan Street, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Completely renovated! Wide open spaces! HWFs, granite & stainless kitchen, custom finishes. Deck off the family room overlooks a landscaped lawn with flowering trees and convenient off-street parking for 2. Light pours through 3 skylights and transom windows throughout the upper level. Finished LL w/ enormous 4th BR, den, full bath & extra storage.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

The reader writes:

“516 Buchanan St NW just went on the market after month-long rehab, and I must say that the results really impressed me. I live a few doors down, and I’ve watched this house for the last couple of years as it went from rental property to vacant to rebirth. Prior to being rehabbed it had been on the market in as-is condition, and on at least one occasion it looked like it was going to sell as such. Eventually it went into foreclosure and was purchased for under $200k. The rear addition is new, and having watched the construction work I can tell you that the developer did much more than a facelift on the interior. I’ve been inside and the place really looks fantastic, and if I didn’t already own my house I would have been hugely tempted to buy the house before it was rehabbed and done the same job myself. I’m wondering what PoPville thinks of the job and whether it’s a good deal.”

What do you guys think – does $525,000 sound reasonable?

Dear PoP – Developers/Flippers are Buying all the Good Homes

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo from PoPville Flickr user awmiller

“Dear PoP,

My fiancée and I have been looking for houses for a year now. Petworth is one of our 1st neighborhood choices as we love the balance between urban convenience and green space/parks (we have been looking at houses below Allison St). However, our search has been very frustrating as we have lost house after house to real estate investor who swoop in and offer all cash (I think we have submit and lost offers on 10+ homes now). We have offered over the listing price multiple times now but cash rules everything around us(?). We have since expanded our search to include other “edge” or developing neighborhoods but it is definitely a city-wide trend. From a neighborhood perspective, I guess it is a good thing (depending who you speak to) because investors will make improvements and then flip the house to others, thus improving the housing stock of a neighborhood and driving up home values but we can’t seem to win even though we have what I think to be an adequate budget (up to $450k) for the area.

I don’t know who these investors are (I have created a mental image of a Porsche convertible driving, latte sipping, sun glass wearing, Louis Vutton bag holding, toy poodle having, trust fund baby to help me cope) but in all reality it has been pretty sobering.

I guess my question is, are there any other aspiring home owners out there feeling the same frustration and does anyone know when a regular Joe with financing and not cash will be able to win?”

I feel like I have heard similar stories in Petworth, Columbia Heights and Bloomingdale. To be honest I’m shocked that you have been unable to close on a property in Petworth for $450k. I hope that if you persevere the right home will come through for you. But for others out there shopping around, have you noticed that developers/flippers are getting all the “good” homes?

Good Deal or Not? Weekly Wed. House Porn Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This condo is located at 2029 Connecticut Ave, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Sophist apt in prestigious bldg w. appx 5400sq ft of recently renovated elegant space. Paneled ent. hall leads to spectacular 43x13ft gallery w. 1/2 columns and classical mdlngs serving to link the grand entertaining spaces –an East facing dbl LR, Salon, DR to seat 20+ with the intimate lvg. quarters-4 well proportioned BRs each w. own lux BA, Den and ’08 mod Kit. Incl 2 resvd pkg and add’l storage.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

So I’m not exactly sure what a sophist apartment is but this is one of the biggest condos I’ve ever seen. What do you think of the condo itself? It’s yours for $4,150,000.

Good Deal or Not? “New Zen inspired Condos” Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

These condos are located at 2029 13th Street, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“New Zen inspired Condos in hot U St. location!!!! 1 bed/ 1 bath LARGE patio unit. Features included: high ceilings, hardwood floors, tons of windows, granite counter tops, breakfast bar, SS appliances, modern designed, sound system, walking closets patio. Bonus: parking availabe for sale. One block from Metro, Restaurants and Shops. Yes, FHA Aprroved.”

You can find more info and photos here.

Well the location of these condos are pretty amazing. Though this is the first time I’ve seen a converted rowhouse translate into 1 bedroom condos. Unit #2 is a 1 bed/1.5 bath going for $409,000 (with a $220 condo fee). And Unit #1 is also a 1 bed/1.5 bath going for $439,000 (with a $220 condo fee). What do you think of the units themselves? Either price sound reasonable?

Good Deal or Not? “EXTRA-LARGE private garage parking” Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This condo is located at 2357 Champlain Street, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Open 2 bed/2 bath Loft apt in boutique Greenwich on a quiet street in Adams Morgan with EXTRA-LARGE private garage parking and storage – only one in building! Wonderful kitchen w/ Uba Tuba black granite counters/bar, SS appliances (gas cooktop), gas FP, Juliet balcony overlooking courtyard, wash/dryer, travertine baths, HWF, and high ceilings!”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

We judged this building about a year ago. As always, I psyched to be able to check out the inside. Which leads me to a question I’ve recently had – do you think it’s easier to sell a place with furniture in it? I have a tougher time appreciating it when it is empty. Of course we’ve seen some ridiculous furniture in GDoN posts. Which do prefer – furnished photos or vacant?

Anyway, what do you think of this condo? Does $595,000 sound reasonable for this 2 bed/2bath?

Dear PoP – Real Property Assessment Question

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I am considering submitting an appeal on my recently assessed Property Taxes. I am a recent first time home owner, so I am new to the “fun” world of taxes regarding property. I feel that my assessment was quite high. I compared my assessment to every house on the block and I am probably the most heavily taxed on the block (I have the Homestead Deduction, as does 90% of the houses on the block). I bought a 1909 rowhouse that needs quite a bit of work. It is liveable, but needs quite a lot of finesse to make it shine. Of the 24 or so houses on my block, I would say 60% have been renovated nicely (i.e. gutted, updated, etc…), 30% need some work, and the final 10% need substantial work. My property falls in the 30% pool of needing some work. I was shocked to see that the majority of the renovated homes have substantially lower taxes then my house. I called into the DC Real Property Assessment Division and spoke with my designated assessor and he mentioned that my tax assessment was more or less based on other home sales and most importantly my actual purchase price of the house. “Even if that house needs work and isn’t as nice as your neighbors, you paid that much for it, you are going to get taxed about that much for it.”

My immediate thought is I paid $x.xx amount of dollars because that house was worth that much to ME. But how much is it worth to the city? If I felt like paying $1,000,000 for the home, should I get taxed for that amount?

With my house needing quite a bit of work compared to the other “nicer” houses on the block, should I be taxed that much more than them? Avg is a solid $80,000 assessed value more…

Should I submit an appeal?”

You should definitely appeal the assessment in my opinion. I appealed once for a similar reason and won. And also don’t forget to file for the deduction if it is your primary residence. Here is the discussion we had last year. Did anyone’s assessment go up?

Good Deal or Not? “2 fireplaces” Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 909 T Street, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Renovated rowhouse in Logan/U St. 4 BR/2.5 BA owner’s unit. 1 BR/1 BA legal rental unit ($2,000/mth income). LR & DR w/ 12′ ceilings. Kitchen w/ granite & stainless. Custom stained glass. 2 fireplaces. New front roof w/ real slate. New Pella windows. 3 zoned HVAC units in top shape. Fenced backyard. 2 Metros w/ in 2 blks. Secured parking only steps away, pre-paid for 1 yr!”

You can find more info and photos here.

I believe I’ve featured this as HoTD before so I’m happy to finally get a look at the inside. I’m digging the master bedroom. Well this falls $100 short of the PoP house porn threshold – does $999,900 sound reasonable for this home with a 1 bedroom legal rental unit?

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 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 Properties: 6 Grant Circle NW

Original List Price: $350,000.

List Price at Contract: $364,950.

List Date: 01/13/2010

Days on Market: 20

Settled Sales Price: $370,000.

Settlement Date: 02/22/2010

Seller Subsidy: $0.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: Cash

Original GDoN Post is: here.

Recent Listing is: here.

I realize that this is the third Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R) that is a cash deal. This one was a request by a reader for a revisit, but the prevalence of cash deals in our current real estate market is definitely worth noting. There is a very active investor market in play at the moment. I had an agent tell me the other day that he had 100 showings within 6 days of putting a house on the market. (That property was in the north end of Columbia Heights.)

This property is somewhat different in that a) it was not a foreclosure, and b) it started off with a list price in the mid-$300,000’s. The original list price for the property was $350,000. A couple of days later (possibly because of the traffic they were seeing?) the list price was bumped up to $369,950. There was an initial contract during what sounds like (from comments on the original PoP post and from the listing comments) a multiple offer situation. It came back on the market, went under full contract on 02/13/2010, and settled a mere nine days later. A shortened transaction time is a huge benefit of cash deals for Sellers. With new lender requirements, both internally generated and new legislation affecting the lending process, I am telling my buyers who are utilizing financing to plan on a 45 day timeframe from contract to settlement. (We used to expect a 30 day turnaround.)

I have to say that Grant Circle is my second favorite circle in DC, so I am not surprised at the appeal of the location. Between the Beautiful Life tree and the proximity to Metro, I personally think it’s an awesome location. Additionally, both the house and the lot are quite large, even by Petworthian standards. In the comments to the original GDoN post, there was a bit of discussion regarding the costs to complete the renovation of the property. Unfortunately, I did not get into this property when it was available, so I am not able to comment on the extent of the work required, despite the pictures provided in the listing.

View More Stories