Real Estate

hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker with extensive experience handling the sales of distressed properties.  Her clients include reputable developers, architects, and homeowners prepared to finance and manage major renovations.  The opinions expressed below are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the company or professional associations that she is affiliated with.

Initially, I was pleased to see the bright yellow signs on several of the abandoned, neglected, yet architecturally and historically significant homes in my neighborhood.  I’ve been interested in some of the properties for years.  To me, they represent possibilities for change and revitalization.

I’m sure the DC Government feels the same way because in 2008, the Property Acquisition and Disposition Division was established.  The tag line of their web page even says, “Revitalizing Communities One Home at a Time”.

The yellow signs announce in bold lettering that over thirty properties owned by DC Government will be auctioned off on the 30^th of January 2009.  Potential buyers are directed to the Alex Cooper Auctioneers website.  I dutifully followed the crumbs and came upon the DC Gov Auction pages here: http://realestate.alexcooper.com/featured/gallery/7/#

In addition to the signs and the web page, listings of the properties have begun to appear in the local multiple listing system.  The ones that I have seen indicate a list price of $20,000.  The remarks clearly indicate that the price is subject to auction.  You can see the listings here: http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=28497228299

Buyers that are interested should attend the Buyer Seminar scheduled for the January 22^nd, 2009.  More information is available on the Alex Cooper link.

Here is some information you should be aware of before even bothering to attend the seminar: Continues after the jump. (more…)

This home is located at 5730 1st Street, NW:

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The flier says:

“Lovely 4 bedroom 2 full bath cape cod in NW. Kitchen was remodeled with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances and cherry cabinets. New Bath with glass bowl sink, river rock accents. Gleaming hardwood floors throughout. 3 season porch plus enclosed patio. Garage and off-street parking. Large bedrooms, separate dining room, lower level den that walks out to yard.”

More info and photos found here.

I think the home looks quite nice but it’s a bit too far north for me. Of course the price reflects that and it can be yours for $469,000. Sound reasonable?

1640 Florida Ave NW

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: 1640 Florida Ave NW

List Price at Time of Contract: $598,000.

Original List Price: $649,000.

List Date: Listed 9/12/08 but withdrawn and re-listed at lower price

Total Days on Market: 50 (Only 8 Days on the market at $598,000.)

Settled Sales Price: $590,000. (Net less subsidy-$585,000.)

Settlement Date: 11/20/2008

Seller Subsidy: $5000.

Bank Owned?: No

This property was a recent PoP Good Deal or Not (GDoN) on October 9^th, 2008, when the list price was $625,000. Despite it being a relatively small property, comments were generally positive, with many citing the location as attractive.
Public records indicate that the last acquisition of the property was in 2001 for $290,000., so even though it didn’t sell at the top of the market, it was apparently a strong investment.

Recent comparable sales in the immediate location, as well as the final listing for this property (last one, be sure to click the filmstrip icon at top left to see nice virtual tour) can be seen here:

http://matrix.mris.com/Matrix/Public/Email.aspx?ID=28436512178
Looks like a good deal to me, particularly in relation to 1612 V St NW, which did not have parking or central a/c (although it did have a partial unfinished basement while 1640 Florida is basement-less) and sold at $600,000.

 

Thanks again to DC realtor Kevin Wood for compiling this list of home/condo sales for zip codes – 20011, 20010, 20009 and 20001. Click below on “December Sales” for the full list in pdf format.  There is surprisingly a ton of activity.  Please let me know if there are other zipcodes you’d like included in future home sales reports.

December Sales

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: 23 Rock Creek Church Rd NW

List Price: $219,900.

List Date: 11/10/2008

Days on Market: 13

Settled Sales Price: $220,000.

Settlement Date: 12/22/2008

Seller Subsidy:  None

Bank Owned?: Yes

Apologies in advance, but due to previous weirdness from trying to make pretty links and then having them not work, I’m using plain old ugly long links.  But they should work.

This property is in very close proximity to last week’s GDoN Revisited, which makes it either interesting to consider OR maybe boring and repetitive?  To make a case for this being interesting, it has been featured by the Prince of Petworth not once, but twice already. 

There was the original pondering of “Good Deal or Not?” at $325,000. on October 24^th, 2008.  (The general consensus was ‘Not’): http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2008/10/good-deal-or-not-29/

An astute reader happened to catch the foreclosure sale back in early December, which caused PoP to exclaim, “Holy Cow!” at the transfer price of $209,766.  The ensuing discussion can be found here: http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2008/12/good-deal-or-not-update-2/
Post foreclosure, the property was listed at $219,900. and quickly went under contract.  To provide some perspective, here is some comparable sales information for the surrounding area within the past 6 months (including last week’s GDoN Revisited, 139 Varnum St NW): http://matrixreports.mris.com/MatrixReportServer/CMAOutput/35904/CMA_Summary_Detail8603.PDF  (Click through to the second page to see recent sold properties).

I thought it might be interesting to consider the trajectory this property took toward the eventual foreclosure, since it is sadly not an unusual story. Continues after the jump. (more…)