Columbia Heights

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.

House(s) of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

Because folks liked the HoTD on Center Street, NW, I thought I’d show a couple more cool ones from the same block. I particularly like the one on the right.

Ojo Latino

By Prince Of Petworth

Ojo Latino is a series by Néstor Sánchez Cordero. This week features some portraits “made during the weekend around Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park and one from a Latin alternative rock group called “Anexo Social” at Haydees”. Néstor says, “Images are around, the secret is to catch them at the right moment and with the right light…”

Two more beautiful shots after the jump. (more…)

The News Everyone’s Been Waiting For – Room 11 To Open in August

By Prince Of Petworth

I’ve been in contact with the owners of Room 11 on a weekly basis. I’m happy to report that they say:

“We received our certificate of occupancy last week and also passed the health department inspection.”

You can see photos inside the space, located at the corner of 11th and Lamont, here.

And here’s the scoop I received Monday afternoon – soft opening (not open to public) August. 4th, 5th, and 6th.  They will open to the public on August 10th. Of course it’s possible that those dates could change by a day or two but since they’ve got the certificate of occupancy (c of o) they are good to go. There are a few finishing touches needed but you’ll be able to check them out very soon!

Ed. Note: I’m sure there will be a minority that is not happy about this space. And I’m fairly confident they are a very small minority. But those that don’t like this idea are welcome to leave their opinions of course. What I would suggest is that a more helpful response is, not to complain about the “whiners”. That is a vicious circle that really does no good for anyone. I suggest, if you like the spot or the idea of the spot then simply say so. If there are 20 positive comments and 5 negative comments then the sentiment is there. But we don’t need to get into this endlessly repetitive argument of those who like wine bars vs. those that think it is too expensive or whatever. If that’s how they feel then that’s how they feel and that’s cool too. But, if you like it – say so. For the record I am super psyched about this joint and can’t wait to visit it often.

Good Deal or Not? Major Fixer Upper Upper Edition – Reader Request

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 3229 Hiatt Place, NW:


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The flier says:

“FEDERAL STYLE SEMI WITH MUCH POTENTIAL.”

Quite succinct. You can see photos here.

The reader writes:

“I just came across this property and was wondering about it. Obviously its a major fixer-upper.”

Yes, this is an interesting one as it’s the first time I’ve ever seen photos of a major fixer upper. I’m interested to hear what everyone thinks but especially those who have done renovations before. Does $319,900 sound reasonable for the amount of work that is needed here?

Hurrah! Fences Down at Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to all who wrote in with this great update. We can check this Horse’s Ass Award nomination off the list. This weekend folks were enjoying the area playing frisbee, soccer and just lounging around.

For the weekends it seems like the space is probably best used for soccer and frisbee passes rather than full on games so more folks can enjoy the space. It looks great!

What the… The New 14th and Girard Park Under Construction

By Prince Of Petworth

Well, this is odd. There was tons of construction going on at the new 14th and Girard Park. Apparently there has been some chatter about it on the CH listserv. I ran into someone at the site who told me that the electrical, concrete, and bathrooms needed to fixed. As he said – I guess it’s better that they fix it and look a bit silly than not fix it all. And of course there’s been some controversy over renaming it Obama Park. Man, who knew such a little park could stir so much controversy…

Dear PoP – What’s The Story With the Lot Behind DC USA?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

What is the status of soccer field behind DC USA? It has been cleared but nothing more has been done. I think you said it was now part of the HS’s property but they were short on funds. Any idea of completion timeline? And when complete will it be open to the community? And along those lines, is the community allowed/encouraged to use the HS fields for sports when school is not in session?”

There was a similar Dear PoP about this back in April. At that time a few commenters said:

“I saw a contractor taking measurements along the edge of the aforementioned vacant lot. He said that it would soon be an artificial-turf football field. I assume that the field would belong to the Multicultural school, since the DCUSA/school were actually developed by associated parties, and the empty lot is smack in the middle.”

and

“It is (hopefully) going to be a soccer field or some variation of an athletic field for the school. My aunt is on the board at Bell and she is one of the people working on raising the money needed to get things going. From what I understand they are very close to having all the $. I will drop her an e-mail and see if I can get a status update for everyone.”

I walked by this weekend and the tractor was new to me. It looked like some sort of digging had begun. Can any of the commenters update what the plans and/or timelines are for this project?

Girl Gang Related Stabbing at 1024 Kenyon, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

From Council Member Jim Graham:

“Dear Friends, a fight between two feuding girl gangs culminated in a stabbing at 1024 Kenyon about 11 PM last night. The victim was a 16 year old girl and she is expected to recover. The fight, I am told, was over a MySpace issue. More as details are developed. Councilmember Jim Graham”.

This is sad on so many levels.

This Week’s Horse’s Ass Award Goes To Bacon Funeral Home

By Prince Of Petworth

We had a Dear PoP about this property, located on 14th Street across from the Allegro, back in February. And you can see there has been no visible progress. I mean if it’s gonna be vacant and construction has stopped maybe they can paint a big mural on it or something. Right?

Ed. Note: I still have some reader requested Horse’s Ass Award nominees and I promise I’ll get to them. If you have more nominations please email them to me.

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