I’m gonna oversimplify this but in my mind U Street/14th Street, NW, Georgia Ave, NW and H St, NE were commercially decimated by the 1968 riots. U Street/14th Street, NW has had an amazing renaissance. H St, NE is slowly on it’s way to an amazing renaissance. Georgia Ave, especially lower Georgia Ave is lagging very far behind. [ DC Mud recently highlighted some of the avenue’s woes.] So I have a couple of questions – is it gonna take the installation of street cars for lower Georgia Ave to become an attractive investment? Is lower Georgia Ave not gonna be touched by investors until H St, NE gets saturated and/or becomes too expensive?

My mind is rambling so bear with me. I walked around H St, NE over the weekend and during the day, to me, it felt absolutely deserted (H St itself not the surrounding neighborhoods). I suspect that feeling/reality may change when some of the street rail construction is cleaned up. So an unrelated question is – do you think H St, NE will ever have some daytime attractions or do you think it will remain a nighttime only destination?

Ed. Note: I think the new H St, NE signs in the photo above look fantastic.


DCfireems says on twitter:

“Quincy St NW – cause under invest – appears accidental – damage $100K – maybe 2 families displaced – no injuries”

And a reader who sent in the photos writes:

“Apparently the fire is out now, but it looks like 612, 614, and 616 Quincy St NW burned today. 612 and 614 look particularly devastated, 616 (the one with the fire truck ladder over the roof) at least has all of its windows. 612 has been vacant for years now, the other two houses are occupied.”

It is sad to hear that a couple of families have been displaced but thankfully there were no injuries, great response from the emergency responders.


This condo is located at 1300 Taylor Street, NW:


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The flier says:

Like-New 2Br/2Ba in Sm Condo Bldg: Gourmet Kitchen w/ Granite & S. S. Appl. Elegant Space w/ Gas FP & High Ceilings, HWF. Jacuzzi Tub, Tumb Marble in Master BA, W/ D, 2 massive storage closets, ADT Alarm. 1140SF. 6 Blocks to Metro, Close to Rock Creek Pk, Target & Giant, Nightlife. Very Pet Friendly! New Price!!

You can find more info and photos here.

I like how the dog is in the bedroom photos. But what do you think of this 2 bed/2 bath? The light looks good for a lower level unit. That would be one of my biggest concerns. Does $340,000 sound reasonable (with a $311 monthly condo fee)?


We looked at Solar Coops in Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights here.

From an email:

“You are invited to a meeting on Sunday, April 18th at 3 pm at Domku located at 821 Upshur St. NW, to talk about forming a solar coop in Petworth.

Anya Schoolman, President, Mt Pleasant Solar Coop, will be sharing their experience.
http://www.mtpleasantsolarcoop.org/

Here’s what she said.
“This is the perfect time to go solar in DC! We just got the DC Council to promise to add the $1.6 million unspent from last year to the $2 million allocated for solar rebate for this year. The price of solar is dropping! Many folks in the Capital Hill Coop are finding they pay back the price of the installation within a year! After that, they get 30-50% lower electric bills for the next 25!”

If you can’t make it to the meeting, but are interested in learning more you can email me at [email protected].”


This rental is located at 220 Allison St, NW:


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The Craigslist ad says:

“1 bedroom apartment on the second floor”.

Not a lot of info but the reader writes:

“This caught my eye on Craigslist, it’s near Rock Creek Cemetery and not far from Grant Circle. I wonder if the cemetery makes for a good neighbor?”

Does $890 per month sound reasonable?


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: 1344 Taylor St NW

Original List Price: $675,000.

List Price at Contract: $499,000.

List Date: 10/19/2009

Days on Market: 134

Settled Sales Price: $517,500.

Settlement Date: 03/25/2010

Seller Subsidy: $12,500.

Bank Owned?: No, but is listed as a short sale

Type Of Financing: FHA

Original GDoN Post is: here.

Listing is: here.

I’ve had a few requests to do a Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R) on 3600 13th St NW, which is that huge detached single family house at 13th and Otis. Someone noticed a “SOLD” sign on it this week. I touched base with the listing agent, Denise Champion, and she says they should be headed to settlement this week. If it happens, I promise I’ll do that one next week.

Today’s GDoN-R is one of few short sales that I’ve seen come to fruition in DC. They are all over the suburbs, but make up a very small percentage of our inventory downtown. I’ve posted in the past about short sales, but for anybody who is not familiar with the concept, it means that the owner of the property owes more to their mortgage lender than the current market value of the property. When a prospective purchaser writes an offer, it is technically ratified between the purchaser and the seller, however, there is a contingency for a “third party approval”. Depending on who that third party is, whether there is a second trust on the property, and whether the moon and stars are in correct alignment, these things can take many months to move forward. Often, by the time the bank has approved a short sale, the buyer has chosen to move on to another property. In any case, for all parties involved, it is an exercise in patience (or futility…I had a property under contract as a short sale, only to find out that the foreclosure had already gone through, despite the seller having had ongoing communication with a short sale negotiator. The buyer was heart broken. After months of attempting to contact the trustee and REO execs at the bank, we ended up catching the foreclosure immediately upon being listed and fortunately had a sympathetic listing agent involved. The buyer should go to settlement next week.) Continues after the jump. (more…)


In today’s GDoN? Post there was mention of a dog park. Just wanted to let folks who weren’t aware of this development know where the park will be. It will be right across the way from the Upshur Pool at Arkansas Ave just north of Upshur St, NW. (Hope to announce pool opening dates soon as well…)

Highlands Cafe located at 4706 14th Street, NW (by Crittenden) has applied for an alcohol license:

“New restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Live jazz, folk music performers and poetry sessions.”

And I’m assuming they’ll still have coffee…


This home is located at 4507 Arkansas Ave, NW:


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The flier says:

“2 houses for price of 1! Nicely maintained house w/ 1BR in-law suite & a 1,000 sq. ft. Carriage House w/ 2+car pkg! Bright open spaces, beaut orig pine flrs, high ceilings, storage attic, newer windows & roof, 2-tier patio, & endless possibilities w/ 2-story carriage house, which is plumbed for gas, water (1/2 bath) & elec! 1 blk to UPSHUR DOG PARK, REC CTR & POOL!!”

You can find more info here and a Mouse on House tour here.

Does $486,500 sound reasonable for this 4 bed/3.5 bath? Do you think the carriage house has some potential?


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