Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R) is a weekly post that reviews the settled sales data of a recent individual real estate transaction in the District of Columbia. Each post is intended as a case study and a snapshot of the real estate market at a particular moment in time. GDoN-R generally posts on Friday in the late morning.

GDoN-R has been written exclusively for PoPville since 2009 by Suzanne Des Marais. Suzanne is a practicing Realtor with Compass. 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 Bright MLS, which is the local multiple listing system and/or Smartcharts by Showingtime. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 18 Rhode Island Ave, NE
Legal Subdivision: Brookland
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Brookland
Bedrooms: 4 Baths: 2.5 Parking: Concrete Driveway Ownership: Fee Simple
Original List Price: $799,900. List Price at Contract: $799,900.
List Date: 7/14/2018
Days on Market: 8
Settled Sales Price: $810,000.
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Settlement Date: 9/04/2018
Transaction type: Standard

Original GDoN post can be seen: here.

The original listing can be seen here: here.

Located 1 block into the NE quadrant, below Prospect Hill Cemetery, this large Victorian with three levels above grade, a basement, and parking, presents a bit of a quandary in terms of neighborhood identity. Although the legal subdivision is Brookland, this location is many blocks west of the large lots and single family houses generally associated with that NE neighborhood.

One block west, across North Capitol Street, is clearly identifiable as Bloomingdale. Literally across the street, to the south, from the other side of Rhode Island Avenue, is the Eckington neighborhood. The Stronghold neighborhood, per the Wikipedia entry, is just above, but has a south border of either Bryant or Franklin St NE.

While it is a bit of a sport in DC to argue neighborhood identity, from a real estate perspective this type of location presents a huge marketing challenge. (more…)


From a press release:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced multiple actions against several residential and commercial property owners to end concentrated drug- and firearm-related activity taking place at their buildings. The Office of Attorney General (OAG) reached court-ordered settlements that require owners of two apartment buildings and two businesses in Deanwood to put in place strong new building security measures. In four new lawsuits, OAG is seeking to ensure the owners secure four apartment buildings in Anacostia, Eckington and Petworth to end drug- and gun-related nuisances. (more…)


This rental is located at 56 R Street, NE. The Craigslist ad says:

“$2170 / 2br – 1043ft2 – Spacious Two Bed/One Bath Unit In Eckington Available Early September!

$2,170/mo

KEY FEATURES
Year Built: 1905
Sq Footage: 1043 sqft.
Bedrooms: 2 Beds
Bathrooms: 1 Bath
Lease Duration: 1 Year
Pets Policy: Cats & Dogs OK
Laundry: In Unit
Lot Size: 1620 Square Feet
Property Type: Apartment

DESCRIPTION (more…)



via google maps

Mark passes on from the MBT listserv:

“This morning at 8:45 a man was exposing himself while standing in the middle of the trail, between NY Ave. & R St. NE. I saw something similar about a month ago, but it was not so obvious, so I didn’t report it. I called police this morning after I got to work. Please report to police if you see this behavior — if it is the same person he seems to be getting more bold.”

From an email:

“There is a black male, about 5’8”, wearing a light blue sky denim jacket and pants, jerking off in public on the NoMa metro platform. The WMATA police have been notified. According to a nice man I was with, he is around the area often. Please stay alert. I was sitting on one of the benches as he did this in my peripheral.”



Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Stewart

“Dear PoPville,

My girlfriend & I were walking from the Gale to McKinley, over by the corner of R & Harry Thompson Way NE, to watch the fireworks around 9pm. We got a few yards into our walk when someone decided to toss a legit firework at us. Not a sparkler, but something that would make you lose your hand. (more…)



“Doug” last year, more photos here

“Dear PoPville,

Just giving PoPVille a heads up-Doug the scammer is back at it. This time he’s made it all the way over to Eckington and the quiet block of Quincy Place. He came to my place around 10 pm this evening, said his name was Doug and that he is my neighbor who “very stupidly got locked out” and doesn’t have a phone. Great acting, dressed well, spoke quickly and clearly-overall very convincing…except for the fact that I have read about him on PoPville before. The pictures matched what I saw on my front door camera so I told him that I absolutely couldn’t help and that he needed to get off my porch. Thanks PoPville community for keeping me safe tonight!”



stock photo from the archives

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering if we could get some traction on the issue we are having with the USPS deliveries in the NE neighborhood of Eckington. USPS has been less than consistent in the last two years– particularly on a rainy or cold day– but what we are experiencing now might top it all.

Over the last week, all USPS deliveries have been held, including mail & packages. Instead of notifying residents, they simply have not delivered mail and packages are marked as unable to access doorway. (more…)


“Dear PoPville,

At the corner of Harry Thomas Way and Eckington Place NE there are 3 parking spaces that are not metered. There’s a sign that clearly looks like a car share station used to be there but not any more. There are no “no parking” signs and the car share pavement markings have been painted over. Yet when I parked my car there a parking enforcement person was about to write a ticket as I was walking up. I tried to tell her this was clearly not a zipcar station anymore but she said as long as the old post was still there she’d write tickets.

Note that one of the spaces wasn’t even marked by a blacked out car share pavement marking.”


“Dear PoPville,

I found the attached note on a car2go I picked up this morning in front of a row home at 2nd Street NE and Uhland Terrace NE in Eckington. I checked the area, and there aren’t any no parking, restricted parking, or handicap parking signs. Apparently this is just how Trump administration staffers are now using their Official Government Intimidation Stationery. I was very tempted to write at the bottom “This isn’t how public sidewalks and streets work – get out of our city if you want a private driveway” and tack it to their tree.”


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