It’s Time to Play Good Deal or Not?
25 June 2008 11:22 PM | By Prince Of Petworth in Good Deal or Not?, Neighborhoods - U Street, Real Estate - U Street 
DSCN0549, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.
This is a good looking little house located at 1438 T Street. The pamphlet says:
“This Dupont/Logan townhouse is perfect for city living. The first floor has an open floor plan with beautiful hardwood floors. The renovated kitchen has granite countertops, a chef’’s island plus great built-ins. There are 2 bedrooms + 2 full baths and a screened balcony on the second floor, along with laundry. The finished lower level has a third full bath and is great for work, play and study. Central air, abundant storage and parking.”
Asking price – $769,000 Good Deal or Not?
By the by, saying a “townhouse is perfect for city living” is a bit goofy, yeah?
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26 June 2008 8:04 AM | Toby Said:
Without looking at neighborhood comps or going inside, it seems a bit high. The two bedroom part is really what kills it for me. And the renovation? A Home Depot special or something better and carefully executed? How big is the backyard? Bet it sits on the market for a while.
26 June 2008 8:13 AM | anderlank Said:
Bad deal. A friend of mine is trying to sell a 3 story brick victorian at 13th and T for about the same price and it’s not moving. That said, the 1400 block of T is popular.
26 June 2008 8:14 AM | u street girl Said:
Wow that is ridiculously overpriced, I just walked by there the other day, the house is as small as it looks. And a screened in porch? I don’t think that’s exactly desirable. Even in a good real estate market that price would be a bit much. Sure it’s a nice neighborhood (and being a block away from U street I’m kind of confused why that isn’t advertised, it’s not near Dupont or really Logan at all). That price is going down, and quick.
26 June 2008 8:20 AM | st Said:
Considering the kudzu-like growth of exurban town-(i.e. row-) houses in prince william county and it’s ilk, and the thousands of single-family houses in the city limits, I don’t necessarily see that either townhouse automatically means city or city automatically means townhouse. So, no, not particularly goofy.
26 June 2008 8:22 AM | Herb Said:
Those houses on the south side of the 1400 block T Street are Barbie doll sized without room for Ken. 700+ was what they were selling for at the peak of the boom.
Not even close to a good deal except for the seller.
BTW the north side of this block is a bit of a mess. It will sit a long time at that price.
26 June 2008 8:59 AM | INMHIIYNTYAH Said:
No thank you, this is way over priced. I would rather move to a cheaper close-in suburb that has metro access than pay $700K for a two bedroom town house. After paying that you wouldn’t have enough leftover for the said amenties of city-living.
26 June 2008 10:46 AM | nate Said:
Pop, How about a posting on DC’s gun ban being struck down? This is the biggest news of the year so far.
26 June 2008 11:10 AM | loganmo Said:
Most of the buildings on the other side of the street are pretty, um, well, let’s say special. It is a great block-you get to be right under U Street without having to deal with the noise at night, and it’s only a 10 minute walk to Dupont Circle proper (Im sure some tricky realtors would say that 15th and T is Dupont Circle).
Someone in one of those rowhomes died about a month ago-I think it may have been that house actually…so watch out for evil spirits.
26 June 2008 11:22 AM | jon Said:
Actually, 15th street is the dividing line between Dupont and Logan.
26 June 2008 12:03 PM | Anonymouse Said:
Overpriced. The “finished lower level” is maybe 6 feet high—no joke.
26 June 2008 1:33 PM | RDurr Said:
Lol at them calling that Dupont. And $770k for two bedrooms? keep dreaming. Looking at the tax records, I see the current owners bought it at the peak of the market in late ‘05 for 740k. So it’s pretty clear they set the price at what they “need” instead of what it is worth.
26 June 2008 2:23 PM | Anonymouse Said:
I love looking at the tax records for the last sale price and then seeing what people are trying to sell the property for now in the current real estate cycle.
My current favorite is a shell that is on 15th and T at 1840 15th St. It’s been on the market for about 3.5 months, currently for $594,500; and it is described in the listing as “essentially a SHELL” (emphasis theirs). You look at the tax records, and it was sold to a property holding company in Sept 2007 (so maybe a few months earlier, due to DC gov’t delays in data entry) for $499,000. So, the holding company has done NOTHING to it in the about 10 months they’ve owned it, and they expect a $100k mark-up!!?!!? What scam artists! In this or any market, shame on them!
26 June 2008 4:16 PM | FourthandEye Said:
>>“it’s pretty clear they set the price at what they “need” instead of what it is worth.”
So they want to at least attempt to avoid taking a loss. What MONSTERS!!! Gimmie a break RDurr…
26 June 2008 4:50 PM | RCR Said:
Well you can’t buy at the peak and sell at the valley and not expect to take a loss. That’s just silly. But I agree, it’s incredibly overpriced.
26 June 2008 5:30 PM | shaw rez Said:
I don’t think it’s a bad deal, for the record. I think that’s a great location, near St. X, the new restaurant Policy, a few blocks from whole foods, the 14U farmers’ market, etc. I think that price represents fair market value for small row homes with parking in dupont/logan.
26 June 2008 5:41 PM | RDurr Said:
>>“it’s pretty clear they set the price at what they “need” instead of what it is worth.”
>>So they want to at least attempt to avoid taking a loss. What MONSTERS!!! Gimmie a >>break RDurr…
I didn’t say there bad people. However, I would venture to say they are unrealistic and naive if they think their property appreciated, when they bought it at the peak of the market. I’m guessing i hit a chord here. Buy your house in 05-06?
26 June 2008 7:12 PM | Herb Said:
“I don’t think it’s a bad deal, for the record”
There are larger homes on better blocks very close to this house that are not selling even at a lower price. This is very overpriced given the curent market.
27 June 2008 12:10 AM | anon Said:
re: Herb
Agree. There are other places *within a block* that are cheaper, so it’s kind of silly to think that price will fly. And to add to the discussion: Someone would have to irrationally fall in love with that house in order to buy it at that price. Impossible? No. Remotely likely? No. But, I have no clue whether strategically it makes sense to shoot for the stars for the first 2-3 weeks it is on the market or not. Is it good to say that you’ve “already dropped the price”? No clue. But it is unmistakeable that it will not sell for that price.
27 June 2008 1:15 PM | Harris Said:
I live on that block – that price is a joke.