Good Deal or Not? Two Units Combined Into One Edition
27 October 2009 1:00 PM | By Prince Of Petworth in Good Deal or Not?, Neighborhoods - Dupont Circle, Real Estate - Dupont Circle
This condo is located at 1615 Q Street, NW:
The flier says:
“Two units combined to make this spacious & bright two bedrooms plus den, two full baths home. Features include hdwd floors, exposed brick throughout, kitchen w/ granite counters and SS appliances. Renovated hall bath w/ granite vanity. A luxurious MBR suite; MBA w/ travertine, granite & wonderful soaking tub. Private laundry room in unit. 24hr desk and the city’s best roof deck. Close to Metro & shopping”
More info found here and a virtual tour found here.
Wow, all this time I thought the Cairo was rentals. Ok, so I thought this was an interesting property because two units were combined into one. Do you think the layout works? (You can see the floor plan in the virtual tour.) Does $578,825 sound reasonable for this 3 bed/2 bath?
For comparison there is also an interesting 2 bed/1bath also for sale for $398,500. Which do you like better?
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27 October 2009 1:09 PM | Ben S Said:
Sounds great until you get to the condo fee of…$820+. That’s always the problem with these combo units, b/c you wind up with 2 units’ worht of condo fees.
27 October 2009 1:13 PM | Anne Said:
With a condo fee of $824.01 OUCH!
27 October 2009 1:18 PM | RD Said:
Mega-ouch on the condo fee, but you aren’t going to get a 3br rowhouse in this neighborhood for anything approaching this price, even factoring in the condo fees. I think there will be a buyer for this place relatively soon. I don’t like big ass jacuzzi tubs jammed in little apartments though. I don’t personally know anyone who uses those things. Give me a walk in shower, please.
27 October 2009 1:19 PM | Anonymous Said:
Did anyone notice there is not a closet in the master bedroom?! For that reason alone this is WAY over priced. Add in the condo fee and hell no.
27 October 2009 1:19 PM | Sully Said:
I have always loved this building and its history. If I were rich I would buy it just for the view alone.
27 October 2009 1:25 PM | MK Said:
I like the 2BR/1 bath better for value. In the 3BR I would have to convert the smaller bedroom into a walk-in closet causing me to pay that humongous fee for a large 2BR.
27 October 2009 1:28 PM | JTH Said:
If the condo fee were reasonable, it might be a good deal. I cannot imagine what you get for $824/month. Not a good deal.
27 October 2009 1:43 PM | anon Said:
I like the smaller one. But with a fee of 577, that makes me never want that view.
How did these conde fees get so high? It shows there must have been something seriously wrong with the building that they had to raise it that high. I hope whatever issue there was, they have had it fixed. Make sure there’s no need for new elevators for the next 20 years…
27 October 2009 1:45 PM | Andy (2) Said:
Good Deal!
As far as the lack of closet I think you could keept the small bedroom as a den and add a closet along the wall next to the laundry room – if you moved the doors into the laundry a bit (towards the bath). Yes a construction project on closing doesn’t sound fun but its a fairly decent deal considering the space, the building and the location. I’d also be tempted to remove the bath and put in a great shower and then figure a way to wedge a basic bathtub in the hall bath.
the kitchen doesn’t have the best layout but it was built at a time when cooking was to be done in a closed off room.
27 October 2009 1:47 PM | A Nonny Mouse Said:
Yes, only because I want to live in this building.
27 October 2009 1:52 PM | terrible deal Said:
it looks a bit run down and outdated (excpet the stove). the kitchen is very small, there are no closets and that condo fee is absurd! no deal.
27 October 2009 1:56 PM | Goot Lemmon Said:
Nope.
27 October 2009 1:58 PM | Kate Said:
I had a friend who rented in this building years ago, and the view from the roof deck is absolutely *AMAZING*
I love the exposed brick, too. But I totally agree with the comment about cramming a big jacuzzi tub in a tiny condo … very weird.
27 October 2009 2:06 PM | Anonymous Said:
Like.
27 October 2009 2:34 PM | JohnnyReb Said:
My friends and I toured this place last month – the floor plan is a little strange. Two of the three bedrooms were tiny. The kitchen floor reminded me of a McDonald’s restaurant; you can see in the pictures that the same floor is in part of the living room. It feels like not much remodeling was done to convert the two separate units into one. Still the price isn’t bad. The roof deck is awesome, with super views.
27 October 2009 2:55 PM | sophiagrrl Said:
I’m sure I’m in the minority – but I just don’t have the American bathroom fetish. Why a jacuzzi tub and a second half bath? One nicely appointed bathroom and some closet/storage space would be more appealing to me in a condo od this space. As it is, you’d convert one bedroom to a closet, meaning you are not having a family of four in here… so share the flippin’ WC!
Also, exposed brick is super cool… but also cold? I visited a friend in a refurbed condo with all brick walls and 1) she could not hang anything and 2) the walls were cold to the touch. Insulation has its uses. unless that condo fee includes full utilities, this isn’t the best option.
27 October 2009 3:28 PM | Bitter Elitist Said:
that kitchen floor!! Bleccch
27 October 2009 3:30 PM | Eric Said:
Only one closet in the whole place, and it isn’t even in the Master bedroom. Nice renovation, but too many problems for it to be worth the location and view.
27 October 2009 3:30 PM | Matt N. Said:
So is the kitchen in that condo inside a Metro station, or what?
27 October 2009 4:29 PM | Nichole Said:
I would love to live in this building for no other reason than to say that I did. I would hate everything about the neighborhood (it’s just too busy for me), but it’s the freakin’ Cairo. If money were no object – that condo fee is just insane – it’d be mine. And, I would have amazing parties on that roofdeck on the 4th of July!
27 October 2009 4:51 PM | KStreetQB Said:
I think they are fair prices, even given the high condo fees. Personally, I’d have to walk around in it. Those pics always make the space seem bigger, then you get there and you’re touring a shoebox.
27 October 2009 4:52 PM | KStreetQB Said:
I think they are fair prices, even given the high condo fees. Personally, I’d have to walk around in it. Those pics always make the space seem bigger, then you get there and you’re touring a shoebox.
27 October 2009 5:00 PM | Anonymous Said:
This is a classic example of why this strategy is a bad real estate move. Either single unit could easily sell for more than half the asking $. The fee would be still be relatively high, but not jaw droppingly high and it could work for a single/couple buyer or an investor in line with 1 BR comps. The layout would work for two single 1 -1+ bed units rather than being an awkward 3 BR. The total here is just less than the sum of its parts.
And then there’s the Cairo . . . meh
27 October 2009 9:55 PM | Charming Fred Said:
The whole building was given a completely soulless renovation in the late ’70s or early ’80s. Before that it was a real dump, but some genuine characters lived in that place. I’ll bet it’s haunted.
27 October 2009 10:34 PM | E Said:
One of the coolest buildings in DC for history… major reason behind the height restriction, and was a landmark hotel with notable guests.
28 October 2009 6:27 PM | Anonymous Said:
My wife and I were the ones who combined the two units (in 2001). Sounds like the kitchen has been updated since then. We were very happy there (had to move when the second baby came). The studio unit was so small that the value of the two was actually higher after the combination than separately. I hope whoever buys it is happy there too!