Comments on: Good Deal or Not? Weekly Wed. House Porn Edition

By: KStreetQB

KStreetQB — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:53:39 +0000

I’ll be charitable and say that whoever pays anything close to this asking price is an idiot. I’m a land fiend, so I don’t think much of condo’s to begin with, but this one is just absurd.

There’s a really nice townhome selling for $160k less on Kingman, a beautiful street three blocks away just off the west side of Logan Circle, whose LOT is larger than the total square footage of this condo. So you would own the land, parking, a back yard, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and roughly twice the usable interior space for less.

The previous posters are definitely right that this is either not a serious seller, or someone who doesn’t want to lose money on their purchase.

By: JoeEsq 74

JoeEsq 74 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:06:59 +0000

gk / AA – maybe you have seen furniture before. It is likely from West Elm small in scale = Big Open apt. The condo is expensive. I like it but I am a sucker open for roof space. Nice tile in bath, clever placement of wine cooler under stairs.

By: gk

gk — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:10:35 +0000

it’s not just you, AA – i think i’m having deja vu, also! this one seems really familiar…maybe i’ve just seen the listing elsewhere? anyway, i have no idea if this is a good deal or not (prob not if it’s been on the market that long!), but i do know that i often see police hanging out at the intersection of johnson ave & R st, monitoring all the activity on R, for whatever that’s worth.

By: Petworth Newbie

Petworth Newbie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:54:42 +0000

When we lived around the corner from here you could expect a regular visit from a peeping tom the police couldn’t lock up (his name is Anthony), “the guy who smokes crack on other people’s doorstep and sometimes jumps the back yard fence to look in at you while you are watching TV to see if there is anything to steal,” and the guy who mutters “pop a cap in your ass” while you are walking home (Johnson is nearly an alley.) That one stretch of R is not nice. But it’s convenient to the Masonic Temple for your ritualistic sacrifices.

By: AA

AA — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:33:32 +0000

Am I having dejavu? I swear you already posted this condo or at a minimum a condo who used the same furniture (I specifically remember the Chinese looking bookshelf/stacking box thing)

By: Just J

Just J — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:09:13 +0000

I really like it, but I agree it is overpriced. There really is nothing similar at that price range in the surrounding areas. The only thing a buyer can compare it to is a house and there are a lot of houses selling for under $950K that are just as nice in my opinion. Looks like the buyer paid $1.06M in 2007, seems to me that they are not lowering the price because they are trying to break even ($1.06M plus commission and closing). I can’t blame the owner for trying (I wouldn’t want to take that loss) but if they want it sold they are going to have to face reality.

By: My two cents

My two cents — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:59:53 +0000

Dramatic looking, small rooms, and at least $200K overpriced. Why spend money on this when I could live in a condo like the Metropole for substantially less?

By: ET

ET — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:49:52 +0000

I agree with the first comment from U. Also, if it hasn’t sold after 250 days at that price it is overpriced.

By: U

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:36:59 +0000

Some random observations: 1. If its been on the market for 250 days without a lot of price movements, the owner isn’t very serious about selling. 2. Very reasonable condo fee given the overall price of the property and the fact that there is a private elevator (maybe that’s a warning sign of special assessments to come?). 3. Firecode violation on that deck, but who wouldn’t put a gas grill out there? 4. Are those sinks in the master bathroom practical? Where do you put all the standard bathroom junk (toothpaste, soap, razor, makeup, whathaveyou)? Doesn’t seem very well thought out from a utilitarian point of view. 5. Also the faucet & handles on the two full bathroom sinks look very feminine for such a masculine sink. Weird chocies.

By: JohnnyReb

JohnnyReb — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:36:29 +0000

I drive down R between 14th and 15th streets all the time (usually at night), and that block is majorly sketchy. There are at least 2 low-income apartment buildings in that block, and apparently it’s sort of a no-man’s-land with the police, as it’s right on the dividing line between two separate precincts. In the past year, the police have been putting up those big lights at night on the weekends, but don’t know if that has helped any.