“Dear PoP,

The DC Government stole our Petworth home, 929 Farragut St, just east of Georgia Ave, through a classic screwup. It was an improper sale of the deed through an improper tax sale based on completely incorrect property taxes. Now the house is boarded up and no one is living there. If it happened to us it could happen to anybody! We’d like to get the story out to other DC residents and taxpayers. Our FULLY PAID FOR $450,000. house was sold for $40,000!! I’d like to tell you the whole story.

The short version is that I got a ten times higher than normal property tax bill. When I went in person to DCRA I was told that someone had put it into the vacant tax classification. The house had been under renovation when it was misclassified. By the time I got the bill and went down there it was already rented and occupied. They didn’t know how to get it out of this classification. I went many times and called many times and was never able to get the tax classification changed even though it stayed occupied. Eventually the DC city council shortened the period of time during which you could dispute a tax bill from three years down to six months. Without notice they sold the hose for taxes!! We have been trying for the last FIVE years to get this rectified!”

I’ll be honest I normally very skeptical of claims like this but I decided to sit down with the owners because the case seemed so wild. The owners Dennis Dyer and his partner Amy Marx sat down with me last week to discuss the case. I’ll be honest again, the case is a bit complicated and while Mr. Dyer and Ms. Marx had folder after folder of affidavits and leases and other communications it still wasn’t completely clear to me. As best I can understand it seemed like the house was accidentally placed into vacant status and was sold due to unpaid tax bills.

This is likely a case for a proper investigative reporter but I’d like to throw it out to you guys – do you think it’s possible (in this specific case) that the city could have accidentally placed a home into an incorrect tax status and sold it before the owners were able to correct the problem? For those who have a lot of free time, after the jump you can find more details.

If you do think the city made a mistake – since the house has already been sold – do you think the owners will be able to recoup their losses? Has anyone else heard of a similar situation?

Ed. Note: The WBJ’s Michael Neibauer recently wrote about D.C.’s tax lien market here.

Update: DCRA also encourages people to look at the Complete Guide to Vacant Property Compliance FY 2011

After the jump you can see a detailed letter sent to the mayor and a full timeline of the incident submitted by Ms. Marx. (more…)

Thanks to a reader for sending in this shot. We def. have a lot going on here. Your captions in the comments and winner (free PoP t-shirt) picked Friday.

Normally I’ve been a huge fan of the art on some of the windows at the Convention Center. I don’t know though, these are a bit too whack for my taste. Anyone dig ‘em?

I love that Shaw’s French Street has its own Christmas tree. Sadly, this year, I came a little too late to see it in action. Fortunately I was able to get some sweet super old school stained glass:

This is one of the most ordinary historic homes I’ve ever posted. It is now one of my new favorites.

And mad props to Cultural Tourism for posting signage and making sure this awesome history is not forgotten.

Photo by PoPville flickr user K’s Clicks

“Dear PoP,

I’m finding that no one but me (and the hardcore weather geeks) are talking about this yet. Six to ten inches! Squee!

from dcstorms.com:

**Major Winter Storm Will Impact Washington & Baltimore**
Wednesday: Periods of snow mixed with rain becoming a steady, heavy, wet snow during the afternoon. Morning highs near 35 falling to 30 by 2PM. Heavy wet snow accumulations of 6 to 10″. Chance of snow 100%.”

What do you guys think – is this gonna be our first real snowstorm of the year?

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From an email:

VIGIL
Where:
Park at Florida Avenue and
North Capitol Street, NW

When:
Tuesday, January 25th
6:00 pm to 6:50 pm

EMERGENCY COMMUNITY
MEETING…

WHERE:
North Capitol Main Street Office,
1703 North Capitol Street, NE

WHEN:
Immediately Following Vigil
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

I had the chance to check out a media preview of Church and State opening at 1236 H St NE above Fruitbat nestled between the Pug and Granville Moore’s. It is a pretty small space with seating for about 40. Church and State comes from the same folks behind Wisdom located at 1432 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. To me it had a very similar feel to Wisdom. Which is a good thing because I really like Wisdom. (More photos to come after the jump.) And the drinks are good too. While I didn’t like the Mai Tai at all, I thought the Moscow Mule (vodka and ginger beer) was one of the most delicious drinks I’ve had in a while. I think this’ll end up being a good date spot for H St, NE.

More photos after the jump. (more…)

This is the first time I’ve heard bells ringing that didn’t come from a church. The Robert A. Taft memorial is located near Union Station at the intersection of First St and Louisiana Ave, NW. Anyone else heard of a memorial having bells before? It was ringing on Sat. afternoon around 3pm.

Also is this a memorial to the Senator Robert A Taft who opposed the New Deal?

If you have any fun or interesting animal/pet photos or news please shoot me an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say what neighborhood you’re from or upload to the PoPville flickr pool. I can’t guarantee I’ll get them all posted but I’ll do my best.  I’m aware not everyone loves pets.  But they bring me (and others) a lot of pleasure.  It’s cool, hold tight, a new post is coming in a half hour, you can make it!

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

“This is our 3 year old doberman Linus, from Bloomingdale, just hanging out in his crate.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Vileinist

This rental is located at 1403 12th St, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

“Fabulous one bedroom one bath in the heart of Logan Circle! Located in a quaint Victorian on the 2nd floor, this apartment faces the front and gets a ton of light through the bay windows, has a wonderful open layout with a ton of closet space and storage, eat-in kitchen, central heat and cooling, washer dryer in unit.”

Here’s another another building that I’ve always admired when passing on a walkabout. Psyched to finally get a peek inside. Does $1595 sound reasonable for this 1 bedroom?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Bogotron

“Dear PoP,

I live in a Petworth townhouse. The past few weeks, a strong odor of tobacco smoke has been wafting into my house from the neighbor’s. It’s unbearable. I’m surprised that this much smoke odor could waft through solid brick walls! Thought I’d ask other Wardmanistanis if they have had the same problem and have an idea of how the smoke might be coming through the walls and how I can stop it.”

We spoke a bit about this issue with smoke leaking into apartments. For those who live in row houses – have you experienced this problem? If so, what can be done to mitigate the situation?

Photo by PoPville flickr user kevnkovl

Anyone recognize these locations?

Submit your photos to the PoPville flickr pool here. Follow PoPville on twitter here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Vileinist

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

“Dear PoP,

Similar to the topic of where to watch hockey, do you know of any tennis fanatics/bars that are showing later rounds/final of the Australian Open this week/next weekend?”

In previous years I have watched the Australian Open at Angles (2339 18th St, NW) in Adams Morgan (one of their bartenders, Anita, is Australian and a fellow tennis fan).

You guys know of any other good spots?

This condo is located at 922 N St, NW:

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The flier says:

“PRIVATE DECK OFF BR and GATED PARKING – Boutique 3 Unit building. All New 2005! Loft like w/ high cielings, exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, 2 Blocks to Convention Center/ Metro. SELLER WILLING TO INCLUDE SOME CLOSING HELP”

You can find more info here and more photos here.

This 1 bed/1 bath is going for $359,899 ($360 condo fee). Sound realistic?