Photo by PoPville flickr user jsmjr

“Dear PoP,

What is the value of a covered parking space between Logan and Dupont Circle? I’ve heard anywhere from 25-50k. Also, when determining price per sq ft for condos, is parking factored in (i.e. 650 sq. ft. condo at 400k = 615/sq ft, but 650 sq ft condo at 400k – 40k for parking = $550/ sq ft.)?

Hope you (or the loyal readers) can help!”

and

“Now that we’ve dealt with basement rental apts. can we find out about renting a parking space? I’m about to rent out a space behind my house – should I have some kind of lease or other agreement? Can we both just sign a general “Nothing that may ever happen to your car for any reason will ever be my fault or liability” kind of thing?”

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Photo by PoPville flickr user dullshick

Ed. Note: The photo above is not the Church in question but an example of a “storefront” Church.

“Dear PoP,

I live in Columbia Heights and have been dealing with an ongoing issue with a “church” across the street from my place. There are days that this “church” seems to be open 24/7. I believe that the “church” is legit, in that it is not a front for any shady activity, but I don’t believe the space is zoned for this use (maybe I’m wrong about zoning laws). There are several problems that the “church” is causing….like:

1. very loud speakers (I can hear their prayers and/or music clearly from my living room, there are times when they are having services @ 11pm)
2. Trash from the parishioners
3. Illegal parking by the parishioners
4. Funerals that go until 4am and draw large crowds (100 plus) and since the space isn’t large enough, the crowd flows into the streets….this leads to public urination, drinking beer, trash, traffic congestion, etc.

I have called the police several times and they can’t or don’t want to do anything about the “church.” I’m not sure what I my next steps should be. The police aren’t helpful at all.”

Whenever I see questions like this, I always think a little communication would go a long way. I think you should contact your Council Member’s staff and see if they can help set up a meeting to discuss some of the issues you have. I would guess that open communication would lead to some sort of compromise.

But just out of curiosity, does anyone know how the storefront churches are zoned?

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Photo from PoPville Flickr user awmiller

“Dear PoP,

My fiancée and I have been looking for houses for a year now. Petworth is one of our 1st neighborhood choices as we love the balance between urban convenience and green space/parks (we have been looking at houses below Allison St). However, our search has been very frustrating as we have lost house after house to real estate investor who swoop in and offer all cash (I think we have submit and lost offers on 10+ homes now). We have offered over the listing price multiple times now but cash rules everything around us(?). We have since expanded our search to include other “edge” or developing neighborhoods but it is definitely a city-wide trend. From a neighborhood perspective, I guess it is a good thing (depending who you speak to) because investors will make improvements and then flip the house to others, thus improving the housing stock of a neighborhood and driving up home values but we can’t seem to win even though we have what I think to be an adequate budget (up to $450k) for the area.

I don’t know who these investors are (I have created a mental image of a Porsche convertible driving, latte sipping, sun glass wearing, Louis Vutton bag holding, toy poodle having, trust fund baby to help me cope) but in all reality it has been pretty sobering.

I guess my question is, are there any other aspiring home owners out there feeling the same frustration and does anyone know when a regular Joe with financing and not cash will be able to win?”

I feel like I have heard similar stories in Petworth, Columbia Heights and Bloomingdale. To be honest I’m shocked that you have been unable to close on a property in Petworth for $450k. I hope that if you persevere the right home will come through for you. But for others out there shopping around, have you noticed that developers/flippers are getting all the “good” homes?

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Photo from PoPville flickr user hellomarkers!

“Dear PoP,

I’m all set with a contractor etc., but could use some advice on getting appliances at a discount price. I’ll need to outfit 2 kitchens in full [ranges, fridges, dishwahers etc.] and a few flatscreen TVs. Does anyone out there in PoPville have suggestions of some local vendors who are willing and able to make a deal? I’m looking for stainless steel-level stuff, but don’t need “viking” level goods. I’ve investigated DirectBuy, but spending $5000 for the pleasure of spending $10000 more is not quite a “deal” to me.”

Hmm, I’ve never heard from someone who needs to outfit 2 kitchens before. But for those who have done their own renovations – where have you gotten your appliances?

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Photo from PoPville flickr user DrCee

“Dear PoP,

I was waiting for the bus on 16th/Newton and noticed a suspicious man on bike sitting on NW corner of 16th St NW and Newton St (3400 block of 16th); sitting in shade, wearing all black (ie not standing out), on bike, for more than 5 minutes. Seems to be scoping out the area.

I didn’t want to confront the guy or call 911 (not an emergency) but can’t think of any other way to report this info. I tried texting 911 but that doesn’t work (not a bad idea though).

any thoughts?”

You can text MPD:

“Text 50411
Community members can now use their cell phones to anonymously text tips to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Give 5-0 the 411 with the new Text Tip Line: 50411. Text messages are monitored by members of the department 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tips are then analyzed and passed on to the appropriate unit or division for follow-up. Because the tip line is anonymous, the sender will not receive a response to the original message.”

It is probably nothing but not a bad idea to always be aware of your surroundings.

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“Dear PoP,

I was walking over to the zoo today and saw this government vehicle stuck in a pretty odd scenario. The picture was taken on the rock creek path where it veers around the rock creek tunnel between the adams morgan and calvert street exits. I am not sure why the vehicle was driving down the pedestrian section of the path or why it tried to drive off where the forest floor has turned into inches of mud with all the rain over the last few days. The car had been there for a while today. The hood was cold and there was no one in site when i took the picture. I’m curious as to when anyone will be able to get it out. The ground isn’t going to dry for a few days. Hope the government doesn’t need that car for anything soon.”

That is pretty bizarre. It must belong to Park Police right?

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Photo from PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

“Dear PoP,

I am considering submitting an appeal on my recently assessed Property Taxes. I am a recent first time home owner, so I am new to the “fun” world of taxes regarding property. I feel that my assessment was quite high. I compared my assessment to every house on the block and I am probably the most heavily taxed on the block (I have the Homestead Deduction, as does 90% of the houses on the block). I bought a 1909 rowhouse that needs quite a bit of work. It is liveable, but needs quite a lot of finesse to make it shine. Of the 24 or so houses on my block, I would say 60% have been renovated nicely (i.e. gutted, updated, etc…), 30% need some work, and the final 10% need substantial work. My property falls in the 30% pool of needing some work. I was shocked to see that the majority of the renovated homes have substantially lower taxes then my house. I called into the DC Real Property Assessment Division and spoke with my designated assessor and he mentioned that my tax assessment was more or less based on other home sales and most importantly my actual purchase price of the house. “Even if that house needs work and isn’t as nice as your neighbors, you paid that much for it, you are going to get taxed about that much for it.”

My immediate thought is I paid $x.xx amount of dollars because that house was worth that much to ME. But how much is it worth to the city? If I felt like paying $1,000,000 for the home, should I get taxed for that amount?

With my house needing quite a bit of work compared to the other “nicer” houses on the block, should I be taxed that much more than them? Avg is a solid $80,000 assessed value more…

Should I submit an appeal?”

You should definitely appeal the assessment in my opinion. I appealed once for a similar reason and won. And also don’t forget to file for the deduction if it is your primary residence. Here is the discussion we had last year. Did anyone’s assessment go up?

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Image from Hipchickindc

“Dear PoP,

We are thinking about purchasing a victorian rowhouse in Bloomingdale neighborhood. The house itself is move-in ready, and has a lot of original details intact: transoms, woodwork, fireplace (walled off), staircase. But it still needs quite a bit of work done if we are to restore it to its original grandeur – for example stripping layers of white paint from said original woodwork, removing carpets and refinishing original hardwood floors. We really want to restore, not just renovate, the house. We were wondering if any of your readers would have suggestions and resources that we could consult – from books to contractors.”

Here is a talk we had on wood floor restorations. You should peruse the general renovation posts as well.

Do you guys have any other general recommendations fro contractors and/or books to consult?

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Faucetini

“Dear PoP,

The warm weather has me thinking an awful lot about planting a vegetable garden. I live in an apartment with a rooftop deck and am thinking of trying a container garden. I’m wondering if your readers have any advice on where to get supplies. What plants grow well on a roof in DC? Any suggestions for tomato plants that won’t grow wildly out of hand? When’s the best time to start something like this?

Any advice would be helpful. My dad grew tomato plants in the yard when I a kid, but I have no idea what I’m doing now.”

Any roofdeck gardeners out there?

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“Dear PoP,

We live in a row house as many DCers do and the people in the row house next door are, as I understand, Section 8 tenants. Not to pass judgment on these individuals but I’ve certainly had cleaner, more courteous neighbors. The biggest problem is that they have not bothered to get (or perhaps keep) a trashcan and instead just throw their trash out in bags into the alley behind our house which immediately get torn into by rats. The back of our house has thus developed a pretty nasty rat and garbage problem. Anyways I guess my question is, first and foremost, is there anything we can do about this? Is there some sort of venue to file a complaint? Are there certain requirements that they must meet (besides income) to maintain residence in their subsidized house, such as not turning it and the adjacent properties into complete filth-holes?”

This is a very uncool situation. Ed. Note: I’m sure Section 8, “regular” renters and owners could all be guilty of this unhealthy behavior. Let’s try not to focus on that though and rather address the question itself. What should the reader do? Contact DCRA? Council Member? Call 311? Can they request a trashcan for the neighbor?

And I know it can be awkward an conversation but have you asked the neighbor if they are getting a trashcan or if they want your help in getting them a trashcan?

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Ed. Note: The problems in this question terrify me so please enjoy this phenomenal photo by PoPville flickr user Faucetini.

“Dear PoP,

I’m looking for someone who can get rid of roaches and termites in the new house I bought. Do your readers have any recommendations of companies that are reliable and affordable?”

Readers gave some suggestions for rodent control here. Of course termites are probably the most important problem to deal with. Who do you guys recommend for termite and other insect eradication?

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Photo by PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

“Dear PoP,

Yesterday my wife and I decided to enjoy the great weather and went for a jog late in the afternoon. We live just west of Ft. Totten Park and were run/walking up the hill by the cemeteries on Ft Totten Drive when four adolescent youths started yelling at my wife “Shake that ass, Shake that ass, Shake that ass.” My wife, who has continuously been a victim of such taunts became furious and started yelling back and even started after them before I stopped her. After the first encounter we continued into Rock Creek Church Cemetery where they followed us. Fearing for our safety and being somewhat cornered I confronted them. At that time a MDP cruiser pulled up and the two officers attempted to question the youths. At that time they took off running through the cemetery.

Not only was our day ruined, but my wife has had it with this kind of behavior and intimidation and wants to leave the city ASAP.

This and an attempted mugging a month ago has led me to wonder if folks are seeing an uptick in this kind of behavior from kids in the city. It is particularly troubling. Our experience have not been violent, but they have been terrifying and have me worried that they eventually will.”

I’m very sorry to hear about this terrible behavior. We have previously discussed street harassment here and here. But the reader asks a very specific question – does this behavior increase in the Spring with warm weather? I used to believe that this behavior absolutely increased with the warmer weather but I seem to recall a friend citing some statistics (at least on muggings) to the contrary. Did anyone notice street harassment increase last weekend when the weather was nice?

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Photo by PoPville flickr user JessJ

“What is the law pertaining to noise? Next door, a band practices often and it often shakes my walls. It doesn’t help that I’m trying to get a 1 year old and 2 year old asleep.

So what is the law? I had the police come out and the essentially told me, they are good kids and you should let them play. They said we can’t issue a citation until 9:30PM. Until 9:30 they can play at any level.

Is that true?

It seems unfair that anyone would be legal be able to shake my walls until 9:30. What about people who work a late shift and sleep before 9:30PM? Any advice?”

We spoke about sound proofing options here. Have you tried speaking with the neighbors? Explaining your situation could go a long way. What would you guys suggest the reader do?

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Photo from PoPville flickr user JosephLeonardo

“Dear PoP,

I had a strange experience riding the G2 bus today — I’m used to the automated voice coming on to announce stops, remind me about route changes, tell me to visit the website etc, but today the friendly voice repeated a message twice in a row that seemed targeted at the driver. She said something like (paraphrasing from memory) “as a metrobus operator, you may face several dangerous situations today — the safety of our passengers, other drivers and the public is in your hands.” It sounded almost like an affirmation — “you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and make sure not to hit anyone!” I wonder if anyone else has heard these, and if they’re a part of WMATA’s new “culture of responsibility?”

Wild. Were you sitting in the front of the bus or could the whole bus hear it? Anyone else notice this new announcement?

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Photo unrelated but awesome from PoPville flickr user Madame Meow

“Dear PoP,

I posted this on Craig’s List but thought I’d also try your site. I found a black iPod (nano, I think) this evening (Thurs.) on the 52 bus headed north on 14th Street.

If anyone thinks it belongs to them, they can click on this Craig’s List link and e-mail me from there:

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