House hunting
March 14, 2007
As you may have guessed by some of the titles I've borrowed from the library, we are in the market for a house. At first we said a condo or a house, but once we started dreaming of unfinished basements for E to putter in, a small yard for the baby to play in, and a separate room for me to use as an office -- well, forget the condos. We want a real, honest-to-goodness house. In Washington, DC.
Have you stopped laughing yet? Me, I'm hovering precariously somewhere between laughing and crying. Yes, the real estate market has slowed somewhat here. Houses stay on the market longer than 24 hours, and I don't think escalation clauses are the norm anymore. Thank god. But that doesn't mean the prices have exactly dropped back to their pre-boom-lunacy lows.
We've figured out a ballpark of what we can afford, and now we have to figure out what neighborhoods have houses in that range and don't make us fear getting mugged on our own front porch.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Our first expedition was to Brookland. I'm not at all sure we can afford anything there any more but I'm in love with historic Brookland and I am determined not to compromise -- yet.
We looked at six houses on Saturday:
- Vacated by an old person with a fetish for gaudy light switch plate covers.
- Creaky farmhouse high on a hill. E could not stand up in the basement. Bummer.
- Quirkily redone brick colonial with shag carpeting and mirrored sliding closet doors in master bedroom. Baby cried the whole time. I don't blame him.
- Someone bought a rowhouse on the fringes of the 'hood, started remodeling it, and is now bailing out, trying to lose as little as possible in the transaction. (Good luck; we've seen your tax records.) Kitchen unfinished. The multi-unit building next door is vacant.
- A realtor-owned white colonial in good shape, lots of room and light, and an unfinished attic with tons of potential. Too bad it is on a main thoroughfare.
- A brick rowhouse in excellent condition, furnished and decorated by a man with impeccable taste. Brand new kitchen. Bold wall paint. We love the house ... But it is a little further from the heart of Brookland than we would like. It feels strangely suburban. Bummer.
And that's where we stand. Now we are considering other neighborhoods: Petworth? Columbia Heights? (I think we've already been priced out of the latter; I saw a $370K rowhouse advertised as having "good bones, needs complete remodel.")
Got any tips for us? Moral support? Persuasive arguments to send us to areas with reasonable housing costs -- the distant suburbs, or perhaps Nebraska? Any and all are welcome ...
Hello,
I came across your blog today since I live in Petworth and track news on blogs that mention this great part of DC!
My husband and I moved to Petworth about 18 months ago, after renting in Dupont Circle, and I absolutely love it here. There is such a great sense of community.
There are a lot of great online resources to help you find out more about Petworth. A list of them is at the local Grant Circular Web site: http://www.grantcircular.com/onlineresources.htm.
It sounds like you have a child so you may really be interested in the Petworth Parents group...
Good luck with your househunting. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about the area.
Best,
Heather
Don't give up yet! You should give it at least a month, AT LEAST, looking in your #1 choice area before you consider other places. If your realtor has something really exciting in another area, you can look at it, but no need to settle just yet. Also, for the record, I think if you could find 6 houses that were in your price range in Brookland, that's a really good sign, even if you didn't find the RIGHT one yet. After all, could you find 6 houses you liked in your price range in Chevy Chase or Georgetown?
I also had a friend who lived in Petworth and loved it, but I don't know anything about it.
There's always Richmond. $300K here will buy you a 5 bedroom house in a great school district.
I know we talked about Takoma Park the other day too, and you said it might be too far or too expensive...
What's your price range? I've seen sweet family-friendly places in Petworth for $400-500K though I think I'm going to stick to more urban locations - hopefully Shaw.
Now that I learned I can't fully raid my IRA - only 10K w/o penalty - I am back down to the $350K price range.
Condos are looking good again...
Oh yeah, and I check out 10-15 houses every Sunday all across town. If you have a Realtor set up a web MLS search, you can pre-plan your house hunting for maximum coverage.
House hunting is one of the most frustrating experiences possible, especially for those of us who bristle at the idea of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars only to have someone else's popcorn-ceiling-and-tan-bathroom-tile-taste inflicted upon us. Don't look at the decor--look at the building. You'll find what you are looking for--it just might look different than you thought it would, at least until you take your slegehammer & crowbar to it. And of course you'll get a much better deal if it hasn't been "newly renovated", i.e., Home-Depot-ized. You'd have to undo all that stuff, anyway. Good luck!
