So I bought in DC.

[patb]

after years of watching and waiting, i spotted a pretty good deal.

ask price went from 275K down to 199K, the house is old but clean, the area has a decent potential but is atransition zone….

[bearishgurl]

patb, if I may ask, is this property in Georgetown or Chevy Chase? Just wondering . . .

I’m assuming here you’ve been looking “close in” to “Wash DC.”

[briansd1]

Sounds like a good price.

I also curious where in DC. I have a friend who bought at the peak in Rockville, MD. So far away from the city. Needless to say, he’s upside-down and hating it.

[LAAFTERHOURS]

a house in Chevy Chase or Gtown for 199? Where do I sign up? Original poster mentioned transition area so I assume it wouldnt be either of those places.

My guess is someplace outside the beltway based on the price point.

Congrats on the purchase.

[hugo]

I’d love to hear more patb. We are looking to buy in the DC area but are finding few deals. Well known areas of DC/near DC are amazingly expensive. DC is now considered the wealthiest metro-area in the country. But like many pigs I’m always looking for warning signs, so we are waiting to hear what the Super Committee does. Will they finally prick the DC bubble? I think you’re safe, but those 1.3kk 2bed townhouses may finally drop a bit. http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1252-31st-St-NW-20007/home/9925300

“Lawmakers on Capitol Hill might be ignoring the growing anger at the widening gap between the rich and poor in America because, frankly, they can’t tell. The greater Washington DC area is officially the wealthiest metropolitan region in the country

With the Occupy Wall Street movement in its second month of demonstrations protesting the alliance between Washington and the financial sector, perhaps the wealthy are unaware of their growing concerns because everything seems fine and dandy along the banks of the Potomac. The average annual income in the DC area of 2010 was around $84,523, head-and-shoulders above the national median of $50,046.”

http://rt.com/usa/news/dc-wealth-rich-america-339/

“The super committee is struggling.

After weeks of secret meetings, the 12-member deficit-cutting panel established under last summer’s budget and debt deal appears no closer to a breakthrough than when talks began last month.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/deficit-super-committee-taxes-cuts_n_1003328.html

[bearishgurl]

[quote=LAAFTERHOURS]a house in Chevy Chase or Gtown for 199? Where do I sign up? Original poster mentioned transition area so I assume it wouldnt be either of those places.

My guess is someplace outside the beltway based on the price point…[/quote]

I was thinking it might be a foreclosed thrashed condo, perhaps even in Arlington. If I worked in DC, I wouldn’t live “outside the beltway” for any price. That area has *serious* traffic to contend with on a daily basis (even on weekends). The traffic in SD County, CA doesn’t hold a candle to it.

I would pay what it took to obtain a close-in property in as best of shape as I could afford and deal with the repairs one by one . . . but that’s just me.

In any case, congrats on your purchase, patb!

[bearishgurl]

[quote=hugo] . . .

…Lawmakers on Capitol Hill might be ignoring the growing anger at the widening gap between the rich and poor in America because, frankly, they can’t tell. The greater Washington DC area is officially the wealthiest metropolitan region in the country

With the Occupy Wall Street movement in its second month of demonstrations protesting the alliance between Washington and the financial sector, perhaps the wealthy are unaware of their growing concerns because everything seems fine and dandy along the banks of the Potomac. The average annual income in the DC area of 2010 was around $84,523, head-and-shoulders above the national median of $50,046….

http://rt.com/usa/news/dc-wealth-rich-america-339/
[/quote]

Yes, hugo, agreed. HOWEVER, the “banks of the Potomac,” while “bucolic” and also tremendously conveniently located (read: Great Falls and surrounds where the writer is obviously referring to), isn’t the ONLY place to buy “inside the beltway.” There are other areas of Fairfax County and southern MD which are much less expensive to buy in and offer a nice, close-in lifestyle. I think that (just like in SD County, CA) you have to be willing to accept older construction, even 100+ year-old construction and do a bit of rehab, updating and repair. (The DC area is MUCH OLDER than SD County.) Those prospective buyers who just want *newer* construction will be forced outside the beltway (commuting on 2-4 lane moving parking lots) for the bulk of their working lives.

If you “keep it real” I believe you could find something, hugo.

And yes, I am familiar with select counties and their housing stocks around the DC area, as well.

In spite of heavy daily traffic for those who choose to commute, I feel this area is a truly beautiful area which has an enviable quality of life which cannot be duplicated anywhere in the country.

[LAAFTERHOURS]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=LAAFTERHOURS]a house in Chevy Chase or Gtown for 199? Where do I sign up? Original poster mentioned transition area so I assume it wouldnt be either of those places.

My guess is someplace outside the beltway based on the price point…[/quote]

I was thinking it might be a foreclosed thrashed condo, perhaps even in Arlington. If I worked in DC, I wouldn’t live “outside the beltway” for any price. That area has *serious* traffic to contend with on a daily basis (even on weekends). The traffic in SD County, CA doesn’t hold a candle to it.

I would pay what it took to obtain a close-in property in as best of shape as I could afford and deal with the repairs one by one . . . but that’s just me.

In any case, congrats on your purchase, patb![/quote]

Im well aware of the traffic – lived there 2004 through 2006. Rented and owned outside the beltway and it drove us nuts. The original poster said house so i assumed he meant detached.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=hugo]…I think you’re safe, but those 1.3kk 2bed townhouses may finally drop a bit. http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/1252-31st-St-NW-20007/home/9925300…
[/quote]

hugo, I just looked at your active-listing link. I was last through Georgetown (leisurely tour) in August 2010 and noticed that NOT EVERY “largish” +/- 130 year-old “row house” there is “tricked out” like this one. They are in varying stages of improvement. You are looking here at a property that one or more previous owners obtained permits to bring up to code and also rehabbed the entire interior to its “period magnificence.”

I haven’t checked any active listings there, but am curious as to what they would cost if purchased as a “heavy fixer?” Most have no “land” to speak of so we are talking here about an (extremely conveniently-located) “condo” (but sans the HOA).

edit: the listing’s basement appears to NOT be included in the total sq footage. Not sure how that space is calculated there (whether in finished or unfinished state).

[paramount]

[quote=briansd1]Sounds like a good price.

I also curious where in DC. I have a friend who bought at the peak in Rockville, MD. So far away from the city. Needless to say, he’s upside-down and hating it.[/quote]

What? Rockville is really not that far away from the city (DC) at all.

[paramount]

[quote=hugo]DC is now considered the wealthiest metro-area in the country. [/quote]

That’s b/c the gov’t is taking $$$$$$$$$$$$ from the rest of the country and using that money to expand (via contractors or gov’t workers) the size and role of the gov’t to unprecedented levels. It’s sickening: the rest of the country suffers so the DC area can become a bloated pig.

Meanwhile the true talent is in places like California.

[paramount]

What really makes me sick about the DC area are the claims of being a regional and national high tech leader.

The vast majority of supposed tech workers in the DC area merely implement what has been created in places like California and Redmond.

What a joke.

[hugo]

Para – you are making the point I was hinting at. In some areas, DC housing prices have risen since the bubble burst because of government spending. Will the Super Committee cuts finally end the party? If so, how long will it take?

Prices have fallen dramatically in outlying areas. Traffic makes those areas a tough sell.

I also agree with BG – DC is an exciting area with terrific schools and well run state governments all around. I don’t expect deep discounts, just some acknowledgement that there is in fact a great recession in progress.

[Navydoc]

Rockville has awesome metro access as well. Most federal employers will even pay your metro fares for you. Only about a 30 minute ride to downtown for the Rockville station.

[patb]

3 BR 1 Bath, Row house in 20002, East capitol hill.
conditon decent if a little old.
Probably needs 20K in updates, extra bathroom,

It’s 1000 SF, small lot, but, plus side is it’s close to the Trolley whenever it opens, and,
the H Street Corridor and Benning road are becoming a club district.

[Author]

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