Listing: It ain't your dad's 850k Cap Hill House. 1346 D St. NE

I have to admit, this one at 1346 13th St. NE seemed a bit unique from the pictures. Sure, it claimed to have a nice 2,249 sq foot floor plan, but we knew that was exaggerated, which I referenced in my previous post about how realtors screw with the apples to apples.  But, this appears to be quite the rehab. I love that when they pulled permits in January of this year that the notes just said they were, and this is verbatim "just moving round the bath room" I can't make this crap up.

As it turns out, this is really a 1,586 sq foot pad, but the listing is what I like to see- great pics, an honest look at whether the basement has a CofO (it does- I checked), and other than the sq foot shenanigans, looks like a lot of effort was put into the rehab. Now these pics are taken with a lens that makes it look MUCH bigger than it truly is, but I appreciate the effort to put its best foot forward. It's good to see that for 3% of $850k that the realtor took the time and effort to do it. Do the math... I know, right?

Great curb appeal. Look honey, they took the time to paint!

a good remodel

But what is going on here??

Ah, our first question.. what in the world is this about? It looks like the backyard is elevated. What's that about? Apparently, they decided to just put the backyard on top of the garage and build up the levels from the ground. Notice on the pics above that there isn't a window in the back of the kitchen, as is common with these row houses. That means they cut that window out, put in a garage (or rehabbed an existing one) and made a side exit. Now there is literally two staircases on the side of the house. 

The floor plan isn't for everyone, but it does maximize space

Pro's: Curb appeal. The layout could work given that this neighborhood is going to get pretty dense in the coming years. This will give you a nice garage space and let you have fun outside with elevation which should help with these pesky mosquitos. Good use of space. Potential rental income. 

Con's: It is really a $536 per sq foot price point if you compare apples to apples and don't include unfinished areas. Still, if you have $169,980 for a down payment and expenses (you probably don't if you are a first timer), this could be all yours.  Size- the photography probably is making this look much bigger than it really it. 

Realtors and prospective buyers- if you visit this one, drop the dime on its real feel in the comments.

My quick ballpark numbers puts this at about a $4,200 mortgage if you have the 20% down, which if you minus out the rental, isn't bad for some. Then again, the real estate tax man commeth to up this one a few 100k's in valuation.