Shooting on Morris Place near Ludlow Taylor Elem

There's nothing quite like waking up from a nap after hearing 5 sharp pops.. I didn't hear anyone scream so figured it was something from the school or construction. Apparently, it was gunshots and a man died. I saw a large African American man getting carted off.

I walked over there and they had found some shell casings, so hopefully they find who did it. The victim had what appeared to be a bullet hole in his head.. although it looked like it exited at the top of his head, which is a bit odd.

The block is usually really quiet, so it will be interesting to see what happened. Here's the crime scene.

G or NG? Inspire BBQ

G or NG?

Popville has the scoop on the closing of Inspire BBQ. Was Inspire Good or Not Good?

Answer:

Not Good. I ate at Inspire once when my wife brought it home for me.. I think I got sick from it. Regardless it tasted foul and I haven’t been back. The food was almost as bad as their twitter feed https://twitter.com/inspirebbq

(The social aspect of Inspire was Good.. I'm just talking about the food, people)

REQUIRED! Your home is a lousy investment.. until it is a good one. I'll explain later, but this is your one must read of the day.

Not Required but Fun:  I am a huge fan of porker fest:

Shot...

DC Streetcar by the numbers 

Chaser...

DC Streetcar by the numbers: 3 is the number of mayors who will have been elected before the streetcar actually opens.

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.

Hidden Listing on H: 923 6th St NE

First, let's be real: if you are a Realtor and you can't take the time to show us inside photos, shame on you. I've seen too many lazy Realtors out there who just slap something together and call it a listing. Usually when all you see is the outside pics it means that the inside is fugly as all get-out. But I like those since that is about the best deal you can get anymore.

And this one is probably no different. The listing for 923 6th St. seems like an interesting property, but I can't tell without pics or an open house.. I do NOT feel like putting my time to visit a property unless the realtor has the sense to make me kinda, sorta want to see it.

That being said, this thing just dropped enough to get my attention. If you are a young couple (see my earlier post on the best way to do it in DC) and want to get into a house but not pay $1 mil, maybe an ugly rehab is for you. While some investors will do 600k in an all cash bid, generally you don't see it that much so you have a shot- and face it, most couples just can't see potential unless some flipper has put some gaudy backsplash in there and other lipstick.

This bad boy has 1,484 sq feet in the top 2 floors, and a decent space in the the basement of about 742 sq feet (although that's a guess since most basements have about what is on the floor above). The office of tax and revenue shows it doesn't have a CofO, so you might have to dig down to make that basement legal.

So, for a $404 sq ft price point plus a rental in the basement, it might make the cut. [SIDEBAR: Word to the wise: realtors are supposed to list sq foot as finished sq feet. Some do, some don't. So, if you make the basement a rental, it is still counted as unfinished for tax purposes no matter if it is technically finished.. so, if you DID finish this off, then for apples to apples you could say it was $269 per sq foot.. much better sounding, eh? Compare that to what is on the market, but be careful to make an apples to apples comparison. In a later post I will show you how shady realtors try to deceive people with a little sq foot trick.]

Let's run some quick numbers. Let's say I got it for $600,000 and put in $100,000 total for a rehab and got a 4.5% interest loan.These numbers are ballpark:

Down payment ~ $21k
Total mortgage ~ $579,000
$100,000 in Capital improvements brings the price per sq foot to about $539
Real Estate tax ~$320/mo
Monthly maintenance: $50
Insurance ~ $150/mo

Total expenses per month = $3,454 plus an additional mortgage insurance of at least $600... let's say total expenses are about 4k a month, give or take.

But, you get that basement rental up and running and turn it into a 1 bedroom and you get about $1,750. So, your nut is $2,250 and you can write off your property tax and interest every year. Plus, read my earlier post about refi'ing it once you get 80% /ltv

That is to say, if this place isn't a total gut and you can get that basement up to code and a redo of some of the living space so you can live there for the 100k. The Property Information Verification System (PIVS) site says it has forced air, so maybe you won't have to put that in, saving some moola.

Or the listing agent (get better pics, people!) knows he has a gut and is putting it out there for the investor class only... but then why bother to even write his description?

"Here s your chance to live near the vibrant H ST Corridor. 3 bdrm. .2 bth with a studio rental in the basement. Income producing property. Off street Parking for 2 cars. Walking distance to restaurants , grocery , metro, theaters, Union Station and so much more."

One smart way to buy a place in DC

As we have all heard- buying a place to live in DC is completely unreasonable and no one can afford it if they make a reasonable salary. But someone is bidding these homes up into the stratosphere, right?

The truth is, most of the people who want to move into a house in the H St. area are young couples who have kids or are about to start a family. Yet they can't find anything in their price range and so they can't move out of their $2,300 a month condo. Wait- someone can afford $2,300 a month in rent but still can't find a place in DC outside of plunking down way too much money for the honor of buying something in a shady area where the husband, let alone the wife, won't want to walk after dark. Awesome.

But, if that same couple just looked for a fixer upper that was a little too expensive for a flip job from an all-cash investor, and was a bit too ugly for a run of the mill single family home shopper, who could live for a few years where things weren't totally amazing inside, they might get a good deal. You could really find yourself with a great home that you would never be able to afford otherwise.

Here's the gig- find a house with a rental in it that will help cover the mortgage. Most houses that have it will have already been fixed up and so that rental income is already baked into the house's selling point. What you need is for one that is not done, and that can be gutted and built up. While you have the construction crew there you can also gut that nasty kitchen and the bathrooms, but live with the non-refinished wood and the ugly baseboards and maybe the layout for a few years while you build up equity.

Also- do it smart. Get an FHA loan. I know, it has mortgage insurance. So what, pay it for a year. Yep, you will have to pay $700 extra a month for a year, but you are getting 2k for that basement rental. So, your nut is only a bit more than the $2,300 you pay now. If you find a place that you can add value and do it for an FHA loan minimum down (3.5%), use the extra cash that you were going to put into a down payment, then the market will do the rest. You will have just forced appreciation into it at the same time as the market is making your place more expensive. Even if the house only goes up 3% in the next year, after you add on your forced appreciation from your rehab work you should be at 20% loan to value. (Remember, you are playing with big numbers here. 3% of $650,000 is $19.500).

Refi that sucker out to a conventional after a year which will drop the PMI and presto, you just made 17%. Wait a year more and get an appraisal and I bet you can pull some cash out from a credit line and redo those baseboards and the layout. Just sayin'

How do you do this you might ask? Well, you need some cash, or you could borrow from someone like your parents or your spouse's. The bottom line, after you drop 80-100k (including the down payment) into the place, you will have a 24k revenue stream coming in and your nut should be between $2,000-$2,700 depending on the interest rate from your loan and how big you went. I'll try to do the math for you in my next post.