DC Buyer: Couple Looking for Room to Grow

• July 12th 2010

by Martin Smith

DC Buyer is a series on UrbanTurf where we look at buyers from various demographics and provide available housing options for them in the current DC market. If you are a prospective buyer and would like to be featured in DC Buyer, send an email to editor2010@urbanturf.com. See all of our past DC Buyer articles here.

This week, we are working with Linda, 29, and her husband Jorge, 35. Linda works with the DC court system near Penn Quarter and earns $75,000 per year. Jorge works for a lobbying firm on the Hill, and earns around $80,000 annually. Linda has a stronger FICO score of 744, but carries law school loans of about $700 a month. Jorge has no debt, and a credit score of 717.

Linda and Jorge want to start a family in the next few years, so they are looking for at least a two-bedroom unit. They currently own a condo in Friendship Heights, and while they love their home, the long commute has become a burden. They have made substantial upgrades while living there, and have enjoyed customizing things to their personal taste, but would prefer the property they buy not require much work on the weekends. Given these factors, we will be looking for something in a downtown or downtown-adjacent neighborhood that has been renovated. Linda and Jorge expect to have about $135,000 in positive equity to roll over from the sale of their current condo as the down payment. While they could be approved for a larger mortgage, they prefer to shop in the $425,000 to $475,000 price range. It being the summer, the pickings were a little slimmer than we would've liked, but we did find these two choices.

The first option is 1240 4th Street NW, #200. Based on where Linda and Jorge work, the location of this two-bedroom unit is fairly ideal, just two blocks from the Mount Vernon Square Metro on the Green and Yellows line. The unit itself gets a lot of natural light, has high ceilings, hardwood floors, in-unit washer/dryer as well as a built-in speaker system. At just over 900 square feet, it will offer more space than the couple's current abode. It is listed for $450,000.

The second option for Linda and Jorge is 1736 19th Street, Unit 1. This two-bedroom, two-bath Dupont Circle home is the basement level unit in a converted row house. While Linda and Jorge would prefer an above-grade unit for light and sound, the neighborhood is very desirable, and it is difficult to find a unit of this size in Dupont at this price point. The condo features a newer kitchen, two fireplaces, and wood floors. The $286 monthly fee is not too bad for the neighborhood, although utilities are separate. 1736 19th Street hit the market a couple weeks ago, and is priced at $449,000.

Given these two choices, where should Linda and Jorge put in their offer?

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_buyer_couple_looking_for_room_to_grow/2253.