DC Buyer: Savvy Former Investor Looking for First Real Home

• June 8th 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're working with Alexis, a 37 year-old DC resident who works in Cleveland Park. Alexis makes about $50,000 per year and has a good credit score of 722. She maintains minimal consumer debt with payments of around $300 per month.

Alexis has ridden the DC real estate wave before. Several years ago when the market was headed up, she and a group of friends invested in a townhouse they flipped as weekend warriors (HGTV reference) in upper northwest. They rolled the profits into a second home which they also flipped, and then Alexis bought a run-down one-bedroom plus den in Logan Circle that she renovated on the weekends with the help of her friends. She sold the condo in late 2006 before the market went into a nosedive, and has been renting since. Now she's ready to roll the $250,000 that she has accumulated over the years into another property.

Alexis doesn't really have any restrictions on the type of home that she will consider. Having lived in Logan Circle, she isn't interested in being in the middle of the most trendy neighborhood, but she'd still like to be able to walk to things like a dry cleaner or a restaurant. She would love having more space to stretch out, and find something in a livable, even if not beautiful, condition. Given her income, debt, and substantial down payment amount, she is shopping in the $350,000 to $400,000 range.

Our first choice is 233 Kentucky Avenue SE, #1. This two-bedroom, one-bath unit is south of Lincoln Park on the eastern edge of Capitol Hill. The unit is fairly spacious at about 850 square feet and has a wood-burning fireplace, updated kitchen and bath, built-in bookcases, as well as a fully-fenced-in patio area. The unit is listed at $350,000, so on the low end of Alexis' price range, but it does carry a monthly condo fee of $383.

Our second choice for Alexis is 4114 Davis Place NW, Unit #119. This two-bedroom, two-bath home in Glover Park is fairly large at 1,261 square feet. It is a quick walk to the shops on Wisconsin Avenue, and offers large rooms, a tasteful, simple kitchen, massive windows, and deeded parking. At $293 per square foot, Alexis would be hard pressed to find a better deal in this area. The only downside we see to this property, listed at $362,900 is that the monthly fees are high at $505 per month.

Our final choice for Alexis is 1017 Monroe Street NW, #1. This three-bedroom, 2.5-bath condo is the larger unit in a two-unit Columbia Heights/Petworth row house conversion. While the foreclosure status may make some buyers uncomfortable, Alexis has friends she has invested with before who are working on foreclosures in this market, and can help guide her through some of the process. This unit features a massive kitchen, private parking, and a rear deck and while the kitchen is not complete (some appliances are not yet installed), the bank is offering an owner-occupant credit that may cover some of the costs of appliances. All that said, this home will need much more work than the two above, but at $354,900, it is enticing.

Given these three choices, where should Alexis put in her offer?

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_buyer_savvy_former_investor_looking_for_first_real_home/2146.