DC Buyer: Working Couple Looking for a Unit With a Home Office

• April 7th 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.

Today we’re working with Nicole, 31, and Eric, 36. Nicole works for a Congressman from her home state and Eric works for HUD. They married last year, and have been living in the one-bedroom condo that Nicole already owned. They would like more space, including some room for a home office and have been thinking about adopting a dog from the Washington Animal Rescue League for a while, but Nicole’s building has a firm no-pets policy.

Nicole makes about $55,000 per year, and has a FICO score of 722. Eric makes $46,000 a year, but is on track for a GS increase at his next performance review, so he’s comfortable maxing out his current salary for the right home. With about $110,000 in positive equity from Nicole’s condo, they are looking for something in the $350,000 to $400,000 range.

Eric and Nicole are looking for a one bedroom plus den or a two-bedroom unit, so they have a place to work and hopefully also host an occasional overnight guest. They don’t want to be responsible for yard maintenance, although a deck or patio that didn’t require any work would be nice. They also don’t want to renovate anything, or even have to paint, so something in turn-key condition is important. Lastly, even though they haven’t officially decided to adopt a dog, they aren’t willing to consider anything that doesn’t allow pets. Even if they don’t decide to adopt right away, they want to keep that option open.

The first option we have for Nicole and Eric is 410 11th Street, NE, Unit #9. This 900 square-foot two-bedroom condo has a good open floorplan with exposed brick, a living room fireplace, and a recently renovated kitchen. This condo lacks easy Metro access, but bus lines make up the difference to Union Station or the Hill, and the H Street streetcar line is just a couple blocks albeit a few years away. This pet-friendly unit has a condo fee of $330 per month.

The second choice is 1201 Q Street NW, Unit #103. Listed for $399,000, this dog-friendly, two-bedroom property is the most expensive home we are featuring, but that is because it is the most centrally located in Logan Circle. Logan Circle offers an abundance of neighborhood options for a young couple, including ample restaurants, grocery options (only two blocks to Whole Foods), Metro access via U Street, and plenty of open spaces to walk the puppy they hope to adopt. The unit itself is large, but fairly vanilla, however it does have the most closet space of any of the featured properties.

Our last option for the couple is 1350 Randolph Street NW, Unit #3. This two-bedroom, two-bath/loft measures out at almost 1,000 square feet and is located in a converted rowhouse in Columbia Heights. Available for the relative bargain of $359,900, this dog-friendly unit is an architectural stunner with modern finishes, an open design and a great loft addition. With garage parking offered for an additional fee, this may be the best deal of the three.

Given these three choices, where do you think they should call home?

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_buyer_working_couple_looking_for_a_unit_with_a_home_office/1950.