Testing the Waters: How Much For a Columbia Heights Row House?

• May 9, 2012
• 7 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

An UrbanTurf reader who is moving in with his fiancee at the end of the summer and wants to rent his three-bedroom row house in Columbia Heights recently wrote in asking if our readers could help him price it appropriately. Below are all the pertinent details, so give him some price recommendations in the comments section.

* Address: 11th and Harvard Street NW (map) * Bedrooms: Three * Bathrooms: 2.5 * Square Footage: 1,200 * Year Renovated: 2010 * Description of home: The house was built in 1986 and renovated in 2010. The kitchen and bathrooms are new, as are the windows, the hardwood floors on the first level and carpet on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The second floor consists of the master bedroom, and the third floor is two smaller bedrooms (with just enough room for a queen bed and a dresser). The master bedroom and one of the bedrooms on the third floor have custom closets, there is laundry in the house, and a small patio and grill out front. There is also one parking spot included in the lot right out the front door. The house will be rented furnished with utilities included. * Parking: One space * Utilities: Cable/internet, electricity and water run about $240-$260 a month, and will be incorporated into the monthly rent charged to the tenants.

More photos below. Post your thoughts on an appropriate rental rate in the comments section. If you would like some help deciding what to rent your place for (or want to rent this property), send an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Living room

Master bedroom

Third bedroom

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/testing_the_waters_how_much_for_a_columbia_heights_row_house/5516

7 Comments

1. ellen said at 8:11 pm on Wednesday May 9, 2012:
   $2,900-$3,100 a month not including the utilities. I have a friend renting a two-bedroom around the corner from this address for $2,100. The parking spot may allow you to charge a bit of a premium.

1. Ben said at 8:30 pm on Wednesday May 9, 2012:
   In this market, I bet you could "test the waters" at 3400 a month.

1. Nick the Greek said at 9:37 pm on Wednesday May 9, 2012:
   I lived in a 3 story house. I felt all I did was walk up and down the stairs all day and night. I would turn down this house for that reason alone, unless the rent was really inexpensive.

1. JS said at 10:40 pm on Wednesday May 9, 2012:
   I think the fact that the house isn't a "cool" Victorian or Wardman may turn some renters off. That may have to be reflected in the pricing structure. Personally speaking, I'd much rather furnish a place myself than live with someone else's design choices, but that's not the same for everyone.

1. Mike said at 1:03 pm on Thursday May 10, 2012:
   I think around $3000 would be easy to get, maybe a bit more. I'd probably test the market on furnished vs. unfurnished, as I agree with JS that I wouldn't want to use someone else's furniture, particularly if I was moving in for a few years. Furnished strikes me as a short term rental situation.

1. JD said at 3:46 pm on Thursday May 10, 2012:
   I have a rental a few blocks from there and get 3k for it and it is a 2br 2 1/2 b no parking. I think you can get 3200 a month with the parking. The rooms are small and the street isn't that desirable otherwise you could get more (and maybe still can) but at $3200 you can get a large number of prospective tenants to choose from and to be honest that is key in the landlord game.

1. chts resident said at 5:18 pm on Thursday May 10, 2012:
   I rent a 4 BR row house in Columbia Heights, utilities included. But, the house also has much more character than this one, and it has parking. We pay 3400 in total. So, you could probably find some renters willing to pay 900-1000 each, but they are not getting a good deal.