DC housing suggestions

Outside chance that Mr. Checks might be finding his way from flyover country to DC in the not-too-distant future.

I'm trying to get some advice about where I could find housing, in light of the following factors, in order to maximize the benefit of an upcoming housing tour. Appreciate your advice.

Price range $350,000 to $450,000 ($500,000 is absolute max)
School system not an issue
Less than one hour (would prefer much less) commute to Capitol Hill (being on Metro route a huge plus). DC/MD/VA all possible.
Condo/townhouse/rowhouse/standalone all okay
2bd, at least 1.5 bath (prefer 2 baths) and at least 1000 sq ft
Needs to be fairly safe, not looking to be the first in a transitional area
Some areas that others have recommended are Arlington, Alexandria. Georgetown would be great, but appears to be out of my price range.
Access to restaurants, theater scene, university life would be plusses.

Off the top of my head, I recommend you look at Arlington between Clarendon and Ballston stations, Bethesda, Cleveland Park, Penn Quarter, Eastern Market, and Silver Spring. I don't know Alexandria that well, but do know that much of Old Town (the part of Alexandria you would be interested in) is not that close to a metro station. All of these places are metro-accessible and fairly pricey; with the exception of Silver Spring, you are unlikely to get a house for under $500K. I have a DC bias, and think that you would particularly enjoy Cleveland Park and Eastern Market.

You might be able to swing a condo in some of the aforementioned locations in that price range, but I would not anticipate a standalone house / townhouse that isn't in disrepair. I've been looking as well in exactly the same range.

Agree with AC and kronik on all points.

How familiar are you with DC geography, generally?

I rent in close-in MD, and if it's possible you may want to rent a little while to get the feel of different areas before you commit--if you're moving a family and a lot of stuff I understand that may not be feasible. On the MD side, I'd recommend Silver Spring or Rockville, which are on opposite ends of the red line. They're both a little generic, but Silver Spring is more interesting to me. (Bethesda is pretty pricey, and North Bethesda is a realtor-created name for south Rockville.)

If you don't care about the school system, it's certainly worth looking in DC proper. I'd stick to NW and Capitol Hill if you want to avoid developing/depressed areas, though SW waterfront might have some properties in your range, and is close to the hill. Just stay on the north side of the anacostia river.

I'm personally not a fan of Virginia, but the taxes and properties are attractive.

with the exception of Silver Spring, you are unlikely to get a house for under $500K.

Click to expand...

And it's not going to happen in "downtown", metro-accessible Silver Spring, either. You may look in Takoma Park, as well, if you're blue-state bordering on hippie.


My fiance and I are looking, and our price range is lower--so we're considering Baltimore, which does have a MARC train that runs into Union Station in DC--takes about an hour. If you're willing to live an hour's drive out, you may consider Annapolis as well.

If you want to do some looking from afar, I've wasted a lot of time on trulia.com.

Is this one in Cleveland Park? It came up on the Washington Post search, but didn't say anything in the listing about Cleveland Park.

This is just what I'm looking for:

http://washingtonpost.2.homescape.co...ct_id=26476365

Originally Posted by Mr. Checks

Click to expand...

Is this one in Cleveland Park? It came up on the Washington Post search, but didn't say anything in the listing about Cleveland Park.

This is just what I'm looking for:

http://washingtonpost.2.homescape.co...ct_id=26476365
That house is located in the Cathedral Heights neighborhood. I don't know anything about the neighborhood other than it not metrorail-accessible. You may be able to catch a metrobus to Capitol Hill.

In-city you will be very unlikely to find a stand-alone in that price range.

Here's my vote from having recently looked:
Move to the city. The suburbs suck. You'll get more home, but your commute will be extended. The average day isn't necessarily a concern, but when Metro's screwed up you can really pay the price.

Look in NW. Glover Park, Wesley Heights (where I live), and the surrounding area is generally already developed so you won't see big changes (if you like the neighborhood). This is north of Georgetown. Just drive up Wisconsin and start looking. I would personally live as far north as Friendship Heights.

I would not look at Petworth, Shaw, Brightwood, Columbia Heights or anywhere east of there. Probably better avoid Adams Morgan too unless you want to see drunks every weekend.

Make sure you get dedicated parking. It'll cost you upwards of $30k more, but you'll never regret it.

Examples from my building less than $500k:

A. 2bd/2ba, 1468 sqft, older kitchen, garage parking, 439k

B. 2/2, sqft not give but looks big, new kitchen, no parking, 6 mo condo fees paid, 399k

C. 1/1, 968 sqft, new kitchen, parking, 320k.

The neighborhood has more expensive and cheaper condos. I've also heard that fees very wildly. We think ours are very reasonable for what we have.

If you want my real estate agent's number I'm happy to share. We relied heavily on her and had a great experience. I can also share more details about places where we looked and why our place was the best option.

Good luck,
bob

I am vastly limited due to the Great Dane sleeping next to me.. she needs a yard, if even a small one. North Arlington with older houses, or Falls Church is probably where we'll end up.

I would second Takoma Park, by the way. There's a Metro (red-line) stop there, the neighborhood is nice, and it may be a little cheaper (not really sure). We could have afforded a 2bdrm condo in TP.

Related to that: many of the refurbed older buildings that went condo in the last 5 years are kinda ******, in my experience. They were quick jobs done to make a profit. I have no idea about new construction.

b

Arlington. Arlington. Arlington.

I can't recommend it enough.

Get close enough to the bridge that you can walk into Georgetown. Take advantage of lower VA taxes (unless you're working in DC, of course.)

And I'd rent now, not buy. Do it for a year while you figure out the city. Prices will stay flat or comedown anyway.

Shoreman: I've been to DC many times, but never viewed it through the lens of moving there. I'll have a strange situation where I'll be commuting for a few months, so I'll have a bit of a chance to get a feel for the flavor before I purchase.

Some have mentioned standalone houses: I don't have any preference for them, but it seemed like Silver Spring would be the only chance for something in my price range.

Kind of interesting how people are split on Virginia. I kind of like the DC flavor myself, but I'm familiar with McLean/Fairfax and Alexandria, the former seem like more family-oriented places.

If you want to be in NW (northwest, the quadrant most populated by middle-to-upper middle class folks), you options are limited, but let me suggest Petworth or Brightwood Park. The areas have lots of housing stock (mainly row houses) in that price range. Neither are downtown, but there are subways nearby and more and more commercial and retail coming all the time. Both are predominantly African American, but rapidly gentrifying, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your point of view.

The 600-lb gorilla in the room when it comes to housing in DC is whether or not you are in an affluent, predominantly white neighborhood or not. Southwest, where the new baseball stadium is being built has post-1950s construction of condos and townhomes, but prices are inflated due to the new construction and some of the bargains are in the gentrifying areas. If you aren't familiar with the social politics of the city, NW is a safer bet.

I'll second the idea of renting for a year.

All the previous advice has been good, though I'm particularly partial to Cleveland Park, and think that Penn Quarter is still a little "up and coming." If Cleveland Park is slightly out of your price range, you can look more toward Wisconsin Ave., the National Cathedral, and up toward Tenley.

I'll also add a pitch for a condo in Kalorama ("Kalorama Triangle" is basically just a re-named Adams Morgan).

Fairfax/McLean/North Arlington are much more family oriented. Rosslyn/Clarendon/Old Town are more "urban," though not as urban as Penn Quarter.

Thanks everyone; some good tips here.