Category: Housing

Random thoughts on housing and affordablity – In Shaw – Mari in the Citi

There was a recent report on the relationship between minimum wages and the affordability of a two bedroom apartment. I’m going to reveal a little of my philosophical bent when I write a minimum wage job has as much to do with a 2 bedroom unit as a studio apartment as to do with housing a family of 4.

I remember a lovely trip to NYC where we visited the Tenement Museum, I highly recommend it. Large families would live in these cruddy little spaces which were the size of some studio apartments. We learned laws to make these places more sanitary slowly and later quickly incentivized landlords to close up the tenement apartments and just rent to commercial enterprises. There are costs to renting residential housing borne by the landlord, in the case of Lower East Side landlords, it wasn’t worth it.

So what are the costs to rent out say a small apartment building in DC. Well for one, you need to get a small apartment building. The cheapest building so far is an empty 4 unit near Ft. Totten for $895K. From what I can tell it needs work and could turn into 6 units if you have a lot of 1 bedroom apartments. The minimum monthly payment and we haven’t fixed the place for human habitation is around $6000. If the owner decides to fix it up, that costs money to pay for permits, labor and materials. Over $1500 a unit if we have 4 apartments, $1000 with 6. Insurance, maintenance, utilities for common areas, property taxes, and property management haven’t been added. There are some other concepts such as vacancy, that time when no one is in the unit covering the mortgage. Then there is the idea of profit because what is the point, unless you’re a non-profit with another motivation.

Even companies and persons who’ve owned their properties a while still have to pay for updates, maintenance, management (the people you call when you need maintenance), insurance, property taxes and a bunch of other stuff.

But when you are the one looking to rent, that doesn’t matter. There are many people looking to rent and if a landlord can charge $X,xxx for their dinky little 1 bedroom they will, provided it is worth renting it out over mothballing it.

This page contains a single entry by Mari published on May 30, 2016 9:12 PM.

2.5 centuries of DC architecture – In Shaw – Mari in the Citi

Morgan St HousesI have no idea how old these Morgan Street houses are. Mid-Late 19th Century off the top of my head and I think there is some construction going on that block. So this photo is old.
DC has tons of old buildings. Call them historic if you want to get all fancy pants. The folks at RENTCafé sent me this from their post “D.C. Architecture:  260 Years of Home Design Evolution in the Nation’s Capital“. At first glance I thought they did this thing that a lot of people do, include parts of Maryland and Virginia but it looks like it is pure DC (a lot of upper and way west NW, but still DC). So enjoy.

This page contains a single entry by Mari published on May 18, 2016 3:46 PM.

A differing view – In Shaw – Mari in the Citi

Glass constructionSome time ago I was chatting with my architect neighbor, about what exactly I forget, and we either were looking at or talking about houses and apartments with these large windows.
As I recalled he mentioned how they were great, letting lots of light in. I on the other hand had a different opinion. When I look up or over at houses like the one pictured, I think,
“Look at me! Look at me!”
“Look at my cool house!”
“Look at my cool stuff!”
“Look at my cool life! and weep.”
Well mainly for the people who don’t make use of their blinds in the evening or at night so they are critters in a fish tank.
I’m sure this is not what the occupants mean to say or project to the passing world, gazing out their car windows at the light or me when I’m walking from mass and observe a few minutes of the “kitchen show” on my way to the Giant. However, it looks like the ‘haves’ broadcasting to the other haves and maybe-haves along with the have-nots in Shaw.

This page contains a single entry by Mari published on May 7, 2016 1:40 PM.

Death and Taxes – In Shaw – Mari in the Citi

Back in 2013 I wrote about my dead Aunt G. who despite being very dead was still getting the Senior Citizen Homestead Deduction. I chose not to out my dead aunt because I wanted to give whomever I was related to enough time to probate the will and get auntie’s estate all straightened out. I figured I’d wait 5 years after her death for her estate to clear everything up, but due to a few things that have happened I’m gonna have to air this out earlier than planned.
pix of aunt and uncleI’d been keeping the voice mail where one of my relatives informed me of Aunt Geraldine’s death back in January of 2012. Well apparently voice mails have a shelf life and somehow it did not get saved in a backup. It was my reminder when looking at my list of voicemails to every so often to check and see if she was listed as the owner of her house in SE.
And recently I was speaking with another relative about the situation. I mentioned that the property was still in Aunt Geraldine’s name and the relative mentioned that her will was probated sometime ago.
I’ve held off long enough.
Uncle Randolph (pictured sitting on the right) has been dead since the late 80s
and after his death, her health went south. Her last years were spent in a nursing home somewhere in Maryland. She hadn’t lived in the house since the mid to late 2000s.
Before her death, she paid $570, and $635 in property taxes in 2010 and 2011. She died January 13, 2012, that year she paid $925 in property taxes, but they went down in 2013 to $799, $786 in 2014, and $865 in 2015. This year it appears her tax bill is $626. The house is valued by the city to be worth $220,810 (2016 assessment), but despite being very dead she (or whomever is running her estate) is getting the benefit of her (and my late uncle’s) tenure in the house, with the 10% cap on how high taxes can go up and double bonus points of the Senior Citizen Homestead Deduction.
It is great that DC has the deduction for seniors. However, the city does a poor job of checking up on seniors to see if they are still alive and kicking. I can’t judge them too harshly with Aunt Geraldine because she still does not appear in the Social Security Death Index. However, she’s not the only dead person in DC paying real property taxes with the Senior Citizen Homestead Deduction.
Mrs. Geraldine Lewis is very dead, laid to rest in a Maryland grave and should be free of the burden of taxes.

The Last Roommate

The Last Roommate By Mari on August 30, 2010 1:45 PM

Well this weekend my last roommate moved in. After the Help and I get hitched (when he actually has a legal right to all that equity I’ve built up) he’ll move in and I’ll no longer be renting out the extra room. This house is way too small for 3 adults. So in thinking about 9 years worth of roommates and the whole renting your room out, here’s what I’ve learned:

Let the market determine the rent- not your mortgage

I think I charged by first roommate Belinda $500 in 2001. I can’t remember if I included utilities. I probably did. My mortgage was a little below $600. This was pre-renovation. I had the kitchen counter-space of a Ouija board and crappy cheap carpet. I also had active drug traffic on my corner and back then Cindy the Crackho was actively working (now it seems she’s retired) so I couldn’t really demand a high rent. But neither was I going to charge ½ of my mortgage, I had to make it worth my privacy. Then came the kitchen renovation and the whole house renovations and the second mortgages that followed. The kitchen renovation had no impact on what I was charging for rent as it had no impact on having drug dealers on the corner. Strangely, neither does having a new kitchen reduce gunfire heard at night, which really allowed for raising the rent. (more after the jump)

I did increase the rent from the $500-$550 range to $700 and above after the huge renovation in 2007 when my mortgage total went into the land of $1600 a month. I was charging less than ½ my mortgage and including utilities. In 2007-08 a renovation at that time made sense. The drug dealers were decreasing their hours. Other houses on the street were getting renovated so I wouldn’t be overbuilding, and I was finally making enough money to support a bigger second mortgage. After the renovation, I checked Craigslist and the City Paper to get a sense of what to charge for a room. Then I would post an ad for a certain amount and depending on if I got any real bites, I found out if I was asking too much.

Do a thorough interview and follow up on references

One reason I hear people say no to roommates is that they’ve had a bad experience with a past roommate. Of my worst roommates since leaving my parents home they’ve been people I didn’t choose (dorm situations) . It helps to pick people based on something in addition to their ability to pay rent on time. I’ve always required references and I interview those references, over the phone, before offering the room. I demand an in-person interview with the applicant. In the beginning it was to make sure the person was ok with the neighborhood. It was also to make sure they were the kind of person I could get on well enough with for the next 3 to 6 months. Yes, even though I do short term rentals I did the big interview, check your references, confirm employment dance.

The questions I would ask references were roommate, temperament questions. How are they about cleaning up behind themselves? Does So-in-So smoke? How does s/he handle conflict when a problem arises? Would you describe So-in-So as dependable/responsible? And general descriptions of the person. These interviews have been helpful in adjusting how I related to the roommate and made me aware of things I’d have to be sensitive to as well. And I made sure they were not all email references and I called the employer (or former employer in some cases.)

Know your market, know yourself

As I mentioned, I do short term rentals. Mainly because I get bored with people and sometimes I just want my house back. That was the know yourself part. So, who would I rent to? Well in the summer there are interns. I’ve had a law firm intern, and international org intern, and some educational non-profit intern. Because of all the non-profit think tanks and other research institutions there are also fellows, who are like interns, but older and definitely paid better. Some fellows I got from friends who were searching for housing for their research fellows who were going to be in DC for 4-6 months. Other types of people who needed the short term stays were people who were hired on a trial basis, a commuter and someone here for a short detail at the home agency.

My preferred roommate was someone with a life elsewhere. My commuter, lived with her partner on weekends. The person on detail had an apartment back on the west coast she was returning to. The law intern was a homeowner in Philly. And to accommodate them I would provide a furnished room, and provide kitchen wares so all they had to bring was their suitcase.

Ect

Sometime this year I contacted DCRA about the legality of renting out my extra bedroom and was told by Michael Rupert, Communications Manager, that I could have up to 5 unrelated people living together in a home – as long as they share kitchen and living spaces – without having to get any license and it’s perfectly ok in terms of zoning regulations.

I also reported the income on my taxes taking out the expenses associated (utilities, the odd time I paid the WP for an ad) and it has been good income. If you pick the right roommate (lives elsewhere on weekends, workaholic, never cooks) it can be the easiest $600-$700 bucks a month.

I did increase the rent from the $500-$550 range to $700 and above after the huge renovation in 2007 when my mortgage total went into the land of $1600 a month. I was charging less than ½ my mortgage and including utilities. In 2007-08 a renovation at that time made sense. The drug dealers were decreasing their hours. Other houses on the street were getting renovated so I wouldn’t be overbuilding, and I was finally making enough money to support a bigger second mortgage. After the renovation, I checked Craigslist and the City Paper to get a sense of what to charge for a room. Then I would post an ad for a certain amount and depending on if I got any real bites, I found out if I was asking too much.

Do a thorough interview and follow up on references

One reason I hear people say no to roommates is that they’ve had a bad experience with a past roommate. Of my worst roommates since leaving my parents home they’ve been people I didn’t choose (dorm situations) . It helps to pick people based on something in addition to their ability to pay rent on time. I’ve always required references and I interview those references, over the phone, before offering the room. I demand an in-person interview with the applicant. In the beginning it was to make sure the person was ok with the neighborhood. It was also to make sure they were the kind of person I could get on well enough with for the next 3 to 6 months. Yes, even though I do short term rentals I did the big interview, check your references, confirm employment dance.

The questions I would ask references were roommate, temperament questions. How are they about cleaning up behind themselves? Does So-in-So smoke? How does s/he handle conflict when a problem arises? Would you describe So-in-So as dependable/responsible? And general descriptions of the person. These interviews have been helpful in adjusting how I related to the roommate and made me aware of things I’d have to be sensitive to as well. And I made sure they were not all email references and I called the employer (or former employer in some cases.)

Know your market, know yourself

As I mentioned, I do short term rentals. Mainly because I get bored with people and sometimes I just want my house back. That was the know yourself part. So, who would I rent to? Well in the summer there are interns. I’ve had a law firm intern, and international org intern, and some educational non-profit intern. Because of all the non-profit think tanks and other research institutions there are also fellows, who are like interns, but older and definitely paid better. Some fellows I got from friends who were searching for housing for their research fellows who were going to be in DC for 4-6 months. Other types of people who needed the short term stays were people who were hired on a trial basis, a commuter and someone here for a short detail at the home agency.

My preferred roommate was someone with a life elsewhere. My commuter, lived with her partner on weekends. The person on detail had an apartment back on the west coast she was returning to. The law intern was a homeowner in Philly. And to accommodate them I would provide a furnished room, and provide kitchen wares so all they had to bring was their suitcase.

Ect

Sometime this year I contacted DCRA about the legality of renting out my extra bedroom and was told by Michael Rupert, Communications Manager, that I could have up to 5 unrelated people living together in a home – as long as they share kitchen and living spaces – without having to get any license and it’s perfectly ok in terms of zoning regulations.

I also reported the income on my taxes taking out the expenses associated (utilities, the odd time I paid the WP for an ad) and it has been good income. If you pick the right roommate (lives elsewhere on weekends, workaholic, never cooks) it can be the easiest $600-$700 bucks a month.

More thoughts on the Camp Protest

Protest bannerThis morning I awoke to an NPR report on the OneDC protest at 7th and R/ RI Ave. Or at least I thought I heard a story as I can’t find a link on either the NPR site nor the WAMU site about it. Anyway, the Shaw area does not lack affordable housing. Now I say that as in there are buildings that take up square footage and whole blocks in Shaw that were built as affordable housing, take government money to subsidize rents, are public housing, and/or are subsidized senior housing. If you are going by market rates, then it all depends on how much you’re willing to spend and what living conditions you can deal with. Playing around with DC Housing Search I see there are individual landlords and other entities that rent out individual rooms, individual houses, and small typically 4 unit apartment buildings. So when a group is protesting for more non-market rate housing, I’m thinking how much more affordable housing in this neighborhood do we need? And concentrating poverty isn’t doing anyone any favors. The protesters are nicely caged up on the lot and so far aren’t a nuisance so I have no problem with their protest. I just disagree with their demands. I am part of the Shaw community as I live here, I shop here, I vote here, and what the city or other powers that be plop down has an impact on my quality of life. Concentrating dis-empowerment and dependency near a transportation hub will continue to hamper the neighborhood’s ability to succeed.

A coupla house & garden things

I’m a little late mentioning this but have you heard of the partial house collapse on Morgan St? A street that is both in Mt. Vernon Square and the TC.

As a reminder, these houses aren’t as strong as you think they are, unless someone in the 100 or so years they’ve been standing did more than slap band-aids on them. A neighbor is gutting his house and the stories he’s told about what dangerous defects they found once they’ve peeled away the plaster is frigging frightening. Walls with nothing but sandy mortar keeping them up. Walls that were leaning and bowing and not really locked in place that possibly could have taken the neighboring house with it. Well that’s just our block. I’m sure your house was built by guys who wanted the place to stand for a hundred years. Oh wait, your hundred years is up.

Well now that I’ve depressed and unnecessarily scared some of you (really, unless you’re renovating don’t worry. If you are renovating factor structural fix-ups into the costs), here’s something nice. I was in the 5th St Hardware store to get some zip ties. Spent $75 in gardening stuff and forgot the zip ties. Anyway I saw a non-motorized lawn mower for sale. If I still had a tiny lawn I would really consider one of these. It is one of those really old fashioned push reel mowers and since the only power it uses is people power, it is green. I have heard it is greener not to have a lawn at all. But I didn’t ditch my tiny lawn to be green. It was ditched it because I wanted to grow food and I can’t eat grass.

Not so nice. They are almost out of tomato plants. There were 1 or 2 left. I bought 2. Hit the farmers markets. Thursday in Penn Quarter, there is a vendor who sells patio tomato plants, great for small spaces. Patio tomatoes don’t vine all over the place. They are kinda bushy.

Ok this post is rambling.

More follow-up


Decay of1607 NJ Ave NW
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

Well I never thought DCRA could actually work this quickly. If DCRA wants to take a look at the vacant store at P and North Cap with the big dent in the side, that would be nice, thanks! I’m guessing this removal of the roof and part of the 2nd floor is the work of DCRA or one of it’s contractors because there were cones and yellow tape blocking the alley. If the 1st floor of the house crumbles, I gather there’s less of a danger. But the thing I wonder is if the estate of the owner has been informed of this?
Regarding the big Nuclear to-do over at the Convention Center, it appears that fewer people will have their Constitutional rights violated and Jack Evans is trying to help with parking woes. According to the press release ““This Summit , while good for the District, will be an inconvenience for many in the neighborhood,” said Evans. “Suspending street sweeping will at least allow cars to remain parked and help ease this burden on those who live and work around the Convention Center.”

DPW will post signs in the following areas stating that residents do not have to relocate their vehicles for street sweeping: Florida Avenue, NW (northern boundary), H Street, NW (southern boundary), 5th Street, NW (eastern boundary), and 15th Street, NW (western boundary).”
From reading the Post and other media it appears the ID checking will be on the sidewalk side of the Convention Center, so possibly persons going to Subway Sandwiches, that dance studio, the cigar place, church for noontime mass might not have to show ID. Just the unfortunate saps who live on the same block as the Convention Center. Do I think that all this trouble will be worth it? The Convention Center has been open for how many years now? And hosting how many large conferences and events and has any of that really helped the northern end? I don’t know about you but on days when I walk home I notice the conference badged hordes heading south to Chinatown and crowding the eateries there.
Lastly, I’d been meaning to clean up and address some emails I got about schools, particularly the Center City School, formerly the Immaculate Conception Catholic School. But at a certain point I gotta admit I’m never going to get to or follow up on certain things and just clean out my mailbox.