Talk to me about Pied a Terres for the Middle Class Set (aka a studio condo in downtown)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rent/buy by the ballpark. It's going to be the next hottest neighborhood in DC. Canal Park is beautiful, close to downtown and the restaurants are coming.

This is appealing, but if we do this, I don't want to do in anticipation of things coming, would really prefer for the existing amenities to be in place. Are there neighborhoods there that have that? I am admittedly not familiar with that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why? As an investment? Because you live in Leesburg and sometimes don't want to commute home?

When I read pied a terre, I think "place to meet my girlfriend for a quickie." Sorry, I just do.

Why is it any of your business? If you don't want to answer OP's question, then don't respond at all. What's it to you?

Hey dipshit, the OP asked the question, making it all of our business. Don't be so dense. Maybe you should take a break from the Internets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second Penn Quarter. The poster with a park probably lives at City Vista - that area is booming.

+1

I do live in City Vista (and love it).

OP here - I can see why - I checked out the website and it looks great. I suspect they might not have things come on within my desired (small) budget, but will add to the list of properties that I will monitor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why? As an investment? Because you live in Leesburg and sometimes don't want to commute home?

When I read pied a terre, I think "place to meet my girlfriend for a quickie." Sorry, I just do.

Aw come on. The average teeth-per-resident out here has doubled since 2005.

Sorry PPs don't live in Leesburg, but would love to be closer to the Williams Sonoma outlet! Maybe I will start a s/o pied a terre thread for Leesburg; I will get my popcorn for that one.

Sadly my city/country house budget means I'd be able to afford some acreage and a nice 2BR townhouse in ... Frederick.

[Anonymous]

Is it really possible to find something to buy in a well-established, metro accessible, downtown neighborhood for only $1500 a month? What kind of down payment would that require?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it really possible to find something to buy in a well-established, metro accessible, downtown neighborhood for only $1500 a month? What kind of down payment would that require?

I ran some preliminary #s on a few places that were co-ops where this looked possible, but admittedly, the better the location and unit, the less likely this is. We would be doing a DP of at least 25%.

We would also be looking at studios, so the smallest of the small.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you could rent a condo for awhile and figure it out? We have a couple of friends who have DT condos that they rent. It is easier on the commute!

[Anonymous]

Capital Hill, Dupont Circle, or Foggy Bottom would be my choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How often do you plan to use it? Unless you have lots of disposable income (in which case you aren't Middle Class) seems to me it would be more cost efficient to simply grab a hotel room on nights you want to stay downtown.

+1 here - we thought about having a pied a terre in NYC which we get to often, but in the end, the hassle of maintaining it, furnishing it, and not knowing where what is when seemed like a hassle. In the end, we thought we might only use it 3-4 times a month, in which case a hotel seemed like a better break even.

Of course, if you're planning on using it more often, it may make sense. I'd think about where you would most often be on the nights/days you want to stay over and then look in the vicinity. There's not much sense in getting a place if you end up having to commute to it!

We have one in NYC (inherited from my grandmother). Such a pain, the condo rules are insane in New York. We plan to sell as soon as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I second Penn Quarter. The poster with a park probably lives at City Vista - that area is booming.

+1

I do live in City Vista (and love it).

OP here - I can see why - I checked out the website and it looks great. I suspect they might not have things come on within my desired (small) budget, but will add to the list of properties that I will monitor.

What is your budget? I think the one bedroom/baths are going for 400k? And also check out the Yale West right next to it, a little cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coops vary on whether/how long you can rent, mostly because they need to keep a certain ratio of occupant owners for tax reasons. Then again, I'm hearing of more condos needing to do that these days, too, to keep within guidelines for lenders, so there may not be an enormous difference there. That saes, id, I do live in a neighborhood with several coops and those that don't allow it at all seem to have decidedly lower values and take longer to sell, so I'd avoid that.

I think on site maintenance is useful if you'll be away a lot, so that if a pipe bursts or whatever while you're away, it can be speedily addressed. Front desk staff that can take deliveries are nice for the same reason. (Though, admittedly, I use them to sign for wine shipments mostly ; )

I'd have a look at SW. Some cafes and restaurants down here, but also pretty peaceful and free of car noise. And convenient to fun restaurants on the Hill and Penn Quarter. Big studios, too.

Thanks PP - any specific building recommendations in SW?

Of the coops, River Park is the one that I think of as having the restrictive renting rules that are, I think, what keeps prices soft . Tiber Island and Harbour Square are really, really nice coops that include a ton of amenities (utilities, staff on site, cable and internet, gym). Both are right on the water. Of the condos, there's new and old construction and both have virtues. I feel like the coops have a bit more of a sense of community, with longer term residents, though there can be good and bad in that. Harbour Square has cool roof terraces as a shared amenity that make for gorgeous views up the river and of the 4th of July fireworks.

Inventory seems a bit tight in SW right now, but here's one with an adorable kitchen in Tiber:
http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/430-M-St-SW-20024/unit-N201/home/21633172
And one from Harbour Square: http://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/560-N-St-SW-20024/unit-N307/home/16902940

I think the new buildings up by metro that will be rentals (Sky Tower?) are supposed to have a roof pool. They could be worth keeping an eye on - they're supposed to start leasing in the fall or something and may have new lease specials that could be a way to get to know the area. If you were more tempted by the ballpark area, then there's a brand new apt building across the street from the ballpark (Camden South Capitol, I think?) that almost certainly has units as it only just started leasing. Waterside Towers, over by Waterfront metro is also rental apartments...that have rent control. That might almost perform as well as owning, as an investment...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rent/buy by the ballpark. It's going to be the next hottest neighborhood in DC. Canal Park is beautiful, close to downtown and the restaurants are coming.

Agree. The yards park is also a great resource in this area. Nothing can beat a waterfront location like that.

[Anonymous]

Look for a place that is on the same metro line as you are now. Since metro is important to you, I assume your primary home is on the metro. If you live in Bethesda, I wouldn't want the studio to be on the waterfront as on a Saturday morning that would take 1 hour to get home.