I would and I agree with PP's that are encouraging SFHs over condos. [The one caveat is if you/your significant have absolutely not interest in home projects and you don't have the extra funds to pay for any repairs, etc. But you'll have money by not paying HOA fees and your home will most likely appreciate over a condo, so maybe that's not a major consideration.]

In fact, DH and I live on the Hill and have thought about buying in the area above H street because the lots are much bigger and we figure we can cash in our equity and buy something bigger over there.

Note that houses in that are very competitive if priced appropriately. Hope you have a good agent and are both very patient. GL!

Anonymous wrote:To the OP: Echo other people who are suggesting SFH over condos. There are a handful of 3BR in that neighborhood that are in your price range:
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20002/421969_zpid/66126_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/38.91002,-76.973326,38.891417,-77.002637_rect/14_zm/
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20002/413518_zpid/66126_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/38.91002,-76.973326,38.891417,-77.002637_rect/14_zm/

I think that if that first house goes for under 800k it’ll be the deal of the century. That’s a great block. I live really close (on a slightly less nice block) and I sort of wish we could buy it.

To the OP: Echo other people who are suggesting SFH over condos. There are a handful of 3BR in that neighborhood that are in your price range:
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20002/421969_zpid/66126_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/38.91002,-76.973326,38.891417,-77.002637_rect/14_zm/
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Washington-DC-20002/413518_zpid/66126_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/38.91002,-76.973326,38.891417,-77.002637_rect/14_zm/

Anonymous wrote:I’m surprised to see comments that it’s only for DINKs. We live north of H, closer to Union Station, with a mid-elementary child and a preschooler and we definitely aren’t the only family nearby. Most of the older kids attend charters, but if our oldest were starting school now, we would be fine attending the local elementary.

We are one block south of H and we were the first people with kids on our block 12 years ago. Now there are 12 more. The area from union station out to 14th, up to Florida and down to east cap is crawling with kids, whether or not it is called the Hill.

Anonymous wrote:This is the PP who bought a rowhouse. I'd personally be comfortable buying at 13th or to 14th. I would not buy on Benning or in Carver-Langston (though I don't believe there are any condos there yet, just rowhouses).

The Starburst will be cleaned up quickly once someone redevelops the Hechinger Mall site, but probably not much will change until then. I haven't seen any plans for that redevelopment, though it's a huge site so I'm sure it's on developers' radar. My guess is that it'll be three to five more years or so. Once the Hopscotch bridge is replaced, I think there will be pressure to extend the streetcar at least to Gallery Place, and if that happens it will make the Hechinger site too attractive to pass up. If that doesn't happen, then the timeline could be a bit longer. But there's no lack of amenities now, and other than going to Jenks hardware, it's pretty easy to avoid the Starburst area.

As for safety more generally, I am pretty comfortable. As in any neighborhood where people go out drinking, muggers can target drunks, so if you're out very late it's smart to be cognizant of that when walking on quiet side streets. If you're right on H, that's not likely to be a big issue.

I don't think this area is going to change much at all anytime soon. There is are low-income apartments across the street where a lot of the recent crime in the area is stemming from.

I’m surprised to see comments that it’s only for DINKs. We live north of H, closer to Union Station, with a mid-elementary child and a preschooler and we definitely aren’t the only family nearby. Most of the older kids attend charters, but if our oldest were starting school now, we would be fine attending the local elementary.

It's a good neighborhood for DINKS. I bought my first condo near H St and had four nice years as a single in that neighborhood before it was even a thing.

I would not live there with kids, never, and we moved to McLean when DS1 was two months old. We kept the condo as a rental and I still wouldn't live there with kids today. I do see families with very small children out and about so someone IS making it work.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Actually, the new steps from L'Enfant promenade make the Wharf much more directly connected to the Mall. But 3 Bedrooms at the Wharf aren't in your budget. Over in the older parts of SW, nearer waterfront metro they sometimes are, though, and it is a nice neighborhood - lots of grassy setbacks, trees, and you can, indeed, walk to the mall - it's about a 15 min walk from Waterfront metro to Air & Space. And the new restaurants and music venues at the wharf are fun.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you're a DINK with an $800K budget and you want space, go EOTR. You can get a detached house by the Benning Rd metro for half your budget.

$400K less on your mortgage is just shy of $2,000 a month in savings. You get more space, better transit access, and you can Uber to the same bars and restaurants on H St. in about 10 minutes except all your food and drinks are essentially free because you're saving so much on your house.[/quote]

OP here - that's true but being by blocked by the river is not something I'm interested in. I want a neighborhood that's still central to D.C. and walking distance to downtown/the Mall.

That's why I'm not necessarily interested in the Wharf - its cut off by the highway. [/quote][/quote]

13th and H is 2 miles from the Mall and 2.5 from downtown DC. I think you're severely overestimating how often you'll be walking to either one of those from H St., plus unless you're a speedwalker living by any of the EOTR metro stations would get you there faster. (And drier in bad weather)

Also, you must really, really like walking. Assuming you make that walk 5 times a week you're paying $100 per walk in extra mortgage payments!

[/quote]

I live at 12th and G and I run to the mall and back all the time. It’s a three mile loop around the Capitol and down to the National Gallery and back. Most of my neighbors walk down there fairly often. Even my 70+ parents walk to the Smithsonians whenever they visit. It’s not a long walk and it’s very pleasant. There is just a strong culture of walking in this neighborhood.

^^ the bus lines, street car and even union station metro make the trip to down town much faster than the meandering orange/blue line. And you CAN walk from Chinatown in 30 minutes. I do it often.

[quote=Anonymous]
Actually, the new steps from L'Enfant promenade make the Wharf much more directly connected to the Mall. But 3 Bedrooms at the Wharf aren't in your budget. Over in the older parts of SW, nearer waterfront metro they sometimes are, though, and it is a nice neighborhood - lots of grassy setbacks, trees, and you can, indeed, walk to the mall - it's about a 15 min walk from Waterfront metro to Air & Space. And the new restaurants and music venues at the wharf are fun.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you're a DINK with an $800K budget and you want space, go EOTR. You can get a detached house by the Benning Rd metro for half your budget.

$400K less on your mortgage is just shy of $2,000 a month in savings. You get more space, better transit access, and you can Uber to the same bars and restaurants on H St. in about 10 minutes except all your food and drinks are essentially free because you're saving so much on your house.[/quote]

OP here - that's true but being by blocked by the river is not something I'm interested in. I want a neighborhood that's still central to D.C. and walking distance to downtown/the Mall.

That's why I'm not necessarily interested in the Wharf - its cut off by the highway. [/quote][/quote]

13th and H is 2 miles from the Mall and 2.5 from downtown DC. I think you're severely overestimating how often you'll be walking to either one of those from H St., plus unless you're a speedwalker living by any of the EOTR metro stations would get you there faster. (And drier in bad weather)

Also, you must really, really like walking. Assuming you make that walk 5 times a week you're paying $100 per walk in extra mortgage payments!

h st area is great - tons of young families on my block of L

Actually, the new steps from L'Enfant promenade make the Wharf much more directly connected to the Mall. But 3 Bedrooms at the Wharf aren't in your budget. Over in the older parts of SW, nearer waterfront metro they sometimes are, though, and it is a nice neighborhood - lots of grassy setbacks, trees, and you can, indeed, walk to the mall - it's about a 15 min walk from Waterfront metro to Air & Space. And the new restaurants and music venues at the wharf are fun.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you're a DINK with an $800K budget and you want space, go EOTR. You can get a detached house by the Benning Rd metro for half your budget.

$400K less on your mortgage is just shy of $2,000 a month in savings. You get more space, better transit access, and you can Uber to the same bars and restaurants on H St. in about 10 minutes except all your food and drinks are essentially free because you're saving so much on your house.[/quote]

OP here - that's true but being by blocked by the river is not something I'm interested in. I want a neighborhood that's still central to D.C. and walking distance to downtown/the Mall.

That's why I'm not necessarily interested in the Wharf - its cut off by the highway. [/quote]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I would. We bought in Bloomingdale 6+ years ago as dinks and a couple people told us it wasn't a good idea if we wanted kids soon. FF to now, we have a 2 yo and a baby and we love it here. And I'm SO glad we have 3 br so we're not feeling crowded out of the city like others that I know. Early education is pretty good in most DCPS as far as I can tell so we have a few more years before that's even a concern. Meanwhile, by the time we feel like we need to move we'll have a decade of appreciation on this house which is not insignificant in a neighborhood like this (and I would suspect H St.). One of the smartest decisions I ever made.

+1. We live in H St and have had significant appreciation over a few years. We now have a toddler. With the equity in our place, we can easily go to the burbs, buy a nice house in a really good school district and have a very low mortgage. But absolutely no interest in the burbs. Our toddlers is in a great preschool that costs nothing thanks to the city and we plan on stayingg long term, definitely for the next 6 years if not longer 10-15.

By the way, buy a renovated row house if you are able to stretch your budget a little more. More space now and to grow in if you decide to have kids, no condo fees, yard in back or parking pad. We have a good size yard (dining area, lounge area, and small vegetable garden) and a garage. No way can you get that in NW close to downtown unless you are paying huge, huge premium. This is why people are flocking to H St is decent size houses, decent back yard/parking pad, and huge amenities. Rowhouses will have better appreciation and should you decide to sell later, it will get scooped up. Only thing is that houses priced right here sell fast. It’s very competitive market, much more than condos.

^^ 13th-14th is a long block, I meant.

The Starburst intersection is actually 15th and H. And 14th-14th is a long block. I would buy anywhere on the 1300 block, no problem. 2 new condo buildings opposite each other on the corner of east side of 13th and H. The trolley stops right on that corner too (and it’s free). Maketto for coffee (& great food). Lots of great food and drink options.

We live at 13th and E and have 3 young kids. I feel perfectly safe, so I certainly wouldn’t worry on that basis.