Math education specialist Chris just wants a more grown up living situation. So he brings his girlfriend, Katie, along to help him become one of the many House Hunters in Washington, DC. The couple won’t be moving in together–Katie owns her own property–but instead she’ll be bringing her buyer’s expertise along for the search.
This episode is all about federal rowhouses, extra rooms to rent, and math.
Wish Lists
His: Chris has a pretty strict wish list. He wants a federal rowhome with a porch and a nice backyard. Since moving from Northern New Jersey, Chris has lived in a flat with four other people. As the oldest of eight children, he is most comfortable living with others. Therefore, he wants a place with at least four bedrooms so that he can rent out the rest to help pay for his mortgage. He also wants three bathrooms. He wants the place to have an open concept, hardwood floors, and an updated kitchen. He also really wants to have a dishwasher for the first time in his life.
Chris has a hefty budget of $500,000, but that’s all he’s willing to spend on his dream home.
House #1, $499,000
This place has three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a basement unit. It’s an open concept house, like Chris wants, and it also has a dishwasher. However, the kitchen is very small and doesn’t have much counter space. It also has the washer and dryer oddly placed in the middle of the living room.
The backyard isn’t amazing but it’s nice enough, especially considering the garden. The big draw of this place is the basement unit because it provides more than enough room for tenants.
House #2, $480,000
This place doesn’t look that attractive from the front, but much nicer inside. It’s not completely open concept because there are stairs near the entrance, but everything else is open. Katie and Chris love the hardwood floor, and they like the kitchen, but it still needs a little more counter space and a better dishwasher.
It also has three bedrooms and has a nice deck. Of the three places, this one would need the most renovations, so they might end up going over budget. The rooms are very large in this one, so the extra costs might be manageable when they start renting it out.
House #3, $475,000
This place is not an open concept home because it has an arc before you enter the next part. The kitchen is really nice and large, with Chris’s dream island. The backyard needs a lot of work.
There is a finished basement that could become another space to rent, but Katie and Chris don’t like that the washer and dryer are in the middle of it, because it would mean going through someone’s space to do laundry. The rooms are a lot smaller in this place.
Decision Time: Their realtor lets Chris know that he might end up in a bidding war, especially for house #1 or #3. There is some work that needs to be done on house #2 and house #3, but house #3 needs way less work than house #2.
All three homes were very attractive, but Chris ultimately decides on…House #3.
After a bidding war ensues, they end up paying $492,000 instead of the initial listed price of $475,000. Chris has already rented out the two spare bedrooms and well on his way to paying off the mortgage.
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