4702 8th St. NW
Original Listing Price: $535,000(April 30, 2007)
Current Listing Price: $309,900 (Feb. 10, 2008)
Slash Rate: 42 percent
Square Footage: 1,530

This three-bedroom Petworth town house has experienced some ups and downs in its basic appearance: “There was a renovation done to the property, but it was vandalized, and now it’s missing a kitchen cabinet and a bathroom sink,” says real-estate agent Abraham Woldou with A&A Realty Service in Silver Spring. Woldou took on this foreclosure home back in December; he was the third listing agent. Since the house became part of his portfolio, he hasn’t done anything to it—pretty standard procedure for agents who sell foreclosure properties for banks. “First there was not much interest, then later on there were some offers on the property—very low,” he says. Woldou lowered his price from $339,900 to 309,900 back in early February. The buyers came knocking: One was a first-time home-purchaser; the other was an investor, hoping to rehab the building and rent it. Both offers were made roughly a month ago, says Woldou. Neither worked out. Now after more than 280 days on the market, the house is going to auction on April 26.