Price Pick of the Week
18 Rhode Island Ave. NW
Listed sale price: $569,000
Previous sale price (1988): $10 (transfer from Department of Veterans Affairs)
Square footage: 3,618
“Revitalization of the neighborhood is an ongoing process,” reads the listing for this Eckington row house. The revitalization of this property, on the other hand, hasn’t yet begun. The six-bedroom, three-bathroom house, built in 1909, offers plenty of period detail, such as the grimy Contac paper lining the kitchen cabinets and the aging varnish on the hardwood floors. The Howard University students who recently rented the property might have left the building’s four floors dingy (and festooned with the occasional futon), so think twice about converting this one into your personal dream home. Keep it as a rental, though, and the Speed Queen commercial washer and dryer in the kitchen will allow you to squeeze a few extra quarters out of your tenants. Preliminary 2005 taxable assessment: $375,090. —Mike DeBonis