Out and About - Heaven can wait

Who could dispute whether $7.5 million is a lot to pay for a house? That's the price of one that has been on the market in chic Massachusetts Avenue Heights since last April, originally at $8 million. It's so big that finding the front door can be a challenge. With five bedrooms, five full and two half baths, the house is thus described by the listing agent: "Magnificent Baronial Tudor Revival estate on market 1st time in 18 years. Wood paneled walls, leaded glass windows, excellent entertaining space indoors and outdoors on terrace and terraced garden. Many fine period details. Half acre park like setting includes additional lot with secluded pool and guest house w. bath, frpl, kitchenette. Rare opportunity to purchase landmark Washington property."

Yet the listing fails to mention how much of the house is down at the heels, how lacking glamour it is, how impractical the layout. You would expect grandeur in a dwelling that costs so much, but the living room is too small for serious entertaining and looks more like a library than anything else, lined as it is with bookshelves. Not one of the five baths merits a second look, and the kitchen is humdrum, even if it is reasonably up to date. The agent says it can take time for a property at such an elevated price point to find a buyer. Of course! Especially when the price is unwarranted and based primarily on the size of its lot as well how posh is its location.

A house around the corner makes glaringly evident the defects in design and in pricing of the $7.5 million property. Once owned by former Sen. Jon Corzine, this unprepossessing house cascades down a hillside, with each of three levels opening to stunning wooded views via romantic balconies, large custom windows and French doors. There are four bedrooms, four baths and masterly design touches at every turn – from strategically placed rough-hewn beams to a massive fireplace and the interplay of textures and colors throughout. Architectural Digest and House Beautiful have lavished pages on the property, the latter magazine having rhapsodized: ". . . a touch of design alchemy transformed a 1920s cinder-block house into a classic pavilion in the garden."

The house has numerous wonderful qualities, among them a dramatic master bath with large cast-iron tub and separate stone shower; step-up dining room with sliding doors that can separate the living and dining rooms; European styled kitchen with the best of everything; three-zone heating and cooling; wiring for computer access in all the rooms; an electric dog fence; an antique 18th century stone fountain; and a private outdoor pergola-covered dining area with hidden grille, smoker and rotisserie encased in Moroccan tiled cabinetry.

It is offered at "only" $4.5 million. Although on the market for about two months, this thoughtfully designed house certainly represents excellent value, throwing into high contrast the overpriced behemoth not two blocks away.

Other properties seen in the past week:

In Bethesda, near NIH, a four-bedroom, three-bath Cape. Starting life in 1954 as a classic two bedrooms up and two down, the house now boosts two bedrooms up and two down with original baths on the two main floors. The late 90s addition resulted in a nonsensical floor plan (you have no idea where you are once you walk in the front door) of labyrinthine sensibility (a small kitchen that granite doesn't fix, family room with pretentious vaulted ceiling, freezing breakfast room, and one more small space behind yet another door for some undisclosed purpose). Priced aggressively at $769,000 for close to two months, this one is likely to sit a while longer.

• A three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath rowhouse in "extended Capitol Hill," meaning near Lincoln Park in this case. Approximately 90 percent renovated (some floors haven't been refinished, and the bath is unimproved), this charmer lacks central air conditioning. But it has many things going for it, including a small modern kitchen open to the living room, den, sunroom, rear deck, front porch and two parking places. Perhaps because of a typo or misunderstanding, it was listed originally at a bargain price of $479,000 but went up almost immediately to $530,000. Even at that amount, this house may well have found a buyer by now.
  
• In American University Park, a small three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath Tudor in need of absolutely everything. This is a green granny sporting original woodwork and baths, teal shag from 1969 and a mustard yellow refrigerator from the same era. Great location and decent level lot make it a good candidate for renovation, but the $779,000 price makes that unlikely to happen any time soon.
  
• A beautifully renovated 3,000 SF Mount Pleasant attached rowhouse with five bedrooms, three and a half baths, including a nice rentable in-law suite, two-car garage, two decks, deluxe baths, new floors, handsome kitchen and aspirations to be sold for at least $1,049,500. Don't bet on it, though one less improved and without parking came in under a million down the block not long ago.
  
• In the Glenwood neighborhood of Bethesda, a four-bedroom, three-bath Colonial built in 1948. It's a decent brick house with nice lot in good location. Upstairs are tiny bedrooms and a small bath. Confusing room designations likely have made buyers hesitate: The dining room is now the kitchen, there is no dining room, and the den is now a bedroom with huge full bath right off the living room. And what is that room off the (now) kitchen? Originally priced at $799,000, now reduced to $775,000 – after nearly three months the market says it's still too high.
  
• A five-bedroom, three-bath rowhouse north of Logan Circle in the U Street Corridor, with one of those bedrooms and baths in the neglected basement and the others divided between two apartments for buyers who are smitten with narrow hallways, tiny unappealing kitchens and bedrooms that would function better as dining rooms. The owner spent $400,000 renovating the property. He should have saved his money, as should any buyer considering the reduced $995,000 asking price. The hot tub on the roof is small compensation for putting up with a renovation that tries to delude as new and wonderful rather than own up to its poor layout and cheap finishing.
  
• In Chevy Chase, D.C. right near Rock Creek Park, a three-bedroom, three-bath ranch built in 1957 on a hilly lot. This is an intelligent renovation where thought has been given to the way people live today, and an effort has been made to make the space work to its fullest extent. The well-designed kitchen has top-of-the-line appliances and is open to the large living/dining area. The baths are brand-new, as are the wiring and plumbing. And the lower level features cool storage, a beautiful fireplace and loads more living space. On the market just two weeks, time will tell what the market says about its $799,000 price tag.
  
• A two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath, bi-level condo with in-unit washer/dryer, a lot of space taken up with a staircase, and a decent open kitchen into which you enter the apartment in a Penn Quarter building with numerous amenities, not including free parking. The asking price of $599,000 with a $634 monthly fee is quite reasonable for the location, given how much such units sold for in the recent past.
  
• In Glen Mar Park in Bethesda, a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath 1966 brick Colonial. Badly placed on a busy corner, this house smells musty and neglected. The galley kitchen needs a total makeover, the baths are original (think Barbie pink tile), and the garage is now a cavernous "family room." Other than its Bethesda zip code, there is very little to make a buyer even think about this house. Originally offered at $749,000 in October 2004, the price is (448 days later) $749,000. 'Nuff said.
  
• Attached rowhouses that have been converted near downtown D.C. into six look-alike condos offered as high as $925,000 with fees as much as $266, plus two interior spaces for $60,000. These units are long on sizzle, but the steak is a bit thin, just a bit. Because the houses are relatively narrow, so are these multi-level units with most rooms on the small side, some kitchens awkwardly laid out and views soon to be blocked by an 11-story building.
  
• In Mount Pleasant, a nice-enough four-bedroom, three-bath rowhouse with inviting front porch, undistinguished rooms, parking for one car, an okay kitchen, an in-law suite for much disliked parents, and a little deck. Two years ago, a house like this would have sold for $200,000 less than the current asking price of $725,000, which today seems to be optimistic.