The House Next Door in Washington, DC

[Bobby Akines]

There is a house a few down from me that is boarded up and has been for quite some time. It is in a great location, about a block from the Metro, and I have literally seen 10 homes on our short street renovated this year. This would lead me to believe there is some reason this home has not been flipped or it would have been snatched up by investors. I pulled some info off the assessors office website, and the home looks to be valued about $250K. To give perspective, the homes on either side of this just sold for $600K+. Barring major foundation work, etc, could be a great deal. Also, ideally my goal would be to take a row house like this in my neighborhood, raise all the floors and roof so that all floors including the basement have at least 9'-0" ceilings, and turn the building into three units. A few questions:

- Any ideas how to approach the owner of this property? My guess is they have already received a load of "yellow letters," and I'm wondering what the right approach might be to get any sort of negotiation under way.

-Any advice on how to negotiate sale with an absentee landlord?

-Any suggestions on good home inspectors and GC's you have worked with in DC?

-If I can get the owner to agree to sale, anyone interested in JV on this?