The Elm Student Newspaper
College Shells Out for Pricey Property
Volume 80, Issue 25
May 1, 2009
By Justin Morgan
Elm Staff Writer
At a very low point in the failing real estate market, last November 17, Washington College purchased the house at 305 Washington Avenue for $500,000. This same house had been bought by the seller just three years before—at the peak of the market—for $412,000.
This house belonged to John Eckenrode, a member of the Board of Visitors and Governors and a former chair of the 1782 Society. His son, a graduate in ’08, lived there before its purchase by the College.
Asked about the transaction, President Baird Tipson said, “Eckenrode came to us and proposed selling directly to the school.” In an interview, Eckenrode claimed he put in $200,000 worth of work and said, “I lost $131,000 dollars on the sale.”
Eckenrode said his improvements included adding a bathroom, three dormers on the back of the house and three bedrooms, some new flooring, air conditioning and heating, among other things. He said he expected more money from the sale based on the amount of work put in. However, when the house was appraised, he said he was advised that $500,000 was appropriate.
“We did due diligence and got appraisals from someone not connected with the college,” said Tipson.
A visit to the cottage by an Elm reporter found the house in noticeably poor condition, with peeling paint, cracks in the ceilings and walls, scratched floors and a damaged mantle over the fireplace. The kitchen floor was covered in insect traps and the back door had a cracked stained glass window.
There was standing water on the basement floor. The staircase to the second floor had a wobbly banister and a crack in the wall stretched from the bottom of the stairs all the way to the top. The four bedrooms showed uneven and dented floors, peeling paint and wall cracks. One windowsill was decorated with a line of Budweiser bottle caps.
Questioned about the condition of the property, Tipson responded, “I have not been in the house, but I hear it needs work before someone can move in.”
By comparison, one slightly larger house and one slightly smaller house, both in obviously better condition, are selling for substantially less money on the next block of the same street.
At 223 Washington Ave., the asking price of $352,000 is nearly $150,000 less than 305. It is a very nice old house with four bedrooms and one and a half baths. The floors and walls were in excellent condition. The paint was fresh. The appliances, however, were rather old.
The house at 224 Washington Ave., is listed at $299,999 – or $200,000 less than 305. It also is in very good condition, with four full baths, French doors, and a commercial grade kitchen. It has six bedrooms. According to the real estate listing, this house had been on the market for nearly two years. The realtor said, “These two houses are in such good condition that you can move in and put the pictures on the wall.”
So why would Washington College pay half a million dollars for a house in poor condition in a depressed housing market?
Tipson had three reasons. First, he said, although it requires a lot of work before being inhabited, “It will eventually be rented by a staff member, probably one from Administrative affairs.” Also, according to Tipson, it is nice to have property across from the school that will always look nice instead of being covered in beer cans from the night before. And, “In 10 years it will not matter what was paid because it will be significant that the college owns it.”