Through eminent domain, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine acquired six rowhouses owned by Virginia developer Insun Hofgard last month, located in Edgewood, Bloomingdale, Petworth, and Columbia Heights. WAMU reported that Hofgard originally planned on renovating the unfinished and empty properties for luxury housing.
Earlier this summer, Hofgard agreed to pay $1.3 million in restitution to homebuyers of approximately 24 renovated properties that WAMU described as having shoddy work and violations of the city's construction code. The work was also often done without permits or licensed crews. In June 2016, Hofgard accepted a $1.3 million settlement that banned her from real estate work or sales in the District.
WAMU further reported:
"The Hofgard homes won't come free to DHCD, though. While it claimed title to them upon filing the eminent domain paperwork in D.C. Superior Court, in October D.C. attorneys will head back to court to hash out the compensation due to Hofgard (or her creditors) for the homes. The city has put down a deposit for each of the homes—$270,000 for the one in Edgewood, $655,000 for one in Petworth—based on a value determined by an independent appraiser."
Each of the homes are located at: 36 Channing Street NW, 160 Adams Street NW, 523 Kennedy Street NW, 1132 Columbia Road NW, 1422 Shepherd Street NW, and 2805 4th Street NE.
For more details on Hofgard, check out WAMU’s three-part investigation on what home-flipping looks like in Washington, D.C.