Rick Phillips

Anyone out there reading this, feel free to comment or email me ...

I have a client who until recently had a great townhouse in a great neighborhood. However, his neighbor decided it would be a good idea to build a deck that extends to a point where anyone sitting on it can see directly into my client's living room.

It's legal (sort of ... it was done through a variance), and there's no physical encroachment, but suffice it to say that the house was more enjoyable to my client before the neighbor built the intrusive deck.

So ... my question ... What is a good place to find more examples of negatively impacting features?

The MLS has lots of information, but it's all positive: granite counters, fireplaces, swimming pools, etc. No agent is going to advertise "view obstruction" or anything like that.

Does anyone have some good examples, either first-hand or through clients?

Mount Pleasant is an old neighborhood in Washington, DC named after the 1700's estate, "Pleasant Plains." Development continued in the 1800s, and residents built many detached homes which still exist.

Today, Mount Pleasant offers a mix of housing styles including attached rowhouses and condominiums. Businesses line 16th Street and Park Road, two of the area's main arteries.

It is a short distance from Adams Morgan, the National Zoo, Howard University, and Crestwood. Several Metrorail stops and busses allow for easy public transportation.

Cleveland Park is an old neighborhood in Washington, DC, named after President Grover Cleveland.

Connecticut Avenue holds much of the commercial section which includes many restaurants and shops, and it leads to Central DC and out of the city into Maryland. Residences consist of older, detached homes as well as condominiums and townhouses.

Clifton is an old town, formed during the time of the Civil War. It's one of only three towns in Fairfax. The other two are Herndon and Vienna.

Compton Height is a newer subdivision of large, colonial-style homes in the northern section of Clifton. Houses have been built here, and in nearby Little Rocky Run, over the past 25 years. They have garages and basements in addition to the two, above-grade stories. The area is convenient to Washington, DC and the rest of Northern Virginia.

Compton Heights is bounded on the north by New Braddock Road, the east by Union Mill Road, the south by Compton Road, and the west by Centreville Road.

At the western edge of Annandale, just off Route 236, lies the small community of Johnsons Garden. It is marked by newer, bigger homes.

Businesses, restaurants, and condo and apartment-style housing lines much of Little River Turnpike (Route 236) which leads west to Fairfax and east to Alexandria.

The broader market area is bounded on the north by Eakin Community Park, the east by Interstate 495, the south by Braddock Road, and the west by Prosperity Avenue.