Caroline Berens had been perfectly happy living alone for a couple of years in Washington, when her younger sister, Emma, announced that she was planning to move to the city. So Ms. Berens didn’t immediately extend an invitation to be roommates in her one-bedroom rental in Dupont Circle.
“We’re five years apart and haven’t lived together since I went to college when I was 18,” said Ms. Berens, 27, who works in corporate communications for Brunswick Group, a public relations firm. “But we’ve always been close and visited each other a lot at home in Boston and here in D.C.”
Emma Berens, 22, a recent Harvard graduate who is set to start work at a Washington-area consulting firm in July, was looking at studio apartments for herself when her older sister finally asked if she wanted to live together.
“I’ve always been frugal and have saved money to buy a home since I started babysitting at 12,” Caroline Berens said. With Emma in the mix and willing to pay rent, she saw her chance to buy a two-bedroom apartment.
The sisters were confident that they could live together amicably as adults, even if it was a bit of an adjustment.
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“I’m coming from college life, where I lived with three other roommates, so I’m not worried about sharing a home with Caroline,” Emma said. “I don’t really want to live alone, and it’s great to have Caroline here, because she knows D.C. so well.”
After they talked through every angle of sharing a home — cleaning schedule, shared expenses, house rules — Caroline set a budget of $650,000, and they agreed that Emma would pay $1,500 a month in rent for 14 months.
“If it works out, we can always decide to extend the contract and I can stay longer,” Emma said.
Aside from the need for an extra bedroom, Caroline’s priorities for her first home purchase remained the same. She wanted a place in Dupont Circle, Kalorama or Adams Morgan. “Plus,” she said, “I was determined to avoid living in a basement.”
Both sisters are tall, so Caroline wanted high ceilings. And she needed a building that would allow her 2-year old cat, Lucy.
“Caroline always knew exactly what she wanted,” said Claudia Ornelas, the Redfin real estate agent who worked with her. “It was very clear that she was making the decisions, although sometimes she would FaceTime with Emma or bring her father along when he was in town, to get their opinions.”
There weren’t many two-bedroom apartments available, so they moved quickly when anything was listed. “We did home inspections before making any offers, so she could eliminate all the contingencies,” Ms. Ornelas said.
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