Suburban Living In The Upper Slope

The house is truly lovely and certainly evocative of another time; if only there were more of them around! However, I agree with CHProud. I've seen almost nothing said about homes on this blog since I discovered it last year other than FAR allowances, when to get the most bang for your buck, kicking out old women so a nephew could sell the house to pay gambling debts and on and on and on. I've lived in CG my entire life, and my house is my HOME. Sure, my house is probably worth $1.5 million if not more on my landmark block ...so if I sell, where do I go. It's home, a secure haven, a place for my family to live, my neighborhood. I don't look at my house in terms of its investment value. When I undertake a renovation or repair, I see it in terms of comfort, attractivness, appropriateness, and the good of the structure, not what it will add to a potential sale price. I guess I'm not one of the financial types who thinks of just about everything in terms of money. In any event, I have learned new things about real estate on this blog, so that's a good thing. It's just a little disheartening to always read about $$$.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:03 AM

I don't think thinking of the value of a place and thinking of it as a home are mutually exclusive. Considering the gargantuan sums of money people spend on purchasing and maintaining these lovely buildings, the two go hand in hand. If you would prefer, we could all go to a "homes and gardens" website and focus only on the touchy feely love of home. Sorry to be such a sarcastic snot, but I think if you don't want to talk about things like costs of reno or FAR, then, well, don't talk about them. Post what you would like to discuss in the thread. If the rest of the bloggers find it interesting, the thread will move onto that topic...

Also, the mention of FAR above in Brownstoner's post was actually made in praising the fact that this person's home has not been altered by greedy developers looking to maximize the FAR, thus preserving a lovely house (and home I'm sure ;-) ).

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:15 AM

CHP, I think the lines have blurred a bit in today's market.

Rehabbing/restoring for profit is very trendy (at least for the time being). I think that it's this type of behavior (which I must admit I've been guilty of) that leads to instability in the market.

Times have changed also. It used to be that you could take your time, visit the property multiple times and, mull over the pros and cons before buying. But the past year or two has been crazy (now you see it, now you don't; blink and it's gone).

Thankfully I think people are realizing that they need to wait and be sure before buying. And they're realizing the need to make a long-term commitment to the house as well as to the neighborhood.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:16 AM

When I discovered this blog about a year ago, I thought it was great, because I too have "an unhealthy obsession with historic Brooklyn brownstones", and I still love it, and spend WAYYYYY to much time here, when I should be working. It's an addiction. I've learned a great deal about the NYC real estate world, and even more about neighborhoods, and about the way people here think about thorny issues such as gentrification, development and Bed Stuy.

Because my first interest is in the brownstones themselves, I am often disappointed that more attention isn't paid to things like architectural preservation, and detail, restoration, etc. My favorite parts of the site involve being able to go into the houses via RE listings, or specific topics about the interiors of homes, but too often a wonderful house (to me) gets totally reduced to its FAR and square footage. Maybe I should be more concerned about those things, and I'm learning to think about them in terms of pricing, but I don't think they will ever replace the appreciation I have for some great woodwork and a cool panel of stained glass. Those might be touchy feely things to some, but they separate a wonderful old house from new construction, otherwise, why bother?

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:32 AM

Brenda sounds like you have ideas for a great business plan. I think you should develop that website and link it up to mapquest/google earth.
I think the 'if these walls could talk' angle would go over big.
But the realtors would probably try to stop you, because you would provide info about people who died in the house, got shot, raped or murdered in the house, etc. You know, the type of stuff that buyers only find out after moving in and talking to the neighbors.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:35 AM

Anon 11:32, you're right; it's an addiction. Way to go brownstoner; I can just see myself on Oprah or Dr. Phil talking about my addiction 'rehab' ordeal and what it was like being a real estate junkie.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:41 AM

Hi, I'm Anon from 11.15 and I am a Brownstonerholic.

Room responds "Hello Anon".

It is an addiction. And while I did say that $ and home discussions are not mutually exclusive, the $ discussions do wear on me sometimes too (probably because it makes me think even more about all of the costs that I have in maintaining my place... but that's ok.) Deep breaths. Ha, ha!

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 11:55 AM

I believe the previous owners of this home (the ones who sold it about 12 years ago)traded it for one of the largest Victorians on Albemarle Terrace in PPS (with amazing interior detail).

I also was very taken with a Georgian just like this in Lefferts Manor 3 years ago, but ultimately decided not to buy it.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 12:10 PM

There was a permit to do work on this house a few years back - it's available on Property Shark.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 12:11 PM

If I had to guess, I would say that "house = investment" would be the majority. Nothing wrong with that. Some people are looking to increase their profit margin. Others are looking for a way to cut down on taxes. Others are looking for alternative investments to the stock market (diversifying the portfolio). I think this is what's driving the market and the readership. I think that eventually, as the market cools off, you'll see a lot more 'purely architectural/home & garden' threads such as this one. I think brownstoner is doing a good job balancing the needs of his audience. Some of us are motivated by affordable housing, others are motivated by FAR and development opportunities, others care about details of the 'brownstone' experience. Some of us find something to chew on in every one the thread.
I guess a lot of us are 'bored at work' and prefer spending time on brownstoner. Which is not a good thing to admit because pretty soon you'll seen an article in the nytimes about the blog 'addicts' and we'll all have to wait until we get home to get our fix.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 12:11 PM

I agree the obsession with FAR is seems counter to the appreciation of these homes as they were originally designed and built. Very few modern additions have the style of the orignals and the backyards end up as a hodgepodge. And lets no even start on adding floors. I have lived here long enough to see these houses abused by poorer people (boarding houses and such) and now they are abused by the rich. Fortunately there are some who cherish the original spirit and are not trying to squeeze the last dollar out of their investment but they seem fewer and fewer in number. So for us the upside of gentrification(better stores, etc) has a downside too.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 12:39 PM

is what a happy days ref?

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 8:38 PM

Love that house. Wrap a round garden is always kept just so. Saw a painting contractor there the other day. The kind that wears the clean white coveralls.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 7, 2006 10:14 PM

Is woodruff avenue considered part of PLG?

Posted by: Anonymous at April 8, 2006 8:58 AM

Mrs. Brownstoner, I was not implying that Mr. Brownstoner would celebrate kick out old ladies...you might recall a few months ago the well-publicized story in CG that a nephew was trying to evict his elderly aunts from their home so he could sell it to pay debts, gambling and/or otherwise, and the opinions on this blog were all over the place...including posters who were on the nephew's side. It had nothing to do with Mr. Brownstoner himself.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 8, 2006 9:43 AM

Does that house have any back yard, or is it just a front garden?

As far as why people don't talk about "homes" on this site: I for one cherish my privacy, as well as the privacy of the historic building I bought. Home is about intimacy; it would be counterintuitive to try to make a web site about home.

In any case, you're not gonna find the people in this little georgian flaunting their latest paint color choices or posting pictures of their favorite bedroom.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 8, 2006 11:05 AM

A long time ago had a friend who live in one of the two families. It was very nicely designed.

Posted by: Anonymous at April 10, 2006 6:32 PM