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August 14, 2007
House of the Day: 419 Washington Avenue
What a tease! The listing for 419 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill is already up on the Douglas Elliman website (sans interior photos) but no one's being allowed inside until after Labor Day. The major argument of the listing verbiage is that, despite having only two real floors of living space, the scale of the interiors dwarfs that of your typical brownstone. The numbers that are publicly available, however, don't support that assertion. Sure, it's 24 feet wide. But it's also only 35 feet deep, according to Property Shark. (According to the Elliman listing, though, there's 4,000 square feet of space—which would mean it would have to be 80 feet deep. Based upon the satellite view, that seems like a serious stretch.) The lack of interior photos and clarity about square footage make it hard to weigh in on the asking price of $1,500,000. (There's also a clear attempt to leave out of the photo the charming, but very run-down, wooden house next door at 417 Washington.) This place is bound to be charming on the inside, so if there were anywhere near 4,000 square feet of living space, it would be a sweet deal. Something doesn't add up though. Who's been inside?
419 Washington Avenue [Douglas Elliman] GMAP P*Shark
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Comments
i love this bulding, but no way it's 80 feet deep.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 1:38 PM
zillow says it is 1874 square feet.
on a 3000 square foot lot.
and it's "zestimate" is $708,000.
i realize these websites aren't ever 100% accurate but that sounds about right to me.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 1:51 PM
I wouldn't rely on Zillow for anything frankly.
Not sure how this place could be 4000 square feet though...
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 1:54 PM
Zillow is unreliable. My next door neighbor and I have the exact same house built in the same year by the same builder. Zillow lists my neighbors house as being worth $200k more. Oh yeah, there house has appreciated recently while mine depreciated.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 2:00 PM
they are counting the attik teeny rooms as floor space
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 2:04 PM
Whatever the square feet that is one beautiful, balanced facade. And also: the extra width (four feet over a standard brownstone) allows for much more flexibility in interior layouts, such that to my mind each extra foot in width is worth three in length.
You can always add on the back, but you usually can't add width.
None of this is to say that 1.5M makes sense. Don't know at all about that.
Posted by: an architect in Brooklyn at August 14, 2007 2:10 PM
Realtor is adding on attic space - which she describes in listing and also cellar with windows which is not in city/propshark definition. (maybe also extension, I don't know)
Certainly exaggeration but buyer will have to judge for himself what is worth.
IF fixed up nicely inside wouldn't seem so bad price maybe- but I don't know ClintonHill pricing that well.
Posted by: Petebklyn at August 14, 2007 2:19 PM
unfortunately, all of you are incorrect...there is a HUGE extension on the back of this house...go to local.live.com, zoom in it's 2 houses down from the apt building and then click on bird's eye view and youll see the long extension (probably 50 feet deep)
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 2:44 PM
good catch, 2:44, although the extension looks more like 30-40 feet to me (still a lot of space). and with 120 feet of lot depth that still leaves a decent-sized yard.
Posted by: z at August 14, 2007 3:00 PM
A very nice house. it could use a new picket fence, a new front door and new multi-pane windows.
It may also be missing doo-dads from the cornice, an old picture would show that.
The windows have their old pintles, which are there to support shutters, an optional touch but one that really ties together an early facade like this.
I hope some old-house lover buys it, not someone who wants turn it into a faux loft.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 3:01 PM
This place will be worthless after AY is built.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 3:10 PM
Guest at 3:01 - Unlike so many who post here, you really seem to know your stuff. Thanks for your 2 cents.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 3:17 PM
I'd rather have the run-down house next door
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 4:14 PM
It could use some landscaping... get rid of those yews. How about a nice dogwood. The fire hydrant out front means there is always an open parking space for pick ups and drop offs.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 8:38 PM
I love a nice fire hydrant out in front.
I would landscape with clipped boxwoods, climbing roses and old fashioned annuals like hollyhocks and delphiniums. This place could be truly beautiful.
The house next door is not nearly as special. This must be one of the oldest houses in Clinton Hill.
Posted by: guest at August 14, 2007 9:00 PM
Charming home, beautiful proportions. Would take this over cookie-cutter brownstone mierda any day.
Posted by: Jeremy at August 14, 2007 9:34 PM
I love this style of wood house (Georgian?). There are a couple on Berkeley Place in Park Slope, on different blocks, I used to pass all the time and I fell in love with them.
Posted by: traditionalmod at August 15, 2007 11:01 AM
yeah, there are a couple on berkeley between 7th and 6th.
one of them is having some work done on the front as we speak, in fact. i think getting some new stairs...
just walked by. they are so beautiful.
Posted by: guest at August 15, 2007 11:42 AM
IMO not think that this house is worth it!! but some one may pick this up! 1.5 mill for house like this alot! i would just get a brownstone.
Posted by: mysideofstuy at August 15, 2007 3:36 PM
I would call this house Greek Revival. If it had been built five years or so earlier, it would have probably had a peaked roof with dormers -rather than the eyebrow windows- and would have been called "Federal".
There are excellent examples of both these styles of frame houses in Brooklyn Heights.
Posted by: guest at August 15, 2007 6:45 PM
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