House of the Day: 95 Devoe Street FSBO

Love the hyperbole, typos, and pictures of nothing related to the house, like two jars of soap?

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:27 PM

I agree - this person has a great design touch. And a nice dog! But why is the stove placed (awkwardly) away from the other large applicances?

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:36 PM

This listing is better than some realtors. The photos are great quality. Some of the brokers should take note.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:39 PM

only thing missing is floor plans.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:42 PM

Near the Lorimer stop on the L?

That's not exactly a beautiful neighborhood...

Really lovely house, though!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:47 PM

How aggressive is this price? Strikes me as ludicrous, but I am not up on that part of Williamsburg.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:49 PM

Holy cow! I used to live here!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 1:50 PM

the price is a total joke. lucky if it goes for 950K. i dont think there is a comp within 800k for this type of house. it also better have a cash buyer or a large down payment because there is no chance this house gets anywhere close to being appraised to 1.7 million.

on zillow while highly inaccurate they have the house at 852K. this is truly funny.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:00 PM

"just rows of modest house"

the price is 1.7 million.

You can get an actual brownstone in Prospect Heights or Clinton Hill for this price.

1.7 million for a modest home in a modest neighborhood is not really catching my eye.

probably why she spent so much time on the decor.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:02 PM

i just looked...2:00 is correct.

zillow has this place down for 852K.

1.7 is completely asinine.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:04 PM

maybe the price includes all the furniture...

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:05 PM

Very nice pictures but to me this is simply showcasing modern minimalist design taste and has very little to do with the actual house. This house is extremely overpriced for a vinyl sided place in a not so interesting hood.
Good luck to the seller but $1.7m? Sorry not even close folks

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:07 PM

Also 4 bedrooms but 1 and 1/2 baths? Add some plumbing/remodelling costs tot hat 1.7M.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:10 PM

The price is way off. Even with all the Vitra furniture and doodards this place is NOT worth more than $1million. As someone else noted you can get a brownstone in a much nicer hood for $1.7m.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:11 PM

Great marketing touch to have a house look so good, particularly when a dog and children live there. My kids rooms will never look that nice and my black lab's shedded fur would be visible all over that lightly decorated house.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:16 PM

Forgoing the redonkulous asking price, this is a great house in a great neighborhood.

This is prime Williamsburg without the 'Williamsburg'.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:16 PM

This is crap. I live on this block and they just finished the renovations, walked by this morning and there was no furniture in the front room, when did they take these pictures this afternoon?

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:18 PM

$1.7M in this (and my) neighborhood is beyond over the top. however, to the naysayers: i think your $950K numbers are way too low, as well. tear-downs & fixer-uppers with tenants in place in this neighborhood are asking - and sometimes selling - for near or above $1M.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:22 PM

I love that house and would offer $1.2 cash if I had it. Sadly, I don't, which is why I post wistfully on Brownstoner...

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:26 PM

I feel like this house needs something more substantial at the top of the facade (cornice?). Also, how would shutters look?

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:26 PM

Is the vinyl siding original?

Ladies and gentlemen this is the future of Williamsburg. Very Georgetown.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:28 PM

2:02 - Hate to break it to you, but there are many people who would not consider Prospect Heights or Clinton Hill better neighborhoods than Williamsburg. The neighborhoods basically cater to completely different clientele and people who love williamsburg tend to be completely disinterested in the rest of brownstone brooklyn.

That being said, this owner must not be serious about selling because she will never get close to that price IMHO. Even at the height of the market a friend of mine couldn't sell his four-family house in this area for a million, and this is NOT a $700,000 reno.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 2:47 PM

I think they are testing the market. As someone who works in real estate but not on the sales side, I see this all the time.

5% are lucky the rest take their properties quickly of the market.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 3:03 PM

sorry, but prospect heights, clinton hill! no thanks! gross ghetto people there. and, hello, welcome to 10 years of AY construction, traffic, and bleeckkkk.

this neighborhood is lovely and convenient, and unlike the crap holes of PH and CH, actually has a stellar school - PS 132.

cannot believe that anyone would prefer to live near the projects and the ghetto over a safe neighborhood that's way way closer to the city to boot!

also, just cause a house has aluminum siding doesn't mean that it isn't a victorian originally. many re-done homes in the area and more coming I'm sure.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 3:10 PM

I can't stand this area.

It's ugly as hell.

And fyi...3:10...you might be correct about the house being victorian originally...but you know what....for 1.7 million you can take off the aluminium and UPGRADE IT!!!

who pays 1.7 million dollars for aluminum siding???

A FOOL IS WHO!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 3:14 PM

"gross ghetto people there."

AND BY THAT YOU MEAN BLACK PEOPLE.

Which is exactly why people hate Williamsburg.

YOU ARE A BUNCH OF RACISTS!!!!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 3:15 PM

i like prospect heights and clinton hill but anyone who says this location is gross should move to the UWS.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 3:18 PM

so one idiot mentions the projects and everybody in williamsburg is a racist personally I moved to williamsburg 14 years ago and preferred it then, when it was really the ghetto, at least i could park!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 3:46 PM

Williamsburg is a dump. Most of my friends who live there have either left or are looking to leave.

Most to some areas already mentioned here...Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill and Crown Heights to name a few.

Our assistant lives on the L train and if she shows up 30 mins to late one more day she's fired. Every day she says the train is a "NIGHTMARE"

Sounds fun.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:12 PM

I like the staging, but once you take the furniture away you're left with a vinyl sided house with crap built-ins and a kitchen that's not even as nice as an Ikea kitchen. I like some of their stuff, but I'm not buying their stuff

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:15 PM

i see no appeal to williamsburg.

if i wanted to live in a neighborhood that looked like that, i'd move to detroit.

and pay 1/100th the price.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:22 PM

This wins the ludicrous award for the day. Maybe the week.
Where the hell is this? A remote neighborhood, a weird frame house wih no cornice, and an eccentrically designed interior.
La-la-la-la-la........

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:32 PM

FWIW, isn't there a huge housing project about 6-7 blocks from this place?

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:35 PM

"gross ghetto people there."

AND BY THAT YOU MEAN BLACK PEOPLE."

No, you idiot, the poster meant poor, loud, tacky, gross people who hang out on the street all day and night annoying everyone. I know this is probably too complex for your feable brain to grap, but hating poor ghetto trash is not about race. Obama can hang on my stoop anytime he wants!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:36 PM

Seriously though...zillow is known to be off by a few thousand. Let's give it the benefit of the doubt and say it can be off by a few HUNDRED THOUSAND.

But it says the house is worth 852K and they are asking 1.7 million.

Now come on people...you bought this in 2004 for 640K...Even 852K would be a nice profit, but people have gotten so FREAKIN GREEDY. And this is the poster child for greedy homeowners.

People should be appalled that someone would try to gain a 1 million dollar profit in 4 years.

THIS is why the market has gone crazy. It's not just the brokers people. These people are FSBO, don't forget!!!

Greedy people come in all walks of life.

I would like to go to the open house just to give them a piece of my mind. If I could even find the damn place...

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:39 PM

Geez, people on this list are mean. It genuinely does look like a nice house - I wonder what this house would cost in PS?

And let's face it, staging matters! So I don't see why the owners are getting flak for that.

But given the comps, including the purchase price, it does seem like a crazy price. I think a number of properties on the market now are just desperately asking absurdly high prices as if to cash out at what may be the last gasp of this crazy market, before things continue to calm down...

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:40 PM

"No, you idiot, the poster meant poor, loud, tacky, gross people who hang out on the street all day and night annoying everyone"

Oh, you just described Devoe Street.

This place is very close to one of the worst housing projects in Brooklyn, btw.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:41 PM

"I wonder what this house would cost in PS"

About the same, maybe a little less. A house like this would only be found in the South Slope and no way it would go for much more than 1.7 million.

Which is why it's priced to absurdly. Park Slope is leaps and bounds better than this area...whether you like Wburg or not...

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:44 PM

i heard the owners want to move to park slope which is why they are having to ask so much for the house...

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 4:51 PM

The Williamsburg Houses, Borinquen Plaza, and the Bushwick/John Francis Hylan Houses are all in this area.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:04 PM

"I heard EVERYONE wants to move to Park Slope."

Except Jennifer Connelly apparently.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:07 PM

I wouldn't put a lot into Zillow's estimates. My neighbor and I have the exact same house - built at the same time, same archticect, same square footage + CofO etc. Both midblock. Zillow values one of the two houses 25% higher than the other.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:09 PM

Jennifer Connelly was born and raised in Park Slope.

Perhaps she just wants a change of scenery.

Don't know many people here who have lived in the same place for the last 30 plus years.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:22 PM

Sheesh, Slopers are so touchy. Lighten up.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:30 PM

5:07 - please! most of williamsburg is entirely isolated from the ghetto (just not the really far south or far east). PH ghetto thugs own every other corner.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:30 PM

I agree Biff. I have no idea why she traded in that amazing house for the cheap looking loft on the highway.

To each his/her own.

The upside is that someone new will be able to live in that beautiful PPW house and call it their own.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:31 PM

"i like prospect heights and clinton hill but anyone who says this location is gross should move to the UWS."

word.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:33 PM

The front door of this house looks like it belongs on a tool shed. The little cheapey ironwork on the stoop looks like it belongs on a 1960's ranch house. The windows have lost their sills and lintels, there is no cornice, the clapboards are painted dark gray. It's a disater.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:35 PM

3:15 - dude - you sound like a racist. black people don't want to be around ghetto people either! duh! have you heard Chris Rock's comedy, for instance???

anyway, i personally would like to be as far away from ghetto people (goes for any gang member of any color, don't care!) as possible. i have been held up, harassed, and attacked. thanks, but no thanks.

the ghetto mentality can't be fought, just because you want everybody to hold hands and sing songs.

get real.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:47 PM

why does brownstoner always turn into a argument between different neighborhoods' residents? isn't it tiring to come on here and post anonymously trashing someone else's home? i guess the good news for everyone is that no one is forcing you to move to another neighborhood. so people from prospect heights and williamsburg can rest assured they won't run into one another in each others' hood. its a shame that we have to interact on the internet - discouraging results.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:54 PM

The staging or decoration looks great but one is not purchasing the cute modernist rocking chair or the furniture. One would be getting some white sheetrocked walls and vinyl for 1.7.

They're not happy making an extra 500k, say? they have to try for over a million? I just have to believe there's a special waiting room in Hell for real estate gougers.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 5:54 PM

i think that this is a nice place in a solid neighborhood in a good school district (both grade and middle school!). it's convenient and quiet, and there are tons of amenities. if you like it, buy it. offer less even. if not, don't worry about it.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 6:12 PM

I agree, Johnife, about lazy thinking. And no I have no first hand confirmation that is vinyl rather than reclaimed teak or what have you.
But I am going by the photos and that ain't limestone. :-) And 1.7 is 1.7.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 6:26 PM

whats with that weird angled garden plot line along the whole block south of devoe?(zoom up oin the google map)

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 6:29 PM

jennifer connelly was born and raised in brooklyn heights

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 6:37 PM

There was another similarly priced and fully renovated house on Powers street just a couple of blocks away (~$1.5 million). Don't know if it sold or the listing's been pulled, but that looked like an attempted flip. There are NO comps for this kind of price because:

-just about every 25' sold in the neighborhood has been a teardown
-the houses being sold in the area have been sold by their original owners, mostly elderly Italians

On the other hand, there have been a handful of condos that have sold over the $1 million dollar mark. One of them is on my block--the penthouse of 219 Withers sold for $1.3 million, and it's a no service building.

There are young families everywhere in the neighborhood, and the cars are getting nicer too as the condo projects finish and sell.

No way in hell they get that kind of money for this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could swing $1.25. It's big, fully and tastefully renovated and on a pretty block. PS 132 is undergoing an incredible transition to being one of Brooklyn's elite schools, and there is an ever increasing amount of stuff to do and eat in the Graham/Lorimer area. Love it here, and now that I'm a family man I far prefer it the Bedford area (which is about a 7 minute walk from this house).

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 7:46 PM

There was another similarly priced and fully renovated house on Powers street just a couple of blocks away (~$1.5 million). Don't know if it sold or the listing's been pulled, but that looked like an attempted flip. There are NO comps for this kind of price because:

-just about every 25' sold in the neighborhood has been a teardown
-the houses being sold in the area have been sold by their original owners, mostly elderly Italians

On the other hand, there have been a handful of condos that have sold over the $1 million dollar mark. One of them is on my block--the penthouse of 219 Withers sold for $1.3 million, and it's a no service building.

There are young families everywhere in the neighborhood, and the cars are getting nicer too as the condo projects finish and sell.

No way in hell they get that kind of money for this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could swing $1.25. It's big, fully and tastefully renovated and on a pretty block. PS 132 is undergoing an incredible transition to being one of Brooklyn's elite schools, and there is an ever increasing amount of stuff to do and eat in the Graham/Lorimer area. Love it here, and now that I'm a family man I far prefer it the Bedford area (which is about a 7 minute walk from this house).

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 7:52 PM

I love the interior, but I hate Williamsburg, purely on an aesthetic level. Also, I can think of much more family friendly neighborhoods. I would far rather shell out this much money for perfection say, in Ditmas Park.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 7:55 PM

the plumbing may be old in these buildings, but the neighborhood is on a hill and rarely floods. there were some crazy rains last winter that had some water in some basements from city sewage backup, but the old-timers said it was the first time their basements got wet in 25+ years. also, it's got a very low flood risk, something I learned when purchasing insurance.

I am poster 7:52, and to preempt the crap, not a real estate agent or worker in the field. just an informed, enthusiastic and long-time resident of the area.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 8:01 PM

ridiculous overpriced dump in a pergatory of a neighborhood.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 8:47 PM

why can't anyone spell?

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 8:52 PM

is it purgatory? sorry, I'm watching tv, the fingers are not exactly connected to the spelling part of the brain at all times.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 9:09 PM

It's not a bad neighborhood at all and this is a pretty block (if you like frame houses) but these people are greedy bastards for asking this kind of price. There was a similar two-family for sale in the same area about a year ago for $1.45 million, and that one had a *swimming pool* in the back yard--and that was during the peak of the market. I can't see how this pig sells for more than $1.2 million, and that's being incredibly generous.

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 10:28 PM

1.2 million in dogpatch? for a hideous house that looks like it was last inhabited by the Adams Family after they suffered financial reverses?
Ha Ha Ha!

Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 10:57 PM

The similar one that was for sale a few months ago was 45 Powers St. On for $1.45M...Anyone know how much it actually sold for? This one seems like a cheap reno (granted I can't really see much detail from the pics). It has a kitchen with a poor layout and no high end finishes, only 1.5 baths in what seems orginal condition, and IF that is vinyl siding shame on them! I'll give them points for the staging and obviously there is a photographer/set designer in the family.

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 10:52 AM

The area is not Dogpatch. It isn't a genteel area either, it is just reg'ler working-class Brooklyn. The owner did a commendable job in spiffying up the house. I would only add two things; the windows should be wood, six-over-six, and the stoop and railings should also be wooden. The interiors are very clean and sharp. I prefer to have old-timey mantels around a fireplace but the bare brick works here.
This would sell in a flash in one of the gentrifying neibs but I'm not so sure about Devoe St. It would be interesting to check back in a couple of months.

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 11:24 AM

They should have just rounded off the price to $2m. Why stop at $1.7m? Or, if they really wanted to test the market, make it $5m. I heard foreigners are snapping up damn near anything at any price.

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 12:43 PM

Hardie Plank?

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 1:05 PM

Ok, the 6 over 6 windows would be nice, I agree. And though a wooden stoop may be historical, it is far more slippery (grew up with one) - this is safer, if not historical.

And you earlier posters who suggested shutters (I shudder), a cornice, and a roof over the front door, don't have taste, in my opinion. This exterior has a farily nice modernist look as it is (whatever your views on siding are.)

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 3:14 PM

As someone who has actually been in this amazing house, I must say I'm appalled at the nastiness of some of these comments. It seems to me one should at least present factual information if they are going to harshly criticize a family trying in earnest to sell their home. The fact is that the house is clad in hardieplank, one of the best products on the market. And there simply is not another house on the market in Williamsburg of this quality. That is the only reason you won't find a comp. Several people have mentioned the house on Powers. I can assure you it does not compare. If this were a brownstone in Park Slope with the exact same interior and square footage, it would sell for over $2 million more. So, if anything, the house is under priced. And someone is going to get a great deal in a great neighborhood, just because it's one of a kind. Renovating a home in this city is an absolute nightmare and extremely expensive. Unless you've gone through this, I wouldn't be so quick to morally judge the profit this owner stands to make. The fact is the family has saved someone a lot of work. They have also made the carbon imprint of this home very small. A task that should be applauded. I'm all for informed criticism here. And opinions are opinions, so whatever. But outright spreading of falsehoods? Well that's just bitter. Would you want someone doing that to you if you were trying to sell your home? Shame shame.

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 4:24 PM

4:24. I take it this is your house.

How can you say this 'a family trying in earnest to sell their home'. Earnest wouldn't be trying to rob someone of their life savings so the 'earnest family' can make $1,100,000 in less than 4 years... I don't think there is anything 'earnest' about that.

There are a lot of angry comments on this post because people are disgusted by the audacity of the sellers... I personally think it's gross that they would ask $1.7m for that place, it's nice and all, but give me a break I have a friend who purchased a place on the same block, same size, but in need of a reno for $725k, LAST YEAR! It's gonna cost them $100k to fix it up (kitchen and all), not $1.1m!!!

Get over yourself!

Posted by: guest at May 11, 2008 6:48 PM

good luck to your friend renovation a house for 100K
that wont get you much more than a paint job these days.

get real, those folks must have put hundreds of thousands into that house.

Posted by: guest at May 11, 2008 7:12 PM

to 4:24: I'm sure the contractor told them it would take 3 months, too...Sorry but I can't help chuckling. Even a shotty renovation job is going to cost 50% more than that. They did a total gut renovation using high end materials. Let me know what your friends say after their renovation is over. Until then, you really aren't qualified to comment.

It's not my house. But I do own a home a few blocks away. I renovated 2 of 4 floors and it cost double the amount of your friends' estimate. It took over a year. And it took years off my life.

Time and energy is money, too.

There are a lot of angry/nasty comments for a plethora of reasons. Here are a few possibilities:
1. They are unaware of the cost, time and stress involved with a gut renovation. This is probably because they rent. And they are probably frustrated that they are renting. Owning comes with it's own set of frustrations, I can assure you.
2. They have not actually been inside the home. Nor have they toured the plethora of new condos and in-need-of-work townhouses. If they had, they would be shocked and refreshed by the quality and would know this is the best deal and place available in Williamsburg.
3. Everyone is frustrated with the cost of living in NYC (including homeowner's who learn the cost of renovating and have to make the scariest choices of their lives).

I say "earnest" because I think everyone wants the best for their family. And I have a hard time believing that anyone anywhere, including those writing on this post, wouldn't want to sell their home for market value - whatever that may be. You take a chance, you put your life savings, your time and your energy into something. And, when it comes time to sell, you analyze everything and you price at what you think is market for your particular home. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would do otherwise. There may be a special place in heaven for someone who decides to sell their home below market value just to be a good samaritan. But there is no special place in hell for those who price a home at market value so that they can make their future and their children's future as bright as it can be somewhere else.

Posted by: guest at May 12, 2008 10:11 AM

Then there is this just down the block for 2 million and really kinda crappy both outside and inside except the tin ceilings.

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1199777

Posted by: guest at May 12, 2008 7:13 PM

Then there is this just down the block for 2 million and really kinda crappy both outside and inside except the tin ceilings.

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1199777

Posted by: guest at May 12, 2008 7:13 PM