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August 17, 2009

House of the Day: 2101 Albemarle Terrace

2101-Albemarle-0809.jpg
According to the listing, this single-family brick house at 2101 Albemarle Terrace needs some renovation love, but, man, what great raw material to work with: "Designed by Slee & Bryson, and constructed in 1917, the graceful center stair design offers large open rooms with beautiful original oak and mahogany parquet wood floors, original plaster moldings, many built-ins and generous closet space throughout." Totally sweet. Think the asking price of $819,000 is low enough, though, given the work that will have to be done?
2101 Albemarle Terrace [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark





Posted by Brownstoner at 1:16 PM | Comments (37)
Categories: HOTD, Prospect Lefferts Gardens

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Comments

So what does it need? Complete bathroom and kitchen makeovers??? Looks like that roof could be a nice deck!!!

Looks like the street out front could use some work.

Did it say 2-car garage!!!!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 17, 2009 1:37 PM

No yard? But I nitpick. How is that area?

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at August 17, 2009 1:41 PM

Yards don't always have to be in the back BC.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 17, 2009 1:46 PM

"How is that area?"

The area is not for everyone.

During our search, every broker we contacted in this area said straight up. "Are you familiar with the area"


Posted by: jasetheace at August 17, 2009 1:47 PM

There's a 6' wide area between garage & house plus a porch on the side. There's also a second floor terrace. This is looking nicer and nicer the more I look at it.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 17, 2009 1:48 PM

I think a similar house to this (on the other side of the street) was on the Ditmas Park house tour this year. The layout felt strange to me, narrow and vertical, but the houses are very spacious.
Garage is a huge plus - if I remember right parking is very restricted on that street.
I like the area personally. The street is a quiet enclave in a busy area just off Church Ave. Kind of behind the big Church on Flatbush & Church.

Posted by: etson at August 17, 2009 1:49 PM

OK, NOW I SEE THE ISSUE...As you look at Streetview, everything that is to the left of the house are all the backs of large apartment buildings and what looks to be essentially a large parking lot...pretty ugly.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 17, 2009 1:52 PM

I saw a house around the corner from this..and took a look from the outside (the realtor had mentioned it)...it isn't in the best shape (the house we saw around the corner - ditto). We also didn't care for this area - this enclave of homes is also surrounded by large apt. bldgs which are pretty bustling and noisy -if you have a family, it would mean sending your kids to a private school....also the subway right there is particularly narly.

Posted by: promenade at August 17, 2009 2:04 PM

The block is calm and quiet--those are the backs of apartment buildings with entrances on Ocean Ave. The Church Ave B/Q stop is busy but not "narly" as promenade said. There's a warm neighborhood feeling on these blocks with friendly neighbors.

Posted by: BHS at August 17, 2009 2:15 PM

BHS - Brown Harris Stevens? Like the realtor that owns a house around the corner that you are trying to sell?

Posted by: promenade at August 17, 2009 2:22 PM

No, not Brown Harris Stevens, I have no affiliation with them, just an unfortunate choice of initials for my login. I'm a neighbor, so an interested party, but also someone very familiar with the area. I haven't been inside this house though.

Posted by: BHS at August 17, 2009 2:28 PM

quote:
if you have a family, it would mean sending your kids to a private school....

strange, im sure there are 100s of families in the area who send their kids to public schools. are are you insinuating the the type of person who can afford this house is better than the people who live in the area that send their kids to public schools?

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 17, 2009 2:30 PM

I much prefer the almost identical house for sale with BHS for 849K (which was 895K when it was an open house pick in May and was originally priced at 980K). I'd say both are still way overpriced for the amrket--but nice.

Posted by: shillstoner at August 17, 2009 2:37 PM

Look, if you are looking at buying in an area and you have a family - you look at the grade of the local school - basic stuff. This school district is lousy (tell me otherwise if I'm wrong somehow)...meaning that if you buy this home and NOT send you kids to a private school, you would knowingly be sending them to a public school that is subpar.

Posted by: promenade at August 17, 2009 2:37 PM

No, Rob, but they wouldn't want to send their kids to those schools, and although I am a die-hard fan of sending kids to neighborhood publics, from what little I know, that immediate area does have some pretty bad schools and if you've got $800K or the ability to borrow it, why would you move to an area with really bad schools?

Listen, if that house was $350K I'd be there already and adorable moppet would just have to take her chances, but...for more money?

Posted by: Heather at August 17, 2009 2:38 PM

And, I believe "narly" is spelled "gnarly." Not to be confused with Gnarls Barkley.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-sb6mfR9lQ

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 17, 2009 2:43 PM

Rob, you are a troublemaker.

Posted by: Nomi at August 17, 2009 2:51 PM

or you already have kids in a decent public school and are now able to move (that garage makes a drive to school no biggie).

Posted by: Ringo at August 17, 2009 2:54 PM

Hey, Nomi, thanks for watching my back in the Open House thread on Friday.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 17, 2009 2:57 PM

"Hey, Nomi, thanks for watching my back in the Open House thread on Friday."

Well, what you (and others) were saying was being mischaracterized. And as I said, I really dislike that you-don't-belong-in-NYC-(or wherever)-if you-want/don't-want-such-and-such attitude.

Posted by: Nomi at August 17, 2009 3:05 PM

im not a trouble maker. it just irks me sometimes the things people say. fine, send your kids to posh lily light beige only private schools if it makes you feel better about yourself. i mean why bother even trying to make the public school a better place. it's always me me me me me me, 24/7 with some people!

and newsflash there's just as many DUMB kids in private school as there are public.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 17, 2009 3:14 PM

Well, you are a trouble maker . .. . Maybe not in this case, but come on, embrace your trouble-making self.

The idea that someone thinks they are "better" than other people because they have to money to send their kids to the school of their choice is unfair. All kinds of people think they are better than others -- rich, poor and in between.

Posted by: Nomi at August 17, 2009 3:22 PM

Plus, if the school sucks, then likely some of the people who right now don't have a choice about sending their kids there, would jump at the chance if they suddenly had the means. Few people care more about improving the public schools than the education and school experience of their own kids.

Posted by: Nomi at August 17, 2009 3:24 PM

This could be a fantastic house with a little thought and a bit of cash. Fixing the landscaping will be easy and create huge value.

The great difference between public and private schools (I've gone to both, in urban and suburban settings) is that the parents, families and students are bye and large more focused on learning. The behavior & disciple problems that occur in public school aren't tolerated at all in private schools. The private school teaching staff can focus totally on the lesson plan and student achievement not behavior control and disciple.
In private schools typically close to 90-100% of parents attend teacher/parent conferences each semester. My friends currently teaching in New York Public Schools have maybe only 25% of parents show up for the same types of meetings.

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:35 PM

quote:
I guess you have a poin nomi. I dont know tho even if i had 10 gazillion dollars i would still send my children to public school. have you SEEN Gossip Girl!?!? gack. but the Universe made me not attracted to a certain gentitalia so it's not like ill have to be worrying about that in this lifetime.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 17, 2009 3:35 PM

quote:
In private schools typically close to 90-100% of parents attend teacher/parent conferences each semester. My friends currently teaching in New York Public Schools have maybe only 25% of parents show up for the same types of meetings.


maybe they want to give their kids space and breathing room? im sorry but there is nothing worse than helicopter parents. but i guess both extremes are pretty bad. but im glad i grew up with parents (grandparents) who minded their own business and didnt get all up in mine or my academic career.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 17, 2009 3:46 PM

I went to both private and public schools and I have to say, those private school kids are a lot "faster" than the public school ones, at least in my experience -- in terms of kids doing all those things you did yourself as a teen but really don't want your kid to be dumb enough to do.

Posted by: Heather at August 17, 2009 3:55 PM

LOVE Albemarle and Kenmore, but have to say, this house, although larger than the others, lacks a bit of the charm and is in the worst possible location (corner of E.21st St).

Posted by: Architerrorist at August 17, 2009 3:58 PM

Families looking to send their kids to neighborhood public schools would be much better off looking at homes in the Victorian Flatbush neighborhoods zoned for 139 and 217.

Posted by: Architerrorist at August 17, 2009 4:02 PM

"but the Universe made me not attracted to a certain gentitalia so it's not like ill have to be worrying about that in this lifetime"

Rob - I can't begin to tell you how many gay couples have children. In my youngest one's class alone, it is just the norm - then again they go to private school....so....you know, they must be ignorant gay couples.

Posted by: promenade at August 17, 2009 5:17 PM

True. My gay friends are reproducing at a rate that puts my straight friends to shame. And most of the offspring (although not all) go the private route. Professional parents, one, two kids, tops... Just my friends. Can't speak for other gay/lesbian families.

Posted by: Architerrorist at August 17, 2009 6:53 PM

Nice house but, while it's similar to some colonial-revival houses in PLG, it's incorrectly categorized here. This house is in the Albamarle-Kenmore Historic District, which is part of Victorian Flatbush. PLG is in Flatbush and is Victorian, but it's not considered "Victorian Flatbush."

Confusing, no?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at August 17, 2009 7:09 PM

I love this palace.

Posted by: BrooklynLove at August 17, 2009 8:42 PM

The price of this house should, realistically, reflect that it is indeed in an enclave. This beautiful little historic district is tucked into a rather rough area with few or no "gentrified" services along the proximate commercial strips of Church Ave. and Flatbush Ave. (the kind that the Times RE section refers to with a weak smile as "bustling" or "vibrant"--you will be able to get great Caribbean food, fast food, lots of sneakers and cell phones, and typical 99-cent-store stuff, but don't look for wine, cheese, artisanal bread, or yuppies beside thee singing in the wilderness.) The area is predominantly one of working-class immigrants; parts of Church Ave. nearby have been an 'impact zone' for (mostly drug-related) crime. A few blocks away, the treasure that was Erasmus High School (so dysfunctional that it was broken into "academies") allows its colonial-era original building to rot away, colonized by feral cats. The landmark/anchor at the centuries-old historic Flatbush town center of Church and Flatbush Avenues, the Dutch Reformed Church, still serves the community, but the surrounding area is much changed since its middle-class genteel heyday in the era of the Loews Kings theater and the Dodgers. We live quite a few blocks to the west along Church Ave.; years ago, I made adventurous forays east to Flatbush Ave. and beyond for veg, fish, meat, and general exploration, but gradually got worn down by the dirty streets and general hurly-burly. As for the area being "not for everyone," I will break code and state simply that yes, this region of Church Ave. is almost entirely black but seems to welcome everybody (or is just too busy to care what you are). Aside from Erasmus, which I've kept up on due to my interest in Flatbush history, I can't speak to the quality of the public schools nearby. (In a dream world they would be uniformly excellent whatever the district's socioeconomic profile...)

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at August 18, 2009 3:40 AM

To Brenda: Hi, neighbor!

I have been amused at the asking prices in Albermarle/Kenmore terraces. There were a few houses featured here as the HOD, I believe none of them sold yet. That tells you something.

I, actually, don't mind Flatbush Ave, and I walk to both Sears and Stop-n-Shop (I just love their seafood department and especially the guy who runs the counter there). But Park Slope it isn't.

Posted by: kensingtonka at August 18, 2009 8:56 AM

I haven't been there for a long while, but I find that part of Flatbush vibrant and interesting. Hurly burly and all. As Bob Marvin points out though, it's not PLG. I think it's just called Flatbush, right? If you look up the historic Loew's theater that's how they identify the neighborhood.

Posted by: traditionalmod at August 18, 2009 11:21 AM

yes its a bit hood but that somewhat makes for the ambience of contrast that represents brooklyn. and the beauty of it is that its suddenly perfect when you live there.

Posted by: BrooklynLove at August 18, 2009 9:15 PM

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