Maintaining a Victorian home

Midwood seems fairly priced, from what I saw of that market. Prospect Heights and Park Slope, a stretch but at least not without precedent. But Windsor Terrace folks must be smoking mad trees. It's a cute house, very pretty, but small. I guess they are hoping someone falls in love.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at October 25, 2009 3:59 PM in response to Open House Picks

I'd live in this neighborhood in a heartbeat. My favorite part of Brooklyn. If this is fringe, sign me up for the full flapper dress!

Seems small-ish but lovely. Right now the market is so hard to call though. I think it will go for a decent price but will probably take a bit of time to sell.

And what NorthHeights is saying squares with the buyers I've known personally.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at July 21, 2009 6:54 PM in response to House of the Day: 455 Henry Street

Beautiful apartment in a lovely building, and I am crazy about the area it's in. Speaking as a woman with small kids, the layout is not so bad for a family. Your bedroom is at one end, and you put the kids at the other -- if they have to walk through each other's bedrooms it isn't such a big deal, until they are adolescents anyway.

I could be wrong, but I don't see how this goes for full ask of 1.1M, in this market and with that slightly odd layout and very high maintenance. Given the splendid location, I say just under a million to avoid the mansion tax. Lovely apartment though.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at July 21, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Co-op of the Day: 209 Lincoln Place, #7CD

Re: Corcoran vs BHS -- both of them have some good, straight-talking agents and some sharks. But in my sad experience, it is by no means always the brokers pricing things unrealistically. Frequently the sellers are the ones who have a number in their heads and won't change it, no matter how hard the agent tries to talk to them about market realities. We've been looking for ages now and I have seen several properties get taken off the market by owners who wouldn't consider an offer that was more than 5% lower than the (delusional) asking price. The brokers just want to sell.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at July 18, 2009 2:31 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Pretty little house. I like it (I even like the Mexican tile!) and as I recall the block is fine. But yes, way overpriced, and since it's been on and off the market (mostly on) for ages now I suspect the owner isn't willing to go much lower. People can be awfully stubborn about the magic sell number in their head.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at July 13, 2009 1:37 PM in response to House of the Day: 111 Clifton Place

ProfRobert, that block of Vanderbilt is absolutely fine, and has some very pretty houses scattered around it. The only thing I would worry about is the traffic, which does indeed feed onto Fulton and then Atlantic, and has the B69 bus going by. (But since the B69 isn't exactly frequent that probably isn't much of a problem.) It's a block that I have walked many times of day and night and never had a moment's worry. Used to get my cat treated at the vet and the pharmacy on Van & Greene is great, very nice people. I was barely aware of the rehab center, totally not a factor.

All that said, I too went to see the place and Moneyfornothing is right on the money. The nicest thing I can say is that the broker is friendly and polite. Those site pictures are masterpieces, let me tell you, because the place is a mess--like they stripped the woodwork to signal "renovation in progress" and then called it a day. It also smells of dog from top to bottom. And I also agree that the most bizarre touch is the upper-floor bathroom, the only somewhat renovated room in the place, with a set of dials and knobs on the bathtub that resemble the cockpit of an airliner. The bedroom on the other side has a huge hole in the closet because, the broker told me, "they wanted access to the plumbing" for the bathroom.

It has some detail left and certainly some of the more enterprising, imaginative people here could probably make something beautiful of it, but it will take time and moneymoneymoney. If I were handy (which I am not) I might consider it for under a million, but right now all I can think is that the sellers live in an alternate universe.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 27, 2009 5:33 PM in response to Open House Picks

For once I don't find this listing spectacularly overpriced, just somewhat overpriced. It's a lovely house, well-maintained, with the unique feature of the pool. Particularly gorgeous dining room, at least in photos. I agree with Architerrorist about Dorchester, but proximity to Cortelyou is a plus for most city-minded buyers who don't want to be too far from amenities. I would expect it to go for around $1.3 million at least.

For myself, I vastly prefer the Ebinger house, which I've only seen from the outside. Unique, amazing place, a true mansion. But I guess that one is for specialized tastes and it would require a lot of energy to spruce up. Then you have to clean and maintain it. A house like that is more of a vocation than a dwelling.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 11, 2009 10:03 PM in response to House of the Day: 1600 Dorchester Road

I take back my remark about it being small -- it is 3200 sq feet and six bedrooms, not 3 as it says in Mr. B's post, although this listing is so fantastical I do not necessarily trust the broker not to list a walk-in closet or some such as a bedroom.

It still needs a lot of work. The days when people would pay over $1.2M for "needs a lot of work" in Ditmas are gone.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 9, 2009 1:51 PM in response to House of the Day: 1809 Glenwood Road

Broken record here, but the sellers in Ditmas are particularly reluctant to glance at a calendar and realize it will never be 2007 again. I don't know why that neighborhood in particular, but that is the case. The only people cutting prices in Ditmas either have to sell or have had the property on the market forever and are getting antsy. It's a great neighborhood but right now it's frozen up tight. I am looking at the same listings I was seeing in December, except for the few that have been yanked off the market.

All that said, it's a cute house with lots of potential, although it is small for that neck of the woods. I don't see it going for more than $1 million, not needing that kind of work and not on Glenwood.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 9, 2009 1:32 PM in response to House of the Day: 1809 Glenwood Road

"321 is generally considered one of the top schools in the city -- probably because every parent whose child goes there complains about overcrowding, bad attitudes in the main office, and lack of interactionw ith the teachers."

Okay, that made me laugh. It is true, there is no complainer like a parent with a kid in a top-rated public school.

BHO, no matter what you may say here, market timing is a question mark. The AMT is as sure as death.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at May 21, 2009 10:23 AM in response to House of the Day: 449 Bergen Street

"282 is not 321."

It isn't Berkeley Carroll either, but it's a good public school. Show me the multifamily house that big in the 321 district for $1.2M (or $1.795 for that matter).

Incidentally, every single parent I have talked to with a child in 321 complains about the overcrowding, the attitude of the main office and the lack of interaction with teachers. Sure, it's a good school but it isn't perfect, and it isn't the only one in Brooklyn that's any good.

Anyway, my point was that wishful thinking aside, there is no way this house is going for under a million. Believe me, I am trying to buy, I WANT prices to come down like that but they just haven't.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at May 21, 2009 9:52 AM in response to House of the Day: 449 Bergen Street

I love this neighborhood and I hope the house goes to someone who will care for it and give it a nice makeover. It is painful to see an old house with potential treated so badly. I wish I were the DIY type but I can barely shut a door properly.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at May 21, 2009 9:03 AM in response to Foreclosure of the Week: 1316 Beverley Road

As someone who has been househunting for far too long, I am not quite getting this thread. No, the house is not a marvel of beauty, but neither it is hopelessly small or ugly--the moulding in the family room is quite pretty--and the school district counts for a LOT, as does proximity to 5th Avenue and the fact that it includes a rental. Prices have come down but the sad fact for us buyers is, they haven't come down as much as most of us want. I dislike A&H as much as the next potential buyer (the site is inexcusable in this day and age, and the brokers are not generally pleasant to deal with) but unless the sellers are truly desperate this will not go for under a million. While $1.795M indicates some serious apple-pie-in-the-sky thinking, I think Boerumresident is right, around $1.1M to $1.2M. It will sit on the market like most of the listings I have been watching while the sellers get used to that haircut.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at May 21, 2009 8:50 AM in response to House of the Day: 449 Bergen Street

Thanks so much, everyone, for all these detailed and helpful responses. They are much appreciated!

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at May 6, 2009 9:14 AM in response to Maintaining a Victorian home

Dave, thanks. I saw that thread and indeed it was useful. I guess I am wondering whether we should be prepared to have a certain sum of money put aside every year for what Brenda from Flatbush called "the firehose" -- $10K? $20K?

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at May 5, 2009 9:52 AM in response to Maintaining a Victorian home

That Midwood listing comes up as "West Midwood Community Association" in Google, which is interesting. The house looks like it has potential but the price is insane for "needs TLC" almost all the way down by Avenue H. The other Argyle Road listing on MKG is indeed much nicer but has been for sale for at least six months. Although perhaps Architerrorist is right and it's the sellers who aren't in tune with reality.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at April 24, 2009 5:00 PM in response to Open House Picks

As a parent whose child actually spent a year at PS20 pre-k, I feel qualified to comment. The school is academically focused, with a three R's style of teaching and plenty of homework. It is not a play-oriented or project-focused type of learning, such as you see at a Montessori or a more progressive school like Brooklyn New School or 321.

That said, the pre-k teachers are dedicated and loving, the pre-k classroom is gorgeous and the children are mostly happy and well-behaved. I got the impression that the parents of PS 20 kids mostly wanted the approach they got, with uniforms, strong discipline and teaching that stresses fundamentals from a very early age.

In that sense, the principal is perfectly suited to the philosophy of the school. I didn't find him to be frosty at all--rather, he is formal and a very top-down manager. But he feels that his approach is what works for the children at the school, and doesn't see much need to adjust.

Firing him won't necessarily alter the approach to learning at the school, and indeed may bring up someone a great deal worse. But clearly he needs to reach out more to parents or his school will not be attracting the kind of involvement and money that ultimately result in a great (as opposed to adequate) public school.

My child is no longer at PS 20 -- ultimately we wanted a less stringent and more hands-on approach to learning for our kid. But that doesn't mean the PS 20 approach doesn't have value.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at April 10, 2009 9:51 AM in response to Time for PS 20 Principal to Get The Boot?

The Stratford Road house is attractive, with good bones. Somewhat smaller than average for that area but still plenty of room for a family, unless you are the Duggars. But it will need a great deal of sprucing up as well as some basic updates to mechanicals. Needs exterior work and the yards need redoing as well. And yes, there is only 1 full bath for the entire house; there's a half-bath on the ground floor. The top floor has no bathroom at all. Putting one in seems possible, but difficult, not least because it would spoil the lovely lines of the room up there. A good house for someone who dreams of refurbishing one of these old Victorians, but overpriced like everything else in prime Ditmas these days. Sellers are clinging for dear life to 2007 prices in that neighborhood.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at April 4, 2009 2:22 PM in response to Open House Picks

Any other thoughts on the Kensington house, besides househunt (thanks, househunt!). What is it like west of Ocean Parkway re: quality of housing stock and amenities? And I am never sure about the difference between "TLC" and "major renovations"... if there even is one.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at March 7, 2009 10:20 AM in response to Open House Picks

I saw this house a couple of weeks ago; I saw it also earlier this summer. I think it is a flip gone wrong. There is no evidence that anyone has really been living there, although apparently someone has been house-sitting. The renovations are low end. For example, in the summer there was no kitchen sink, now there is one with barely enough room to fit a salad bowl. It is a simple and somewhat attractive house, but no great shakes for that area. What little has been done smacks of the flashy, but cheap, stuff that a flipper does.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at November 26, 2008 11:23 PM in response to House of the Day: 271 Stratford Road

4:59, hear hear. Montrose Morris is well-informed, interesting and unfailingly polite. Which part of that bothers the snarkers, I wonder?

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at July 1, 2008 11:24 AM in response to House of the Day: 430 10th Street

Denton, why is that bad advice?

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 13, 2008 2:28 PM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings

gwbrubaker, it is nice to have some actual suggestions at last, and politely put, too. Many thanks. I assure you I do NOT think every person of color is out to get me, far from it. I **like** the mix of ethnicities and races in this neighborhood, that was part of the attraction for me in the first place. The people are lovely and I have always felt safe here. In fact it's been so long since I have had to use street smarts I am worried I have none left, which was why I was asking.

Again, thanks. Posters like you make the blog's comments worth reading.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 13, 2008 12:40 PM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings

12:10, gosh, brilliant. Cross the street for each group of black teenagers I see in this historically black nabe. That won't happen on every damn block. And of course, the one group of criminals would never think of following me.

Like I said, nice constructive thread.

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 13, 2008 12:19 PM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings

Well, this is a constructive thread.

As a Clinton Hill resident, if anyone has *real* suggestions on how to avoid becoming a victim of these thugs -- what to look for, what to do -- I would appreciate it. Also, ways to help the police and/or anyone we see victimized in this way. Can we demand more action by the police? Also, if these are daylight robberies, why does Pratt's advice center on late-night behavior?

(As I am a petite woman, "knock their teeth in" or whatever isn't much of an option.)

Posted by: gidgetgoesbrooklyn at June 13, 2008 12:08 PM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings