Real Estate

A Reno With Details and Three With Potential to See This Weekend, Starting at $899K

This weekend, we’ve got one that is move-in ready and three more that could use some attention.

by Jim Rendon

08/11/2017 6 minute 0

This weekend, we’ve got one townhouse that is move-in ready and three more that could use some attention. Even so, the three homes are nowhere near gut jobs. The basics appear to be in good shape and most have a few well-preserved details, making them great candidates for buyers willing to put in some effort and time. The homes are scattered throughout the borough in Crown Heights, South Slope, Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge.

Let’s start with this massive circa 1905 brownstone and brick home on St. Marks Avenue between Nostrand and Rogers avenues in Crown Heights. It is in the best shape of the bunch and may need very little work at all depending on your tastes and needs. The home is five stories and is divided up into an owner’s duplex with a finished cellar and three apartments above. The largest apartment is a one-bedroom with a bay window and a bathroom in the rear extension. Above that are two two-bedroom units, one with a terrace. The photos of the parlor-floor entrance show unpainted wainscoting and moldings, fretwork, parquet floors with inlaid borders and well-preserved crown moldings. According to the listing, there are also seven mantels and stained glass. The lot is exceptionally deep — just over 150 feet — so the landscaped rear yard is quite large. Of course, all of that is reflected in the price — it’s by far the most expensive of our picks this week.

Next up is a four-story 19th century brick house in South Slope. This one is divided into a three-bedroom owner’s duplex with a pair of two-bedroom apartments above. The 3,200 square foot home has a few details including tin ceilings, a mantel, some original floors and moldings but not much else. Some mechanicals have been upgraded, including four-zone central air and a new boiler and hot water heater. It has plenty of potential for someone willing to do the work and the lack of many details may open up the possibilities for renovation. The biggest drawback may be the location. Though it’s in South Slope on Prospect Avenue between 4th and 5th avenues, it is also directly across from the Prospect Expressway.

In Bensonhurst on West 9th Street is an early 20th century single-family home with an inviting front porch. Though the home is only 17 feet wide, the first floor has an extension and is 58 feet long. The extra-deep space includes the living room, dining room, kitchen and half bath. Above, are four bedrooms and a full bath. The bathroom appears to have new tile on the walls, but they kept the very 1950s pink counter and blue sink that matches the tub. Though the home is listed as a single family, the basement is finished with its own entrance and, according to the floor plan, its own kitchen. The laundry room is in the basement and can be accessed from the kitchen upstairs. The house is in a row of similar two-story homes with front porches and second floor bay windows and it is just two blocks from the Kings Highway N, Q and W stop.

To wrap up the tour we have a circa-1900 bay-fronted two-story brick single-family in Bay Ridge. The home retains quite a few original details including the newel post and railing, parquet floors, crown molding and a coffered ceiling in the dining room. The kitchen appears to have been recently renovated. There is no bathroom on the first floor. The second floor includes two large bedrooms and two small ones and a full bath. The second bathroom is in the finished basement, which has its own entrance. The backyard is covered by a deck and the large tree in the middle of the yard appears to be pulling through the decking in a few spots. The home is just a block and a half from the Shore Road Promenade and is five blocks form the Bay Ridge Avenue R stop.

688 Saint Marks Avenue
Price: $3.2 million
Area: Crown Heights
Broker: Halstead (Ban Leow, Howard Ramlal)
Sunday 1:00-2:30
See it here ->

205 Prospect Avenue
Price: $1.899 million
Area: South Slope
Broker: Halstead (Robert DiBiase)
Sunday 1:30-3:00
See it here ->

1737 West 9th Street
Price: $899,000
Area: Bensonhurst
Broker: Douglas Elliman (Lina Chen, Jack Chiu, Alexander Maroni)
Sunday 3:00-4:00
See it here ->