House of the Day: 1052 Dean Street
Here’s an interesting one on Dean Street one block west of the proposed Crown Heights North Historic District (see map here). At $690,000, this has got to be one of the cheaper brownstones around and could be an interesting way to play the expected landmarking. One would think that this area between Prospect Heights and…
Here’s an interesting one on Dean Street one block west of the proposed Crown Heights North Historic District (see map here). At $690,000, this has got to be one of the cheaper brownstones around and could be an interesting way to play the expected landmarking. One would think that this area between Prospect Heights and the proposed Historic District would improve over time, especially as projects like Pacific Blue). As for the house itself, it’s a solid three-story, three-family with decent (though not lavish) original details. We drove past it this past weekend and the block is largely townhouses that are in pretty good shape. We bet a buyer could get a lot done with $100,000 reno in this place and could end up with a nice owner’s duplex and a one-floor rental. How about this realtor? Anyone ever dealt with Lucien Perry?
1052 Dean Street [Lucien Perry RE] GMAP P*Shark
I used to live at 1052 dean when i was a child back in the 80’s and 90’s. We lived there until 1997. Man i miss that place. I see that it still has the original black and white tile in the kitchens, wonder if its in the bathrooms as well. There was a huge cherry tree in the backyard and every spring the house would smell like cherry blossoms. My grandmother would plant tomatoes on the second floor fire escape and the squirrels would come steal them. I loved the hard wood floors I would go to sleep right there in the winter. Our room was right above the entrance door, I would climb out on the ledge and just look sometimes. every now and then our grandfather would let us go on the roof with him. I miss 1052 Dean. I pray who ever gets it i hope they feel the love and how special of a place it really is. Love you 1052 DEAN!!!!
Dear “Am I at the right Place”,
No, you are not at the right place.
Well, thanks for saying that Crown Heights Proud because it’s been just about two years of construction (with tenant landlord court thrown in to deal with inherited problem tenant). I am close to finished. It is nice to hear that you are enjoying the prize. I am looking forward to that too; it is a testament to everyone (contractor, tenants and ME) that we have hung in and maintained good relationships. It is not for the faint of heart but it is worth it.
Well, thanks for saying that Crown Heights Proud because it’s been just about two years of construction (with tenant landlord court thrown in to deal with inherited problem tenant). I am close to finished. It is nice to hear that you are enjoying the prize. I am looking forward to that too; it is a testament to everyone (contractor, tenants and ME) that we have hung in and maintained good relationships. It is not for the faint of heart but it is worth it.
donatella, believe me, I understand burn out. This place needs so much work, and I have to take it a very small bit at a time, as time and money allow. I’ve lived here for 5 years, and this year is the first year you’d actually hear me say I even like the house. I’m not near love yet.
Live-in renovation with not much money is certainly not ideal, but I am eternally grateful that my name is on the deed, and I’d do it all again in a minute. It will be done someday, and in the meantime, I enjoy the pleasures as well as the pains of home ownership.
Yes, you are right Crown Heights Proud. If you are going to bite the bullet, buy a house and have the energy to fix it up, it looks like a good deal. Maybe I am just exhausted from my renovation. When people talk about the purchase price plus renovation cost, I think they forget about the cost of their own sweat equity. But you are right, relatively speaking, it is a nice size and attractive and the price is not bad and particularly if it is your housing solution, I think it is a good deal and I am impressed by all the pretty houses in Crown Heights.
Very true, donatella et al, but look at what’s out there, at least as represented on this site – almost everything is $900K to $2+ mill, and many of those need just as much renovation as well. A million dollar house is a mortgage of around $8K a month, give or take. I’m not in law, medicine or finance, and I work damn hard, and I find that an unreal amount of money. At least if one were to buy this house, you could fix up the rental until first, get some money coming in, and fix your part of the house bit by bit. It’s not ideal, but thousands of people do it all across the country every day. At least you will be owning a home in a decent neighborhood that is almost certain to appreciate in the next few years, bubble or no bubble. It may not be the Pfizer Mansion, but it looks to be a nice house with some nice detail. I still think it’s a good deal on the face of it.
Anon 1:32, I was thinking the same thing. On one hand, you have the ARM/National Real Estate Blog discussion going on on Brownstoner and the excitement about this house is probably related to the underlying expectation of appreciation after doing 100K of work. I can say from personal experience, that that 100K also includes a tremendous amount of time and energy on the part of the buyer.
I live nearby, and just want to say this is a pretty great block considering it is not a posh neighborhood. There is a small community garden on the other side of the street and I have noticed signs of people taking care of the street trees, which are mature. A lot of the front gardens are nicely maintained as well.