Park Slope Renovation Advice?
My husband and I are interested in buying a fixer-upper in Park Slope. This will be our first time renovating a home, and his first time buying a home. The apartment we’re interested in is about 750 sq. feet on the top floor of a prewar townhouse. We think it’s a good value (at around…
My husband and I are interested in buying a fixer-upper in Park Slope.
This will be our first time renovating a home, and his first time buying a home. The apartment we’re interested in is about 750 sq. feet on the top floor of a prewar townhouse. We think it’s a good value (at around $420k), but we’re worried about reno costs, neighbors, borough regulations, the coop board… Do you have any advice for us?
By the way, we’re talking a gut renovation with limited cash available ($25k now and another $25k later in the year). Inspector thinks it’s a decent apartment but needs lots of work.
Jackson Heights has so little charm. And for some reason, most of the residents, particularly in the not quite so historic area are very strange and terribly nosy. Though some of the apartment buildings are architecturally decent, most resemble post-war era design. Park Slope will always be a better choice. Quality will ALWAYS beat quanity.
This is the apartment in question, it’s been in the times for weeks.
http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/detail/390-5527
Try Marine park, you can buy a brick 3 br. house with lawn, garage, 500’s, low crime, exc schools, amenities galore, express bus or D train to NYC, neighborhood is undervalued because nobody knows where it is, or thinks it has something to do with Flatbush crap.
Park Slope is a much nicer neighborhood than Jackson Heights, in my opinion.
Try Queens, Jackson Heights particularly. For your budget you can get a great place and afford to gut it and be on many more express subway lines. People always think I’m crazy for saying this, but it’s so much a better value that Park Slope. And it’s great for kids and pets.
I have to say, I think it’s interesting that most people here seem to think our budget is the major problem and not the sagging floors. That gives me great hope 🙂
“So sounds like the appeal of the apt is 420k price?
What about spending around 500-525k on a 1BR where you don’t have to deal with all the renovations?”
Good question. 🙂
Answer: Because it’s a large 1 bedroom that can be converted to a 2 bedroom. And even at $500-525k we’d be lucky to find that in Park Slope. Similar apartments after renovation seem to be going for around $620k.
Also, because we can live with imperfect floors. We can’t live with a huge mortgage. (Our income is nice now, but may not always be so nice.)
A better question, for us, might be ‘why are we even buying a place instead of just renting?’ And that, I can’t really answer except that I’ve been culturally programed to believe owning a home is what I’m supposed to do.
Our issues are: space, neighborhood, aesthetics. Husband requires nice neighborhood for feelings of security both financially and personally. Wife requires pleasing aesthetics for sanity. Both (plus pets and future kids) require space larger than current 300 sq. ft. apartment in Manhattan.
We’ve been looking for quite a few months and we haven’t liked what we’ve seen. This is one of the only properties that’s even piqued our interest.
You won’t get far on this site with 50k, that’s chump change according to many.
Check my many posts on how to do things on the cheap. If there are no structural alterations, 15k each for kitchen/bath is plenty. But you won’t get the overpriced and overhyped appliances and Grohe faucets (see comment by architect on reno blog, who spent 98k on a kitchen!…that’s obscene in my book.)
Seriously. tho’, if you don’t spend money on the sagging floor, and dont smash-and-destroy in the name of renovattion, you should be ok.
I looked at that apt. and didn’t think it was worth the trouble… Be careful… It has been sitting on the market for a long time for the same reasons why you’re doubting whether the reno is worth it. Good luck!