House of the Day: FSBO at 178 Maple
The owners of this house must have a lot of friends! Within the space of about two hours on Friday, four people emailed this listing to us having recently received an email about it. Everyone who had an opinion said the same thing: Gorgeous, pristine house but perhaps a little pricey. If you include the…
The owners of this house must have a lot of friends! Within the space of about two hours on Friday, four people emailed this listing to us having recently received an email about it. Everyone who had an opinion said the same thing: Gorgeous, pristine house but perhaps a little pricey. If you include the finished basement, the house is 3,000 square feet (actually, more like 2,700 according to Property Shark); if you don’t, well, you can do the math. We’d have to agree with the emailers, but you can’t blame the sellers for trying. And you never know–this brownstone is so beautiful you can’t rule out the possibility that someone who’s been looking at absolute crap in this price range in other nabes will walk in and feel like they’ve found a bargain. And if they love, then maybe they have. It only takes one.
FSBO $950,000 [178 Maple] GMAP P*Shark
Saw the open house and although the sellers did a tasteful job, I’d worry about it being all surface and not much else. Kitchen is tiny and formica is old.
I’d agree that it’s good for a small family who don’t want to do any painting or work of their own.
The block is pretty, but the price is a stretch. Maybe a Manhattaner will swoop in and pay it, though.
Beautiful. But tiny for a brownstone. And in PLG? $900K tops.
RE comments at 1:02–The house we bid on in 2001 for 525K was identical but closer to Rogers, same details, same layout, same everything. This bathroom looks nicer. So the price comparison is a good one. (One of the larger ones closer to Bedford went for about 600K back then.)
I’m curious — is there any way that high ebonized oak wainscotting (pictured here in the DR ) can be made lighter? I’m one of these people who feels oppressed by dark wood.
I love the color of the tiger oak.
I think the place was pretty dark and dreary, which is why the sellers should be congratulated for their vision in renovation. But when comparing prices, don’t forget that the lower numbered houses on that same block (Maple 2) are about 1000 square feet larger.
That is strange since another house in the same row went for about 825K in spring 2004. And I do remember the 525K or so sale in 2001. This place must have been a mess.
According to property shark, the sellers bought this place in September 2005 for $500K.
We bid on a nearly identical house in the same row in 2001. Our bid was 525K and we didn’t get it, so it sold for at least 530K. From 530K to 950K is an 80% increase in 5 years. Not much of an appreciation given what has happened in most of Brooklyn.
At the time, everyone was saying that Lefferts Manor was about to have dramatic changes since prices had increased by 50% in the previous 2 years. But I was there a month ago and absolutely nothing had changed. Still no stores or restaurants. Still scary people hanging out on the corners. I’m glad we didn’t get that house. Not to mention that the place we bought has far more than doubled since 2001! Color me happy.
The house may be pushing the asking price, but to say that a house with 2 decent and 2 small bedrooms is appropriate only for a couple — keep in mind what small spaces families often live in in New York. For someone moving out of an apartment and looking to buy a house for less than a mil, this may look like a castle.
I mean, some people like more space and that’s fine — that’s why God made Ditmas Park — but I think there are plenty of families to whom this would seem like more than enough.
I’d be more bothered by the lack of a bathroom on the parlor floor, but that again is personal taste, not a universal. I don’t suppose there’s any practical/attractive way of fitting a half bath there?