House of the Day: Victorian in East Ditmas
We’re not sure if this house is technically in Ditmas or Midwood, but it’s a well-preserved corner house on what looks to be an attractive block. Is it worth the $939,000 asking price? No idea. The fireplace is a little random, but otherwise quite nice details. There was an open house yesterday so hopefully we’ll…
We’re not sure if this house is technically in Ditmas or Midwood, but it’s a well-preserved corner house on what looks to be an attractive block. Is it worth the $939,000 asking price? No idea. The fireplace is a little random, but otherwise quite nice details. There was an open house yesterday so hopefully we’ll get some first-hand feedback.
642 East 18th Street [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark
Where are these houses? I bought three years ago and got one of the last true bargains (under $700K – needed work) in the neighborhood. I have followed the real estate scene daily here ever since. The only houses I have seen in the past two years listed for under 900k needed much more than a fresh coat of paint. Did you have inspections of these houses? Alot of expensive issues are concealed by old walls. Seriously, go back and look at Mary Kay, Corcoran, and Brooklyn Properties listings. Show me a house not needing at least $100K in improvements for under $900. Even $900 will not put you sitting comfortably in the lap of luxury. Which is what everyone seems to be screaming for at these prices. Personally, if I did it again, I’d pay the $200K more for a house that was already completely renovated.
Not a true statement for “last few years(s)” regarding Victorian Flatbush houses under 900k . If you had said last 6 months, I would maybe agree, but in the past year is was possible to buy for under 900k and have a house that you could slap a coat of paint on the walls and move on in.
I looked at quite a few houses in the VF area. Did these houses have gourmet kitchens and spa bathrooms? No, but do you really need these things for basic subsistence? No, they are luxuries. While the electric and plumbing might eventually need upgrades, there were no sparks coming from the sockets or dangling wires. And no mold due to leaks from the plumbing. Nothing that was going to require immediate repair/reno before you could step foot over the threshold.
Your buying a 100 year old house, it will need to be maintained. People need to get over the idea that old houses should be in exact same shape both cosmetically and mechanically as a house built 2 months ago.
I’ll tell you. I don’t know who sold it (what realtor, private sale etc…), but you can go through old MaryKay, Corcoran, Kestyn, and Brooklyn Properties records for the last few year and you will not find a house that sold for under 900k unless it was practically falling down. That $750K price was either a one-off great deal, or the house needed tons of work, which has been done now. Most of what these houses need you can’t see – new plumbing, electricity. Plus the market here has exploded in the past few years. And yes, if you are not willing to pay over 1.1 million these days, you are buying a money-pit. You will need to spend the difference to bring the property up to market scratch, i.e. the $1.1. million mark (this is for the less grandiose houses, I might add). I’m sick of people whinging about how much houses cost in Flatbush nowdays. The neighborhood has become much more desirable in recent years, and house prices reflect that. Owners with more disposable income are moving in and spending it on their homes, making the neighborhood even more so. Is that what makes it middle class? And if it is, what precisely is wrong with that? And how exactly do you define middle class? Are you speaking strictly in terms of income? Or political, social, creative values? Ethnic diversity? Because I’ll tell you this, Victorian Flatbush is a vibrant, diverse community with a lot of creative types and intellectuals. You can keep City Island. I wouldn’t take it for half the price your offering. And I wouldn’t mind if you stayed there as well. Your posts have had a nasty, uninformed, odious tone. But if you’re really hot for Brooklyn, I’m sure someone can find you a brand new McMansion in Seagate.
“Also think house may not get ask, but is not unreasonably priced.”
How is it reasonably priced at 939 now if it just sold back in January for 750? Some poor sucker is going to pay almost 200K more than someone paid just in January? They had better have done some reno for that to be normal.
My House. Well, it used to be part-mine, sort of. City Island oceanfront bungalow, completely modernized in the late 1980s to 1999, and the house has been well maintained since. It has 2 marble-tile bathrooms, carpenter’s details, a vast deck, a single spot to park in, etc. Couldn’t find a buyer who could cough up the 950K. So it is now nearly in contract for 900K. My friend needs to be near subway, he is ageing. I suggest Bklyn, because I like it (and so does he, now). The crappy houses we have seen, dozens of them now in Bklyn, and the Coops…yuck! that go for just over a Million are garbage. I think my friend sold too low. You ought to be able to find a deccent rowhouse for the sale of a completely modernized oceanfront house: this is the insane!
Walked past that, and several other “cheaper” Vics, and thought it was a money-pit. I saw interior pics on a website, maybe from realtor.com that my friend pulled up. The traffic is the deal-breaker. I learned to love the Q train, since it is not oppressively in a tunnel forever. The stations (prob. soon ruined my MTA) are cute, and suburban-like.
This area, below Foster St. has a sign, “Flatbush Malls” which is charm plus, but most houses are old-overpainted wooden boxy affairs for the Middle Class. It seems the Middle Class is still here. (NYC Middle is outrageously expensive)
This looks like a particularly difficult porch enclosure to remove: concrete? Wood frame enclosures are much easier to take down.
Unless a house is falling down or next to a gas station, under 900K is unheard of these days.
Doubtful house is 1920s. My house is listed as 1920s on Property Shark, and it was built in 1903. House is more likely 1910-1914.
Whatever your feelings about the fireplace, it’s most likely original (I’ve seen others like this in houses like this in the nabe), so I wouldn’t scrap it unless you’re absolutely sure it’s later.
The whole house has a really nice Craftman feel to it. I’d have to get the wood stripped, but it looks great.
I would want to remove the enclosed porch, and restore it to it’s original design, like the house next door. There’s something so wonderful about being able to sit on your porch and watch the world go by.
Don’t know about prices over there, but nowadays, anything less than a million looks like a bargain, almost no matter where it is. Nice markup from $750K, but one is entitled to try to make a buck. It would be interesting to see if they get it.