House of the Day: 42 Sherman Revisited
We’ve featured this place a couple of times on Open House Picks since it hit the market in the middlle of the summer at $1.35 million and frankly we’re a little surprised that it hasn’t sold yet. Not that it’s a steal at its current price of $1.3 million, but it’s got lovely details and…
We’ve featured this place a couple of times on Open House Picks since it hit the market in the middlle of the summer at $1.35 million and frankly we’re a little surprised that it hasn’t sold yet. Not that it’s a steal at its current price of $1.3 million, but it’s got lovely details and sits on our favorite block in Windsor Terrace. Is it the fact that it’s only three stories high? Or maybe a sign of tougher times for FSBOs in this market? What do you attribute its failure to sell to?
Homepage [42Sherman.com] GMAP P*Shark
Open House Picks 8/4/2006 [Brownstoner]
Open House Picks 10/6/2006 [Brownstoner]
6:18, We looked at your house the week after we went into contract on our own (in Lefferts Manor). We loved your house!
In my experience, all these houses need work of some kind. I think a house on Sherman is a find. We hoped for months that something on that block would come on the market. This nabe is NOT high turnover, and I think that is the point many are making. Park Slope, on the other hand, has a much higher turnover due to its recent gentrification.
Anon, 10:09. I agree with you, that was partly the point i was making. In all our time looking the prices really didn’t seem to vary much between a home that needed serious help to one that needed what i would call more minor modifications. There’s always something to make it your own.
Additionally the pricing between neighborhoods seemed to be blurring. The high prices we have been quoted to make the renovations we need pushed it over what we would like to have paid for a home this size, to your point, but again it came down to relativity and the need to move on. Truthfully some of the other more expensive homes we were seeing needed greater help, and the neighborhoods more questionable.
Whomever buys Sherman will need to do work, probably more than they think as we are finding, but it is possible someone will simply weigh the benefits of settling on a great street in a friendly neighborhood with cost and relativity, and find that it just feels like the right thing to do. We spent the last 10 years in Cobble Hill, but are now looking forward to raising our daughter in Windsor Terrace. For us it was the best balance.
Anon’s: Thanks for the kind words.
Anon 8:50: Can’t people just be a little proud in their neighborhood or excited about moving into a new home?
THANK YOU, 9:53am! Well said!
Regarding renovations and upgrades:
I find it laughable when I read the phrase “total gut reno necessary,” even if theses posters have toured the house. And even more laughable when I hear “you’re looking at 100k plus or 300k to really do it right.”
Each and every house is different. Sometimes the old plumbing is fine. Sometimes even the old electric is fine. Often, in very old homes, the electric wiring was run through rigid gas piping, which makes it very easy to snake new wiring through the pipe, meaning no plaster or sheetrock has to be damaged. Usually the main electrical panel is what needs to be replaced so that the house can accept 100 or 200 amp service. (Often the reason why folks don’t have enough power available for our modern amenities. Some old homes only have 40 or 60 amp service that is also dangerously ungrounded at the switches and plugs.)
Often, the plaster in old houses can be fixed (and should be fixed – it looks better than new drywall unless the new drywall is skim-coated) to look like new, without ripping it out.
It takes someone with experience and knowledge to make the proper determinations on what a house needs to be restored, and most importantly, how much these various upgrades and restorations will cost. It also should be understood by prospective buyers that upgrades can be done in prioritized stages while living in the house.
Personally, I love houses that have been left “untouched” and have fallen in cosmetic disrepair. They are often full of original detail with the original floorplan intact, and can be a real bargain for those willing to dish out a little sweat equity. Or at least those who empower themselves to be savvy enough to function as their own General contractor.
Please understand that two homeowners who need the same exact services done by the same exact contractor will often pay very different prices. You need to educate yourselves and you just might find that you will get a better deal on every aspect of your home renovation. (As well as a better quality job.) Remember, if you let the contractor know that you understand the differences between joists and studs, and you keep a watchful eye on the work in progress, you’d better believe they will be much less likely to cut corners.
Good luck with your home searches – and don’t be daunted by houses that need some work.
Stoner don’t assume that a property being on the market for a while is a failure. Properties stay on the market for many reasons that have nothing to do with the property. People get sick, people die, people get pre-occupied with jobs, etc.
The hostility on this site is unbelievable. WT has many lifelong residents, what’s the big deal? It used to be, before Brooklyn was hot, that people lived out their merry years in their nabes. It wasn’t until Brooklyn’s market picked up that people started selling their homes and moving to Florida. Is that so difficult to believe?
No one said that every WT resident stays until they die. I was speaking specifically about the owners of these very few homes on the limestone side of the street of Sherman. People just dont tend to sell them unless its a child selling their passed on parents home. Thats what Ive seen in my experience of living in the area for years. No one is saying WT is better or worse than other areas. Good grief – read what the post says before you start calling people brokers. I am most definitely not a broker.
I wouldn’t underestimate the deep feelings people have for their community. People choose other parts of Brooklyn–other parts of Earth, for that matter–because it feels right to them, not because they can’t afford PS or BH. Man, that is more parochial a comment than anything else posted.
Stay until they die? wow you will only hear that from WT residents. why on earth would you think ppl would stay longer here as opposed to PS or even BH? If you are staying til you die, its b/c the value of your prop. cant get you a place in a better area. I agree WS is nice but not nicer than the big 5.