House of the Day: FSBO on Argyle
The slower market has not dampened the spirits of one owner in Victorian Flatbush. The seller of 232 Argyle Road has built a very user friendly website to hawk his 5-bedroom, 3-bath woodframe in the sub-neighborhood known as Beverley Square West. Everything (except the kitchen, which looks pretty el-cheapo) appears to be in order and…

The slower market has not dampened the spirits of one owner in Victorian Flatbush. The seller of 232 Argyle Road has built a very user friendly website to hawk his 5-bedroom, 3-bath woodframe in the sub-neighborhood known as Beverley Square West. Everything (except the kitchen, which looks pretty el-cheapo) appears to be in order and we’re sure there are lots of buyers out there who will be interested. We’re not so sure about the price though. $1,495,000 might be pushing it. (The last time it changed hands in March of 2005 was for $975,000.) Then again, there’s not a lot of good product on the market in this area, so you never know.
Classic Brooklyn Victorian [232Argyle.com] GMAP P*Shark
Yeah I’m looking at those pictures again and the kitchen and master bedroom look terrible. The baseball cap next to the TV, the bathrobe tossed on the sofa in the master BR. The tons of stuff stuck to the fridge in the kitchen, all the stuff on top of the cabinets and countertops, the rug. Get rid of it all.
Jeremy I think PPSer was serious, actually. (why? who knows) An alarm system would be a whopping $2K investment, which is what Protection One would probably charge for a house this big. As for a new kitchen or not, that obsession is what seperates the amateurs from smart buyers. If you want a good deal, you buy a house in which you have to install the kitchen. That said, for $1.4 million yes this house should have had a new kitchen in it. UNLESS they did a top of the line update of the mechanicals instead. I’d rather buy a house with all new plumbing and electric any day, ANY DAY, than a house that looks fabulous and has a new kitchen but has old rotten mechanicals. My critique of the FSBO listing is only that with all the photos, lots, which is great (realty firms should learn something from this seller about the appeal of nice photos) it’s too bad the foyer and living room look so spectacular and then the bedrooms and kitchen are so so cluttered. Too cluttered. A cluttered appearance psychologically makes buyers feel like it’s not enough space, for day to day living. Or that there’s not enough storage in the house. Whether that’s the case or not, that’s what clutter communicates. So they need to take the stuff off the kitchen counters, take the cruddy little TV out of the master bedroom, and take the crib out of there too when they’re showing the place. The master bedroom is a key room in any house. It needs to look good. It needs to be focused on in the same way they focused on the living room and foyer.
Actually, this seems like a cool Saturday afternoon field trip. Can any residents recommend a particularly interesting route to take through the neighborhood to see the best examples of Victorian houses?
PPSer — you’re making fun of the second comment right? Please say yes, or I fear for the human race.
They are insane if they think they will get that price. I think 1.25 at most
PPSer– That’s one expensive alarm system. Adds $450,000 of value?
Well price seems quite rich for size/block and especially after this spec renovator had his mitts on it. At least the current owners repainted it, the renovator put it on the market in a couple of shades of pink! I wouldn’t think however that a new paint job would command a 66% price hike in a little over a year. That said, if a 22′ frame house on Bergen went for $2.1MM, why not. Be interesting to see how the FSBO works out…
I saw the house a few years ago when it was on the market. I believe the owner also owned a few other houses on the block (an older woman whose husband had died). I’m not sure she was a speculator, but rather a landlady. I believe she rented this house. I remember the house being charmless when I saw it. Maybe it’s changed a bit in two years. Without an alarm system, I can’t see this going for more than $650,000. With a system, maybe $1.1 million.
They bought this house from a speculator, that’s why it has a cheep kitchen and bath. I saw this house and it was on the market for some time and was of very poor quality work..
They decorated it nicely..