House of the Day: 272 Berry Street
As far as we knew, the days of doubling your money in less than a year were behind us. Apparently, the owner of this South Side brick house was told otherwise. After ponying up $820,000 last August, the current owner went to town on this place, making a number of strange aesthetic choices along the…
As far as we knew, the days of doubling your money in less than a year were behind us. Apparently, the owner of this South Side brick house was told otherwise. After ponying up $820,000 last August, the current owner went to town on this place, making a number of strange aesthetic choices along the way, especially for a flipper. Okay, this seems like a good place to reiterate the most broken rule of flipping: KEEP IT SIMPLE! So, in the case of the bathroom, do white subway tiles and traditional basic fixtures. Why do some people think that they are going to get more money for their “creative” bathroom stylings when in fact they will be alienating a huge portion of the potential buyers? (To be fair, the kitchen looks okay.) Even if this place weren’t 16 feet wide, even if the house weren’t only 35 feet deep and even if the lot weren’t a measly 50 feet deep, this house just feels like it’s trying too hard and not worth close to the $1.5 million asking price. Next.
272 Berry Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
Yee-owtch, this place is gettin’ a good smackin’, isn’t it? Tell the seller, “I saw it on Brownstoner,” and offer him $999. If you’re reallllllly skinny.
yente, we agree on everything, don’t we? You could decorate my house – I mean, apartment – any day.
i think this house is fabulous. i love the blue tiles they’re very alvar aalto. cool. berry street though, don’t know. it could be cool if its edgy rather than marginal. is it like tractor trailersville?
Like the blue tile. Hate the marble. Like the idea of chandelier in bath, although I don’t love that particular fixture.
I think the kitchen looks like every other new kitchen I see. Perhaps the vessel sink will go out of style, but don’t be so sure stainless appliances, Ikea cabinets and ugly models of Toto toilets are timeless pieces. They too, are overdone!
wait just a minute. piano-key neckties are OUT?
regarding the master bath – I think its a matter of making lemonade from lemons. In a building that narrow, it would be hard to have a master bath AND something else. OK, maybe they could have put in a closet or something, or matched the bathroom above, but a decent “master” bath would take up 80% of that space anyway.
re: 1:59’s comments – this is far enough away from the bridge that noise is not a factor. If you’re standing on the front stoop, you might hear a train on an otherwise quiet day.
But its no 5 minutes to the subway – easily 10, unless you’re a fast walker like I am. And that building is really narrow – the photo exaggerates the width tremendously.
A charming little house, though.
Comments from someone who saw the property:
– The pics are VERY decieving. Not as nice as it may look.
– The pictures mask the poor quality of work. ie. Woodwork was not sanded,just paitned,looks terrible.
– The house is very narrow – 16.
– Really close to bridge – noisy.
– NOT close to subway or amenities. Yes, amenities will come over time, but the subway ain’t moving any closer.
– The back yard is SMALL, concrete slab, no view. Even fixed up, good only for small cafe table for 2.
– Bathroom is BIG, but not how I’d use the space given that it’s a small property. Not how I’d set up the bathroom either. Not intelligent use of space.
– Modern glass door takes away from the look of the house.
– Outside needs TONS of work. Nothing done there.
– Been on the market since Jan 07.
Overall, $1.5 steep for this place. Not worth it. Better value elsewhere.
If you want two sinks (his and her) then put in a vanity with two sinks. The vanity would provide some counter space and storage space, something that seems to woefully lacking in the bathroom.
I (sadly) know exactly what you’re talking about. I have harvest green backsplash in my kitchen, with brass knobs on the oak-colored cabinets. God bless my landlords, they came of age in the late 80s and haven’t lost their eye for the ugly.