House of the Day: 250 Lefferts Avenue
While in some ways it doesn’t really matter, it’s hard not to get hung up on the fact that this house at 250 Lefferts Avenue changed hands 18 months ago for just $495,000 and is now asking $879,000. We’re not sure how much (if any) work was done in the interim, but if it involved…
While in some ways it doesn’t really matter, it’s hard not to get hung up on the fact that this house at 250 Lefferts Avenue changed hands 18 months ago for just $495,000 and is now asking $879,000. We’re not sure how much (if any) work was done in the interim, but if it involved those kitchens, they should have saved their money; the house would show better with old run-down appliances than with these Home Depot specials. When you compare it to last Thursday’s HOTD, 181 Midwood Street, this place looks a bit overpriced, in our opinion, despite being a bit larger. While the Lefferts Avenue house was probably at one point on a par with the Midwood house, it appears to have had a tougher life. Luckily, some redeeming original elements survived and with some renovation CPR this could still be a very nice place. But it deserves a discount to the Midwood house of more than $46,000, we suspect. Agree? It would be helpful to know what the contract price was for 242 Lefferts Avenue just down the block.
250 Lefferts Avenue [Aguayo & Huebener] GMAP P*Shark
You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about 12:45PM and my guess is you’re just the troll. Piss off, please.
That’s just not true. What part of PLG do you live in? I live in Lefferts Manor and I have an English Basement. I have noticed an enormous change in the local population. Try watching who goes in and out of the subway at rush hour. There has been a huge influx of young professional or artsy college-grads to the area.
And regarding your english basement, mine is a renovated entertainment room. It does not feel like a cellar.
I agree with you on one point, however. An english basement resembles a home which is partially below grade and has a walkout basement (which has two foot windows). That’s very different than a cellar – my friend’s have one, and it’s musty and dark and smelly in a way my english basement never is!
I have a lovable, renovated English Basement. The boiler etc are in a closet area and the rest is a family room, which we use daily. But it is totally basement space and should NOT be counted in the square footage the way that the other floors are. It is exactly like a free-standing suburban house with a “walk-out basement”– those are never counted in the square footage, even though they can have playrooms, gyms, movie theaters, etc.
I live in PLG and I totally disagree with the above posters. Unless someone buys every apartment building on Flatbush avenue and knocks them down, there will always be a huge very poor population here–and all of things that go with it. And we are spitting distance from the poorest areas in Brooklyn. People who think the area is on the brink of major change are deluding themselves. There are some changes happening, but the basic core of the population and feel of the area won’t really change.
oops – i meant property shark needs to be consistent!
Obviously Property Shark needs to be inconsistent. But people are saying that this house is too small to be worth its asking price because it has an unusable space, and I’m contesting that assumption.
No one is saying that “English basements” aren’t usable space. However, Property Shark is inconsistant about including them in Sq. Ft. totals. That’s why this house is listed as being so much larger than the previous PLG HOTD which is actually only about 400 Sq. Ft. smaller than this one–Prop Shark incorrectly has about a 1200 or 1300 Sq. Ft. difference.
I’ve seen many renovated English basements which are the third floor in what’s typically called a “two-story” home, and these basements don’t feel at all like one. They have boilers and hot water heaters and laundry hidden behind partitions or access doors. And then they have lovely, open, renovated space. They have windows and egresses and get sunlight too. They are generally three or four feet below grade, not entirely below grade like cellers in homes with a “garden” floor and a stoop. They may not be quite as light filled as garden levels, but in terms of habitability, they are much more garden level than cellar, so it’s quite misleading to confuse the two.
Basically, those who are concerned that PLG is becoming unaffordable like to call these English basements “cellars” because it justifies a lower a price. Treating them as usable, livable space (which they most certainly are) leads to a higher valuation.
That’s just my two cents.
PropertyShark often has the basements incorrectly listed in the sq. footage. My house (4 blocks from here) is listed at 3,492 sq. ft. but I know (because I’ve measured) that the real square footage is about 2200.
Even though it includes the basement in the square footage, it still lists the building as a 2-story.
And the English basement level may be useable, but it retains a very “basement” feel — you’re down there with the boiler, below grade, and don’t get a lot of light — very different from the garden level of larger houses, which have a true basement below that.