House of the Day: 59 Macdonough Street
This old-school four-story brownstone at 59 Macdonough Street in Bed Stuy has some great details but, according to a reader who saw it yesterday, is a ticking time bomb that needs a new owner asap. In an effort to “fix up” the house for sale, the current owner, who’s been in the house since 1999,…
This old-school four-story brownstone at 59 Macdonough Street in Bed Stuy has some great details but, according to a reader who saw it yesterday, is a ticking time bomb that needs a new owner asap. In an effort to “fix up” the house for sale, the current owner, who’s been in the house since 1999, is reportedly destroying some of its most characterful aspects, oblivious to the fact that these are precisely what make the house attractive to a large portion of potential buyers. Given the asking price of $775,000 and the proximity to the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, we’re hoping someone out there will get interested in this place before serious damage is done. Update: The broker shot us an email to let us know that the owner’s work is limited to the top floor, which he had started working on before he decided to sell; he’s going to finish up that work and he’s not touching any of the other details in the house.
59 Macdonough Street [Craigslist] GMAP P*Shark
“Characterful”? Characterful?
so, no clues as to what the guy is doing? i can’t really tell from the pictures. give us a hint? is he ripping up the original floors and putting down contact paper? is he replacing the chandeliers with those 0-ring fluorescents? ack!
I’m telling you, the guy is like my old man. It is a definite personality type. Old stuff is bad, its for sissise, real men rip it out and put in practical and classy stuff from home depot.
I Saw the House yesterday. The house is far from new, even though the owner guarantees that he will deliver it like New. That is the exact problem. He is putting in kitchens, closets and bathrooms were they werent before and destroying the woodwork, moldings and floors. I can’t believe the guy even took out the Window shutters, they are still intact in his basement. The house has lots of potential, high wood doors, marble fireplaces, Big wooden mirror in parlor floor. The House needs a lot of work though. For the right buyer and price I think is well worth the work.
232 its 155 here, I’m not the realtor or seller. I love the way people here always get that label when you’re enthusiastic about something. notice I said IF everything is new like they said then its a good look. I personally love macdonough street. I think its a beautiful street from stuyvesant past throop. anytime something on that street is on the market I pay particular attention. although the pictures don’t show the juice like the bathroom and kitchen the facade looks nice and the fact that the door isn’t one of those wooden outlines with a regular sized door says a lot. I still stand behind my initial enthusiasm.
I was going to make the same comment as 2:39. Photos show detail intact and ad specifically mentions it. It’s not like they’re ripping it out.
“is reportedly destroying some of its most characterful aspects”
some details on what is getting destroyed, before I can believe this.. the CL ad specifically boasts of the details why would they be damaged now?
The seller sounds like my father. He can zoom in like a laser on anything that is old and valuable and throw it away or destroy it. New or old things of no value escape the radar and are perfectly safe.
Buy this house quick!
Hey, 1:55, if you are the owner or realtor trying to boost interest, shame on you for not identifying yourself and posing as a passerby.
If you are for real, your enthusiasm is a bit premature. You may want to surf this site’s archives before you take “everything is new” at face value as a reason why you would “totally buy” a house. “New” can be great or it can be crappy work if it is merely a flipper or owner trying to ready a property for sale. I cast no aspersions on this house, but for any house you’d certainly want to take a good hard look before getting too excited about representations in an ad as to “everything” being new.