Money Pit With a Happy Ending
“I got a hole in my wall the size of a Buick.” Not exactly what you want to hear when you answer a call from your next door neighbor. For David Petersen, who’d recently purchased the 1,100-square-foot house on 18th Street near Greenwood Cemetery for $260,000, these words bck in 2004 were the beginning of…
“I got a hole in my wall the size of a Buick.” Not exactly what you want to hear when you answer a call from your next door neighbor. For David Petersen, who’d recently purchased the 1,100-square-foot house on 18th Street near Greenwood Cemetery for $260,000, these words bck in 2004 were the beginning of an overwhelming process that, among other things, involved him begging and borrowing several hundred thousand dollars more than he initially intended to fix the ailing house. Although his inspector had picked up on a bunch of structural imperfections, he hadn’t pointed out the fact that the house had, literally, no foundation. Two years later, though, Petersen and his girlfriend are ensconced in their 12 1/2-foot-wide house finished in a “comfortable modern” style. Perhaps the best news of all? The house was recently reappraised for $1.25 million, allowing Petersen to pay off all his credit cards and second mortgages and even have a nice chunk of equity left over.
Brooklyn Bargain? First Check the Cellar [NY Times]
I think this couple’s house is great. I love the modern renovation. Simple and light and airy.
As an aside, how sad is it when every single comment here is about how his could not POSSIBLY be worth x or y or whatever? Maybe someone should start a blog about how your house is NOT worth more than mine.
high 900s sounds right from my limited experience, not because prices have taken a swan dive but because the house was never worth $1.25 mil. The guy wanted to cash out equity and this just sounds like a typical case of appraiser delivering the appraisal that he’s asked to.
Maybe half a year or a year ago, $1.25 was more like the price for a mint place of this size in the actual south slope (i.e., north of 15th Street). whether or not the market has dived since then — this house of this size in this location, however lovely, was never going to sell for $1.25M.
sellers may of gotten ahead of themselves with their asking prices earlier in the year, but transation prices aren’t noticably lower. Realistic price for a 3 story in decent condition in this area, based on what I can tell:
less then 17′ feet: 800k-900k
17-19: 900k-1.1m
19 – 21: 1.1m – 1.3m
this area being, say, bet. 6th & 10 ave, prospect ave to prospect expressway.
I mostly hear it referred to as South Slope. Greenwood Heights is a relatively new term, although South Slope’s borders have been creeping south for years. As long as its not called Sunset Park (new reputation notwithstanding).
I live on 6th av near 19th.
south south slope, or greenwood heights. (no where near gowanus) the block/street is actually fairly quiet. the expressway is quieter than many streets/avenues. also, it’s a shorter walk to train than many blocks in the center slope. a few years back this might have been called the middle of nowhere. now its definitely the middle of somewhere.
the little blue house can’t hold a candle to this place. it’s very sweet. just not 1.25m sweet.
Greenwood Heights.
So is this considered Park Slope South or Gowanus?
Didn’t we all laught at the small blue 1 family frame house in the south slope for $499K. How is it different than this one?
No 1:49, I’m actually a nervous owner who is thinking of moving, not a wishful buyer. I’ve been obsessing over the market for months now and it seems pretty clear to me that prices have indeed gone down in all but the very primest parts of the slope. That is, the only houses actually selling are going for less than asking or for reduced prices. I’d be thrilled if anyone can prove me wrong, but that’s what my ‘research’ shows.
prices diving? sounds like wishful thinking from someone who’s looking. I have seen nothing to back that up. This area is moving in tendem with Park Slope, with a pretty stable discount.