Open House Picks

If you want to see a Park Slope house for under 2 mill, check out NYTimes FSBO listings! They do exist…there’s a cute move-in one on 12th St. having an OH on Sunday.

I actually went to see the house on Albemarle yesterday. I don’t have any experience with renovations but let me tell you this house is in scary-bad shape – from the outside it looks like it has been abandoned and from the inside it looks like squatters live there. They’ve done some work but almost none of it is finished and some of it is very arbitrary. For example, they put in a new tile floor in the little solarium off the dining room. Why in god’s name would you waste your money on that when the front steps are literally crumbling? And the kitchen consists of a floor, that’s it, no cabinets, no appliances, just wires and a floor. The broker, who could not have been any nicer, was told by the owner that to finish the house will cost about $100K. That doesn’t even count the exterior.
That said, for the right person with a certain strength of will this house could be magnificent – it’s got all its original fireplaces and wood paneling and it’s enormous and romantic. Funny thing is, right afterwards I went to see a fully renovated house around the corner with a totally gorgeous cook’s kitchen etc… but I can’t get this Albemarle house out of my head. I’m even taking my husband back to see it.

yep, for over $2 million it would be nice if the staircase wasn’t pulling away from the wall..

I’ve seen the Park Slope house, the pictures (albeit horrible) are flattering compared to what its like in person… needs a lot of work. it was on the market about a month ago at $2.5 million and then the listing disappeared about a week later. Now, it’s back at $2.35 million.

What “market correction?” The Lefferts Manor house is asking 150K more than one of those houses (unrenovated) has ever sold for (ever!). There’s even an identical one for sale now at 850K. I eagerly await the correction!