Open House Picks: Six Months Later
Comment: Increasingly ugly. Open House Picks 6/6/08 [Brownstoner] Previous Six Months Later Posts [Brownstoner]
Comment: Increasingly ugly.
Open House Picks 6/6/08 [Brownstoner]
Previous Six Months Later Posts [Brownstoner]
At the very least, we took out the downpayment (more than half the price) less than a week before the market crashed. It was all invested in the market…so there’s 20-30% right there. Not really losing sleep over the market price of the house anyway…we’re going to be living here for at least a decade and are sure that in the long term it’s as good of an investment as any (it has been for the last 100 years at least).
Good to have the discussion though — some very heated debates on the future of the brownstone market. Probably what’s the most telling of the future market will be how the new constructions do. Don’t think the recession has hit the slope housing market yet, but will be interested what happens when the wall street bonuses come out this year 50% lighter.
I did some work for Justin on Sterling place. Installed some tin ceilings and worked on the rental bathroom. It’s a great house and it was smart to save all the original details. That house has lots of character and the location is fantastic, being right off of 5th Ave. That section of 5th Ave has really come up over the years. Love Gorilla Coffee too!
cornerbodega : Please dont come on this site trying to be negative with the last comment
Do wish you the best of luck, as for your timing and the price you paid… I rather not comment
justinm : You scored a deal buddy. Nice house.
Thanks for all the good wishes. We did avoid doing renovation on the kitchen/bathroom, which is still planned, but I guess it did seem like we gutted it based on the facade work and all of the drywall trash because we moved a wall, raised a ceiling, and exposed one of the walls to brick.
Totally agreed though that it’s better in the end to buy a fixer upper (not a trash heap) because you can use the price difference to fix it up the way _you_ want it, not the way that will sell it the best or the way the prior owners liked it.
I think this price is decent, and I think that contrary to the post’s comments “Increasingly Ugly” it actually shows that the PS brownstone market is holding up quite well given the circumstances. The foreclosures are mostly localized to the new construction, I think. Places that have been around for a hundred years are commodities and have lots of intrinsic value that is just recently being realized, I believe.
Congrats Justin…great house!
Congrats, Justin. I live just down the block and love the area. It looked like there was lots of work being done when I’ve passed by but I could never really see all the way inside. So far, the area has retained its value and I’m sure hoping it will continue to do so.
Our place was in pretty bad shape when we first moved in. We lived there for a year, then gutted the bottom floor, moved the kitchen to the parlor level, and added a bathroom. It was a pretty horrible experience that involved all the attendant contractor lies and corruption that ones can expect, but we love it now. It’s nice to be able to put your own touches on your new home.
cool justinm. good for you!