Open House Picks
Park Slope 285 Garfield Place Warren Lewis Sunday 1-3 $2,280,000 GMAP P*Shark Boerum Hill 229 Bergen Street Cobble Heights Sunday 12-2 $1,795,000 $1,595,000 GMAP P*Shark Bedford Stuyvesant 464 Willoughby Avenue FSBO Sunday 12-3 $899,000 GMAP P*Shark Prospect Lefferts Gardens 256 Lincoln Road Alexis Sat 10-2; Sun 2-4 $850,000 GMAP P*Shark Bedford Stuyvesant 643 Jefferson Avenue…
Park Slope
285 Garfield Place
Warren Lewis
Sunday 1-3
$2,280,000
GMAP P*Shark
Boerum Hill
229 Bergen Street
Cobble Heights
Sunday 12-2
$1,795,000 $1,595,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bedford Stuyvesant
464 Willoughby Avenue
FSBO
Sunday 12-3
$899,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
256 Lincoln Road
Alexis
Sat 10-2; Sun 2-4
$850,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bedford Stuyvesant
643 Jefferson Avenue
Corcoran
Sunday 1-3
$775,000
GMAP P*Shark
Re: the Lincoln Road house; I don’t know this particular house, or its owner, but these relatively small two story houses, designed by Benjamin Driesler c. 1909/1910 for a company called Realty Associates, can be found on Lincoln Road, Maple Street, Midwood Street Rutland Road, and Fenimore Street (i.e. ALL the Lefferts Manor Streets) just west of Rogers Ave. In general, they’re very attractive houses with lots of craftsman movement type interior details.
If the house is as Babs describes it, this could be a really good opportunity if the lack of preparation and clutter lead to a selling price significantly below asking. The way I look at it, the buyer is going to redecorate anyway, so why pay for recent work you’re likely to re-do? The question is, what condition are the mechanicals in? This has probably always been a one family house with only two or three previous owners. It’s relatively late and (presumably) has never been converted into a rooming house or multiple dwelling. These are the reasons why even houses needing “lots” of work in Lefferts Manor usually don’t need as much work as houses in many other brownstone nabes.
Once again, I ‘d like to point out that I’m writing in generalities. This house MIGHT be an exception, but IMO its well worth looking at.
I guess they figured it was too difficult (elderly people, years of accumulated stuff, etc.) and figured that the market was so hot the house would go easily at that price regardless of the clutter — and they might have been right, had the family just gone out for three hours. Personally, having Grandma wave at me from her bed and a sullen teen-ager living in the basement watching TV while I was trying to look at the house kind of drew my attention away from trying to viualize the place after the clutter was gone. No offense to them at all, I know they are very good people — it just prevents anyone from really taking a look around.
Babs–yes, of course my preference for Maple is completely personal. No real difference in the blocks–I just like the ‘feel’ of Maple more. And I’d agree again that 800K would be the most to spend on this house. As to why people don’t understood the importance of a basic de-cluttering and cleaning before they show their house–it is a mystery to me!
I was predicating all that on actually paying $800 – $825K; that would certainly be my best offer. I do think that if they fixed the place up a bit, however (just comsetics), they’d have a much better shot at that. As to whether Maple vs. Lincoln is worth $50K, that’s a matter of personal preference.
I saw Lincoln Road too and I agree with Babs’ description. But I question the price. A renovated version of the same house on Maple street is asking 949K. That house has been on the market for awhile too. The Lincoln road house needs way more than 100K to get into as good shape as the Maple one–and personally I’d pay an extra 50K just to be on Maple. So this house would have to be no more than 800K to make sense compared to the Maple house–and that’s assuming the Maple house actually sells for asking, which in this market is unlikely. But the real thing is that neither house moved me enough to justify the cost and effort. Now that there are more options in my price range, I’m holding out for something special.
Also saw garfield a while ago and yeah it feels woozy like a funhouse upstairs. They straightened the parlour floor way back when (the synagogue was built, which allegedly caused the sinkage) but not the upper floors.
It doesn’t have a lot of garden lot left either.
229 Bergen Street. Good block. Used to live on it. Only drawback may be the Bus traversing that street (if you are a light sleeper it sounds loud given how quiet the street is at night). Price seems a bit low given that 244 Bergen (280 SF less in size) went for 1.53 last year.
The house on Lincoln Rd is being sold by the same fsmily as the one on Empire Blvd. from a few weeks ago. I went to the second OH they had at this house (it’s been on the market for about five or six weeks now) and while the location is excellent, the house needs A LOT of work, which the owners readily admit. It’s been occupied by the same family for about 45 years and looks it. A lot of the great original details are still there, byt the house is just crammed full of 45 years worth of stuff and no effort (or maybe it has but there’s a lot more that could be done) has been made to get it in shape to sell, and having the whole family around at the open house doesn’t really help, either — it makes you feel uncomofrtable, like you’re disturbing them. Considering what other houses on this and surrounding Lefferts Manor blocks are going for, this price doesn’t seem too bad, unless it needs over $300K worth of work. I just think that if it showed better (clean the place up, put stuff in storage, take the family to the park for the open house) it would have sold by now. The house on Emire Blvd. was in better shape with less clutter so you could see the place and was underpriced so it sold itself. This one needs a little help.
i saw the garfield place a few weeks ago- the entire house is sloping pretty badly, feels odd inside, like living in leaning tower of piza