House of the Day: 428 East 18th Street
Any house under a million bucks these days is going to come with its set of drawbacks. In the case of 428 East 18th Street, the list appears to include some less-than-attractive siding and a lack of privacy in the backyard. If you can get beyond those two things, though, this place might start to…
Any house under a million bucks these days is going to come with its set of drawbacks. In the case of 428 East 18th Street, the list appears to include some less-than-attractive siding and a lack of privacy in the backyard. If you can get beyond those two things, though, this place might start to look good to you. The house is priced at $899,000 but we hear that the highest offer to come in so far is around $820,000, so it sounds like there’s some room to wheel and deal. We’re digging the nice floors and the two-car garage (with plumbing!). How’s this block in general?
428 East 18th Street [Brooklyn Hearth] GMAP P*Shark
428 East 18th Street [Mary Kay Gallagher]
I love your attitude 9:55 and think brooklyn needs more like you. Maybe too many years in the city left me a bit jaded, but I have a feeling somewhere between my cynicism and your zen lies the real way to be.
exactly…you can live in bensonhurst and say the same thing…this is a city afterall…and we choose to celebrate it or dice it to bits…i choose to celebrate what Brooklyn is…a diverse universe and if you can get lucky and buy a house…enjoy the neighborhood…cherish
I personally agree with you, Anon 9:41, re: living in a “real” house vs. “amenities”, especially when you have kids and care more about a backyard than you care about being walking distance from smith street or the ale house so you can stumble home drunk every weekend.
But these are the types of things we could discuss pro and con until the cows come home and at the end of the day it is personal preference. I’m glad my parents made the decision they did, to raise us in ditmas park, but my co-worker for example, paid approx $850K for a small 3-bed in park slope and plans to stay there for a good long time with her husband and 2 kids, yard be darned. Good for her, she’s got p.s. 321, but she also has her mornings dictated by alternate side parking while those in ditmas park have their 2 car garages.
There’s no right or wrong. Everyone makes the decisions they think are right for themselves and their families.
I went to P.S. 139 on cortelyou rd and I’m interested to see where the ditmas park parents of today send their kids, if any of the posters wouldn’t mind sharing. No judgment, just curios.
Some thoughts:
1. I believe (correct me if I’m wrong) that victorian only means it was built in a certain era (not to be confused with Victoria’s reign) and there are many styles of victorians as such as tudors, colonial revivalist, greek revivalist, arts and crafts, etc. I think this house was built in that period and seems to be very similar to many of the victorians in the nabe.
2. There is a discount for the nabe in square feet/price versus other more amenity driven nabes. I mean you are getting a whole house with land and a garage. In what other amenity driven nabe could you get all this for this price?
3. Some buyers who just want to gut a place to their own satisfaction do not want to pay for upgrades they are going to redo anyway so here is an opportunity. The owner of the one on 17th street put 500k (his own words) into his house and made it perfect and it quickly sold with a listed price of $1.950. Granted its a little bit bigger on a nicer block but again if you got it for 800k I don’t think 1.3 being that near courtelyou for a perfect 5 bedroom house with a maybe a guest house or additional income would be a reach.
5. If I had $4 million I don’t think I would buy in park slope but get a nice perfect house (where I spend 90% of my time) for $2 million, bank the other 2 million enjoy the other nabe’s amenities by car or subway. I also think courtelyou is coming along with a lot of new apartment buildings and hipsters that will increasingly attract those amenites but for sure not on the scope of some other nabes. For my money it’s a better investment in the long run.
5. As far as the other apartment buildings. Sure it deserves a discount to other blocks in the nabe but for 800k in park slope you’d have neighbor’s in a small 2 bedroom in a townhouse or apartment building the next wall over and probably looking in through your windows as well.
It is the city afterall and just a perspective. Granted I live in the nabe and am biased I guess but I think we miss some of the positive perspective of being able to live in the city and at the same time have the amenities of a real house.
Mmm hmm I like yen yen a lot, but the chowhounders didn’t agree so much. Back in the day we went to the place on cortelyou, near 16th st., that was before the installed the partition, sadly.
I don’t think I was getting defensive…just thought i was getting real
chinese food delivery options in ditmas park area…..yen yen…way to go….as good as red hot…i would say
It’s true that if you’re looking for a two-family, the house Mary Kay has listed fo 1.3 in West Midwood might be a smarter way to go…
One more thing, check out the thread at chowhound where people are discussing the lack of chinese food delivery options in ditmas park. That’s all I’m saying…little things make a difference, though to each his/her own.