Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
Adam Yauch has passed from cancer at the young age of 47. This celebrity death hits way too close to home for me. I’ll always remember Adam as that guy in the punk band back in high school. He was a year older than me, one of those hip brownstone neighborhood kids who went to Murrow.
Thanks for the music and activism, Adam.
The Kings County public real estate auction is coming up this month. To be clear, there are auctions every Thursday but the annual one is a bit less risky, IMHO. The opening bid prices are listed on the government site and you can preview the properties prior to the auction. Download the flyer from their site for pictures and more info on each home.
163A Halsey is up for auction again. It sold for $400k last year with a starting bid of $325k. Obviously, there were multiple bidders. Wonder what happened?
Sean Casey Animal Rescue acquired a 5000 square foot space in Sunset Park over a year ago and it’s finally ready to house homeless pets. The grand opening should be announced in June.
Sean Casey is the go-to guy for pet adoption in central Brooklyn. Check out the hundreds of dogs in Prospect Park during off leash hours on a weekend and ask where these people got their dogs from. Sean Casey is Da Man.
The original Kensington storefront will remain open for adoptions and the Sunset location will shelter pets as they come in off the street or from kill shelters. The space can comfortably house up to 42 dogs and 50 cats with state of the art kennel cleaning facilities that I wish I had in my own house.
Casey would like to open a shelter like this in every borough and I have no doubt that he’ll make it happen.
Check out the video below. Timmy is up for adoption. TIMMMMAAYYYY!!!!!!!
Not being too familiar with Sullivan County, I contacted buyer’s agent Joe Addeo at The Rural Connection to show me around yesterday. What a luxury not having to set up appointments, navigate and drive from house to house!
We saw a bunch of homes that were in pretty decent shape. None of them would have worked for my flip purposes, but it’s definitely a buyer’s market over there. That part of Sullivan County near the Delaware River is beautiful but quiet. Don’t go expecting a scene, man.
Anyway, on to the houses! Find info on all of them here.
The farmhouse pictured above is a steal at $175k. Great piece of property on 5 acres with a pond near Jeffersonville. The house doesn’t need much work at all, which is why it didn’t suit my own purposes. One can just move in and enjoy. I saw some unfinished molding. That was about the extent of the work IMHO.
This lovely cape was in decent shape also. It’s very close to Jeffersonville and the Villa Roma Resort, which is like an Italian version of a Borscht Belt resort. A sausage belt resort, if you will. The house could use some updating or you can overlook the drop ceilings and dated kitchen and just enjoy your summer. Not bad for $139k.
This Cochecton house was pretty sweet for $89k and would have worked for me had the neighboring house not been so close (close by country standards). On the plus side, the neighbors have horses. Unfortunately, that’s a negative when you have dogs. Anyhoo, great bones, good location. Price is unbeatable!
Oh, this was a good one too! Another not-much-to-do house. The exterior looks worse than the interior. I remember that this one had a great kitchen with aluminum cabinets and an old drainboard/sink and the floors were in perfect shape. $139k in Cochecton.
The city girl in me appreciated this one simply because it was within walking distance to civilization. The village of Kauneonga Lake isn’t very big but has 4-5 good restaurants that overlook the lake. This is the perfect retreat for lake lovers, even though the public access is some ways from the house. There’s a hot tub in the back. Who doesn’t like a weekend place with a hot tub? $109,900.
Finally, this lovely Cochecton farm house belongs to my buddy Sal, an antiques dealer in Callicoon. The house is about to hit the market at under $200k. When it does, I’ll let you know all about it…as well as the cool vintage trailers he’s selling. But for now, consider this your head’s up.
Who says a house has to be a neutral color? Check out these examples of colorful homes, some funky and some that would agree with just about anyone’s taste.
Look, in the early days of the modern, multimedia WWW (we’re talking about just a decade into the past) Web designers had to do everything. Creating sites from scratch meant that a business, even a small business or an individual, had to hire a person to do that job.
There’s no human tragedy in the fact that eventually those design services could be handled by software instead. That’s just the way high-technology is moving. Obedient software solutions sometimes can be even easier to deal with than those artsy designer types!
Web designers have newer functions, which include creating templates or managing existing websites or dreaming up new forms of ‘creative’ , that is, their artistic ideas for clients. We see this shift as an advantage for everybody.
When you use a software system to create your design, you actually are leveraging the good sense and artistic wisdom of the designers who put together and contributed to that software’s features. You’re not alone, even without a personal designer, you see.
In fact, an online program like Webbyt works so smoothly, and gives so many easy-to-use options, you’re getting the silent input of a small army of designers! And then you have the customer support staff (real humans), who are there to watch your back and answer your unsurprising questions as new users.
You, in fact, gain the experience of a little design activity for yourself, on your own behalf, with results that are somewhat fool-proof (if you don’t mind us saying that!). Such an experience can only help your business, because you get much more intimate with your own creative. Truth be told, when you use our system it feels like you are playing a design-oriented video game!
Don’t knock online games! They’re very powerful and advanced, as any youngster will tell you eagerly. The same principles of computing and screen-interaction go into producing award-winning Web-design systems.
In fact, playing a game (whether online or offline) is one of the best new ways to learn something. The entire WWW can be seen as a huge interactive gaming experience, with vital tools like Google search and wikis serving the role of referee or moderator.
But don’t be mislead: the results that you get from Webbyt can be better than some designers (perhaps less experienced ones). This is serious business. Your design results are vital to staying in touch with the times and communicating your ideas to the public effectively.
We’re not just inventing these arguments, you know. You can look to almost any industry or type of business for examples of websites that look hand-made, yet were made with the help of co-creative online agents (software) instead of the labour-intensive workflows of humans.
One super example of something so complex that one or more humans could not possible manage it alone (and because of the human factor, they shouldn’t!) is online gaming that involves real cash.
Casino entertainment powered and delivered by the Web is something that Brits already know and love. You can learn a lot from classycasinos.co.uk about just how successful online marketing driven by co-creational services — rather than saying ‘automated tools’ — can achieve.
Shutter upcycling mania! All found via Pinterest. Please click on images for sources as the Pinterest embed code doesn’t work with this blog. (Is it me?)
You didn’t really think I was going to post 101, did you?
The $200k house challenge is proving to be quite difficult. And you know what else? Buying a property strictly for investment is way harder than finding a place to live. Never in my life did I care so much about what others thought until this property search, because I’ve gotta think about who’s going to buy it versus what I like.
So what do I like? Ok, as usual, I’m posting pictures without links so I’m not advertising homes I might want for myself.
I fell love with the Accord farm house above. In love! Three acres on a corner lot for $125k. The catch? The work it needs is not merely cosmetic. That is fine, but this city girl gets intimidated by wells and septic. Don’t know the first thing about them. In this case, there’s a well located INSIDE the house. Anyone know if that’s a big deal? I called the listing agent to tell her that I may be interested but wanted to know what she knew about that well. She didn’t return my call which bought me some more time to look at homes that needed less work.
This farm house is a case of “If it was for me, I’d grab it.” but a flip? It would probably take the better part of a year for a proper restoration and before I even get in there to do my stuff, the mechanics would need to be worked out.
I’m keeping it in the back of my mind but continuing to look.
Jon, my broker, has done a million successful flips. He keeps telling me that I should be looking for a quick and easy “FLIP” that only needs cosmetics, not a restoration project. I see his point. I do! And I’m trying, but it’s tough to wrap my head around a vinyl sided house….
This vinyl ranch is actually a possibility according the Flip Gospel of Jon. There’s not much to do on it. I can bring back the 1950’s look from the decade it was built. If I get it for the right price, I can make a profit, but not really if I have to pay the $199k asking price.
The location is what I love most. Right between High Falls and Rosendale where some of my favorite restaurants are located. Nuts, right? I’m thinking about what I can eat while working on the house! But in my defense, those areas are desirable for folks who would appreciate my kooky style of renovation. In other words, I don’t have to go conservative.
Just when I thought I had narrowed it down, I ran into a friend on the subway. He mentioned that some of his gay friends have homes in Sullivan County. I’m like “Invest in a gay area? I’m there!” Sooo, I’ll finally be looking at Sullivan County next week after putting it off because I’m just not familiar with the area.
Then this morning another friend forwarded a listing in Brooklyn that might be doable. Brooklyn? That’s where I wanted to do this in the first place. The only reason I’m looking upstate is because I thought I couldn’t afford down here. Yeah, I got into the idea of having a place to go for the summer, but work is work. I can do the 9-5 in Brooklyn and rent a place upstate. Sheeeeet.
I need professional help. Not from a broker and not from a therapist (ok, maybe a therapist). If anyone knows a good psychic, post it in the comments.
While driving around down 209 in Ulster County last week, I spotted all of these Nevele signs. I was all like “What? The Nevele is back?” Not so fast. There was a meeting on April 12th to talk about plans to convert the resort into a casino. Don’t know what happened at that meeting but the signs were not put there by residents of the area, rather developers and business owners who want to see this happen.
Although I don’t wish for The Catskills to look like Atlantic City, the old Borscht Belt has hit rock bottom and there’s nowhere to go but up. Yeah, gambling is bad habit, but casinos will bring jobs and tourists to the area. And let’s face it. As much as I loved my 1970’s Catskills growing up, it wasn’t the classiest place in the world anyway. I mean, really, have you ever seen a bunch of Jews at an all you can eat meal? My family would pass around the Mylanta after dinner. That is not a joke. So, what I’m saying is, the people these casinos would bring in can’t be any worse than my family.
Speaking of Catskill resorts, the fire at Grandview Palace looks pretty bad. It’s been nice to think these places still exist and they just need to be rediscovered but the finality of the fires and tear downs rips away at our childhood.
But there is hope! Right?
I’ll be looking at a few outdated ranches this week. I suppose you can say that’s more of a challenge than restoring an old farmhouse. In anticipation of this possible project, I’m trying to come up with some fun ideas for the exterior.
Now since money is the main factor, as long as the -ugh- vinyl or aluminum siding is in good shape, the least expensive thing to do would be paint it some funky color. Yes, these surfaces can be painted as long as they are properly prepped. The cute yellow house above has painted aluminum clapboard.
Remember that awesome bungalow in The Rockaways? Corrugated metal seems like a more modern and tasteful approach than your run of the mill siding.
Board and batt can work with any style home, from a church to a barn. If it’s a straight siding job, you can assemble and paint before installation. Sure, there will be touch up, but it should be much easier than painting once it’s attached to the house. You can and should also pre-paint wood clapboard.
This is 4’x10′ sheets of hardipanel ripped down to 24″ and painted. As long as it keeps the water out and isn’t crazy to maintain, there are plenty of materials out there that can be used as alternatives to plain ole’ siding.
Here’s what they call “Redneck Siding”. What does it say about me that I love it? And it can be made from 100% recycled materials!
Can’t decide? Why not mix it up? Here’s a variety of reclaimed materials that would probably work well on a raised ranch as there varying depths on the exterior.
Who knew it would be more difficult to find an investment property than to find a place for oneself? I’m lovin’ a whole lotta things that I see, but unfortunately, when I do the math on them, they don’t make financial sense.
The house above is on Wittenberg Road just outside of Woodstock in Bearsville. There is not one but two homes on the property. I thought that this was The One until I got home and reread the MLS sheet. It’s apparent that both structures need work but what’s not visible to the eye is that the bungalow isn’t on the well and septic. That would put me over my own budget, but it’s still a good investment. Stay in one house and rent out the other.
The exterior siding needs some work and the top floor shows some leaks but the main room looks in really decent shape.
How cute is this kitchen? The same wonderful vintage wallpaper is in the bungalow too.
The property is listed at $115k and sits on .68 of an acre.
This 1910 stone house is also on .68 of an acre. It’s located on Maverick Road and sits a wee back from the road. It’s adorable but you can’t get away with a $124,900 price tag in Woodstock without needing to do work. There is some settlement on the house to an extent where the slant made me dizzy when I walked in. This is stuff that can be resolved with a decent structural engineer.
The “slanty” room is in otherwise good shape. I would a)resolve the sag problem in the basement first, then b) carefully take up that wood floor to level the joists and put that same floor back.
The kitchen is located in the basement. Gotta love the log beams.
The problem with a small house with a basement bathroom is that it shares the space with the mechanics. Actually, they look to be in decent shape and surely they can be hidden.
This house was on Sawkill Road, which is a busyish road, but the house is set back far enough for it to seem private.
The home needs a total update but it’s not a scary amount of work like some of the other places I’ve seen. What do you expect for $110k on .5 of an acre?
The most impressive thing about the house? This sink. I’d buy the house just for that sink which is hidden in the basement.
Ok, I lied. Not all under $200k. This sweet red house on nearly 4 acres in a great area is a whooping $219,500. The difference is this is ready to move in. We’re not talking high end materials, but it’s clean and ready to go. If you don’t want to worry about renovations, here is an affordable house in Woodstock.
I hope they don’t find anything in that basement. I know it would bring closure to the family of Etan Patz but if they are anything like I am, they believe he’s living a wonderful life somewhere and he just doesn’t realize who he is. He’ll be back someday it will be such a heartwarming miracle!
I was 14 when Patz disappeared from his Soho neighborhood. As dangerous as New York was at the time, kids did have more freedom than they do now. That didn’t end with Etan but it was somewhat of a wake up call. His face was plastered all over the city, a reminder to us kids to be careful.
Growing up 1970’s NYC left a few lasting impressions that are hard to let go. There were incidents that made us fearful, like Son of Sam, but there were stories that we wished would have happy endings.
I wanted Etan Patz to break the odds. Unfortunately, this 46 year old woman will probably be let down by the end of the day.
Etan, you’ll always be alive to me. God speed, Little Man!
I’m doing a marathon home search of Ulster County today. A 2.5 hour drive up, look at nine houses and drive back. All by my little self. It took me most of the day yesterday to sort out the listings, map out and schedule my day and make appointments. Last time I looked for a house in the country, the realtor did that for me AND took me out to lunch. Now I have a license and I can save a few bucks on the purchase by doing it myself. But ya gotta hand it to agents outside of the city. They work twice as hard and earn less than half as much.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I came across this house in High Falls and was briefly interested until I realized that it’s a trailer with extensions. At least that’s what I think it is. My husband thinks it’s a modular home. In any case, that is one funky high rise for $50k.
Not sure if it’s still available. I found it outside of the MLS.
Broken Angel, the famed former private residence of artists Arthur and Cynthia Wood, is hitting the auction block once again this Thursday. The Woods bought the Clinton Hill home for $2000 back in 1972. No, I didn’t leave off a zero. The house itself became their work of art until it was declared unsafe in 2006 as a result of a fire.
The couple defied the vacate order and were arrested. They lived with their pets in a car outside the home after they were thrown out. Cynthia died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 72.
The house, which was featured in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, has lien of $2,663,376 against it.
It’s been nearly two years since I found my fantabulous light fixture at a salvage shop for $175. It sat in my work room for about six months before we rewired and installed it. Then it hung there with bare bulbs until last night. There was a bit of a problem getting the perfect shades but I finally gave up and ordered them because I got tired of looking at the bulbs.
Now I have a great light fixture! Total cost was under $300. Yeah, the shades were nearly as much as the fixture and lemme tell ya, I went cheap with those!