$179,900: 1 BR Condo
$357,000: Single Family Farmhouse
$399k: Single Family Colonial
$415k: 2 Family Victorian
Posts categoriezed as REAL ESTATE
Ikea Homes
Via OTBKB, via Seeing Green:
Ikea is in the real estate business. They will be selling eco-friendly timber frame homes with their own plots of land. No assembly required, but I hear an allen wrench will be included should the home need repairs.
“BoKlok” flats and houses will be located in Gateshead, England. Developers are looking into sites in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. They will be targeted at first time home buyers with prices starting at £100,000.
Ridgewood Listings
Somewhat Affordable NYC: Coney Island
I spent my teen years in Coney Island. Brightwater Towers, right across from the aquarium. The screams from the Cyclone and the sea lions would keep me awake at night. Had numerous beach parties. Attended the very first Mermaid Parade. Got married at Primorski under the El. Nothing but fond memories. Luvin’ the CI.
PROS
- Stillwell Avenue is serviced by the D, Q, F and N trains. It takes a good hour to get into midtown, but so what? You live near the beach!
- Did I mention the beach? It’s best in wintertime, when there are no crowds. You can swim with the Polar Bears.
- Ethnic restaurants and lots of diversity (ok, lots of Russian diversity).
- Free concerts in the summer. I saw the B-52’s last month…..for free!
CONS
- Upcoming development is going to change the face of Coney Island. I know lots of folks out there are saying “Oh, clean it up. Nothing wrong with gentrification.” But I’d like to see at least some parts of NYC remain unique.
Coney Island vendors may get one more summer!
Coney Island
Save Coney Island
Coney Island Reporter
Kinetic Carnival
Making CI Green: Gotham Gazette
Coney Island Listings
Newburgh Listings: Under $ 350k
103 Overlook $ 229k
Buying A Castle
Dracula’s Castle is for sale.
The price of a European castle doesn’t seem as outrageous as the price of a Manhattan studio apartment. You can buy a castle for under a million. Who cares if it’s a shell in Hungary? What else are you planning to do with your retirement?
Castles For Sale
Viviun Real Estate
Mercure Real Estate
Wists Castles
Finding A Pet Friendly Apartment
If you’ve had a glance at our “About” page, you’ll know that our initiation into home ownership began because of our pets. We had 11 cats (not a typo) and a dog at the time. There wasn’t a landlord in this town crazy enough to accept us. We lied about the number of cats, saying we only had 3, but even that was balked at.
There doesn’t seem to be one perfect resource that lists pet friendly rentals. Craigs List usually states whether or not the apartment is pet friendly, but where do all of those animal lovin’ landlords post their rentals?
Here are some helpful resources…
Humane Society
New York Tails
Westchester/Putnam
Urban Hound : Search and post on the forum
Bed Stuy: Do
PROS
The first thing I noticed about Bed Stuy is that it’s über friendly. If you don’t like to make eye contact and smile and chat every time you leave your house, this neighborhood may not be for you.
If you crave what NYC was like prior to Guiliani, this is the place to be! Gentrification hasn’t destroyed this area yet. There’s a community feeling, neighbors look out for one another, kids play on the sidewalk, plenty of eccentric characters lurk about and people of all classes and ethnic backgrounds live here.
Gorgeous brownstone stock at semi affordable prices.
The brownstone details have been kept intact for the most part as homeowners couldn’t afford big renovations.
The A train express gets you into the city in less than 20 minutes. J and G lines take a bit longer.
Great location for drivers. Parking isn’t terrible, nor is getting out of the city via BQE or Jackie Robinson or getting into the city via Williamsburg Bridge.
Bed Stuy has a strong black community, both African American and West Indian. It’s getting more diverse every day, but there will hopefully remain an appreciation of black culture and history.
Rental prices are rising along with sales prices. The rental income can make a significant dent in your monthly mortgage payment on multi family homes.
Renters can still find bargains. The old timers don’t post on Craigs. Just walk around the neighborhood and look for signs.
CONS
Not the best schools in the city.
Although crime is down significantly in the area, pockets of sketchy areas still remain. As with any neighborhood, one should stay alert.
The brownstones have details intact, but quick fixes (or no fixes) have taken it’s toll over the years. Most of these homes need lotsa love!
Restaurants and shops are popping up slowly, but more are needed!
OVERALL
It’s been reported that prices are increasing while sales volume is declining. Still the best Brooklyn brownstone bargain in my book.
Probably a better bet for child free folks as the schools aren’t up to snuff.
Not the area for you if you want fine dining and gourmet groceries at your fingertips. Brooklyn as it should be. Park Slope it ain’t!
Bed Stuy Listings: Under $700k
Beacon Listings
4BR Victorian: $ 369,000
3BR Victorian: $ 389,000
Photographing Your House for Sale
Before: Quick Snap
Tripod with Wide Angle. Focal point is the fireplace, not dining room table.
Before: Quick Snap
Tripod with Wide Angle. Polished table and opened curtains.
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Since this site will be focusing on DIY, I realized that some industry professionals may accuse me of putting their livelihoods in jeopardy. To be fair, the first DIY tip I’m offering is that of my own profession: photography.
Before you even think of whipping out your camera, prepare your subject. Make sure you clear away clutter, make your bed, close toilet lids.
You’ll need proper camera equipment. If you don’t own any, you can rent at Alkit, Adorama, Calumet or Fotocare to name a few. Make sure you have a camera that is capable of manual exposures. You’ll also want a wide lens on this baby. There’s nothing I hate to see more than a photo of someone’s furniture because the lens wasn’t wide enough to capture the whole room. A tripod is the final key ingredient.
I sometimes light the room, but it’s fine to shoot solely with natural light. Roll up all window shades, open curtains, turn on all lights and set your camera to a slow shutter speed to pick up ambient light. 400 ISO should be sufficient with a tripod. An 8+ F stop should give you enough depth of field. You must read the meter for your exact exposure. If you have an on camera flash, feel free to use it for fill and color balance.
Obviously, you want to focus on the room’s best features: light and detail. I always like to get those window in….with sun shining!
If you shoot large RAW format, you can edit the photos without doing damage to the files. Make all adjustments while the photos are still a large resolution and then change it to a smaller 72 DPI for online viewing.
And there you have it. My trade secrets.
Photos:
B: The focus is on the dining room table. There are burnt out light bulbs. The image is not out of focus, but rather pixelated due to it being worked on at too low a resolution.
A: A wider lens allows us to see the 2 windows in the room. And oh, what’s this? Wood floors! Didn’t see that in the first image! The long exposure, plus fill flash makes the main feature of the room (the mantle) pop.
B1: Hmm, dusty dining room table.
A1: Again, wider lens allows us to see more. Whereas the first image concentrates on the one room (or just the table, really), here we can see the full double parlor in all it’s glory. The second room is lit, bringing it into the photo as well.
High Falls Listings
2 BR solar dome: $ 315,000
4 BR: $ 369,900Affordable NYC: Parkchester, The Bronx
I don’t know much about The Bronx, but I do like what I’ve seen. Last year, a friend of mine bought an investment condo in Parkchester and dragged me there to show me his acquisition and to try to entice me into splitting another unit with him. I couldn’t afford it, but if I had a few dollars to scrape together, I just might have.
1 Bedrooms in the complex start at about $115k and 2 bedrooms are as low as $165k. Rents are approximately $900-$1300 and maintenance is a bit over $600 on the 2 BR units, under $500 for 1BRs.
Parkchester is a village unto itself, kinda like Starrett City, only cooler and less smelly. You’ve got your Starbucks, Macy’s, diners, dry cleaners, etc. It’s serviced by the 6 train, which will get you into midtown in about 40 minutes.
There’s nothing overly exciting about Parkchester, but it’s convenient, safe and clean, which makes it a good bang for the buck.
Wiki Parkchester
Parkchester.com
Parkchester Info
2003 Village Voice Article
Parkchester Listings
1 BR: $ 118,000
2 BR: $195,000
3 condo package: $ 294,000