$389k: 5 BR
$399.9k: 3 BR
$469k: 3 BR
$ 474.9k: 4 BR
$ 539k: 3 BR OH 1/13!
Posts categoriezed as REAL ESTATE
Weekender: Wurtsboro, NY
Little known fact: Ms. Reclaimed Home from straight outta Brooklyn spent a few years of her childhood in Wurtsboro, NY. My parents did the country/city thing for awhile. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Early 70’s Wurtsboro had all of the small town ingredients that scares the bejesus out of me today…hunter’s driving around with rifles and dead deer attached to their hoods, pregnant teens, drunk drivers and nutty conservatives. My mother’s BFF (no longer on this plane), an antiques dealer and psychic, moved up from Brooklyn first. By the time we arrived she had managed to befriend the one black family and one gay couple in town, so my informative years weren’t too parochial.Continue reading Weekender: Wurtsboro, NY
Wurtsboro Listings
Suburban Pioneers?
Our $385k house
Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t say it. The NY Post did. As if this is news all of the sudden that starving artists are leaving NYC for more affordable digs upstate.
“Meet the suburban pioneers – folks who’ve migrated to edgy, diverse towns in the Hudson Valley where you can nab a house for less than $350,000.” Pioneers? People lived here before we did. I hate that word “pioneer”! Edgy? Who wrote this? Someone living in the mid west? I’ll give you this….Beacon is edgier than…umm…..Marine Park.Continue reading Suburban Pioneers?
Affordable Housing @ NYC.Gov
I was on the city’s site the other day for one reason or another. It’s a great resource that I never took advantage of. Some of these things are pretty obvious, but there just might a helpful tip or two that you never knew about.
Check it out:
Apartment Hunting Tips : Finding an apartment, securing it and protecting your rights as a tenant.
Tenant’s Rights: Guidelines and legal help
Affordable Homeownership includes information on counseling, lotteries, down payment assistance and home improvement.
Repair and Maintenance for tenants and homeowners
Affordable NYC: Sheepshead Bay
I didn’t grow up in an ultra cool brownstone neighborhood of Brooklyn. Being in Midwood, I was sort right in the center of the boro. When my friends and I weren’t running into Manhattan for our thrills, we sometimes hit Sheepshead Bay. Captain Walter’s was a decent bar, always followed by coffee at El Greco or some nasty shit at the not so fast Roll-n-Roaster. (Does anyone remember their late night commercials?)
Sheepshead Bay did kind of fall apart in the 80’s. Lundy’s closed. Then reopened just in time for my high school reunion. Then closed again. Pip’s Comedy Club is gone. But Sheepshead is being resurrected, as all NYC neighborhoods eventually are.Continue reading Affordable NYC: Sheepshead Bay
Sheepshead Bay Listings
Jahn’s: Kickin’ it Old Skool
This post is for my folks. They don’t read this blog because they have no interest in home renovation or NYC real estate for that matter. But they’ll get a kick out this.
When I was researching Sheepshead Bay, I came across this article on Gerritsen Beach. I haven’t thought about Jahn’s ice cream parlor in about 20 years, but reading it brought back some memories. Actually, it was the mention of the “Kitchen Sink Sundae” that triggered my fondest memories.
At one time, Jahn’s could be found in locations around Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and New Jersey. The Richmond Hill shop just closed in November, leaving one remaining Jahn’s in Jackson Heights. Worth the trip.
The antique fixtures were purchased by a Mid Westerner looking to restore his/her period ice cream parlor. So, not only is NYC losing it’s history. We’re losing it to the Mid West. Great.
Friday Linkorama
Tell Us About Your Commute: NY Times
When You Take the A Train: NY Times
2008 Lighting Trends: Kitchen Designer
5 Signs To Avoid A Contractor: Bob Vila
Manhattan Apt Prices Keep Rising: Real Deal
Weekender: Windham, NY
Like many of the other upper Catskill towns, Windham is strikingly beautiful. It’s all about the mountains. What sets Windham apart from Phoenicia or Athens is that it’s SERIOUSLY all about the mountains. Dude.
This is ski country. And Windham Mountain is not just for serious skiers. Awkward klutzes like myself can enjoy ice skating, snow tubing or snow boarding. Not that I’m not on my ass half the time doing those things, it’s just not as torturous as skiing. Anyway, in 2006, new owners, Windham Mountain Partners, invested over $5 million for new chair lifts, trails, the ice skating center and a restaurant.Continue reading Weekender: Windham, NY
Windham Listings
$169k: 2 Family Farmhouse in need of TLC
$199k: 1920 Sears 3 BR
$280k: Rustic Log Cabin
Thursday Linkorama
Christmas Tree as Animal Sanctuary: Groovy Green
Upstate Green Building Report: Green Buildings NYC
Sophie’s Bar Up For Sale: Vanishing NY
How To Toilet Train Your Cat: Neatorama
The 2007 Realtor Awards
Author: Brett
As 2007 came to a close, it didn’t seem possible that nearly an entire year had gone by since the sale of our coop and the cancellation of our home sale due to a heinous home inspection. It’s hard not to think about all of the agents that we have crossed paths with since we began house hunting—most of them memorable because they were, well, so gosh darned inept. For those of you in the biz, we did not start out being haters. But there’s only so much bullshit one can take before one starts to get suspicious. Thankfully, there were a couple of professionals out there who made us beam.
So, because the end of the year is for reminiscing, here’s my Best of and Worst of Agent list:Continue reading The 2007 Realtor Awards
Happy New Year!
Thank goodness the holidays are over and we can get back to the real world!
Here’s to a great 2008. We’re that much closer to 1/20/09.
Please let us know via comments below if you have any suggestions, predictions or events coming up. Anything fun you might want to add.
Also…please feel free to keep us posted on your real estate or renovation related projects and news. Tips are always welcome! The contact button is at the top of the middle sidebar.
Cheers!
NY Times: Beyond NYC
The Times had two articles in the real estate section this Sunday which I’m rolling into one post.
“Cashing out of NYC” informs us of the widening gap between prices in Manhattan and the suburbs. One couple mentioned in the article bought a $690k ranch in Norwalk, CT with the proceeds from the sale of their $899 Manhattan coop. Another couple couldn’t find a loft space in Dumbo for under $600k so they bought a 1350 square foot loft in New Rochelle for that amount.Continue reading NY Times: Beyond NYC