Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
Oooh, a single family house with a front porch, lawn, deck and pool on the Lower East Side for $299k! I’ll take it! I grabbed the Streeteasy screen shot yesterday because I thought the mistake would be corrected by the time I posted this. As of now, “Lower East Side” has been changed to “Manhattan”. The broker’s link correctly locates the house in Port Jefferson, LI.
I didn’t want to jinx it by mentioning it, but now that my offer has been accepted, inspection is done and I’m about to go into contract, I think it’s safe to tell you about the new house!
After looking in The Rockaways in bad weather then deciding to search upstate for a few months, I got discouraged with “the country”. Yes, there were houses in my price range. Loads of them. And I looked at them all. Only, none of them made too much sense. After travel time and/or living away from home most of the week, high taxes and the amount of work these places needed, I decided to give it one last shot locally.
I caught this house on Craigs and the agent actually did her job (unheard of in NYC in my price range) by returning my call and showing me the house. Not only that, but she has followed through on everything with this deal.
Location is pretty darn good even if it’s not on the beach. It’s actually located on the bay side of the peninsula with a view of the water. The parks department bought the property across the street on the bay and it will be a park with an area to put in kayaks and such. At the rate they’re going, I’ll be finished before them. This is in the high Beach 80’s, close to Thai Rock and within walking distance to the hip beach area. Like 4 blocks walk to beach.
The house is not much to look at. New vinyl siding. Hate it! But since I gotta keep costs down and I don’t want to put all that vinyl in the dumpster, I’ll try to purdy it up best I can with some molding to take away from the fugliness.
The 1920’s house probably never had any detail to begin with and it surely doesn’t now. There is actually wood flooring under that carpet, but who knows what I’ll find behind that drop ceiling and wall paneling? I’m thinking of going with Hollywood Regency style to spice it up.
It’s a legal 2 family of about 1000 square feet and I’ll keep as two units. I figure that rental income is never a bad thing. When all is said and done, the house should be fairly affordable to moderate income buyers. Even if someone just purchases it as a second home or two parties want to split it, the two apartments, although small, make sense.
The kitchens will get face lifts as will the entire house. What is NOT getting ripped out? Hello….
So, here’s where this blog will take another turn. Look for info on The Rocks (Yeah, gross term, I know. I said it to make you puke in your mouth alittle.) in the upcoming months. I’ll be posting design tips and DIY videos once the renovation starts.
If you follow me on Pinterest and you’ve noticed me creating boards like “Siding options”, “Tiny Back Yards” and “Hollywood Regency” now you know why. Let the fun begin! (In about a month when I close.)
Combining old stuff with new stuff is something you run into when restoring or repairing. But it is a forced necessity. Even people who cherish the things left by others and the things that reflect our history and heritage, know that keeping those things in good condition requires a little updated material.
One of the things many people overlook when restoring an old home, for instance, is the notion of security. We often take security for granted because using a lock and key is such an everyday routine. But an old house chock full of antiques can be a target. So keeping things safe should be of utmost importance to someone who places value on important belongings. That’s why the name of a good locksmith should be in everyone’s address book.
A good locksmith should not be someone you have to call in case of an emergency. Locksmiths are part of security preparation and emergency prevention, as well. Locksmiths can also provide valuable security tips. For example, the difference between a deadbolt and a spring bolt can mean a lot when it comes to securing yourself against a predator. Expert locksmiths can fill you in on the workings deadbolts, spring bolts, rim locks, drop bolts and more. Those types of security tips are of immeasurable value when it comes to keeping your belongings safe and secure.
But whether it is security tips, emergencies, prevention or planning, having a reliable, dependable and friendly locksmith at hand goes a long way to providing security for your refurbished home and peace of mind for you. So keep a locksmith in mind, and consider a new lock for that old door.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to calendar the Bedford Historic District yesterday. This doesn’t mean it happens automatically. The next step is the public hearing, but judging from all the positive feedback from the multiple meetings over the years, this shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ve been in Bed Stuy about six years now and obviously I’ve seen lots of changes, but this one is pretty substantial as far as the neighborhood getting recognition for being an historic gem.
What’s that? You want me to make a list of changes? Well, ok.
1. More building permits posted. That’s definitely more of a new school thing than old. Glad my own renovation is finished because I’m more of an under the radar DIY kind of gal.
2. Restaurants, bars and wine shops, oh my! Gosh, I remember when Applebees was a big deal because it was supposedly the first sit down restaurant in the hood. There were lines around the block. How far we’ve come.
3. And wine shops! Yeah, I included it in #2. So what? Remember when it was all behind bullet proof glass? Remember that?? Shit, I’m so old that I remember the bullet proof glass liquor stores in my former South Slope neighborhood.
4. Whiteys. Can’t skim over that one. I was the first pale face on the block (granted, it’s a short block). My nickname at the local hardware store was “The White Lady”. I’m no longer special.
5. More dogs. More strollers. More LGBT.
6. Fuckin’ hipsters.
7. Better services. It was sooo difficult to find a pet sitter six years ago. Now the one I used in Park Slope works in this area as does a number of full time dog walkers.
8. The city is paying attention to us. Trees along Fulton. A pedestrian “park” on Fulton and Marcy. Nostrand Avenue is finally going to be repaved!
9. Tourists. Where are all of these European families coming from (and don’t say “Europe”) and why are they here?
10. Cafes. Too many. Ok, so we were all excited to get the first one or two hip coffee houses. Now we have more than enough.
I liked this neighborhood when I first moved here but every time I walk around, I love knowing that I made the right choice.
The first time I went to check out The Rockaways and look at houses was during the winter. It was a gray, rainy weekday. Miserable. I was totally uninspired and that’s when I started looking upstate.
Well, over the weekend I saw a Rockaway listing that could work for what I want to do and I visited again. This time it was a sunny weekend and people were out. With dogs! And bikes! And frisbees! I walked along the beach and thought….yeah, I could deal with this.
It would mean I can commute from home while I’m working on the house. If I do upstate, I’m up there on my own for the better part of the week.
It would mean I’m not strictly in a second home area (Yeah, I know, people live upstate full time). Buyers who move there can take the A train to work. Granted, it would take them just as long as driving from upstate, but it’s a $2.50 subway ride.
It would mean less taxes.
It would mean I’m not paying thousands for gas to drive up and back while working on the house.
Drawbacks? Well, The Rockaways are still very rundown. The part I can afford, anyway. FYI, I’ll tell you that this is between Beach 86 and 100 Street. It’s totally risky.
Do I like taking risks? Yeah. Kind of.
If you know of any reason I shouldn’t do this, speak up now!!
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?
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.
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.
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’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.
Image is from Hoarders.
I’ve been looking for a house for longer than expected now (Yeah, yeah, I know. 2 months isn’t a long time.) and I’m starting to lose it. It’s bad enough that brokers sometimes do their sellers a disservice by not properly marketing their homes, but when a seller decides to go it alone you would think they care about the sale more than Joe Broker who’s out to make a quick buck.
There are owners selling their own houses that do an awesome job, but I’ve encountered some doozies on this search. What should a good For Sale by Owner look like? I did a FSBO checklist waaayy back when I started this blog. The same still holds true.
Here’s a list for you remedial FSBO’s whom I’ve been seeing on Craigslist. If you want to sell that house, you have to take it up a notch. I mean, really. Come on.
1. An address would be nice. Ok, you don’t want to post your address? How about telling us what town the house is located in? “Dutchess County” is big.
2. Pictures. It’s awful, awful, awful that you cannot post a single image of the exterior of the house. Your description reads “House is green.” Ok, I’ll buy it based on that! And when I email you to ask if you have photos, don’t respond with “No.” Get off your fat lazy ass and take some friggin pictures! WTF???
3. How about a reply? I suppose I should give kudos to the sellers who actually respond to my questions with a “No.” At least they respond.
4. When are you going to show it? Simple question. If you work full time and can’t set up appointments or open houses, how do you plan on having people look at it?
5. Clean that mofo! You know, nobody wants to see your dirty dishes in the sink and cigarette butts lying around. And certainly, nobody wants to step in dog shit in your yard. Too much trouble for you to get rid of your clutter and stage? Fine. But at least clean. Please.
Ok, I think that’s it. Thank you for hearing me out. I feel better now.
People convert churches and barns into homes, but a silo? Why not? I was adoring this listing when I saw it last month but Shandaken is out of my 2 hour radius so I didn’t even go look at it. It may already be off the market as the only thing I can pull up is an old listing. Oh, but let’s swoon over the pictures anyway, shall we?
The silo house is only 750 square feet of claustrophobia but sits on nearly eight acres. It was built in 1975 and taxes are only $1379! It’s located about three miles from Belleayre Ski Center. Sweet. Oh yeah, it’s $158k. Not bad.
Deb has been looking for a house for awhile now. Anything that has a decent renovation goes into a bidding war and as a first time home buyer, she’s reluctant to take on a huge renovation. She tries to wrap her head around fixer uppers and homes that are not her style, but lacks confidence in her “vision”. So, I nudge her along.
I sent Deb before and after shots of the second home we renovated, a weekend place we had up near Stone Ridge from about 2000-2004. I’m posting the conversation along with the photos because it’s Passover/Easter weekend, so you want I should actually write a real post?
Happy Holidays, y’all!
Ok, so D=Deb and M=me
D: Very cool. So did you buy all the furnishings? How long did all of that take? Was that a flip or that was your house?
M: No, we never did an actual flip before! That was our Kingston house. We put too much money into it thinking that we would keep it forever (which we’ve done on all 4 houses). We owned it for about 4 years and renovated slowly the entire time. When we decided to sell, we finished the reno. I don’t know how long that was in actual reno time because we stopped and started so many times. It was our weekend project for many years. We went up there to get away from our Park Slope renovation.
D: Considering that you like wild colors and all it seems rather tame for you, no? But in line with what it is. I likey.
M: I think I did that because everything was so dark when we bought it that I just wanted LIGHT.
D: The dining area, you covered the beams, is that what I’m seeing?
Before. Obviously.
M: Not really. Those “beams” were faux, made out of foam. We ripped them down. The house was modular and came in 2 sections. That beam running down the middle is the joint. It was never bolted together until we did it. Or maybe it had a couple of bolts, but not to Luke’s liking.
D: Gawgeous. Did you and Luke do everything, like you lay the floors yourself etc?
M: Did not do everything. Hmm, I remember laying out the floor but I don’t remember nailing it down. We had a contractor working beside us. Not sure if he installed or we did. I know that he sanded and polyed.
D: Please tell me that wood floor was under the carpet? har har
M: Oh please, girl. That house was carpeted throughout. It had plywood under all the carpets. The day I was up there alone ripping up carpeting, my dogs were running around outside (we had 7 acres) and one of them came back with a deer leg and dropped it right in front of me. They didn’t kill the deer. People were hunting illegally on the property. I chased one of them down one day.
D: Did you add wainscoting or was that there?
M: The wainscoting in the bathroom was just Home Depot stuff we put up. The living room walls were originally brown wall paneling. We wanted to do that “bat and board” look, so we had a contractor install actual boards piece by piece. Then the previous owner asked why we didn’t just put up plywood and use 1×2’s to create the same look. We were like “Oh yeah. We could have done that.”
D: So, can you do this to the 6th avenue house I like?
M: No I’ll be busy working on my own.
D: This is why I do wish you could sit with me look at a house I like and advise me on how I can make it look a certain way. Darn you!
M: So find a house you’re going to put a serious offer on and I’ll go with you to second showing. But it’s really not as exciting as creating my own mess.
D: Sweet, thanks for sending
I drove for countless hours yesterday just to look at three properties. I’d like to share two of them with you because I’m passing on them. The third one is a possibility so that I’m keeping to myself for now.
The Staatsburg 1940 cottage (above) is listed at $74,500. It’s well worth it. The listing says it needs work but honestly, I don’t see it needing anything more than some updating and a paint job. If you’re unfamiliar with Staatsburg, that’s the area north of Hyde Park and south of Rhinebeck. Not bad, huh?
So why am I passing on it? Well, the 2 bedroom, 1 bath bungalow is only 691 square feet. Although I did want a small, easy project to work on, I don’t believe that I can make a killing on this house as an investment because of the size and location. It’s more local than weekender, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
If I lived in the area and didn’t have to drive 2 hours to work on the house and if I had cash that I wasn’t going to miss while I’m waiting to sell, it would be worth doing.
Anyway, as you can see, it’s a cute little house. For $74,500, how can you go wrong? Especially with that awesome wallpaper!
This bank owned Red Hook house is listed at $84,500. It’s on a not-so-busy road across the street from a lake. There are some trailers and multiple-pick-up-trucks-in-the-driveway households nearby. Yeah, so I’m a city snob. So be it.
That didn’t bother me so much. One problem is the flip job. The guy lost his house due to some bad decisions (I got some background from a neighbor up the road.) so I don’t want to add insult to injury by knocking his renovation, but some flip jobs just scream Home Depot and this is one of them. The house was built in 1912. Personally, I’d rather restore a beat up 1912 home.
Don’t know if you can see from the photo but this is new parquet tile over what looks like a decent oak floor.
Since I’m a recycling maven, I reaalllly hate to renovate an already renovated property. I’m sure this stuff can be donated, but it bothers me to rip out new work. So that’s why this is a pass.
Well, there is one more thing. After seeing this, I left without going down to the basement. I don’t know what it’s from but I didn’t want to encounter it in the house so I ran out. I did look in the basement and saw mold and a water line on the wall.
Don’t know how/if the water problem can be remedied, but hey, the house is $84,500 and the upstairs is clean and livable.