real estate Archives - Page 3 of 5

$200k Challange: Putnam/Dutchess

March 13, 2012 RH

I’m about three weeks into the home search now. Guess what I’ve discovered? It’s not really a buyer’s market. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Yes, prices are lower than pre-burst and the rates are low. It’s still a good time to buy, but be prepared for some competition.

The Hyde Park house above is the one that got away. Well, that’s the Hudson River view from the house. Little did I know that it was all but gone when I looked at it. It had been on the market for a looonnng time, starting out at $325k and going down to $199k. It was taken off the market for awhile. My bet was that it wasn’t mortgageable with some extra apartments in the basement and attic and some perhaps illegal extensions.

Well, fast forward to me seeing it listed as “continue to show” and calling the list agent to find out how serious the offer is. Turns out it was the original deal that fell through and contracts are already drawn up. Ack, it was too good to be true for me anyway, that I find an awesome house after such a short time.

The house is right on the water and around the corner from the Vanderbilt Mansion. I pulled up two comps that weren’t exact comps because they were larger properties in better shape, but the prices were in the $600k’s and over $1m. Well, at least the people who got the place aren’t greedy investors like me. They intend on living there. I’m putting in a back up offer just in case the deal goes south again. Hey, ya never know. Gotta be in it to win it.

Then there was the ranch that smelled like dog shit within walking distance to the Village of Rhinebeck but still a very private country setting. This is something I still may consider. Obviously, it will need to be renovated. The problem is that it’s a short sale and that could drag on forever. In fact, I’m trying not to look at the short sales because I want to be working on something this summer, but there are a lot out there.

Looked at a bunch of other places in Rhinebeck. Mostly ranches in need of updating. One place for $140k in Red Hook/Milan that was a bit too far from civilization. The others were all too close to busy roads.

This Cold Spring short sale seemed perfect. A great farmhouse on 3 acres. What could be wrong? Right next to the recycling center which is on the premises of the old dump. That means on Saturdays and Sundays, half the town lines up to get rid of their bottles and cans.

The bargains are out there, my friends. You just can’t be so fussy like I am.

The $200k House Challenge

March 8, 2012 RH 6 Comments

You have $200k to spend on a home within 2 hours of NYC, including renovations. Where would you look?

As mentioned before, I’m in search of a flip. I could put myself into debt for a year and not be able to afford pet food or even human food but I’d rather not, so I’m sticking to a budget of $200k. Yeah, I know. It ain’t gonna be in Brooklyn. Not even split with a partner. Not even a one bedroom apartment in a fringe neighborhood.

After searching for about a month, here’s what I’ve learned…

You want to own a home in the boroughs for $200k? It’s possible. There are homes in crappy parts of Bushwick, Jamaica and East New York. Actually, pretty difficult to come by houses for under $300k, but short sales exist. If you’re purchasing a short sale, be prepared to have it drag on for close to a year.

Saw a couple of listings out on The Island. Riverhead and Central Islip. A friend from The Island wasn’t too impressed with those locations. Saw quite a few listings in Jersey City and Newark, especially Newark. No, the JC listings were not prime JC.

So, what’s the best bet for finding a home for under $200k (Oh, did I mention that INCLUDES renovations?)? Upstate. Whether it be commuter location or second home, the houses exist. Saw a bunch in Rhinebeck and one in Hyde Park that I may put an offer on, but it will only be back up as someone got to it first. Bastards.

Today I’m heading up to Warwick. That’s a commuter area and there are about 4-5 listings to look at. It’s promising.

So, you want a house on a small budget? You can do it. As long as you’re not a whiny douche like this guy.

Rockin the Rockaways

March 2, 2012 RH 4 Comments

File this under that old “Affordable Neighborhood” series I used to do, but I liked this title better. If you take the A train allll the way out to the end of the line, you’re in Far Rockaway. A few stops closer to the city, well that’s just Rockaway. Get it?

I explored near and far yesterday. The nicer areas of Neponsit, Belle Harbor, etc feel pretty suburban. The main shopping strip is around 116th Street and the summer hipster surf dude neighborhood is somewhere in the Beach 90’s. I looked at a house on the fringe of that area, in the mid 80’s. The asking price is $168k and the house is in really good condition.

As an immediate flip property, it’s probably not the best solution. The neighborhood still has a few years to go and I’m too impatient to hang on that long. As somewhere to live? Not too shabby. The house is within walking distance to the train, shopping and the beach. Much of the original detail remains. Rip up some carpet to reveal wood floors and strip all the molding and doors. Fix some plaster. Done. FYI, the home is semi attached and the area still does have some grit.

I was looking for signs of people restoring homes, but there isn’t too much of that going on. It’s mostly either properties that have seen better days or brand new developments. One place that I did fall in love with was this cute bungalow around the corner from the house I looked at. Someone did an amazing job here.

If you’re checking out the Rockaways to live, you’ll notice some extremely affordable areas from the 40’s to the 60’s. Yeah, there’s a reason. It’s pretty depressing around there. Once you go farther out, somewhere past the 20’s, it looks like any other part of Queens with some nice homes and pre-war apartment buildings.

Thinking of living there? Do check it out on a cold and rainy winter weekday. Everything is hopping in the middle of the summer, but what happens when the hipster doofuses run back to Williamsburg?

See photos below of the $168k house and the cute bungalow not for sale.

The original woodwork is throughout the entire house. Looks 1920’s Craftsman style to me. Like I sez, picture all of the wood stripped and wood floors. The doors and light fixtures are original.

How cute are these kitchen cabinets? Some schmuck will probably come in here and throw these in the dumpster while updating the kitchen.

Yes, there is a bar in the basement! And yes, it’s made out of a recycled door.

Behind the bar. I assume these come with the house.

The upstairs bathrooms are original and in good shape, but this unused one in the basement is da bomb! I’m tellin ya, I could’ve lived in that basement.

The adorable bungalow around the corner. Looks like they used lots of reclaimed material and that siding is corrugated steel. Watch for me to steal that idea if I have to re-side a frame house in the future.

Preserve Bed Stuy

February 27, 2012 RH

This home was listed as having “historic details” on the Craigslist ad. Perhaps they meant the one mirror.

This one goes out to all of the real estate investors, flippers and brokers. Stop the insanity in Bed Stuy! Yes, yes, I’m guilty of looking for an investment property to flip myself. What sets me apart from these bozos is that I aim to preserve the historic value of the home and respect the community. The state of the market in Bed Stuy isn’t suitable for my needs right now because all I’m seeing is crap renovations.

Flashback to six years ago when I was looking for my own place to live here. The beautiful thing about these brownstones was that they had so much detail still intact. During the “do or die” years people weren’t gutting their homes. Now that Bed Stuy is suddenly getting popular, it’s hard to find a place that needs some tender lovin’ care.

The prices aren’t bad for these gut jobs and one can always add detail. The thing is, I would never trust these fast-n-cheap flippers to do the right thing. What do you think is lurking behind those new walls and floors? Do you think they replaced rotting wood and pointed the bricks properly? Maybe. But you never know. I kind of doubt their integrity.

Listen you guys, leave some homes left for those folks who don’t want glossy oak floors and Home Depot light fixtures. Your cookie cutter shite doesn’t cut it with everyone. Seriously, people will pay more for plaster detail than new sheetrock. They’ll pay more for that gorgeous pier mirror and mantel that you’re dumping in the trash. They’ll pay more for the pocket doors that are lying in your dumpster out front.

I know they will. I’m one of those people.

Now run along and rape some other neighborhood with yucky housing stock. I hear that Long Islanders like shiny, new things.

What $345k Buys in Crown Heights

February 2, 2012 RH 4 Comments

As we search for a home to restore and exchange (flip) we’ll be passing along the ones we decided against. This Albany Avenue single family is a bank owned property listed at $345k.

The photos speak volumes. The home is loaded with details! The ornate wood molding, 5 fireplaces (I believe some slate and some wood). Medallions. Doors and hardware. Stained glass. Original shutters.

So what’s the catch? Well, obviously it needs work. That’s a given. It’s currently being used as an illegal 3 family and that won’t fly with a mortgage. Two kitchens will have to be ripped out, but you can still mortgage it. And that’s ok, because there’s nothing special about the kitchens or baths anyway.

The biggest drawback for us was location, location, location. It’s right across the street from the projects. Now, that might not be an issue for someone looking to move in or rent it out, but since we’re only concerned with resale value, it’s a big deal for us as an investment.

So, we passed. Would it work for you? Check out the listing here.

Affordable Neighborhoods

January 25, 2012 RH 6 Comments

When this blog first started in 2007, we featured an affordable neighborhood every week. Then we ran out of neighborhoods.

Well, we may be in search of a distressed property to restore and since our pockets are bare, it looks like this feature may start up again.

There are three neighborhoods that have consistently popped up in our < $300k price range. Bushwick, Ridgewood and Jersey City.

We know nothing of these areas, only that….

Bushwick can be hit or miss. There are some hipster havens, but the homes we’ve been seeing are in areas that don’t have much going on. And by “not much going on” I mean, not even a corner bodega. Been to Bushwick a few times but never fell in love with it. But we’ll be researching Bushwick some more.

Ridgewood. Yes, Queens! What, did you think I’m some Brooklyn snob? Well, Ridgewood is just over the border (of Bushwick) so that makes it ok. Actually, it’s supposedly a “lovely” area with great old home stock.

Jersey City. There are Hobokeny parts and dumpy parts. Guess what we can afford? NJ might not be the best option for us as far as the higher taxes and cost of commuting while renovating. DIY of course. It’s worth a look though.

Oh, there is a fourth neighborhood: East New York, one of the last Brooklyn neighborhoods to find gentrification. Definitely lots of affordable homes to choose from, but since it’s farther out than Bushwick, it makes sense to try to do Bushwick first. Also, it should be said that the crime levels are still fairly high in East New York. Not that it isn’t worth checking out!

Anyone have some input?

Gorgeous Beacon House

January 19, 2012 RH 1 Comment

I photograph a range of houses. It’s tough to make some of them look good. But yesterday I had the pleasure of shooting a beautiful home and the tough part was doing it justice.

The farmhouse plus restored barn is located in Beacon within walking distance to town and the train. The 1.7 acre property offers privacy and views of the Hudson.

The restoration is impeccable! Yes, I used that word.

One problem. You would have to have deep pockets for this baby. Ask is $745k which is not crazy for 2 homes on such a large lot. The cray-cray part is the taxes. $16k. Ouch.

But the house is sooooo prettttyy.

Flickr shots

Dutchess County Homes Under $100k

October 28, 2011 RH

The upstate home deals are out there, kids! This week we’re looking at Dutchess County. Dutchess is on the east side of the Hudson, accessible via Metro North if you lack a vehicle.

A lake house for $55k? Yup, this 3 season 600 square foot cottage is located in Millerton, NY, near the border of CT. The house needs work but the lake looks perfect.

Nothing special about this 4 BR house in the city of Poughkeepsie. Nothing except the price. $45k will buy this handyperson special offered as an estate sale. Poughkeepsie isn’t exactly a second home destination, but it’s pretty close to some great hiking, boating and even skydiving. Poughkeepsie is a hit or miss place. Some areas are better than others.

Finally, here’s a Beacon single family for less than $100k (actually $99k). The house is right near Main Street. Take the train up and walk everywhere from here. You don’t even need a car! This house is listed with my broker, so if you decide to look at it, let me know. I’ll make him give you special treatment.

Upstate Homes for Under $100k

October 17, 2011 RH 2 Comments

Dreaming of a log cabin? This 1937 home seems to be pretty clean. Located in Bethel (the REAL Woodstock), it only sits on .17 acre. There is access to swimming, boating and tennis nearby though. The price? $54,900.

This is the one that made my jaw drop. It needs sooo much work drooooolll but it’s sooo worth it. Check out the pictures of the interior. OMG, I’m in love. A 3800 square foot grand center hall colonial in Catskill on 1.5 acres. It’s listed at $75k but the sale will be an auction.

Ok, so this Amenia home is very close to the road, but hear me out. Hello B&B potential! It needs work, but $79,900 the price reflects that. No, I did not make a mistake and forget to put the one in front of that number. 4.2 acres. Dreamy!

This 1790 cottage doesn’t resemble anything from a bygone era. The only detail left intact is the stone fireplace, otherwise it’s new reno. Not my thing. But for $100k on 7.3 acres, it could be your thing if you don’t want to give your weekends away to the Renovation Gods.

Vintage Real Estate Ads

September 7, 2011 RH

If past-life me knew then what I know now. $590 for a Brooklyn lot. Five bucks down and five bucks per month. Bet that was a lot of money back then. The only thing affordable about these vintage properties now are the ads. Click on the images to purchase or gain more info.

Dumpster Living

September 1, 2011 RH

Diamond in the Rough, Millbrook

August 10, 2011 RH 8 Comments

This had me at hello. I was perusing the Dutchess County MLS yesterday, just because, when I found this beauty. Call it what you will: Diamond in the Rough, Handy Man Special, Fixer Upper. But I’m in love.

The abandoned home sits on nearly 2 acres in chichi Millbrook. It was built in 1976. Yeah, 1976! Doesn’t it look like an old farm house? I know!

There were other houses up in that neck of the woods that have been better taken care of, but I’m always attracted to the underdog. Is there something wrong with me? I mean, I look at it and want to save it. I look at it and see an awesome friggin bargain. But then I wonder if my elevator doesn’t go to the top floor.

So, here’s the thing…For $159k (Oh yeah, did I mention that?) you’re not buying the house as much as that incredible property. Have a look at the photos below so you know what I’m talking about. Huh? Huh?

Seriously, I’m up there all next week and I’m gonna have myself a look at it. Wanna come with? Contact me. I might need help fighting off the family of raccoons living in the bathroom. (Just kidding! Maybe.)

The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn!

August 8, 2011 RH 4 Comments

The Times has done it again. Declaring the next big thing ten years after the fact. They’ve written yet another article about how the Hudson Valley and certain towns are super hip right now. The new Brooklyn, of course. I feel the need to weigh in on this since I considered and moved to Beacon after a 2004 article hyping the town.

Let me begin by clarifying that I’m not blaming The Times for my move to Beacon. I was tired of Brooklyn at the time and wanted a better quality of life. I stayed for 6 years so there had to have been something I liked about it.

Instead of picking apart the article, I’ll just fill you in on my take on the situation. My usual kvetchfest about upstate.

Yes, there are wonderful antique shops. They tend to only open up a few days per week.

The galleries lining Main Street are great! Too bad it’s the same artists over and over again.

Some great restaurants opened during the years I was living in the Hudson Valley. I’d guessimate that 3 out of 5 of them closed within a year or two.

I can go on, but you get the point. Those towns upstate are always on the verge of gentrification but they never quite arrive. Nothing wrong with that. I’m no yuppy who wants to live in a totally gentrified area. Crap, that’s the reason I left Park Slope! But I do like to have a choices.

Maybe the hubby and I had a bad attitude while living up there. We were the only ones complaining while all the other newcomers loved it. Since moving back to Brooklyn a year ago, we feel alive again. The restaurants, museums, shows, concerts are all at our fingertips. We can do whatever we want, when we want. That’s something we took for granted prior to moving to greener pastures all those years ago.

So, are Brookynites really moving up there in droves? My real estate broker says that 90% of his home buyers are coming from Brooklyn. That doesn’t mean they are from Brooklyn. They lived here briefly. I met one other native Brooklynite in the 6 years I lived in Beacon. That might explain why my feelings differ from most other folks living up there. If you grew up in the big city, it’s really hard to leave that behind. Eventually, small town living just started to suck the life out of me. People from small towns and suburbs probably feel that way about cities.

So, thinking of moving to the Hudson Valley? If you’ve been a city dweller all your life, my advice would be to keep your options open back home. I’m all about weekend places. It’s nice to get some fresh air and escape the rat race every now and then! In fact, next week we’re renting a place in Red Hook (NOT Brooklyn) so look for more upstate posts.

Thankfully, I’ll be writing them from the prospective of a weekender.

Buy The Red Apple Rest Stop

August 3, 2011 RH

Me and The Moms took a trip upstate for a couple of days last week. We drove the Old 17 Route so we could pass the Red Apple Rest Stop. The Red Apple was THE place to stop before the NY Thruway was built. Back when it took 5 hours to get to Sullivan County. It was still open up until 2007 when it became condemned.

While we stopped to get pictures, there was someone else swinging by to have a look, remembering the place from his childhood. I wonder how many people go out of their way to check out the old rest stop. Could be a great restoration project and business venture.

The number is on the “For Sale” sign below. Just sayin’.

Public Real Estate Auctions

June 30, 2011 RH

Hubby and I hit our first real estate auction in the County of Kings earlier this week. We know folks who’ve bought at auction before, but we were always suckers for paying market value.

So, here’s the rundown. The auctions of real property are run by the Public Administrator of Kings County. Go to the government website to see when the next auction is and which properties are listed. There’s a preview the weekend prior to bidding, or at least that was the case with the June auction.

If you want to bid you’ll need a certified or bank check for 10% of the opening bid. Bring a blank check to pay the rest of the deposit because chances are the opening bid is not the final price. If you win the bidding that means you go into contract immediately. This is NOT contingent upon inspection or mortgage. You must have all of your little ducks in a row before bidding or else you stand to lose your deposit. No joke.

Auctions are not for the faint of heart. It’s a risky business and you may be bidding against investors and developers whom have been around the corner before. Know what you’re getting yourself into….

You may inherit tenants. The property may even be an SRO. The two places we looked at in Bed Stuy had senior women living there for 30-40 years. Who wants to kick them out? Not me!

Who knows what’s up with the previous owner? Some of these are estate sales of folks who didn’t have wills. Family members sometimes expect something. I’m sure they chill once the property is sold, but I’ve heard some crazy stories about what happens leading up to the auction.

Take your time with the previews because you don’t get an inspection. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it might be a wise choice to hire an inspector for the day of previews. Or a contractor or architect. Or a friend who knows something about houses. This will cost a good few hundred bucks (not the friend-buy them pizza) so be sure you’re serious about bidding.

If you end up buying at auction, don’t expect the place to be broom swept. The city and the tenants will probably leave a bunch of crap behind. I’d also imagine it’s a safe bet to go the legal renovation route by filing with the DOB as the city will know you just purchased a fixer upper. Am I being paranoid? I dunno.

So, why do it? Here’s a partial list of properties and what they sold for.

582 Bainbridge St. Sort of east Bed Stuy/Ocean Hill/Bushwick. Opening bid: $290k. Sold: $300k

163A Halsey St. Bed Stuy, right around the corner from moi! House needed updating and restoration but had some fabulous detail! Partial SRO status was a bit off putting. Opening bid: $325k. Sold: $400k.

2633 Hubbard St. Sheepshead Bay single family. Opening bid: $300k. Sold: $390k.

1130 Brighton Beach Ave. 1 BR coop apartment. I really wanted to preview this one because the opening bid was $65k, but we just couldn’t make it out to Brighton over the weekend. It ended up selling for $130k. A studio coop apartment on Brighton 1st went for $155k. That was a more modern building (1960’s/70’s?). A 1BR in Bay Ridge didn’t sell at $180k. With coops, you have to deal with the board and then there may be flip taxes and transfer fees.

174 Lincoln Place. Opening bid: $1.75. Sold: $ 2.675. The highest priced “sold” property of the day. An Albee Square property that was going for $3.6 did not sell. Oooh, there were lots of bidders on this prime Slope mixed use building! Four ground floor commercial units and up to 6 residential units upstairs with only a single tenant remaining. Property taxes on this baby? $28k. Ouch! Rent roll? A gazillion dollars.

69 Sterling St. I believe this is Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Opening bid: $499k. Sold: $499k. Looks like someone got a sweet deal, although I didn’t see the interior.

4628 Beach 46th St. This place was getting bid up and we were like “Where the F is that?” I thought it was Dyker Heights or somewhere near there. Looking at the map, it seems to be Sea Gate, a gated community at the tip of Coney Island. Interesting. Opening bid: $$320k. Sold: $425k.

331A Stuyvesant Ave. This was the other house we actually previewed. A 2 family with older tenants that kept the house in decent shape. Some details remain, but the house needs updating and restoration. Really, not major work. A friend of a friend wanted this but got outbid. 🙁 Opening bid: $315k. Sold: $350k.

151 Prospect Ave. Interesting, I thought there would be some crazy bidding on this house because people are going gaga for the South Slope these days. (Yeah, I know…it’s really Gowanus over here.) Starting bid: $250k. Sold: $350k. I’m thinking the buyer could probably do NOTHING and turn around and flip it for $500k.

155 Berry St. First photo above. I saved this one for last because had us floored until we figured out just how much Williamsburg property is worth to developers. Opening bid: $695k. There were maaannnnyyy bidders going nuts. This little shack actually went for $1million and change. Surely, it’s a tear down.

Fascinating, no? Oh, and the nicest thing? Everybody applauds each time someone wins a bid.

reclaimedhome.com

Posts tagged real estate