Wednesday, June 17, 2009

January 22, 2009

House of the Day: 37 Winthrop Street

37-Winthrop-Street-0109.jpg
The exterior of this single-family house at 37 Winthrop Street in PLG is a little rough on the eyes but the interior has a nice vibe. Granted the kitchen could use some TLC, but the floors, moldings and ceiling beams throughout the 3,000-square-foot house look pretty solid. The two-family house is asking $879,000. Think it has a shot?
37 Winthrop Street [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

Comments

Talk about a wide angle lens!!! I like the "Summer camp" look of the kitchen.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 22, 2009 1:14 PM

Wow, I actually really, really dig this house. Location, and layout are good, interior's in decent shape, exterior seems solid. 1BR rental is a huge plus. Might be a little noisy being that close to flatbush, but should be tolerable.

I hope it sits on the market until I'm ready to buy, but I'm doubting it.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 1:24 PM

The interiors look fairly attractive and I like that the rental could be in a separate carriage house. That being said, I much prefer the houses on the other side of this street which are similar to a row one block south on Parkside Avenue--IMO a prettier block.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at January 22, 2009 1:26 PM

A pioneering asshat would give it a shot. He/she would see $879K with rental income as fitting in his/her budget. More doable than a one-fam vic.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at January 22, 2009 1:28 PM

I don't care for this house at all. It might have once been lovely, but whatever charms it once had are obscured by sheetrock, paneling, and white paint. It is, however, monstrously large, so on a per-square-foot basis, it's probably quite the bargain.

Posted by: mopar at January 22, 2009 1:29 PM

I (respectfully) disagree with the hubby in terms of layout (that upstairs floor plan could use an architect with some common sense), but other than that I actually kind of like it a lot. Even the fact that it needs some love -- from the look of it (for what realtor pics are worth), you could improve it quite substantially without having to live in a hell pit for months.

Posted by: MrsCWB at January 22, 2009 1:32 PM

Oooooohhhhh BHO You used the A- Word! I'm telling!

You know whta's fun now? Looking at this dreck! you will need about 200k to buy this "Home Depot" special.

Now in 2009 who in the hell is going depart with that kind of loot? Only a Asshat...

The What (Obama save us!)

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: Return of The What at January 22, 2009 1:34 PM

hey cwbuecheler family - go check out ridgewood. you can get a really nice old townhouse in a nice area.

Posted by: wine lover at January 22, 2009 1:36 PM

Mr. & Mrs. CWB, you guys should jointly blog your search. Seems like it would make an enjoyable read. Sure beats "The Hunt" in the NYT real estate section.

Posted by: slopefarm at January 22, 2009 1:40 PM

"Oooooohhhhh BHO You used the A- Word! I'm telling!"

Tatter-tale!

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at January 22, 2009 1:43 PM

Thanks for the tip, winelover! We are exploring any and every thing right now, including what we cannot afford -- meaning absolutely everything as long as my fired ass will remain fired :)

Posted by: MrsCWB at January 22, 2009 1:48 PM

I just posted a link to Thain's mansion in Rye on the Open Thread. Puts things into a different perspective!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 22, 2009 2:00 PM

TheBuechelersSearchForAHouseTheyCanAffordANDThatTheyActuallyLike.com ...

has a nice ring to it!

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 2:03 PM

The house isn't my style at all, but it has it's plusses. I think the price is unrealistic. To my mind, this is the exact kind of house and location that really should become far cheaper as the market readjusts or realligns or whatever you want to call it. Even if the grand townhouses on the prime Lefferts Manor blocks manage to stay at over a million, a house like this on this block this close to Flatbush should really be much much cheaper.

"Might be a little noisy being that close to flatbush, but should be tolerable"

My PLG friends tell me that many corners of Flatbush still have serious hanging-out late at night blaring music problems which can seriously disrupt sleeping in any of the first 3 or 4 houses on the side streets. I have no idea if that is true of this block or not, but I'd wait 'till summer comes and check it out myself.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 22, 2009 2:07 PM

i like this house. i do think it's overpriced. i think it would be cool to have seperate rental in a 'carriage house'. sounds like a great in-law situation. near yet so far...

Posted by: bkny at January 22, 2009 2:51 PM

"Even if the grand townhouses on the prime Lefferts Manor blocks manage to stay at over a million, a house like this on this block this close to Flatbush should really be much much cheaper."

I strongly, strongly agree with this statement. If you picked this house up and moved it to Syracuse, it'd go for like $200k ... probably less. Yes, Brooklyn isn't Syracuse, but nearing a million bucks for a non-historic, decently-sized-but-not-huge older home that needs some work? Crazy.

"I have no idea if that is true of this block or not, but I'd wait 'till summer comes and check it out myself."

Good advice, and thanks for the heads-up. I definitely can see the proximity to Flatbush being an issue.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at January 22, 2009 3:05 PM

In re Thain: therein lies a clue to the state of Brooklyn RE. The Merrill compensation committee apparently met a month early, to ensure a round of '08 bonuses, before BofA took over the enterprise --and even though at that point Merrill was the walking dead. This was a fraudulent conveyance, I believe, and at least an act of whopping ethical malfeasance. Setting that aside, similar rounds of shameless bonus-ing happened at the other banks, most of which (all?) may now have to be nationalized. To the point: of course there are currently high end sales in Brooklyn. If you're a thirty or forty something banker who knows you're getting the last of the schwag, and can now cash out in the low eight figures, you're going to come to Brooklyn. Here you can lay down 3-5 million and get a mansion in a stable neighborhood. This is the last trickle of big money out there; expect to see the very poshest and most unique houses in the borough sell for ask or close over the next six to eight months. Then kiss this particular asset class goodbye for a generation.

Posted by: Whuh at January 22, 2009 3:28 PM

I like this house. Granted, it's no beauty from the outside, but that is fixable, and looks like it could wait. The interior is nice, and as MrsCWB says, one could live in it while fixing it up without it being a hellhole. I love the attached carriage house feature. A rental unit without hearing people above you, or coming and going is great, or it really would make a wonderful home office or workshop.

Price? Who knows? I don't think it is going to go substantially lower, but I have nothing to base that on. PLG is a desireable neighborhood.

Bob, remember the days when a listing in PLG brought out the crazies?

Posted by: Montrose Morris at January 22, 2009 3:37 PM

MM,

Shhhush! He (She/It?) might still be lurking. Also, people who weren't reading Brownstoner a year and a half ago might think we're being paranoid :-)

On another note, the PLG-based "Hawthorne Street" blog just posted something about another, far less expensive, Winthrop Street house:

http://www.hawthornestreet.com/2009/01/house-on-winthrop.html#comments

Posted by: Bob Marvin at January 22, 2009 3:44 PM

Okay, a re-worked upstairs, just for Mrs CWB.

Here's a few thoughts:
- Make the 10x13 room adjacent to master bedroom, master bath and walk-in-closet. Where they now have the 2 fixture bathroom, could be the shower.
- long hall behind the stair with 2 windows. Open it up into the master bedroom and create a sitting alcove.
- Rework that bathroom with the shower. It's so big, that you can get two bathrooms one for the 8x10 bedroom and one for the 13x18,or have one big one that they can share.
- Re-work the bathroom with the tub and give it to the bigger 10x12 bedroom.

There are possibilities people....I'm digging it.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at January 22, 2009 3:45 PM

Well thank you BRG! That's actually my favorite part of the whole thing -- looking at floor plans and trying to make them a little better. Your plan sounds good -- I'm also wondering if there's something to do with the closet fest on the second stair landing.
But of course now that you've made me look at floor plans again... I'm now going through the first floor too. Toilet adjacent to the kitchen? Eew!

Posted by: MrsCWB at January 22, 2009 4:12 PM

I like the antique furniture, goes with the antique kitchen!

Also loving that it was built in 1910 with original flooring!

Posted by: denton at January 22, 2009 4:42 PM

its vintage, not antique

Posted by: dittoburg at January 22, 2009 4:49 PM

The house Bob listed on the same street is much nicer in my opinion--and at an asking price of 705K it is a lot closer to reality. You could perhaps get it for very low 600's and that would make almost make sense.

Posted by: shillstoner at January 22, 2009 5:20 PM

I don't know the street, but there's a lot about this house to like. One thing I would consider is either removing the addition at the front of the house or restoring it to its former glory as a porch. I think the house would work better that way. And, in reference to whuh's earlier comment about kissing the [high-end] asset class goodbye for a few years, I beg to differ: the houses [many anyway] will remain; they'll just trade at prices closer to a reality for the rest of us.

Posted by: Minmin at January 22, 2009 6:52 PM

I wish they still made couches like that.

And the interior cries out for fun diy projects. I do agree, the price will probably drop, but it is a lot of house. I would happily live there... although it'd help if the public schools were better.

Posted by: Heather at January 22, 2009 7:20 PM

there are a lot of houses that were subjected to particularly unfortunate additions...


This could be a very nice house with some updating, but PLG lacks the amenities and schools to justify this price. It's worthy of noting that laundering a shirt is cheaper by my office in midtown than it is here.... ($4 vs $2.50)

Posted by: slick at January 22, 2009 8:50 PM

I don't know that the price is very far out of line. Similarly sized 2-family houses on my block (one block north of here) sold for $800, $880, and $1 million last year.... the $800 was in fairly rough condition; the new owners had to do a gut reno on the first floor. The $1 million had two beautiful floors and one that needed substantial refinishing, a parking space and a third exposure, but said exposure abuts a house that was (and still is) being marketed as a teardown.

Posted by: carrie m at January 23, 2009 10:34 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment