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March 20, 2005

Open House Hopping

We went to eight open houses in three neighborhoods today, and to squeeze them all in we must have speed-walked several miles and climbed 20 flights of stairs. Getting to each place, asking the right questions, gauging it's value-to-price ratio, and then running to the next place completely wore us out. We have a better idea of what's out there and what's important to us (and I now share D's distrust of real estate brokers), but we're not much closer to answering the question of buying vs. renting for another year.

We started in Prospect Heights, which we had walked through yesterday. The Brooklyn Museum is nearby, Park Slope is within walking distance, Vanderbilt Ave. has some nice shops, and there are some pretty blocks. Some buildings are not in great shape, though, and the neighborhood doesn't have the same feel as the Slope. It's a mix of big pre-war apartment buildings -- some with serious security grating on the doors -- more modern apartment buildings, frame houses, and brownstones. We started with a nice 2 BR coop with high ceilings and details on St. John's Place, then moved to a not-so-nice 3 BR co-op on Lincoln Place. The difference between those two was an important one -- the first had original details and floors, and the second was renovated in 1989 and had some pretty ugly modern touches. In one of Derek's old apartments, I used to think the old moldings were annoying because you can never get rid of the layers of paint and all the missing parts and dents and whatnot. Modern renovations, if done decently enough, haven't bothered me in the past. Today, though, I preferred the places with the details -- an old fireplace mantle or window casement -- to the modern ones.

We also took a look at a smallish place on Park Place in a brownstone. It was close enough to Flatbush to make trips to the food coop easy, but it wasn't quite big enough. There was clever use of the space in the kitchen, though -- they built the counter under the stairs to get more counter space.

Since there was no bus in sight, we walked as quickly as we could to 12th street (passing the tail end of the St. Patrick's Day parade on the way -- we always miss that one!). Corcoran had completely renovated one building and had four condos for sale. They were all floor-throughs billed as two bedrooms, but where the second bedroom would fit is a bit of a mystery. Everything was brand-spanking new -- the floors, the granite countertops, the white bathrooms -- even the brokers on each floor looked fresh (argh). Appliances weren't in yet, but I assume various stainless-steel refrigerators, stoves, and dishwashers will appear soon. The whole place was a bit sterile for my taste although the location was great.

With one major exception, the places we saw after that got better and better. The coop across the street was a fourth floor walk-up, but it was really nice. It had a modern kitchen (blue tile, stainless steel appliances) opening up to a living room with a working fireplace. There were 1.5 bathrooms and 3 smallish bedrooms tucked into the back, and there's a roof deck. Plusses: layout, space, location, kitchen. Drawbacks: Four-floor walk-up, far from park, co-op (and peppy Corcoran brokers, but thankfully they don't come with the apartment). After talking things through, I decided this was the one I'd buy today if price weren't an issue and we had to make a decision.

We stopped at home for a quick lunch and change of shoes (it was raining lightly all day), then took the F two stops to Windsor Terrace. WT is a more working-class neighborhood with flag-flying two story houses and some apartment buildings near PPSW (Prospect Park Southwest). For kicks, we started with a house on Vanderbilt near Greenwood Cemetery. It was affordable, but for good reason -- half of the bathroom floor and a chunk of the dining room ceiling had gone missing, and pretty much everything needed work. The basement was finished (once) but D couldn't stand up in it. Next, we saw a place on PPSW. The details were great -- especially the oak beams in the dining room ceiling and the arched doorways. It wasn't in perfect shape though, the kitchen was a bit outdated, and there was no w/d.

Finally, we saw a gorgeous two bedroom co-op on Windsor Place. The owners were doing the selling and they had obviously done a great job with the place. It has a very open feel -- a living room, dining room, and kitchen all connect to each other. They redid the electrical, phone, and cable wiring and ripped out a few walls. The kitchen is new and tastefully done and has tons of cabinet space. The dining room and living rooms have views of the park (and the lake). Near the door, a wall was removed to make a little home-office nook. A hallway connects the living/dining/kitchen area to two bedrooms and the bathroom.

Of the places we saw, my two favorites are the 12th street and Windsor Place coops. They're both a bit more expensive than our condo, and both have more space and light and are in better overall condition. On the other hand, I'm starting to see the wisdom of buying something in a great location -- though we can't get more space and light into our current condo, we could put in the work to make ours look better over time. And given the prices of places we saw, it's clear that ours is priced according to the market. The market's just on speed.

Posted by csageday at March 20, 2005 11:51 PM

Comments

Posted by: Ryan Lundquist at August 21, 2005 09:16 PM