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Open House Agenda: 3 Townhouses to See This Weekend

By Amy Zimmer | July 11, 2014 8:23am | Updated on July 11, 2014 4:52pm
 Three townhouses with yards or terraces in hot Brooklyn neighborhoods for under $1 million.
Three Townhouses to See This Weekend
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BROOKLYN — A lot of New York City apartment dwellers dream of escaping to a country or beach house in the summer. But what if you could own your own house in the city where you could barbecue and have a wading pool? Here are three new-to-market houses in hot Brooklyn neighborhoods for under $1 million.

123 George St., Bushwick
5 Beds/2.5 Baths
Approximately 2,184 square feet
Two-family semi-detached house
$725,000
Real Estate Taxes: $411.67 per month
Open House: Sunday, July 13, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Lowdown: This house, on a large 29-by-100-square-foot lot, has two floor-through units (a 3-bed/1.5 bath and a 2-bed/1 bath), a big backyard and two parking spots.

“It’s the whole package,” said Corcoran’s Brooke Safford. “It definitely needs some updating and a little love. Whoever buys it, I imagine, will do a full renovation. But it’s definitely in good shape and livable.”

The price of the 1989 home factors in that someone will renovate, noted Safford, whose phone has been ringing “off the hook” since listing it less than a week ago.

“The biggest thing is the energy of Bushwick right now, especially at this location,"  Safford said.

There are few houses for sale along Bushwick's "prime" L train subway stops, she added. “Basically where you can buy a house tends to be much farther out on the JMZ.”

Location: This part of Bushwick is hopping with bars, restaurants and galleries. The Loom, which has artist lofts and eclectic shops, is nearby, as is Maria Hernandez Park, Safford said. It’s about six or seven blocks to the L train at Montrose Avenue or Jefferson Street.

Why put it on your open house calendar? It’s an estate sale priced to move quickly, said Safford. “To have a two-family house and have a backyard on big lot, especially in New York, is such a treat,” she added. “It’s a unique opportunity to make something special with it."

235 Marion St., Bedford-Stuyvesant
5 Beds/4 Baths
Approximately 3,050 square feet
Two-family Townhouse
$895,000
Real Estate Taxes: $132 per month
Open House: Sunday, July 13, 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Lowdown: The seller of this two-family Stuyvesant Heights house, built about 1910, gut-renovated it this year with modern touches and a nod to history, restoring the facade’s original cornice with “an illustrious black finish” and restoring the original brick to the light-filled interior, according to Douglas Elliman’s Jessica Peters.

There's a two-bedroom/two-bath duplex with garden access from the master bedroom, with an open kitchen and a den downstairs. The three-bedroom/two-bath unit upstairs has skylights to maximize the light and a master bedroom with en suite bathroom and walk-in closet.

“235 Marion is for the futurist — the buyer who knows when the price, location and property features align, it is time to strike,” Peters said, adding, “Construction at the time was built to last long term; there were no shortcuts to tried and true craftsmanship and masonry.”

Location: This corner of Stuyvesant Heights is quickly changing. Nearby eateries include OCD Southern Desserts, Brooklyn Burger and Brew Co., Peaches, Saraghina and the new Kava Shteeble “coffee room.” Breevort Playground is down the street and the larger Saratoga Park is five blocks away.

The house is two blocks from the Ralph Avenue C train and a 10-minute walk to the Chauncey Street J train.

Why put it on your open house calendar? It’s a good price for the size, Peters said, adding, “For under $1 million you can buy into a neighborhood on the edge of a revived cultural transformation.”

220 Frost St., Williamsburg
2.5 Beds/3 Baths
Single-family Townhouse
Approximately 900-square-foot duplex plus 400-square-foot finished basement
$999,000
Real Estate Taxes: $167.17 per month
Open House: Sunday, July 13, noon to 1:30 p.m

Lowdown: This recently restored triangle-shaped home from the 1920s is for a buyer looking for something different from the sleek luxury condos popping up in Williamsburg.

“It’s definitely not a cookie-cutter space,” said JC Vasquez, of Corcoran. “It has beautiful wide-planked floors and exposed beams in the ceiling that are original.”

Though there’s no yard, the bright home with high ceilings has a second-floor terrace that's large enough for hosting dinners, Vasquez said.

The home has a new roof and mechanicals, redone marble bathrooms and a renovation that used reclaimed wood in the kitchen and for doors.

“It might be small for a townhouse but it feels good. It feels like a home and has character,” he said. “Someone asked me if they could have pets. I said, ‘You can do whatever you want. It’s your house.’”

The quiet tree-lined street “almost doesn’t feel like New York, in a good way,” he added.

There is construction for an apartment building next door that the windows in the halls look out onto, which is why it was priced under $1 million, he said.

“The downside is that there’s some construction next door,” he said. “But, all in all, I think it will raise the value of the home.”

Location: The home is roughly 10 minutes from the Graham Avenue L stop in the part of Williamsburg that Vasquez said feels quieter than the waterfront.  The Oak Wine Bar, Mesa Coyacan, Sel de Mer and Fanny are nearby.

Why put it on your open house calendar? Though an unusually shaped space, it’s “workable for the right person,” who doesn’t want a sleek condo in a luxury building, Vasquez said. “It’s for somebody who wants to feel like they have a home in Williamsburg.” There's very little inventory at this price range, he added.