Sunday, January 9, 2011

Show Me the Money: 287 Dekalb Avenue




Celebrating our 100th post!

A rare departure for us today. Usually we don't cover anything above $2M, and prefer to keep it below $1.5M. And we almost never cover single-family homes. But we were so appalled by the audacious listing price of 137 Adelphi, and even yesterday's quaint 596 Carroll Street glossed over the $1M downpayment that would be needed for it to be cash-flow neutral. Those were two houses listed above $1.9M that had some serious shortcomings for their lofty list prices. Today we have to give credit where credit's due. 287 DeKalb Avenue is one huge, stately townhouse - total luxury - listed for $2.25M.

Don't get me wrong, this property is in another galaxy from what we usually cover. Most of the properties we feature can be acquired near asking price with a $50K downpayment. This property would take at least $450K down. So we're out of our element for sure. We don't know the single-family market that well, or this price range. But if you even had a 2nd thought about 137 Adelphi or 596 Carroll for $1.9M, feast your eyes on this:





Ok, maybe a little too much with the woodwork. Unless you're about to cue the harpsichord. Oh wait...




There is a harpsichord!! You can't make this stuff up. Bach himself would be proud.

When it comes to pricing, so many houses that we see have some explaining to do. This place cleans up nice. It's already got its act together. It's yelling at you to "Show me the money!"





Pro's: curb appeal, huge, super fancy interior, there's only so many of these

Con's: price is steep even if it's legit, gawdy wood interior might not be your taste, neighborhood might be edgier than folks at these price points are accustomed to

Ideally: if you can even seriously consider this place, you're already doing alright for yourself. Compare it to condos at these prices and maybe it's worth $1.9 to ya. Maybe this will help the faux-$1.9M's of the world to check themselves a bit.

5 comments:

  1. This will appeal to your monocle and tophat wearing blog-readers. They've been dying for a harpsichord-equipped house.

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  2. This listing in no longer available on Halstead's website. Unclear whether it went into contract, was taken off the market, or what...

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