Greatest Real Estate Finds

[samhexum]

On 3/9/2021 at 5:16 PM, MysticMenace said:

does any have any other great real estate finds they can share?

 

On 3/9/2021 at 5:26 PM, samhexum said:

I found a place in England once with an open, airy floor plan, but I couldn't find a price listed for it. It was more of a fixer-upper than I wanted anyway, so I passed.

ANOTHER REASON WHY I PASSED:

[samhexum]

On 3/22/2024 at 7:16 PM, augustus said:

NYC can have earthquakes

you don't say!

[BSR]

A Manhattan townhouse once owned by Frank Sinatra just got listed.  The family who bought it from Sinatra has a fascinating story.  Photos look beautiful, but at just 16 feet wide, sounds like tight quarters.

Edited April 25 by BSR
Added a sentence

[Lookin]

3 hours ago, BSR said:

Photos look beautiful, but at just 16 feet wide, sounds like tight quarters.

Barely enough room to swing a cat.  😎

[samhexum]

3 hours ago, BSR said:

A Manhattan townhouse once owned by Frank Sinatra just got listed.  The family who bought it from Sinatra has a fascinating story.  Photos look beautiful, but at just 16 feet wide, sounds like tight quarters.

 

22 minutes ago, Lookin said:

Barely enough room to swing a cat.  😎

wouldn't that be a hep cat?

 

[samhexum]

Underground terror Creepy dungeon discovered behind door inside home for sale: ‘Something from Criminal Minds’

“There is electricity, water, and a dehumidifier set up down there. It is set up to house living things.”

[Luv2play]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:15 AM, BSR said:

A Manhattan townhouse once owned by Frank Sinatra just got listed.  The family who bought it from Sinatra has a fascinating story.  Photos look beautiful, but at just 16 feet wide, sounds like tight quarters.

My Victorian townhouse, which was the first house I owned, was 15’9” wide. It was livable. 

[samhexum]

https://www.aol.com/news/homeless-woman-living-inside-michigan-165735135.html

Homeless woman was living inside Michigan rooftop store sign with computer and coffee maker

Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said.

“She was homeless,” Officer Brennon Warren of the Midland Police Department said Thursday. “It's a story that makes you scratch your head, just somebody living up in a sign.”

The woman, whose name was not released, told police she had a job elsewhere but had been living inside the Family Fare sign for roughly a year, Warren said. She was found April 23.

The store is in a retail strip with a triangle-shaped sign at the top of the building. The sign structure, probably 5 feet wide and 8 feet high, has a door and is accessible from the roof.

“There was some flooring that was laid down. A mini desk,” he said. “Her clothing. A Keurig coffee maker. A printer and a computer — things you'd have in your home.”

The woman was able to get electricity through a power cord plugged into an outlet on the roof, Warren said.

There was no sign of a ladder. Warren said it's possible the woman made her way to the roof by climbing up elsewhere behind the store or other retail businesses.

"I honestly don't know how she was getting up there. She didn't indicate, either," he said.

A spokesperson for SpartanNash, the parent company of Family Fare, said store employees responded “with the utmost compassion and professionalism.”

“Ensuring there is ample safe, affordable housing continues to be a widespread issue nationwide that our community needs to partner in solving,” Adrienne Chance said, declining further comment.

Warren said the woman was cooperative and quickly agreed to leave. No charges were pursued.

“We provided her with some information about services in the area,” the officer said. “She apologized and continued on her way. Where she went from there, I don't know.”

The director of a local nonprofit that provides food and shelter assistance said Midland — which has a population 42,000 — needs more housing for low-income residents.

“From someone who works with the homeless, part of me acknowledges she was really resourceful,” said Saralyn Temple of Midland's Open Door. “Obviously, we don't want people resorting to illegal activity to find housing. There are much better options.”

 

[samhexum]

 

Slice of paradise Tiny 10-foot-wide ‘spite’ house lists for $619K in Florida 

 

In the north Florida resort city of Jacksonville Beach, an antagonistically thin home with quite the backstory has listed for sale. 

This 1,547-square-foot, 10-foot-wide two-bedroom house was completed earlier this year on a leftover lot, namely a small parcel of undeveloped land within a developed area. 

Generally, local zoning boards will give developers permission to break with building code and construct larger-than-technically-allowed abodes — but not in this case, Business Insider reported.

“In this particular neighborhood, which is typical of beach areas or areas of high density, you’ll get some areas of smaller lots,” Ryan Wetherhold of Oceanside Real Estate, who holds the listing, told the publication. “What you can do on these smaller lots is you can go in front of a board of adjustment, and they’ll allow you to build more than the building code is allowed.”

However, a next-door neighbor who had been using the 1952 Horn Street parcel as a garden persuaded others to complain about its development at a public hearing vote, and the board was successfully convinced to disallow adjustments. 

The developer took this less as discouragement than a challenge. 

“[To] be honest, the builder almost built this out of spite just because of that fact. ‘Oh, you don’t think we can build, hold my beer,'” Wetherhold said.

Despite the home’s narrow look, the lot is 140 feet deep, which is deeper than others in the area.

Also, to make up for a normal house’s amount of space, this residence has built-in seating, which helps for saving space — as they’re designed specifically for the property’s dimensions.

It could also be a perk for a buyer in search of a home with little maintenance required.

The property hit the market this March, but has yet to sell — although since being featured on the Zillow Gone Wild account last month, interest has been through the roof. 

“omggg she’s on ozempic,” commented one person. 

“I mean for that price you’re better off buying an RV,” wrote another.

“Finally a new construction single family home in a great area of South Jax Beach for a reasonable price!” reads the listing, which promotes the two-story, three-bathroom compound as having a “unique build,” “room for a pool,” a garage and a backyard.

editorial comment left by developer:

Edited May 14 by samhexum
to ensure maximum delight for the reader!

[BSR]

18 minutes ago, samhexum said:

 

Slice of paradise Tiny 10-foot-wide ‘spite’ house lists for $619K in Florida 

 

In the north Florida resort city of Jacksonville Beach, an antagonistically thin home with quite the backstory has listed for sale. 

This 1,547-square-foot, 10-foot-wide two-bedroom house was completed earlier this year on a leftover lot, namely a small parcel of undeveloped land within a developed area. 

Generally, local zoning boards will give developers permission to break with building code and construct larger-than-technically-allowed abodes — but not in this case, Business Insider reported.

“In this particular neighborhood, which is typical of beach areas or areas of high density, you’ll get some areas of smaller lots,” Ryan Wetherhold of Oceanside Real Estate, who holds the listing, told the publication. “What you can do on these smaller lots is you can go in front of a board of adjustment, and they’ll allow you to build more than the building code is allowed.”

However, a next-door neighbor who had been using the 1952 Horn Street parcel as a garden persuaded others to complain about its development at a public hearing vote, and the board was successfully convinced to disallow adjustments. 

The developer took this less as discouragement than a challenge. 

“[To] be honest, the builder almost built this out of spite just because of that fact. ‘Oh, you don’t think we can build, hold my beer,'” Wetherhold said.

Despite the home’s narrow look, the lot is 140 feet deep, which is deeper than others in the area.

Also, to make up for a normal house’s amount of space, this residence has built-in seating, which helps for saving space — as they’re designed specifically for the property’s dimensions.

It could also be a perk for a buyer in search of a home with little maintenance required.

The property hit the market this March, but has yet to sell — although since being featured on the Zillow Gone Wild account last month, interest has been through the roof. 

“omggg she’s on ozempic,” commented one person. 

“I mean for that price you’re better off buying an RV,” wrote another.

“Finally a new construction single family home in a great area of South Jax Beach for a reasonable price!” reads the listing, which promotes the two-story, three-bathroom compound as having a “unique build,” “room for a pool,” a garage and a backyard.

editorial comment left by developer:

If the house sells for close to asking, the realtor should give the photographer a bonus because those photos make the 10-foot width look decently spacious, not cramped at all.

[samhexum]

1 minute ago, BSR said:

If the house sells for close to asking, the realtor should give the photographer a bonus because those photos make the 10-foot width look decently spacious, not cramped at all.

There are multi-million dollar townhomes in NYC that aren't much wider.  With a lot that size, you make make all the rooms long and moderately wide.

[samhexum]

Off the southern coast of mainland England, floating in the Solent straight about a mile from the Isle of Wight, two eye-catching former military forts are drifting to auction. 

Known as the Solent forts, the circular granite islands were constructed in the 1860s to defend the city of Portsmouth from the French and have, more recently, been renovated into lavish nautical hotels, Mansion Global first reported.

Now, after 12 years under the same ownership, the extensively built-out parcels are set to hit the auction block on June 18 with a guide price of $1.27 million each.

The larger of the two, No Mans Fort, features 99,000 square feet spread over four floors containing 23 ensuite bedrooms, crew quarters, multiple bars, restaurants and a spa. There’s an “entertaining space including laser battle” on the lowest level, and hot tubs and a fire pit on the roof deck.

The second is Spitbank Fort, with approximately 33,000 square feet spread over three floors offering nine guest suites, staff accommodation and event spaces such as the 60 Covers Restaurant and Crows Nest Function Suite. It’s slightly closer to the mainland and, like its counterpart, is also equipped with self-sufficient power and water sources, a fire pit and a hot tub. 

While No Mans has a helipad, Spitbank is only accessible by boat.

As of the present, both are currently being used as hotels, but press materials suggest a buyer could also utilize them as a vacation home, for medical research, a casino — or a prison. 

“Throughout my career as an auctioneer I’ve seen several sea forts hit the market that have achieved impressive prices as buyers have sought to pursue these trophy assets,” said Savills head of auctions Robin Howeson, who holds the listings. I anticipate there to be a global interest from multiple buyer types looking to take the forts into their next chapter, whether that’s as a new commercial venture or residential home.”

 

 

Residents of a town outside Dallas have scored a major victory — forcing a developer to scrap plans to bulldoze lush farmland and replace it with a shopping center.

The Haggard family, one of Plano’s most prominent clans, aimed to transform a 13.5-acre slice of their historic farm into a retail destination featuring a Sprouts grocery store, retail space and 33 townhomes.

The Fairview Farm Land Company, run by a Haggard family member, petitioned Plano officials to rezone the land, sparking a fierce backlash from locals. Residents flooded the city with hundreds of messages, NBC Dallas Fort Worth reports.

The overwhelming opposition led to an unexpected twist: Fairview Farm Land Company requested to withdraw its rezoning application. “While we were hopeful that our proposed development would be seen as a positive addition, it is clear that is not the case and we don’t want to proceed with something that does not have full community support. Thank you for your consideration,” the company conveyed via a proxy.

Christina Day, Plano’s director of planning, noted the rarity of such a withdrawal. “It’s not unheard of but it is rare,” she told the outlet. “It doesn’t mean they can’t bring a new case forward at some point.”

The land is already zoned for single-family homes or townhouses, allowing the Haggards to potentially propose a solely residential development in the future.

The Haggard family has a history of selling and developing parts of their land. In 2021, Plano approved a large mixed-use development on 124 acres of Haggard farmland along the Dallas North Tollway, despite massive community opposition. This project, currently under construction, includes a hotel, a restaurant, commercial buildings and housing.

Day emphasized that Plano’s policies aim to limit retail sprawl.

“We’ve long had policies to limit retail zoning and retail development where possible in the city and that’s because we realize that we have three times the national average of retail,” she said.

Edited May 18 by samhexum
to ensure maximum delight for the reader!

[marylander1940]

On 4/4/2024 at 5:31 PM, nycman said:

Two things you never want to find when doing construction…. artifacts or ruins.

 

On 4/4/2024 at 6:23 PM, samhexum said:

or skeletons

Groundwater (spring). 

[samhexum]

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  Saudi tycoon slashes price of never-lived-in NYC penthouse by $64M — initially listed for $169M