A Renovation for a Wall of Mirrors in a Jackson Heights Co-Op
This week, in the New York Times’ real estate column The Hunt, a married couple searched for a two-bedroom co-op in Jackson Heights. They paid ask for a 1,000-square-foot two bedroom at the Carlton House priced at $319,000. It turns out their search crossed paths with another co-op hunt we featured here on Q’Stoner –…
This week, in the New York Times’ real estate column The Hunt, a married couple searched for a two-bedroom co-op in Jackson Heights. They paid ask for a 1,000-square-foot two bedroom at the Carlton House priced at $319,000. It turns out their search crossed paths with another co-op hunt we featured here on Q’Stoner — Carroll Gardens owner Sally Jones’ search for an apartment in the same neighborhood. Jones, the lady behind the Renov8or blog, bought a two-bedroom also at the Carlton that “The Hunt” couple passed up because “they disliked the wall of mirrors in the living room.” It was asking $279,000; Jones bought it for $265,000. As Jones told us, “I actually adore that wall of mirrors, because I have it to thank for the incredible bargain that I got.” She ended up replacing that wall of mirrors with Ikea bookcases for less than $800. She bought 11″ deep Billy bookcases with the optional 13″ height extenders, then added a platform so that the bookcases would fill the entire 103″ to the ceiling. As she says,
I bought my home for $265k and it appraised for within $10k of the $319k that The Hunt couple paid. For far less than the $54k difference in purchase price, I’m getting the same apartment, renovated to my specifications on someone else’s dime. That’s Renov8or gold! My apartment was a below market find: A spacious apartment, designed by architect Philip Birnbaum (who went on to design Trump Tower in his later years), in a sound co-op with good financials and nice amenities. It was cosmetic issues that kept perspective buyers from seeing the potential.
Jones is now on the tail end of her renovation and finishing up work in the bathroom. You can follow her progress here and read about her decision to leave Brooklyn here.
My Jackson Heights Apartment Is in NY Times “The Hunt”! [Renov8or]
“The Hunt” Sends Buyers to Jackson Heights [Q’Stoner]
Carroll Gardens Blogger Gives up Her Neighborhood for… Queens [Q’Stoner]
Great work! Love the bookcase as a solution to perk up a wall – adds dimension and personality to the room. Also glad to see Jackson Heights – the neighborhood I grew up in – getting the attention it deserves!
Amazing work by Sally Jones on this re-do! I’ve actually seen this apartment along with her previous reno job in person and have no doubt that the finished product here will be gorgeous. I agree that buying a fixer-upper at a bargain(ish) price is absolutely the way to go (as long as you’ve got the stomach for renovation work).