88-buckingham-road-0510.jpgWhen Nathan Thompson and Eva Lewandowski first saw their future house on Buckingham Road in Prospect Park South back in 1997, they fell in love with it, despite the disrepair it had fallen into during the tenure of the previous owner, an elderly lady who was one of the last descendants of the man who’d built the house. The couple put in an offer, despite the asking price of $395,000 being out of their range, but were outbid. They were thrilled when the house reemerged on the market six months later, the deal having fallen through, with a reduced asking price of $335,000. In the meantime, the couple had both gotten promotions and they were able to make the winning bid. That’s when the fun began. According to The Times story this weekend, the prior occupant had lived with over a hundred cats, which had resulted in an incredible stink and the near-destruction of much of the gorgeous woodwork in the 1927 Tudor mansion. Over time, though, the couple managed to restore much of the house while putting their own touch on it. Today they get to enjoy it with their two children, while the rest of us get to sit on the sidelines and drool with envy!
To the Rescue of a Tudor Beauty [NY Times]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. This gem has always been my absolute favorite house in Victorian Flatbush. I considered purchasing it one point. It is well taken care of by the very lovely family pictured in the Times article. I can assure you, there the eau de cat urine has long disappeared.

  2. Some unsuspecting friends of mine bought a place far away from their desired home town with cat smell, not realizing, and had to spend $200,000 tearing out the floors and walls. When all was said and done, they could have bought their dream house in their dream home town close to friends and family and paid the same amount.

  3. I wondered the same thing about the cats; as a rule, serious cat OR dog urine contamination requires demolition and haul-away. There’s only so much that Nature’s Miracle can accomplish, ditto for polyurethane sealant. Don’t ask me how I know this and I won’t tell. Suffice it to say that I hope never to show up in the real-estate section as the dreaded “previous owner”…Nathan Thompson is a neighbor of ours and an all-around good guy and community activist, he deserves a spiffy house (with or without kitty ghosts).