If you're looking for a manageable mortgage, have your heart set on something a little different, and aren't keen on an apartment, you might want to check out carriage houses that come onto the market from time to time.
This one right on Belleville Ave in Glen Ridge, for example, is replete with three bedrooms and an open-plan dining-living area and could be ideal for a small family or anyone looking to downsize from a larger residence.
Carriage houses, originally meant for housing horsedrawn carriages, come up for sale rarely as owners tend to lease them out, as did the owner of this one prior to putting it on the market.
At an open house recently, the tidy home garnered a lot of interest.
Says Robin Seidon, an agent of RE/MAX Village Square who's handling the property, "There was lots of great feedback at the open house; it's a pretty spacious carriage house, and the top floor runs the entire length of it, it's private, it's at the back of the main property, and has its own exit and entrance and private back yard."
They come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and price ranges, too. Here's a link from Carol Tangorra of Coldwell Banker, which shows a range of carriage houses that have come onto the Essex market in recent years.
Says Tangorra, "The attraction is frequently that they (carriage houses) are a bit hidden away from the main road and a lot of the original charm is intact."
This one, on South Mountain Ave, is one of my favorites in terms of appearance.
Tangorra, clearly passionate about well-preserved properties of historical interest, said, "I love seeing some of the carriage houses that are actually behind large estate properties as they are usually intact, and one can see the horse stalls on the ground level as well as the rough, loft area apartments that were used for chauffeurs and for stable hands. Some have actually left the "hay " openings intact."
Do you own a carriage house or have you seen one that's interesting in Baristaville? Do tell us in comments.
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Comments (6)
I'll take the one for $3000! For that price I can stand the parking lot in front.
The house at 99 S. MOUNTAIN AVENUE really is very charming inside and out. It still find it amazing though that they're asking $675k.
The 675K asking price was in November 2002.
Love 99 S. Mountain, have always walked by and admired that. But $14,000 for taxes? Eek.
You're absolutely right Mrs Martta, some of the carriage houses do have rather steep taxes. I looked into whether this was a trend among such houses but found the answer was No
The estimated taxes on the 525 Belleville Ave carriage house is $6,000. (It'll be settled on closing, as this has not been converted to condo yet.)