Carriage House
By Polychrome | April 12, 2008
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South Williamsport House
By Polychrome | November 30, 2007
Later that day we went to see the South Williamsport House. The house LL was already calling “his house.”
In its day, the broker told us, this house had been the grandest home in South Williamsport. Clearly it was in a commercial district now, in the sense of being located on South Market Street (Route 15) and although situated in a residential area, also along this section of Route 15 may be found what I can only think of as mini-strip malls. When you are in a town for the first time, sometimes it is difficult to see where social boundaries are drawn in terms of neighborhood at least. But to me it was very clear Williamsport — located a mile away, across the river — is the upscale sister city to South Williamsport
In order to manage our expectations, the agent gave us a sad piece of news. The owner had long since removed the grand center staircase and had converted the place into 4 apartments. I had not liked the location particularly and viewing the graffiti laden sidewalk (”Southie sucks!”) cast a certain question mark on the place, but in a sense, any optimism I had about the place dissipated the moment I heard about the staircase. LL, however remained positive and so we toured the property.
To be positive, it is a grand old place, with a certain charm still remaining. The yard itself is magnificent, tree-lined and private, hosting a 5 bay garage and greenhouse off the alley — the alley being a small access road at the rear of the property and frequently found in PA. (Side note: I was indeed charmed by one fact in South Williamsport, and that is the number of alleys named after birds. Parrot, parakeet, bluebird, raven sparrow, teal, pheasant, heron, and so on.)
The house has a traditional old porch that is very appealing. In a way, I felt the outside of the house to be far more enticing than the interior. The downstairs apartment was really the remains of what once must have been a gorgeous home. Now, was wall to wall carpeting installed everywhere, a 1970s kitchen with Harvest Gold appliances, updated bathroom (with avocado green tub, etc.) ; inappropriately tiled hallway, and a dining room staged for viewing with place settings and china. I just couldn’t connect to the place emotionally.
In the attic (and the basement, which I didn’t even bother to look at) were the components of the original grand stairway, so I suppose given time and money, one could have returned the home to original magnificence. But given the asking price ($369,000), I just didn’t see it as an option. Plus, for our intended use as a bed and breakfast other “must haves” on my list were lacking: no place to walk to, situated in an uninteresting neighborhood and ultimately questionable tourist draw to the city.
LL, however, had the entire tour, and though he remained enthusiastic also realized it wasn’t a place that would ultimately work for us.
For me the saddest part of this tour and home was the loss of another wonderful building through modification suited to modern use. Oh well.
Listing for this house is here. Flickr set of images here.
Topics: B&B Potential, Pennsylvania, Property Search, Property Viewing, real estate | 2 Comments »
Millionaires Row, Williamsport
By Polychrome | November 23, 2007
The broker had told us the evening before, by telephone, about a house for sale on West 4th Street in Williamsport, with street sign also showing the name “Millionaires Row.” The house is on the right in the above image.
The house had been built around 1850 and had later been acquired by the Catholic Church where it served as rectory for a long time. The Diocese was now selling the building, and at something like 6,800 SF in this particular neighborhood, it seemed a good deal at the $250,000 asking price.
The broker told us it was zoned appropriately for a B&B and would probably do well as the city didn’t have many B & Bs. Located in a historic district across the street from a museum as well as a Catholic church, the situation would probably be good. The broker mentioned B&B use would require a sprinkler system and that estimates for this installation had come in somewhere at the $50,000 range. Still, $300,000 is not bad if all other considerations were positive.
The house itself, we were told, was comprised of the downstairs office area: front and second parlors (pocket doors removed and replaced), an impressive entry, huge dining room, kitchen, huge pantry, office, waiting room and another room currently serving as an office area. In the rear of the house, an addition had been added with a downstairs room (serving currently as an office “catch-all”) with a stairway leading up to a private four room apartment where at some point past had lived a housekeeper. The second and third floors each offered two three-room suites with private bathrooms and had served as the residences of priests. There was no garage, and a wood frame building that had once been the carriage house for this building had long since been sold and was now the local Women’s Club. The lot itself was about a half and acre, well manicured, plenty of parking.
The first floor was quite impressive. We were told under the guidance of a Victorian specialist it had been renovated with new carpeting, wallpaper and paint. Pretty ceiling medallions and large rooms, though I found it unforgivable that the pocket doors had been removed in order to create a more “permanent” separation between the two parlors. Still, lots of potential, though not perfect.
The second floor needed work, but wasn’t too bad either. Pastel tiled bathrooms from the 40s-50s, but one could promote that look with some ease to hold out from initial spending on renovation. However on the stairs to the third floor the paneling began, I am guessing 1960s era. Some in “natural” finish, other areas painted over. The third floor also had some drop ceilings. There was clearly some water damage evident from a leaking roof, and though only in a couple minor spots, it was current as it was lightly raining the day we viewed the place.
We were really tempted to make an on the spot offer on this one. Given the $250k asking and $50k sprinkler system, it would still be (relatively) doable in terms of the B&B goal. Plus the housekeeper’s apartment would provide a separate innkeeper’s retreat.
However, I think it was the upper floors that changed our mind. Assuming the paneling was placed over plaster on lath, I was concerned the removal and refinishing would take us well out of our budget, not to mention the ceilings and furnishing the place.
Still, I do think this place — assuming you have the money — is a great deal. Given the site location, historic preservation district, supportive community, I am confident in saying if anyone takes this place on with the goal of creating a bed and breakfast, without a doubt will be successful.
One last mention is Williamsport, though in many ways as depressed a city as any that once relied on a specific industry is to be credited for aggressively working toward reinventing itself. There are new businesses everywhere, the city proper does not look run down and we were told by the realtor there are many new arts-initiated grants they expect to acquire. Williamsport has, we were told, has a lot of former New Yorkers in residence.
Just driving around, I do think it is a city I could live in.
More Images in my Flickr set.
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Williamsport, PA
By Polychrome | November 20, 2007
Again, Historic Properties provided some incentive to investigate Williamsport, PA.
We found two properties of interest, one in South Williamsport and the second in Williamsport, each being a different town located near the Susquehanna River in north-central PA. We were suspicious as the prices for what appeared to be two magnificent homes were quite low, and there wasn’t a lot to learn about the viability of the area. Other than the Little League Museum, there is little in South Williamsport. Apparently at one point the region was known for lumber production.
In our geographic explorations, it has been interesting to note how many cities and towns flourished during the industrial revolution — we had realtors from at least two towns tell us their town had more millionaires than any other town during a certain era.
Still, being budget driven, off we went to Williamsport to have a look around. Having driven to some other places during the day, by the time we arrived in Williamsport it was dusk and we hurried to at least have a quick drive by before checking into our motel.
LL loved this Queen Anne Victorian in South Williamsport. At $369k it certainly seemed to offer some potential. Driving by, we liked the look of the place decided to call the realtor to arrange a viewing.
The place I loved was an amazing mansion in Williamsport — the listing is no longer active, so perhaps it has sold. We drove by and discovered it to be situated in a huge neighborhood filled with large impressive homes, not unlike Victorian Flatbush here in Brooklyn. Another property added to the viewing list, though I felt it would be a historic district and inappropriate zoning for a B&B. At $460k, it was really magnificent.
Heading to a motel, I called the broker from the car in the hope of arranging a tour, knowing a less than 24 hour advance warning would not be optimum. The realtor did need more time to set up viewings and I learned during the phone conversation that what we had dubbed as “my house” — the Williamsport mansion — was indeed in a residential zoned preservation district and would not work for a B&B. No surprise, and we decided not to waste our time (nor the broker’s) by a viewing. The South Williamsport house was in an appropriately zoned area, and so we arranged to see it two days later. The realtor also mentioned a third property we were unaware of, located in Williamsport on “Millionaires Row” and at an asking price of $250k for a 6,000+ SF brick mansion we signed on for a tour immediately.
Later that night, we drove by the brick mansion and became quite exited by the building and the neighborhood.
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Seneca Falls B&B
By Polychrome | November 13, 2007
Barrister’s Bed and Breakfast was on our list of properties to investigate at a recent journey to the Finger Lakes region of New York. LL, who is originally from that area, felt Seneca Falls would certainly offer some tourist momentum with the wineries in the region. It was located in what appeared to be (from Google Earth views) an area with many historic homes and walking distance to retail and restaurants, though also located on a busy street. Seneca Falls holds the distinction of hosting the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 and there is a Women’s Rights National Historic Park and Museum. So in this case the location seemed right also.
The price seemed agreeable also. With an asking price of $449,000 for a turnkey operation, though a modest size (four guest rooms) it had a functional lot size with parking and garage size, nice outdoor space for guests, and looked to be a charming building.
Prior to our departure to look at some properties in the Finger Lakes, I e-mailed the listing agent and heard no response for a number of days. We booked a room at Barrister’s, we were that interested in the place. A couple of days later we finally heard from the agent when he responded to a voice message I had left. Barrister’s, he told us, was already in contract. It was disappointing, especially because all links pointing to the listing had nothing to indicate the place was in contract and I had to mention this to the agent who didn’t apologize for it. Oh well.
In the phone call, the agent pushed two points:
- He would send me a form / questionnaire to complete re B&B interest & purchase and we could speak at another time.
- Had I ever taken an “Aspiring Innkeeper” course?
The questionnaire was what one might expect in terms of personal info, finances, locations of interest and type of property. However there were a number of questions regarding available capital for property improvements, commercial loans, and experience in both the hospitality industry in general and more specifically B & Bs. Valid enough questions, yet somehow it seemed negative to me and it may have been at this exact point in time when I decided a turnkey operation no longer appealed to me.
In terms of the Aspiring Innkeeper course there are lots of options out there, all fairly pricey — Including a “Bootcamp” offering a three-day apprenticeship program where you have an opportunity to work & participate in a B&B for $1050 (3 days, 2 nights) –prerequisite is completion of the aspiring innkeeper seminar.
Perhaps I am being a little cocky here. I know there will be a lot to embrace, learn and much to do in both preparation and in the day-to-day management to take this from concept to reality, but we are ready for it. We are looking for 3-4 guest rooms at most, not a huge inn. We want it to work with our lifestyle in addition to accommodating guests. There is something about standardizing yet another business that somehow, to me, defeats the idea of differences among B&Bs.
Back to Barrister’s. When the listing agent told me it was in contract, we canceled our reservation. But as there were other properties of interest in the town to see, curiosity mandated we drive by to have a look. Very cute place.
Topics: B&B, Driveby Viewing, New York, Property Search, Turnkey | 3 Comments »
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