Fixer Upper Friday: 2 BR + Office in Laburnum Court - $559k

This week's Fixer Upper find is a 2BR + office, located in Laburnum Court at 37-16 80th Street, #42 in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of NYC, asking $559k. The same classic 6-room layout in this co-op building just sold for $670k in February of last year, so there is at the very least $110k of instant equity on the line—likely more, as sales prices have been climbing this past year in this architecturally significant neighborhood. For a prospective buyer willing to tap into that instant equity and renovate a home exactly to their taste, it's certainly worth a look.

There are no interior photos attached to the current listing, which states upfront that this is a home in need of TLC—and that's shorthand for "fixer upper." From floor plans available on Streeteasy, we can find interior photos of identical homes, and they reveal original hardwood floors, working fireplace, formal living and dining rooms with high ceilings and the kind of detailed woodwork expected of the 1920s era.

We won't bother looking to the neighboring homes for clues on the condition of kitchen and bath. We can expect at this price that they are in "estate condition" and in need of a total gut renovation. But the master bedroom and second bedroom in this line are sizable.

And there is that third room, called a sun room, that can be used as a home office or nursery, depending on the purchaser's needs.

Laburnum Court was designed by architect George H. Wells—the same architect who designed The Towers, and there's a similarity in the building materials (look at those floors!) and in the graceful symmetry of the floor plan. The building is located within the Jackson Heights Historic District and listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. There is a private interior garden for the sole use of residents, a shared laundry room in the basement, and a live-in super. The co-op common charges at $880 a month are low compared to comparable size homes in the neighborhood.

I don't have insider info on this co-op to be able to speculate on the strength of its finances; that's something a prospective buyer will need to look into. As always when purchasing real estate, your due diligence is required. The co-op stipulates 20% down, but there is no board approval required for this sale. At this price, this home is definitely worth a closer look!