580 Prospect Street

580 is listed as owned by "JTC Enterprises LLC" but that could be outdated as the town is not the greatest at updating their records.  Northfield is listed as owning 4 properties in Maplewood, presently.

Agree about the shoddiness of updates of most flips.  I've seen a lot of flips for sale around town recently and it's amazing the poor quality of workmanship, attention to detail and fixtures chosen (e.g. metallic-looking plastic faucet and shower fixtures, mdf-cabinets and vanities, etc).  I haven't seen 580 Prospect but I would hope for a home like that, the flipper would have erred on the side of quality over cost.

The other 3 Northfield homes appear to be rental properties.  I imagine his flips are under some LLC.

lanky said:
I haven't seen 580 Prospect but I would hope for a home like that, the flipper would have erred on the side of quality over cost.

I thought the renovations at 580 Prospect looked amazing and very high quality. The kitchen had brand new Viking appliances. 

Viking is not particularly high quality but has great brand recognition.

For the price, I'd like a Aga and SMEG appliances.

max_weisenfeld said:
Viking is not particularly high quality but has great brand recognition.

Haha. Okay. I'm obviously an ignoramus! ;-) I thought Viking was the top of the top! 

Northfield states its the first time the house has been on the market in 120 years.  I think that means he purchased the house last July for $600k from the Crandall family before it was ever listed publicly on MLS.  That is probably why the sale does not show up on Zillow, on which sales listings and purchases are updated by the real estate agents.  

What an awful renovation to such a beautiful house!  And to be to be clear, it was a renovation and not a restore to its former glory! The stain glass window leading up to the second floor was held up by scotch tape, the basement layout was terrible as was the plastic shower trays. For 1.3M, I expected a little bit more.  There isn't really a master bedroom.  The moldings were all painted over instead of stripped and stained.  Oy, I could go on....

Woodwork that's been painted is really hard to strip and stain. Believe me I have tried, in an 80 year old house and a 100 year old house. The paint seeps into the grain of the wood. You'd have to scrape and sand for hours to get down to wood that could be stained.

The stain on top of the old paint that's deep in the wood fibers looks terrible.

My young daughter's critique was that the tower room looked like an ordinary room. We wondered if the spire could have been made more apparent from the inside, or if there are structural constraints to that kind of thing.

mrincredible said:
They will get a new assessment based on the new sale price. The buyer could be in for a shock.

 I've been told by the town's Assistant Assessor that when a house is sold they are not permitted by law to increase the assessed value based on the new sale price.  Having said that though, this house's assessed value will increase based on the building permits pulled for the remodeling and updates.  The Assessor will inspect the property and determine a new assessed value.

Seems super shady and unethical - realtors have to disclose when they own the property they are selling - this is clearly a workaround for him and that seems ******.

maplewood2005 said:

mrincredible said:
They will get a new assessment based on the new sale price. The buyer could be in for a shock.

 I've been told by the town's Assistant Assessor that when a house is sold they are not permitted by law to increase the assessed value based on the new sale price.  Having said that though, this house's assessed value will increase based on the building permits pulled for the remodeling and updates.  The Assessor will inspect the property and determine a new assessed value.

 Ah, thanks for the clarification! I misunderstood the rules then.

This is interesting because I used to live on Plymouth Ave. It looks like he's done a lot of landscaping, because it was overgrown, if that's the right word. The kids called it a haunted house, probably because of all the growth.

mrincredible said:
Woodwork that's been painted is really hard to strip and stain. Believe me I have tried, in an 80 year old house and a 100 year old house. The paint seeps into the grain of the wood. You'd have to scrape and sand for hours to get down to wood that could be stained.
The stain on top of the old paint that's deep in the wood fibers looks terrible.

It takes effort but that paint in the grain can be removed. Chemical stripper and a brass brush.

Tom_Reingold said:
This is interesting because I used to live on Plymouth Ave. It looks like he's done a lot of landscaping, because it was overgrown, if that's the right word. The kids called it a haunted house, probably because of all the growth.

Much of it was cleared down to the dirt this Fall, and then we saw many rolls of sod being put down one weekend. 

I have a question about the addition of the very tall fence at the rear property line: did the fence require a permit? It doesn’t enclose anything. Is it a privacy fence?

mtierney said:
I have a question about the addition of the very tall fence at the rear property line: did the fence require a permit? It doesn’t enclose anything. Is it a privacy fence?

I wondered the same thing as the fence appears to be much higher than what is permitted in Maplewood except when certain conditions exist such as a pool, etc.  But it wouldn't be the first time Northfield put up an illegal fence.  About 10 years ago with his brother he flipped the victorian at the corner of Maplewood Ave and Durand Rd across from the train station.  They put up a very low fence around the perimeter of the property that was illegal as it didn't conform to the rules for corner properties.  Of course the new owners had to remove the fence.  

composerjohn said:

max_weisenfeld said:
Viking is not particularly high quality but has great brand recognition.

Haha. Okay. I'm obviously an ignoramus! ;-) I thought Viking was the top of the top! 

Viking stoves are certainly on the higher end of things. A 36” range is over $5K.  

Am not sure what the issue is. Some folks like Viking appliances, others don't. I think most people would agree that renovations invested in over time by a resident owner are going to be higher quality than a flipper. But the reality is that the previous family was not able (or did not want) to make those investments. Hopefully someone with $1.3M to spend is savvy enough to ask questions about the renovations and understands that some of the work may need to be redone sooner than someone may like. 

with all the interest in the house, there will most likely be multiple bids, with the probability it will sell for more than the asking price. That being said, I can’t believe perhaps less than the best appliances will past muster. Even GE makes products that last — or don’t! It is a crap shoot. Also if that rear lot fence is illegal, why would the buyer have to pay the cost? All variances, permits, etc have to be signed off before closing.

I knew the family who lived there - wonderful, busy and involved people and treasures for the community. Both medical doctors, active volunteers in every aspect of what distinguishes Maplewood as a special place to live, they would never be concerned about “keeping up with Joneses!” Didn’t have to — maiden name was Jones!  

They loved their home as it was! That is something to envy.

I could imagine the seller putting up an illegal fence knowingly because it might help sell the house.

I guess if anyone cared, a visit to the building department to see if a permit was pulled...

At one point during the flip there was also fence put up along Plymouth but it was taken down pretty quickly.

I wonder if they had permits to take down all the trees?

mammabear said:

composerjohn said:

max_weisenfeld said:
Viking is not particularly high quality but has great brand recognition.

Haha. Okay. I'm obviously an ignoramus! ;-) I thought Viking was the top of the top! 

Viking stoves are certainly on the higher end of things. A 36” range is over $5K.  

 Never said they were not expensive.