Buyers shopping for a house in the Hamptons often eye garages, pool houses, attics, basements and the like with an eye toward finishing them for guests. They know that after they close, they will be deluged with requests from friends and relatives who want to visit—typically on the weekend of July 4th.
While it is sometimes possible to create sleeping quarters in a basement, conversion of attics into living space and the construction of guest cottages have been illegal for decades. What then to do with all the guests, especially those best held at arm’s length?
Today there are only two solutions: either purchase a house with a preexisting guest cottage or purchase a compound—two or more adjoining properties, each entitled to its own home under zoning.
This unusual purchase is a lovely compound. All three properties are located on Prospect Avenue in Sag Harbor, which runs down to Bay Street along the water, between Havens Beach and the wharf. Together, the properties total almost 1.3 acres, with a main house, guest house, pool house and garage.
The main house was built around 1840 and the guest house was built around 1900. Both have been totally renovated and updated in an understated, soothing style, with clean and modern details. Together these homes total around 8,000 square feet, with 10 bedrooms and 6½ baths.
The pool house is equally captivating. It’s a lovely structure that resembles a carriage house and has a large porch overlooking the pool, which is free-form gunite with natural stone rock walls. The rock wall theme is carried throughout the entire property, which has been professionally landscaped with stone walkways, patios, sunken gardens and specimen trees.
This purchase ticks lots of boxes that tend to add value. It is close to a village center, and to the water. It is private, and unique. It has historic character, but has been renovated to current standards. Most important, it consists of three properties, two of which have homes.
The total purchase price for these properties together was $4,900,000, very close to the full asking price. It was an almost instant sale, with the consideration divided among the lots for tax purposes.
When buyers have the opportunity and the means to purchase adjoining properties, they should always strongly consider it. Many do, and a surprising number of properties are sold among neighbors in the Hamptons. In a world without the ability to build new guest cottages, purchasing multiple adjoining properties often adds up to more than the sum of their individual parts.
27east on Feb 27, 2012