Skimhampton Road Property in East Hampton More Than Doubles in Value After Renovation

Following a top-to-bottom renovation, 81 Skimhampton Road in East Hampton has sold for $5 million — a price that’s more than double what the property traded for in 2020.

“It really is like a piece of art. It’s so timeless,” said Erin Hand, the Douglas Elliman agent who was involved in both the 2020 sale and the most recent sale, which closed in March.

In 2020, Hand brought the buyer, who was an investor looking for a property to flip. The deal closed just as the COVID pandemic hit New York State and uncertainty reigned.

“No one really knew what was going on, if we were going to hit a jackpot market or if everything was going to crash and burn,” Hand recalled.

She said she had her eye on 81 Skimhampton Road for some time because it has been on the market for a while and has “seasoned itself.” She said she knew it would be a good buy for someone willing to go through the motions to resolve issues with the certificate of occupancy and other details.

“It was a very eccentric home and has a lot of quirky elements to it and a lot of walls up everywhere,” she said.

It also had a lot going for it: a grandfathered-in home on a 1.2-acre fully clearable lot. The investor paid $2.13 million for the purchase, and then the renovations began.

Hand described the home as more euroclassical than the traditional cedar shingle, giving it a look she believes will never become dated. It is 8,000 square feet and less than a mile to the ocean, she noted.

Though the house sold for an even $5 million, the investor also received some additional money because an earlier potential buyer had signed a contract with no contingencies and then had to pull out of the deal, according to Hand.

Hand relisted the property with the latest owner as a rental and quickly secured an August tenant. She gave a lot of the credit to the staging that was done.

“This house looks incredible right now with the staging,” she said. “We just rented it for $150,000 in a horrible rental market, within two weeks of listing it.”

According to Suffolk Vision Inc., the new owner is I Live I Die I Live Again LLC.