This intriguing property is located in a little-known community in the Shinnecock Hills, rarely visited by outsiders.
Travelling east along County Road 39, before arriving at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, one glimpses water to the north and most people assume they are looking at the bay. This is not always the case, as there is a rather large body of water, Cold Spring Pond, along the edge of the Shinnecock and Sebonac golf courses, just north of the highway, which empties out into Peconic Bay.
There is a small peninsula—a sandbar really—sitting between the pond and bay. It was uninhabited until the 1950s, when developers from Manhattan built a private road along it and began carving it into building lots. Today, there is a thriving private community along this sand spit, the Cold Spring Point Association, with perhaps 50 houses, as well as a community tennis court and pool built in a central location.
This property is an attractive cottage, boasting more than 2,200 square feet and four bedrooms, surrounding an open plan living/kitchen/dining room with fireplace, all shoehorned onto a tiny .2-acre lot. The lot is near the entrance to the community, which means that virtually all of the few cars that enter into the community pass by it. It fronts on the pond, to the south, rather than the bay, to the north, offering summer sun and some protection from the frigid northerly winds that race across the bay during the winter.
This property also includes a walkway across the marsh to the pond, for kayaking and fishing. Access to the bay for swimming, clamming and boating is assured via access available to all community owners.
This cottage was completely renovated a few years ago, with an eye toward weatherproofing, including plastic-coated windows and trim, and hardwood decking. The seller paid $230,000 for this property 14 years ago in 1998.
It is always difficult to estimate renovation costs, as they vary widely, but it is unlikely that a gut renovation of this small house, even with new deck, roof and siding, cost more than about $300 per square foot—or $660,000. If that is the case, then the owner’s basis was likely around $900,000. This sale then represents a tidy financial profit, on top of many years of enjoyment in this special beach community.
27east on Mar 15, 2012