C
rissy Spivey bought a large one‑bedroom co‑op in Brooklyn’s Ditmas Park in 2018. Before closing she met John Richie, a recent New Orleans transplant, who soon moved in. The couple welcomed a daughter in 2019 and turned the unit into a two‑bedroom with a small office. Winters brought her mother, Annie, from Syracuse, swelling the household to four or five people. The cramped layout, lack of a stoop, and unsafe fire escape made them yearn for more room, a second bathroom, and a bit of outdoor space.

    They set a $900,000 ceiling and aimed to stay near Ditmas Park, the Q train, and their daughter’s school. Victorian homes were out of reach, so they focused on fixer‑ups that could be renovated. Agent Rachel Skumanich of Compass described many listings as “time capsules.” Spivey handled online searches while Richie walked the streets, hunting for “for‑sale” signs. Off‑street parking became a priority after the pandemic, when they bought a car to travel to Syracuse and New Orleans; now it ferries their daughter to swim and dance lessons, a task difficult by public transit.

    Staging the apartment for sale added stress, as they had to strip it of personal touches. Their search yielded three main options:

    1. A 1920 detached Victorian, 2,500 sq ft, three stories, five bedrooms, one‑and‑a‑half bathrooms, a primary suite with a dressing room, and an eat‑in kitchen that opens onto a small porch. The property includes a two‑car garage, driveway, and partially paved yard. It sits near the No. 2 and No. 5 trains at Flatbush Avenue‑Brooklyn College. Listed at $875,000, annual taxes approach $8,000.

    2. A 1935 attached rowhouse, 2,000 sq ft, three bedrooms, two‑and‑a‑half bathrooms, and a finished basement with its own entrance. The ground‑floor kitchen and living area feature a fireplace. An enclosed porch fronts the house, and a partially paved yard backs it. There’s no driveway; the home sits on a quiet dead‑end street, two blocks from the Avenue H Q‑train stop. Price is $899,000, with taxes around $6,000.

    3. A 1930 brick house, four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, two stories, about 2,000 sq ft. It has an enclosed front porch, a large kitchen, a finished basement, and a small patio and yard at the rear. The house is attached on one side to a corner neighbor and shares a narrow driveway with the other side. Near the No. 2 and No. 5 trains at Beverly Road station, it sits on a two‑way street adjacent to a car wash and gas station. Listed at $875,000, taxes are roughly $6,000.