I held this one back a bit because I thought it might be a possibility for us, but in the end it’s really just too small to be practical for our family.

48 Litchfield Ave

• MLS# 2230603 – Zillow Page
• Ask $369,000
• 3 bedrooms – 1.5 bath
• Previous Sales: 04/13/2005 – $377,000
• Taxes: $6,335 – Village Taxes: $600.24

This is a charming little colonial, with a big emphasis on little. The owner was there and gave us the nickel tour, pointing out the work he’d done to the place over the last four years. He’s an electrician and when he mentioned that he had wired the entire place with CAT6 network cable, the computer geek in me was ready to buy the place on the spot.

Upstairs are three pretty small bedrooms and the the recently updated full bath. Downstairs is a small living room, a modest dining room and kitchen as well as the half bath. The kitchen has not been updated and while it’s not ancient, it certainly wants an upgrade.

The house sits on a somewhat busy corner. Like most corner lots, you lose a measure of useful yard, although the enire property is fenced in, which helps mitigate that some. The detached garage and driveway are actually located at the back of the yard and turned 90 degrees to face Cameron Ave. This setup allows a good deal more usable yard, but could be problematic for lugging groceries and such to and from the house.

The basement is small and cramped. Usable really only for the laundry area and storage.

31 Greenway S.

• MLS# 2163798 – Zillow Page
• Ask $399,000
• 3 bedrooms – 2.5 baths
• Taxes: $8,725 – Village Taxes: $888.18

This is another one of those “I liked it and Debra…not so much” houses. A quaint little cape on a corner lot in the Fred Shores area of Babylon, 31 Greenway is an odd house with some interesting features and a few drawbacks.

The layout is a little different than your usual cape. There are two bedrooms downstairs, while the upstairs is one large master bedroom. The space around the stairway is set up as a nice, sitting area, with chairs, book cases and a small writing desk. It was a little warm up there and I wonder how hot it gets on a really sunny, Summer day.

The dining and living rooms are nice enough, but the real issue is the kitchen. Again, we find the same crappy cabinets that our apartment has, but this time they’re accompanied by ugly, purple laminate counters and stuffed into a cramped, little galley kitchen. The kitchen really needs more than renovation, it requires a completed reconstruction and there really isn’t any space for it unless you blow out a wall or take over some of the dining room.

The garage has been turned into a studio apartment, again with the same crappy kitchen cabinets. The Realtor said that it’s legal, but I’m somewhat dubious. It’s actually a nice big space that would be quite usable as a family room/office/etc. except for the fact that the only way to get there from the main part of the house without going outside is to traverse a narrow, claustrophobic corridor that runs between the bathroom and one of the downstairs bedrooms. My shoulders are actually too wide to allow me to walk down this hallway straight. I had to turn my body sideways.

I liked the basement. It’s not finished, but it’s big open and dry and there’s a lot of potential there. The backyard is quite small and it’s almost all cement and gravel. Not much room there for running and playing.

The place does need some work, including a new roof, but it’s a unique and charming house. With some money and some creativity, it could really be something special.