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.