Turning a CORNER
Scott Morris, 46, a civil engineer, is looking forward
to spending summer nights sipping lemonade and watching the stars with his
family from the wraparound porch of the Sea Cliff Victorian he and his wife,
Geila, 37, bought last month.
He said the porch was one of the biggest selling points of the $900,000
home.
The couple and two of their three children still living at home had been
renting a house nearby and fell in the love with the look and feel of the
129-year-old, 3,000-square-foot house, which has four bedrooms and 2 1/2
bathrooms.
"This old home and its wraparound porch bring us back to a bygone era when
people sat out front and said hi to their neighbors," says Morris, who works at
Arcadis Inc. in New Hyde Park. "I really like that feeling of community, as
well as the extra outdoor space that the porch will give us."
And since it is unusual to find a home with a complete, 360-degree porch,
Morris says he feels the house will have great resale value "whenever we do put
it on the market down the road."
Wraparound value
At a time when people are looking for the most house for their money,
having a wraparound porch can add value, beauty and a certain sense of charm to
a residence, say real estate agents, builders and architects, as well as
buyers and sellers. More and more homes being designed by custom builders
either have wraparound porches, or homeowners are adding them after they
purchase their house.
In 2005, the latest information available, more than half of new
single-family homes were built with porches, according to the National
Association of Home Builders. Most wraparound porches built these days tend to
curve around two sides of a home.
"Wraparound porches are especially valuable to families," says Craig
Axelrod, partner in Emmy Building Co. in Smithtown. "Parents can sit on the
porch and watch their kids play safely in the neighborhood."
About one-quarter of Emmy's 60 homes that are built each year in Nassau and
Suffolk counties have wraparound porches, which can add $10,000 to $25,000 to
the sale price, he says. Five years ago, about 20 percent of the builder's
homes had these porches.
Client Joseph Steimel, 42, says he loves his three-sided wraparound porch
so much that he wishes it were even bigger.
When Emmy built his house in Shoreham in November 2004, Steimel paid an
extra $12,500 as part of the $512,000 price to have the porch. Today, Steimel,
the principal at Eastport South Manor Junior-Senior High School, his wife, Lee,
38, a homemaker, and their six children spend countless hours together on
their porch.
"With six children, they have a place to play outside even when the weather
is rainy and we can still watch them and be together as a family," says
Steimel, whose five-bedroom, modern Colonial sits on three-fourths of an acre.
Those who work at home on a full- or part-time basis often use their
wraparound porch as an extension of their office space - while staying out of
the sun and the rain and taking in the fresh air. And some of those homeowners
are enhancing them with extras such as radiant heat, fireplaces, outlets for
laptops and telephones, and mini-refrigerators, says Manhattan architect Evan
Galen, who has designed homes on Long Island.
Adding a wraparound porch also is one of the more economical ways to
increase the square footage, Galen says. For instance, he recently completed a
450-square-foot porch on Long Island that cost $50,000.
"You can get the most bang for your buck at a fraction of the cost of
adding rooms inside the home, and you can completely change the look of the
house with a really nice wraparound porch," Galen says.
Wraparound porches can also give a house more curb appeal and "presence,"
which is important at the time of a sale, says Diane Saatchi, senior vice
president with The Corcoran Group in East Hampton. She estimates that a
wraparound porch can increase a home's value by 10 percent to 15 percent.
"Consumers often make a home-buying decision between getting out of the car
and going into the house," she says. "That big wraparound porch gives them a
nicer impression and feeling about the home."
A good investment
Annette Jaffe, 45, says she felt that adding a two-sided wraparound porch
could increase the value of the historic Sands Point house she is selling.
Jaffe, president of MSM Property Development LLC, a real estate firm in
Port Washington, bought the 6,000-square-foot home in August 2005 as an
investment. She has renovated the 1894 house - including adding a 60-foot-long,
mahogany porch last year that cost between $60,000 and $75,000.
The porch features crown moldings, a cable outlet, a stereo system and
lighting. She is selling the home for $3.95 million.
"I think porches like these help ground people in family life and get them
back in touch with the slower pace of life that is often missing thee days,"
Jaffe says.
Also, porches allow new homeowners to get a better sense of who their
neighbors are and gives them a greater feeling of community. "You can sit on
your front porch, wave to your neighbors and get to know those around you a lot
faster than if you just spend time in the backyard," Saatchi adds.
Special touches
Special features some homeowners are adding to their wraparound porch which,
architect Evan Galen says, help
add value to a porch when you are selling a house:
Electrical outlets
Radiant heat
Fireplaces
Cable hookups
Stereo
systems
Television and DVD
hookups
Lighting
Ceiling fans
Dinette sets for meals
Mini-
refrigerators
- LAURA KOSS-FEDER
Pretty porches, all in a row
Six houses currently on the Long Island market that use a wraparound porch as a
selling point:
This 1918 Whaley Street Victorian in Freeport also includes pocket doors and
period woodwork. The asking price is $475,000. Listed with Clark Realty Corp.
of New York, Freeport, 516-546-1194.
Listed for $510,000, this 1930 Smithtown Victorian on Willow Street has
hardwood floors and decorative moldings. Listed with Coldwell Banker
Residential Real Estate, Smithtown, 631-863-9800.
This two-family Victorian on Kellogg Street in Oyster Bay was built in 1906.
The asking price is $1,349,000. Listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real
Estate, East Norwich, 516-624-9000.
This Victorian on Mallard Drive in Center Moriches, which is in contract, was
built in 2000. The asking price is $459,000. Listed with Mill River Realty
Inc., East Moriches, 631-874-9146.
This Revillo Road Colonial in Bayville was built in 1930. The sellers are
asking $799,000. Listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Locust
Valley, 516-759-0400.
Built in 2003, this Victorian on Ferndale Avenue in Selden is on the market
for $539,000. Listed with Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Ronkonkoma,
631-585-8500.
