Manhasset vintage home lists for $1,325,000
The 1730 home was recently renovated and expanded. Credit: Vincent Bilms
Vincent and Anne Bilms had been searching for a new home with an easy commute to New York City when Vincent hit the jackpot on a solo recon mission back in 1994.
"Anne loved New England-style homes and this Cape was perfect," Vincent Bilms recalled. "The minute we stepped inside I told the real estate agent we had to get my wife here right away. Later that day, we bought the property."
The five-bedroom, 3½-bathroom house, on Circle Drive in Manhasset, is on the market for $1,325,000.
The inside features "mostly original construction including wide-plank, hand-cut oak floors...," the owner said. Credit: Vincent Bilms
Beautiful "barn red" with white trim, this "country home" resides in tranquil Plandome Manor, complete with several shades of rhododendrons and a Belgium block driveway. It’s just one block from a quiet Long Island Rail Road station and a 30-minute ride from Manhattan.
"Our home was built in 1730 in Massachusetts," explained Vincent Bilms, a retired banker. "It was shipped by barge to Manhasset Bay in 1920 by a builder who bought it for his wife. It’s had only a few owners, all of whom seem to have been good shepherds."
The inside features "mostly original construction including wide-plank, hand-cut oak floors, built-in cabinetry, original windows, living room overhead beams, and three fireplaces — one with a bread oven," Bilms said. "It really has tremendous charm."
The house was shipped by barge to Manhasset Bay in 1920. Credit: Vincent Bilms
As far as the Bilmses know, the exterior was always painted red, and they continued the tradition.
"We wanted that New England appeal, which we found with a Benjamin Moore standard called Country Redwood," explained Anne. "It cost about $10,000 to repaint the exterior, the price a little higher than it might have been since the original windows have a muntin pattern that took extra time to finish perfectly."
The house, for sale by the owner, sits on a 0.47-acre lot in the Port Washington School Ditrict and has $24,225 in annual taxes.
