Five-Figure Friday: A Former Boarding House Near Hunter for $99K

  |  February 24, 2023

This Five-Figure Friday pick is hauntingly beautiful, in our humble opinion.

It’s a former boarding house in Lanesville, just south of Hunter and northeast of Phoenicia. Built in 1900, it’s got nine bedrooms and just 1.5 baths within 2,496 square feet. But like most five-figure picks, it’s got its share of issues.

It was run as the Vienna Inn for a while, and the vintage furniture that still exists here tells a tale of a happier time. This living room looks like it has some sort of inlaid tile on the floor, under that grimy carpet.

To be honest, it’s kind of a damn shame that this old gem was allowed to get into this condition.

The walls and ceiling are peeling, and that once-grand floral carpeting is due for a rehab/removal.

Those windows, though, are tremendous.

The kitchen needs a gut renovation, but there are vintage jewels in here worth preserving.

This classic stove, for one: We think it was once a wood-burning cook stove that’s been revamped (maybe?) to another fuel source.

This double farmhouse sink, too, is a classic beauty. Those hand-hewn cabinets with a stapled-contact-paper counter were sturdily made but may be past their prime.

Yup, the place needs a lotta work. But the stairs are solid, and the banister is whole.

This must have been a show-stopping room at one time, but it’s definitely a mess now. Check out that woodstove; the giant windows; that door leading outside; and that (now wrecked) vintage wallpaper.

In this room, the condition of the floor reveals a lot of water damage from the hole in the ceiling above.

But this room seems to be in better shape, with a fuzzy red carpet and light blue walls—even curtains still hanging in the window.

This house is a mystery, for sure, with some rooms a ruin and others, like this one, almost livable.

The bathroom has aqua tiling and super-vintage fixtures, including a footed tub and a wall-hung porcelain sink.

And then there’s this room. Still, having nine bedrooms to fix up allows the new owner to consider making bathrooms out of some of them, if plumbing isn’t too huge a problem.

There’s a back porch in not-so-great condition.

The house definitely needs some loving care.

And a tarp or two.

The foundation itself isn’t stable—which is a super-pricey fix.

But oh my gosh—its 1.1-acre property backs right up to this lovely creek and Edgewood Falls.

This little art installation is either foreshadowing a new life for this worthy abode…or it’s kind of eerie.

If this house holds a lot of promise for you (and you’re willing to get your hands really dirty), bring cash only and check out 2545 Route 214, Lanesville, with Alexa Kwiatkowski of Greene Acres Real Estate Man.

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