Pending on Sumner Road

49 Sumner Road, last asking $1.399 million, reported as pending. The listing notes that any sale is “subject to third party (that would be the foreclosing party) approval, but the fact that it’s “pending”, rather than under a contingent contract should mean that that approval has been granted.

I find these cases very sad — a displaced family, a loss, and economic trouble are nothing to gloat over. But that’s always the danger with mortgages. My own father was born in 1905 and lived through the depression, and never took out a loan. Of course, that meant he sold his brownstone on W. 11 Street for $50,000 in 1954 when he pulled up roots and moved us to Riverside. I believe that brownstone last traded for $20 million a decade or so ago. Sometimes, leverage can be your friend.

In any case, this house is going. It needs a lot of work to bring it up to date, and Sumner Road is too far north for my and the general market’s taste, but if the new owner is getting it for a discount for the $1.399, it could make sense.