Hot House: 27 Blythewood Road, Baltimore, 21210
Brick colonial style house, circa 1950, with slate roof and aluminum-sided addition in fair condition. Four bedrooms, 2.5 baths over 2,874 sq. ft. Eat-in kitchen, 2 fireplaces, sun porch overlooking landscaped yard. Central a/c, two car garage on 1.76 acre lot: Zillow Foreclosure Estimate $971,304 ($476,000 on Trulia)
What: A long goodbye. When Tom Frazier was Police Commissioner for Baltimore City, (1994-1999) he did a lot of things right. He was an active force for community policing, and an active opponent of zero tolerance in a town as racially divided as Baltimore. At police headquarters, he once asked to have a photo mural removed because it didn’t reflect the diversity of the city.
In real estate, he tried to do the right thing, too, by taking the classic advice to home buyers to look for “the worst house on the best street.” Blythewood Road is arguably the best street in Baltimore, and number 27 is inarguably the worst house – although it’s a pretty high standard over there. Anyway, for some reason, it never sold when Tom Frazier left Baltimore to join the Clinton Administration. It’s been empty a long time, and it shows. An aluminum sided addition has not worn well. The back deck is falling apart, screens are off and gutters are sagging. A real estate agent recently dismissed it as a teardown. Still, it’s nearly two acres on Blythewood Road, the inside’s not soooo bad, and the 1.7-acre lot is lovely and green, backing onto the Stony Run trail. So why no takers in 22 years? If you know, let us know.
Where: Blythewood connects Wyndhurst Avenue in Roland Park to Charles Street via a winding road lined on either side with expensive and beautiful homes. Many years ago, the Blythewood Association successfully lobbied to prevent turns from Charles Street into Blythewood Road during rush hours, which has helped to keep it from becoming a cut-through. It’s a very convenient location for trips to private school, downtown commutes, and naturally, Eddie’s.
Why: The property is big enough and well-sited enough to support a much grander house.
Why Not: Needs work. Plus, it’s way “off trend” in terms of what home buyers are looking for, according to Forbes.
Would Suit: Buyer with an eye on the prize location.
NB: It is possible, for a price, to roll back the number of Zillow days your house has been on the market, or to maintain it at a certain number of days.
Blythewood…the street of a notorious sex offender – buyer beware
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