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Health & Fitness

Sunday Opens (3/2/14)

The weather forecast hints at a possible break in the rain this Sunday, which some of us might take as a sign that it is time to get out there and do some house-hunting.

As always, to plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens.

East MB

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16 Dover Place (3br/3ba, 2050 sq. ft.) might be our favorite remodel of a Manhattan Village townhome. We don't get to the Village all that often and haven't seen all the inventory, but among all those that we have visited, this one has the most pleasant, beachy, soothing style.

What a difference a good eye for design and decor can make.

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The floorplan is familiar, with a (sunken) formal living room, open/alley kitchen family room and master all on the first floor, then 2br up. In the landing area at the top of the stairs they've built in desks.

This is definitely one to see if you're considering the Village. One comp would be the "highly remodeled" 25 Sausalito Circle, same floorplan and a super-custom remodel with – among other features – glowing stone, which sold in November last year for $1.525M. By our research, that sale appears to have shattered the record price for similar Village townhomes by more than $100K.

25 Sausalito also had the big advantage of a back patio that opened to the golf course. Meantime, Dover's patio backs up to hedges and the entry road for the Village.

16 Dover Place starts at $1.479M, just short of that record price at Sausalito, and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

1466 23rd (4br/4ba, 4100 sq. ft.) is a big early-90s home with updates.

There's a very spacious living room off the entry with high ceilings and nice custom stone work on the fireplace. The big family room in back is much the same – high ceilings, custom fireplace. A formal dining area, curiously, can be closed off behind glass.

The kitchen is open, updated from its 1990s original and has a breakfast nook in back with windows to the backyard.

The backyard features a pool up in a raised area and behind gates. (Worth noting: The gates secure the pool but a spa on the lower level, right off the family room, is not secured.)

The layout features a 1br suite on the lower level and 3br upstairs. The kids' rooms are down at one end of the long hallway and the master at the other.

1466 23rd starts at $2.095M and is open Sun. 2-4pm.

1345 Voorhees (3br/2ba, 1750 sq. ft.) is a pretty dated, but notably expanded version of a 50s original.

The standard-issue version of these cottages near Pennekamp elementary features a very small front living room as the only common space and one small, shared bath for all 3br. Not so here. They've pushed way back to add fairly big living and dining rooms, an expanded kitchen and a true master suite. Everything but the kitchen and baths is carpeted.

There's really no yard. The additions pushed back into what would have been the backyard, leaving only a small, paved patio area.

So the whole place could really use a major refresher, but it starts at a place that's bigger and better than the typical original.

Speaking of the typical original, 1321 Voorhees was one example, just 3br/1ba and 1050 sq. ft., and it sold in October last year for $1.055M. It has since been scraped, and the lot was even dug out further back into the hillside to expand the usable area. Meantime, 1316 Curtis (3br/2ba, 1570 sq. ft.), an expanded version of this type of home on the next block over, sold in December for $1.250M.

1345 Voorhees starts at $1.199M and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

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