Bigger than a shoebox, but not much

From the March issue: In 1989, when Heather Baley and her then-husband, Bill Lehre, pulled up in front of their prospective new home at 658 Vanderbilt Street, the first thing they did was double over with laughter. Sitting before them, nestled between multi-story homes, was a one-story, 17-foot-wide bungalow built in the 1800s. “When the broker showed it to us, we got out of the car, sat down across the street and started laughing,” said Baley. “We laughed and laughed.” The home had been on the market for $200,000 some time before, but it languished. When there were no takers, the agent, who had purchased it from the prior owner, put a renter inside and waited. Then, in 1989, the agent put it back on the market, this time at a $50,000 discount. At $150,000, it fit right in Baley’s budget; even better, it had the backyard she wanted.