I NTUITION said the price would drop again. The couple
clung to their dream and after negotiations with the sellers,
BEFORE amid a competitive counteroffer from another prospective
buyer, the purchase was completed in 2018 and the first
phase of renovation began.
“The house at 529 Wayne was a home full of timeless charm,”
Ben Szafran the home’s listing broker says. “What made it diffi-cult
to sell was what many viewed as a closed off kitchen and no
real designated master bedroom.”
Undeterred, the features they valued most included the
mid-century modern era in which the house was built, architec-tural
details found in decorative pediments, and window details
from the front entry all the way to the uppermost story crowned
with dormered windows.
Marrying June 2019 that year in their new backyard, Saintard
Valiente, a fitness trainer by profession, carried his bride across the
threshold and they began the finishing touches to their home.
From left, Danielle, holding Clarke, Cruz and Jean-Pierre Saintard
Valiente relish the privacy of their hidden gem — a park-like lawn
— and welcome Mother Nature into their indoor spaces. When
they closed on the home, a bundle of door and window keys along
with a host of houseplants conveyed with the property.
Owned by one family for 30 years, this Colonial Revival
house was listed for sale and remained on the market for
three and one-half years before it was purchased by the
Saintard Valientes.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BEN SZAFRAN
50
WBM may 2020