We Buy Houses in Randall Manor & Livingston, Staten Island

Housing Stock

What Randall Manor Is Built From

Randall Manor is a residential neighborhood of detached and semi-detached houses, set on gently rolling ground south of the Snug Harbor grounds. It is one of the few comparatively affluent enclaves on Staten Island that is not on the island’s central ridge of hills, alongside places like Emerson Hill and Todt Hill.

Most of the neighborhood was built out well before the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, so it largely missed the wave of attached rowhouses and townhouse developments that followed the bridge in other parts of the island. The result is a stock of older single-family houses, many with porches, front lawns and driveways, plus two-families and some houses that have been converted to multiple units over the decades.

Just to the north, Livingston is older still. Its streets near Bard Avenue and Richmond Terrace hold large houses, many built before 1900, shaded by mature oaks and elms. In the 1880s Bard Avenue was sometimes called the Fifth Avenue of the island.

Typical Property Types

• Detached single-family houses with yards and driveways between Henderson and Forest Avenues
• Large 19th-century frame and stone houses in Livingston
• Two-family houses and older homes divided into apartments
• Houses on wide, deep or double lots
• Mixed-use buildings on the Forest Avenue and Castleton Avenue edges

Zoning

Zoning Context in Randall Manor

Randall Manor’s residential blocks carry lower-density residential zoning, and all of Staten Island is a Lower Density Growth Management Area. Those rules generally require more parking, deeper rear yards and more space between buildings than similar zoning elsewhere in the city. In practice, a large Randall Manor lot often cannot be split or redeveloped as densely as its size suggests.

Randall Manor is also one of the neighborhoods touched by the Special Hillsides Preservation District, created in 1987 to protect steep and wooded parts of the North Shore. On lots inside the district, grading, tree removal and new construction can require additional review.

In Livingston, a number of 19th-century houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Dr. Samuel MacKenzie Elliott House and the Kreuzer-Pelton House. National Register listing on its own generally does not restrict a private owner the way a city landmark designation does, but Sailors’ Snug Harbor next door is a designated city landmark. City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, adopted in December 2024, added options such as accessory dwelling units, with limits that vary by district and location. Confirm the rules for your lot with a zoning professional or attorney.

Tenant-Occupied Homes

Selling a Randall Manor Home With Tenants

Randall Manor has few apartment buildings, so rent stabilization rarely comes up here the way it does in parts of Brooklyn. Rent stabilization generally applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974, and most Randall Manor properties are one- and two-family houses. If you own one of the rare larger buildings, our rent-stabilized building page explains how we buy them.

What we see more often is a two-family with a long-term tenant, or a large old house that was divided into three or four apartments decades ago. We buy those as they are. We take over the tenancies at closing, review the leases and any questions about the legal number of units, and do not require you to deliver the house vacant.

Inherited Property

Inherited and Estate Homes in Randall Manor

Because Randall Manor and Livingston were largely built out generations ago, many houses have been owned by the same family for 40, 50 or more years. A large share of the calls we get about this area come from executors, administrators and heirs.

How the Estate Process Works Here

Estates for Staten Island property are handled by the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George. When there is a will, the court generally issues letters testamentary to the executor. When there is no will, it generally appoints an administrator through letters of administration, which can carry limits on selling real estate without further court approval. The person with those letters normally signs the contract and deed. We can agree on terms early and set the closing for after the paperwork is in place.

What We Can Take Off Your Plate

• Out-of-state heirs — we arrange access, walk-throughs and the clean-out, so you do not have to travel
• Siblings who disagree — a written offer gives every heir the same clear number to consider
• Vacant houses — an empty house still carries taxes, insurance, utilities and the risk of frozen pipes or roof leaks
• Houses that need work — we buy as-is, including houses full of furniture and belongings
• Two-families with tenants — we take over the tenancies at closing

Read our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island for more detail. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Where We Buy

Where We Buy in Randall Manor & Livingston

We buy on every block of Randall Manor and Livingston. These are the parts of the area we hear about most:

• Henderson Avenue edge — the northern blocks along the Snug Harbor grounds
• Castleton Avenue corridor — the main east-west street through the middle, with buses toward St. George
• Forest Avenue edge — the southern blocks, closest to the West Brighton shopping strip and Silver Lake
• Lafayette Avenue side — the eastern edge, bordering New Brighton
• Bard Avenue side — the western edge, toward Richmond University Medical Center and Walker Park

Livingston

Livingston is the informal name for the area north of Henderson Avenue, running toward the Kill Van Kull, roughly between Bement Avenue and the Snug Harbor grounds. The name came from the Staten Island Railway, which bought the mansion of resident Anson Livingston and named a station after him. The station, on the North Shore Branch at Bard Avenue, lost passenger service in 1953 and is long gone, though the old right-of-way remains.

Livingston has some of the oldest and largest houses on the North Shore. Dr. Elliott’s granite house from the 1840s still stands at 69 Delafield Place, and streets such as Davis Avenue, Pelton Avenue and Kissel Avenue are lined with substantial older homes. Local history ties the area to 19th-century abolitionists, including Robert Gould Shaw. Walker Park, on land where the Staten Island Cricket Club played and where early American lawn tennis was played, is the neighborhood’s green center.

We buy Livingston houses in any condition: restored, dated, divided into apartments or vacant. Old houses of this size often need roofs, masonry, porches, heating and electrical work at the same time, and we price that into a single written offer so the seller does not have to manage a renovation.

Why Owners Sell

Why Randall Manor Owners Sell to Us

• Inherited family homes — houses held for decades, now owned by heirs who live elsewhere
• Downsizing — longtime owners ready to leave a large house and yard without months of showings
• Big old houses with big repair lists — roofs, porches, masonry and systems that all need work at once
• Divided houses with tenants — older conversions with questions about the legal number of units
• Hillside or lot complications — slope, trees or zoning that make a buyer’s lender or architect hesitate
• Owners who moved away — we buy from out-of-state owners and can arrange access

Any of these can make a public listing slower and less certain. A direct sale means one buyer, a written offer and a closing date you choose.

Potential

Where the Value Is in Randall Manor

Randall Manor’s appeal is quiet streets close to the ferry. The St. George Ferry Terminal is a short bus ride away, with buses on Castleton Avenue, Henderson Avenue and Forest Avenue, and an express bus to Manhattan also serves the area. Snug Harbor’s gardens, museums and concerts are on the northern edge, and Silver Lake Park and Clove Lakes Park are close by.

For a builder or restorer, the opportunities are usually large houses that can be brought back as single-families or legal two-families, oversized lots where the zoning allows an additional home, and estate properties that need a full renovation. Because zoning here is low-density and hillside rules apply on some blocks, the value is rarely about building big. It is about doing the right thing with a good house on a good street.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling Randall Manor Property

List With a Broker

An updated, vacant single-family in Randall Manor can attract strong interest on the open market, and listing may net you more if the house is in good condition and you have time. Expect preparation, showings, inspections, a buyer’s mortgage contingency and a commission. Older houses with original systems often hit appraisal or insurance problems.

Renovate Yourself

Renovating before you sell can raise the price, but it means contractors, permits, possible hillside review, carrying costs and months of time, which is hard to manage for an estate or an owner who lives far away.

Sell Directly to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, with tenants, estates, contents and deferred maintenance. The process is private, there is no obligation, and you choose the closing date. Compare our written offer with whatever a broker suggests. Learn how selling to us works or see what we buy.

How It Works

How Selling to Us Works

• Tell us about the house — address, condition, occupancy and any estate details, by form, phone or email
• We respond within one business day — and review zoning, lot size and any hillside or landmark issues
• We see the property — one visit, which we can arrange if you live out of state
• You get a written offer — with no obligation
• Attorneys handle the contract — yours and ours, as is standard in New York
• You choose the closing date — including timing it around estate paperwork

Market Context

The Randall Manor Market

Randall Manor and Livingston attract buyers who want a detached house with a yard on the North Shore, near the ferry and Snug Harbor. The stock is older and turnover is relatively low, so many sales involve estates, longtime owners downsizing, or houses that need significant updating, which are the properties we focus on.

We also buy across the surrounding North Shore neighborhoods, including New Brighton, West Brighton, Grymes Hill and St. George. See our North Shore overview for the whole region.