A sweet single-family deal in Allston

The ultimate American dream of single-family autonomy tends to evade the fiscal grasp of first-time homebuyers. However, in Allston is a sweet deal of a starter: 25 Ridgemont St., a 1,522-square-foot freestanding home for $479,000, which includes all the dreamweavers you can imagine: a front porch, lawn, back yard, 2-car garage, garden shed, fireplaced living room, eat-in kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and an attic with expansion potential.

The kitchen, though in need of an update, will get you off to a good start with its breakfast-table space, vinyl replacement double window and appliances, including side-by-side front-loader washer and dryer.

The bedrooms’ hardwood floors, generous wall areas and closets are also excellent starts for an update.

The bath comes equipped with all of the necessities: tub/shower, pedestal sink, mirror-door medicine cabinet, and extra cabinet space above the commode.

The insulated attic has great potential for expansion into a loft office, home gym, media room, or extra set of bedrooms and bath with the addition of a shed dormer.

Also offering great expansion potential is the back yard, which already has a garden with mature plantings…

…a paved patio with a picturesque pergola and a full garden shed (which can also be a children’s playhouse, or a Walden-style writer’s cottage if electrified)…

…and an electrified two-car garage, set back from the house so as not to mar the streetscape. The yard also has room for six cars.

Another bang for your buck is 25 Ridgemont St.‘s central location near a multitude of urban amenities: Brighton Center, Ringer Park, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Franciscan Hospital for Children, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, New Balance Factory Store, the Massachusetts Turnpike, Bus 86 to Cleveland Circle and Harvard Square, Bus 57 to Kenmore and Watertown squares, the Green Line trolley to Boston College, Boston University and downtown Boston, and much more.