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December 9, 2005

HOTD Follow-Up: Deception Doesn't Pay

facade stairs
A reader sent us the link to the Craigslist version of yesterday's house of the day which a commenter had identified as 446A Prospect Avenue. The most enlightening aspect of the Craigslist ad is the full view of the facade which confirms that this really is only a 2.5-story house. It also shows that A&H was being less-than-straightforward in their purposefully cropped photo which left the impression there could be another floor on the house. Bad karma, dudes! Misleading your potential customers ain't the way to go. Now that we see the size of this thing we think our opinion that this is overpriced was right on--generous, if anything. Thanks for all the input, everyone.
Gorgeous 2 Family w/ Details [Craigslist]
Ugly Cover, Decent Book [Brownstoner]




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:06 AM | Comments (17)
Categories: Properties

Comments

Quiet bunch today.

Posted by: Brownstoner at December 9, 2005 11:53 AM

Did you really expect any more from A&H?

Posted by: Anonymous at December 9, 2005 12:39 PM

Why is A&H bad?

Posted by: Anonymous at December 9, 2005 12:54 PM

You guys are wrong, that bottom floor is more basement/garden level than cellar, so this is a good deal. Good location too: next to park, trains, and shopping strip on PPW & 7 Ave.

Posted by: OE at December 9, 2005 1:07 PM

I don't get why people think this is "good" location. How is this "next" to the Park? It's a good 5 minute walk (unless you get the walk signal at every intersection) to the roundabout from Propsect and 8th Avenue.

Similarly, it's far from any train except for the F, and that is a solid 30 minutes on the train to Herald Square. (Setting aside the seemingly long wait for the train...)

At best, the location is "fine," as in not bad with some decent access to basic shopping on PPW south of the park and walkability to the Park. Don't get me wrong -- if I had grown up in the area or had family living here or Windsor Terrace, I too would agree that it would be worth a lookaround, but I'll let someone else grab at it.

Posted by: Anonymous at December 9, 2005 2:16 PM

It seems like brownstoner is trying to fuel a rise out of commentors to reply negativley . "quite bunch today"? "bad Karma" ? I've never heard of anyone bying a piece of property from a picture, sight unseen. So who cares if they don't show the whole facade? Brokers do this all the time. Very irresponsable and foolish. This blog is getting more boring by the day.

Posted by: Anonymous at December 9, 2005 5:46 PM

Agree with Brownstoner about A&H's photos. Disagree with him on the price. I think the poster in the other thread was right. Brownstoner, love him though I do, does not have that great a sense of the Slope and especially South Slope markets. especially with less picturesque houses in South Slope, I think he tends to look at the photos and discount the neighborhood factor.

Based on what I've seen of recent sales, this may be a little overpriced, mainly because it needs work and I don't know how much -- but not as much as Brownstoner seems to think. Whether the bottom floor is legally a basement or not, buyers treat it as a real floor (albeit smaller and without a basement for storage). And this is, surprisingly, real south slope -- on the Park Slope side of the Prospect expressway.

Posted by: linusvanpelt at December 9, 2005 6:44 PM

meant to say, "not overpriced by as much as Brownstoner seems to think."

Posted by: linusvanpelt at December 9, 2005 6:45 PM

again, guys, don't discount public schools and transportation in this debate. last i checked most of clinton hill and bedstuy was still horrible for schools. 2 kids at $ 40,000 is a $ 750 k mortgage. the neighborhood is worth a lot.

Posted by: Anonymous at December 9, 2005 7:02 PM

What are the public schools, may I ask? This address isn't zoned for the highly desirable PS 321.

Posted by: Anonymous at December 9, 2005 8:59 PM

It's zoned for PS 154, a very good school in Windsor Terrace -- certainly not one that would require hightailing it to private school. Was highlighted this year in an NYT article on excellent but overlooked public schools.

Posted by: linusvanpelt at December 9, 2005 9:50 PM

We live in the area, and have been learning that all three public schools in the south slope / WT area are very good: PS 10 (7 x 17 st), PS 154 (11 x Windsor), PS 107 (8 x 12 st). We're going to the tours, meeting teachers, parents, etc.

Posted by: OE at December 10, 2005 7:24 AM

Yeah. So, the roof line is revealed. It's 2 1/2 stories, whatever that means. Not sure if anyone would really have expected it to be bigger from the picture, though. All the houses in this area are that size. If there was another floor, don't you think they would have shown it? It's still priced similarly, even lower, than the other same-sized houses in the area.

Maybe Brownstoner will lift the veil on Park Slope prices, and everyone will wake up and say, "Oh, yeah, I'm not going to pay that. I'll move to...xyz." But I don't think that's happening that soon. I still say that this further post on this property only drives home the point that Brownstoner doesn't have a great hold on the area...but why should he, the site is called Brownstoner...and there aren't that many brownstones in the South Slope.

Posted by: Intersloper at December 10, 2005 2:27 PM

PS 154 is a good school, but now I'm confused. Where is this house? I thought it was in the South Slope. Zoning for 154 would indicate Windsor Terrace. If it is in the South Slope, there are at least two other public elementary schools that come to mind that are closer...

Posted by: Anonymous at December 10, 2005 3:37 PM

Speaking of A&H Is R huebener a man

Posted by: bert at December 10, 2005 4:00 PM

Bert, If you think Roz Huebner is a man then I have a great bridge for you to buy.

Posted by: Anonymous at December 12, 2005 9:48 AM

as a point of comparison
I just purchased down the street in the last year.
My place is on prospect ave btwn 6&7 (basically right at 7) and is the same width, but 10 feet shorter (50 feet is pretty deep and may account for the asking price-that's more square footage than 20*40).
My place does have a legit bottom floor though. My stoop is 12 steps up, for reference. And my place has a brand new brick facade. It doesn't need a new kitchen, but the parlour floor was basically empty and needed a bathroom. I spent 80K making it pretty nice up there.

I paid 889K. I didn't get a steal, but it is a great neighborhood. And the whole area seems to be coming up with the rest of park slope being too pricey for anyone without a ton of cash and really secure finances. Sounds like 800 would be a good price for this place in current market. I mean look at what that gets 5 blocks north. And this is for a home.

Posted by: bob_p at December 12, 2005 1:44 PM

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