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November 17, 2006

Open House Picks: Townhouses

houseBrooklyn Heights
166 Clinton Street
Corcoran
Sunday 11-1
$3,250,000
GMAP P*Shark


housePark Slope
192A Sixth Avenue
Douglas Elliman
Sunday 12:30-3:30
$1,650,000
GMAP P*Shark


houseDitmas Park
1211 Ditmas Avenue
Brooklyn Properties
Sunday 2-4
$999,000
GMAP P*Shark


houseCrown Heights
1092 Carroll Street
Corcoran
Sunday 12-2
$729,000
GMAP P*Shark




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:42 AM | Comments (48)
Categories: Open Houses

Comments

Link for Crown Heights house is wrong. Same link as Park Slope house.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 11:52 AM

I don't understand about the Sixth Avenue house--if it has all new mechanicals, kitchens, baths, etc., why is it described as a "gem in the rough"? What sort of remaining TLC does the new owner need to provide?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 11:55 AM

I am surprised that Mr. B did not pick the open house $9 million listing in BH. Can't understand why this seller feels to the need to have an open house - it will only attract gawkers like myself.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:03 PM

Here's the correct listing for the Crown Heights Property. And it looks good I might add. http://corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=918749

Posted by: NewStoner at November 17, 2006 12:05 PM

Anon 11:55, it needs everything. The broker's listing is misleading. The current owner inherited the house, stripped out everything because he intended to live there, then fell ill and stopped the work in its tracks. So right now all the demolition has been done. He's run new plumbing risers and put in wiring for electrical outlets but everything is unfinished and exposed, as in dangling wires where outlets will be, subfloors but no flooring, exposed plumbing. The "new kitchens" are in boxes - Lowe's or Home Depot - and were waiting to be installed as of last weekend. The bathrooms are not new - that is just not true. This building would draw more receptive buyers if the broker advertised it honestly as "we've done the demolition, now you do the rest of the work." The location is great - that's a beautiful block of Sixth between Berkeley and Union. We were strongly encouraged to subtract the cost of a renovation from the sales price (already reduced twice, from a start of $1.9M to $1.79M to the current $1.65M) and make an offer, but that's way more renovation than we want to undertake at this time.

Posted by: Zeebee at November 17, 2006 12:07 PM

i had the same thoughts about the 6th Ave house. I walk pass it often and the front fascade seems to be in great shape. Also, it was orginally listed at $1.8m, so either the seller really wants to sell or there is a lot more than cosmetic work left to me done. Also interesting the the BHS listing that was feature a few weeks ago that seems to require more work is listed at $250 higher. I do not understand this market!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:07 PM

Jaw agape, Zeebee. It annoys me to no end when listings are false. And yes, the house could be nice, but it's not evenin 321 (not meaning to start a fight, just sayin').

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:09 PM

Crown heights house does look pretty nice - if one is looking for an apartment with parking.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:12 PM

would not buy a thing prices are going lower and the agents are getting very desperate. They are leaving the real estate industry in large numbers to look for work elsewhere. Hold out the market is correcting

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:19 PM

The agent on the 6th ave listing is notorious for providing misleading information.
That being said, the house is in a great location and probably worth the effort of completing the reno--just not at that price.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:20 PM

the New york market is correct. Prices are rock steady now. that crown heights house is gorgeous and a STEAL at that price. Its half the price of one of those salt box 16 foot wide south slope vinyl jobs

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:21 PM

"Its half the price of one of those salt box 16 foot wide south slope vinyl jobs"

As it should be, LOCATION is still the biggest factor in pricing real estate.

That said, I do agree that the pictures shown of the apartments are very very pretty and I am sure there is someone out there waiting to snap it up.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:45 PM

Sadly, the agent's description of the 6th avenue place is probable having the opposite effect of what it intended. I am sure that most people who walk in are going to be so pissed that they would not even make an offer.

i do so love the location, maybe it will get reduced further.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:50 PM

Ditmas Park listing: 10 Orient Ave? Umm. Gmap link is to Ditmas ave which is actually in Ditmas Park. No idea where Orient Ave is...

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:50 PM

I agree. That 6th ave house looked like a total disaster on the open house, especially based on my expectations from the listing. Also, the broker said the C of O has to change. And the new baths were pretty cruddy.

Posted by: slopey at November 17, 2006 1:07 PM

I would just like to say that despite location, I think the two cheaper listings are actually nicer than the more expensive ones this week, at least from the pictures on the internet.

Posted by: Anon at November 17, 2006 1:07 PM

Orient Ave is in Williamsburg, by those condos on Maspeth that were "featured" a few weeks ago. But yeah, the link goes to the correct listing, on Ditmas Ave. And can I say, I love that house. Brooklyn Properties really knows how to take pictures of their listings, they always show a place in the best possible light. They must have a professional photographer they use... Very smart.

That Crown Heights one is a great deal. The listing says it needs a little "love". Does anyone know if there's something wrong with it?

Posted by: sylvia at November 17, 2006 1:12 PM

anyone have any info on the crown heights house? is it an owner's duplex? condition of the house? vibe of the block?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 1:16 PM

Crown Heights looks tempting. Good location, too.

Posted by: crouchback at November 17, 2006 2:05 PM

I like the Ditmas one! You're so right about the photography, Sylvia. It really bothers me that big brokers, like Corcoran, don't use professional photographers. The ad says the house needs work, but you wouldn't know it from the photos.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 2:10 PM

"the New york market is correct. Prices are rock steady now. that crown heights house is gorgeous and a STEAL at that price. Its half the price of one of those salt box 16 foot wide south slope vinyl jobs

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 12:21 PM"

Said the spider to the fly!

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 3:13 PM

fly speaking here---what sort of webbs should i be looking for...

Posted by: Anonymous at November 17, 2006 3:42 PM

The CH house is basically a nice TWO story house with a semi-finished basement. I'm not bashing the place but part of the charm of CH is the big homes. This is not one of them.

Posted by: tripster at November 17, 2006 3:44 PM

The Crown Heights house might be a sweet deal in terms of price but the neighborhood is everything else than great. We are currently living on Eastern Parkway between Franklin and Bedford which is quite safe, but some of the blocks south of Eastern Parkway have a lot of gang activity, including drug dealing and occasional shootings. You can not avoid walking through this trouble spots as the closest subway is the Franklin Avenue stop.

Posted by: CrownHeights at November 17, 2006 4:03 PM

Nice two story - with 2 car parking, near the EXPRESS transit hub for both the Lex and 7TH ave, as well as truly "walking distance" to the jewels of Bklyn on the other side of Flatbush - the BMA, Botanic Gardens and the newly rejuvenated Medgar Evers College. Wish I could preemptively buy this before the open house. And no, I'm not the seller! Actually own in Slope but wish I could move fast enough to purchase this one!

Posted by: wingo at November 17, 2006 4:08 PM

This beautiful Crown Heights South house is on a beautiful block, where home ownership is a thing of pride to its residents. Ok, you may have to walk past some grunge to get there, but that is true of a good many places, including those around such tony areas as Hell's Kitchen and certain parts of the East Village.

This block is not a pit of crime and drugs, something that will be quite evident if you go to the open house. Most of the houses on this block are in semidetached groups, so that the garages can be accessed. I wouldn't be surprised if many homes aren't owned by Metgar Evers professors and staff and health professionals from the nearby Kings County Hospital/Downstate complex. This is a winner.

Posted by: CrownHeightsProud at November 17, 2006 4:18 PM

My apologies to Medgar Evers.

I also love the Ditmas Park house. Great pictures, and a wonderful ambiance. You would never guess this is in a city, let alone New York City. Oh, if I only was rich, and could collect houses!

Posted by: CrownHeightsProud at November 17, 2006 4:25 PM

There was an open house for the Crown Heights house last weekend so Anon 4.22pm is full of it.

Posted by: Anon at November 17, 2006 6:24 PM

Crown Heights Carroll Street: I saw this house at last weekends open house. According to the broker the owner lives on the top floor, has bought a house outside of NY (I think she said in Ohio) and is looking to sell asap. Apparently the bottom floor is rented out - to the same tenant for the last few years. Broker could not say if house was to be delivered vacant or not, but by now she may have more info. Basement is used as storage. There is a small paved over garden/non-garden between the house and the garage.

Could not get in to see the garage. There is a small crumbling deck off the back of the bottom floor unit. Rooms look much bigger and brighter in the pictures than they are in real life, granted I was there on a cloudy day sometime between around 12.30 and 1.00pm, but I found that the house felt darkish and small which was not what I expected given the dimensions, the floor plan and the pictures. To be fair, I did overhear other people talking about how great it would be to have so much space but that's what makes the market. Ceilings height is very ordinary so that didn’t help it for me.

In general the place seemed to be quite solid and in reasonably good condition, completely livable, but I wouldn't call it gorgeous. Floors and woodwork looked like they had undergone a bit of a cheap poly job. On the top floor is a rudimentary bachelors kitchen, bathroom is old, quaint, working, a bit decrepit looking, had some character. Ceilings could use some refinishing to smooth them out. Could not get onto the roof. Could not get into tenants apartment. Was told by Broker that the owner told her that the electrics were upgraded to 220 some 6-8 yrs ago or so if I remember right.

Quite a big turnout I thought - I saw maybe 20-30 people passing through - I was there for maybe 25-30 minutes. Couple of couples having earnest looking conversations with the broker so I thought there would be a good chance that someone would make an offer, maybe someone did who knows!

So besides my opinion of the house my impression is that at this price level there was some evidence of pent up demand but at the same time folks seem hesitant in this market. Broker did emphasize that the seller is motivated.

Posted by: I already saw Carroll St. at November 17, 2006 7:40 PM

thanks for the informative post, I already saw.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 18, 2006 11:09 AM

Yes, thanks for those here who have real information! These are awesome posts. It's very helpful.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 18, 2006 5:29 PM

"I am the owner of 1092 Carroll Street Home. This will be the first and final open house. Any bids recieved will be towards an "As Is" sale. $650,000 takes it if all cash. I look foward to a fast closing and seeing my fellow brownstoners this weekend."

According to the agent, Eve, who asked the owner when I pointed it out to her, this comment was not posted by the owner at all.

it did seem a little rich, $75k discount for an all-cash offer.

Don't believe everything you read here even the stuff that looks realistic.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 19, 2006 11:11 AM

The posting "by owner" of 1092 Carroll St. is false. Today is an OH from 12-2 and if you want to see the house or get information, please come by.

Posted by: The Broker for 1092 Carroll at November 19, 2006 11:22 AM

Even tho that post is a fraud i guarantee that house will most definitely go for something near or below $650k. If a home will get an asking price like that, spring will be in the air. Not in Winter, Mid School Year, in a declining market.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 19, 2006 4:35 PM

Trolls are killing this site. I'm tired of reading troll bullshit. Please bring back registration!!!

Posted by: Ed at November 19, 2006 6:23 PM

1211 Ditmas Avenue was chocked full of swoon worthy dark wood details. There was a wacky charm to the peeling wildly colored pseudo arts and crafts wall paper and bright walls. And the artist garret on the 3 floor could have been used for some indie film set.

I'm sure most of the masses of people that were trooping in and out of the house were not digging the vibe of the place. I over heard one guy yapping about tearing out all the walls from the small kitchen all the way to the front room. Yes the kitchen was small and needed a major reno, but I was cringing at the thought of what wood details would be trashed in the process of "opening up the space"

Why do people that want open and airy even consider dark cozy Victorian houses with small room. Just get a loft and leave the house to someone that will cherish the floor plan and the details.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 19, 2006 6:40 PM

Trolls are indeed killing this site. It appears that everyone and their mother knows of someone who bought a brownstone in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill for under $600k back in the 1990s (now worth between $1.6M-$4M). As a result, all of these people (many of whom are still renting) are disgusted over missing the '90s gravy train. So what do they do? They come onto this site and blast every fringe nabe with the hope of repeating the FG and CH gift. These idiots are perhaps 5 years from buying a house but they hope that if they trash a neighborhood enough and scare away the competition that in 2012 they can purchase a huge 22x50 townhouse on a 22x130 lot in prime Crown Heights North for $500k. Yeah whatever, you guys keep hoping and dreaming because it will never happen!!!

Now go back to pumping gas at BP and keep scratching those lottery tickets!!!

Posted by: Anonymous at November 19, 2006 11:43 PM

I went to the 1092 Carroll open house today. If it taught me anything it's that pictures are a very unreliable way of gauging even the cosmetic condition of a house. They are incapable of showing such things as plaster walls that are patchwork of, well, patches; a distinct sagging of one of the (admittetly decorative) beams in the beamed ceiling; the side window in the dining room that overlooks the 4' 0" wide alley and stares directly into an equivalent window in the adjacent house, etc., etc..

For the agent to suggest that the "English" basement could be transformed into viable living space is bordering on misreprentation. If it could be done at all (windows at one end five foot above the floor that are probably less that three feet high) the expense of reconfiguring the mechanical gear to achieve it would be prohibitive, especially after spending a couple of hundred thousand just to get the top floor into acceptable shape. Don't even ask about the kitchen and bathroom!

That said, there were people there at the same time as me who were very gung-ho about the place, with one couple so anxious to put in an offer that they were reluctant to wait until Monday to do so. The agent said that there were three offers in already and that the highest received by Monday aternoon would secure the place (and, in my opinion, a very time consuming, daunting, and expensive restoration). Nice floors though!

John Ife

Posted by: John Ife at November 20, 2006 12:23 AM

Great post John! Now cross your fingers and put in a low ball bid on Monday like you plan. It's pretty obvious that you are banking that other bidders read this thread and will underbid at Monday's "best and final" thus allowing your discounted bid to prevail. Pretty savvy....pretty savvy... ;-)

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 6:23 AM

That was the troll who posted as anon at 6:23 am.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 7:04 AM

Yeah, right; trolls always use their real names instead of hiding behind the "Anonymous" tag. FYI I'm not in the market to buy (too busy working on my owm place), just popped over out of curiosity aroused by the positive comments on this blog. I wish the best to the buyer and enlightenment to the uninformed, speculating, posters here.

Posted by: John Ife at November 20, 2006 8:14 AM

I went to the open house as well, and would agree with John's assesment. It's an interesting place, at a good price, but def. would require a good deal of work, which doesn't make the price quite as good any more...

having said that, the place was crawling with perspective buyers. anyone who was at the oh would know that a low ball offers is going to work. they'll be a bidding war for that place--people were into it....

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 11:00 AM

Come on people, no one else was trooping around an open house for a place they have zero intention on buying? Any more reports from the field?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 12:49 PM

I went to this OH on sunday around 11:30 because i had the PS on my agenda and two others. There is a ton of structural work, my husband says a steel beam is in order, and according to a fellow buyer the schools in that area arent the greatest. We are an older couple not looking for a good district but we are still concerned about the safety of the immediate eastern blocks. From the crowd i saw, most seemed to be nosey neighbors so it is my prediction this home will either be on the market for a few more months or sold for <=$650K.
I met the broker and based on her misleading nature and for her to come on a private web blog to defend the property says alot about the state of this market.
I will put an offer on the Park Slope home before this CH 'jewel'.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 4:42 PM

less than $650 or equal to that.
From meeting the broker, based on her pushy misleading nature and the fact she had to come on this private site to defend the property... well that says alot about the state of todays market.

Posted by: MangoliaWallflower at November 20, 2006 4:45 PM

I was there...and I was just looking. close to my home and curious. the people at the OH were definately NOT nosey neighboors. it was young hipster couples in their '30s who are not only priced out of PS, but PH, sunset park, etc seriously looking. I think they got offers...

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 5:12 PM

Sometimes its harder to see yourself (or ppl like you)...

Am I the only one that is annoyed by ppl walking into your open house who have ZERO intention on purchasing the home?

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 5:45 PM

like me? don't cry because no one wants to buy whatever house you've probably been trying to sell. I'm looking for a place and if I had been blown away, I would have made an offer. I wasn't so I didn't.

Besides, what would you prefer, an empty open house? or a house with alot of people milling about? I think the large amount of people at 1092 probably helped create a sense of urgency that probably speed up whatever offers were made.

Posted by: Anonymous at November 20, 2006 10:45 PM

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