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January 26, 2007

Open House Picks

housePark Slope
171 Garfield Place
Warren Lewis (#5696)
Sunday 2:30-4:30
$2,450,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseBoerum Hill
401 Pacific Street
Nancy McKiernan
Sunday 12:30-2
$2,150,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseWilliamsburg
272 Berry Street
Corcoran
Sunday 1:30-3
$1,500,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseBedford Stuyvesant
462 Greene Avenue
Chamaine Johnson
Sunday 12-3
$900,000
GMAP P*Shark




Posted by Brownstoner at 11:41 AM | Comments (41)
Categories: Bedford Stuyvesant, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, Open Houses, Park Slope, Real Estate, Williamsburg

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Comments


171 Garfield looks like the best place to me.

The Bed Stuy place "comes with tenants."
Who wants that?

Posted by: Jake at January 26, 2007 12:06 PM

272 Berry looked like a bargain, until I checked and saw that the size lot is just 16x50, well, this price will probably have to come down, although the pics of the interior are very appealing.

Posted by: Mentch at January 26, 2007 12:39 PM

Berry pretty...

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 12:41 PM

RE: Greene Avenue, wouldn't the rent roll of $4600 cover the mortgage payment, assuming you'd put down 20%? If so, that's a pretty fab deal.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 1:02 PM

272 Berry changed hands in May 2006 for $820,000. If they can get a 40%+ profit in less than 1 year in this market, God bless them.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 1:03 PM

I believe that there is a lot of optomism involved with the 5520 a year rent roll. I would rather have the tenants out or have a significant reduction in the asking price. If you think those tenants will be out on Nov 2007 then I have a bridge that connects manhattan to brooklyn for sale for you to buy. This a realtor doing what realtors do which are selling dreams

Posted by: anon at January 26, 2007 1:06 PM

The Berry one is droolworthy - I like the work inside. Did they just do that between the last purchase and now? I have to agree though, it hasn't even been a year and they want a 40% profit? I'd rather do my own reno.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 1:19 PM

Pacific Street is priced well. The layout for the garden duplex could work nicely for a couple with two youngsters.

Posted by: crouchback at January 26, 2007 1:34 PM

Re: Greene Street that may be the rent roll for the entire house rather than just the 2 floorthroughs

Posted by: anonymous at January 26, 2007 2:09 PM

Berry really does look beautiful. Right near the Brooklyn Brewery too!

Posted by: anonymous at January 26, 2007 2:58 PM

I don't know much about prices in Williamsburg, and I know nothing about the Berry place. But I don't get how people always post, "Well the owner bought it a year ago for $X, and Y% profit is too much," as if that has anything to do with anything. What's relevant is what an equivalent property would go for or has gone for. The place is worth the price tag or it isn't, regardless of the profit (not to mention that we don't know how much is "profit," not knowing how much the reno cost).

But anon 1:19 is right: do your own reno or be prepared to pay much more for someone else's.

Posted by: linusvanpelt at January 26, 2007 4:03 PM

"as if that has anything to do with anything"

It does have a lot to do with things. You're looking for comparables. What could be more comparable than the SAME property only 12 months ago in a flat market?

So then the difference is cost per sq ft: Renovations at $100/sqft (this isn't a gut) might have cost $150k, plus $100k for overseeing them.

An exact comparable is therefore this house in its pre-reno state + $250k to hire an architect and some contractors + maybe $25k in rent elsewhere while you wait 6 months to get it done = $1.1m

so .. "as if that has anything to do with anything" .. Are you the seller?

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 5:08 PM

On Berry Street:
Gotta' love the matching cheapo chandeliers over the bed AND the oversized bathtub. Very "Fabio meets Goodfellas." Hope that thing doesn't fall into the tub when I've got my bubble bath going on.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 5:10 PM

5:08 -- "You're looking for comparables. What could be more comparable than the SAME property only 12 months ago in a flat market?"

Answer: A similar house for sale now.

Look, as I said, I don't know the Williamsburg market well. I live in Park Slope. If the guy is selling it for more than you'd spend on an equivalent property in the neighborhood, it's overpriced. If not, not. But if, for instance, he got a bargain on the place when he bought, for whatever reason, he's not obligated to pass the savings on to you.

And yes, I am the seller! ARRGH! I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!

Posted by: linusvanpelt at January 26, 2007 5:23 PM

Greene Ave is a great deal on a spectacular block. There must be ways around dealing with the tenants, no?

Posted by: anon at January 26, 2007 5:29 PM

Actually, I should say "a similar house that's sold recently." Obviously a house for sale now could also be overpriced. Point being, the only measure of whether something is overpriced is what you can actually buy for the same price--not whatever someone else paid for the place a year ago, which may or may not have been market rate at the time.

Posted by: linusvanpelt at January 26, 2007 5:29 PM

Given the price point ($900K), I think I prefer yesterday's HOTD on Decatur.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 5:40 PM

greene ave is a much better location than decatur. the area is changing quickly, feels like clinton hill (it's 1/2 block over the border)

Posted by: anon at January 26, 2007 5:48 PM

Is it just me, or doesn't Garfield Place look very narrow? The kitchen was the first tip off but then the bedroom with the bed positioned at an angle is a dead giveaway.

Posted by: NeoGrec at January 26, 2007 6:37 PM

5:48, Honey, there ain't nothing wrong with it feeling like Bed Stuy! ;)
I'm not lovin Berry. Agree w/5:10 on that one.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 26, 2007 6:37 PM

The Berry property is not near the Brewery - this is on the southside, two doors down from the new construction 'stoner posted earlier today. I thought I remembered seeing work going on in this building a couple of years ago, but not so much in the past year (though I pass by less often now). No clue if its worth it or not, but linus is right - the barometer is recent sales in the neighborhood, not what this fetched at the last sale.

Posted by: AnonWB at January 26, 2007 6:55 PM

5:29...there is always something that can be done about existing tenants... especially if you want to spend a year in landlord tenant court or give a cool 10k to some over zealous tenants who probably dropped out of high school but is well aware of the law and the booming rea estate market.... however good luck to you

Posted by: anon at January 26, 2007 10:24 PM

4:03 is right, 5:08. And no I'm not the seller, either. It's called speculative real estate. If someone with the bucks thinks the investment will pay off, they're not going to have a problem with the seller making some amount of profit. In fact, if values weren't increasing at all in a neighborhood, wouldn't that be a sign to them that they should NOT buy there? So I don't understand the logic of people getting worked up over a seller selling for a profit, either. I really believe the only reason that complaint is ever made here is because the info is so readily available now (via property shark) and if it wasn't, only the recent sales comps would be discussed, not what the seller purchased the property for. Plus there are special circumstances that make the original purchase price discounted; the profit could be chalked up to that. Like if the property were a foreclosure, like our own house was when the man we bought it from purchased it a couple years ago. My husband and I aren't getting all bitter about it - the guy found a deal and went for it. Good for him. We still got the house for under the typical cost of houses in the nabe.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 27, 2007 7:34 AM

6:37-agreed. we LOVE bs. we live there. what i meant was-there were a lot of people who needed convincing to move to clinton hill/fort greene (most of the current population) and now it's just moved on to bs...some people have vision and some need to follow.

Posted by: anon at January 27, 2007 8:40 AM

linus is 100% correct.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 27, 2007 9:15 AM

I just can't stand the brokers at Warren Lewis, do they ever actually sell anything? If so, I'm astonished! Don't know why sellers would put themselves through the incompetance at that firm.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 27, 2007 5:37 PM

Why is there an assumption that the tenants won't move out? Maybe they are great tenants and you want them. You can ask to see when they paid rent for the past year. The tenants should have their check stubs and the owner should have a record of when they paid. I don't see why an interested buyer couldn't at least ask for these things.

Posted by: cc at January 27, 2007 8:37 PM

Re: Berry, the view won't be there for long, and I do think it looks narrow, though beautiful inside.

Lastly, who wants to ride the "L" train? It's hell 24/7.

Posted by: cc at January 27, 2007 8:40 PM

5:37 Not sure what your motivation is but in my opinion the brokers at Warren Lewis are extremely honest and professional. They sell a great deal of property in our neighborhood. The only incompetence I see is in your spelling.

Posted by: anonymous at January 27, 2007 9:05 PM

Re: Berry St.

You can also walk to the J,M,Z on Broadway.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 27, 2007 10:37 PM

i live across the street from greene avenue home. it is a good block, changed a lot over the last ten years. but, do you all think it will really garnish $900K? maybe i've got more equity than i thought.

maybe foccacino's (a decent slice) around the corner was all that it needed. man, i remember when bad chinese was the staple around here... seems like just yesterday.

Posted by: maestroguillo at January 27, 2007 10:58 PM

Maestro, I think you mean "garner." Garnish is what you put on salad.

Posted by: Anon at January 28, 2007 12:49 AM

I think the Decatur street HOTD from earlier is the week is the way to go.

Posted by: HS at January 28, 2007 8:22 AM

I used to live at 183 Garfield and yes it is narrow but the back yard is amazing. The yards are extra deep on that block.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 28, 2007 11:48 AM

thanks for the garnish tip, anon.

i prefer dressing on my salad, however, no garners.

seriously, greene avenue seems a bit ahead of the curve, as much as i'd like to think this block is worth it.

Posted by: maestroguillo at January 28, 2007 3:04 PM

You could also have your wages garnished, but I don't think you'd like that either!

Posted by: babs at January 28, 2007 6:50 PM

Missed the Berry St open house today. Did anybody see it???

Posted by: Anonymous at January 28, 2007 7:59 PM

Good pizza equals higher resale? You have been smoking too much dough! Sorry Greene Ave time to garnish your food.

Posted by: anon at January 29, 2007 8:23 AM

maestroguillo- i'll bet that greene ave will get close to asking price, if not the full price. there have been several houses that have sold in the last few months on that block for over the asking price. ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....

Posted by: anon at January 29, 2007 9:35 AM

BTW - 272 Berry has come up here before: http://brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2006/04/under_the_radar_4.html

Back then, it was all about how narrow the building is. Interestingly, the Corcoran's photo (above) does a good job of making the building look wide (it ain't!).

Posted by: AnonWB at January 29, 2007 5:52 PM

After visiting the open house last weekend 272 Berry street is nothing short of spectacular. It is nice to see good taste and high-end renovations in WB.

Posted by: ArtDealer1 at February 13, 2007 11:03 PM

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