House of the Day: 158A Nevins Street

That block is a little depressing. A friend dragged me to look at a house a little further down the block.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:40 PM

But for the price...I guess it's not so bad--May fit into someone's budget better. Still...the backyard is tiny. What are the taxes on the property?

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:42 PM

Is this house dressed up by Corcoran to look lived in? It has cheap furnishings...sort of "dorm room" or "first apartment" level. Is that an airconditioner cut into the wall on the ground floor?

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:47 PM

too much $$. corcoran over prices everything. you are sandwiched between 2 projects in that location.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:51 PM

Stuff on nevins is difficult to sell. It is technically Boerum Hill but in reality it is the projects.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 1:58 PM

Boerum Hill is a project!

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:03 PM

I'm curious....every time I see anything for sale in Boreum Hill...by the time I get an appt. to go see it, it's usually sold.

How exactly is that classified as difficult to sell?

There's never more than a handful of properties for sale in Boreum Hill.

If that.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:06 PM

The one next door is for sale too, with a strange little brokerage in Queens. I think the asking is $1,129,000 -- went to have a look a couple of weeks ago and it was dismal inside. The block is pretty awful too, right next to the projects and these two houses are smack-bang across the street from a parking lot.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:11 PM

Hey B, the 12th street link is incorrect.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:17 PM

Why buy a shoebox in Boerum Hill when you can get a palace in Ft Greene or Clinton Hill for the same money without those gosh awful projects.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:17 PM

crappy little boring house.
I wouldn't pay half the asking.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 2:22 PM

playa hater

Most simply, a playa hater is someone who openly criticizes, purposefully attempts to sabotage, or who indulges in any number of other activities/behaviors aimed at someone they consider a playa, or even at playas in general.

The derogatory aspect to the term comes in the idea that the person who's hatin is really only jealous -- they playa hate because they wish they could be as successful, or alternately wishes they could somehow have the playa to themself.

So, of course, quite often a playa hater is someone who at some point or other feels they were done wrong by a playa.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 3:54 PM

This price is slightly under market for Boerum Hill due to being a half a block from full on gentrification. Not a bad investment and certainly more than livable.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 4:09 PM

boerum hill is the most over rated neighborhood. and over priced. its a tiny hood with tiny houses, tiny streets, major projects. personally i've never understood why people pay these prices. i'm with 2:17; why not FG, CH, CG or south slope?

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 4:52 PM

the answer my friend, is that it is a couple of blocks away from every subway in NYC. Most streets in BH are also gorgeous and close to the best restaurants and bars in the "bococa" area. Some people don't mind projects - although there are some grim blocks in there, overall it's very nice, and as Atlantic gets more and more good stores, it will be even more convenient. Note: I don't live there and wouldn't buy the house myself.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:17 PM

Not to differ with crouchback_2, but the difference between Wyckoff between Bond and Nevins, and just around the corner on Nevins, is noght and day. Wyckoff is a little enclave of lovely houses and caring homeowners. There's some traffic but not huge. Nevins, on the other hand, is a major thoroughfare, noisy, with lots of traffic to and from the projects and beyond, and lots of hanging out which can get rather noisy. Really, the same house around the corner, or even on Bond, would be worth 200-300K more.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:22 PM

the answer my friend, is that it is a couple of blocks away from every subway in NYC.

Only near Flatbush and Atlantic, and you would be better off in Ft Greene then, other than that you have the F/G on Smith or the A way over on Schemerhorn.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:37 PM

This site is full of apples-to-oranges comparisons. The apt has a fancy modern renovation, and big lofty ceilings, and, basically, will appeal to someone who likes apartment life in lofty condos. The house is set up as a 2-family, and doesn't have the fancy modern reno. It will appeal to someone who, basically, really really wants a house.

That describes me; I really really want to figure how to buy a nice little house, and a 2-family (or even 3- or 4-family) would be ideal to help with the mortgage.

That said, I'd never pay asking, or even 95% asking, on this thing. To refer to Brownstoner's own comparison, with that apartment: the house will need extensive renovation to make as nice as the apt, with or without conversion to 1-family; the nabe is neither as desirable nor as expensive as the other location (houses in Boerum Hill are close to the PJs and far from any park); and even within that nabe it's in a terrible location.

"Not a bad investment?" Disagree. Those projects will always be there. That in itself may be okay - hell, I grew up around there. But it goes to value... and value is measured in price per square foot (a measurement Brownstoner often seems to ignore). In the best part of Boerum Hill, ~$725psf might (might) be tenable... Here? No way. I wouldn't go to seven figures for that thing. Maybe around $950k. (Of course, the seven-figure thing is likely to be a big psychological barrier for the seller... good luck with this listing, Corcoran.)

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:56 PM

Boerum Hill is not a Brownstone area and could only dream of being Fort Greene.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 6:37 PM

All the people railing against Boerum Hill are just pissed they can't afford to live there--in one of the gorgeous, light-filled 1850's houses on Dean, Pacific, and Bergen. Those three blocks of BH are as nice as anything you'll find in Brooklyn Heights, only without the boring preppy vibe (and houses in 2 mill range, not 6). Plus, those of us who live there appreciate the ethnic mix/diversity. We have white, black, latino, and a sizable arab population, too. Atlantic Avenue is chicest shopping strip in Bklyn. Bistros and food stores on Smith are a few blocks away. And, yes, we have every train. Also, you can park your car on the street and whiz into the city in fifteen minutes--straight up Atlantic and over the Brooklyn Bridge. Fort Greene has no grocery stores or trains. Carrol Gardens is boring.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 8:33 PM

I'm not sure why you have to knock CG in your defense of Boerum Hill. I live in CG and kind of consider all of them (CG, BH and Cobble HIll) more or less the same neighbhorhood since, esp when you have children, you wander in and out of all of them several time a day. I agree that the streets of BH are beautiful and it's my favorite sub-neighb of this area - if projects are the issue for people, doesn't FG have a good dose of projects as well? Or are they all in Clinton HIll?

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 9:08 PM

I agree that this is a fairky crappy little house in a bad location. Anyone paying more than a million American dollars for it has my best wishes.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 11:08 PM

i was going to comment but I will never be able to afford that.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 8:48 AM

i am well into my '40's and have watched gentrification from my old town, Chicago, and here in Brooklyn over the last 20 years, and I can say that for sure, old white (like Italian) or hispanic neighborhoods, are a better investment and are way safer.

as a white person, i would never now consider buying in any predominently black neighborhood or near any projects. this is what i've learned from experience.

take you 1.2 mill to a different neighborhood.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 11:06 AM

whatever kuroko. cracker?

in 1997 bought a brownstone in cobble hill on Kane for $650K, avg. prices in Boerum Hill were about $450K. fast forward to now. The differences in prices between the 2 hoods are not a mere couple hundred thousand apart.

check the differences between prospect hts and park slope in the same time period.

just being realistic.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 12:43 PM

"This house (not mine) was bought for around a $100K in 1983...

in '98 he pulled 300k in equity...

in 2002 he pulled 700k...

and sold it in 05 for 1.84 million plus a downpayment..."

Now the reverse will happen to the recent buyer.

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 4:29 PM

can we all agree that NYC is better than, say, Texas, at least?

FUCK TEXAS IN THE ASS

Posted by: guest at September 21, 2007 11:06 PM

hey my name butch and i was born in that house back in 1955 i left in 1972 ok yes its a small house but i called it home.

Posted by: guest at October 6, 2007 10:10 PM

Still rotting on the market at $1,095,000.

Posted by: guest at November 20, 2007 2:21 PM