Just Sold in Brooklyn

gosh, that studio sounds excellent.

not a bad deal for 250K.

congrats to the new owner.

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 10:59 AM

The Clinton Hill place has very nice front doors...

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 11:08 AM

The whole Clinton Hill building is very nice. The green roof (mansard?) and the limestone.

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 11:23 AM

Admittedly, this is a lovely building but paying 250k for a very small back room studio is, IMHO, absurd.

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 11:48 AM

this rounds out to $625/sq foot--- seems like a lot for a small studio, convenient exclusively to the G train...
but it does seem like an attractive building...

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 12:08 PM

Beautiful building and beautiful block on Clinton Avenue. I remember walking past and noticed the front of that building received a lot of sunshine. Unfortunately, it's near the "G" train.

259 21st Street is a converted former schoolhouse - hence, the high ceilings. Saw an open house there back in August - a 2 bed, 2 bath. I liked the layout and there were amazing views from the roof. Unfortunately, the former schoolhouse is surrounded by decrepit vinyl-sided apartment buildings that looked like they literally were about to fall over. Also, that area of "Greenwood" is still lacking in the amenities, although Barbecue around the corner is quite tasty.

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 1:02 PM

I know this is a basic question but what does 40% tax deductible really mean? Can anyone recommend a good book about Nyc Real Estate/ basic legal aspects?

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 1:17 PM

it means that 40% of your maintenance fee is deductible from your income tax, assuming you itemize. Typically it is the part of the maintenance fee that goes toward paying interest on the building's underlying mortgage, and property taxes. most buildings are 40-50%

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 1:23 PM

this book by Sylvia Cohen was helpful before I bought a co-op:

http://www.amazon.com/New-York-Co-op-Bible-Everything/dp/0312340753

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 1:25 PM

with 20% down, the studio works out to roughly 1400 or 1500 a month or so including maintenance.

then with tax deductions, we're talking 1000 or 1100 a month.

to have a studio anywhere around here for that price...with a set cost...no increase for the next 30 years is quite good, in my opinion.

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 4:03 PM

What do you mean no increase??!!! Maintenacne costs go up -- heating, elec, insurance, etc. --plus the random captital improvement!

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 4:25 PM

Listen...sure your maintance costs might go up slightly over the years...

Average rents in this city double every 10 years.

You know what I mean. In a city where the average studio rental is 2000 bucks a month, this is a very nice option for someone who would like to own a home on a modest budget.

Must we nitpick every little thing?

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 4:30 PM

Well, if the building Clinton Hill building needs repointing...the assessments can really hurt. Also, you forgot to mention taxes will go up...then again, with any luck, the underlying mortgage might go away eventually (no?).

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 6:59 PM

Two-hundred-seventy-five Clinton Avenue. What a beauty! If you Google it you'll discover:

-- The first man to cross the United States in his own automobile lived there.
-- A bachelor lawyer living with his mother was implicated in a woman's suicide (after some nefarious dealings with a box containing jewels and cash valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars).

This was around 1900, of course. But what a classy building!

In the 1950's there were no studio apartments at 275, just rambling apartments that seemed to extend forever. Friends of my parents lived there. They owned a beautiful, black Lincoln convertible, which was a real pleasure to ride around in Brooklyn with the top down.

Apparently this building has been able to hold on, even if carved up. From the photo, it looks even better than I remember.

Nostalgic on Park Avenue

Posted by: guest at November 9, 2007 10:19 PM

All of the apartments have 80 plus foot hallways, the building is an E plan with all the rooms facing into a courtyard off a hall (if you get my meaning). The building was recently repointed.

However, the studio is located on the first floor in the very back. The maintenance has been going up quite a bit - last I heard it was around $1,400 a month in order to recapitalize the building's funds. And no, the building is not convenient to get into Manhattan - yes it's by the G train but really, that is a non-issue if you need to go to work.

End point: sure $250K is good for a studio in this neighborhood, but only in this madness of a real estate market.

Posted by: guest at November 10, 2007 10:40 AM

Thanks for sharing the fun stories, 10:19!

Posted by: guest at November 10, 2007 11:36 AM

G train is not terribly bad. if you work in midtown you can transfer to the E/V in queens, otherwise transfer to the F or A/C downtown. you can also take the bus on Dekalb or Myrtle.

Posted by: guest at November 11, 2007 11:11 PM