« The Jazz Age Comes to Brooklyn Co-op Condo of the Day: 338 Prospect Place, #5E »

August 19, 2008

445 E. 19th Street Dodges Foreclosure Bullet, Lists Large

Less than a month ago, the owner of 445 East 19th Street in Ditmas Park almost lost his home to foreclosure over an outstanding lien of less that $600,000; today, the house is listed with two brokerage firms for a cool $2,000,000. When we picked the house out of the foreclosure fray back in July, it was based solely on its exterior looks—we had no way of knowing what the interior held in store. On that front, there's some beautiful original detail, some of which has been updated. Whether it's worthy of the hefty price tag only remains to be seen. Waddya think?
445 East 19th Street [Mary Kay Gallagher] GMAP P*Shark
445 East 19th Street [Corcoran]
Foreclosure of the Week: 445 East 19th Street [Brownstoner]

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Comments

While I normally take issue with price tags like that... in this case, all I can say is WOW that's a beautiful home.

Now - which is more "reasonably" priced? This 11-room, 5-bed, 6-bath, 2-1/2 story plus basement, impeccable move-in condition, with driveway, beautiful yard, more character than you you can shake a stick at property for $2 million. Or the 2-bed, 1-bath pile of mediocrity co-op posted yesterday (that's basically priced at $1 million given the crazy maintenance fees)?

Yes, location location location... You should check out Ditmas park before you say flatbush ave in north slope is MUCH better. Also, the Q/B is faster than the 2/3 any day!

This is the difference between objectively nice (making the price tag not that shocking) and something that has an amazingly overinflated price tag and ain't that nice at all, but you convince yourself of it so you can sleep at night.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 19, 2008 11:23 AM

What in God's name is that sitting room pictured in the Corcoran listing???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 19, 2008 11:26 AM

I grew up around the corner from this house.

The house was brought in from Europe and rebuilt on this lot.

I believe it was Holland.

Its a beauty

Posted by: maxo at August 19, 2008 11:28 AM

yeah.... I just saw that sitting room on the Corcoran listing. HAA! Maybe a couple rooms may need a little minor cosmetic attention before they are move-in ready. BUT, at least you know those purpose-built curtains are included in the price! :-)

Mary Kay should be commended on her thoughtful editing of which photos to include!

Posted by: tybur6 at August 19, 2008 11:30 AM

tybur6: the North Slope IS serviced by the Q/B AND the 2/3. That one of it's major advantages over Ditmas Park. 4 subways and a short walk to the Atlantic center to at least another 4.

Posted by: tiptoe at August 19, 2008 11:39 AM

oh, and the exterior is stunning. the interior just leaves me...eh. flat.

Posted by: tiptoe at August 19, 2008 11:41 AM

Wow. Just wow. If I had 2 mil sitting around, I would be at that open house.

Posted by: BrooklynButler at August 19, 2008 11:41 AM

Howdy Asshats! What's cracking? The Mutant Real Estate Bubble....

U.S. Economy: Housing, Price Reports Raise Stagflation Danger

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBbE5iz5ywC8&refer=home

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. builders broke ground on the fewest new homes in 17 years and producer prices climbed the most since 1981, providing no sign of an economic recovery or easing inflation.

Construction of single-family homes fell 2.9 percent to a 641,000 rate, the fewest since January 1991, today's report showed. Work on multifamily homes, such as townhouses and apartment buildings, dropped 24 percent from the prior month to an annual rate of 324,000.

Yep! Watching this thing is fun. You see there is no more ammo for the Bubble Heads to use. Now it's just a matter of time before I start off a post with the words: I love the smell of....

The What

Someday this war is gonna end..

BTW I'm not DOW800. Dow sorry I use you for a human shield ; ^ }.. But you can see the fear, greed and delusion for yourself. It feel like NASDAQ around here, LMMFAO!

Posted by: what at August 19, 2008 11:47 AM

Not that I want to get into a "subway war," but as far as I can tell the only location in Brooklyn that truly provides CHOICE when it comes to the subway is Ft Greene around Hanson Place. You have a choice between the two subway systems that refuse to play in the same sandbox. 2345QBNRW vs ACFG

That's true subway choice... :-)

But also very off-topic, sort of.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 19, 2008 11:48 AM

Welcome back What... I was almost thinking I missed you for some comic relief but then I saw the same old post with the same old cut-and-paste.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 19, 2008 11:50 AM

2345NR and ACF at Boro Hall/Jay St. is the closest I can think of. It's been so long that I took the subway there i don't know if the Q, B, or w stop there.

I would so love if I still had those choices in Crown Heights but the lines are so widely separated between Fulton and Eastern Parkway from where I am.

Posted by: bxgrl at August 19, 2008 11:54 AM

Hiya Dave. I see you post about falling Tax revenue from Wall Street. Now you "get it" homeboy. Hey Dave take a look at your terminals and witness the collapse of the Mutant Asset Bubble. Commodities are getting smashed and after the Olympics credit markets are going to get Assraped! Enjoy you Labor Day weekend because this Fall is going to be a bad!

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: what at August 19, 2008 12:00 PM

we're not starting a subway war, I'm simply pointing out that tybur6 wrote a misstatement. You may like ditmas park more than the north slope, but it shouldn't be because of the subway, since North Slope is serviced by more subways than DP.

Posted by: tiptoe at August 19, 2008 12:08 PM

wasder: How days do we have left?

Posted by: 11233 at August 19, 2008 12:10 PM

Mr. What,
Why would I care about new houses - this site is about old houses and the people who love them. There are lots of people who appreciate old houses so there will always be scarcity - and good prices.

Posted by: mimi at August 19, 2008 12:10 PM

I was watching this one when it first went up for sale. It was listed on Corcoran for a few days at 1.8 then shot up to 2 million all of a sudden.

Posted by: ppwgall at August 19, 2008 12:13 PM

"wasder: How days do we have left?"

71 Asshole.

"Mr. What,
Why would I care about new houses - this site is about old houses and the people who love them. There are lots of people who appreciate old houses so there will always be scarcity - and good prices."

Hey Mimi you didn't get the memo, so let me help you out. There is a MAJOR CREDIT CRUNCH going on right now. Plus there will be great prices but, no one will be able to get financing. Now go back to sleep...

The What

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: what at August 19, 2008 12:15 PM

"BTW I'm not DOW800."

Nobody even mentioned that in this thread DOWhat. Defensive much?

D-Day is October 26 I believe based on DOWhat's 90 day countdown started on July 18. Of course, you won't see him posting the days often anymore as we get closer.

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 19, 2008 12:17 PM

welcome back biff!

Posted by: bxgrl at August 19, 2008 12:22 PM

71 days left, DOWhat? You sure. Actually, Doomsday is October 16, based on your prediction below. Revise history much?

"I say in about 90 days all hell is going to break lose. The crash will be very very bad. Then you will here from me in a big way. When I post something like this: I love the smell... There will be no refuting any of my arguments!

The What (Tick.. Tick.. Tick..)

Someday this war is gonna end...

Posted by: what at July 18, 2008 2:52 PM"

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/07/whos_gonna_buy.php#comments

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 19, 2008 12:23 PM

Thanks bxgrl. Just dropping by to correct DOWhat's countdown. October 16, y'all.

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 19, 2008 12:24 PM

Thanks, Biff! Never trust the what with numbers.

I thought the what was on vacation but I realized you have to have a job first before you can go on vacation.

Mimi: Welcome to the crowd that the what tries to insult. You are in some very good company.

Posted by: 11233 at August 19, 2008 12:29 PM

Boy oh boy! This is gonna be fun.. I want to say one thing: When the implosion starts I want all of you to take your medicine like good little boys and girls. Don't run, just hold still while I ram the flagpole up your asses!

This is not a What thing, it's a global meltdown thing. Keep it up! It will be sweeter come this fall.

The What

Someday this war iis gonna end...

Posted by: what at August 19, 2008 12:30 PM

Isn't it interesting how DOWhat's grammar has improved so incredibly since he also started posting more comprehensively under his DOW login? Clearly the attempt at street lingo, or whatever he was trying to do, was a complete sham...

DOWhat, would you care to explain how you keep adjusting your countdown? I didn't think so...

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 19, 2008 12:36 PM

I want to know more about the house being brought over from Holland and rebuilt here. It looks like a early 20th c. tudor style but if it was brought in from Holland then how old is the house actually? Maxo?

Posted by: bxgrl at August 19, 2008 12:37 PM

I noticed the same too Biff. "DOW" has also stopped using ROFLm.. whatever that inanity is.

Posted by: dittoburg at August 19, 2008 12:51 PM

Interesting to see this and compare. I owned a French Normandy house before, and maybe I'm wrong but I have to suspect a lot of details were removed here. The fireplace mantels are always very large and dramatic in any French Normandy house I've seen, with the triangle shape that's typical of that style. But here there are no mantels at all. Just a surround by itself flat against the wall. That's very suburban-new-construction taste. I had vaulted ceiling rooms in my house without moldings, like this house has, but my rooms had textured thick plaster walls to resemble the inside of a French Normandy castle, and sconces and a big crest on the wall, stuff like that. That's what this architectural style normally attempts to create. With smooth walls and no "castle" details, it looks like a condo. The wallpapered room is very 80's. I think that's the decade this house suffered a major redecorating project to make it more "contemporary" in style.

Posted by: traditionalmod at August 19, 2008 12:55 PM

Ah, sigh, so good to come back from vacation to see you all here chattering on about the wall paper and Armageddon, all is right with the world!!

Hmmm, no Q/B at Court St/Boro Hall, bxgrl. And the W stops at Whitehall St.

Posted by: cobblehiller at August 19, 2008 12:57 PM

On the transit theme, could someone explain why the ACGF doesn't connect with QBDNR,etc. at Atlantic? On the map they appear to cross right under one another. I've always been puzzled by some of these missed opportunities for transfers (like why can't you transfer from the B to an uptown 6 at Broadway Lafayette?)

Posted by: Frederick Law Homestead at August 19, 2008 1:01 PM

I wonder where The What spent his summer vacation? Wouldn't it be delicious to find out he has a 1/4 summer share in West Hampton?

Posted by: new2 at August 19, 2008 1:02 PM

No, no, no, What doesn't go to Westhampton! I bet he's totally a Sag Harbor guy.

Posted by: cobblehiller at August 19, 2008 1:13 PM

Sorry, blush, blush- French Normandy style. Love the house- Tudor or French.

I think the Q used to when they were doing all the repair work on the tracks years ago.

FLH- is a mystery. www.nycsubway.org has a great history section and there were different companies, the IRt and BMT companies that were part of the dual Contract expansion in the early 1900's. So it seems most of the subway lines were laid by competing companies and the IND first opened in 1932, but was formed in the 1920's. So probably each company built their routes and as competitors didn't find it in their best interest to have transfers. From what i read,construction of the subways was very piecemeal and I think it would take an archaeologist to find the places where they they retrofitted transfer access in a lot of the old stations. But it is fascinating.

Posted by: bxgrl at August 19, 2008 1:18 PM

Yep - it's clear WHY they trains don't intersect... originally. But how they haven't been retrofitted since the "consolidation" many many years ago seems crazy. But, then again, haven't they been planning the 2nd Ave train since 1832? Scheduled completion is 2050 I think :-)

Posted by: tybur6 at August 19, 2008 1:23 PM

No apology necessary, What. It was an honor to be associated with a NY Mag cover story phenomenon and asshat nemesis.

Back on topic (this extraordinary but 1-fam house): You can renovate the home but not the location. No synogogue, no 2 mil.

Posted by: DOW8000SP800 at August 19, 2008 2:05 PM

DOWhat, did it really just take you over an hour and a half to log out as What and log in as DOW8000SP800? Keep up the self-congradulatory exchanges...it's so cute!

Posted by: Biff Champion at August 19, 2008 2:27 PM

If the house is not within walking distance of a synagogue that would indeed effect its sale price negatively but the Orthodox community here is a little more towards Ocean Pkwy anyway.
This is a lovely house. Don't know if it will fetch this kind of price. I would tend to doubt it.

Posted by: sam at August 19, 2008 2:31 PM

tybur6- I would be the last one to accuse the MTA of making good decisions :-)

I'm still questioning them spending the money on the Second Ave. subway when we need serious improvements in the other boroughs.

Posted by: bxgrl at August 19, 2008 2:38 PM

I sat next to a guy on a plane about 6-7 months ago who worked for an engineering company involved with the 2nd Ave subway. It has a snowball's chance in Hell

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 19, 2008 2:45 PM

It took 20 minutes to run to the next-nearest library to his house (he was already at the nearest library), then he waited 10 mins for the person already using the computer to leave, and then another 5 minutes remembering his other persona.

Posted by: dittoburg at August 19, 2008 2:48 PM

I thought it was already under construction?

Posted by: bxgrl at August 19, 2008 3:01 PM

They are working on the construction of the Second Avenue Subway's link to the fabulous Brooklyn Bridge Park. Seriously, they're working on it. You will see it any day....any day....

Posted by: sam at August 19, 2008 3:06 PM

The check is in the mail

I'm from the govenment and I'm here to help you.

No I won't c.....

The 2nd Avenue subway is under construction.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 19, 2008 3:15 PM

"You should check out Ditmas park before you say flatbush ave in north slope is MUCH better. Also, the Q/B is faster than the 2/3 any day!"

I also don't understand this statement since you said yesterday that you lived a few blocks away from the co-op of the day, did you not?

If that were true, you'd know that there is a Q station at 7th and Flatbush (about a 50 second walk from yesterday's co-op of the day) and the 2/3 at Grand Army Plaza is steps out the door.

I can't believe you live in the North Slope and would say that Ditmas Park is closer to Manhattan. It kinda makes me think you don't know what you're talking about in general.

Posted by: 11217 at August 19, 2008 4:26 PM

House brought over from Europe

It was just the conversation.

Down the street E19 and Dorchester was owned by hoffman soda(if you remember) They were bootleggers before the soda buss.

Posted by: maxo at August 19, 2008 4:50 PM

The Second Avenue subway has been "under construction" for nearly 80 years:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Avenue_Subway

Posted by: SnarkSlope at August 19, 2008 4:58 PM

So, 11217... I live in prospect heights (north slope for the real estate agents), but I used to live in Ditmas Park. By the way, I never said Ditmas Park was closer to manhattan, that would be retarded.

I was simply pointing out that the Q/B was great - and the 2/3 is relatively not. Since the co-op from yesterday basically had the 2/3 station in it's lobby, I assumed everyone was excited by that. And those sentences weren't meant to be strictly connected - I truly apologize. My point was that the Q is a great train. And North Slop isn't a wonderland... and because Union Sq is 25 minutes away instead of 15, you shouldn't discount ditmas park... which a lot of people do. The average restaurant review of places like the Farm on cortelyou are prefaced with comments like "if you're willing to schlep all of the way...."

But you're right. I should be quiet, accept overinflated real estate. Accept that the Ditmas Park 11-room house is basically of the same caliber as the 3-room co-op.

Oh yeah. 11217... suck it.

Posted by: tybur6 at August 19, 2008 9:08 PM

there are brokers who call prospect heights "north slope"? news to me.

Posted by: z at August 19, 2008 9:30 PM

First time I saw Ditmas Park I was blown away by how beautiful it is. IMHO one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the City- I'd take a place in Ditmas Park any day no matter the train ride.

Posted by: east river at August 19, 2008 9:34 PM

This past weekend, after living in NYC for 8 years, I took the Q train to Ditmas Park for the first time ever. Got off at Newkirk and walked around for probably 4 hours. I could not even believe how gorgeous it was. Street after street of beautiful homes and huge trees. Simply amazing how few people probably know that exists in the middle of NYC. I didn't till a few days ago.

Just made me fall in love with NYC, and Brooklyn in particular even more.

I'd still rather live in Park Slope, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate and realize how wonderful and different all these places are.

And I'd never tell anyone in the comments section of an anonymous blog about real estate to be quiet. I like hearing all of these comments, even if I don't agree with every single one.

Posted by: 11217 at August 19, 2008 11:34 PM

"Accept that the Ditmas Park 11-room house is basically of the same caliber as the 3-room co-op."

Btw, they are not of the same caliber, which is why one is listed for 2 million and the other for 750K. Funny that you think those 2 numbers are comparable.

Oh and the 2 bedroom co-op has more than 3 rooms.

Posted by: 11217 at August 20, 2008 11:02 AM

« The Jazz Age Comes to Brooklyn Co-op Condo of the Day: 338 Prospect Place, #5E »

August 19, 2008

445 E. 19th Street Dodges Foreclosure Bullet, Lists Large

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