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December 18, 2008

Co-op of the Day: 515 East 7th Street

If we were childless, this two-bedroom at 515 East 7th Street in Kensington would be looking pretty good to us as a one-bedroom conversion. Check out that floorplan: Knock down that living room wall and the small wall in the dining area and you've got yourself quite a grand entertaining space, with a terrace to boot. The maintenance on the 1,247-square-foot apartment is $819 (not bad at all) and the asking price was just trimmed from $379,000 to $365,000 after ten weeks on the market. Interesting?
515 East 7th Street [Abacus] GMAP P*Shark

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Pretty sweet. I guess the indoor chair on the terrace is the apartment equivalent of the sofa on the porch right?

Posted by: TownhouseLady at December 18, 2008 1:22 PM

The co-op will never allow you to break down the walls!

Posted by: troll at December 18, 2008 1:31 PM

Why in the world would you convert this to a one bedroom? The living room is already huge! The 365k price tag is cheap for a 2BR, but 365k for 1BR is not so great, even though the square footage remains the same. You'd be losing a ton of value, unless you plan to live there forever and never have kids.

Posted by: TD at December 18, 2008 2:00 PM

Nice Layout.
While I don't agreet about knocking down the walls - there's plenty of space to entertain, with them up, the apt, is over 1,200 sq. ft.

Co-ops will definetely let you knock down walls, unless they're load bearing. And that they may even permit, if you provide structural support.

Posted by: bayridgegirl at December 18, 2008 2:03 PM

Agree that it wouldn't necessarily add value--just having bachelor pad fantasies, that's all!

Posted by: brownstoner at December 18, 2008 2:11 PM

"Agree that it wouldn't necessarily add value--just having bachelor pad fantasies, that's all!"
-Posted by: brownstoner at December 18, 2008 2:11 PM

Mrs. B...tame your man, give him some of your 'charm'

Posted by: bayridgegirl at December 18, 2008 2:14 PM

What would a comparable 2 bed apt in this nabe rent for?
$1600.
In this scenario, you put down $73K (20%)and are left with $292K mortgage. Your monthly carrying charges will be about $2,200 (1400 mortgage at 6% plus $819 maint.)

The chance of building any equity in the next 5-7 years is slim. Unless I am really off with the projected rent, it doesn't make sense to buy this place at this price.

If you use the anology that the purchase price should be 16 times the annual rent, this place should be priced at a little over $300K.

Posted by: kdabrowski at December 18, 2008 2:28 PM

The chance of building any equity in the next 5-7 years is slim. Unless I am really off with the projected rent, it doesn't make sense to buy this place at this price.

If you use the anology that the purchase price should be 16 times the annual rent, this place should be priced at a little over $300K.

Posted by: kdabrowski at December 18, 2008 2:29 PM

That's kinda far down Ocean Pkwy. for my taste. I wouldn't consider that "prime" Brooklyn, for better or for worse. I don't know how much appreciation Ocean Pkwy saw in the past 10 years, but you can figure the depreciation will be substantial.

Posted by: Bolder at December 18, 2008 2:52 PM

agreed w/ kdab and bolder. should be at least $100k below current ask. would probably still take a long time to move even then. what person resigned to not live in "prime" brooklyn would just have $70-80k laying around and not have a better use for it (e.g. earning interest in a cd)?

Posted by: jingle mail at December 18, 2008 2:57 PM

kdabrowski - I think you're neglecting to factor-in the mortgage interest deduction.
I'd say that if done properly, the math would actually favor ownership - or at least be a wash.
And that's leaving out the intangible preference many of us have for owning...
As for the question of building equity, you're also leaving out the fact that a mortgage payment includes pay-down towards principle - i.e. equity.
Not to whip out the 'bitter renter' tag, but I've noticed lately that many, many, many posters are making these sort of fundamental omissions. Wonder if this is yet another poorly-reasoned attempt at 'proving' that renting is better than owning...

Posted by: parkedslope at December 18, 2008 3:01 PM

Another omission is the fact that in 30yrs. you no longer have to pay the mortgage. Only maintenance and taxes. A renter will have to pay rent forever.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at December 18, 2008 3:18 PM

Subway access is not so hot, but otherwise this seems to be one of the more reasonably-priced 2 BRs I've seen in a while. that's not to say it couldn't stand a further shave - what couldn't, in this city? But this same apartment would be asking like $800k if it was in park slope.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at December 18, 2008 3:20 PM

"What would a comparable 2 bed apt in this nabe rent for?"

Probably more like $2000. Look at all that room. Two bathrooms. Terrace. Three blocks from the good stuff on Cortelyou.

Looks like a nice pad to me, but I also believe that the ask needs to come down a ways. Just wait. It will. $350k by January. $330k by April...

Posted by: SnarkSlope at December 18, 2008 3:23 PM

dunno about enlarging the living room - you can steal part of the foyer for that (what are you going to do with an 11x11 foyer?), or incorporate the dining room.

I would be tempted to lop off 6 feet from the bigger bedroom and turn it into a 6x11 study, with bedroom 2 reduced to 11x11 (still a decent size for a child's room) with both rooms still having a window.

Good for the Cortelyou Rd stuff but a bit far from the subway. Price, as ever, should come down.

Posted by: the chicken at December 18, 2008 3:47 PM

Brownstoner:

There are several post-war buildings on Manhattan's Sutton Place South with similar plans -- and a fat multiple of this one's price.

Apartments this vintage, well planned like this, can be very livable. Expecially good: the entrance off the foyer, so visitors don't see the whole place from the door but gradually enter increasingly private family rooms.

The architect for this number did a little thinking. From the pix, the building looks to be mid-fifties, when there was still the residual influence of pre-war, middle-class apartments by architects like Emery Roth. (In fact, I know a post-war Roth building on Fifth Avenue whose plan is very similar.)

The price is open to negotiation. But the apartment has "good bones."

Nostalgic on Park Avenue

Posted by: NOP at December 18, 2008 4:21 PM

For this price, I'd better buy this place in Kensington: http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/309105-coop-160-ocean-parkway-kensington-brooklyn
A little smaller (1050 sq/ft), 1 bath, no terrace, but the maintenance is $504 and it is located in the more prime area of Kensington (above Church Ave). Went into contract yesterday though.

Posted by: Gravis at December 19, 2008 9:44 AM

« Dumbo Commerical Space Still Booming House of the Day: 17 Old Fulton Street »

December 18, 2008

Co-op of the Day: 515 East 7th Street

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