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February 27, 2009

Open House Picks

housePark Slope
641 10th Street
Townsley & Gay
Sunday 12:30-2:30
$2,399,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseWindsor Terrace
235 Windsor Place
Warren Lewis
Sunday 12-2
$1,149,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseProspect Lefferts Gardens
207 Fenimore Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday 1-3
$850,000
GMAP P*Shark

houseKensington
428 East 2nd Street
Heights Berkeley
Sunday 12-2
$615,000
GMAP P*Shark




Posted by Brownstoner at 1:16 PM | Comments (37)
Categories: Open Houses

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Comments

10th Street house has been on the market forever at the same price.

Posted by: bk14 at February 27, 2009 1:24 PM

Is it Me or do we keep seeing houses for sale pretty much in 3 areas of BK - Prospect Lefferts, Windsor Terrace and Kingston

Also - can someone tell me where exactly Prospect Lefferts is?
My husband gets mad at me when I show him listings there and he just says - um, that's Flatbush!

Posted by: gemini10 at February 27, 2009 1:25 PM

sorry - I meant KENSINGTON!!!!

Posted by: gemini10 at February 27, 2009 1:30 PM

still thinking about that grand Kingston mansion eh?

Posted by: dittoburg at February 27, 2009 1:40 PM

That Kensington house is adorable and seemingly reasonable in price, although we can only afford a two family. BRG, do you like this place?

Posted by: mopar at February 27, 2009 1:47 PM

"Is it Me or do we keep seeing houses for sale pretty much in 3 areas of BK - Prospect Lefferts, Windsor Terrace and K[ensington?]"

It's we. The inventory glut has spread from Carnarsie, East New York, Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, Flatbush, to those areas you mentioned above (that's why so many OHP's there). Next stop, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Park Slope, Boreum Hill, etc.

"Also - can someone tell me where exactly Prospect Lefferts is?"

Flatbush. ("The Bush...The Bush" - Special Ed circa '88)

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at February 27, 2009 1:53 PM

WT, PLG and K look too much like Queens. Brownstones aint for everybody. To each...

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at February 27, 2009 1:58 PM

BHO, despite the pre-foreclosures and undesirable wrecks in Bushwick, there's no inventory glut. Inventory is WAY down from the 2006 peak. Anyone with a decent house wants to live in it, or they don't want to sell it for a low price. It's frustrating. I want to buy something.

Posted by: mopar at February 27, 2009 2:11 PM

They do look too much like Queens. I was thinking that PLG house has been Queen-ified with its ceiling fans, 50s par-kay, 80s window trim, and brick fireplace.

Posted by: mopar at February 27, 2009 2:13 PM

What's your definition of an inventory glut, mopar?

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at February 27, 2009 2:13 PM

mopar - where are you looking and how much can you afford?

BHO - haha - exactly - PLG is Flatbush - my husband's right!
damn good West Indian food over there though!

Posted by: gemini10 at February 27, 2009 2:19 PM

I went to an open-house at the East 2nd place - Kensington - a couple of weeks ago.

Pros: Solid bones, lovely formal living room, large rooms. It is HUGE and the layout's pretty cool. You could probably even finish the basement, which has hookups for laundry and possibly a bathroom. Also it's got a very nice, very large backyard, and they built an extra room onto the kitchen that leads out to the back.

Problems: Front yard is all gravel and needs landscaping. "Sun Porch" gets very little sun but has decent space. Rear room (between kitchen and yard) is more like a shed than a room. Floors need complete overhaul throughout second and third stories (and even the first story is iffy). Kitchen and bath need full gut reno (haven't been touched since the 60s or earlier). The stairs to the third floor are super-steep. Only one bathroom for the entire house.

Our conclusion was: great bones, needs a lot of work, and way too big for what we needed. For a family with two kids, it might work, especially if you could figure out how to get a second bathroom in there.

If you could get it for 450, I'd say it's a steal. 600? Maybe not.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at February 27, 2009 2:25 PM

CW, Do you think any house which is small enough for you will be a good investment (if we can use that word these days?)? I've noticed houses being too big is a common thread in your posts. Perhaps an apartment might work better?

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at February 27, 2009 2:38 PM

CWB - I would say a seller in Kensington would part with the house at around $450-500K and then agreed it would be a steal but you would probably have to put about $50K in reno if you just kept it to kitchn,bathroom,floors and landscaping...

Posted by: gemini10 at February 27, 2009 2:39 PM

Putnamdenizen - we're looking into condos and co-ops for that reason, but what I would really love is a three-story row house where the garden floor is a rental unit, and the top two floors are an owner's 3BR duplex (with a deck so we can access the garden). That would be perrrfect for my wife and I.

gemini10 - yeh, I would say it needs between $50k and $100k worth of work to be really nice. But take my estimates with a grain of salt because I've never done reno before. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at February 27, 2009 2:43 PM

I agree with CWB's assessment on Kensington. I'd add that the block has minimal street parking with all the curb cuts and this house doesn't have a curb cut. A problem if someone had a car.

Posted by: GeorgeAppo at February 27, 2009 2:48 PM

Regarding the 10th street house -- is that a DOOR in the front parlor where a fireplace should be? The broker is also doing those folks a serious disservice by not helping them to stage the house for sale. Is that a pile of laundry in a red tub in the third-floor dining room? And how about - before you take the photo of that dining room - removing the fan with the electric cord that is stretched across the floor? How about a duvet cover, and something to cover the bare box springs on the bed in the master bedroom? Is the kitchen really so small that you have to keep the cereal on top of the fridge? Sheesh....

Posted by: Park Sloper at February 27, 2009 3:29 PM

cw, thanks for the info on Kensington. When you say the floors need an overhaul -- do you mean they need refinishing or they need to be replaced in their entirety?

That 30s bathroom (or whatever it is) looks cute to me and the 80s kitchen doesn't look too ungodly. But anyway we need a two-family.

Gemini, we are looking for a two-family in the $420,000 to $520,000 range. We have been looking in Bushwick (and a little bit into Bed Stuy and Ridgewood). Got any suggestions?

BHO, there are far fewer places on the market now than last year or 2006. We're looking for a two-family on the L train between Flushing and Myrtle and only four have come up for sale in the last year. That's ridiculous.

Posted by: mopar at February 27, 2009 3:38 PM

All I can say about those neighborhoods is "boy the way Glenn Miller played, songs that made the hit parade...".

From someone who grew up in Queens.

Posted by: saminthehood at February 27, 2009 3:39 PM

> "is that a DOOR in the front parlor where a fireplace should be?"

You've heard of WICs and WBFPs, right? This is a WIFP.

Posted by: SnarkSlope at February 27, 2009 3:41 PM

CWB - wow you've just described my house! That said, don't undeerestimate your ability to fill available space. My situation is a bit different, in that I have my six year old son in addition to my partner and myself. We kind of feel like we could use one more room (or floor!). That third bedroom in line with the hallway in most rowhouses is pretty useless.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at February 27, 2009 3:41 PM

Is that a good price on the PLG house? I don't know that nabe.

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at February 27, 2009 3:47 PM

"BHO, there are far fewer places on the market now than last year or 2006. We're looking for a two-family on the L train between Flushing and Myrtle and only four have come up for sale in the last year. That's ridiculous."

But I'm talking about WT, PLG and K. Many listings in those areas mentioned here on brownstoner. I don't have list in front of me but I'd say there's an inventory glut there fast approaching so-called prime Brooklyn (Fort Greene, Park Slope, etc.).

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at February 27, 2009 4:05 PM

Oh, sorry, BHO!

When you said "The inventory glut has spread from Carnarsie, East New York, Bed Stuy, Crown Heights, Flatbush" I actually thought I read "Bushwick" in there. Oopsie.

Posted by: mopar at February 27, 2009 4:20 PM

I've heard people say though the same thing about Clinton Hill -- that inventory is way down.

Then again, I've also heard people say prices are about 15 percent down there. They're certainly down in Bushwick, even though it's impossible to find anything. Wacky.

Posted by: mopar at February 27, 2009 4:22 PM

mopar - the floors need to be replaced entirely. Unless you really dig 3/4-inch cracks between the boards, and the edges separating from the walls. :)

Putnamdenizen - Yeh, if there were kids in my future then what I described wouldn't be big enough. But there aren't - so a master, a guest bedroom/office, and another small office are perfect for my wife and I. We live with very little stuff and don't like collecting things, so that helps too.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at February 27, 2009 4:26 PM

Gemini10 wrote:

"can someone tell me where exactly Prospect Lefferts is?
My husband gets mad at me when I show him listings there and he just says - um, that's Flatbush!"

Empire Blvd. to Clarkson Ave. and Ocean Avenue toNew York Ave.

Your husband's right--PLG is part of Flatbush, which has MANY historic neighborhoods), although PLG, across Prospect Park from Park Slope, is the only one (except for the small Albermarle--Kenmore Terrace HD) that was built mainly with brownstone,limestone,and brick row houses. The current open house pick is an exception.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at February 27, 2009 4:28 PM

CWbuecheler,

The only thing I caution regarding the kids situation is sometimes they sneak up on you. We had friends who said the same thing bought a beautiful 1 bed condo. and found out she was pregnant 8 months into it (whoops!).

The cost of listing, moving and closing on a new place had them in the red.

I say at the minimum go 1 room bigger than you currently need.

Might save yoiu money and grief in the long run.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at February 27, 2009 4:32 PM

Bid Half,

Do these look like Queens?

http://brooklyncameraclub.org/v-web/gallery/album196

"WT, PLG and K look too much like Queens. Brownstones aint for everybody. To each...

***Bid half off peak comps***"

Posted by: Bob Marvin at February 27, 2009 4:35 PM

Gemini10, traveling south into Brooklyn, PLG is the first neighborhood in the vast geographical terrain called Flatbush. Nestled between Prospect Park to the west and the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to the south, it's bounded by Ocean Avenue (w), Empire Boulevard(n)New York Avenue (e) and Clarkson Avenue(s). The immediately adjoining neighborhood to the north and east of PLG is Crown Heights and, sometimes, locations in PLG are described as Crown Heighs and vice versa. Here is a map of PLG's boundaries, which also include the Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Lefferts Manor Historic Districts:
http://www.planetplg.com/images/plg-map.gif.

BTW, despite the relatively teeny size of this Flatbush nabe, PLG may soon claim a third Historic District. The Ocean on the Park Houses HD is currently under consideration by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and will be the subject of a public hearing on landmarks designation at the LPC on March 24th.

Posted by: Brooklynista at February 27, 2009 4:35 PM

Brookynista,

Ocean on the Park would actually be only the second PLG Historic District (unless you're counting the City-designated Prospect-Lefferts Gardens HD and the National Register Lefferts Manor HD separately.

That's great news about the March 24th LPC hearing--I hadn't heard anything. Did the Ocean Ave. homeowners just get a letter from the LPC?

Posted by: Bob Marvin at February 27, 2009 4:49 PM

Yeah, Bob. I was counting them separately. Thanks for the correction! :) Yes, we got certified letters from the LPC today about the Public Hearing on March 24th. Boy, that was fast! Looks like LPC is really moving much, much faster these days.

Posted by: Brooklynista at February 27, 2009 5:01 PM

THL - I'm taking steps to ensure that an accident is impossible. I can't think of anything that would more effectively ruin the entire rest of my life than having children. :P

Posted by: cwbuecheler at February 27, 2009 5:20 PM

Brooklynista,

Wow!

Of course it helps that there are only 12 houses and your neighbors did most of the research that the LPC needs, but this IS incredibly fast.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at February 27, 2009 5:21 PM

BTW, the City PLG HD and National Register LM HD AREN'T exactly the same, but they do overlap. I never understood why some blocks were omitted from the NR HD, but never paid much attention since it's the City designation that really counts.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at February 27, 2009 5:31 PM

"Do these look like Queens?

http://brooklyncameraclub.org/v-web/gallery/album196"

No, but they don't look like the open house picks neither.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at February 28, 2009 6:08 PM

Quite true,Bid Half. I had read your comment as a blanket statement about the three neighborhoods, but, on re-reading, it could just as well be a comment about the three specific open houses. If that's the case, I apologize.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at February 28, 2009 7:19 PM

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