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June 16, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 70 Remsen Street, #3J

70-Remsen-3J-0609.jpg
This 400-square-foot studio at 70 Remsen Street looks like a solid deal at the asking price of $249,000. The main room is a simple, classic prewar space and the kitchen, while we don't love some of the design decisions, has recently been redone and looks perfectly nice. The current asking price comes out to about $620 a foot, a reasonable level for a prewar apartment in Brooklyn Heights. Thoughts?
70 Remsen Street, #3J [CBHKG] GMAP P*Shark





Posted by Brownstoner at 12:42 PM | Comments (19)
Categories: Brooklyn Heights, Co-ops

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Comments

Perfect Location.

Posted by: Expert Textpert at June 16, 2009 12:46 PM

Nice - my instincts are to check this out. kitchen is a little tiny though (even for a studio)

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 12:47 PM

It sounds like a good deal until you realize that the maintenance is $740 a month.

For A 400 sf studio, that is OUTRAGEOUS!

This building is notorious for high maintenance and I immediately crossed it off my list when I was looking for this very reason.

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 12:47 PM

i misread - thought maint was 620

11217 - what is the maint like in other buildings for studios in BH?

It seems the price takes this into account, as you don't see very many 250k studios floating around (or maybe you do, and i havent' been looking hard enough)

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 12:54 PM

even with the crazy maintenance it would cost less then 2k a month (if my mortgage calculations are accurate) to own this - not much more, if at all to rent a studio in BH.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 1:01 PM

DH:

From my experience shopping around, the average BH maintenance is about $1, psf or so, perhaps a bit more for a full service building. When you figure that 400 sf is probably rounded up, I think this is probably close to $2 psf. I would rather pay a bit more for the apartment itself to have a lower maintenance, but that's just me.

To give you an idea, my apartment is roughly this size and my maintenance is less than $275 a month. Granted it's in a brownstone and not a full service building, but still. That's a hefty difference in per month costs...

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 1:08 PM

Hey DH:

There are actually quite a few studios for sale in BH under 250K...more than most of the other Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods for some reason...there's even one listed here for 199K and 388 maintenance.

http://www.corcoran.com/property/search.aspx?Region=NYC&RentSale=SU

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 1:17 PM

"even with the crazy maintenance it would cost less then 2k a month (if my mortgage calculations are accurate) to own this - not much more, if at all to rent a studio in BH."

$1,900 gets you a 588 square foot studio at One Brooklyn Bridge Park--no maintainance and a "private storage unit" on the same floor. I'd rent.

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&listingid=1407833

Posted by: shillstoner at June 16, 2009 1:18 PM

Where do they mention the maintenance in the listing other than to say it includes all utilities? I looked really carefully and either I'm going blind or they don't state the amount per month (which I guess is in and of itself an indication that it's high).

Posted by: johnife at June 16, 2009 1:23 PM

Shillstoner:

So if renting is the same price as renting, why would someone rent, if they had the option to buy and could do so?

Even if you are able to sell in 10 years for the same price you paid with no appreciation whatsoever, you are still WAY ahead of the costs of renting.

I don't understand your logic. Especially given the fact that the tax benefits to owning far outweigh those of renting. It only doesn't make sense to buy when rental costs are significantly less, and in this case they are equal.

Keep in mind also, that the place you mention is probably literally on top of the BQE.

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 1:24 PM

Thanks 11217 - yeah in that case 740 does seem a little excessive.

I guess i was under the mistaken impression that you couldn't touch a starter studio anywhere in "prime" brooklyn for less then 300k, but maybe it's time to start looking again.


shillstoner - kinda tired of renting, looking to get into the owning game - if i was gonna keep renting i'd stay where i am now for 1k a month - although i'm sure the OBPP place is sweet.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 1:24 PM

"Where do they mention the maintenance in the listing other than to say it includes all utilities?"


They didn't. I looked it up on Streeteasy.

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 1:25 PM

DH:

Just came across this place (sorry for the Park Slope link) but it's in a great part of the Slope, has a garden and a fireplace. Can't really get a sense of the space, but it intrigues...especially for 300K...

http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/detail/56-1020665/11217-BROOKLYN-NY-USA/0-300000-price/PRICE-HIGH-sort/56-1020665--44-1531965--185-1628744--952-1A--56-888298--80-1127920--80-1129917-ls/7-t

Posted by: 11217 at June 16, 2009 1:27 PM

wow - nice slope link. very nice looking place, as the cheaper BH studios looked a little dark and dingy.

unfortunately for a 300k co-op i'd need to do a bit more saving as i'm sure they require 20-30% downpayment.

definitely motivating that the bottom is coming within reach again.

Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 16, 2009 1:35 PM

1/3 of a million bux for a single room. BANANAS!

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at June 16, 2009 1:36 PM

1/4

Posted by: brownstoner at June 16, 2009 1:41 PM

11217, Buying before the market hits bottom is probably to be avoided. Renting for the same monthly rate for the next 2 or so years makes far more sense.One BB Park is not my favorite, but it is certainly high on the cool factor. You can find plenty of studios and even 1 bedrooms in the Heights for around 2K--I just did a quickie search and found a load.

Posted by: shillstoner at June 16, 2009 1:42 PM

Unless there's some problem with the co-op that has caused it to sit on the market, that $199k studio that 11217 linked to isn't a bad deal at all...although at less than 300 sf it's definitely a bit small.

Posted by: collin85 at June 16, 2009 1:53 PM

Over the past year or two, this building had very contentious board difficulties regarding, if I have it right, roof repairs. Potential buyers might want to have a look at the board minutes for the past 2 years before plunking down a deposit.

Beautiful building and lobby , though!

Posted by: bklyn20 at June 16, 2009 6:10 PM

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