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July 29, 2009

House of the Day: 156 Hicks Street Revisited

156-Hicks-Street-0709.jpg
When we wrote about 156 Hicks Street last October, it was priced at $2,875,000. At the time we wrote the following: "156 Hicks Street is less than 16 feet wide, and is in need of some TLC. The raw materials are there (woodwork, mantels, etc.) but the $2,875,000 asking price still's not a lay-up, primarily because, well, nothing's a lay-up in this market." With hindsight, saying it wasn't a lay-up was something of an understatement. Since then, there have been seven price cuts, the most recent of which last week brought the asking price down to $1,799,500. At some point soon, location will have to carry the day!
156 Hicks Street [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
House of the Day: 156 Hicks Street [Brownstoner]






Posted by Brownstoner at 1:10 PM | Comments (29)
Categories: Brooklyn Heights, HOTD

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Comments

Too bad there wasn't a widget for pricing that HOTD...

Posted by: northsloperenter at July 29, 2009 1:14 PM

Someone forgot to add a kitchen.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 29, 2009 1:18 PM

Dumb Question:
But why have many of the more recent(am talking past month) HOTD's been "REvisited"? Are we that low on inventory that Brownstoner can't showcase new homes for sale?

Posted by: gemini10 at July 29, 2009 1:20 PM

"Revisited"

A trend grows in brownstoner. Wow, 1.8. And they want close to this in Clinton Hill. Renovated but still.

***Bid half off peak comps***

Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at July 29, 2009 1:26 PM

wowza - now that seems like a grat price. Not sure what it means though that a 'commercial loan" is necessary? Is that what's keeping buyers away?

Posted by: gkw at July 29, 2009 1:26 PM

commercial loan means that it is not habitable right now and only people sitting on huge cash can buy it so yes it limits who can buy it.

Posted by: brickoven at July 29, 2009 1:31 PM

Another way to look at the revisiting is that houses are lingering a long time, allowing a revisit many months later, with obligatory price cuts, after they originally hit market.

Posted by: Miss Muffett at July 29, 2009 1:31 PM

Wonder how much the renovation would cost with nice, but not extravagant, finishes?

Posted by: Miss Muffett at July 29, 2009 1:34 PM

Yeah, what's up with the commercial loan requirement?

Posted by: Boerumresident at July 29, 2009 1:36 PM

Brickoven -- thanks

Posted by: Boerumresident at July 29, 2009 1:41 PM

who put in 2 million on the widget? I think we all want to know that...

Posted by: brickoven at July 29, 2009 1:43 PM

I was guessing the commercial loan requirement means that the CofO is multi-family.

Posted by: Kris at July 29, 2009 1:44 PM

BO, that doesn't make sense. The Web site says a commercial loan, not a 203K construction loan, is required. I don't see a storefront nor do I see any kitchens. But maybe it's an SRO. The bathrooms look to be potentially a mess, on the floor plan at least. Needs more photos.

Posted by: mopar at July 29, 2009 1:47 PM

If the C of O is not multi family, it can only be due to the fact that there's no kitchen, easily remedied and worked out by a buyer and seller.

I'll check the DOB website.

Yes, your welcome.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 29, 2009 1:47 PM

oooooh......nearly Brownstone half-off.....

Posted by: the chicken at July 29, 2009 1:49 PM

CofO says 1 0ne family and 9 furnished rooms. This requires a commercial loan. Is this the same as SRO with those 9 furnished rooms.

It had a one family CofO in the 1930s and was converted in the 1960s. There were a lot of bad things done in the sixties; however sex, drugs and rock and roll were not among them. This conversion was!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 29, 2009 1:51 PM

Mopar I am guessing that it has no kitchen and is not considered habitable and that people who cant meet a very high equity up front cant buy it. This is a sick loaction!

Posted by: brickoven at July 29, 2009 1:53 PM

This is a tough one. With that commercial loan requirement hard to say what this is actually going to go for. On one hand you can't buy a rowhouse in the Heights for anything close to this, but on the other hand it appears what you would be buying in this case is a shell. What is the value of a shell in a great location?

In re houses lingering, properties have to be in good shape and priced right to move. We have seen examples of this time and again. This house is potentially neither so its not surprising it has lingered.

Posted by: wasder at July 29, 2009 2:11 PM

I'm sure quite a story to it. Will take a neighbor to pipe in and let us know history.
Propshark show lis pendens and foreclosure actions. Looks like guy inherited 20+ years ago. And eventually took out big mortgages. Also owns next door. Probably too complicated for most people to get loan, clear title, etc. But certainly worth the price. In hot market someone would have been more daring - but in this market these are the ones that bring the average sales prices way down.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 29, 2009 2:11 PM

BO, with no kitchen it will require a construction loan, not a commercial loan. And that is zero problem.

But that's not the issue. Thank you, Dave, for looking up the CofO.

I've never even heard of that -- one family and nine furnished rooms!? So they used a hot plate or shared a kitchen? Why, was it illegal to have roommates back then? Wacky!

Couldn't this be easily changed? It's a one family. Unless........OMG, unless they are all still living there!

Posted by: mopar at July 29, 2009 2:23 PM

It could be an SRO without a certificate of non-harassment. I still think it has the potential to be a great deal, if there is lots of original detail still left. The absence of a kitchen could be a plus. Now you can put it anywhere you like.

Posted by: homey at July 29, 2009 2:29 PM

Posted by: northsloperenter at July 29, 2009 1:14 PM

"Too bad there wasn't a widget for pricing that HOTD..."

I KNOW...because without it there's no way for the bears to try and point out that for every 1 sale that "beats" consensus, there are a ton more like this that suffer death by a thousand cuts, or sell at 30% off, or get delisted.

It's like an aging power hitter, you know We can sit and argue about how many feet he'll hit the ball in any one at bat and joust over the results, or we can just realize that as he gets longer in the tooth, his power numbers will inevitably decrease.

Posted by: MoneyForNothing at July 29, 2009 3:04 PM

Bulls, bears...whatever! This is what was missing in the overheated market of late. When a property has some issues, it should be a bit of a buy for someone willing to wade through the problems. It should not be priced as if it were in pristine condition and 22' wide, which it was, at first.

This place may have some issues, among them the width (which can't be "fixed"), but what a location! For someone willing to take on the issues, opportunity knocks.

Posted by: dylanfan at July 29, 2009 3:05 PM

"For someone willing to take on the issues, opportunity knocks. "

as you said: lop a good $300-400K off the price and it's worth the headache and risk.

396 Vanderbilt (2X HOTD) is the classic example of this. Originally asking over $2 Mil a year ago, down to 1.4 Mil. It's nothing short of an unmitigated disaster inside.

Greed + Stupidity = unsold property.

Posted by: MoneyForNothing at July 29, 2009 3:11 PM

come on whwo put 2 million in on the widget. I can broker this for you right now. BWHAHAHA

Posted by: brickoven at July 29, 2009 3:14 PM

A renovated house across the street with nearly identical width and depth, but one less floor, sold for $2.7 mil. It was in "Last Week's Biggest Sales" a few weeks ago. If one assumes the current market price on this house - renovated - would be $3.375 mil (adjusting up for size), and you subtract the cost of a $350/sq ft renovation (middle of the road cost for single family in the heights) + architect fee, you'd want to pay no more than $1.7 mil for this house in its current condition. Pretty close to the current listed price. But as stated, you'd need to do it all/most in cash.

Posted by: NorthHeights at July 29, 2009 3:59 PM

furnished rooms=SRO. Trust me - I know! If the buyer gets an affidavit that states there were no tenants in the past 3 years - the Certificate of Non-Harassment can be expedited. This is a great deal for someone who has money and patience.

Posted by: Leffertslodger at July 29, 2009 4:39 PM

I know the SRO could be hassle...but by all records we have seen says is single family CofO....not an SRO. IF SRO - there would be the fire escapes, sprinklers, etc quite visible.

Am still hoping nosey neighbor who has poop on the owner and history/use of this house pipes in.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 29, 2009 4:46 PM

I bought a house thinking the same thing. At the end of the day it was (as I went through the process of changing the CofO to a non-SRO) a SRO. Call HPD - they will tell you the same thing.

Posted by: Leffertslodger at July 30, 2009 3:28 PM

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