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August 17, 2009

Co-op of the Day: 358 Eastern Parkway, #8

358-Eastern-Parkway-0809.jpg
This two-bedroom, two-bath co-op on the top floor of 358 Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights has nice vibe to it--prewar deets plus updated kitchen along with nice light. The railroad-y layout may not float everyone's boat, but for the buyer who will still have some cash lying around after ponying up for the $555,000 asking price the roof rights certainly sweeten the deal. The maintenance is an eminently reasonable $560 per month. You like-y?
358 Eastern Parkway, #8 [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark





Posted by Brownstoner at 12:40 PM | Comments (35)
Categories: Co-ops, Prospect Heights

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Comments

Nice apt and layout, IMO. But is this a walkup?

Posted by: tinarina at August 17, 2009 12:47 PM

The maintenance is $703 according to Corcoran.

Posted by: GeorgeAppo at August 17, 2009 12:51 PM

Please stop asking " you like-y" It's just off putting and awkward.

Posted by: mopey dick at August 17, 2009 12:52 PM

this is Crown Heights, not Prospect Heights.

Posted by: panamac at August 17, 2009 12:53 PM

It reminds me of "No tickey, no laundry."

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at August 17, 2009 12:54 PM

Roof rights as stated would mean everyone in the building has access to the roof, no? If it was sole roof rights (only the owner of this unit) has access, then I would imagine a premium, but if the whole building has access and without pics, I would guess that the roof rights are no big whoop. Layout is actually not bad but the bedrooms are tiny.

Posted by: CG_ups at August 17, 2009 12:57 PM

nice looking unit. decent size. good location. but it aint getting over 500k. without doing the math on flrplan, it does look like it's 1000 sq ft

Posted by: more4less at August 17, 2009 12:58 PM

At $375k with 20% down, mortgage plus maintenance is about $2,400. Seems pretty close to the rent equivalent.

Posted by: Brokedeveloper at August 17, 2009 1:17 PM

This is so far from the actual borders of Prospect Heights as to invite derision. Nice looking pad though.

Posted by: wasder at August 17, 2009 1:20 PM


This is in Crown Heights.

Posted by: East New York at August 17, 2009 1:26 PM

Seriously - I know that some neighborhood borders are up for dispute, but Washington Ave is pretty commonly agreed upon as the PH/CH border. I've seen some brokers try to stretch past Gradn even sometimes all the way to Classon. Which is clearly just a marketing ploy. But this is a full block and a half even past that. This place is probably closer to whatever the neighborhood on the other side of CH is ( I have no idea) than to PH.

Posted by: bkre at August 17, 2009 1:34 PM

This kind of pricing is why I think that Montgomery Street building looks like a good deal -- it's basically the same location, if not a bit better for less than half the money.

Also, that renovation had no business putting in 2 bathrooms at the expense of one of the bedroom's size... other than that, I like the layout.

Posted by: Heather at August 17, 2009 1:37 PM

This is Crown Heights - the border is the east side of Washington, I can see why a broker may want to stretch that to Franklin, saying PH pass that is laughable. Not a bad location - Probably the best subway options in Bk outside of Downtown. Still have to deal with the "nuisance" factor on Franklin Ave.

Posted by: Crownlfc at August 17, 2009 1:46 PM

Brokedeveloper, 2400 rent for something comparable to this unit sounds high to me. when I recently did a quick scan for mkt value on rents (ie own an aptmt on Dean St & Brooklyn), I concluded a realistic range (depending on level of renov I would put into the place) was 1700 - 2000. my place would be 30%+ bigger, comparable or even better prewar details, top flr, roof access,.... So unless rents on that Eastern Parkway block is that much higher than where my place is, 2400 sounds too high hence you 375k # needs to come down if we're basing valuations off rents.

that said thought, mkt is not pricing (buying or selling) based on rent so your 375k is probably a little low. I'm guessing someone might pick it up in the 400k's. 550k prices sounds like what they charge in PH and this is not PH.

good looking place and location though. just the price is ugly

Posted by: more4less at August 17, 2009 1:56 PM

I took a look at this place yesterday. It's a walkup, but not a killer. The apartment was nice but some of the details were sloppy, like the moldings and the painting job. The roof rights are exclusive to the two apartments on the top floor, with each apartment getting a section of their own. The location is nice and two bed/two bath with private roof rights is not bad. Having seen it i would say $500,000 is fair.

Posted by: billbutter at August 17, 2009 2:04 PM

More4, you are probably right that the rent is too high. You are probably also right that the market isn't yet at rent equivalent.....but it will probably end up back there before too long.
Remember those days when one bought in part because it was cheaper than renting? I just can't imagine paying more to own than rent right now with all the uncertainty on the price side.
This apartment looks nice, but agree with previous poster that the bedroom size is going to eliminate a lot of prospective buyers and make the apartment more subject to the vagaries of the current market than others.

Posted by: Brokedeveloper at August 17, 2009 2:06 PM

This needs to come down to the low 400s, max. I think $375 sounds reasonable.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 17, 2009 2:15 PM

Wait, my broker told me Nostrand was the border of Prospect Heights! She said $1,600 bucks for a one bedroom in such an 'up and coming' neighborhood was a steal!

Posted by: dirty_hipster at August 17, 2009 2:29 PM

The listing price is ridiculous-easy to find a 2br in Manhattan for this money (ie harlem,wash.heights) no need to hike to crown heights!

Posted by: bklplebe at August 17, 2009 2:30 PM

Brokedeveloper,

if market is logical, you're right in that prices will have to come back but we haven't seen prices match rent valuations in a super long time. The monthly outflow on a price anywhere close to 500k plus the 700 maintenance puts total close to 3000/month.

Billbutter,

would you say 500k makes sense when you consider that you can rent something much bigger, better pre-war details (going with "better" since I notice this has no fireplace, pier mirror,...), washer dryer, ... comparable (albeit I would say better) location for 2000/month? I curious to hear logic how 100k down paymt, $1000 more per month, smaller place makes sense. Owning has it benefits but not when prices are this much higher than rents. rent now, buy later if prices come down to rational levels. I'm not picking on you but rather curious to understand how buyers today can rationalize such a massive diff vs rent

Posted by: more4less at August 17, 2009 2:31 PM

"Parkway"

No other comment.

Posted by: MoneyForNothing at August 17, 2009 2:34 PM

I don't understand the rent/buying dynamics either -- that's why I think we either needs some massive inflation (which would be ugly), or some massive real estate deflatin (which would also be ugly.)

That being said, speaking of Inwood and Washington Heights, there are 2 bedrooms right now going in Hudson View Gardens on Pinehurst for close to this price. True, I'm sure the co-op board there is scary, and maintenance slightly higher, but that place is spectacular and the immediate area is about a million times nicer.

Posted by: Heather at August 17, 2009 2:44 PM

The problem with comparing these areas, is that Brooklyn just has a lot more "cool" factor than Harlem or Washington Heights and Inwood. Not to mention that it's a quicker commute to downtown Manhattan than it is from uptown Manhattan and many young people do socialize downtown.

I used to recall many of my friends who wanted a cheaper space would move to Harlem, Washington Heights 5, 6 years ago, and now no one even looks there anymore...it's Brooklyn all the way. Even the Musical Theatre people who used to congregate in droves up in Washington Heights seem to be trickling out to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn has done a great job "re-randing" itself, I'll say that.

As for this apartment, it looks nice but overpriced by 100K.

Posted by: 11217 at August 17, 2009 3:13 PM

I am not sure why crown heights has more "cool factor" than harlem or wash.heights but you can find something similar in other manhattan heighborhoods--look at nytimes ads there are places in LES, etc

Posted by: bklplebe at August 17, 2009 3:16 PM

Sorry, meant "re-branding"

Posted by: 11217 at August 17, 2009 3:20 PM

if you mean rebranding in the sense of douchey things to do for hipsters and yuppies, then yeah i guess youre right :-/

harlem will always have a special place in my heart, even tho i really wanted to get out of there as fast as i could.

way too much hardcore drug use up there for an impressionable lil snowflake like myself.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at August 17, 2009 3:30 PM

> I am not sure why crown heights has more "cool factor" than harlem or wash.heights

That's because it doesn't.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 17, 2009 3:37 PM

The floor plan could use a smige of tweeking (move the door to the Master Bedroom deeper into the hall past the second bathroom to form a real Master Suite, flip the sink and shower in the Master Bathroom and install a tub or bigger shower).

Is the Co-Op going to restore the building's cornice? And if not why not?

Posted by: FloatingWorld at August 17, 2009 3:43 PM


Cool is in the eye of the beholder.

Posted by: East New York at August 17, 2009 3:46 PM

A new fiberglass cornice should run about $20,000 or so plus installation. The building would be hugely enhanced.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 17, 2009 3:49 PM

Minard,

how does fiberglass compare to wood or pressed metal cornice on overall cost (ie including installation)?

Posted by: more4less at August 17, 2009 3:55 PM

because this building is not in an historic district, the co-op can purchase a cornice that is a standard design stocked by a manufacturer such as Architectural Fiberglass of Long Island. A synthtic (generic fiberglass) cornice is usually cheaper than a wood or pressed metal and can be quite ornate. Sometimes only the brackets and fancy bits are fiberglass and the rest is marine-grade plywood. There are a number of ways to achieve an excellent result.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 17, 2009 4:44 PM

Those bedroooms are awfully small. OK for a family with one child, or, better yet, as a 1 br with study/guest room. In Crown Heights, this is a 425K place or less.

As for the aforementioned "cool factor": It's not that CH is a hot neighborhood, but you can easily get to PH, FG, the other CH etc. Whereas in Inwood etc., you can't easily get to the nearest hot nabe, which is probably the West Village. I agree that the buzz is off Upper Manhattan...

Posted by: Bolder at August 17, 2009 6:52 PM

This board is so predictable! The second I saw the words "Prospect Heights" I knew there'd be a slew of posts by the border nazis pontificating about Washington Ave. You guys need to get a life.

Posted by: Big Jugs at August 17, 2009 7:14 PM

to some proximity to the Columbia u area is more important than proximity to the "hot prospect heights nabe". Guess who's more loaded :)


Posted by: bklplebe at August 17, 2009 7:25 PM

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