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August 6, 2009
House of the Day: 329 President Street
Call it death by a thousand cuts. Even when 329 President Street was listed in the comparatively strong market of early 2008 it was obvious that it was embarrassingly overpriced. $3,600,000 for a three-story house in Carroll Gardens, we asked incredulously. 'Twas not to be. It didn't take long for the seller to start scaling back expectations but, given the starting point, the initial reduction of $605,000 didn't have any impact. In 2009, the property has had four more price cuts, the most recent of which was at the end of July and brought the asking price to $1,975,000, almost half of where it started over a year and a half ago. Now that we can see photos of the character-less renovation, we'd say this still has quite a way to go.
329 President Street [Vita/Streeteasy] GMAP P*Shark
Overpricing Not Working in Carroll Gardens [Brownstoner]
What the Heck Is Going On in Carroll Gardens? [Brownstoner]
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Comments
Put it back up to 3,600,000, At least people will talk about it then.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 1:21 PM
Funny rich people.
Posted by: tybur6 at August 6, 2009 1:23 PM
From the listing:
"The Lower duplex is accessed under the stoop. Bedroom is in the front room. In center is kitchen, same as on the upper duplex including appliances, which opens into dining/living room area. Sliding doors to large landscaped stone garden. There is a full bathroom on this level. Stairs lead down into an OPEN LARGE family Room tastefully designed with stone tiled floors. "
Am I reading this right? The lower duplex is one floor on the garden level and another floor entirely underground?
Posted by: Smudge at August 6, 2009 1:24 PM
We looked at this house when we passed an Open House last spring, and "character-less" perfectly describes the interior--cold and generic off-the-shelf "luxury." It made us wonder why you'd buy an old house thus "upgraded" instead of a spanking new condo,if you wanted to feel as if you lived in a hotel. The garden space was particularly pitiful and soulless, with the shrubs lined up to be shot by a firing squad. Lovely block, though.
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at August 6, 2009 1:25 PM
I think it's still overpriced and agreed much of it is generic
however I do like the layout of the kitchen -
maybe because it seems bright and sunny and you have a nice open layout into the room adjacent.
Posted by: gemini10 at August 6, 2009 1:29 PM
"with the shrubs lined up to be shot by a firing squad"
hilarious
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 1:34 PM
"It made us wonder why you'd buy an old house thus "upgraded" instead of a spanking new condo,if you wanted to feel as if you lived in a hotel."
Right. That's a problem.
Still think current "appraisal" of 1.3 is too low.
Posted by: Nomi at August 6, 2009 1:38 PM
It is on one of the deep blocks with the front gardens. That will push up the price past $1.3 or whatever they're getting these days. I'm a little surprised that Brownstoner and Brenda think money has something to do with taste (in any direction). Wouldn't this appeal to a demographic along the lines of the Real Housewives of New Jersey?
Posted by: mopar at August 6, 2009 1:41 PM
Of course, the buyers will have to get rid of that skanky brownstone front. Maybe some shiny new aluminum railings will do the trick.
Posted by: mopar at August 6, 2009 1:42 PM
to go back to smudge's section, are the lower two levels the garden level and the basement/cellar? who is going to want to live like that, mole people? love the block, hate what they did to the backyard.
Posted by: CG_ups at August 6, 2009 1:59 PM
I like the block too. The backyard dog run can be turned into a garden fairly cheaply using a jackhammer and some plants.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 2:04 PM
urgh, i meant question, not section.
Posted by: CG_ups at August 6, 2009 2:04 PM
The lower level of the lower duplex does indeed appear to be a windowless mole lair:
- http://properties.shopbrooklynlistings.com/Slideshow.aspx?gallery=214501
I suspect some affluent Morlock will snatch it up in a heartbeat.
Posted by: DitmasSnark at August 6, 2009 2:17 PM
pretty sure this is landmark block so they can't ruin the exterior.
Will eventually find the right buyer who likes this kind of luxury. The mechanicals are probably all new and quality. So that is big factor. Current price could be close.
This is very prime location.
Posted by: Petebklyn at August 6, 2009 2:19 PM
"very prime" Thats a new one that realtors haven't used yet. You should trademark it.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 2:34 PM
amazingly little curb appeal for a place with so much curb.
Posted by: i disagree at August 6, 2009 2:42 PM
So no-one is stunned by it then? the realtors will be surprised.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 2:50 PM
i don't think the interior is that bad. it's set up perfectly for you to decorate to your taste - but i'm also a RhoNJ fan.
i think the house should be set up as a one family with a great storage/usable cellar. they cannot expect to pull off a windowless cellar as a duplex! or if they need rental income. just rent the ground floor as a one bedroom and live in the upper duplex.
Posted by: bkny at August 6, 2009 2:51 PM
It's still listed for $2.2 million on the website.
Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 6, 2009 2:51 PM
what school is this zoned for?
Posted by: bkny at August 6, 2009 2:56 PM
thats irrelevant, its a well known fact on this site that anyone buying a house over a million bucks is filthy rich and will inevitably send their kid to private school.
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 3:01 PM
I like it. I will offer them one meeeelionnn dollars...
Posted by: the chicken at August 6, 2009 3:02 PM
Probably PS 58, which is less than 2 blocks away.
Posted by: CarrollGardened at August 6, 2009 3:02 PM
Chicken, go back to DP. what you doing eyeing stuff in CG?
Posted by: more4less at August 6, 2009 3:12 PM
Ditto -- while I don't disagree with your statement :-) I think your comment about richy riches and private school may have been a little tongue-in-cheek. You cheeky monkey.
Posted by: tybur6 at August 6, 2009 3:12 PM
streeteasy says ps 32.
Posted by: i disagree at August 6, 2009 3:13 PM
;-)
Posted by: dittoburg at August 6, 2009 3:14 PM
ditto - your right. silly me. what type of logic and common sense was i thinking about!
Posted by: bkny at August 6, 2009 3:45 PM
ditto - your right. silly me. what type of logic and common sense was i thinking about!
Posted by: bkny at August 6, 2009 3:45 PM
Ditto, ditto!
(and if that were truly the case, the private schools would be positively bursting at the seams with students and applicants. The relatively small number of privates we have could not possibly accommodate the volume of children living in meeeeelionnnn dollar homes.)
Posted by: Nokilissa at August 6, 2009 3:47 PM
I think stoner should set up a school tab on top.
thank you,
diffrent mold
Posted by: jack slade at August 6, 2009 4:01 PM
death by 1000 cuts and its only on cut 600, more pain to come
Posted by: brickoven at August 6, 2009 4:29 PM
This house isn't zoned for PS 58, it's zoned for PS 32 (both are a block away in either direction). Houses on other side of the block are zoned for 58 and the composition of the two schools is dramatically different, which isn't helped by the fact that 32 zone incorporates a large public housing project. However, DOE wants to improve PS 32, so is doing things to attract the more affluent newcomers but don't know how well it's working. Also, there are rumors the DOE wants to do away with zones altogether, so perhaps the school zone won't matter so much in the future.
Posted by: CGfan at August 6, 2009 8:48 PM
we got some violations to take care of here...and since im spending so much money to buy this house, i might as well spend the extra money and get a certificate of occupancy while im at it...
http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=3&houseno=329&street=president+st&go2=+GO+&requestid=0
Posted by: aj at August 7, 2009 10:39 AM
I don't care what it goes for b/c I'd never live in a craptastic renovation like this.
But the developer who tried to flip it deserves every bit of pain they get trying to shamelessly sell a POS like this for 3.6 Million dollars. Probably paid $800K for it and gutted it.
I hope they absolutely, positively lose their greedy little shirts.
Posted by: MoneyForNothing at August 7, 2009 12:07 PM
Oh, and yes...the bottom floor of the duplex is indeed a Subterranean Mole Lair. It felt like a very new, high-end "basement rec room."
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at August 7, 2009 12:40 PM
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Le Barricou
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