The security barriers are pretty awful, and will greatly reduce/interfere with the pedestrian traffic flow. A bummer, as a similar level of security could have been provided with much less instrusive bollards.

Posted by: aishling at November 18, 2009 12:05 PM in response to Atlantic Terminal Station: So Close!

Definately connected to the 211 23rd street condo. The domain is registered to someone (I'll spare mentioning him, because for all I know he is just an employee doing what he is instructed) with the address of 260 Christopher Lane, Staten Island, NY.

The 211 23rd street condo is being offered by Monogram Properties (http://www.21123condo.com), which is a brand of the Leewood Property Group (http://www.leewoodgroup.com/) -- which is located at 260 Christopher Lane, Staten Island, NY.

If they are really tagging buildings in the neighborhood, they should be reported to the police and forced to pay to clean up their mess.

Posted by: aishling at October 27, 2009 12:09 PM in response to What IS 22123?!

Don't forget this classic Mill Basin house (http://www.brownharrisstevens.com/detail.aspx?id=893651), only a couple blocks away from today's monstrosity.

Posted by: aishling at October 27, 2009 11:47 AM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

The widget prediced $1.9 million for 460 2nd Street -- right next door to 458 and generally pretty similar. Either readers are getting more optimistic, or the market is moving closer to the readers' mark...

Posted by: aishling at October 27, 2009 11:41 AM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

the views are spectacular, but the apartment overall is a bit blah. kind of seems like it was designed by the in-house architects at two trees (for example, the lights over the kitchen counter recall those in all of their other conversions -- pretty generic (and IMHO ugly) especially for such an apartment). the elevator/stairs also seem pretty inelegant, and the bathroom seems a bit claustrophobic.

obviously a very special place, but nowhere near a $25M apartment.

Posted by: aishling at October 21, 2009 11:08 AM in response to All About the Clocktower

WoG is right about the mortgage - $1.495M in May 2007. That's on top of a pre-existing $350K mortgage (maybe that one's been paid off, but if so its satisfaction isn't recorded in ACRIS). Mortgage was assigned from MERS to HSBC in June, which strongly suggests that HSBC was/is getting ready to foreclose. In any event, this looks like a short sale.

Posted by: aishling at October 14, 2009 2:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 58 6th Avenue Revisited

why not suggest that you'll help her get the $$$ back from the other cleaners? and she can use the refund to reimburse you. you also could be passive-aggressive and deduct it from your next rent check, but for what its worth, and though you (tenant) are probably in the right, for $70 it probably is not worth the stress/hassle to fight that much.

Posted by: aishling at September 28, 2009 5:24 PM in response to Does the landlord have to clean?

http://improveverywhere.com/2009/09/27/thank-you-invisible-dogs/

Posted by: aishling at September 27, 2009 8:30 PM in response to Invisible Dogs

1. This place is begging to be staged. Owner/developer should step and show buyers what it could look like.

2. Where's the fridge? Seems like an awkward kitchen layout -- looks like a condo layout where you only have one room for kitchen/living/diving, not like a real kitchen.

Posted by: aishling at September 23, 2009 1:36 PM in response to House of the Day: 526 Carlton Avenue

amybnyc --

1031 exchanges are not available when the property involved is the taxpayer's personal residence. in any event, given the large capital gains exclusion upon the sale of a personal residence ($250k single; $500k couple), it would almost never make sense to do a 1031 exchange, even if it was available...an exclusion is surely better than a deferral.

Posted by: aishling at September 21, 2009 10:32 AM in response to Moving Equity to a New Apt

HDL -- you are living in lala land if you think there won't be additional regulation. You are right that momentum for fundamental reform has abated (and, I agree, sadly), but new regulation at the agency level is a given. See, for example, A1 of today's WSJ -- "Bankers face sweeping curbs on pay." The service sector that revolves around financial services (lawyers) also face significant downward fee pressures (see the recently leaked O'Melveny memo). Bankers and lawyers (perhaps sadly, but I won't get into that) drive a good deal of the sales activity in brownstones, and with these trends on their income -- and with the reasonable expectation that the marginal income tax rates at the national, state and city level are all headed upwards -- it is hard to see what would cause a quick turnaround.

Posted by: aishling at September 18, 2009 9:47 AM in response to NYC Unemployment Passes 10%

daveinbedstuy --

I don't recall there being such a large influx of new brownstone listings in any two week period in the past year at least. And, I see little reason to suspect that these will move with that much speed. Financing remains tight, and the fear of continued price depreciation exceeds the fear of rapid price increases -- and that fear will only be compounded as new supply is introduced and sits. The low is at least 12 months away.

Posted by: aishling at September 18, 2009 9:19 AM in response to NYC Unemployment Passes 10%

The supply of houses in the brownstone areas has also jumped pretty dramatically over the past couple of weeks. Based on 15 minutes looking at a few web sites, all of the following seem like they are listings that are new over the past two weeks or so. I'm sure there are other new listings as well, and given the existing overhang (lots -- maybe most -- of the houses in that I looked at in these areas 6 months ago are still for sale), this is pretty scary stuff for a potential buyer.

Boerum Hill
208 Bergen Street (Brooklyn Bridge) -- $1.3

Brooklyn Heights
80 State Street (Corcoran) -- $3.9

Fort Greene
98 South Oxford Street (BHS) -- $2.0
33 Lafayette Avenue (Corcoran) -- $2.6
190 Clermont Avenue (BHS) -- $1.5
202 Clermont Avenue (Corcoran) -- $1.7
297 Vanderbilt Avenue (Douglas Elliman) -- $1.5

Park Slope
376 11th Street (Corcoran) -- $1.65
44 Prospect Place (BHS) -- $2.0
607 2nd Street (BHS) -- $2.8
591 2nd Street (BHS) -- $3.2
3rd Street btwn 7th and 8th (Douglas Elliman) -- $2.8
12th Street off 5th Ave (Douglas Elliman) -- $1.4
505 4th Street (Warren Lewis) -- $2.4

Prospect Heights
411 Park Place (Corcoran) -- $1.65

Posted by: aishling at September 18, 2009 1:13 AM in response to NYC Unemployment Passes 10%

Agree with CGfan. And if he isn't responsive, just bring an action in small claims court. Cost is minimal.

Posted by: aishling at September 9, 2009 11:23 PM in response to Lease Notice & Termination

does sort of interupt the "vibe" of the lux hotel and condos...I'd be annoyed if I lived there. saving grace (for the condo owners) is that this store is on the other side of the building. any word on what will go in on the atlantic side?

Posted by: aishling at September 9, 2009 10:12 AM in response to New Retail Tenant at The Smith

the google maps streetview shows there wasn't much of anything left after they demolished the old building:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=163+Washington+Avenue,+brooklyn+ny&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.335236,55.634766&ie=UTF8&ll=40.693928,-73.966992&spn=0.000472,0.000849&t=h&z=20&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.694018,-73.967012&panoid=oMXjPZ7hN2zWQQ3kZDiNYg&cbp=12,275.28,,0,-7.65

Posted by: aishling at August 17, 2009 3:51 PM in response to Development Watch: 154 1/2 Washington Avenue

it does seem sad and depressing to have your kids to grow up in little windowless cubbies. ok, if you are struggling to get by, but why do it is if you can afford to carry $10K+ in monthly mortgage payments.

plus, for a family, this place would be very annoying. there is basically only one non-bedroom space, so unless you are in a bedroom, you have to be together. is this terrible? no, but for $2 million, you gotta be kidding me.

Posted by: aishling at July 22, 2009 1:49 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 30 Main Street, #4G

what did your lawyer say?

Posted by: aishling at July 6, 2009 10:27 AM in response to Mislead by seller

This price really is nuts. Forget comparing to Park Slope, how about comparing to 170 South Oxford Street, which is just down the block and sold a couple of months ago:

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&listingid=1451712

170 had 4,000 sq. ft., was renovated (if not gut reno), had a beautiful yard and sold for $1.5 million. Based on that comp alone, this thing really shouldn't be selling for much more than a $1 million...but regardless, how on earth do the owners think it will appraise for over $1.5, when the neighbors just a bit to the South only got $1.5 for a much larger place? This ain't the bubble years, when appraisers were willing to assume monthly price increases....

Posted by: aishling at June 1, 2009 2:39 PM in response to House of the Day: 130 South Oxford Street

Agree w/ FatLenny -- these could have been nice. Outside in interesting, but boy did they fall down when doing the interiors. Kitchens look like a typical low-to-mid range rental upgrade; bathroom is hideous. They didn't even need to spend much more -- just do something that looks modern and in fitting with the loft style; create a real look to the place.

What is in there now makes the whole product look cheap and bolted together. Floor plan doesn't help much either -- the "dining room" on the second floor? That seems practical...

In any event, given the finish and location, the price seem insane. $800,000 would be a rich price.

Posted by: aishling at May 29, 2009 12:02 PM in response to Red Hook Townhouse Project On the Market

This thing (859 St. Marks; don't know about 79 Carroll) already been discussed (with a Montrose Morris report!):

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/06/open_house_pick_191.php

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/01/open_house_pick_232.php

There are lots of other more interesting things to talk about -- how about this -- 325 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill -- 7,600 sq. ft., less than $2 million, probably rent controlled/stabilized tenants... http://www.prudentialelliman.com/Listings.aspx?ListingID=776556&rentalperiod=&SearchType=houses&Region=NYC

Posted by: aishling at May 28, 2009 1:24 PM in response to House of the Day: 859 St. Marks Avenue

i'd urge them not to include any water feature -- prospect heights (like much of brownstone brooklyn) is already crawling with mosquitos, making it increasingly difficult to get much use out of a backyard from the mid- to late-summer. if the water feature has still water, it would undoubtedly contribute to what is already a v. unpleasant problem.

Posted by: aishling at May 22, 2009 4:36 PM in response to Prospect Heights Garden Build: Setting the Stage

I like this block of Bergen as well -- what they've done on the commercial side is really quite wonderful (though I didn't know the bookstore closed, that's a bummer)...but it really isn't a residential block. Sandwiched between Flatbush and Fifth Ave, its short and noisy -- not homey in the least bit. Given that, the price seems crazy, especially because this place doesn't seem big or otherwise special. Place is zoned for 282 -- given its location, it could have much worth zoning, so I guess its got that going for it.

Posted by: aishling at May 20, 2009 2:56 PM in response to House of the Day: 449 Bergen Street

i disagree -- that's fair and may account for part of the increase. i am skeptical that they renovated the entire house -- the pictures of the second apartment are absent.

iz -- not sure that I agree on the ceilings. don't love the look, but more importantly, a few months back there was a discussion about coop's granting approval to an owner wanting to make this change -- the general concensus was that it was a v. bad idea, given that you are significantly reducing the length of time that the ceiling could withstand a fire. Obviously, in your own house, your decision isn't going to affect your upstairs' neighbor, but I still don't think it would be worth the trade off.

Posted by: aishling at May 12, 2009 12:49 PM in response to Price Cut at 355 Degraw Street

House sold for $1.36 million in 2004. At this point in the correction, what would really justify a 38% increase in the price since then?

The S&P 500 index is down about 20% since 2004; the NYC unemployment rate is up from about 7.4% in March 2004 to around 8.4% in March 2009 (with the unemployment rate in the professional sectors likely being much greater in '09 than '04); the City's finances are in substantially worse condition, meaning property and other taxes likely will need to be raised in the near term; the Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill area hasn't substantially changed since '04 (incremently changed, yes -- but the substantial changes occurred from '98 to '04 or so).

I suppose mortgage rates are probably down about 100 bp since '04, but access to financing likely is much tougher, so that seems like a wash. Incomes (at least in the top quartile) have probably increased since '04, don't know exactly how much.

I know that we can point to comps, etc. But really, what would justify such a sharp increase in the price?

Posted by: aishling at May 12, 2009 12:10 PM in response to Price Cut at 355 Degraw Street

christopher--

see http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/06/preselling_a_hi.php

Posted by: aishling at May 8, 2009 2:26 PM in response to Open House Picks

The developer of the State St. building did a great job get rid of any charm that that old building might have had. The light fixtures, in particular, are truly horendous. Given the amount that has been spent on the development and staging of the place, one would have thought the finished product could have been made much, much nicer. In any event, pricing seems far out -- the first floor is practically unusable with those windows out the the street and the bedrooms seems cramped and stacked upon each other. The second floor with the LR/DR and decks looks quite lovely, but there is not yard.

If you really want to be in the Heights -- which if you are even considering paying this premium for this place, you must really want -- there must be much nicer, more charming, more centrally located places that you could buy in the $4 million range.

Posted by: aishling at May 8, 2009 2:04 PM in response to Open House Picks

Boy, 150 Bond still has a long way to go. Let's compare it to this Corcoran place (http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1536462) at 113 Garfield Pl. Both have the same listing price and look to be roughly the same size (the park slope place being slighly larger). The differences? The Park Slope place is in a marginally better location (quieter street, better schools) and has a backyard; the Boerum Hill place has three garages. Pretty close.

Oh, and I forgot, the Boerum Hill place has no interior to speak of...which would you buy for $1.8 million?

Posted by: aishling at April 10, 2009 1:16 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

I like the widget too, but it likely would work better if folks had some incentive to get to the right answer. Ideally it would be something like the Iowa electronics market, where people would put real money down, but unlikely that is feasible. Something that gave commenters bragging rights, via a point system or otherwise, likely would get people trying to guess right, rather than simply trying to sway the vote in a particular direction.

Posted by: aishling at March 31, 2009 3:59 PM in response to House of the Day: 93 2nd Street

Redwes25 --

Actually the block near the jail (between Smith and Hoyt) is really great -- beautiful landmarked buildings line the south side of the block and the north side has the wonderful 14 townhouse development; lots of families -- a great feel. The problem with that block isn't the jail, but rather that the block is now sandwiched between 75 smith on the south side and all the tall ugly new condos on livingston and schemerhorn on the north side, causing shadows, etc. The crazy person quotient is much higher by Nevins than by Smith.

Posted by: aishling at March 25, 2009 5:09 PM in response to House of the Day: 442 State Street

Based on the other listings on Harvey Bernstein's website, he seems to have a lock on Eagle Warehouse listings. Maybe he's a resident? Interesting to know if anyone has the backstory.

Posted by: aishling at March 23, 2009 2:25 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 28 Old Fulton Street, #5E

While I certainly understand the inflation component of Bobjohn's comment re adding 86 percent to 2000 prices, I think adding the full value of the reduction in interest rates to come up with an apples-to-apples comparison is ridiculous. Frankly, it is this focus on monthly payments that got folks into so many problems already.

It is wonderful that today's buyers can enjoy such low interest rates, but they also should FEAR these low rates and it will put great pressure on pricing in the future when rates climb back up (as they surely will). If you are going to live in your house for 30 yrs and pay off the mortgage, it isn't a concern, but for everyone else you are taking the same economic risk as you would be if you took a long position on treasuries. In contrast, buyers who buy during high interest rate times get killed in the initial interest rates, but then reap the rewards as interest rates decline.

If it were true that house prices factor in the full value of lower interest rates because of their effect on monthly payments, I would much, much prefer to buy in a high interest rate environment...

Posted by: aishling at March 12, 2009 6:36 PM in response to House of the Day: 557 7th Street

Ridiculous. "It will make the whole streetscape much more modern and conducive to shopping and safer." What is unsafe about the current Fulton Mall? The sidewalks are already wide and there are no cars (only buses) on the street -- actually, kind of like that picture.

Of course, the mix of white and black folk on the sidewalk currently looks a lot different than the picture, but that couldn't be what they are talking about.

Posted by: aishling at March 11, 2009 9:18 AM in response to Big Plans for Fulton Mall Makeover

How do folks know that the seller did the renovation? He bought it in 2006, but it had previously sold for $1.4 million in 2004. I would have thought that the reno (or at least part of it) happened between 2004 and 2006, to justify the $1 million price bump (or was that purely a function of the bubble). In any event, take the 2004 price, add the value of the renovation, and I think you have an estimate of where this thing could end up.

Posted by: aishling at March 9, 2009 5:06 PM in response to House of the Day: 18 Willow Place

Re PS/Gowanus house:

Based on the ACRIS records, it looks like this house sold for $655K in Sept. 2006, underwent the remodel (which probably cost $300-400K?), and was then resold in Oct. 2007 for $1.25 million. Seller is clearly being sensible in not looking for the Oct. 2007 price; question is whether it is still worth more than the Sept. 2006 price plus cost of remodel.

Posted by: aishling at March 6, 2009 2:54 PM in response to Open House Picks

It looks fine (i.e., dull), but much depends on the ultimate color/quality of the brik. One question, why not make the windows larger? Seems like it would make the place both look nicer from the outside, and make it brighter and more attractive from the inside.

Posted by: aishling at February 27, 2009 11:36 AM in response to The Sleepy's Addition Revealed

Should be able to get $200/month for each parking spot. Maybe a bit more.

That store's probably been closed for two decades...

Posted by: aishling at February 26, 2009 2:48 PM in response to House of the Day: 190 Dean Street

This makes an interesting comparison to 150 Bond, which is on the same block (on the corner of Bond & Bergen; this one is on the corner of Bond & Dean).

150 Bond is the building that currently stands gutted, as the current owners (who bought for $1.725 million in September 2007) abandoned their remodel and tried to flip the property for $2.45 million. The current price of 150 Bond is $1.795 million.

190 Dean seems like a nicer property than 150 Bond. I haven't looked at the details, but it looks bigger, is certainly in better shape (duh, it could be lived in) and having the street frontage on Dean seems better than having it on Bond (although both are pretty busy with traffic). The Bond house also has a bus stop right under it, which to me would be a big negative (the buses are louder than you might otherwise think).

So...190 Dean at $1.6 million; 150 Bond at $1.8 million. Somethings going to give. If 150 Bond has a big mortgage on it, I wouldn't be shocked if it was one of the first properties in this area of Brooklyn to go into foreclosure.

Posted by: aishling at February 26, 2009 1:37 PM in response to House of the Day: 190 Dean Street

re 6th ave. based on acris, looks like the mortgage came from mom, so probably don't need to worry about the profit. in any event, its too small to hit close to asking in this market. the dining room w/ two chairs and a flat screen tv gives me the creeps.

Posted by: aishling at February 13, 2009 2:33 PM in response to Open House Picks

Does seem odd that they don't just honor your request to give them a head's up about when they expect to pay--what's the big deal? But to answer your initial question, you can combine some of the suggestions and simply include in the lease a provision that says they have a 3-day grace period unless they notify you by the due date that they'll be late, in which case they'll get a 7-day grace period. But, I wouldn't do that (it just begs them to give you notice each month) and just shorten the grace period perhaps with only a very modest penalty if they pay betwen 3-7 days.

Posted by: aishling at February 5, 2009 5:28 PM in response to Late Rent Notice

Seller bought the house for $1.725 million, closing in September 2007. The attempt to flip in less than seven months for $2.5 million was really silly, and, at this stage, I have a hard time believing that the property is worth more today (given what the economic uncertainty that the country and city are facing) as compared with what it was worth in the summer of 2007. Boerum Hill is great, but it isn't really any greater now than it was 18 months ago.

Posted by: aishling at January 21, 2009 2:17 PM in response to House of the Day: 150 Bond Street Revisited

I didn't love Patois, but am feeling nostalgic. Boerum Hill Food Company last month; Patois this month. Those two, plus Smith Street Kitchen and Halcyon, are the first places that I remember getting excited about on Smith Street.

Oh well, things change -- but its clear that the neighborhood's exciting stage is done.

Posted by: aishling at January 7, 2009 1:00 PM in response to Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

Apartment is pretty, but the configuration wouldn't really work for a family (only 2 bedrooms, one of which is directly off the main living/dining/kitchen area) -- which means that you have to find a wealthy childless couple (perhaps retired) who wish to live in the area. These exist, but I suspect many of them would prefer to design their own place than to buy something (and pay the premium) designed by someone else.

Posted by: aishling at December 29, 2008 2:36 PM in response to House of the Day: 433 Waverly Avenue

Agree with ontheparkway. I think the smaller 1/2 BR places (and especially studios) are likely to feel the most pain in a downturn. It is inescapable that the financial industry is going to be substantially smaller over the next few years than it has in the past, so there is one large group of buyers who are (1) selling to move to other places and (2) not being replenished with the vigor of the past. The downturn in the financial sector will hit all sorts of related businesses (law, advertising, etc.) and will dry up demand from foreigners, all of which will hit the smaller places first. Creative types will keep moving in, but they were not the ones pushing these prices up.

I also think there is significantly more new supply coming on line in the smaller sizes than in a brownstone/large family size.

Posted by: aishling at December 15, 2008 6:13 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 403 Pacific Street

That sucks. Though the food was not the best of the best, it was always satisfying and the waiters were always friendly. I forget when BHFC opened (1997?) but it was really a trendsetter when it opened (that was when "trendy" Smith St. consisted of Patois, Halcyon, BHFC and not much else.

In my mind, this may be a tipping point for the neighborhood. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of chain stores/restaurants to open up in the neighborhood, and these generally will have the ability to survive the fiscal crisis. The original stores that bloomed in Boerum Hill -- owned by individuals -- may not have the ability to survive, as their access to credit and ability to risk it all may be limited. So, I fear we'll be left with a Smith Street with a Starbucks, American Apparel, Baskin Robbins, CVS, Diesel Jeans, etc., a couple of restaurants and a lot of vacancies.

I hope that fear is not realized, as that is a much, much less interesting place than I had grown to love.

Posted by: aishling at December 5, 2008 2:14 PM in response to Streetlevel: Bye-Bye Boerum Hill Food Company

Definately DUMBO, not Vinegar Hill -- which is really only that one street right by the Navy yard. But, this thing really is close to that electric station. I lived in DUMBO years ago, and that place (the electric station) always creeped me out with its strange pops and crackles. I'm sure its safe, but I always worried that my brain was getting fried as I walked by. Can't really imagine living beside it.

Posted by: aishling at November 10, 2008 2:47 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 50 Bridge Street

Price is such a joke. Assuming no money down (to make it an apples-to-apples comparison), you are looking at approx. $7,500 / month for this place, including mortgage, taxes and common charges. With tax benies, that comes down, but still would be more than $5k/month. How much would it rent for? Maybe $3,500 this summer. $3,200 this winter.

Posted by: aishling at October 28, 2008 1:11 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 145 Park Place, #2B

sdrubbins: the buyers of the co-op, if rational, would only pay Z-W for the coop shares. -- so the profit would be the same.

Posted by: aishling at October 8, 2008 5:38 PM in response to Quote of the Day

Miss Muffett --

The significant problem for the nation's economy is that many states -- including most importantly California -- limit a lender's recourse upon a mortgage default to a foreclosure on the property -- i.e., they can't go directly after the borrower for the excess.

While this is all nice and good from a consumer protection perspective, these laws, combined with the significant drop in house prices, create a real incentive for homeowners to walk away and start over in a new house bought for a lower price. If they buy the new house when still current on their existing mortgage, they don't really have to worry too much about the hit to the credit score and can lock in a lower payment going forward. This incentive, however, puts significant downward pressure on house prices, as the more things drop, the more likely folks are to bail.

The laws are different in New York...but the collapse of the housing market in other parts of the country will (has..) result in a collapse of the financial sector, which is a key driver of NY's economy, as well as a collapse in the economy of other countries (whose buyers, as we all know, have been highlighted out as the saviors of the NY real estate market).

Big picture -- this is BAD news and we do not yet know the ultimate effect.

Posted by: aishling at October 8, 2008 12:28 PM in response to Attendence Falls at Brooklyn Open Houses

The clothing store across the street from these will fold sooner or later soon, as well. You never see anyone in it.

Nicksull -- I had high hopes for BoB, which looked beautiful, but what's going on there? Still no kitchen? The coffee sucks, too. They still have time to turn it around, but I think they've lost a lot of momentum.

Posted by: aishling at October 3, 2008 12:40 PM in response to Another One Down on Bond