Thanks to all for the kind words. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 27, 2009 12:27 PM in response to Open Thread

hey guys -

I just wanted to mention that MrsCWB and I are moving to Indianapolis at the end of June, for at least a year, so I'm going to sign off from Brownstoner. It's been fun debating with you all. I learned a ton about real estate in general from everyone here that will help me no matter where we end up settling for the long run, and I really appreciate all the info and advice available on the board. Thanks to Mr.B for setting it up and keeping it running. I love Brooklyn, and I hope to be back and able to buy someday soon.

I wish everyone the best of luck, whether you're waiting for the market to fall so you can buy something on the cheap, or hoping the market doesn't fall so your home can retain its value, or whatever else.

peace!

-cwb

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 27, 2009 11:44 AM in response to Open Thread

I dig it. The kitchen doesn't kill me, and I actually find the layout kind of interesting and not unusable. It's not really a 2 BR tho ... the second bedroom doesn't actually seem to have a door between it and the master.

CC's are high for a condo (they'd be decent for a co-op where the RE tax is included). Square footage is gigantic for the area.

Dunno ... it's out of my price range, and I'll shortly be out of the city, so it's not like I'm going to buy it, but it's certainly not the worst apartment that's been posted in recent weeks.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 21, 2009 2:48 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 555 Washington Avenue, #1A

I swear, the Bushwick house from last week had to have been a case of "you buy the house, we hide the drugs in the wall" or something. No way it was worth $700k. This week's house is much more reasonable for that area.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 21, 2009 12:06 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

Hey, wow, a big, boring, brick co-op in Brooklyn Heights. Those NEVER get featured ...

:)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 20, 2009 12:45 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 30 Monroe Place, #5A

Lionballs -

"If i could buy a similar brownstone in chelsea or the UWS near the park for the same price as one in PS, you can bet most people wouldn't blink twice before choosing the manhattan one."

... but I would. And so would a lot of the people who live in Park Slope.

The only reason I can fathom for choosing Chelsea or the UWS over Park Slope is due to return-on-investment concerns, which isn't something I'd be worried about if I could afford to buy in any of those three places, since I'd be buying for the long term, not as an investment strategy.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 4:57 PM in response to Will Everyone Go Running Back to Manhattan?

collin85 -

I still think you're better off going the safe route and buying something that you can afford on a monthly basis even assuming you weren't able to deduct a penny of it.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 4:47 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 100 Remsen Street, #8K

I don't know many home owners personally, anywhere, that have two years worth of mortgage payments sitting in the bank. Most of the people I know shoot for ~4 months of living expenses in savings and a lot of them aren't always able to make that.

Maybe that's how you do it if you're rich ... but most people aren't rich.

And it's all well and good to say "well, don't buy then" but that's kind of a mixed message when places like this are often billed as entry-level or starter apartments.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 4:43 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 100 Remsen Street, #8K

Keeping the mortgage deduction in mind is absolutely valuable. Applying it to your monthly cost is not.

That was the point I was trying to make. You don't GET that deduction monthly, so you shouldn't apply it monthly. Let's say you save $4800 in mortgage deduction per year (totally arbitrary number). That does NOT mean you're saving $400/month.

Basically, the mortgage deduction should not factor in when determining if you can afford a house or not. If you can't make the monthly payment, it doesn't matter how much you're getting back at the end of the year.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 2:56 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 100 Remsen Street, #8K

toadie - Nostrand Ave also has a lot of the things you mention, too.

PLG's a gorgeous neighborhood, and is a good location for transportation, but some of its blocks still have so-so reputations.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 1:46 PM in response to House of the Day: 207 Fenimore Street

Including mortgage-tax deductions in monthly-cost figurings is a bad idea. You don't pay your mortgage tax monthly. Deductions should be considered a bonus, not factored into what you can afford by the month.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 1:29 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 100 Remsen Street, #8K

I've worked in five different offices, for two different companies, since I moved to New York and all of them have been between 14th and 57th street, between Park and Eighth ave (14th, 21st, 39th, 23rd, 36th). There's a LOT of small-to-mid-sized companies in that area that employ "creative professionals".

I wish my company's offices was in Brooklyn. That would rock. But since the CEO commutes from Westchester, there's no way.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 1:01 PM in response to Will Everyone Go Running Back to Manhattan?

Maintenance is insane. It should be around $750/month at most, and even that'd be pretty crazy. There's no way, if you take utils out, that they would add up to $~500/month. I have a bigger place with multiple computers running full-time and don't spend anywhere NEAR that much on electricity/gas/etc.

This person bought at the absolute peak of the bubble. They should be happy if they manage to get the $430k they spent.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 12:55 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 100 Remsen Street, #8K

tybur6 - Well, yes, a lot of the people on this site mean "northwest Brooklyn" when they talk about Brooklyn ... but even northwest Brooklyn still has a lot of people living in it who aren't six-figure "creative professionals." They just rent, and live on the noisy avenues in walk-ups, rather than owning brownstones on the nicest streets.

I lived in Manhattan for years before I started making six figures. Pretty sure I could've lived in the area of Brooklyn I now live in - Park Slope, which is cheaper than where I lived in Manhattan - without making six figures.

As a web designer, though, I guess I'm technically a "creative professional," and a fairly well paid one at that, so I should probably shut up. :)

dirty-hipster, Kensingtonian - fair enough, I guess those aren't "fringe" areas, but I'm not sure I'd compare them to the LES ... you're talking about a pretty substantial increase in commute to get to any of those places vs. the LES, assuming you work in Manhattan.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 12:26 PM in response to Will Everyone Go Running Back to Manhattan?

dirty hipster -

Can you even get a studio in any part of Brooklyn that's comparable to the LES for $900? I thought they were higher than that still except in "fringe" areas like Bushwick, Bed Stuy, and the like.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 12:11 PM in response to Will Everyone Go Running Back to Manhattan?

tybur6 - I think you're overreacting a little to what people are saying here. Yes, it's dumb to state that Brooklyn is entirely populated by "creative professionals" when people who fall under that moniker are a definite minority in such a diverse borough, but I don't think anyone here is really insinuating that.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 11:59 AM in response to Will Everyone Go Running Back to Manhattan?

I've said it before: I don't care how much money I make, I'll never live in Manhattan again. Too crowded, too loud, too stressful, not enough skyline, too full of assholes.

Course ... it appears that I won't be living in Brooklyn for much longer either (probably moving to Indianapolis). But if I ever come back, and I hope I'll be able to, it'll be to Brooklyn.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 18, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Will Everyone Go Running Back to Manhattan?

The bushwick price is crazy ... it feels like someone bought the house for $230k, filled the basement with drugs, and sold it off, or something. :P

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 14, 2009 12:25 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

Nice building but certainly not my favorite part of the slope. You can get equally-sized 2 BR's in Park Slope with much lower maintenance, closer to restaurants/stores/bars, for this price or less right now. They may not be in a gigantic pre-war building but ... I continue to question why people want to be in gigantic buildings in the first place.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 13, 2009 1:10 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 1 Plaza Street West 2 BR

I recommend nuking the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 13, 2009 11:24 AM in response to What To Do About That Pesky Drug Dealer?

It seems to me like it takes at least a 10% drop to feel like you're getting a "deal" or that the price has been substantially reduced.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 12, 2009 12:02 PM in response to Price Cut at 355 Degraw Street

Not sure a 3.8% drop is gonna do 'er, but I've given up trying to accurately predict what's going to sell in the above-a-million-bucks range.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 12, 2009 11:24 AM in response to Price Cut at 355 Degraw Street

Note: I'm aware that those towers aren't housing projects and that the people who live in them are perfectly nice working-class families and such. That's fine. But the towers are still ugly. :)

Being near Myrtle's nice tho, and I guess if you have a car the crappy subway access doesn't matter.

I literally have no idea how to price this property. I know I wouldn't pay 1.8mm for it ... but I'm not sure what I think it "should" sell for.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 11, 2009 1:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 174 Clinton Avenue

I don't know anyone under the age of 35 who can afford to buy property here, anyway. :P

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 11, 2009 1:31 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 101 Lafayette Avenue, #17C

"Unless that's the best block in CH"

It's not. You're staring at a bunch of ugly apartment towers across the street.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 11, 2009 1:30 PM in response to House of the Day: 174 Clinton Avenue

For the record, I put $220k but would not personally pay that.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 11, 2009 12:56 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 101 Lafayette Avenue, #17C

$1481/month assuming 20% down and 5% interest, plus $661 in monthly fees. So that's $2142/month plus utils to live in a 400 sf studio in Fort Greene.

Uh ... no.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 11, 2009 12:49 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 101 Lafayette Avenue, #17C

I don't have any problem with a guy pepper-spraying a dog that is running at him and whose intentions he can't determine. I love dogs and wouldn't WANT to pepper-spray one, but you can't know for sure what a dog's intentions are when it comes barreling down a path at you.

If dog owners don't want their dogs to get hurt, they should keep them on a leash or in the designated off-leash areas at the designated times. That's not exactly a tough request.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 11, 2009 10:44 AM in response to Prospect Park Vigilante Wages Canine Campaign

Schultz -

The van says "thirty years ago" ... the price tag? Not so much. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 7, 2009 1:53 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

While I agree it's overpriced, I'd still much rather buy this than the co-op of the day.

It's in a pretty solid area. Quick walk to BAM, quick walk to the nice part of fulton street behind BAM, tons of transportation. Being only a block off Atlantic is a bit of a bitch, but I bet the brownstones behind you cut a lot of the noise.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 6, 2009 2:49 PM in response to House of the Day: 433 Pacific Street

I've said this before, but I'll say it again: no way am I paying brownstone prices for the "privilege" of owning a duplex in Brooklyn Heights.

SnarkSlope, I like your Brooklyn Heights slogan. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 6, 2009 2:27 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 11 Garden Place

Love the location. The tiny second BR's kind of crappy. Pretty nice place overall tho.

$550k would make it really attractive.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at May 5, 2009 12:56 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 225 Park Place, #2G-H

It's all good. I can totally understand why a no-tenants policy would be desirable for a neighborhood. Just that I don't see any point in the foreseeable future where a mortgage on $900k-ish will be doable for my wife and I alone, so it keeps me out of those areas.

Hopefully I'm wrong and our salaries will continue to increase through our thirties, and eventually we'll be able to live somewhere that nice. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 4:38 PM in response to House of the Day: 216 Maple Street

Bob Marvin -

Thanks for the confirmation. That's too bad. PLG would be much more appealing and plausible to people like my wife and I (once we're back in the market) -- people who only need two floors -- if we could rent out the bottom floor to help offset the mortgage.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 2:18 PM in response to House of the Day: 216 Maple Street

if I had $300k in cash lying around, I'd be using it as a huge down-payment on a $600k-$800k unit somewhere else, not buying a condo here.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 2:16 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 655 Washington Avenue, Apt. 3B

Rob -

That Fedder's Row development is actually not terrible looking. It's the rest of that block of Bergen that's pretty hideous. :P

The iPod thing is ridiculous. "We have a proprietary attachment for something that will almost assuredly be redesigned in the next five years, making our attachment useless. Also if you have any other digital music player, you're screwed from the get-go!"

All of these new condos are in serious jeopardy now that the market's dropped. Things like Brownstones will hold their value way better.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 1:35 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 655 Washington Avenue, Apt. 3B

How does a new condo ever hit 70% sold if banks are requiring 70% sold to loan money? What, they're expecting 7/10 of the people buying in a building to make an all-cash payment?

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 1:33 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 655 Washington Avenue, Apt. 3B

This is a pretty awesome location. Good transportation, pretty blocks ... I don't think the restaurant/bar/shop selection is all that great, but that may not be of huge importance to people.

This is the part of PLG where the houses are required to be single-family, so you can't have a garden-floor rental, right?

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 1:31 PM in response to House of the Day: 216 Maple Street

Oh, as to the topic at hand ... I put $350 because people keep admonishing me for putting what I think places actually SHOULD go for, rather than what they will.

SHOULD? $300k.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 1:11 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 655 Washington Avenue, Apt. 3B

a lot of the 2 BR condos that went up over the past year or so in PH are pretty cramped. There's a place on Bergen that's still trying to get like $600k for a 1+ on a middle floor, even though the bedroom is so small you couldn't fit a normal, adult bedroom set (queen bed, dresser, chest, nightstand) in it, and the plus-one is barely big enough for a baby's stuff. It's absurd.

But it has an iPod plugin with in-wall speakers! :P

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 1:10 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 655 Washington Avenue, Apt. 3B

This feature makes me happy every week!

That studio's a great deal. When I first moved here in 2005 I was paying $1400 for a mouse-infested ground-floor studio on the UES and thought I'd found a relatively good deal. Owning in Park Slope for less would be killer by comparison.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 30, 2009 12:07 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

"Can we agree Gowanus starts at the canal and continues eastward to 4th ave?"

I'd say Gowanus also extends at least one block west of the canal, and probably two.

When the warehouses stop, you're out of Gowanus.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 3:22 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

I think it's Floor Area Ratio.

Basically it's how much square footage you're legally allowed to build on a given lot. And apparently that house in Gowanus isn't using all available square footage, so it'd be legally allowed to, for example, build another story onto it.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 1:47 PM in response to House of the Day: 475 8th Street

11217 - Valid point about the gowanus house, altho apparently it has a bunch of unused FAR or something?

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 1:40 PM in response to House of the Day: 475 8th Street

Uh ... what's with the fridge in the dining room?

Looking at the floor plan, I think the whole parlor level would really need some walls moved and probably a remodel on the whole kitchen.

If I had it, I'd probably offer $1.3mm. Nice neighborhood but the house needs work and you're trapped on the F.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 1:32 PM in response to House of the Day: 475 8th Street

Agree that the building's fantastic, and the apartment itself is underwhelming. I also like the neighborhood, altho being stuck on the G-train is mildly sucky. Least it's only a stop to the A transfer tho.

My opinion: it's worth about $450k. It'll probably go for higher than that, though.

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 1:26 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 320 Washington Avenue, #1B

mcKenzie - We can't all be fans of big brick shoeboxes. :)

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 12:28 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

I've made no secret of my love for the Lincoln Brothel. It's worth mentioning also that some of the units have a view into the Olive Vine's backyard patio ... you could leave amusing messages in your window for the customers to read. :P

Posted by: cwbuecheler at April 28, 2009 11:49 AM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales