Prospect Heights Brownstone Rental Unit
We are moving to a brownstone in Prospect Heights in February and hope to have the rental unit ready for tenants by March 1. Given that the house is gorgeous, 1.5 blocks from the Bergen Street subway (2/3), on a tree-lined brownstone block, and in top condition, and the unit has fireplace, skylight in bathroom,…
We are moving to a brownstone in Prospect Heights in February and hope to have the rental unit ready for tenants by March 1. Given that the house is gorgeous, 1.5 blocks from the Bergen Street subway (2/3), on a tree-lined brownstone block, and in top condition, and the unit has fireplace, skylight in bathroom, as well as a nice-sized kitchen and living space, do folks have any feedback on what we can ask for (and get) in rent? We were thinking around $1700. The unit does not have a private entrance — tenants will have to pass through our parlor and second floor, so the privacy is somewhat comromised but we think the original details make up for it. In terms of pricing, we want to rent this right away — we would rather ask for less and get a tenant than hold out for the person willing to pay more. So, question 1: Is $1700 too much? Question 2: We are planning to furnish the unit (likely with Ikea basics) as we don’t want people trudging through the house with furniture. Thoughts on that?
This is a terrible idea for three reasons.
First of all, renting to a friend of a friend is a bad idea. You are planning to mix business and personal relationships. I hope you do not like this friend since you will not be friends for long.
Second, 1,700 is too high for an apartment without a private entrance. Do you think the apartment is worth 2,000 if it had a private entrance?
Third, the tenant will have friends, family, etc over. Do you want these people in your house. Bad idea. I hope you got a significant discount since you will not be receving the income you had hoped for.
Maryann — I am the original poster — thanks for your feedback. Our house isn’t so easily divided up — it is not a straight Federal type and also, the previous owners put in a top of the line kitchen on the garden floor, using up a good amount of what would typically be living space in a garden floor apartment. So it would be a real squeeze for a tenant, and we don’t want to give up use of this great kitchen. Also, the previous owners also rented out the top floor without problem in the past. WE think it’s worth a try until we have so many kids that we need the whole damn place!
I’ve never understood why anyone would rent out the top floor of a brownstone if they were going to take three floors to live in. The hallway is such an integral part of the beauty of a brownstone and the garden floor lends itself so well to a rental since there is a built-in entrance right from the outside. Believe me, when you live in the top three floors, with a deck to the garden, you really feel like you are living in your “house” and not an apartment.
Some friends of mine have a four-floor brownstone. They live in the bottom three floors and rent out the top floor. They use the garden level door as their own private entrance, and the existing stairs to get from the garden level to the parlor level. They put in a wall on the parlor floor blocking everything but the existing stairs going up, and outside-type locks on the third floor doors facing the stair landing and hallway. They also installed a gorgeous wooden spiral staircase going from the parlor floor to the third floor. The tenant uses the parlor floor entrance as her private entrance, and goes up the old stairs all the way to the top without ever once going into the owners’ part of the home.
I am a broker and $1700 for an apartment that doesn’t have it’s own entrance, washer/dryer or garden access is too high. I don’t care how nice it is. If this were the garden with a private entrance then I would say to ask for $1800, but this situation, I would say no more then $1575.
I originally started with a broker when I was looking for tenants and was surprised how few inquiries I got, even after I lowered the price. Then I posted on Craig’s List and got a ton of calls. $1700 sounds a little high for a walkthru with inevitable “conditions” on privacy.
I originally started with a broker when I was looking for tenants and was surprised how few inquiries I got, even after I lowered the price. Then I posted on Craig’s List and got a ton of calls. $1700 sounds a little high for a walkthru with inevitable “conditions” on privacy.
Why not have some brokers come in and give you their opinion? It won’t cost you anything.
Also, if you click with someone, they may be able to do a better job than you would on your own in trying to find the right person. If you go it alone, you should do a background check / credit check on the person.
I am the original poster — thanks for all the feedback. I guess we won’t furnish, and we do intend on being really careful when choosing a tenant. We hope to find a friend of a friend or some such. It’s not ideal for the tenant to traipse through the house, but at this point we have no short-term alternative. Any additional feedback on pricing the rental is welcome. Having looked at Craigs List and Corcoran’s rental listings, I came up with $1700. But I did a quick study so let me know any other thoughts…