home search: realistic expectations?
Getting ready to start an out-of-state (mostly) search to find a new home in Brooklyn (my former home, so I’m very familiar with it). I’d love some advice about whether I have realistic expectations for what I’m looking for, lest I waste too much time holding out for that “just right” place that takes years…
Getting ready to start an out-of-state (mostly) search to find a new home in Brooklyn (my former home, so I’m very familiar with it). I’d love some advice about whether I have realistic expectations for what I’m looking for, lest I waste too much time holding out for that “just right” place that takes years to come along.
Budget: around a million (but thrilled to pay far less!), less if it needs work, more if there’s rental income. Prefer something renovated or new, but if all else is perfect, we would consider doing reno ourselves.
Nabes: Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Ft. Greene,m Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, etc. Walking distance to “good stuff.” Would LOVE walking distance to Prospect Park and Grand Army Farmers Market. Not Lefferts Garden or Kensington (too far out, and not enough walkable stuff).
Size: 1500+ sq. ft. At least 1.5 bathrooms. Pref. 3 bedrooms (or two bedrooms plus office area), pref. formal dining room or ample dining space.
Must have: dedicated parking on-site or super nearby.
My (no doubt unrealistic) dream home: a townhouse with parking and a yard, sizable owner’s duplex, plus in-law unit or studio and a one bedroom rental. I see one like this listed in Lefferts Garden, a limestone beauty, listed for under a mil. But it’s too far! If it were this, I could probably swing $1.3 mil…
OR, a large condo for a lower price, with reasonable maintenance. Parking for sure. A patio or yard would be great. Actually, the Vermiel listings for the largest units seem perfect, except that they front 7th Ave and Sterling (with the windows RIGHT, right, right on the street) and the asking prices are high!
Am I crazy, or is this doable?
The other dream (im)possibility, a well-priced empty lot that meets the above requirements and is buildable… for a super-dope prefab…
I dont know why some of you think this is impossible. Just last year – around Feb/March we were looking at limestones in PLG for 640,000-670,000 that were in move in condition. You may have wanted to redo the kitchen and bathrooms but the space was perfectly fine. We preferred Crown Heights North for proximity to the Brooklyn Museum, 2,3,4,5 trains into Manhattan, and amenities in Prospect Heights (2 blocks away) and Park Slope (15 min walk). For info – the New York Times is not the only place to find listings. I found it very helpful to go to the local real estate companies to find listings in the neighborhood. I would never approach the Corcorans , Brown Harris Stevens A&H (though I did initially). They all told me I would never find something in my price range, when in fact, they just didnt have listings in my price range ! The place we eventually bought needs a total of approx 40,000 work to get into good form (including the rental). We put in 30 so far and are slowly making improvements…Im glad we didnt get a finished house – this way we can do it to our taste and requirements….A corporate lawyer (another Manhattan transplant) on our street bought his house 2 years ago for a bit more than 700,000 – and it had been totally redone. With a million, you should be perfectly fine. The thing is these houses dont come on the market often and when they do the locals often go to local RE companies rather than the big buys. I would start there….
I don’t think it’s fake. Isn’t this the person who is relocating from CA and who has been posting questions lately?
About the pricing in PLG, the price might sometimes be closer to what the OP wants but for the smaller houses on non-LM streets. Non-LM streets being great. But the smaller houses don’t have 2 bathrooms in the owner’s unit. Because the parlor floors in the 2-story houses almost never have a bathroom and if someone did add it then it’s a renovated house that will be priced higher. So ultimately, to answer the OP’s question, I’d still say the full criteria would not be met for a million or under in PLG.
Yes, fake. “she” was posting the same stuff a few months ago. A quick perusal of the free new york times online would let someone know this is impossible. Clearly “knows Brooklyn well” … waste of time.
I disagree with those saying you can still find something in these neighborhoods for a million. Because any house priced for a million or a little under needs a lot of work. You say you’re open to that, but a full renovation costs $100K per floor, and a minimum of $100K for the whole house if you are only updating mechanicals and not doing finishes. So you’d need to look for a house priced at $850K to $900K.
Lefferts Gardens is not too far, if you are looking at the two different express subway lines in PLG, it’s closer in travel time to Manhattan than the places you listed. There is ample parking on the streets. But even in PLG, I don’t know if you could buy and do basic renovation on a house for a million. Lefferts Manor is desireable but doesn’t allow apartments. There are landmarked streets outside the LM district you could take a look at. There isn’t a big turnover though, so not a lot of houses listed at any given time.
It really seems you should be looking at condos and coops, for sure, to get 3BR or even 2BR with more than one bathroom in any of your preferred neighborhoods.
OP,
I presume you’re aware that Lefferts Gardens is only ONE subway stop further than Park Slope.
A few brownstones and limestones there have parking as do a good number of the neo-Federal brick houses. Even street parking is easier than in most other brownstone \neighborhoods. Plus, I think it’s just about the only neighborhood bordering Prospect park that comes close to your price criteria.
(Oh come on 11:45, if this is a fake post she’s sure put a lot of effort into it–given her previous posts leading up to it.)
OP, perhaps your townhouse wish isn’t so unreasonable after all, if you look in South Slope/Greenwood as 11:41 suggested–check out the first entry in “Just Sold” just posted on Brownstoner’s homepage…
You can find a house, with rental income. We did. We found a great place in Crown Heights, just off Franklin. Unlike what people will tell you, this area is not crime-ridden – at least no more than what I hear going on in Prospect Heights. You need an area that is changing, gentrifying to find a nice house within your budget. Alternatively you will spend alot of money on an apartment in an established nabe, but know that in a few years those same houses in Crown Heights or Bed Sty will be out of reach – and new amenities seem to be popping up every few months. For example, we just got a new wine shop on the corner of Franklin and Prospect ! Lots of Rioja crianza, champagne – yumm. Note the sign hasnt yet been changed – it still says “Discount Liquors” but they told me they will change it soon. Good luck and dont let the nay-sayers scare you from Crown Heights North or Bed Sty….
Not crazy – just sounds like it because it is a fake post. I call it.