Advice for a Freaked Out Apartment Seller
Help! After many wonderful years living in Brooklyn my husband got a new job and we have to relocate to Seattle. He left me here to sell the apartment and take care of our two young boys thinking we’d have the deal wrapped up and be out there by Christmas. Well, it hasn’t quite turned…
Help! After many wonderful years living in Brooklyn my husband got a new job and we have to relocate to Seattle. He left me here to sell the apartment and take care of our two young boys thinking we’d have the deal wrapped up and be out there by Christmas. Well, it hasn’t quite turned out as we planned.
The broker recommended we price the apartment (a two bedroom walkup on Henry Street in Carroll Gardens) at $595K when it first went on the market almost two months ago. No takers.
After two more price cuts, we’re down to $475K. The open houses are always very busy. But NO ONE IS BUYING. At this point, I’d consider any offers. But there aren’t any. What should I do? The URL for the listing is http://www.bhsbrooklyn.com/detail.asp?id=960620
Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
Make sure your broker will cobroke with non-rebny brokers. They sometimes don’t and that omits a whole population of buyers who like to work with smaller brokers that may not be part of the “club”.
Actually the marketing is poor. The pictures are terrible–why don’t you ask the broker to spring for professional photos? And yes, you need to de-clutter–why didn’t the broker tell you that? Your other problem is the maintenance is high–nothing you can do about that except to not say it’s “low” in the description.
You should have gotten offers two months ago, but the price was too high. Now, unfortunately, no one is buying. If you can’t hold on until after the inauguration, you’d better rent.
Billyboomer,
Your argument that prices in Park Slope are protected because folks won’t sell if the market goes down contradicts exactly what happens every time a real estate market goes down.
Of course, the more desirable areas like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights will always be more expensive than the less desirable areas, but that doesn’t mean prices won’t fall.
Most people, old timers and recent purchasers alike don’t sell because prices happen to be high or low. They sell because of life circumstances like new jobs in another city, retirement home relocation, divorce, etc. People will not wait for the market to rebound because nobody knows how long that will be. And old timers who paid relatively little years ago, will still make money, even selling at today’s prices.
A 50% NYC real estate price drop in reality is conservative considering how much prices have risen in the last decade and how bad the local and national economy is right now.
Furthermore, I wouldn’t expect to flip a Brooklyn brownstone for a profit anytime soon. But it certainly makes sense to wait six months and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in future debt instead of buying at todays still inflated prices.
Remember, it will only take a few low priced sales to completely upend the real estate bubble that occurred over the last ten years and drastically readjust the market for brownstones in Brooklyn.
Citibank is on the verge of collapse because they hold billions in garbage mortgage securities and you don’t think Brooklyn real estate prices could fall 50%? Open your eyes and smell the flowers, my friend.
I just have to say it’s really sad your broker said to list it at $595K initially. 2BR coops that are larger, with separate laundry closet (not in the kitchen) and true closets in both bedrooms, sell for that same amount in Park Slope. That broker did you a big disservice. Overpricing is such a bad strategy in the current market. You did tell this broker you needed to be out by Christmas and your main priority is selling quick not selling for a lot. She should have priced it and marketed it accordingly. I do stick with my advice in my earlier post it’s best not to appear too desperate because then people are afraid to buy the place at all, but the broker could have priced the place at $475K from the start and put a positive spin on it, marketing the apartment as an opportunity to pick up a great deal due to a job transfer and motivated seller.
One question nobody else has mentioned here — before you drop to something like $350K, how does the rest of the coop feel about a super cheap price as comp for the building? Better ask them first, because if it’s way lower than they believe their own apartments are worth they could decline to approve the buyer.
Good news is once this selling ordeal is over you’ll enjoy Seattle. I love that city.
This sort of looks like a good deal to me… until I remember that we almost rented the same layout much closer to Atlantic on Henry for $2500/month. That being said, it looks much more appealing than the new construction that’s priced above it for same square footage.
And if you need a house to rent in Olympia, WA, um, let me know?
Sorry, Cobblegirl. But as Nick Lowe said ya gotta be cruel to be kind.
I could buy this for cash but don’t care to. This is the fast way I look at this as a potential buyer without an MBA or CFA, but as one who needs more space for children, not an extra 100-200 sf max.
Be that as it may: $475k asking. 20% down gets me a $95,000 down payment and a $380k mortgage at, I don’t know, 6.375% seems fair today, gets me a $2372 nut to COF or SOV or whomever, plus the $720 maintenance (when was the last time that went up and how are the financials and what shape are the roof, the windows, the boiler, the facade, etc.) Now I’m at, let’s call it $3100. At 7%, I’m at $3250.
Yes, come April my after-tax cost is less. But on a cash flow basis, I need to meet the nut 12 times a year, not once.
And for what? Mediocore-ville. Can I rent an apartment for that? Maybe, maybe not. At worst, not much more and my bet is rents are headed south, not north. Can I rent a nicer, larger apt. with more closets, a bigger kitchen, without a combination washer-dryer, and a far better location closer to better transportation? I’d give it a long, hard shot before anteing up here.
I love Henry Street too, but let’s face it. You’re getting down toward the Street’s butt end and the BQE and it’s a schlep to and from transportation. Which is OK, but why pay a premium? I want a discount for those extra 10-15 minutes up to Borough Hall in the (likely event) that the F train isn’t my best commute. The upside to me relative to Clinton at the same end is there’s less through traffic. Oh gee, and Lucali’s up the block. Surprised the real estate agents here didn’t mention that dealmaker.
To paraphrase my better half “That’s the type of place I’d offer $350k in cash for and see what happened.”
In one sense, this real estate market is like Las Vegas Sands plummeting 92% in the space of 90 days (which it has done, by the way. Ask Sheldon Adelson). Move the **** on. Drop the ask and move the **** on. The market won’t clear until sellers drop the ask. Until then, they can marinate and roast in those checks they’re cutting every 30 days. And I’ll just keep clipping the (muni bond) coupons.
Is that floorplan real? There’s one closet in the place? It looks like this is actually a 1 BR, but you should probably put some dimensions on that floorplan. I’m guessing the rooms are tiny, which is what’s putting off all the people coming to the open houses.
Decent location, though. And, the building looks nice.
I don’t think it’s a steal at all – nice apt, but pretty standard and I remember in 2001 or 2002 when my neighbors were trying to sell basically the same apt, but with garden, for $415k and it seemed CRAZY to me. I was so glad when they weren’t able to. The point being that these standard 2 bedroom apts only very recently jumped to 800k. You should ask for $415k and see what happens.
Actually, I would not buy now since prices will drop further. just rent this and wait. You’ll feel rich in 10 years when inflation makes the rent $6000 a month and your mortgage is $2500 or whatever.
extreme lack of closet space. that “2nd bedroom” would probably serve bettet as a walk-in closet. I love the area but that place looks really small and the maintenance is relatively high.