House of the Day: A Grand Bed Stuy Brownstone With Four Apartments
Today’s pick is a stately 20-foot brownstone with bay windows, on a nice block of Bedford Stuyvesant near the edge of Clinton Hill. It’s not swimming in detail, but there’s some to go around: moldings aplenty, a trio of white marble fireplaces, and, awesomely, etched glass in the front entrance doors. The floors, less awesomely,…
Today’s pick is a stately 20-foot brownstone with bay windows, on a nice block of Bedford Stuyvesant near the edge of Clinton Hill.
It’s not swimming in detail, but there’s some to go around: moldings aplenty, a trio of white marble fireplaces, and, awesomely, etched glass in the front entrance doors. The floors, less awesomely, don’t appear to be original.
The house is set up with an apartment on each of its four floors, each one with a slightly different layout. All have one bedroom (though on the ground level only the living room in the front would be a legal bedroom, not the “den” in the middle).
The top two floors are called two-bedrooms in the listing, but the layout shows a bedroom plus a small room, again called a den, in each, 6.5 feet wide. Consider them 1.5-bedrooms.
The most obvious move here would be to duplex the bottom two floors and keep the rentals above. It’s no minor project, but it looks like it’d be doable enough.
All appears to be in decent shape from the photos, though the kitchen and bathroom pictured could both use an upgrade. The mechanicals are in “good shape,” according to the listing, from Patricia Laligant at Corcoran.
Transportation-wise, you’ve got the Franklin Avenue C and shuttle stop around the corner.
The house is listed for $2,150,000. Does that seem like a fair price? What do you make of the place?
47 Jefferson Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP
Photos by Corcoran
Regarding prices in 2008, my building was sold at 1 million that year, and it had to be totally renovated. Bed-stuy has very different prices depending on the area. The same house 8 blocks east from this house there could have cost 650.
Prices for rentals for Jefferson, Hancock and Halsey are 2300-2400 for 1 bedroom. I live there, I have 3 friends that have rented in the area lately. One of them rents a 2 bedroom in a vinyl-covered narrow house, crappy construction, for 1550. The others are over 2300 for a one bedroom.
Sorry, I meant my friend rents for 2550, not 1550.
Great analysis. But regardless, the fact remains that this price tag is very much in line with what lots of houses have been going for and sold for in the area, mostly 2-3 families though. Renovated and much smaller houses going for much more. Not sure if a 4 family would be worth any less? When I was house hunting, I did similar analysis and questioned the listing brokers, but unfortunately, the prices didn’t come down because my arguments had a point 🙂
It doesn’t seem that great. According to CL in that neighborhood 1brs go between 1700-2000 (there were even a few 2brs at 2000, but with smaller floorplans), 2brs go for 2200-2600.
These are not really spaces you would rent to people looking for a true 2br, perhaps a couple that will use it as a den/office. If you’re lucky that puts you at the higher end of the 1brs, since they can easily find something similar, or in other neighbs like crown heights, PlG etc.. You won’t get top dollar because these units aren’t exactly well finished or new.
Lets guess parlor, 2nd, and third floor will get you about 5400-6000 a month. Idk what you would get for the garden tbf. Either way you’ll be pretty close to 2.2m with closing costs. If you live there you’ll just end up eating the balance of the loan. 30% is required for investment properties which this is. So your loan is going to cost you 7800/mo, insurance on that will be about 600/mo and taxes for another 300/mo; oh and heat/hot water, sewage are on you too (about 1000/mo). That meand if you rent the top three floors and occupy the garden/cellar it will cost you about 3700/mo.
Some of those costs can be written off, but you still gotta come up with that much money to play the game. Oh and I almost forgot the downpayment of 700k.
Sounds like a pretty bad deal.
This isn’t an “investment property”, which I think you mean commercial property. Either way you can get a conventional loan on a 4 family, rate may be slightly higher but I bought a 4 family to live in 3 years ago with 20% down. Again $600/month for insurance is incorrect, I use the the Brownstone Agency and bought a 3 year policy for $6500 total. Also, if you want to occupy 2 of the units and lose some rent to get more size than that’s your choice, but at least you have a choice as opposed to buying a $750k 2 bedroom in the area where, btw you are guaranteed a $3,500/month payment. The market will adjust but owning this with a low fixed interest rate is always a win.
FYI rents here would be around $2,250+/unit.
Johnbk ,
U broke it down way better than me. Was enjoying the summer out at the ole bbq while posting , sorry for the I-grammar/spelling . This only makes sense as a single family or rent it out as is. If you go the single family , after Reno costs you might be in Park Slope territory as far as money goes. I still have a hard time believing that BS is viable 2 million plus neighborhood long term. 2 million and you still have to cough up for private school if you have kids, ouch. When the fed finally Increases rates the lunacy will end. These homes were trading for less than 500k in 2008, unbelievable.
Melissa Braun , I think your assement is slightly rosy. Let’s say as an owner/investor you occupy the Garden& Parlor floors, with you math you have a mortgage for 1.5 and 2 apartment that might generate 4k in rental income. 1.5 @ 4.5% is P+I only , still have taxes and expenses. The remaining mortgage balance after rentals is 3.5 k , no way this makes sense for an owner occupier , maybe as pure investment or a single family. I didn’t mention what will probably be substantial Reno costs.
Because of the way it is currently configured, yes, you would need to do some work to be able to occupy the garden and parlor levels as an owner. Or you can live on just the top floor and rent the others until you can convert the garden and parlor into a duplex. The numbers make sense and the rent roll is only going to go up but I understand it’s not a property that’s going to work for every owner/investor right away.