Condos of the Day: Clinton Street Brownstone FSBOs
A husband-and-wife team bought this five-story, 25-foot-wide brownstone at 378 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill last year and have turned it from a five-family rental into a three-family condo. They’re keeping the garden duplex and selling the two upper units. The middle apartment is an 1,100-square-foot floor-through with 12-foot ceilings; The upper duplex about 2,400…
A husband-and-wife team bought this five-story, 25-foot-wide brownstone at 378 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill last year and have turned it from a five-family rental into a three-family condo. They’re keeping the garden duplex and selling the two upper units. The middle apartment is an 1,100-square-foot floor-through with 12-foot ceilings; The upper duplex about 2,400 square feet and has an unusually open plan for a brownstoner. (Actually, it’s kinda like what we did with our second floor.) While the renovation in general is fairly traditional and understated in feel, it looks like there wasn’t a lot of original detail that could be saved which is too bad. Given the amount of grumbling yesterday about the $1.8 million price tag on the duplex on 7th Street, it’ll be interesting to see whether the asking price on the duplex $1.95 million will fly; the simplex is asking $950,000. There’s arguably less on the market around Clinton Street than in Park Slope but, regardless, this place has to stand up on its own against an entire house that could be bought for the same price in not-too-distant neighborhoods. Move in or move on?
378 Clinton Street [FSBO] GMAP P*Shark
The owner paid too much for the property.
He is asking too much for his condos.
Why would anyone pay that much when you
can own a whole house for less.
I am curious about splitting up a brownstone I saw. It seems like it can work but would like to talk to someone who has been through it.
secretstash@yahoo.com
Anon 1:26 pm above, I think that would be an interesting discussion to have. We personally prefer having tenants, simply because we can control the entire building (and also in the hopes of taking over more of the building some day). I think the owner here said she would have loved to do that as well, but the financials didn’t work out.
This is one of the biggest changes, in my mind, in buying a brownstone today versus 5 years ago. Five years ago you could make that decision with all things being equal. These days, the rents you receive pay off such a small portion of your mortgage that it makes far better financial sense to sell at the high prices you can get. For instance, the owner of this coop can get nearly $3 million dollars to pay off a high mortgage. The rental income (I’ll very generously assess that at $8,000/month for the 2 apartments on the market) might defray 1.3 million in mortgage payments. Many people simply can’t afford to come up with the money to pay off the additional 1.7 mortgage payments each month, even if they’d prefer not to condo the building.
I agree, they’re priced right. $812 per foot for fully renovated with updated mechanicals. I thought the discussion here would have been about condos vs. rentals for homeowners. Because I think condo is a nice option for some owners of houses. I personally would not want to deal with tenants. I’d rather fully, nicely renovate the entire building (not just do cheap renos in the rental units) and sell to people who are invested in treating the building and their neighbors really well. Helping out around the building. It’s a brilliant idea. Lastly I’ll chime in and say thanks to the Owner for coming on the thread and identifying him/herself. That alone makes a good impression. Sounds like a good neighbor to have!
These condos are priced right. If the mechanical are brand new this is on par with the market. Thanks for speaking up Mr/Mrs Owner!
This house is priced right. If the mechanical are brand new this is on par with the market. Thanks for speaking up Mr/Mrs Owner!
A duplex 2 1/2 Bedroom with additional family room space in Brooklyn Heights just went thru a major bidding war and well over asking price of $1.975mln. Kitchen and bathrooms needed total renovation.
It was in a better location, but that gives you some idea of the demand out there for larger family size condos or houses. This Cobble Hill duplex may sound high, but it will probably find buyers. Inventory is really tight for family-sized accommodations.
That is not hyperbole nor the words of a realtor. That is a fact. OK, now fire away, people. The bitter out there will hate to hear this.
Wife and I are in the market for for a 2 bed duplex. We’re interested in the Clinton street unit and will check it out. Last week we went to the Clinton Hill lower duplex Open House on Clinton Ave. asking $1.1M. Did any of you folks go to that Open House? I would be interested in your comparison. The brokers are a small agency from Park Slope – Urban View Realty.
2:42 might be mistaken. This area has been “changing” for a lo-o-ong time, at least 25 years. It was Italian, it was working class, it was ignored by non-natives. Mortgages were hard to get when the interest rates were sky-high in the early 70s, but there wasn’t much turnover anyway. New families were not the first gentrifiers, or whatever. It was “yuppies,” mostly young childless couples, around 1982. Renting huge apartments from Italian families for what seemed an exorbitant amount to the locals but a steal to the Manhattan refugees. There have been interesting shops, galleries, movies here for decades, spilling over from BH. The pace has quickened, but it was not a sudden change.