Clinton Avenue 'Haunted House' in Contract
We have been, with good reason, on the edge of our seats wondering about the future of 405 Clinton Avenue, the turn-of-the-century William Tubby design that came on the market last September after many years of neglect. Given the shape of the house and the state of the market, the initial asking price was laughable…
We have been, with good reason, on the edge of our seats wondering about the future of 405 Clinton Avenue, the turn-of-the-century William Tubby design that came on the market last September after many years of neglect. Given the shape of the house and the state of the market, the initial asking price was laughable at $3,995,000. By November the price had been reduced to $2,995,000, a price that still seemed unrealistic—one person we spoke to who toured the house told us that it couldn’t be worth any more than $1,500,000. Now comes word, via a tipster, that the house, which was originally built by a former mayor of Brooklyn, has gone into contract at an all-cash price “significantly less than ask.” If you know the price and care to drop us a line, please know that your anonymity will be protected!
Update: We just heard from someone familiar with the deal and, while we didn’t get a contract price, we did learn that it is being purchased by a preservation-minded couple that plans to restore it and keep as many details as possible; they will live in the house and create one rental apartment. Great news!
Update II: Another tipster tells us that they buyer is a couple from Manhattan and that the purchase price was somewhere in the $1.7 to $1.8 million range.
405 Clinton Avenue [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark
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and cwb, I forgot to mention, I had to supply all of the paint and supplies, which I believe is standard, and this was before the housing bubble, which probably encouraged contractors to jack up their estimates even more…
Good luck…use the Forum to find recommendations for reputable contractors.
nybk01,
Why do you mention that the previous owner was Chinese? Would you say a black man? a Jewish man? a white man?
Just wondering.
Biff – Yeh, that’s why it’s important to hunt around a lot and use references to try to find guys who are qualified, talented, professional, and reasonable.
Not an easy thing to do, I understand. I’m planning on using this website extensively to search for contractors, should I ever buy a property in need of work. 🙂
“it’s not very professional for a.) the broker to be blabbing to a contractor”
Since when was “professionalism” ever assumed to be a required broker quality????
If I were the new owners, I think I’d be pretty upset at my potential contractor for gossiping about the sale price while the house is still in contract. If the house is in contract, and thus the sale is not completed (and a matter of public record), it’s not very professional for a.) the broker to be blabbing to a contractor and b.) the contractor to be blabbing to another client.
cwb, years back when I first moved to NYC, I arranged for quotes to have my apartment painted. They ranged from a few thousand dollars to almost $8K. And this was not a huge apartment. I told my friends back home and they were in disbelief. (I ended up having a couple of guys from the building’s staff do it for a very reasonable amount – they did a great job).
nybk01:
Those dogs used to live in that house. A different article said that he had recently moved them from his house in brooklyn to the trailer they were seized from. He probably had to get them out of there when he put the house up for sale. I bet the piss and crap everywhere is from them.
Is the ladder on the roof landmarked? I hope they keep that.
lol…see boofers post…thats the guy. I was in this place with my contractor…what a dump.