Condo of the Day: Half a Brownstone in the Slope
Today’s condo of the day–a half brownstone–is a good jumping off point for a more general discussion of owning a unit in a very small building. This place looks nice (but don’t look to hard–the gloss on those floors might blind you!) and the price for the North Slope doesn’t sound outlandish. We’d be very…
Today’s condo of the day–a half brownstone–is a good jumping off point for a more general discussion of owning a unit in a very small building. This place looks nice (but don’t look to hard–the gloss on those floors might blind you!) and the price for the North Slope doesn’t sound outlandish. We’d be very cautious about being one of only two owners in a condo building though. What if you have different opinions or abilities in terms of money to spend on common areas? What if one person stops paying his common charge? What’s the recourse if one of the owners creates other quality-of-life problems? We’d guess some of these things could be addressed in the legal documents but in the end it’s a bit like having a roommate. And even if you like the other person now, you never know who he could turn around and sell his place to. Thoughts?
Rare Half Brownstone [Aguayo & Huebener]
We live in a 2-family co-op in Brooklyn Heights. We were nervous about it, and concerned about the finances of the other owner. We spent a fair amount of time with that person before we made the offer, and felt we had a reasonably good sense of her personality (although we were not entitled to inquire into her finances—I wish we had the SF law here). As things turned out, we were lucky—she ended up moving and subletting her place to a relative, who’s been a very congenial and responsible neighbor. The way it’s worked out, we do almost all of the work (like bill-paying, dealing with insurance, taxes, etc.) but we also have control of most of the decisions thereby. Sure I wish I owned the whole place, but I don’t have an extra 2.5 million to buy her out, and we love our two floors (and the amount it’s appreciated since 2000 when we bought it).
I lived in an 8 unit co-op double-wide brownstone for several years. Most of the people were fairly decent, sane, friendly folks. But we had one bad apple that basically wanted to control everything. The guy was nuts and would often go off on people if he didn’t get his way. My problem was that most of the other owners would rather enable this madness rather than confront the problem. The bad blood after co-op meetings was sickening. Also, most people are just too busy with their families to have time to put into self-managing a building, so inertia prevails. And lastly, the differences in apt amenities and various financial situations can cause big rifts. If you have a garden or roof deck, the others are envious and it shows, especially if say, the roof needs resurfacing. Or, if say, there is an amenity or capital improvement, like say renovating the basement storage, or fixing up the front garden, getting everybody to go along with it is impossible.
Bottom-line, small co-op, equals going into business with a bunch of people you barely know and may not like all that much.
I went to an open house for this condo.
WAY overpriced. top 2 floors, bottom floor is 2 decent sized bedrooms, with an old bathroom.
Top floor has a nice kitchen with a nice dining area,
and that’s it! There are stairs to the roof, and they are trying to pass off a storage area with a slanted roof as either a living room or 3rd bedroom, but it’s really an attic storage area. GREAT location, but not a nice home. Lots out there that is much better for 1.1. I don’t think this is worth much more than 900K.
As a broker, I’ve sold 4 unit brownstone coops and a 2 unit brownstone coop. Most brownstone apartments have wonderful details (fireplaces, molding, woodwork, high ceilings) and low maintenance.
There has to be a lot of cooperation between the owners and they look for someone that will get along with everyone and be responsible. They usually have schedules for things like taking out the garbage and everyone is on the board. In one building margaritas were usually served at their board meetings.
The 2 unit coop was a bit more interesting. The couple who lived there had a bad experience with the owner that was selling (she was completely nuts) so they were extremely cautious with the buyers. The buyers (who are now good friends of mine) were perfect for this building as they are responsible and really easy to get along with. Since they have moved in they have helped make some major improvements that the building needed. I’d be a little more nervous buying into a 2 unit condo because you don’t have any control about who your neighbors are.
All of this being said, if you want to be actively involved in the running of your building, a 2 or 4 unit coop can work for you. If you just want to pay maintenance and not be bothered with anything else, stick to the larger buildings.
Many horror stories out there about poorly managed small bldgs and about small bldgs that want to buy out other apts when those other owners are ready to sell so they just say no to all prospective new owners. also major hassles with getting renvoations approved for indiv. apts. (or else no major hassles and lots of risk for owners.) 4 units or less = danger
I don’t understand the idea behind this building at all. Why would it be divided into two condos when it would seem it would fetch at least as much as the two apartments if sold whole? Maybe someone could explain this to me without having to explain the whole condo conversion process?
I live in a four-unit condo and it works well for the most part. I have the largest apartment (parlor floor and about 2/3 of the ground floor — the front 1/3 of the ground floor is a common area with storage areas and gas/elec meters) and have the garden to myself. There are three units above me, with the folks on the top floor having a private roof deck. We’re self-managed, and I guess I just lucked out but I trust all of my neighbors completely. The only problem is that none of us really wants to do anything, so while I’d be happy to pay a management company, the others don’t want to spend the money, so we muddle through on our own. We don’t have any kind of schedule as someone mentioned they have going 20 years out, so we talk about replacing the roof or fixing the crack in the stairs, but we never manage to get around to doing it. That’s the down side. The major upside, however, is that I get the feel of living in a house (especially in my case since I have the garden) without the hassle or expense. When we do need to replace the roof, it will be a shared responsibility and expense, and that’s actually of some comfort. And since it’s a condo, I’ll have the flexibility to rent it out in the future if I want, and there was no board interview and I was able to purchase it with only 10% down. I had the salary but not the other liquid assets to buy a co-op at this price level, so I was limited to condos, but had no interest in any of the new construction going up around Brooklyn. So I think the small condo buildings in Brownstone Brooklyn are a unique niche.
I live in Park Slope and say “I’m going to the city” when I mean Manhattan; many friends say this as well. My grandmother was Brooklyn-born and said the same! It’s quieter and leafier and calmer here; this is my home, my neighborhood, and I see the relief in my 5-year-old’s eyes when we return from “the city” via the F train. Is that so wrong?
p.s. I would buy that brownstone with a sibling; I have 2 brothers here raising their families – we’ve thought of combining resources from time to time; why not?
Anonymous 11:25 AM wrote “ad also says ‘views TO New York City’…when did Park Slope lose its NYC residency?”
FWIW, when I lived in the So.Slope in the early ’70s the old timers said they were going to “New York” when they crossed the East River; where I grew up, in Queens, it was going to “the City”–the same for my wife, who grew up in E.Flatbush.”