House of the Day: Carlton Avenue For Less
Thanks to a reader for bringing this Carlton Avenue house to our attention (it’s the semi-detached house, by the way). As the reader pointed out in her email, this is probably a beneficiary of a Foxton’s discount, i.e. if Corcoran or one of the more entrenched brokers in Brownstone Brooklyn had this listing, it would…
Thanks to a reader for bringing this Carlton Avenue house to our attention (it’s the semi-detached house, by the way). As the reader pointed out in her email, this is probably a beneficiary of a Foxton’s discount, i.e. if Corcoran or one of the more entrenched brokers in Brownstone Brooklyn had this listing, it would probably be a couple hundred grand more. While the kitchen’s not going to do it for a lot of people, the house otherwise appears to have lots of attractive original details. No word on when the house had a major infrastructure upgrade (plumbing, electric, etc.) but at this price, we think you could put $100,000 into tune-ups and still be ahead of the game.
Carlton Avenue House [Foxtons] GMAP P*Shark
I admit I hadn’t read anonMS’s post before I submitted my own. That does throw a different light on it. On the other hand, this house after renovation should be able to carry $1.75m, even in the current slightly softer market. In which case, $1.27m still seems too low an ask. Or, perhaps more to the point, never mind the immediate resale potential, for the long term this house represents a decent buy for anyone who wants to own a brownstone home in a friendly, highly convenient neighborhood. Unless I’m underestimating the impact of the AY project. For those of us who live in the nabe already, I suspect there’s a certain amount of denial about AY. For example, I’m deeply opposed to the project at the same time I can’t bear to admit that it’s sucking value out of my biggest (only?) investment.
The whole atlantic yard thing hangs like a pall over the area. There are a few entire blocks up the street designated as “parking” in the final plans. The traffic in these streets is a huge unknown. The construction is an unknown. The dust/noise/trucks are an unknown. The duration is unknown.
The price seems reasonable considering the renovation costs.
Given anonMS’ comments, this is obviously NOT underpriced–even when it was listed at 1.5M it got negotiated down to about this same price. Clearly the place it not going to sell for any more than 1.27M. And the market has weakened since it was listed at 1.5M. Given all of that, this seems like a perfectly reasonable asking price.
I agree with neo grec. The only ones who win under the Foxton’s model are the listing agent (Foxton’s doesn’t co-broke) and the buyer. The seller leaves a big chunk of money on the table, and neighborhood values are lowered too.
I actually find the kitchen kind of charming. It’s got sort of a rustic thing going on. I’d do some faux painting on those cute cabinets, upgrade the appliances and do the countertop with some inexpensive Mexican tile and I’m good to go!
I live around the corner in a house that was probably built by the same builder coz I recognize a lot of the features in the listing pics. These include the fabulous solid walnut double doors in the front parlor (which look like they have been stripped but not refinished/oiled). While they aren’t pictured, if the house is the same as ours it should have two set of pocket doors on the same floor. Also, original shutters, slate mantles with cast iron summer grilles, plaster moldings, walnut staircase and spindles etc. Of course I’m hardly objective, but I do think these are pretty nice houses. I believe this one has been with the same owner since the 70s, so it’s not state of the art but certainly not a wreck either. While I despise the size of RE brokers’ commissions, this strikes me as perhaps an instance of penny-wise but pound-foolish. If Corcoran could get $1.495 for the house (which seems possible based on recent local comps), the owner would come out ahead by at least $150k — even after shelling out a 6% commission instead of Foxton’s 3%. Am I missing something?
This is a very interesting house which my husband and I almost bought. It was originally listed at 1.499. We negotiated a much lower price (close to the current asking of 1.27), but ultimately backed out. Great price for a 4-story BS with detail! However…house needs all electric and plumbing upgraded. It’s been done on piecemeal basis over the years. New kitchen for owner and new baths are needed. Also, the kitchen in pix is in the garden floor rental unit–a pretty space but needs updating. Other kitchen is on the 3rd floor–kind of weird placement. We were going to rip it out and put in a new one on the parlor floor, to make a garden rental plus owner triplex. Top floor is in semi-raw shape, but could be fixed up fairly easily. Overall, we backed away because of the amount of work plus the location: Carlton and St. Marks’ is beautiful but very near projected Atlantic Yards. I think it’s a great buy for someone who is not put off by AY and doesn’t mind sinking $300,000 or so (our very amateur estimate) into reno. The owners are lovely people and I hope they make a good sale.