House of the Day: Crazily Overpriced on Greene
They gotta be kidding on this one! The 4,000-square-foot house at 165 Greene is one of a half dozen or so identical houses that were put up back in 1990. We’ve always assumed they were built as part of some kind of subsidized affordable housing initiative and the pricing and financing of the original sale…
They gotta be kidding on this one! The 4,000-square-foot house at 165 Greene is one of a half dozen or so identical houses that were put up back in 1990. We’ve always assumed they were built as part of some kind of subsidized affordable housing initiative and the pricing and financing of the original sale lends credibility to that theory: We bet they were sold for $300,000 with 10% down, but we could be wrong. Regardless, they are without question deserving of a large price discount relative to the similarly-sized Victorian-era brownstones that grace the neighborhood. But the seller is pricing it on a par, which is insane, especially when you consider the truncated rear yard (see photo, top right) and, one of our favorite attributes, the bouquet of utility meters next to the front door (lower right). To be fair, it’s not all bad: We thought the arched windows on the parlor floor were an unexpected nice touch. The location is very central, too, though the bus stop across the street is a slight bummer. Bottom line: We think the sellers are going to have to lower their expectations–and the price–a lot. Like four or five hundred thousand dollars.
165 Greene Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
I always wondered about these. I was looking at everything before I bought in Dec 04 and saw these (don’t know which building) advertised often but never saw them inside. They always looked a little off (off center fireplace noted…). Just had to say about Corcoran – rather than just say they are nuts, they always go for the moon on everything. Who knows what the statistics are on where they close these things versus where they list them.
I looked at one of these units about a year ago (can’t remember the number) but remember the “new” interior looking pretty tired and the rooms feeling kind of small. I also thought it was strange that they were priced like “real” brownstones though seemed kind of cheesy.
I can confirm a couple of things above — in late 2003, the house at 175 Greene (which has a better view out the back than 165) was asking $839K, and i think it was sold for just under that (I believe we were outbid by a few thousand).
However, that house’s basement had clear signs of flooding issues. Also, while the apartments were OK, the walls and fixtures uniformly were middle-of-the-road if not downright cheap in feel and appearance.
Finally, these would be great units to go condo, but would require essentially a gut job to turn into single family residences.
There’s no point in trying to convince NorthSloper that landmarked Clinton Hill, in 2003 or 2006, is not an “iffy” neighborhood if she/he considers the Northslope iffy.
As for barbed wire, you do see it around in lots of neighborhoods, even seen it in the Brooklyn Heights. Usually where there is potential for public access to a yard over a fence.
I think this price is actually very out of whack, even for the size. It should come down a fair bit I’d say. Nice mid to late 19th century 4 story townhouses with details not requiring major overhalls but needing some work go for this price.
do you mean change your opinion about the neighborhood in which these townhouses are located? I’m not a big fan of the location for the reasons I mentioned earlier (bus line, proximity to a suspicious hotel) but it as nice, safe, and beautiful a neighborhood as there is in brooklyn. I’m also not going to gratify you with specific examples of where barbed wire is located in the north slope when it is everywhere and all you have to do is get off your keister and open your eyes to see it.
mihe718 – you haven’t answered my question. where exactly is the barbed wire. don’t let my question get you so hot under the collar. “Everywhere” is not an answer. BTW, you’re not going to change my opinion about the location of these townhouses.
Yet another case of “Corcoran gone wild!”. They overprice everything!
north sloper – you’re blind. there is barbed wire all over the north slope you just have to open your eyes. its everywhere – everywhere.
I know (from the horses mouth) that the developer who bought my house on Cambridge Place at a tax auction with the intention of tearing it down and building condos built either half, or all of these houses. When he was reluctantly selling the house to me (because the LPC wouldn’t let him tear it down) he told me that he had built these houses.