House of the Day: 38 Cambridge Place
No pics of this charming woodframe on the Warburg website yet, but we snapped one on the way home yesterday (realizing, in the process, that we know the tenants in the upper duplex). Anyway, this 2-family, 4-story house is old-school goodness but until we have more info on the condition of the interior, we’re not…
No pics of this charming woodframe on the Warburg website yet, but we snapped one on the way home yesterday (realizing, in the process, that we know the tenants in the upper duplex). Anyway, this 2-family, 4-story house is old-school goodness but until we have more info on the condition of the interior, we’re not quite ready to swallow the $1,685,000 price tag. At that number, it better be pristine. (As an aside, some of you might recognize the neighboring house on the right from the garden tour this Spring.) For those of you unfamiliar with the block, Cambridge is an unusually beautiful and wide block. The buyer of this house will also have the pleasure of living within throwing distance of Shahn Anderson’s haunted house.
UPDATE: Corcoran’s got it all hooked up. Eleven pics and we have to say that the interiors exceeded our expectations. First showing will be at the September 10 open house.
38 Cambridge Place [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark
38 Cambridge Place [Warburg]
Everyone is very negative today!
What I get from all this discussion is that the person who ends up with the top of this duplex is going to get a great deal. Nice apartment with landlords who will be up late anyway worrying about their finances so they won’t be bothered by all the pitter-patter of feet above them — I’m a little bit more inclined to have the tenants below me if I’m going to spend this much!
The only difference between renting and buying is whom you’re renting the property from — the bank, or a landlord. This also ignores the associated costs of homeownership like repairs and property taxes, which are factored into the rent you pay.
Realistically, you’re not going to ‘own’ the property unless you stay there 30 years, and depending upon property values to continue to skyrocket is unrealistic.
300k down payment is a lot of money you’re putting into a potentially depreciating asset.
I hope Brooklyn townhouse prices go up as much as the next homeowner, but I have to say so many of these prices are no longer making sense to me. People throw around huge numbers about the piles of money they are undoubtedly going to make on their real estate purchases. Yes, you pay toward your principle every month, but unless you stay for at least five years – realistically a lot longer – that amount is not very significant. Plus you have tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in a mortgage that can’t be invested elsewhere. Plus you have all kinds of expenses (seen and unforeseen) and a lot of responsibility/obligation. Again, I am a homeowner! I just get sick of the smug “renters are throwing away their money, I’m so smart because I bought.” Please.
Some of the comments above regarding not being worth it because you could rent a duplex for the cost of the mortgage or less miss the point that the buyer might be willing and able to pay the monthly mortgage and have the added satisfaction of owning the house for the long term and for the piece of mind.
I’ve always liked these two houses. It’s a lovely block too. For the size, it seems a little high (3368 sq. ft.) but who knows. I like the small gates to the little alleys down to the back yards too.
ok buy this alligator , looks like you buy this today at 1.68 and tommorow (next yr) it will be worth 1.2 or less. what is the difference between this and a home i can buy in Staten Island overlooking the bay for under 875k ? ok maybe the transportation is an issue but this is just another frame house. Please tell me? i can be in a safe area and not have to worry about my kids getting caught in the middle of a drug deal. Don’t get me wrong i love bklyn but at this price no way.
Mery:
I assumed 100% financing and a 1.7 cost (which is what you’ll pay if you buy it when you factor in closing costs). The 20% down payment is economically irrelevant, as you could just stick that in the stock/bond market and finance the rest.
The long-term argument doesn’t really hold water — you could just invest the 50-60k/yr in the stock market and use the income to pay the increased rent.
Likewise, the tax argument probably doesn’t hold water: most potential buyers are already getting mauled by the AMT, as between the mortgage interest and NYS/C tax regimes, you tend to get screwed.
So if you buy this, you are basically betting on
a) monster home price appreciation without similar tax increases
b) doubling of rents without doubling of costs
c) your willingness to hold it.
Most multi-family trades at 10-12x rent roll. Even assuming 3500 for the lower duplex, that puts you at less than a buck.
Ugh.
I think it’s priced well. Everyone here is assuming the two duplexes are the same in quality. I’ll bet the owner has a very nice duplex, which would be worth $3500 a month on the open market. If they buy the place for $1,500,000 and put 20% down, once you factor in their tax savings, they would still be doing better off than renting.
It’s the lack of foresight that a lot of renters have to not realize that while the owner may be paying the equivalent of $3500 now, in five years when renters are paying $5000 for the same unit, the owner is effectively paying $2250.
anon 1:47–
I don’t get your logic here. The two townhouses are no closer together than any other Brooklyn townhouses, and rather than have two party walls and two really close- by neighbors, you have only one.