House of the Day: 306 Clinton Avenue
Behind many good deals lies a sad story. Such is the case with today’s House of the Day. After inheriting the brownstone at 306 Clinton Avenue from her father, the current owner’s battle with mental illness prevented her from caring for the house—or from paying the property tax. So after three years, a judge has…
Behind many good deals lies a sad story. Such is the case with today’s House of the Day. After inheriting the brownstone at 306 Clinton Avenue from her father, the current owner’s battle with mental illness prevented her from caring for the house—or from paying the property tax. So after three years, a judge has ordered the house sold. The listing price is an absurdly low $925,000. A neighbor who attended the open house yesterday reports that there’s lots of architectural detail (“Original woodwork, fixtures on the doors, original parquet inlaid floors and even some original light fixtures”) still in place, in spite of the neglect the house has suffered. She also reports that the place was crawling with a lot of “developer types” and gave us the heads-up in the hopes of catching the attention of someone who will restore the place properly to live in. So how ’bout it, shoppers? The broker’s name is Bart Schwartz; he can be reached at 718-376-9666 (office) or 718-753-1727 (cell). All bids are due by June 4, at which point the judge will declare a winner. Update: The original source of this story dropped us another email in response to some of the comments.
It seems that there might be a bit of confusion aut the owner’s situation. A number of years ago, her guardians and social worker realized that the owner could no longer care for herself alone in a brownstone that had no electrity, no water and no heat. So, a few years ago, she moved to live in a more therapeutic environment where she can receive the treatment and medication that she needs. I wonder if people were upset about the sale because they thought that she was effectively being evicted from the premises, which is not the case. The house has been vacant and slowly falling apart for a number of years now and the proceeds of the sale that would go to the trust could only benefit her in continuing to finance the care that she has been receiving. I hope this clears up any confusion.
Does anyone know what the winning bid was on this house.
I have posted my information of 306 Clinton Avenue as well as pictures of the interior of the home. Bids are due friday June 1st. Court date is set for Monday June 4th. Come to HistoricBrooklyn.com for more details.
The house has been pad-locked for the past 3 years. The front gate and the doors. No one lives in the house and hasn’t in years. This is not a foreclosure, there is no mortgage. I don’t think the sale can be stopped within a week, I’m sure it took years to even get to this point. If you’re that interested show up at the court on Adams Street on June 4th.
I see no one knocked on the door to see if the woman is still there. So you are all useless. When there is a guardian admistrator whe has to show an appraisal to the judge, you think the house only appraised for that amount. You kids keep patting yourselves on the back. I’;; take care of this myself. I am glad I wasn’t in
a fox hole with any of you. Unrelieable, greedy little ——– who can’t do anything.
Barney
So there you go, all the kneejerk folks who see evil and conspiracy lurking everywhere. Always jump to conclusions based on little info.
This is just another example of it.
For those that wish to protest the sale of this property, you should consider calling Laura Messiana, the Kings County Court Examiner Specialist at 347-296-1075 first.
Are we sure that the woman, who’s name is Donna James, is the same person who used to sell the old books and hats outside the house? Dunno.
It’s sad. During the summer time you’d see her outside in front selling used books, with her little table set up. I haven’t seen her out for the last couple of years.
……
This is the “books & magazines” lady? She wasn’t old, like some people are writing here. I almost forgot about her!
This is not a foreclosue ladies and gentlemen. It is being sold to satisfy a trust to take care of her in her last days.