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.
No doubt this is an extremely helpfull website for those who have an interest in Brownstones. Brownstoner has done an incredible job on providing relevant information on the topic in this forum.
Now the House…
Looks like there is a Supplemental needs trust for the owner, that the court is looking to provide cash for. It doesn’t automatically mean it will go to the highest bidder. The judge will make her decision based on many factors. I’ve been eyeing the property for over 7 years and it all culminates into a court ordered sale that will be of large interest to any potential buyer both investor and individual alike.
i looked up this house a while ago when i noticed i hadn’t seen the old lady out front in a while, i thought members of her family were taking the lead in how to deal with the property. does anyone have any further info about the facts of the case?
“This site is causing absurd harm to the community for the exclusive benefit of our host. ”
oh horsesh*t. all this site does is facilitate the spread of information.
all of the opinions stated are clearly just that, opinions.
i would be surprised if this site had any sort of measurable impact on “the community”
get over yourself.
I find the desire for exclusivity and secrecy (as expressed by a desire that Brownstoner not report on things) terribly reminiscent of, say, closed, communist, totalitarian regimes.
I was under the impression that transparency and openness in a democratic republic were positive attributes.
Thanks for sharing this story about our community, Brownstoner.
Signed,
I live three blocks away
Sad..Sad..Sad. I hoped that Brownstoner wouldn’t pick this story up. Some of what was written was not exactly correct. It was a mad house inside. And it seemed like developers were out in droves after smelling blood or Green on Clinton Avenue. Be carefull on bidding sight unseen. Nice details but there is much more to the story. I will have full details and inside pics after this case is closed. Bidders beware. Do your due diligence.
hi – does anyone know how this process works –
do you call up – make a bid – but then what…
does the judge take a look at each bid and situation – or does it always go to the highest bid?
is there another chance to see the inside or do you bid blindly… thanks.
so if you don’t pay property tax (rent to the state) the state takes your land. …so you really don’t own land you rent it from the state
Well, one thing we know is that it is a beautiful Italianate exterior and it appears to be in very good shape. We don’t know about the C of O which is crucial.
dude, you must chill.