House of the Day: 348 Clermont Avenue Shell
It’s rare to find a total shell of a brownstone in Fort Greene these days, but Townsley & Gay has a quintessential one on Clermont Avenue listed for $975,000 (cash only). Set Speed says the building is in such bad shape that the price “might as well be considered the cost of the land.” While…
It’s rare to find a total shell of a brownstone in Fort Greene these days, but Townsley & Gay has a quintessential one on Clermont Avenue listed for $975,000 (cash only). Set Speed says the building is in such bad shape that the price “might as well be considered the cost of the land.” While the interior photos (which T&G deserves credit for being so forthcoming with) reveal that there’s really nothing left to save on the inside, we hope that the LPC won’t let the facade be torn down. (The building is safely within the FG Historic District.) The listing mentions that the house is a former SRO, but doesn’t mention whether the Certificate of No Harrassment has been gotten already. Given all this, what do you think about the price?
Listing #97 [Townsley & Gay] GMAP P*Shark
Clermont Ave shell on market for $975K [Set Speed]
Question: will the LPC decide whether the facade can be torn down before the building is bought, or after?
I have no problem with LPC protecting buildings within its discretion, and potential buyers being able to make informed judgments based on what the LPC will allow. But it seems unfair for someone to buy it, setting a price based on the costs of a teardown, then be required to keep the facade (perhaps at greater expense) after the fact.
Is there any way to resolve this question before the deal is done?
Best case is you spend $500k and get the placed fixed up and that’s if you’re an experienced real estate investor. No way it could be done in less than a year with DOB permits and C of O issues. SRO issues would delay things longer.
How much would it sell for? Who knows where the market will be in a year and a half. I doubt much higher than it is now.
That red shed next door is a major eyesore as well.
Personally, I’d rather do a much bigger deal where there’s more upside after all that time and money spent.
For nearly a million bucks down, I’d definitely invest elewhere.
if the 88 laf shell sold for about the same price, this would have interested buyers at these levels. this isn’t on lafayette with buses rumbling by all day..
speaking of abandoned buildings, does anyone know what’s happening with the building on 7th between union and berkeley that says it was sold. it’s on the east side of the street next to the ace supermarket…
that whole block of 7th between union and berkeley has way too many vacant properties.
it should be pretty interesting how LPC deals w/ this, as clearly the structure of the house has been messed with (and beams removed) as the whole house and front facade have begun to cave in…this really might not be salvageable…
and, oh yeah, they are on crack if they think they are getting $975K after buying it for $650K last year, and considering this might need a certiifcate of no harassment and it needs at lease $500K worth of work if the structure is salvageable, and if not, then an unknown amount…and you have to deal w/ LPC…they should pay me..
And what does that mean, “cash only”? If a buyer goes to the trouble to get a mortgage and signs the papers, isn’t the effect for the seller the same? Or does he just not want to risk a buyer’s mortgage falling through at the last minute? Seems like a great way to eliminate 80% of potential buyers. Also seems like a seller who is looking for a developer to buy rather than an actual person–which is disappointing. But I bet if you walked up and made him an offer, he’d listen–there are only so many people who are willing to take on a shellhole like this….
That’s what the building on 7th Avenue looks like inside, I’m sure. The windows are all busted out just like with this one.
I’m all for saving historic bldgs and facades, but if it’s so far gone it costs more than the property is worth for the new owner, to fix the facade, then the owner should be allowed to tear the whole thing down. If the city cared all that much about this house and its facade, then the city never should have allowed the house to get to this condition in the first place.
And just when I was bitching about how screwed-up *my* house is! Thanks–I’m feeling better about it already. Question: is there any history of the LPC permitting somebody to raze a facade like this within the historic district? Why would they? This looks like an excellent opportunity to mingle old-world facade with radical contempo interior–I would love to do that someday. I say glass block the entire back wall (with doors and windows, of course) and go for a wide-open floor plan. After you find that special sugar daddy, of course.
Cash only.. That crazy!! The current owner hasnt had the building a year and he wants to pocket $300K?