House of the Day: 9 Lefferts Place
This charmer at 9 Lefferts Place in Clinton Hill is new to market. (In fact we heard that some neighbors already put bids in at the first open house this weekend.) The four-story, three-family brick house has only had a few owners and has a lot of original detail still intact. It’s one of six…
This charmer at 9 Lefferts Place in Clinton Hill is new to market. (In fact we heard that some neighbors already put bids in at the first open house this weekend.) The four-story, three-family brick house has only had a few owners and has a lot of original detail still intact. It’s one of six 22.5-foot-wide houses in a row built by developer William Alexander in the early 1860s. The Craigslist ad describes a “cook’s kitchen” and a landscaped garden but neglects to include any photos. If everything’s in decent shape, the asking price of $1,470,000 seems quite reasonable given the details and generous size (about 4,000 square feet). Thoughts?
9 Lefferts Place [Craigslist] GMAP P*Shark
JP, no need to shut up :-), it’s a reasonable question.
I think the answer is that people put down a lot more than 20%, often coming from the sale of other real estate holdings, and have a high yearly income too. On a price per square foot basis, especially considering the location and what sounds like a lot of historic details, this looks to be a decent deal. You can easily get $1700 – $1800 for a floor through rental on this block if it is in good shape, which would help too – it is a three family so you could have two apartments for rent if you wished. I’d personally use this place as a two family triplex with garden rental, keeping the CofO a three family.
I think this will go quickly. The only issue is it is being done over Craigs List and with a small broker that might not have much reach… but I think it will be fine considering how quickly other houses have sold around here recently.
“Does anybody know if that screen thingie in the parlor is original?”
Not if this is an early 1860s house. The similar one in my house IS original, but the house was built in 1899. These screens, used as room dividers, are common to houses with a “free classic” interior, sort of the first “modern” interior style that recognised the existance of central heating, which meant that rooms could flow into each other, there being no need to close them off so they could be heated with fire places or stoves
I think the market is starting to soften. Mortgage rates are rising, there is an enormous amount of supply in terms of new housing and I am seeing a lot of the same listings that I saw in Jan. Sure, the most desirable homes are moving, but the average stuff is sitting around.
i make a good living, how the hell does anyone afford this stuff? a 30 year fixed at 6.5 with 20% down is $7,500 a month and you havent turned the light on, okay rental drops it to $5,000 and deductability, yadda still thats $60,000 a year in mortgage payments, isnt that out of hand or just the way it is and i should shut up?
Anyone else who went to the open house: did you notice that the whole place is tilted? Quite slanted on the top two floors, but still evident below. You can tell because all the window frames are really crooked, way off of 90 degrees. And I mean ALL the windows.
Question: how serious a problem is that? Is it the foundation? Is it fixable?
assuming it’s in even somewhat decent shape, it should sell quickly, and likely for higher than asking.
That block is actually very quiet, between St. James and Grand. Looks like a good deal without knowing what sort of upgrades it might need internally.
“..to the landscaped garden; that is absolutely breathtaking. ”
wow, only in this market could a hunk of concrete, some turf and a freaking shrub be described this way.
This IS a charmer. Only problem is that it’s too close to the unattractive streetscapes of Fulton and Atlantic, and, of course, Atlantic Yards. But it’s a nice pile o’ bricks for under 1.5 in this day and age. Does anybody know if that screen thingie in the parlor is original? (My house has one that was added in the 20s, and we’re going to remove it for a salvage place–chops the room up and dominates it too much).