House of the Day: 23 South Portland Avenue
Hey, just because South Portland Avenue was voted the best block in New York doesn’t mean you can just slap any old price on a house and expect it to fly off the shelf. Which is what the owners of 23 South Portland (who also own 4 South Portland) have done. Granted it’s a five-story…
Hey, just because South Portland Avenue was voted the best block in New York doesn’t mean you can just slap any old price on a house and expect it to fly off the shelf. Which is what the owners of 23 South Portland (who also own 4 South Portland) have done. Granted it’s a five-story house, but it’s been an SRO forever (though the owner claims to have received a Certificate of Non Harrassment) and is in need of a total renovation. (An email we received from a neighbor said that this is a case of renovatus interuptus—the interior is totally demo’d and the backyard full of sandbags. We’ve got no info on why the owner/developer is cutting and running. The recent title and mortgage history is a little tricky to follow too, but the house has changed ownership a couple of times since 2004, most recently in January of this year. The price of that transaction is not provided (possibly because it was simply a transfer between related parties?) but it was accompanied by a $1,680,000 mortgage. Given that you can pick up the perfectly restored house across the street for $2,600,000, the asking price of $2,500,000 for a place that needs a complete make-over seems like a relative rip-off. Then again, what would five floor-through condos on this block net you? Clearly that’s the only way this price could make any sense.
23 South Portland Avenue [Christmas Realty] GMAP P*Shark
thanks for that mr. broker.
i mean, 1:08.
10:08: 30 South Portland is a beauty, even if needs some standard mechanical/electrical upgrades. I saw the house many times and was later outbid. It went into contract about 2 weeks ago. It is in perfect cosmetic condition, beautifully maintained, pristine garden-parlor duplex (I’ve never seen such a luxurious garden level), sweet backyard with a koi pond, and details throughout ALL the 5 floors. I am still sad about losing out in that bidding war…sigh. Anyway, I find it offensive that anyone could think that people are such suckers that they’d pay the same price for a shell across the street.
Listen Guys, 30 S. Portland may seem like “a beauty” (as it is referred to up and down in this thread) but it also needs some work. So money will need to be spent. It is in stable, good cosmetic shape but here are issues with water and the systems need updating. The elec. needs updating. You’re gunna spend some money going in there as well..maybe not this year but over the next couple most probably. Not to say…that the shell for 2.5 is not ridiculously overpriced…it is.
8:14–I think the price on this property has nothing to do with a bubble or whatnot. It’s overpriced for what it is, no matter what the market (actually it’d still be wildly overpriced even in the hottest of markets). And I agree that in general, if you find a house you love, and have the dough, buy it. You’re right that you shouldn’t try to time the market. It’s your home.
I just am wondering why everybody loves to talk about a bubble so much. Are these people who don’t need to live with a roof over their heads? Sure if you are renting a RS apt, then who cares about housing prices. But otherwise it doesn’t make sense to me. You aren’t supposed to time the market for regular investments, but somehow we are all supposed to be really smart and time the market to buy homes? How does this work exactly? I know tons of people who have been sitting it out for prices to drop and they do the opposite and now they are stuck. Go figure.
Of all the many unsavory neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Fort Greene has always been right up there. It pains me to say that because it is a beautiful area. But it has always been dominated by corrupt and unsavory underworld characters. Bad guys even by Brooklyn standards.
Things have changed a lot over the past years, particularly the real estate prices, but I wonder if the underlying social fabric has changed equally as much.
Yeah–something’s not kosher. All you gotta do is cross-reference the title documents (going all the way back) on both 4 & 23 So. Portland to notice that it doesn’t smell right. Thank heavens for public records on the internet!
The owner is an unsavory character (I’m being kind)that has been in the nabe a long time and is somehow affiliated with the broker representing the property.
so I see it’s offered by Christmas Realty – it really will be Christmas for somebody if they can sell it at the listed price!