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
To 2:07 – see the listing for the Park Place brownstone condo to get an idea of the possibilities. I live in a brownstone condo duplex in a five-story, four-unit building in Park Slope. It was a reasonable solution for me when I purchased it in 2002. I could have gotten a whole house in more of a fringe area, but my 2,000 square feet of living space plus garden was more than enough for my needs, and the more modest cost got me a home on a prime North Slope block (while still enjoying brownstone living, as opposed to buying a crappy new-construction condo on Fourth Avenue). I agree with the commenter on the Park Place thread that as the bubble bursts, I’m better off (both financially and otherwise) hunkering down for the next few years in my Park Slope condo than I would have been in a house that might lose its value in a neighborhood where safety issues might become more of a concern. Maintenance and the like obviously have to be shared with the other owners, which has its upsides and downsides — nice not to have sole responsibility, but difficult if NO ONE wants to take responsibility, or if you don’t like your neighbors. So far, I have no complaints.
So much for pricing a home in relation to the comps in the neighborhood.
HGTV….you’ve led me astray!
The real comparison would be the house across the street, 30 South Portland. And there is no comparison! Shell vs. move-in beauty. Hello?? (The jury is still out about whether 53 South Elliott actually sold, was transferred, or was taken off the market.)
I don’t understand brownstone condos, unless you make 2 duplexes and a floor through, or a triplex and duplex. How does it work regarding common spaces, maintainance, upkeep, etc? Seems like small # of units mean big/potential problems on the practical back end of this.
Not trying to be snarky or negative, I’d really be interested in knowing if this would work out as opposed to the usual owner occupied duplex/triplex plus rental units.
Relative rip-off is right! 30 South Portland, ACROSS THE STREET, is absolutely gorgeous and in move-in condition and it too is 5-stories (hidden 5th story, I saw the house 2 times)–they’re asking 2.6 for that. Even if it’s easier to redo a shell than a crackhouse, this price is way over the top and fantastical. It doesn’t even really make that great financial sense for a developer.
The What, I’m actually growing to like you, a lot.
“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.”
The house is in foreclosure!
The house was a flip gone bad!
They are underwater now!
Buy this house to convert into CONDOs are you kidding me????!!!! Mr. B How many fucking Condos we have around here!! Stop building, please.
This is a classic case of Occam’s Razor. The truth is right there but, the stupidity and greed of others blind them. Open your eye’s this Real Estate Mutant Bubble is OVER.
Someday this war’s gonna end.
A shell is easier to restore than existing crackhouse conditions, where you have to demo, or existing historic conditions, where you have to work around stuff.
having said that, good luck with that price buddy.
Make an offer for 2 million, put a million into it and you’ve got a 3 million dollar house.
Didn’t that one on S. Elliot sell for over 3 million?