House of the Day: 266 Berkeley Place
The four-story brownstone at 266 Berkeley Place is a prime property, don’t get us wrong, but the $3,250,000 asking price strikes us as rather out-of-sync with the current market, especially gi. First of all, it appears to not be configured for the most likely family buyer in the this location: The listing calls the house…

The four-story brownstone at 266 Berkeley Place is a prime property, don’t get us wrong, but the $3,250,000 asking price strikes us as rather out-of-sync with the current market, especially gi. First of all, it appears to not be configured for the most likely family buyer in the this location: The listing calls the house “multi-family” while PropertyShark says it’s a two-family. Secondly, the kitchen and bathroom renovations don’t, in our opinion, rise to the level of the rest of the house. (And there’s also the issue of the recessed lighting on the parlor floorjust say no!) While these may seem like nits, most people gearing up to pay the estimated $27,000 a month (that’s per the listing not us) in carrying costs will care about every last detail.
266 Berkeley Place [Bellmarc] GMAP P*Shark
the deseased owner on berkeley owned 3 brownstones on the block between 7th and 8th. he died just a few months ago.
at least one is currently for sale (221)…someone here says for 1.2 million. i don’t know about that, i haven’t seen it listed anywhere yet, but the sign went up last week or the week before.
i’ve been inside one, and yes, they need so much work.
just the exterior alone is going to cost 100K each to bring back up to shape.
still though…1.2 million is a bargain. even if you spent 1 million on each place, you’d still make a sizable profit.
now the rent stabilized/controlled tenants are a whole other story and add more to that dynamic of course.
i hope someone buys these places and restores them to their former glory. they are the last 3 remaining brownstones on berkeley which are in shambles. the rest of the block is absolutely gorgeous.
I doubt its dollar signs, seeing as the dollar is worth pants. Its probably the euro sign dancing.
4:03 are the units rent stabilised or rent controlled?
I have been in another building by the same deceased owner & I have to say, it would appear that it would be almost $100K to bring up to code – plus in the other buildings there are rent controlled tenants -some open to leaving, some not.
Also, heard that owner had a fortune in euros stashed away in germany – heard from some early bidders that family was looking to unload – seeing this house ask for millions must make dollar signs dance in their heads.
3:56, the error is that the ANNUAL property taxes are added to the MONTHLY payment in the broker’s calculation, resulting in an inflated monthly payment.
actually, looks like the broker just corrected the error on the website.
I never would have picked the 6″ diameter chrome-rimmed recessed lighting all over the kitchen end of my open and ornate (including ceiling medallion placed in relation to the ornate fireplace but bearing no relation to anything else)living/dining/kitchen but it really does seem the best way to get so much lighting coverage. I agree with the earlier posters that find nothing untasteful about dimmer switched, smaller diameter high hats with no rim and a bulb that fills out the opening. The 6″ is pretty chunky and the rim looks really 70’s to me.
Explain yourself Mr. Borwnstoner or quit knocking high hats.
4.22 you’re right of course. Thats why Lowes and Home Depot have recessed lighting for sale. You can pick up a nice front door there too. excuse me while i barf.
recessed lighting = subdivision McMansion.
The issue really isn’t whether recessed lighting (or cheap bi-fold closet doors) are what you want to live with, or not. The real questions about a house or apartment you are thinking about buying is (1) if I hate something, can I easily and (relatively) cheaply change it? and (2) if not, can I live with it (for now, or if need be, for even longer)?
See, unless your design doppleganger renovated the place, not everything is likely to be to your taste. Putting in chandeliers and either taking out(or just not using) the recessed lighting – easy, not terribly expensive. Same for replacing bi-fold closet doors. Question #1 is easily answered as to these smaller items.
Redoing the baths in this place if you hate them? Expensive, relatively. Either you figure you’ll pay to redo them to your taste, or you ask yourself question #2 – can you live with them – with your own additions of color and design? That’s all that matters. Some will like them, some won’t. (I don’t.) But my point is that it is silly to comment on them, as some will like them, some won’t (even if they are tasteless – some people have tasteless taste – but that’s not my point). And even sillier to comment on recessed lighting and cheap bi-fold closet doors, as they are easily changed.
Kitchens are the same as baths – not so cheap to change, but perhaps possible to live with with your color and other additions (and to completely change if you have the money and inclination.) Me, I like the glass-doored on-both-sides upper cabinets in this place – lets the light flow through the entire parlor floor. (What I don’t like are the stainless steel appliances – but most recent renos have them, so I’m in the minority there.)
If you are totally uncompromising on design choices of your predecessors in the place, then you are best buying a wreck and designing from scratch. Even some who would like to do that don’t necessarily have the bucks, or want to spend the time doing it. I’d like to do that to a house someday, but from reading the reno blogs, it ain’t for the faint of heart – it takes real commitment to get what you want. When I bought an apartment (my first), I looked ’til I found one whose reno I wouldn’t hate, as I knew I didn’t want to live with one I hated, and didn’t have the time or money to change it. And didn’t then want to do a full reno, not on a coop. On a house, someday, that’d be sweet.
“You haven’t made anything (yet).”
I didn’t buy my house to make money.
I bought it to live in.
I bought it because I love brownstone architecture and
I bought it because I wanted to raise my family in what I consider a beautiful, community-minded, diverse and terrific neighborhood.
You should be investing in other areas outside of your home. Hopefully more people will realize that sooner rather than later.