A Different Rental Calculus for Brownstoners
If it means getting a few hundred dollars less in rent every month to have the right person living here, it is well worth it. That’s what an owner of a two-family Brooklyn brownstone told The New York Times in an article over the weekend, echoing the sentiments that many of us have undoubtably felt…
If it means getting a few hundred dollars less in rent every month to have the right person living here, it is well worth it. That’s what an owner of a two-family Brooklyn brownstone told The New York Times in an article over the weekend, echoing the sentiments that many of us have undoubtably felt over the years. (We’ve had the same tenant in our garden-level rental since we moved in in 2005 and raised the rent less than $100 over that time.) According to The Times, brownstone owners may be able to start raising their rents without fear of their favorite tenants fleeing to new high-rises. Many of the new high rises in Brooklyn are rented out or at least have enough units rented that some of the most aggressive incentives are being taken off the table. As a result, the time on market for rentals in small buildings has come down from 65 days to 35 days in the last two years, according to an internal Corcoran memo that The Times got its hands on. As The Times notes, there’s no comprehensive listing service for Brownstone rentals (something we’d like to change!) and the inefficiency in the market–combined with some of the intangibles like the value to a landlord of having a pleasant tenant–mean that deals can still be had. It is a market where it’s hard to pinpoint pricing because many brownstones are owner-occupied, said Andrew Barrocas, the chief executive of the Real Estate Group New York. Some of these landlords are not always looking for the highest prices, but the right tenant.
High-Rises Cede Rental Ground to Brownstones [NY Times]
Great question @ny_nola!
We have been looking for a new space for over a month and can’t find anything (that doesn’t need to be condemned) for a decent price (decent by New York standards).
The rents in my building have DOUBLED in less then a year…if it weren’t for the flooding in our place, I’m sure we’d be next…wanna talk about a patient tenant? Landlords, hit me up! Desperately seeking a fair price for good, honest, quiet, hard working people.
Montrose — You’ve just given your tenant mucho ammunition to negotiate a reduction. 😉
Seriously, I agree with many of the sentiments. We always feature in our CL ad that the apt. is in a 2-fam owner-occupied house. We don’t get a huge turnout to see the place but it’s a pretty self-selected bunch and we’ve been lucky x 3 with tenants so far.
In three years of being a landlord w/two floor-throughs, I’ve found that renting to friends has worked out well in the balance. There’s always catches, of course, like being called on to fix everything that goes wrong, but that’s the bargain. I’ve only ever raised the rent, and then only slightly, when someone moved out. This is coming from having been a tenant in a great place in Prospect Heights for several years before buying. We got an entire three-story brownstone off Vanderbilt for $2400, and the landlord never raised the rent once. Of course, he had bought it in the 70’s for about $28k, so new homeowners have a very different calculus to deal with. But I’ve decided that in the long run living with people I like and having a fair situation for all is worth way more than wringing top rent out of demanding tenants.
ny_nola, I’d try everything. Word of mouth — talk to the neighbors. Also, I think some people still use newspapers to list apartments, so at least try the Voice. Streeteasy, Brownstoner.
craigslist is where people look for deals – especially to skip paying the broker fees.
Flip side question to the “ny nola” post above. Our garden floor one-bed apartment will be available Feb 1, 2011. Not sure where to advertize it. Craigslist is such a mess.
Where is the best place to look if you’re a tenant seeking out one of these apartments? Not to toot my own horn, but I was one of those good tenants — lived on the 2nd floor of an owner-occupied brownstone for, kept up the apartment, never threw crazy parties, steadily employed, etc. etc. I loved that I didn’t have to deal with an impersonal management company and had a great, friendly relationship with the owners.
I ended up moving for more space and found a similar type of situation, but I’m pretty sure they’re intending on a pretty healthy rent increase at the end of the term. I’m going to try to negotiate obviously, but absent them backing down I might be thrown back into looking for another place. I’d really prefer this type of situation again, so here’s my question to the owners out there. Where’s the best place to look? Try to find the needle in the haystack on Craigslist? Brokers? Any advice is appreciated.
Look at all the dream landlords on Brownstoner! NOT sarcastic; I mean it.
geez, the tenants I inherited!
Top floor guy lost job, single guy raising son…had to go to court twice to evict …1st time city came thru and paid back rent…eventually he left owing several months.
Other tenant was actor in Oh Calcutta who got crack addicted and would have screaming arguments on phone at 2AM. Eventually left for rehab.