Open House in Prime Time Carroll Gardens: 297 Court Street

This house is truly on front street. 297 Court Street is on the lovable, busy, bustling Court next to all the neighborhood favorites. Sweet Melissa, Union Market, Ghang Thai, etc. - and that's before you get to Smith Street. Oh, if only it weren't snowing in NYC today! This 4-Family brownstone was first listed for $1.95M in November 2010, and now has reduced to $1.8M. We love this location, the proximity to the trains, the rental income potential over here. Some of the only drawbacks are that Court Street is noisy. Cars and vans and garbage trucks rumble down at all hours. In front of this house in particular there are singing Christmas lights in the winter in front of the pizza place on the corner, and there are coin-operated kiddie rides that sing "Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star" all day:



So there's already a bit of downside not being on the residential blocks of Carroll Gardens for this price. On top of that, we get no pictures of the interior to work with. Who knows if this house that the listing boasts is "being offered for the first time in over forty years" has seen any improvements in 40 years? The C of O looks like a clean 4-Family, which should make getting a residential loan easy. Although, as a possible added bonus, "This location is commercial 'As of Right.'" Indeed there's a janky massage spot right next door. Our only visit there was fairly clean and not of any sordid "Happy Endings" variety.

A bit on the pricey side to us, ultimately. We're not sure if anybody even knows about this semi-undercover listing. Someone will eventually over-pay in this neighborhood, but it appears it's all equity to the owner(s), so making a move at a lower price point might be worth a shot. Since they're starting some open houses, including this Sunday at 1:00pm, maybe they're getting serious about selling.

Pro's: curb appeal, location, amenities, F/G trains close-by, rental income potential, 4-Family status, commercial option, open house makes viewing easy

Con's: exterior could use some updating, perhaps the interior could too, no pictures, noisy on street, lacks residential feel for that kind of money, 37' deep

Ideally: Check out the open house, take a look-see, explore price flexibility