Monday, November 7, 2011

Tiny Condo Alternative: 643 Degraw Street



Now when we tell you that Corcoran's selling a 3-story brick building in Park Slope for $999K that isn't a gut reno and isn't in outer south Slope - you're still wondering what's the catch, right? Well, you might look at 643 Degraw Street and think you've found yourself a steal. You tell us. The rub here is that this single-family building's only 27' deep, so only 1,600 sqft, and right on 4th Avenue. Okay, it's not ON 4th Avenue, but it might as well be. The same way 584 Washington Ave might as well be ON Atlantic Ave.

Still, if you get inside and you don't hear the cars humming & honking with the windows open, just over $600/sqft ain't bad to get an entire private house in a neighborhood where condos & co-ops easily command more than that. The lot is shallow like the house, so the patio is only 7' deep, but it's there. The renovation appears to have a dinky-looking shiny finish on the floors that reminds us of cheap rentals in Morningside Heights, but we do agree with the listing that "the renovation is not overly ornate or demanding." It's nice to see somebody not over-renovated for a change, hitting a nice medium between gut renovation blank canvass and "Here's an overload of my unique taste".



And you know we love the candor of the agents, who honestly lay it all out...

"Could you live here? Is this the one you have been looking for? That's up to you. Come see it on Sunday or by appointment and you decide."

As small houses go, this makes 111 St. Felix look like even more of a steal. As condos & co-ops go, it also makes the price per sqft on 125 Eastern Parkway, #1A look more compelling.

Pro's: some curb appeal, an entire house at condo prices, totally turnkey, back patio, technically Park Slope

Con's: right on the 4th Avenue, next to vacant or developing lot, tinier than you'd expect for a house

Ideally: with a better buy in Fort Greene at this price still available, this one's a tough sell to us. But we're sure Corcoran will find their buyer.

3 comments:

  1. the recent price drop to $899K only sweetens the pot

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  2. Not that sweet considering this house was purchased a few months ago for $525,000: http://streeteasy.com/nyc/building/643-de-graw-street-brooklyn

    I checked this place out last weekend and there are conspicuously not pictures of the bathrooms or kitchen because this place appears to have been renovated on the cheap. There are no closets in the entire house, linoleum floors that aren't completely secured to the base board on the second floor (seriously??), peeling paint, although it was just painted, and the smallest chinsiest kitchen and bathrooms you've ever seen. The fridge is about half the size of a standard fridge because the kitchen is so small you can't fit a larger one in there. Also, the entire back facade looks like it needs a major overhaul, which is extremely expensive.

    I can't imagine anyone paying close to $375,000 more than this place was purchased for a few month ago when they see the cheap work that's been done.

    Not to mention whatever sucker moves in is going to be dealing with construction on the empty lot next door and then deal with an up to 11 story building blocking any hope of getting light on the tiny deck.

    Looks like the price has been dropped so quickly in hopes that someone is a big enough sucker to buy this before they realize they are paying $375K more than the guy who bought it a few months ago, did a little bit of work and hopes to turn a huge profit.

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