Wednesday, April 3, 2013

When $100K in Upside Isn‘t Enough: 289 Lincoln Road


Weeks before it hit any website, Platinum Members got the bat signal on a great 2-Family limestone in Lefferts Garden at a great price. 289 Lincoln Road wanted $750K and had great wood interior with nothing more needed besides cosmetic upgrades to kitchens and baths to really make it shine.  The sellers quickly raised their price because of the whopping response they were getting, even pre-market.  And now we’re told they're in contract for some $800K cash.

On a drizzly Saturday morning, local broker Celeste Moses got us into the first showing.  We were impressed with the place from the jump, and assured it was worth over asking price.  Heck, Cororan would list this place for over $800K and get it.  Oh wait, they pretty much already did at 279 Lefferts Avenue.  Modest buyers were in a unique quandary with this house, reminiscent of 22 Arlington Place.  An estate-type sale with great original details, that's in an up & coming neighborhood, that isn’t being marketed well, and is worth over 10% more than the sellers are asking for it.  Many mulled it over, weighing the pro’s and con’s of different scenarios.  Do you buy it and flip it as-is?  Will you cover enough profit after closing costs for that to be worth it?  Do you buy it, renovate it, and flip it?  Is there enough meat on the bone that way?

Pardon us while our haphazard iPhone pics do ten times more justice to this house than the brokers who stand to make tens of thousands on the deal, or the owners who stand to make hundreds of thousands on the flip...









In the right hands, this house sells for $850K+ as-is.  But the list price of $750K still gave some pause.  It’s quite a “Republican problem” to have a guaranteed $100K in upside on a property and not know what to do with it.  Cry me a river if an extra $100,000 in equity is one of your 99 Problems.  That sounds like a pretty nice problem to have.  Who knows, by closing, that $100K may even be as much as $200K, $300K, or $400K, as demonstrated by Platinum Member winners on 22 Arlington.  Just like that place, Lincoln Road's full of original details, built-in's, etc.  All on a block that's as nice as the landmarked stretch that's 1 block away, without the fuss of landmark issues on this building.








Maybe you missed the 10-cap across the street at 300 Lincoln Road that was begging to be bought for the longest.  Maybe you missed 22 Arlington, or 894 Sterling Place, or 1379 Pacific Street, or 397 Hancock, or the nearby 272 Sterling Street in this price range.  Looks like this could've been your chance...


Pro’s:
  great 2-Family, great pricepoint, $100K or more in upside, around the corner from a real train, close to the park, beat the Corcoran crowds

Con’s: 
gone already, easy to miss, not everyone's ready for Lefferts, since when is $100K in upside a problem?

Ideally: 
another great look at a top-notch underground listing for investors or end-users alike

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