Another HomeCanvasr.com Experience: 420 Franklin Avenue, #1

Available only on HomeCanvasr.com, it's a Clinton Hill / Bed-Stuy duplex condo with private backyard asking $1M.  420 Franklin Avenue, #1 is a 2BR/2 bath garden floor condo with finished basement and laundry in the unit, grossing almost 1,500 square feet and almost 700 square feet of private outdoor space.  We were impressed when we first saw it a few weeks ago...

Totally renovated and first rolled out the door last year, the owners have made some tasteful additions since; including taking out some heinous accent tile the developer put in the bathroom, and adding some custom made bookshelves fashioned out of plumbing pipes...

Just in the time for the warm weather, wall AC units in every room.  With relatively low common charges under $400/month, this apartment works as a Franklin Avenue townhouse alternative for those who can't handle fixer-uppers in the $1.35M-$1.8M range.  And you still net the backyard action that townhomes are loved for...

With $700K 1BR's flying off the shelves heading towards Franklin, this is a much larger piece for not that much more money.  We'd rent the finished basement as a legit bedroom ourselves, but whether you count it or not, it makes a great man-cave is nothing else.  Not to mention the laundry...

Some people tell us "a condo that nice for 'only' a million is a no-brainer".  The peanut gallery will obviously point out the owner's cost basis, but the market is the market.  Apple's gone up 25% since last September...

Why can't one of Brooklyn's Finest condos?  For those who want townhouse feel on Franklin Avenue at a relatively affordable slice, this is the move.  But we'll see what the market has to say.  With an open house coming up, it's easy to find out for yourself.


Pro's:  true 2 bedroom & 2 bathroom duplex with laundry, AC, and private backyard, low common charges, ON Franklin Avenue, great Bed-Stuy/Clinton Hill/ Crown Heights tweener play, no big broker commission on the scene, nice owner updates since purchase, shows great, not a huge multi-unit

Con's:  not a garden/parlor duplex, finished basement isn't true square-footage in everyone's book, more expedient than grand, uptick since last season 

Ideally:  if you can find a better 2/2 with private yard, buy it!

Platinum Member Closing Today: 230 Washington Avenue

When this huge Clinton Hill 5-story corner property (with parking!!) at 230 Washington Avenue hit the market for $4M last year with Corcoran, it kind of scared the daylights out of people.  A 5-Family building, even delivered vacant, listed with one of the biggest retail brokers in town, for a price that's been a record in the neighborhood for on and off-market deals.  Was it "monkey-see, monkey do" pricing?  Was it poised to join the record breakers?  Once it's with Corcoran and once the price is that high, most people (including us) kissed it good-bye and gave it the "vaya con Dios" treatment.  Even when it dropped to $3.2M months later, and people were chatting it up to us, it still didn't quite sink in.

But the market response was relatively right on.  It was too expensive for an investor, and it wasn't really nicey-nicey enough for an end-user as-is.  Although a totally solid building in its own right...

With generic rentals like these, $1,700-$2,000/month has been the underwhelming level here over the past few years.  But sometimes the tweener spaces are where savvy people can really step in and do a great deal.  So when the house got shopped to us at much lower price, we knew it was deal time and put out the bat signal.

And today the folks who brought you gems like Crown Heights' first proper $2M townhouse listing at 1234 Dean Street are closing 230 Washington Avenue for $2.47M.  The plan is to restore the building to its historic glory days and condo convert it into pimped-out slices that more retail buyers can get their heads, their taste, and their budget around.

We're told the current plan is for 5 condos:

-2 bedroom layouts each with 3 exposures.
-Individually controlled high-efficiency central heat and air conditioning for each apartment
-New gas fireplaces with custom surrounds
-W/D in each apartment
-Radiant heated bathroom floors
-Custom, locally made kitchen cabinetry from a shop in Red Hook, BK
-High end stainless steel appliances
-Restoration/re-creation of historic detail throughout
-Parking for 2 cars
-Outdoor space for garden and parlor floors
-Stroller storage
-Private storage cages in cellar
-Roof rights for top floor apartment

And these guys are doing quality work in areas to capture that true premium a house is capable of.  With townhouse reno's in Prospect Heights pushing $1,300/sqft, this project is still a winner even if it sells out significantly less than that.  File post-facto murmurs of "I would've bought that at $2.47M!" in the "Woulda/Coulda/Didn't" folder.  We can't wait to see the results from those who are really doing it.  If they deliver a product that makes people melt even half as much as their kitchen in 1234 Dean, the market will reward them for it.

Pro's:  historic 5-story corner piece with 3 exposures and parking, delivered working and vacant, curb appeal, hefty discount on a retail listing, great project with in-demand condos to come, perfect for the right buyer

Con's:  no huge green backyard, no amazing original details inside, tweener play and mis-pricing scared most away, gone already, took timely cash & decisiveness, cash intensive, lots of work to be done to optimize

Ideally:  another look at why you can't write off the easy to find retail broker listings either.  Platinum Members just locked up another fixer-upper pre-market gem in Park Slope for even less than this!

The Thrill of the Chase: 112 Gates Avenue

It's official, your boy Vinnie Chase buys another house in Clinton Hill.  This time a huge juicy 5-story at 112 Gates Avenue that Platinum Members were bidding on when it was an estate sale asking $1.8M almost 2 years ago.  Platinum Members topped out around $2M, it went in contract not long after, and Adrian Grenier closes on it for $2.1M in December.  That's right, while you picky ballers are still too good for Clinton Hill, Vinnie Chase isn't!

The house is a 20' x 45' 5-story brownstone with an extension on 2 floors.  A legal 4-Family with lots of details & grand proportions, but in need of work...

Seriously detailed medallions...

Wood for days...

A 90' lot instead of standard 100' makes for a slightly shorter yard, but when the house is this nice, who's counting?

Now everyone will try to use this as a comp, but if it's really an off-market estate sale price that took over a year to close, that's not really a comp in this market now, is it?  Lagging indicators makes for lagging reads on the market.  A finished 4-story house a few doors down at 102 Gates Avenue got $3.5M.  So keep it in context.  With just about a millie down, what seemed like "overpaying" in 2013, turns out to be one of the more killer buys of 2015.  Funny how that works, huh?


Pro's:  5-story full sized house full of details, relative steal in retrospect, wasn't being bid up by the masses, smaller neighbors already selling for 70% more

Con's:  took about a millie down, took over a year to close, needs work, "short yard", a busy street by some accounts for those tippy-top picky buyers

Ideally:  a 2014 deal at 2013 prices making 2015 go nuts

Another HomeCanvasr.com First: Off-Market Fixer-Upper Available in Clinton Hill

When you're looking for that four-story 22' wide fixer-upper brownstone in Clinton Hill less than a block from the C train, there are more places to look than just the large brokerage websites.  On HomeCanvasr.com before anywhere else, it's an off-market townhouse available for $2.25M with showings starting this week.

Without the fancy pictures and the big marketing campaign, there could be a really nice deal to strike here for the right buyer, as this is the the neighborhood's next-best answer to deals such as 394 Vanderbilt and 396 Vanderbilt - which closed for $1.8M & $2.2M cash respectively, just around the corner, just before Thanksgiving.  Both of those deals got multiple bids near asking price from end-users and condo converting investors alike.  This 3-Family house is configured as an owner's duplex on the bottom and and two floor thru rentals on top.  The pictures don't quite do it any favors, but there's original details and working kitchens and baths in place.

Some minor cosmetic work could have this really cooking, and the neighborhood justifies a total gut, as seen on the $3.5M house at 384 Vanderbilt Avenue.  This off-market Clinton Hill house is the same or even better at $2.25M than 306 Clermont Avenue - now refurbished for $2.6M for all to see - and you ain't even know it.


Pro's:  curb appeal, 22' brownstone with original a block from the train, not on everyone's radar, in line with market pricing, delivered vacant, available off-market, ripe for repositioning

Con's:  doesn't show well in pics, not a great block for the Google Mappers out there, work to be done

Ideally:  great bones in a great spot that may trade at a relative value for nuanced reasons

Listings: Clinton Hill 1BR Condo Under $700K - 430 Clinton Avenue, #3E

New to the Listings section of the blog, it's a condo in Clinton Hill under $700K.  430 Clinton Avenue, #3E is on the 3rd floor of an elevator building between Greene and Gates.  The asking price is $648K and there's an open house this weekend.  As a 1BR with 814 sqft, there's even room for a "separate dining room"...

Pretty much what you'd expect from these pre-war condos, with updated kitchen & bath...

For this price and this neighborhood, don't expect to wowed.  But you do get a large sunny bedroom with closet space and a view of brownstones across the street...

The building has an elevator, laundry, and relatively low common charges under $520/month.  If you can't hang with million dollar brownstone condos on this street like 338 Clinton Avenue or brownstones on this street for almost $4M like 503 Clinton Avenue, then 430 Clinton Ave condos are a more affordable entry point into the neighb'.

No wonder we were so bullish on a Platinum Member pick-up like 300 Clinton Avenue, #3, 355A Grand Avenue, and the most affordable 2BR in town at 649 Vanderbilt Avenue, #2B - which pushed $1,000/sqft.  The listing points out that the stylish 531 Vanderbilt Avenue is asking $1,000/sqft too, just around the corner from 430 Clinton Avenue, albeit just an asking price and for a much more impressive look.  The highest sale to date in the 430 building is $605K, but when you're talking about sub-$800/sqft, it's gonna be a bite that many people can chew in a neighborhood that's now become as competitive as Park Slope and Fort Greene.



Pro's:  legit sunny 1BR with separate dining and update kitchen & bath, low fees, elevator, laundry in building, comparatively accessible pricepoint

Con's:  pretty bare bones, not a 2BR, asking more than a slightly smaller unit on the same floor, doesn't have the brownstone charm that people pay much higher for

Ideally:  great starter apartment in a great neighborhood, for the right price

Clinton Hill Fixer-Upper Under $2M: Irving Place

In Clinton Hill, higher housing prices are coming fast & furious.  We've seen renovated 15' footers go for well over $2M, like 368 Grand Avenue.  We've seen 20' wide houses cruise well above $3M, like 384 Vanderbilt Avenue.  We've seen $4M touched on one or two townhomes too (both on AND off-market) like 503 Clinton Avenue.   And ever since the $2M mark has been broken further east in Bed-Stuy, and even a narrow house over there at 242 Gates Avenue has touched $3M, now all the nicest houses in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights want $1.9M-$2.3M.  Will they get it?  Only the market will tell.  But in this climate, getting something significantly under $2M in Clinton Hill becomes harder and harder.  So you know when one comes up, it's bound to be something gnarly, but if it's vacant and half-way decent, it's worth the look for the right buyer.  Cue this house on Irving Place and Gates Avenue available first on HomeCanvasr.com the past few weeks.

Asking $1.6M-$1.7M, this 16' wide four story 3-Family is delivered vacant.  It is in live-able condition, but would need significant upgrades to really optimize it.  There are a lot of dated upgrades, sheet rock walls, etc. that could come down, although a decent extension on the garden is a plus.

On a freezing day last month we saw it; the heat was working just fine.  It doesn't show like anything special and there'll be plenty of griping about the owner's cost basis, but on the retail market this property delivered vacant is the perfect little canvas for somebody.  Owners with similar narrow places all renovated in Clinton Hill are asking $3M+, like a house in the works on Cambridge we toured pre-construction and this one virtually staged at 115 St. James Place asking $3.6M...

Like we always say, by the time it looks the way you want it to look, it won't cost what you want it to cost.  With buyers bidding $2M cash site-unseen for gut projects that are merely bricks & stairs in Clinton Hill, this little ditty on Irving could be just that canvas with at least functioning mechanicals at at a much lower price.  However, even if this house is one of the best situated $1.6M's in town, that also doesn't mean that the rest of the work needed is within everyone's budget.  What's nice at least is that it's easy to tour with our man Elliot Nicks who's got all kinds of early leads on properties just like these.  Even just a few quick fixes and fancy pictures would make all the difference in the world on this place.  Pop off those old awnings in the front & the back, touch up that brownstone facade, pull out carpet, yada yada.  A month spent on a $20K kitchen and a $10K bath would make it the medicine go down closer to $2M.  You know, all the stuff that makes it retail digestible.  But it might not even make it that far before being intercepted.

While we're juggling a handful of contract flips between $1.3M-$1.5M in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights that are almost impossible to get a showing, it's nice to see something in Clinton Hill perhaps as low as $1.6M that can actually show.  This Irving place will not wow you by any stretch, but nobody said house hunting in "the most unaffordable place to buy a home in America" would come without compromises, y'all!

Pro's:  4-story fixer-upper with garden extension, totally vacant, well under $2M, quiet little block, live-able with heat pumping, not on everyone's radar, relative value in this market, a do-able compromise for the right buyer at the right price

Con's:  narrow, east in Clinton Hill, no great original details to speak of, lots of unsavory little deferred maintenance issues, lots of other major work to be done, small floorplate on upper floors, severe compromise

Ideally:  this isn't anyone's druthers, but it's a nice alternative to houses commanding $1M more than this is asking

Decked-Out Renovation Gets Top Dollar: 242 Gates Avenue

We see a lot of really nice houses all the time, but 242 Gates Avenue is truly something special.  Just stepping foot inside gets your heart pumping.  This decked-out renovation is bringing one of the biggest townhouse sales numbers ever east of Classon Avenue.  It's crazy to think that not long ago Platinum Members landed basically the identical 17' wide 5-story brownstone two doors down at 238 Gates Avenue for $1.3M - but in nowhere near this condition.  And this year 242 Gates lists for over twice that price, and just closed well above that mark.  Feast your eyes on what $3M looks like these days on the Clinton Hill/Bed-Stuy border...

As crazy as it might sound, the pictures don't even do this place justice.  This is about as nifty & stylish a renovation you're gonna see on a 17' wide building, making the most of a narrow-but-deep floorplate and the step-back in the rear.

Wood & steel, copper & stone, brick & plaster, transoms, light and glass dance & intermingle all through-out this house!  Two of the coolest features of this house are two lightwells... one on the garden floor in the dining room of the garden duplex...

And one through the center of the upper-triplex, bringing light through-out the house.  With a wall of frosty-glass on the bathroom side and 'chapel windows' in the shower for lumination with privacy, with a wall clear glass on the hallway side...
 

The rooms and looks don't stop...

And that's not even all of them!  Of course there's a nice yard...

A shower on the roof terrace...

And even bleacher-style seating on the roof with skyline views...

Most people - including seasoned people in the industry - wouldn't know how to make a house this nice if time and money were no object.  But owner/designer/architect/contractor Eli Fernald tells us this was his first project in NYC, and - together with his team at Ground Architecture & Building, he could do it better & even quicker these days, having learned a lot from handfuls of other successful projects that garnered top dollar in the Clinton Hill & surrounding areas.  When you've got that "money is no object" style and execution on your products, you can land that "money is no object" kind of price.  Ground Architecture & Building these days has turned their attention towards ground-up now too, where he can really explore design ideas with a blank canvas.  But we think that's like Jordan quitting basketball to go play baseball, or Jay-Z retiring with the Black Album in his prime.  That's until Eli showed us what they're doing basically ground-up around the corner

Still, we wanna pull him back into the townhouse game too and get him on the case for Platinum Member pick-ups like 669 St. Marks Avenue and 711 Sterling Place.  If you wanna pimp your ride in this townhouse or development game, Eli should be on your short list.  "This man is MADE;  He's killing all y'all jive turkeys!"


Check out some of his other projects...

Or what's been up to on 44 Monroe...

Or 109 Clifton Place, also currently in contract, presumably way over asking price at a surprising number for its size...

The market's come a long way since the days of 254 Gates Avenue over $2M being a shocker.  And this week we showed you the price per square foot happening at 252 Gates Avenue condos.  But nobody really thought it was time to put $3M on this block until these guys got a hold of a the building.  What'll they do next??



Pro's:  styling & profiling renovated 5-story 2-Family, 5 wood-burning fireplaces, multiple outdoor decks, delivered vacant, 99% of these clowns couldn't outdo it if they tried

Con's:  gone already, 17' wide, $3M cash isn't for everybody, call it Bed-Stuy if you wanna

Ideally:  the house and the price make ya say wow, just wow.