Windsor Terrace Open House: 482 7th Avenue

If you were too chicken to buy the immaculate 27 7th Avenue in its pricelessly-prime location (which fell from $1.995M in Spring of 2011 only to close a few months ago for $1.565M), then you can hop on the 67 bus, whiz by all of Park Slope, all the way down to 482 7th Avenue for an open house this Saturday and Sunday.  Nevermind that their "Streetview" link on their website will show you this address in midtown Manhattan, this 3-Family in Windsor Terrace between Prospect Avenue and Windsor Place makes a great alternative to chasing shells that sell for more than this just a few blocks north.  Don't be scared that it's not a Corcoran listing.  We're sure a neighboring Corcoran broker would be happy to hold your hand as your buyer's broker and tell you why she simply loves this neighb'.

If the listing broker spent half as much time on the grainy exterior and backyard pics as she spent on the highly detailed rendering of the garden on the floorplan, you might get a better sense of what you're getting into at this house beforehand:

You can't blame them for featuring that lovable backyard and deck, but could we get a peak inside this million dollar property?  Luckily, as we so often see, the rental listing tail often wags the sales listing dog, and the person inking a $25,000 contract sometimes gets more & better pictures of the interior than the person inking a $1,395,000 contract.  Ahhh, just another day in Brooklyn!

We can already hear 'em screamin', "But 1612 10th Avenue is so much nicer and so much cheaper!"  Yes, grasshopper, but it's also long gone.

Pro's:  striking distance of Park Slope proper for Unicorn-type prices?, multiple open houses this weekend, backyard and deck, 3-Family with finished basement and "2BR" rentals

Con's:  commercial on the block with the bus riding by and the bedrooms in the front, no shiny Cocoran pics to legitimize this for the Joe Public's

Ideally:  when you see vinyl-siding in Gowanus and Greenwood poking past $1.2M, run (don't walk) to anything brick or brownstone in the Slope or Terrace for under $1.5M

Projects: Windsor Terrace Renovation, Pt. I

(Celebrating our 2 year anniversary!)

Cousin John's at it again with another killer renovation in Brooklyn.  He and the owners were kind enough to give us a sneak peak inside this contemporary Windsor Terrace beauty...

The owners are Mark & Lori Mendelis. Lori is one of our favorite brokers who brought you such gems as 536 Court Street and a nifty condo in 360 Court Street.  And, from what we can tell, her and her husband are simply loving life in Windsor Terrace these days.  Bright wood floors coast seamlessly into the 24' x 24' tile of the tasteful Ikea kitchen with a sliding glass door out to the backyard deck...

We were curious how they'd found the place.  No stranger to the game, Lori says they'd lost a few places while searching and bidding, so they knew what time it was.  They were thinking Boerum Hill, weren't too jazzed on Park Slope proper, and said they really like the old-school neighborhood flavor of Windsor Terrace.  In Fall 2010, before the market rebound was in full swing, they suddenly got beat-out on an 18'-wide place across the street by a slightly lower bid with a higher downpayment.   By chance, they came across this 20' x 50' beauty, listed with a no-name broker.  They took one look at it and had a contract signed in 5 days.  "It wasn't even on-line," Lori told us, "just a sign out front."  Suddenly they're picking up a nice canvas around the corner from Prospect Park and the F train for a nice price.  Now that the renovation's finished, Lori says, "We don't even wanna go out."

Lori says her and Mark had a dark apartment in Cobble Hill, so one of the objectives of the renovation was to achieve as much natural light as possible.  Our iPhone pictures without flash and pics provided by Cousin John don't even capture the feel of light that pours through.  Besides removing the back wall and installing the sliding glass door downstairs, they left the one existing skylight and added two others, including in the baths...

These are very affordable moves that make a BIG difference in the feel of the space.  Even little details like the frosty liner on the window in the tub achieves light and privacy without the need for clunky window dressing...

Lori says she knew they wanted neat, right angles and certain materials and that Cousin John "and the crew were good with that."  Besides Lori's experience from being in & out of homes as a realtor, her husband Mark also works in design, so his sensibility informed a lot of the process.  Once you're doing anything resembling a gut renovation, it's a slippery slope towards doing everything right once.  You don't wanna do a B-minus job now and rip the house up again soon down the road.  So radiant floor heating and central air-conditioning were moves they knew it was time to make.  Lori says achieving the level of finish they wanted within budget was a challenge, but that prioritizing, value engineering, and scouring the country for the discontinued Ikea kitchen cabinets they liked the look of was where they really saved some money.  $1,300 total for cabinets in a caliber of job where people often spend $60K-$80K on cabinets allowed flexibility in other places.  Lori says, "We probably paid more for [Cousin] John than the average contractor, but it was worth it.  With his design background, and having seen the modern renovation he did on Warren Street... plus we know he's not pounding Coor's Lights in our basement."  She says architect-wise they knew what they wanted, they didn't need someone to pick materials, they just needed someone with the same vision to help execute it.

We're impressed with the results.  In our next installment, we'll sit down with Cousin John, hear his take on this renovation, and see a few more photos...

Next Shoe to Drop?: 1612 10th Avenue

The unicorn hunt for a Park Slope townhouse for $1.5M or less continues, as the post has started trending again to the top of the most popular posts on the blog. And very little product meets the unicorn hunters' needs. Even the New York Times says, "So You're Priced Out. Now What?" - What are ya gonna do about it? Something's gotta give: location, condition, size, or price. Often a few have to give, actually. One reliable solution is often to head a bit further off the beaten path of a neighborhood that's already beloved. 1612 10th Avenue is just off Prospect Park, around the corner from the F train, in totally turnkey condition, and a great alternative to South Slope, Gowanus, and the apartments you'd find in Park Slope proper at these prices. $1.325M is a pretty fabulous price point, actually, to start talking about a 20' x 52' barrel-front brick house that's totally turnkey. 282 11th Street was a similar fixer-upper that's long-gone for $1.4M, but just one subway stop further you can still get more house for less money? In this market? How is this not the next shoe to drop?

You may swoon over the original floors and some of the wood and moldings, but the white & beige kitchens won't match everyone's taste for sure...

The shallow, paved backyard is another drawback, but can be greenified relatively affordably. Besides, with people buying shells for more money than this not far away, how is this not a great value proposition for a handful of discerning buyers?

Pro's: curb appeal, location, great value, nice details, totally turnkey

Con's: not everyone's taste (but at these prices, who's counting?), shallow & paved backyard

Ideally: this is the price where 2 gems are sitting out there waiting to be swooped up. You won't see many more like this...

In Contract in Windsor Terrace: 488 16th Street

With the explosion of prices and pent-up demand in Park Slope proper, the last few bargains are now being swooped up in the South Slope/Windsor Terrace area. 488 16th Street is one of the latest to go in contract with a list price of $1.295M. This tiny 16' x 40' 2-Family would be a few hundred thousand more just a few blocks over, but presents some relative value these days at this price. You gotta like the musical slideshow they do when you click the link there. The inside's dated, but what were you expecting?





We think there's a little more value in a few other places here, but listed since July 2011, we can see how someone finally snatched this up. Probably a condo alternative for lots of folks. Not what we'd wanna throw $200K+ into for our part.

Pro's: value, delivered vacant, not as close to the highway as the rest of 16th Street, 60' yard

Con's: small, dated interior, might be some better picks

Ideally: if you like, there's more where this came from.

Slope Alternative: 238 Windsor Place

Yesterday's pick got lots of attention because of its beautiful interior and Park Slope location at a sub-$1.5M price point. Today's pick is another 2-Family with a clean, classy renovation and curb appealing barrel front on a quaint residential block. But you've gotta go to Windsor Terrace to get it. 238 Windsor Place just came out for $1.29M. We barely know these blocks well enough to say how well this stacks up for this area overall, but we like Windsor Terrace more than certain parts of south Slope. 238 Windsor Place might have potential as a Park Slope alternative. What's been renovated looks great...



We agree the garden really tops it off. If you want a cute block close to Prospect Park, could this be the play for someone? Even if it's small, worse condos have been purchased for much more than this $600/sqft. If it was picked up in February 2010 for $1.125M, we're not sure what's changed besides the market. If the garden level "awaits your renovation", you might watch out for some added costs upfront. This pricing sure makes the larger, better-located 419 Sterling Place look like a steal.

Pro's: curb appeal, nice renovation, proximity to the park and the F train

Con's: small, more renovation budget needed for the garden level?, more value might be found in areas not linked to Park Slope

Ideally: we'd rather have gotten 112 St. James Place