Gone But Not Forgotten: 590 Pacific Street

How these 4-Family buildings in great neighborhoods at great prices keep slipping through our hands is beyond me... oh wait, now I remember! There's no comprehensive way to search for them. 590 Pacific Street is a great buy for someone that just closed on 11/18/10 for $1.33M and was recorded last week. Not sure how we missed this listing that originally came out on 7/14/10 for $1.4M, right about the time the blog started. The whole thing is very reminiscent of a few other great 4-Family places we missed like 440 Henry Street, 77 4th Place, and 49 Douglass Street. Depending on their original list price, some closed above asking, some closed below, but right in that $1.4-$1.5M range. We're suprised this didn't fetch that much, but perhaps lots of renovation was needed. Or there we Certificate of Occupancy issues with this being classified on Property Shark still as a "Five to Six Families". But the condition couldn't have been that bad with a reported rent roll of $120K/year.

We don't know too much about the listing agency Carolynn Di Fiore & Associates or what their website or other listings are, but we'd love for her to hit us up with the next one. The good news is that maybe some of these other pricy 4-Family's in the $1.6-$1.9M range will get religion and go for $1.5M-ish to buyers like us.

Pro's: 3,800 sqft, price, proximity to trains and amenities, "high ceilings in every apartment"

Con's: fully occupied, a little close to the Atlantic Yards situation, we didn't find it

Ideally: there'll be a way to see these great listings the second they hit the market, until then, it's an inexact science, but there will always be BK To The Fullest!

Scrappy Doo or Scrappy Don't?: 468 Carlton Avenue

Another Hanna-Barbera reference today! Today's pick is two doors down from a fave of ours, 472 Carlton. 468 Carlton is in the same row of houses over here in this quiet, kinda grimey pocket of Fort Greene just off Atlantic Avenue. This house doesn't have the same renovations we see two houses down (namely the finished basement with 2 extra bedrooms), which would explain the price differential. We like to think of it as Scrappy Doo - the smaller, wimpier version of its bigger Uncle Scooby, packing much more bark than bite.



...at least as far as the listings go. Built in 1996, you can't expect the condition to be that unpresentable, but we sure would love to see. It's very unlike Corcoran to not have any interior photos of a property after listing this long. They don't have to do the full all-out staging treatment & over-do it, but the exterior photo off of Property Shark was the best they could do? We expect a little more. Although, 472 Carlton took about two months to get interior photos posted, so maybe that's the case here. Just listed on 10/26/10 at $995K, 468 Carlton just price dropped $20K to $975K. Likewise, its neighbor just dropped $25K to $1.075M. There have been open houses in both properties almost every weekend the past few months. The price drop on 468 is an update, mind you, that's hit Streeteasy so far but not Zillow.

Given the $300K-ish price point all the owners in this row of houses got in at, there's a lot of built up equity, along with rentals that have come up significantly. We were surprised to see 468 Carlton in Lis Pendens, filed 9/28/2010. Property Shark has the "Document Type" listed as "Partition Of Property". Anybody know what this is all about?

It's worth checking this place out at one of the upcoming open houses. Definitely stack it up to 472 Carlton. There's nice potential for an owner's duplex with a yard and rentals carrying the better share of all costs. On a different block, these places sell in a heartbeart. Corocoran should know, they sold one of our favorite places 175 Greene Avenue, which closed just last fall for $1.192M.

Pro's: cheaper than 472 Carlton, new construction, good layout with real 2BR rentals, general location

Con's: housing projects across the street, doesn't have the renovations of 472 Carlton, Atlantic construction project around the corner, might never fetch the same price points as a true brownstone

Ideally: there's a chance it's a better overall value than 472, and the pro's outweigh the con's for someone.

"Available" 2-Fam' in the Slope: 27 Lincoln Place

On a nifty little pocket of streets just inside Park Slope, off 5th Avenue, across the street from Park Slope Playground, on a block with a row of brownstones and some nice, big limestones across the street comes a funky little 2-Family, 27 Lincoln Place.

According to Property Shark, it closed on 8/5/10 for $700K. Yet we see the place listed as an "Estate Sale" with Awaye Realty, with its "Status" listed as "Available". We honestly can't tell if the listing is moot because it just sold, or if someone bought it for $700K and immediately relisted it for $1.2M. The most like case is the first one. But with so much tomfoolery in BK real estate, you never can tell.

At a narrow less-than-17' wide, with no pictures of the interior, it's hard to know what you're getting into over here. Googlemaps streetview shows a serene front-porch scene:



The listing calls it "Builders Delight!" and surely lots of work would be needed here. The curb appeal situation is tough with the fakey flinstone rocks on the front. Truly a Yabba-dabba-don't.



Compare to some of the preposterously-priced, yet-nice 2-Family's out there like 476 Degraw or 61A South Elliot, but as renovations go in Park Slope in recent weeks, nothing compares to the incomparable, in-contract 691 Sackett.

Pro's: location, close to trains, legit Park Slope, 4 stories, over 3,000+ sqft

Con's: curb appeal, condition, 17' wide, 2-Family status, expensive for a renovation.

Ideally: That recent sale was the one for this listing, and another 691 Sackett comes along.

Foreclosure Auction Time: 92 Lafayette Avenue

We love this stretch of Lafayette. Prime Fort Greene territory. The park is close by, the Lafayette C train (which is curiously actually on Fulton) is close by, you've got a lil' 67 Burger, a lil' Smoke Joint, a lil' Habana Outpost - we'll even forgive Lafayette for being a noisy ave with a bus route going down it. Scattered listings pop-up over here, like one of our personal faves that managed to get bootleggedly faux-listed by various groups including those jokers over at Rapid Realty, 79 Lafayette. And there was the mysterious 70 Lafayette too. Today comes a great-looking place just a block over, 92 Lafayette.

Unlike some of the affordable foreclosures out there we've covered, this looks like simply a bad buy unravelling. Purchased in 2006 for a steep $2.4M, a lil' Lis Pendens in 2007, and again in 2010. Now the foreclosure auction for $1.7M-ish is scheduled for 12/16/2010.

What's the condition inside? Can you ever get a look? What's a mystery meat 1-Familiy foreclosure bound to fetch over here? Who knows? Can't wait to see...

Pro's: curb appeal, great block, proximity to park & trains & amenities, auction offers discount opportunity

Con's: what's the inside like?, can you see the inside?, noisy block, train rumble beneath house?, unknowns

Ideally: People still mess around and pay over $2M for the right building over here. But it's hard to justify a certain price on this thing with so many unknowns. Fascinating case all the same.

Just Outta the Slope: 163 19th Street

We've found lots of places of all different sizes with more affordable prices in the south Slope area. Crossing 4th Avenue but staying in reach of Park Slope has been an angle to find some affordability. But going south AND past 4th Avenue? Even on a short, industrial block with the aluminum spot across the street and the Gowanus Expressway down the hill 163 19th Street might still have lots to offer. This "Legal 3 family being used as a 2 family" brick building has small presentable spaces, including this marble mantle in the owners duplex:



Ordinarily we'd prefer to see a 3-Family status retained, but in a place of this size and price point, going double duplex might be the best use of the space. And you know we love a backyard:




According to Zillow, it looks like the owner just listed it themselves in January 2010 for $1.3M, which lasted until a price drop in July to $950K. Now Fillmore is showing a recent price reduction to $899K. Much like 473 Union Street, which by the way was listed for this same $899K and just dropped another $40K recently - this is starting to look like a nice, small turn-key kinda play, just off the beaten path of a great neighborhood and still close enough to the train.

Pro's: proximity to trains and 5th Avenue South Slope amenities, nice interior, double-duplex might be the optimized lay-out, backyard, pricing

Con's: industrial block, Gowanus Expressway down the street, loss of neighborhood feel, not really in Park Slope proper, 35' depth doesn't offer the biggest floorplate

Ideally: this starts looking appealing. The owner's got tons of equity, there's gotta be room to make a move.

Within Reach 4-Family: 19 3rd Street

On the market for 200+ days and just had a $50K price drop two weeks ago, 19 3rd Street is a great looking brick 4-Family on a nice block in Carroll Gardens. The listing claims gross rents of $9,000/month. Right where you'd wanna be on a street amid blocks of houses with many above $2M+. These owners purchased in 2007 for $1.235M and did a bunch of renovations, but the none of the interiors on the listing are particularly stunning:



Maybe one of the closest plays to the 4-Family loan limit with the rent roll to actually justify it. But this price looks to be a break-even attempt for the owners, who it seems pulled an addtional $400K in equity out soon after purchasing the house. Which may explain why we've heard some near-asking offers have been shot down.


Pro's: curb appeal, nice block, 3 blocks to the train, neighborhood, appreciation potential, turn-key with good rentals in place

Con's: not the finest interior, not the biggest floor plate, not the cheapest price, 1BR rentals?

Ideally: there's a play to be made right around the 4-Family loan limit.

Affordable and Small Just Off the Slope: 195 13th Street

Even the New York Times has our back this week as they note, "There is no comprehensive listing service for Brooklyn brownstones." Ain't that the truth? And nobody's trying to really do something about it more than we are. To that end, we bring you yet another undercover listing. Although it's just on the other side of 4th Avenue from south Park Slope and it's vinyl-siding, we wanted to focus on something south of a million.

195 13th Street is a tiny 2-Family semi-detached house with just 1,350 sqft and 3 bedrooms. This little house doesn't have too-too much to offer, but you get a nice paved little front yard, a backyard, a deck over the backyard. It looks like the owner's had this place for decades and has only pulled a little bit of equity out. The one picture of the interior shows a dated, but well-maintained space:



The play here is as a condo alternative. Can't expect much income to ever come out of this place, but it's nice to have your own space compared to what other kinds of spaces this kind of money gets you around the Slope.

Pro's: technically within striking distance of Park Slope and trains, condo alternative potential, backyard space

Con's: not much rental income potential, curb appeal with the vinyl siding, off the beaten path

Ideally: this place has to work for somebody, but pricing is tricky.