Masked Man Revealed: 124 Wyckoff Street

Smith Hanten has been sitting on this listing for a little while in a very undercover way, and now they're finally giving us the address. 124 Wyckoff Street is a 3-Family brick building in the heart of lovable Boerum Hill. We like Smith Hanten. They kindly laughed us out of their office many years ago when we inquired whether anything in their neighborhood could be acquired for $1M anymore. A broker literally had to excuse herself to put down the phone and enjoy laughing at the very concept. They also gladly snatched one of our finds before the crash on Warren Street. Now they're offering something for $1.6M, the kind of price for which we'd like to see pictures of in this neighborhood (see 476 Degraw).

Instead, all they're telling us is the rent roll of $65K/year, which doesn't move the needle, but might give us a small glimpse into what the interior might be like. We're told there are "separate Boilers and hot water heaters", which is pretty standard in these buildings. Nothing to boast about there. And the most specific, and perhaps useful, detail is the "1st floor apartment rented until July 2011" letting owner-occupied buyers know when they might have a chance to get in. We still think you need more than just this exterior picture to get things moving over here:



Compare to one of their other listings around the corner, the incredible buy 82 Butler Street or the stale, unmovable 82 Dean Street. To add a little irony to things, the title history shows a mortgage from the previous owner with the failed sub-prime lender New Century. And we've gotta assume the "illegal realty firm" this building once housed is all taken care of.

Pro's: truly great neighborhood, close to the F/G train, rental income potential

Con's: what's the inside like?, around the corner from the projects, how long are the other leases for?, current rental income doesn't match price

Ideally: not the pricing or look for a high-end rehab, and there are better ways to spend this kind of money, even over here.

Park Slope Premium: 290 8th Street

We'd love to see more 3 and 4-Family homes hitting the market, but we're dedicated to covering what's out there, and the onslaught of 2-Family's continues. One of the latest additions to the club is 290 8th Street. This 19' wide 2-Family brick home is smack-dab in the center of Park Slope around the corner from the trains, the library, the Chipshop (fried Mars bar anyone?), the farmer's market, and all the other things people get weak in the knees for Park Slope about. The layout is a typical owner's duplex on the bottom and floor-through rental on top. All the pictures show a clean, white interior with well-maintained (or restored) original details. While Corcoran likes to use the wide-angle lense and capture the entire room in the shot, this broker was content to just take pictures of a wall or the corner of a counter:





19' wide isn't thin or anything, and it's certainly an upgrade from 14'-17' wide. However, no picture shows a room with a large feel to it, even though the layout doesn't look chopped-up at all.

Though our absolute favorite is, "This house also boasts a gorgeous South facing garden with an atrium, a true gardener's delight!"





So what are we really paying for here? Is it the location, the condition, the atrium? Besides its stellar centralized location, the pricing here is stuck in no man's land. With so many far-superior renovated places in the $1.6-$1.7M range, and a handful of places just a few blocks deeper into Park Slope in the $1.1-$1.4M range, it's tough to say what makes this a compelling buy besides location. Know that you're paying the Park Slope premium when you're bidding over here. The owner looks to be sitting on tons of equity, so there's a healthy price cut in this place's future if a premium buyer doesn't step up in the first round. If you're not married to Park Slope, something like 441 Waverly offers a much better value.

Pro's: location, curb appeal, garden & atrium, totally turnkey

Con's: kinda bland interior, not the best photos, feels small, priced for Park Slope premium

Ideally: know what you're paying for and only pay up for what you really want.

Not Too Shabby: 290 11th Street

Take a look at this house. No, it's not in Crown Heights or Sunset Park or Spike Lee's "Absolut Brooklyn"... we're in Park Slope! 290 11th Street is a 20' wide brick building with that bay-window action we love to see. This 2-Family house is set up as a 3BR owner's duplex with a 2BR third floor rental. There's only one picture of the interior available, but it shows nice wood-y original detail:



In exchange for no pictures, we get 2 (count 'em, 2!) open houses this weekend. Saturday and Sunday, April 9th & 10th, from 2pm-4:30pm. How do you think it stacks up to the barrage of 2-Family properties out there? Compare to smaller 2-Family's in South Slope like 279 13th Street.

Pro's: curb appeal, bay window, delivered vacant, original details, 20' x 47', 2 open houses

Con's: perhaps a bit pricey, only 1 interior picture

Ideally: get yourself a lox sammich at the Bagel Hole one morning this weekend and check out the house.

Open House Yesterday: 536 Court Street

Okay, okay... so the open house was yesterday. We're a day late (and a few hundred thousand dollars short). Would've liked to give you more of a heads up, but who has open houses on a Tuesday anyways? No biggie. Today's post is all about quality over quantity, and getting what you pay for. 536 Court Street is a stellar modern renovation on the bottom edge of Carroll Gardens. As usual with Corcoran's pricey listings, we can let the bright & shiny pictures do most of the talking:





We're loving the deck, the garden, the interior staircase, and the marble around the fireplace. From the A/C to the radiant heat floors to the sound system, someone definitely played "Pimp My Ride" with this house.

The new translucent glass front is an interesting way to jazz-up the old store front:



It makes over-priced places like this in the Slope oughtta be ashamed of themselves. And don't even get me started on the embarrasingly-mispriced 137 Adelphi again. The pricey 2-Family game is a well-documented market on our pages, and this one stands head and shoulders above many. A 2-Family above $1.5M isn't our kind of play, personally, but if you're in that market, you've gotta go for best of breed. And it's nice to get a finished product in this neighborhood for this price range compared to, say, 297 Court Street or 432 Clinton Street.

Granted, this edge of the neighborhood is also funky. You're as close to the lovable Prime Meats and Frankie's 457 as you are to the detestable BQE overpass. Surrounded by grimey areas on many sides may not appeal to the average buyer in this category of house. It can be a pretty industrial, Gowanus-y walk to the Smith-9th Street stop. And 2 or 3 blocks in any direction but north and - Dorothy, we ain't in Carroll Gardens anymore...

Pro's: totally turnkey & modern renovation, back yard & deck, close to the train, neighborhood to the north has lots to offer

Con's: being right on Court street is noisy and hectic, only 3BR's, only 2,500 sqft, at the very end of Carroll Gardens

Ideally: if you fall in love with this house, there's some room on pricing. However, if you've got this kind of dough, there's also plenty more out there to love.

Half Baked Housing in the Slope: 706 Degraw Street

Yay! Finally an actual 3-Family to sink our teeth into. 706 Degraw Street is a large brick 3-Family near the train and the heart of Park Slope. At a healthy 20' x 45', Property Shark gives it 2,565 sqft, while the listing gives it over 4,000 sqft. We've gotta assume they're including this semi-finished basement to get to that number. Very funky interior design sense has left quirky details that could be pro's or con's depending on the taste of the buyers (you can't fool all the people all the time):







(backyard baby not included)

The layout is worth looking at too. As much as we love interior staircases, we're a little confused as to how the 2nd floor looks to be split into one bedroom from the owner's duplex and a not-floor-through 1BR rental. There's lots to offer here in some ways, but the house feels kind of half-baked to us. There are more finished products with better style (or at least more universal style) that one could snatch for the same $1.675M price tag. In fact the same brokerage got one of our favorites 584 10th Street under contract recently, listed for the identical price.

Pro's: location, curb appeal, 2 rentals, interior staircase, turnkey condition, backyard

Con's: not the best taste on the inside, pricey, feels half-baked to spend the Park Slope premium on

Ideally: this is a meaty chunk of house, so if the interior or layout isn't a deal breaker for you, make an aggressive bid

An Interesting Blend: 441 Waverly Avenue

The skinny 2-Family parade continues, this time in Clinton Hill. 441 Waverly Avenue is a four story brick building less than 14' wide. Cocoran brings you nice, well-staged photos of the eclectically renovated interior. We like the deck and the flooring, and some of the modern touches. Although it looks like it needs no renovation, the building currently has only 1 kitchen even with the C of O for a 2-Family. That complicates things just a little for those looking to include rental income in the picture, especially if the loan requires that.




However, if you want bright & shiny in a decent location at a price tag lower than 476 Degraw or the nearby 347 Grand Avenue, then there's definitely a play to be made here. Also compare to the larger 33 Cambridge Place.

Pro's: turnkey, curb appeal, lots of interior details, on a pretty centralized & quiet block near the train as Clinton Hill goes

Con's: less than 14' wide, one kitchen, perhaps a little steep on the price

Ideally: just makes us miss 175 Greene for $1.19M

Prices on the Rise: 632 Baltic Street

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

Some properties that find it hard to sell at one price do the logical thing and continue dropping their price until they can lure a buyer. Post-crash casualty 368 Park Place is a good example. This other place has been dropping $100K every week since it came out. Other properties flip the script and actually raise their prices in the face of not being able to sell. Now to the untrained eye, this isn't intuitive at all. It's like, "Oh, you don't wanna buy ice? Well, let's see if this Eskimo does..."



But it's actually a technique that one agent explained to me supposedly deters lowball offers and increases the sellers' chance of netting the real number they want. We've seen price raising employed so far on the immaculate 54 St. Felix and on the absurd 347 Greene. But today's entry 632 Baltic has raised its list price from $1.4M in November of 2010 to $1.51M on 3/7/11. Which is even sillier to trained shoppers like us, because during that exact same stretch, a much superior neighbor just a few doors up (and one of the best buys in Park Slope this year) listed for $1.499M, went into contract, and sold.

So who's going to pay more money for something that's not nearly as good? Sure, the garage might be a perk to someone. The 22' x 50' floorplate leaves enough room for some healthy 3BR rentals with pretty good income potential. The building was built in our lifetimes, unlike many of these old buildings with dated plumbing and electrical issues. The interior is very live-able, but dated:





But 645 Baltic was such a better play, it's hard just psychologically to get our heads around worse house for more money on the same street. This kind of property, while replete with certain upsides for some buyers, will never sell like a brick or brownstone. And you'd walk past a better buy everyday on your way to the train. Even if the numbers work investment-wise, who wants to make that glutton for punishment purchase?

Pro's: 3BR rentals, rental income, tucked into a quiet corner of Park Slope, close to trains, close enough/far enough from the arena, garage, newish construction, turnkey

Con's: curb appeal, price is going up, dated interior, best buy on that block already happened, can't sell like a brick or brownstone (not now, or for the future owner)

Ideally: you got 645 Baltic, or you're looking for more out of your $1.5M