New Year, Same Ol' Building, Same Price: 26 St. James Place

Here's a lovely brownstone in the heart of residential Clinton Hill, close to the C train, the G train, Choice, Pratt, and all kinds of amenities on Myrtle. 26 St. James Place was once listed for this same price of $1.35M with Brown Harris Stevens in the Fall of 2008, just after the crash. It was featured as one of Brownstoner.com's Open Houses of the Day. After a little hiatus (surely, it's taken us all a while to recover) suddenly it's back & vague-er than ever! A different broker we're not familiar with has the listing, and isn't giving us what's really needed: clarity on the occupancy status. The Certificate on Occupany has this place listed as a 6-Family. The listing calls out 6 bathrooms. It's unclear whether there are still tenants. Like yesterday's listing, we have lots of questions. Unlike yesterday's listing, the price isn't reflecting the issues the property has. And yesterday's listing was in a WAY more desirable neighborhood for some $150K less.

We have to give it up to 26 Saint James Place, though, for its great curb appeal and original details:







Throw in the huge block full of housing projects that starts right across the street from the property...



And there are certainly some pro's & con's to weigh. Everyone who's interested in this property will need to understand the occupancy issues, because it affects everything. We wish the agent would have addressed what's going on there. Lots of homework to be done for prospective buyers. That's where we come in!

Pro's: curb appeal, location, original details, lots of bathrooms (but at what price? =)

Con's: huge potential issues with occupancy, might need a commercial loan

Ideally: the agent can provide a little clarity and the issues aren't deal-breakers. Remember, there are some gorgeous 6-Family's over here than can't close at $800K!

Killer SRO Opportunity: 138 Prospect Place

You want to live here: around the corner from the B/Q trains at 7th Avenue, on a cute little block in Prospect Heights at the cusp of Park Slope and Prospect Park. Even as an SRO, this house has value all day. There's all kinds of $2M houses crawling around over here, this will be one in the near future. $1.2M isn't even that crazy an asking price. 138 Prospect Place is a 20' wide brownstone building that's got a Certificate of Occupancy (and listing) talking about a 1 Family duplex and 7 furnished rooms on the other floors. What has us confused is how there are only 2,725 square feet if the building is 20' x 55' and four stories with the garden level. Perhaps not all floors are as deep?

Who knows if it's delivered vacant, with tenants (potentially hostile), with a Certificate on Non-harrassment filed or not? These are unknowns that have real effect on the value, and are worth looking into, but this property will move regardless. There are only so many place like this on these blocks.

Not much can be expected of the interior, but as often is the case, we get a few janky pictures of the original details like marble fireplaces:



The owner seems to have had this house for decades, but faced numerous Lis Pendens in 2003, 2006, and 2007 for tax liens on what are relatively miniscule amounts. Property Shark is even showing a foreclosure auction that was scheduled for 11/18/2010 for those tax liens. It's unclear to us whether the auction happened and now someone's flipping it, or if the seller still has a chance to get out from under it. The listing appeared about a month after the auction was scheduled for. Call the agent, get the scoop, there's something juicy here!

Pro's: curb appeal, 55' deep, proximity to trains, park and many neighborhoods, tree-lined block

Con's: lack of clarity on SRO status, hefty renovation may be in order, tenants may be hostile

Ideally: there's room well below asking price to satify both buyer and seller.

4-Fam' in Cobble Hill is Calling: 82 Butler Street

Listed just above the borough-high average of $1.54M for Cobble Hill homes, at $1.595M, 82 Butler Street is a 4-Family brownstone in PRIME Cobble Hill that's worth a look. Unlike some of the more lofty price points or janky joints running around these parts towards outer Carroll Gardens, this looks like a turn-key rental operation. It would seem the apartments are set-up as large 1BR's, but if 2BR's could fit on any of the floors, given the 25' width of this building, the rent per floor might be more optimal. We love that the listing even calls out the gross rent roll of $94K/year, the fact that each unit has its own washer/dry (great ROI there), and that tenants even pay their own heat & hot water.





Don't forget the back yard and deck:



At these current rents, the max FHA loan amount might not get all the way up to the 4-Family loan limit of $1.4M. But market rents might be estimated even a little higher, so ask around. From what we can tell, the owner's had it for years and is sitting on a great monthly rental income check and tons of equity. So probably no hurry to drop the price there, but also perhaps room to negotiate without any heavy loan to get out from under.

Especially with foolishness like this going on, a garden-level condo closing a few blocks away for $700/sqft+, at $479/sqft, 82 Butler is almost a play as a condo alternative. Or, given its great condition on the interior, it's not even a far cry from a condo conversion play.

Pro's: prime Cobble Hill, steps to usable trains & amenities, great rental income potential, totally turn-key, 25' wide, backyard & deck

Con's: currents rents can't get up to $1.4M loan limit, 1BR's rentals?

Ideally: look into it and keep an eye on it. This is a good buy for many at this asking price. It becomes REALLY interesting anywhere closer to $1.4M.

Great Potential in Clinton Hill: 238 Lafayette Avenue

238 Lafayette Avenue is 3-Family brick building in need of renovation that, at $1.05M, is priced like they actually want to sell it. There are a few renovations popping up in Clinton Hill like the SRO 187 St. James Place, but there might be even more potential here. 238 Lafayette is a compact 19' x 35' building on the corner of Waverly and Lafayette. It's basically right in between Choice and the Brooklyn Flea, across from a little park/playground. The G train rumbles underneath and a bus route zooms by, up across the street from some lovably-edgy (at least to hipsters & Pratt students) housing projects. No backyard, but check out the parking space:



Maybe those windows could be reclaimed or more put in on that unattached side? When compared to 310 Lafayette, you gotta figure the price has to come down here on 238. And there may be room to come down afterall. With a Lis Pendens that was filed on 10/29/10, and the owner owing some $400K (from what we can tell), there should be room to relieve the owner and still get a deal. Keep in mind, the renovation could be extensive and costly no matter how you cut it:



Unless you're going for that Ladies Man look & feel to the living room:



Lots of pro's & con's to weigh. It's steps from the G train, but that's also only the G train. And it's right on top of the noise of the G train too. So it's a toss up...

Pro's: corner lot, curb appeal, parking space, hip location

Con's: in need of renovation, small, no backyard, 1BR rentals, noisy transportation around

Ideally: there's a move to be made that nets the seller enough and leaves the buyer enough left over for the renovation

Tiny 2-Family's Keep Coming: 444 Sackett Street

"Why Go To Manhattan?" this listing asks. Hmmm, good question. Maybe because we don't wanna overpay for a narrow, not-that-great house that hardly even stacks up to condo's on a price-per-sqft basis? $689/sqft for a 2-Family that's on a block toward Gowanus? We're not seeing it. 444 Sackett has got some explaining to do.

This makes the also-tiny 473 Union around the corner (now "On Hold") look like a steal. We like the backyard:



But we don't know what we like less: the fakey floors or the tiny, dated kitchen:





As great as this general neighborhood is, you can't charge this much for a small house and lousy finishes. Something's gotta give. The listing boasts, "Freshly Painted." Yeah, so are $900/month studio apartments in Queens. What are they talking about? The only thing this listing has going for it is they took pictures and put it on an MLS. In what is unfortunately a rare move for income properties, they also called out the $1,500/month rental income. Ooh, and they have the condition listed as "Vintage". Aren't real estate euphemisms the best? Ya win some, ya lose some.

Pro's: Carroll Gardens-y, price-point seems low, close to the train, curb appeal

Con's: Gowanus-y, relative price, tiny, 16' wide, dated and/or cheap finishes.

Ideally: spend this dough on something larger. If this goes for more than a million, we'll be astonished.

Short Sale Time: 290 Greene Avenue

As these Brooklyn properties go, we've been up & down Greene Avenue in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill. 175 Greene Avenue sits in our hall of fame. We covered 103 and 105 Greene earlier this week, 347 Greene last week. 147 Greene had the fire damage. Our buddy in Yeasayer even chimed in for 232 Greene. An agent wouldn't even show us 312 Greene last year without the understanding that it would be "not a penny under $1.5M" - closed this summer for $1.275M. Our offer of $800K in April on 298 Greene was scoffed at, then it turned around and closed months later for $825K on 9/9/2010.

Today we take a look at 290 Greene, which we stumbled on in an interesting Trulia talk thread about how there's no real multiple listing service for brownstone Brooklyn - the pet peeve that spawned this blog. 290 Greene is a 4-Family building on the corner of Classon and Greene, heading towards Bed-Stuy from Clinton Hill. The building's only attached on one side and has a bus stop right in front of it (can you say, BEEP BEEP BEEP 24/7 as the bus toots and the airbrakes huff & puff over that little 2 inch accomodation the bus makes when it stops?). The building was purchased in May 2007 for $850K. We're not sure of the condition inside then or now, but it sounds like it could've been a reasonable buy, even if it happened during the boom. But a Lis Pendens was filed 12/31/09. Shortly afterwards, this listing appeared for $475K. How could this building not go for that price, almost regardless of condition? We're not sure if this listing is still active, even. But we couldn't imagine much has changed, since the owner's still in the same position on this property. See the inside, make a play!

Pro's: 23' wide, 4-Family status, price!, outer Clinton Hill for deep Bed-Stuy prices

Con's: off the beaten path, curb appeal, condition inside unknown, bus stop in front

Ideally: this place needs less than $200K in work and is a nice pick up for somebody with the time and cash for a renovation.

Christmas in Prospect Heights: 463 St. Johns Place

Listed two days ago, it's a Christmas Miracle!! Okay, not really. It's more like a little too far and little too pricey and a little too overly-yet-jankily renovated. It's 463 St. Johns Place. The Streeteasy listing even has more info than the broker's site itself.

There's definitely been a renovation here. Some of the highlights include:







The owner picked it up in 2003 for $250K, and might've put the same amount into rehabbing the place. But the kitchen and bathroom remain dated-feeling in their style and don't really match the rest of the house. We wish we'd see this kind of wood, windows, and fireplace in something that wasn't so far away. We don't mean to be scrooge-like about it, but with the 2-Family loan limit sitting squarely at $960K, there's way better places to put 20% down on. That said, you can pick up a fine house if they'll go to $999K. There should be plenty of equity built in with which to do so, but that doesn't always translate to seller capitulation.

Pro's: renovated, backyard, deck over yard, great wood floors & original mantles, close to the train, museum, and Prospect Park

Con's: date-feeling kitchen and bath (even if they're recently renovated), 17' wide, price

Ideally: $999K