Tiny SRO/2-Family: 20 St. Felix Street

You've seen us cover St. Felix Street before. Just recently we caught a listing around the corner on Ashland trying to fetch more than its superior neighbor. Now we were surprised to see the pricing on 20 St. Felix Street, this self-proclaimed "Mother/Daughter" 2-Family that's actually an SRO. $949K sounds like a decent price for a small, turnkey 2-Family like this in such a centralized-but-quirky location. We've covered some of the drawbacks of these streets before. But, as often happens, the SRO status is a total deal breaker here.

Compare to another trapped SRO like 268 Dean Street, which still hasn't moved a muscle, in an area where free market housing often goes for much more than we'd expect.

For that much money you might as well buy a huge shell and make a nice home out of it. Even once you remedy the SRO issue on 20 St. Felix, what you end up with is nothing special. Especially with the remedy pretty far down the road as the listing reports, "'Certificate of No Harassment' Letter Request in Progress..." We've seen how that's affected values, such as on 187 St. James Place.

The inside looks turnkey, but nothing special:





The only upside we can see is that it's an estate sale and there's got to be tons of equity to work with.

Pro's: technically a low price point for the area, technically Fort Greene

Con's: quirky block, SRO status, no C of NH in place yet, less than 2,000 sqft, almost impossible to finance

Ideally: there's WAY more value on, say, 72 Downing Street

Open House This Sunday: 552 Clinton Street

After a shell sold in this area for $300K above asking price, we had to ask ourselves if anything semi-affordable would ever show up again. We covered the cheapest price per squarefoot place in the whole neighborhood and we're surprised it still hasn't sold. Now we take a 2nd look at 552 Clinton Street.

The listing originally came out at $1.295M back on 3/31/11 and we covered it in May after the quick price drop. The price drop certainly made things more attractive and we figured it would've sold by now. $547/sqft ain't bad as a condo alternative for a solid brick house in a good neighborhood. The open house this Sunday, August 28th from 12:30pm to 2:00pm certainly makes showing simple.

Pro's: curb appeal, pricepoint, open house, paved backyard space, livable interior that you can upgrade as you go

Con's: proximity to the BQE, needs updating, is there a catch we're not catching?

Ideally: why hasn't someone snatched this up yet?

You Had Me At "Barrel-Front Brick Facade": 282 11th Street

Park Slope South was once a bastion of value. Then it got too pricey. There were a handful of deals to be had last fall, but we've seen high prices showing up further and further out. 282 11th Street is a throwback to us, and it's what South Slope is all about. It's not everyday you see a true 3-Family on a legitimately nice block in Park Slope for $1.35M. Sure, the Euro might drive off the cliff. Sure, there's fear of a double-dip recession. Sure, the inside of 282 11th Street isn't much to look at (and they're not showing us much):



But compared to the Barney Rubble exterior of a North Slope renovation for $1.3M like 405 Douglass, 282 11th Street has our attention.



This makes the Prospect Heights barrel-front renovation 154 Underhill looks like a steal.

Pro's: curb appeal, close to the train, outdoor space, doesn't feel like the usual Park Slope premium,

Con's: dated interior, only 3BR's total, no real look inside yet, probably hefty renovation

Ideally: see what the rest of the house has to offer, see if there's a move to be made, and don't be surprised if it goes above asking price

St. James Mystery Meat (Solved): 73 St. James Place

After taking a look at one of the best multi-family plays in all of Clinton Hill, we came across this find just down the same street on St. James Place. They're doing their best to keep the exact location of this 2-Family brownstone on wraps. Our guess was it's something like 85 St. James, but we can't be sure.

[Editor's note: Added 8/22/11, one reader "Park Slop" pointed out the Brownstoner listing for this place has a photo of the front door with the address labeled pretty clearly (that was edited out of the NYTimes listing) as 73 St. James. Indeed it turns out this was on open house pick a year ago on 7/30/2010 for $1.895M. Considering that the market had turned pretty significantly this spring and summer since then and their price has come down... it's pretty telling. We can't help but agree with one of the reader comments from last July, "Given that there are two houses nearby this St. james Place house asking around $1.3 or less, I find it hard to believe (at least based on the photos) that this house is worth 50% more." Our thoughts exactly.]

Just as $1.3M sounded way too cheap for 11,000 sqft and $165K in gross income for 234 St. James Place, $1.795M sounds pretty steep for a 2-Family in Clinton Hill with a few original details and no clear photos of any one room besides this:



Maybe you can get away with this in Cobble Hill or Carroll Gardens, perhaps Prospect Heights or even Park Slope. But who's in a rush to buy on St. James for this price when there's 407 Sterling, 419 Sterling, and the like? Compare to some Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighbors with great listings and great interiors that came in at $1.425M and $1.585M.

Our hunch is that this is a great property, we just wish they'd should show it off a little better.

Pro's: original details, curb appeal (presumably), location, nice end-user home

Con's: no address, no clear look at the place, Clinton Hill at Prospect Heights/Park Slope prices

Ideally: someone certainly wants this house. This might not be the price though.

King Kong Unleashed: 234 St. James Place

After looking at a so-so 8-Family yesterday, it's time to unveil the best 8-Family in Brooklyn: 234 St. James Place. Funky situation here because the latest listing it appeared in for $1.3M, the whole website is down. There's still the StreetEasy listing with another broker for historical sake, at a much higher price. This building is a steal to us anywhere below $1.5M, so we were surprised to see it back on the market for a relatively paltry $1.3M, after listing for $1.5-$1.7M off & on since 2009.

The upside here is ridiculous. It's an 11,000+ sqft lime stone building with 8 units, 4 of which have 3BR's, 4 of which have 4BR's. While it's got rent controlled or rent stabilized tenants in most units, it's still grossing over $165K/year. The one destabilized apartment was renting for $3,200/month the last time we checked, which puts free market rental income potential at over $265K/year. The building has incredible wood and marble original details throughout...



(E-mail us for more pics & info)

The property is around the corner from the C train, in the heart of Clinton Hill, doors away from a stretch of Fulton Avenue that's on the rise. It's also doors away from where Notorious B.I.G. lived at at 226 St. James Place.



(Biggie on Fulton in 1994)

Of course, we owe the term "BK to the Fullest" to Biggie from the end of his track "Brooklyn's Finest" with Jay-Z. And to this day, the kids in front of 234 St. James still rock a mean Brooklyn Bop and even a cross-borough Harlem Shake.

Pro's: curb appeal, location, size, current rental income, potential for more rental income, price

Con's: elusive/rotating agents are hard to get a hold of, lack of clarity on the property

Ideally: if you can get your hands on one of these agents, tell 'em $1.3M all day. E-mail us for more details, pics, rent rolls, etc...

Price Drop on Fort Greene 8-Family: 132 Lafayette Avenue

Around the corner from yesterday's pick, in the heart of Fort Greene, comes an 8-Family that's been on steady price drop since last year. 132 Lafayette Avenue first listed for $2M on 6/10/2010. Just a month later it was dropped to $1.8M, then $1.7M a month after that. By the end of December 2010, the listing was no longer available. Fastfoward through the market turn to 6/6/2011 when it was re-listed for $1.85M, and now reduced two days ago to $1.65M. The listing has no interior or exterior pictures, no rent roll (the old listing calls out "140K"), and no breakdown of the layout of the apartments. Even the number of apartments is foggy:

"FABULOUS EIGHT FAMILY- FOUR WILL BE VACANT IN WEEKS. SIX REMAINING APARTMENTS ARE MARKET"

Hmmm, so if 4 will be vacant in a few weeks and the 6 remaining are market... where did the extra two come from?



Luckily StreetEasy is on-point enough to keep track of even rented & expired rental listings, so we can get a little peak into what's going on. This 1BR rental in the building listed for $1,750/month for 2 months at the end of 2010, until finally renting for $1,600 at the beginning of 2011:



StreetEasy had another rental listing from 2010 for a 650 sqft 1BR for $1,600/month too. These are very plausible rental numbers over here. However, another tricky number is the square footage of the building. Property Shark has it as 20.8' x 40', which over 4 floors gets their 3,330 sqft. Was there an extension built? Because the listing says 8,200 sqft, meanwhile by our count 8 units x 650 sqft per unit = 5,200 sqft. More fuzzy math?

Pro's: location, rental income potential, 8 x 1BR units optimizes space for income, even more upside yet to come

Con's: curb appeal, lack of clarity on tenancy status & interior, Lafayette's a hectic street here

Ideally: great potential here, but this isn't the best 8-Family in the area by a LONG SHOT. Contact us for more info...

Fort Greene Mixed-Use: 258 Dekalb Avenue

Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill has seen lots of activity recently with small, mixed-use buildings. And we've covered all kinds of listings on commercial avenues like Washington and Vanderbilt, but here's a rare mixed-use listing in Fort Greene on Dekalb. At one of the most lovable intersections in the neighborhood, surrounded by Fort Greene park, schools, restaurants, coffee shops, and bars it's 258 Dekalb. This 17' x 50' 2-Family + store is listed at $1.399M. Valuation is tricky over here because we don't have a sense of the rent roll, and the apartments look like they're in okay condition.



Since very few of these buildings trade around here, as far as we know of, it's difficult to evaluate what the market is. This price seems steep to us based on a purely cashflow basis, but someone may pay-up to be in this prime of a location or since the opportunity is so rare. This listing is reminiscent of a few other small mixed-use properties that Fillmore has had on Bond Street and also on Smith Street. From our perspective, though, the upside is pretty much all cooked into this price. We're not sure who's in a hurry to purchase this as an investor or as a user, without much return on the $400K+ it would take to acquire.

Pro's: location, curb appeal, rare opportunity, seems turnkey

Con's: no sense of rent roll or layout of apts, commercial loan needed, upside's cooked into the list price, nothing compelling as a buy

Ideally: feels like a $1.2M

Climbing the SRO Hurdle: 544 Pacific Street

The more you walk around Brooklyn in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium, you get a sense of the "the calm before the storm". When that stadium tries to pack 20,000 people after work into what is already a 24/7 packed intersection, where the 3 main thoroughfares in Brooklyn all collide, we can't imagine the sight.



While many theories abound, the real repercussions of the stadium have yet to be figured out. To be sure, however, real estate agents & investors have certainly taken notice, and have started swooping-up otherwise-neglected properties at "something big is coming here soon" prices. That was probably the motivation for re-listing 544 Pacific Street. This tall, 18' x 45' stoopless brownstone is being advertised as "just blocks away from Atlantic Yards project." Which, it is. And it's a decent location otherwise. But the real hold up is the SRO status. The DOB still has 544 Pacific as an SRO, even though Property Shark will tell you it's "Over Six Families Without Stores". The listing will tell you:

"1 two bed apt & 11 room rooming house with 1 bathroom per fl., presently laid out as one two bedroom apt. with large backyard & 11 furnished rooms w/3 shared baths"

...a little repetitive, but you get the idea. We know 544 Pacific as an SRO listed for $1.15M a few years ago in semi-shabby shape. The rental numbers were pro-forma & the tenancy situation was gridlock, so it wasn't feasible. Supposedly it's "Newly Renovated" now and renting for $120K/year. If that's true, it should be selling for MUCH more than $1.299M - especially for this area. But that number sounds too familiar.

The location could go either way. While being close to 4th Avenue is hectic and this isn't a very residential-feeling block, the location is SO strategic it's hard to disparage. We're going to go ahead and generously call this listing Park Slope because that's what it's closest too. This isn't really Boerum Hill either, as it's classified on Zillow.

Pro's: lots of house at a seemingly-low price, close to Atlantic Terminal & the apex of great neighborhoods like Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Fort Greene

Con's: not very residential block, close to Atlantic Terminal & the traffic and the stadium

Ideally: Depending on the tenancy here, there's LOTS of directions this property could go. Contact us for more info...

Price Bump on Atlantic Commons FSBO: 355 Cumberland Street

Yesterday we took a look at a Fort Greene 4-Family for $1.55M with no pictures listed a few doors down from a fully photographed 4-Family that could barely get $1.25M. Today we have a Fort Greene 3-Family with no pictures for $1.6M, right next door to a fully photographed (and identical) 3-Family that still hasn't fetched $1.1M. But what's a half a million dollars between neighbors anyways?

355 Cumberland Street is another listing in Atlantic Commons, a nice row of recently constructed 3-Family brick buildings between Fulton and Atlantic. Except for a few owner upgrades, these buildings are pretty much all the same. Cocoran sold two a few doors down from each other for $960K and $1.075M, respectively. 357 Cumberland later came out with lots of pics and a few potential tenant issues, but a similar price of $1.1M. That listing still hasn't moved. So who would want to pay $500K more for something they know even less about? There are no pictures or description of 355 Cumberland. We're not going to consider their "3Family 2over 2over duplex 3br" as a description. Either way it's a far cry from what a REAL ~1.6M property over here looks like.

Much like yesterday's neighbors, the more expensive, less justified list price probably comes from an effort to recoop the extensive home equity loans out on the property. In the case of 355 Cumberland, at least another $700K in equity was taken out between 2006-2009, on top of what most of these owners in Atlantic Common already owed. Unless a lot of that was spent on some kind of upgrades that aren't being called out here, you're basically looking at a $500K price bump next door for nothing.

Pro's: all the old Pro's from Atlantic Commons are intact

Con's: the $500K price bump (besides no pictures or description)

Ideally: buy the neighbor 357 Cumberland for $999K

A 4-Family on the Other End of Fort Greene: 213 Ashland Place

After taking a look at a 4-Family yesterday thrown out on the market for barely a week for a quick sale, in the heart of the border between Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, today we take a look at a 4-Family on the other end of Fort Greene. 213 Ashland Place is a 19' x 40' brick building on a tiny little street between Fort Greene Park (or the hospital, rather) and BAM. With an asking price of $1.55M and nothing more than a grainy picture of the exterior provided in the listing...



...we're wondering what's really being offered here. We covered the drawbacks of this block before when we took a look at 233 Ashland Place. That listing was out for $1.25M off-and-on for over a year. That listing had good pictures of the interior, a breakdown of the layout of the apartments, and even a potential loan scenario called-out. That listing only recently went into contract on 6/14/11, according to Streeteasy. If a 20' 4-Family with lots of clarity on what was being offered took a year to fetch $1.25M, who's going to jump at a mere flip-phone picture of a building a few doors down for $1.55M?

And that's before we've even revisited the drawbacks of the block. We love Fort Greene, but this particular block doesn't have a very residential feel. It starts to become downtown Brooklyn over here, and not in a good way. Busy traffic, noisy bus routes, parking garages, and a large high-rise across the street all kill the character of what people usually pay for on residential blocks. Add that to the fact that the G train is the closest train, and any real amenities are frustratingly just out of reach, and you start to see why 233 Ashland took so long to move at what - to the naked eye - looked like one of the best prices for a 4-Family in entire neighborhood.

The only thing we're imagining could salvage 213 Ashland at this price is if it had some absurdly nice interior, which doesn't seem too likely since they've barely even managed to show us the exterior. And a sparkling interior wasn't even enough to save 54 St. Felix around the corner for $1.45M. Looks like somebody's just listing a price that's a wish & a prayer - and the agent's not even helping them justify that price. The catalyst for this listing is probably the Lis Pendens from 2007 and 2008 on the $900K+ in equity taken out in 2005. That's fair, but not showing the buyer anything worth buying, that isn't.

Pro's: 4-Family status, decent curb appeal, technically Fort Greene, technically close to downtown and Fort Greene Park

Con's: quirky location, block loses neighborhood feel, listing gives no sense of interior condition or layout, no sense of rent roll, not much value baked in

Ideally: worth looking into, but probably not worth this price

The Ol' Flip-a-Roo: 64 Greene Avenue

64 Greene Avenue is a self-proclaimed "DUSTY TREASURE IN FORT GREENE" available this weekend only. In a rare move, this property is being offered with no list price and 3 viewings before an offer deadline this Monday. Perhaps they're trying to create a buzz and an impulse buy, or turn attention away from some possible results of serious due diligence. Who knows? Who are we to say?

What we can say is, the location is spectacular, the renovation will be costly, and it just-so-happens the current owners picked this bad-boy up for $995K at the beginning of May. So it looks like a Flip-a-Roo. At that purchase price, it looks like a decent value, but who's going to pay significantly above & beyond this price? Especially with 105 Greene still sitting out on the market for $899K, which we covered long ago. The whole quick deadline thing seems like a huge distraction to us. It just doesn't smell & feel like the kind of move that would come from owners who have real conviction in their product. That's if there's no legitimate reason for the rushed sale. Who knows? But we all know the old saying, "If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's probably..."



All that said, the huge extension is a plus and the interior isn't the end of the world:




Pro's: location, size, blank slate

Con's: why the rush?, somebody else already bought it right, not much time to do due diligence, is there any value left?

Ideally: give it a look-see, but make your way over to 105 Greene too

HUGE Corner Opportunity: 71 Irving Place

Clinton Hill is on the move, and we've covered a handful of great buying opportunities in the neighborhood. Today's pick is very similar to ones we've seen before, but has lots of other things going for it. 71 Irving Place is a hefty 5,000 sqft brick building on the corner of Irving Place and Putnam, around the corner from the lovably uber-hip Fulton Grand. It's about equidistant from the the Franklin and Clinton-Washington stops on the C. The property was listed for $1.195M at the beginning of June 2011, and quickly dropped to its current offering price of $975K in just about 2 weeks. Unlike many of the other renovation opportunities on these blocks, 71 Irving Place is NOT an SRO and will be delivered vacant. There's huge upside there simply in the certainty. What is daunting is the $500K+ renovation the agent tells us is in order, but this is also a much larger place than you typically get for this kind of money. Unlike lots of corner buildings, this one's covered with windows. (Norah Jones, we're lookin' at you!)


Pro's: corner lot, 5000 sqft, curb appeal, up & coming area, close to the train (especially as Clinton Hill often goes), not an SRO, delivered vacant, windows everywhere

Con's: total gut renovation in order, probably impossible to finance

Ideally: if you've got the funds, this is one of the best unfettered plays out there.

Our First Foray into Bed-Stuy Proper: 533 Greene Avenue

Admittedly, we barely know Bed-Stuy. The neighborhood is filled with listings at comparatively crazy-low price points, but we have yet to know how to seperate the wheat from the chaff. As we've seen, not all sub-$1M listings are created equal. In our primary neighborhoods we can read between the lines because we know what's going, but in Bed-Stuy we're almost at the mercy of the prices, the pictures, and the self-proclamations of the real estate agents (yikes!). But we're sure the picture will start to clear up once we take a few stabs at it. Greene Avenue takes you straight from Clinton Hill into Bed-Stuy as you go east of Classon, where our coverage usually stops. And we've covered a ton of places on Greene in Clinton Hill. So a property on that street seemed like a fitting start for our first foray into Bed-Stuy. Even the New York times recently covered the changes Bed-Stuy's been undergoing.

533 Greene Avenue is 3-Family brownstone between Nostrand and Marcy listed at $699K. We've heard tales of the Bed-Stuy 2-Family in the $600-$700K range before, so it's nice to see one in the flesh for analysis. Oddly enough, while Property Shark has it as a 3-Family, the listing says a 2-Family and that it has 2 rental units. The listing doesn't say much else besides it being a "gut reno", but the postage stamp pictures they managed to take of the inside show space that's in fantastic shape as gut reno's go:



The listing also says, "Close to the A and C trains on Nostrand Avenue." Proximity to a city-bound train has always given us pause in this area. One man's "close" is another man's "11 block walk down Nostrand Avenue". The Bedford-Nostrand G train is around the corner, but that's not helping much. This house is actually much closer to one of our favorite places in Brooklyn, Choice Market, than it is to the A/C train. Which just goes to show you what a conundrum Bed-Stuy can be as a no man's land outpost, frustratingly closer to Clinton Hill than it is to a train that'll take you anywhere. In an unfortunate tug-of-war, the A/C trains over here move southeast as you go east of Classon, while some of the nice residential blocks in the neighborhood move northeast.



Accordingly, Bed-Stuy was certainly hit harder by the financial crisis of 2008 than any of the areas we cover. Lots of houses got ahead of themselves and quickly faced foreclosure when values receded. 533 Greene appears to be no exception. Looks likes the place was purchased in 2005 for $689K and a Lis Pendens for that amount was filed a year later. It then appears to have sold in 2007 for $860K, with a Lis Pendens coming just 8 months after THAT, and an additional Lis Pendens in 2010. The property then sold for $440K in February 2011 (most likely a foreclosure or short sale), then listed in June 2011 for the $699K it's currently asking. We can't imagine this kind of hot potato is a good sign, and yet it's a familiar one in Bed-Stuy. Hmmm, the jury's still out...

Pro's: price point, curb appeal, original details, 3-Family status

Con's: "gut reno", Lis Pendens hot potato, far from the A/C, quirky block

Ideally: a much more manageable play, but nothing truly compelling here yet

On the Edge: 584 Washington Avenue

On the very edge of Clinton Hill, right at Atlantic Avenue, comes the "2 Family Used As A 3 Family" 584 Washington Avenue. Ordinarily a nice brownstone in Clinton Hill with these kinds of original details, this close to the Clinton-Washington stop on the C train, and this close to this ever-coming up stretch of Fulton Avenue would easily fetch this $1.3M asking price. Even with the listing's claim that the "Lower Duplex Needs Reno & Restoration", other 2-Family's in good shape have closed this summer in the $1.4-$1.5M range such as 121 Vanderbilt and 116 Vanderbilt. 584 Washington, however, is SO close to such a busy intersection on Atlantic, with the storage place across the street & everything, it's just not what people who want a residential-feeling brownstone usually have in mind. The listing obviously chose to take their exterior picture of the attached side of the building:



Some nice interiors might sway you though:





Even a few doors in from Atlantic, we'd say it goes in a flash. Is it worth the compromise?

Pro's: curb appeal, original details, otherwise a nice location, decent price, a hefty 3,780 sqft

Con's: being right on such a busy intersection loses the neighborhood feel

Ideally: see how extensive of a renovation it needs. If the location isn't a deal-breaker, this could be a nice house at a nice price.

That's More Like It: 706 Union Street

706 Union Street is a 4-Family in brownstone in prime Park Slope that wants $1.95M. While this price is about as high as we usually take a look at, it looks like a way better value than yesterday's pick at $1.775M. 706 Union is just a few doors down from 5th Avenue and Union Hall. The building stands at a healthy 20' x 60', which over 4 floors yields a hefty 4,800 sqft. The glimpse we get into the original details retained and quality look better than yesterday's pick:





The listing says it's currently used as a 3-Family with an owner's duplex, and had an annual rent roll of $91K. That rent roll sounds very modest to us considering the rental market in the center of Park Slope like this. We can't ignore how high the price is in general, but considering this fixer-upper on 4th Street closed for $1.6M and the ratty 405 Douglass quickly went into contract in the $1.3M range - 706 Union is looking pretty spiffy.

Pro's: super central location, curb appeal, HUGE size, high ceilings, rental income potential, original details, turnkey

Con's: expensive, some might not want to be right on Union like that

Ideally: if this were marketed better, it'd probably be gone already

This "Place" is no "Avenue": 56 St. Marks Place

Despite all our attention paid to this street, especially considering the whole 96 St. Marks Avenue debacle, you think we would have noticed that one side of 5th Avenue is "St. Marks Place" while the other side is "St. Marks Avenue". Well, we just now realized this - duh!

So today we bring you another entry in the high-end category that we're not sure deserves it, 56 St. Marks Place. We like these folks over at Brooklyn Properties for giving nice pictures, an address, a layout, and some description of the place. However, $1.775M seems a tad steep for this particular place. Perhaps the sale of the high-end 57 St. Marks Avenue for $2.15M on the other side of 5th Avenue propelled this price on St. Marks Place. As $1.7M's+ go, we think the money could be better spent elsewhere. Granted, the strategic location near prime Park Slope and the Atlantic Terminal is a plus, and this block is relatively quiet for how close it is to 4th Avenue. But the space feels like a rental at times, and that's not what we wanna shoot over $1.5M for:





We'd much rather have even 706 Degraw if we're going up into these kinds of prices. 56 St. Marks is kind of off the beaten path for not much more value in price, only in so-so calibre renovation. It pays to know your St. Marks Avenue vs. Place.

Pro's: strategic location, totally turnkey, lots of bedrooms, high rental income, decent curb appeal, outdoor space, 21' wide

Con's: rental-like fixtures for this price point, not much neighborhood feel on the block, better ways to drop $1.7M+

Ideally: nothing wrong here, and fair stab at a high price, but we're not seeing it above $1.6M with what else is out there

Recent Closings of Note: Asking Price or Better

57 St. Marks Avenue amazingly closes for $2.15M, $50K above asking, which makes 287 Dekalb Avenue look like a relative steal in our book.



Great 4-Family reno with only one unit fixed-up 137 St. James Place, listed for $899K and closed for $990K. Reportedly it needed ~$350K in work.



Even the Mystery Meat 111 Waverly eventually closed a year later for its list price of $799K.



The $550K 3-Family shell in Fort Greene, 434 Vanderbilt, reportedly in need of $600K-$800K in work, quickly closed for its asking price.



33 Cambridge Place, the nice 2-Family that was mostly rented out for the foreseeable future closed right around asking price at $1.286M.

Open House Today: 419 Sterling Place

This place won't last long. 419 Sterling Place is a nice, turnkey 2-Family on a great block in Prospect Heights for $1.349M. With an open house today from 5:30pm-7:30pm, run, don't walk to get a peak if you've been in the market for something like this. We see this thing going for above asking price. Do we really need to paint the picture for ya?

Well, take a look at its neighbor that just closed for $1.44M. Another neighbor closed for $1.5M+. Another neighbor that needed a gut reno quickly went into contract for $999K. And yet another neighbor was a favorite of ours for a while and finally sold above $1.5M as well.

The inside is gorgeous & quality. And while the style might not quite be your taste, that's purely cosmetic details...



And who can argue with the bay window breakfast nook overlooking the rear garden?




Everything is in order here. Get it while you can.

Pro's: turnkey, great insides, open house, owner's sitting on a ton of equity, around the corner from the 2/3, near Prospect Park for Clinton Hill prices, backyard,

Con's: hmmm.... we're stumped

Ideally: get in now, make a decent offer, and cross your fingers you don't get outbid by $200K