Open House Today: 8 4th Place

We covered this bad-boy back in September 2010, and now it's been relisted with Corcoran and has an open house today from noon to 2pm.

As predicted, we didn't think this place could command $1.45M. And, as we always note, nobody gives you a better shot to land that hefty price than Corcoran.

Pretty much nothing's changed in our book over here since the first write-up, but keep in mind these additional comps:

77 4th Place sold for $1.05M on 8/13/2010

43 4th Place sold for $1.4M on 11/1/2010

36 4th Place sold for $1.9M on 10/13/2010

The Price Is Wrong: 367 Degraw Street

Where's Bob Barker when you need him?



Because pets are running around neither spayed nor neutered, and people are throwing the craziest prices on everything. If the closest bid without going over wins, we're bidding $1. Now we can't blame ya, if you're sitting on 100% equity and any agent is willing to take the listing, and crazier things have happened, it's worth a shot to list your property for too much and hope you hit the lotto.

367 Degraw Street is a 3-Family brick building just off of Smith Street in BoCoCa recently listed for $1.85M. While many things in this neighborhood have gone for this kind of price, they usually have more to offer. The dark interior pictures of this building don't entice us to drop the $400K in downpayment and closing costs it would take at this price.





You may recall a close neighbor 476 Degraw that went into contract pretty quickly with great photos of a shiny new renovation. It's hard for us to see someone paying this much more for so much less. There are way better ways to dedicate this dough, but if you like this, you might even like the embarrassingly mis-priced 137 Adelphi Street.

Pro's: location, backyard, rental income potential

Con's: mispriced, meager interior, layout looks pretty bootleg

Ideally: Drive out to Long Island and tell this agent what's really going on in Brooklyn, then you might be able to snag this at a reasonable price.

An Outer Slope 4-Family: 137 14th Street

137 14th Street is a 4-Family just listed in outer Park Slope for $1.399M. At first glance the price, exterior photo, and Park Slope-y location might grab ya:



The exterior is very reminiscent of 312 Greene Avenue. But then you realize it's between 3rd and 4th Avenues, which with the vinyl siding houses and mechanic shops and warehouses on the block can start to feel more like Bay Ridge than Park Slope. Certainly not "in the heart of Park Slope" as the listing would have you believe. And then you see the interior pics which are dark and leave something to be desired for this price:



And THEN you remember that the far-superior, primo-located 96 St. Marks sold for $1M on the dot and you wanna start pulling your hair out all over again and cursing the silly agent who never called you back to take your offer that was $100K higher and would have closed months sooner. But alas...


Pro's: curb appeal, 4-Family status, rental income potential, 20' x 40' floorplate, striking distance of Park Slope and trains

Con's: no neighborhood feel, outer Slope, interior is dated, kinda pricey

Ideally: Lots of equity should be built up in this place, so if the location isn't a deal breaker, get in there a make an offer that works for ya!

Saint James is in the Place: 125 St. James Place

We don't usually cover the 8-Family game (and we're still not quite sure how you fit 8 units into buildings that usually barely fit 4 units), but 125 St. James Place has the look, the price, and the location we go for. Oh, and it's a real listing! From a real company! With pictures and decriptions and financial breakdowns and everything.

This here is a great block in Clinton Hill, and you can almost see why the two free market units are paying $1,375 and $1,475/month for just under 400 sqft. The other 6 units are rent stabilized (all the same size) with no unit paying less than $918/month. Compare that to rent controlled tenants in neighboring 234 St. James Place, some of which are paying less than $600/month for 1,300+ sqft 3BR places. A recent NYTimes piece on the rent controlled/rent stabilized debate shed some light on the matter. But given every anecdote we've ever heard, and the others in the article, we're astonished at how sour the founder of Property Shark turned on the process of destabilzation considering what a relatively easy time he had with it.

This listing frames the scenario at 125 St. James Place as such:

"There are 6 Rent Stabilized units and 2 Free Market units, which leaves the opportunity for an owner occupier to convert the building to a one-family."

Which is much easier said than done. The number at which these units supposedly automatically destabilize ($2,000/month) isn't a number even the free market units can get, so don't bank on destabilizing that way.

Pro's: curb appeal, nice block, close to the C train, rent controlled units aren't as below market as many neighbors

Con's: commercial loan needed (30-35% down), small units to owner occupy, expensive buyouts and renovations (and that's best-case scenario)

Ideally: If you know what you're doing and have lots of time and cash, even then there's no guarantee that this is worth taking on at this price. Why not take 26 St. James with just one tenant?

Slim 2-Family with Thick Price: 157 Willoughby Avenue

As we've noted, the 2-Family game is all over the map. 157 Willoughby Avenue looks like a pretty house. Corcoran came out with the listing for $1.639M in October 2010. They price dropped in December to $1.595M, then Realty on the Greene relisted it on Valentine's Day for the same price. Can't imagine what that listing contract was like, or what the rationale for leaving Corcoran was. They seem to be getting things done, and the only hold-up on this well-renovated place is price.

Oh, and it's only 15' wide. Oh, and it's a 2-Family. But you already knew that. Look inside:



Nothing to hide here. And there are lots of original details, exposed brick, good utilization of the space with the interior staircases and layout. Although, maybe not as top-notch as one might expect for this price-point. We like the rental getting $1,800/month. Looks like the last mortgage on this place was for $1.5M just before the crash. So you can see why the owner is clinging to that number. At $1.3M or so, we'd say jump in.

There's an open house tomorrow from 1-3pm. Go take a look.

Pro's: 50' deep, great renovation, lodged right between Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, back yard & deck, separate entrances for both units

Con's: a bit of a hike to the train, around the corner from some major housing projects, 15' wide

Ideally: if this could get even close to $1.6M, then recent picks 285 Park Place could have too and 407 Sterling would have been gone already.

A Skinny Slice of Beautiful Prospect Heights: 285 Park Place

We told you on Monday that the 2-Family game was crazy! 285 Park Place is a 17' wide limestone on beautiful, tree-lined Park Place in one of the under-appreciated neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Prospect Heights. We love these blocks. They have even more character than much of Park Slope, to us. And Vanderbilt continues to impress as a commercial avenue. Yet there's a familiar fly in the ointment: price. We don't quite see $1.6M over here for this.

A wider building like 368 Park Place couldn't fetch this much before the crash - and that was with Corcoran!

We like that they call out the layout of the owner's triplex and its rent of $4,500/month. But that also means it's rented. Unless that's month to month with the understanding that the owner's moving in upon sale, who's dropping 20% cash over here ($320K) to take over a garden 1BR?

Don't get me wrong, the pics inside have something to be proud of:





But ultimately feel kinda narrow & oddly shaped compared to what else this kind of money can get you. As we noted yesterday, the likes of 82 Butler Street and 645 Baltic Street.

There's some great wood details in here, but we might mosey on over to the recently-reduced 407 Sterling Place for a better hunk of building.

From what we can tell, the owner should be sitting on mostly equity, so don't let this crazy price fool ya. Get in there and get yourself a decent house!

Pro's: location, tree-lined street, close to the park, deep yard, great wood details on the interior

Con's: curb appeal is a toss-up to us, narrow 17' wide, price, would-be owner's duplex is rented out

Ideally: the triplex is month to month and there's a move to be made much lower.

The Other Side of Myrtle Again: 86 Clinton Avenue

86 Clinton Avenue is a HUGE 4-Family brownstone just listed in the same area as yesterday's pick. $1.759M is the kind of price we might find in Carroll Gardens or Park Slope for a 4-Family. Two of our favorites, 82 Butler and 645 Baltic Street both went into contract quickly for LESS than this 4-Family on Clinton Avenue. Both of those buildings were closer to the train and in better neighborhoods with better rents.

So where is this price coming from?

Well, a closer look reveals the owner took out a mortgage of $645K upon purchase in 2004, and then pulled a ton of equity out with a $980K mortage in 2005. Then a Lis Pendens was filed on 6/9/2009 to foreclose on the house for that $980K. A few years later, here we are with a listing with nothing but a Property Shark pic of the exterior and a whopping price.

Now the listing assures us more photos and a layout are coming soon, and Prudential usually does a good job with these. But still! Something amazing has to be going on with the interior to command this price. Otherwise, take this same money and spend it in a much better area, like on 297 Court Street.

Pro's: 20' x 65', curb appeal, 4-Family, owner's duplex

Con's: price, far from the train, rental values are top notch over here

Ideally: Let's see the inside, but so far your money's better spent somewhere else. That said, we'd love to pick this up, but $1.3M-$1.4M sounds more like it