Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Open House this Saturday: Reader "Exclusive"


One train stop past the Franklin Avenue & Eastern Parkway hub of Crown Heights that everyone loves, BK to the Fullest is scheduling an exclusive open house this weekend on Saturday, September 15th, 2pm - 3:30pm for our readers.  E-mail us at bktothefullest.com@gmail.com to register.  The listing broker who's given us the chance to schedule this open house says this 2-Family limestone home is looking to move quickly, and we think it is priced accordingly.  For less than $675K, you can have this move-in ready home that's in great condition with upgrades you can make as you go along.


It really only has 2 floors in use now, but it's 20' x 52' on a 100' lot with plenty of FAR and a basement with windows that are above-grade.  Can you move into this place and do nothing to it for a few years?  Sure!  Any money you spend on fixing it up is better than a higher purchase price or maintenance fees on a condo.  The kitchens and bathrooms are dated, but functioning.  You may want to pull down the fake-exposed brick paneling in one of the kitchens:


But it's not a gut job.  The listing agent tells us a plumber and an electrician have estimated a budget of $26K to upgrade the heating from oil to gas and to upgrade the electrical system.  Lots of houses need 10 times that.  You may want to get adventurous and play with the long layout:



You get a variety of patterns in the nice wood flooring...



You may be able to get an old-timey piano, stove, and 'fridge in the deal too...




But the porch & yard in the back are what really set this apart from a condo for the same price 2 miles West...



Among the dozens of bidders well-beyond $925K on quaint 2-Families Corcoran had in Crown Heights around Franklin Avenue like 355 Eastern Parkway and 10 St. Charles Place, there has to be someone who was beat-out out by a cash offer or 50%+ down offer who realizes that a do-able deal for a quarter-million less that's one train stop further is actually a great compromise in this market.  Or you can feel free to chase their next $899K fixer-upper that may still be more than some want to pay, further east than some want to go, or both.  Which, mind you, is still a value over its smaller, fixer-upper counterpart at 412 Sterling Place, just 1 mile west for almost double.

Pro's:  move-in ready, priced to sell, 2 & 5 trains around the corner, great residential area, solid house with details, beats almost any condo we can think of

Con's:  only 2 furnished floors, dated kitchens & baths, & mechanicals, we can't see this lasting more than a few weeks,

Ideally:  it's good to know that value propositions are still available in this market.

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