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Open House Agenda: 3 Apartments to See This Weekend

By Donna M. Airoldi | April 17, 2015 7:37am | Updated on April 17, 2015 5:35pm
 True one-bedroom co-ops that start at $260,000 and don't go above $400,000.
True One-Bedrooms for Less Than $400,000
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NEW YORK CITY — This week some readers got into a debate about affordable neighborhoods in the comments sections on Facebook and in this article that maps where the average New Yorker can afford a studio apartment. But for buyers, why settle for a studio when there are one-bedrooms available for less than $400,000 — even in Manhattan?

Here are three with open houses this Sunday.

179 Ocean Parkway, Apt. 1B, Kensington
1 Bedroom/1 Bath
Co-op
Approximately 600 square feet
$260,000
Maintenance: $509 per month
Open House: Sunday, April 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lowdown: Even though this one-bedroom apartment is on the first floor, it is elevated from the ground and overlooks a pathway to the backyard and an ivy-covered fence. It’s also in the back, away from Ocean Parkway, so it’s quiet.

The seller renovated the space in 2008. In addition to updating the bath and kitchen — which includes a dishwasher and built-in microwave — he exposed the brick between the windows in the living room and added recessed lighting, said Alexander Mecum of DSA Realty. He also refinished the floors.

A washer and dryer are allowed pending board approval, Mecum noted. The hall and bedroom closets could be combined to make an extra-large walk-in space. The unit comes with a basement storage locker.

Common amenities are laundry in the basement, a bike room, and a landscaped courtyard with seating that’s popular with families in the building. The pet-friendly co-op recently completed roof work and re-pointing.

Location: The building is a short walk to Prospect Park. Newly opened nearby businesses include the Windsor Terrace Food Co-op and Asian/New American restaurant Hunger Pang. There’s even a “master LEGO builder” who offers classes in the neighborhood. A new middle school across from the food co-op opens this fall.

It’s a quarter mile to the Fort Hamilton Parkway station for the F/G trains and three quarters of one to the Church Avenue station for the B/Q. Along with the B35 and B103 buses at Church between Ocean Parkway and East Seventh Street are the last Brooklyn stops for the BM3 and BM4 express buses, which can reach downtown Manhattan in 15 minutes.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “[This apartment] is reasonably priced and in a good neighborhood that’s not that far out and close to transportation,” Mecum said. “[It’s large enough] for a small family, and your return on investment in five years will be phenomenal.”

57 Park Terrace West, Apt. 2G, Inwood
1 Bedroom/1 Bath
Co-op
Approximately 795 square feet
$300,000
Maintenance: $831 per month
Open House: Sunday, April 19, noon to 1:30 p.m.

Lowdown: Last week’s first open house for this Inwood space drew nearly three dozen people and included “single professionals, couples, retirees, people moving back to the city,” said Joy Bergmann of Stribling. “It’s a great place to be your first purchase or to be your last. You have the city and nature. You can breathe up here.”

The seller purchased the unit in 2008. It’s been freshly painted and the floors have been redone. The kitchen and bath ”could use some updating, but are in perfectly functioning condition,” Bergmann said.

Emphasizing the apartment’s generous layout, Bergmann called the space civilized.

“You don’t have to eat at a coffee table or put a dining table in the living room or foyer,” she noted. “It’s really nice to walk in and have an uncluttered sense of calm and have a proper place to eat, to put your books, to sleep, relax, have a home office.”

The unit is only one flight up, but there’s an elevator for those who don’t or can’t take the stairs. The windows look out onto trees.

The lobby retains its original ornamentation, which include two murals. The “beloved” live-in super has been there many years, Bergmann said. There are three washers and dryers on site.

Location: Inwood, at the northern tip of Manhattan, continues to gain in popularity. (Even a seal was seen enjoying itself near Inwood Hill Park this week.) It’s a nice stroll through Isham Park, one block away, to the popular independent Darling Coffee. A boot-camp style gym opened on Broadway at 207th Street in March.

Commuters taking the A train a few blocks away at 207th and Broadway “can always get a seat because that’s where the train starts,” Bergmann said. There’s also the 1 train at 215th Street and 10th Avenue.

Why put it on your open house calendar? For buyers looking for a green oasis in the city, it’s a good price for a large one-bedroom. And because of its layout, it’s one “that you can stay in for a long time to come,” Bergmann said. “People are not going to be ambivalent about living in Inwood. You’re either a fan or it’s just not for you.”

415 E. 80th St., Apt. 3B, Yorkville/Upper East Side
1 Bedroom/1 Bath
Co-op
Approximately 450 square feet
$399,000
Maintenance: $1,011 per month
Open House: Sunday, April 19, 1-2 p.m.

Lowdown: Prior owners renovated this petite one-bedroom in Yorkville, opening up the kitchen space. The current seller recently painted, which brings brightness into the room," said Diane Cane of Corcoran Group.

“This is the kind of apartment that will typically be for your first-time owner,” Cane said.

Some buyers might want to upgrade the kitchen — there’s not a dishwasher, but the refrigerator is “relatively new."  It’s also fine without doing anything, she said. “The wide sectional that demarcates the kitchen from the living room feels like you’re at a table rather than a counter.”

There’s also a small window above the stove not visible in the listing’s photos.

The living room faces south and gets “fantastic light.” The bathroom has not been updated since built in 1959, but it’s been well-maintained.

The small bedroom faces the north shaft, but it gets air, Cane noted. The ceilings are high at 9-feet-4-inches, “which makes the space look larger.”

The maintenance for this pet friendly building might seem high to some, but that’s because the co-op divided everyone’s shares “pretty evenly,” Cane said. “Everybody’s maintenance is the same, and it hasn’t been raised in approximately three years.”

Location: Situated between First and York avenues in the well-developed Upper East Side, conveniences like dry cleaners and grocery stores — the gourmet Agata & Valentina is around the corner — abound. Carl Schurz Park is about six blocks away. The building is one block from the 79th Street crosstown bus. The nearest subway is the 6 train at 77th Street and Lexington Avenue.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “It’s around the price of some studios” and you get a real separate bedroom “and a living room where you’re not looking at a bed all day,” Cane said.