BROOKLYN — Finding a townhouse for less than $1 million has become increasingly difficult in Brooklyn’s “hot” neighborhoods, according to a recent DNAinfo Apartmentality column. But it’s not too late, yet.
Here are three homes with six-figure listings — and all have been renovated. They may not be in “prime” areas, but based on gentrification’s march east, it’s just a matter of time.
1578 Saint Marks Ave., Ocean Hill
Two-family Townhouse
6 Bedrooms/2.5 Baths
Approximately 3,000 square feet
$729,000
Real Estate Taxes: $1,300 per year
Open House: Sunday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lowdown: This two-story 1899 brick home with a bay front was recently gut renovated by investors. Each floor is a three-bedroom, one-bath apartment, plus the 1,000-square-foot basement has a half bath and laundry area, said Michael Feldman of Bedford Brownstone Realty.
The apartments have new wood floors, stainless steel appliances and new windows. Investors put in separate boilers for each space, so it would be easy to rent them out and “not have to worry about how to split the heating bills.”
The investors are willing to remove the wall between the two bedrooms on the lower level in order to give the space more light, Feldman said, adding that they’ll also finish the yard. “Some want dirt, some want half concrete; we’ll do the yard to the buyer’s specific taste.”
Feldman said the building qualifies for an FHA loan. “Someone could buy this home with less than $30,000, and we could get them financing,” he said. “They would just have to move into one of the apartments.”
Location: The townhouse is located in a part of Ocean Hill, a neighborhood overlapping Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, and is also just a few blocks east of Crown Heights. It’s less than a mile to the Broadway Junction transit hub with A, C, J, L and Z subway lines, as well as the East New York stop on the Long Island Rail Road. Buses run along Saratoga Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland St., between which the townhouse is situated.
While it doesn’t yet have the same number of services and new restaurants and bars as can be found around the prime areas of Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, developers have been busy in this area few years now, and market prices have been increasing, Feldman said.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “One, it’s brick. Two, it’s larger than most other townhouses. Three, it’s renovated and the price is unbelievable,” Feldman said. “You can move in for less than $30,000.”
415 Wilson Ave., Bushwick
Two-family Townhouse
4 Bedrooms/3 Baths
Approximately 2,362 square feet
$850,000
Real Estate Taxes: $1,733 per year
Open House: Sunday, Feb. 15, noon to 1 p.m.
Lowdown: The seller of this Bushwick home updated the electrics and roof a few years ago, making this a “nice opportunity for a buyer to get in under the $1 million mark and put their touch on it, but they don’t need to do a full gut renovation,” said Brooke Safford of Corcoran Group.
The top floor is a two-bedroom apartment with a den. The second floor one-bedroom has a tenant through July 31, 2015. Overall, the home has a “nice, cozy feel” and character, with big windows, high ceilings and a few moldings, Safford said.
Though technically a two-family home, the lower level has a private entrance, bath and kitchen, as well as storage and laundry. There’s no central heat or air conditioning.
The lower level “could use some work,” Safford admitted. The owners used it for storage and as an office space. “A lot could be done with it. You could duplex the bottom levels and create a nice apartment there with the backyard, bedrooms downstairs and an open living room upstairs.”
Location: “It’s hard to buy anything in Bushwick’s prime area, near the Morgan, Jefferson or Dekalb L train stations, so the next stop is Myrtle-Wyckoff, which has both the L and M lines, said Safford, who recently bought a home in the neighborhood. The townhouse is two blocks from the station.
In addition, buses run along Wilson as well as Gates Avenue, two blocks away. One avenue over at Knickerbocker is the Bushwick playground. Cafés are starting to open up in the area, including many that prefer to not use signage.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “The location is really getting hot. There are a lot of buyers [in the area] because the train service is good,” Safford said. “In addition, you’re seeing cafes and [other businesses] open, and buying in at this price point is a really good opportunity.”
563a Quincy St., Stuyvesant Heights
Single-family Townhouse
3 Bedrooms/3 Baths
Approximately 1,863 square feet
$999,000
Real Estate Taxes: $1,317.46 per year
Open House: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2-3 p.m.
Lowdown: Original details in this late 1890s home include four fireplace mantels, the banister, entryway door and crown moldings, said Ban Leow of Halstead Property.
Sellers purchased it a few years ago from an investor who had already renovated it. The stoop level can be converted into an apartment, with a change of occupancy, Leow said. It has its own entrance, den, living room and “summer” kitchen. The upper two-floor duplex includes a large kitchen area that looks to have been combined with a former separate dining room.
The sizable yard is “nicely done with a small deck.” There’s laundry in the cellar, which is not finished.
“Very little work needs to be done. It’s in very good condition, and appeals to a lot of people in the $800,000 to $1 million range who can buy it and move right in and not spend money and time doing renovations while paying the mortgage," Leow said.
Location: Situated between Lewis Street and Marcus Garvey Boulevard, the building is about three-quarters of a mile from the Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. and Calvert Vaux-designed Herbert Von King Park, which is “popular with dog lovers and joggers,” has a playground and in summer hosts concerts in the park’s amphitheatre. Just three blocks away is the smaller Raymond Bush Playground. Several nearby bars and restaurants, including the Khemistry Bar gastropub, have opened in recent months.
The Gates Avenue station for the J and Z trains is about four-fifths of a mile away. The Kosciuszko Station, with just the J train, is nominally closer.
Why put it on your open house calendar? “In this market, it’s very affordable for this kind of property in a good location that needs very little work,” Leow said. “You could get the fireplaces working or upgrade the kitchen, but you don’t have to.”
