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Open House Insider: 3 Townhouses with Rental Units to See This Weekend

By Emily Nonko | February 11, 2016 5:04pm | Updated on February 12, 2016 5:03pm
 Three multi-family properties in Brooklyn with rental apartments, all holding open houses. 
Open House Insider: 3 Townhouses with Rental Units to See This Weekend
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BROOKLYN — With high prices in the Brooklyn townhouse market, it can help when a property also brings in rental income. These three townhouses have been configured as multi-family homes with apartments to rent out. 

1544 Bergen St., Crown Heights
Three bedrooms/Two-and-a-half baths
Approximately 2,172 square feet
Townhouse
$875,000
Taxes: $647 a month
Open House: Sunday, Feb. 14, 1 to 2:00 p.m.

Lowdown: This townhouse is owned by a Brooklyn investor who is selling all his residential properties to start investing in commercial real estate.

The investor owns about 12 properties throughout the borough and purchased this one a few years ago, said Tahlia Fagan, a broker with RES New York.

He currently rents out two apartments in the townhouse: a one-bedroom unit on the first floor that comes with backyard access and a two-bedroom on the second floor. Tenants pay $1,800/month for the one-bedroom and $1,900/month for the two-bedroom.

The lease for both apartments is up this November, Fagan said.

The owner gut-renovated the entire townhouse within the year, adding new kitchens and bathrooms.

“Both tenants have kept the apartments in good condition,” she said.

For an investor who wanted to continue renting both units, there's an unfinished basement that could become a laundry or bike room for tenants, Fagan noted.

Or, a buyer could move into one apartment and continue renting out the other.

“It's for a buyer who isn't looking for something crazy big,” she said. “It's manageable.”

Location: While this area is generally referred to as Crown Heights, it is also known as Weeksville, a neighborhood founded in the area by African American freedmen. The property is two blocks from the Weeksville Heritage Center. Development is on there rise: there's a 90-unit rental under construction nearby.

The closest subways are the Utica Avenue A/C to the north and the Utica Avenue 3/4/5 to the south.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “It's rare that [something like] this is going for six digits," Fagan said. "It makes it attractive for investors and first-time home buyers.”

1051 Hancock St., Bushwick
Five bedrooms/Four baths
Approximately 3,400 square feet
Townhouse
$1.495 million
Taxes: $171 a month
Open House: Saturday, Feb. 13, 1 to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 14, 1 to 3:00 p.m.

Lowdown: After a gut renovation, this townhouse includes an upper floor owner's duplex, with a roof deck offering views of the Manhattan skyline, over a two-bedroom rental on the garden floor.

Bedford Brownstone Realty broker Nathan Pinsky estimated the rental could generate between $2,300 and $2,800 a month.

Pinsky said the developer's high-end renovation is an example of “how design has improved in investor houses [in Bushwick].” He recently sold a similarly-renovated property at 1333 Jefferson Ave. for $1.37 million.

The owner's duplex was designed as an open concept floor plan, he said, with white oak flooring that's been stained gray. In the living room, the same white oak decorates the 14-foot-tall ceilings.

“The space is clean and modern and hip,” said Pinsky.

The developer brightened the parlor floor by taking out the back wall near the kitchen and adding floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors that open to the patio leading to the backyard.

The townhouse was also outfitted as a “smart” home. From a built-in dock, the owner can control the thermostat, lighting, cameras, videos and speakers from their smartphone.

Location: The Halsey J train is one block away on Broadway. Salud Bar and Grill recently opened nearby on the corner of Moffat Street and Bushwick Avenue, while an organic market is now open at Hancock and Evergreen.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “The amenities that this home has — being a smart house, the roof deck, the high end finishes — it's a notch above,” said Pinsky.  

310 Lafayette Ave., Clinton Hill
Four Bedrooms/Four baths
Approximately 2,700 square feet
Townhouse
$3.25 million
Maintenance: $632 a month
Open House: Sunday, Feb. 14, 2 – 3 p.m.

Lowdown: When a developer purchased this landmarked townhouse it was a fixer-upper that needed two years worth of renovations into its current state as a three-family property.

Because the building is a landmark, the developers “kept as much of the original details as possible,” said Douglas Elliman broker Phyllis Alario. Inlaid wood floors, moldings and fireplaces were restored, while the kitchens, bathrooms, roof and mechanicals were all upgraded.

There's an owner's triplex on the lower floors with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There are two one-bedroom apartments on the floors above.

“They figured the buyer wouldn't want to climb up four flights of stairs,”  Alario said.

The owner's triplex comes with a private entrance and private access to the backyard, designed as a zen garden.

Alario expects that a buyer could rent out the top two apartments for $3,350/month each, or the lower triplex for as much as $7,500 a month.

The developers included separate meters and washer/dryers for each unit.

Though Alario said there's a contract out for the property, she still wanted to hold an open house in case the deal fell through.

Location: The townhouse is located right between two G train stops at Clinton-Washington Avenues and Classon Avenue. Classon and Franklin avenues are both main drags of the area, which is anchored by the Pratt University campus. Dough, a popular cafe and doughnut shop, is on the corner.

Why put it on your open house calendar? "It has a lot of history,” said Alario, of the landmarked home. But it's already been updated, she added.