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13 comments:
And for those people who were sceptical about the prices of houses here fitting into this price range in earlier comments, this article demonstrates that there are houses in our neighborhood in the $650-700K price range. And they are nice too.
In Windsor Terrace, they found several one-family homes split awkwardly into two- or three-families. Most needed extensive renovations.
Mr. Weintraub was disturbed by some of the descriptions of apartments, especially when it came to the homes with owners’ duplexes, he said. “When I hear that, I expect to see a three-story house with the third floor being a rental space,” he said. Instead, the main unit would be the ground floor with a finished basement.
This is really true. A lot of the houses in our neighborhood that are legally one or two family homes are used illegally as 3, 4 or 5 (maybe even 6) families. The problem with that is that the sellers price them as if you are going to rent them out like that which makes them less affordable. Plus its expensive to reconfigure them for legal use.
anon 10:46 - You can get houses in that price range but they will almost certainly need extensive renovations which is exactly what the article said.
I think the article said that the one they bought needed work in the sense that it wasn't decorated to their liking. It was owned by a Hasidic family, was a single family home and did not need the kind of extensive renovation associated with turning it back into one house (removing kitchens, bathrooms, walls, etc.).
WT is more expensive than Kensington and I believed they saw more of the divided homes there. But for all this, the prices weren't sky-high as some on this blog have tried to suggest.
as i recall the debate wasn't "are there houses for less than $1M in kensington" but "do houses in kensington cost much more than the new construction condos"? and the answer is yes, they do.
Funny, because I have a friend who lives in that Ocean Pkway building where maintenance is very high(1k for 2 bedroom) and I remember her landlord offering to sell her her current 1 bdrm rental for 100k in '03 bu the maintenance was $800! She still rents a 1 bedroom there with her kid and boyfriend for $1200/per month..
Caton Towers maint. is way out of line for local co-ops and I think it's b/c of the A/C. They may also have a 24 hour doorman. Regardless, in comparision most maint in this neck of the woods is in the $400-500 range depending on full time or part time super.
Anon 1.04--you are right on the debate but I'd say you are wrong on the pricing, at least in imho.
A one bedroom new condo is proportionally far more expensive at $450K-$500k than a 5 br Victorian house at $675K (especially when you factor in that the home owner also owns the entire plot of land).
Of course it depends on your needs, family situation etc., and there are maintenance costs to a house a co-op and condo owner likely won't incur, but I'd go for the house any time. (Also homeowners are less likely to deal with the noise of neighbors or have to make communal decisions, for good or bad).
But as these houses are relatively cheaper, they're getting knocked down to build condos where the law and zoning allows (which I think was what the argument was about).
1:04 here - two things here, 1:24:
1) with the exception of park circle, your pricing is off: new condos are going for something like $450 or $500 k or less a two-bedroom. and there aren't any 5 bedroom victorians for $675k that don't need lots of work. there are some houses that are going for that, but they're certainlly not victorians, unless you're defining victorians as "house".
2) for arguments sake say that both kinds of housing are equal - there's no reason to think that buyers who have the ability to buy a $500k condo have the ability to pay for a one that costs an additional $150k or more. that's the crux of it. if you want to compare apples to apples, comapre the new condos to the existing coops in the neighborhood.
I agree with your point about the extra $150K, 1.33. But the condos/co-ops are that expensive (a good friend recently relocated to Minnesota after looking into them and having me go with her as I live in the area, so I know what kind of prices were attached to the one bedrooms).
I may call a house Victorian because of its period (it was built anywhere from 1840s to 1901) not architecture and that includes the frame type houses that the people in the NYT looked at. I also mean pre-Depression construction as opposed to new Fedders-style town homes (none in our area, to my knowledge). I don't just mean house.
But my point is that the new construction is overpriced in relation to the older homes that are being flattened. And my point about the land price is irrefutable here.
I know from experience that what's open at the bottom of the market (1 br and studio co-ops) is disproportionally more costly for what you get than the slightly pricier but still way out of reach 2 br or bigger apt. Same for the 1-2 br co-op vs. house issue. But my points all along have referred to the developer or person with deeper pockets who are flattening houses to build these new apts purely for cash. I'm not saying the houses should cost more, just that the new construction is way overpriced.
And compare the costs too of a new one br vs a one br in one of the older buildings and my point stands there too.
anon 12:15:
If there was a compromise, it was the condition. But the Weintraubs figure they can fix things over time.
At night, they were awakened by a steady pounding. It took awhile to realize it was a rattling pipe. “There is no super to call and no way to gauge the seriousness of the problem,” Mr. Weintraub said. “Is it something we have to deal with in a year or tomorrow morning?
That doesn't sound like cosmetic renovations to me LOL. Maybe i am biased but 3 years ago when i was house hunting in our neighborhood the only time i saw renovated houses was when it was being sold by a flipper. Everything else were houses that had not been renovated in at least 50 years, which means they need all new mechanicals not just cosmetics. Which is basically one of the most expensive parts of a renovation b/c plumbers and electricians are seriously pricey.
WT is more expensive than Kensington and I believed they saw more of the divided homes there.
Yeah but this fact is also true of our neighborhood. Currently almost every house on my block (of all legal 1 and 2 family houses) has at least one illegal unit if not more. One neighbor converted his two story brick attached house into an illegal 4 family. I swear there is a family of 5 people live in an apartment that's about 500 square feet (a small one bedroom). Its very disturbing to me.
Hi, I am the owner of the house in the article, and just to clarify - the house was move-in condition with new boiler, hot water heater, and updated electrical. Three new bathrooms and a functional (but not ideal) kitchen. The work we mentioned includes - redoing the kitchen, adding a deck and sod to the backyard, finishing the basement, and little bits of this and that.
So, yes you can buy a house in Kensington for under 700K - we found this one on Craig's list, and even saw others we liked (in but in School Dist 20) by going up and down the blocks to see what was for sale. Avoid the big name RE brokers at all costs (unless you are selling) as their main goal is to make as much money off of you as possible. The broker in our sale took 2% (as opposed to the standard 6%) of the sale price.
Also note, we paid 10% under the asking price...there is often room for negotiation. We also were flexible on the price we took for our 2 BR co-op in Caton Towers (which is a full-service building with central A/C, 24 hour doorman and porter service - union employees, and a great reputation).
Thanks for your comments--that was my sense/gut and I'm really pleased it was the case. I hope you are enjoying your house--I enjoyed reading your story in the Times!
mazel tov on the house. mind telling us what the cross streets are?
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