House of the Day: 476 Washington Avenue
This house at 476 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill has been boarded up as long as we’ve been in the neighborhood. Based upon the transaction history on Property Shark, we’d guess that this place has been the victim of mortgage shenanigans. The deed changed hands for the absurdly low price of $445,000 in October 2004;…
This house at 476 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill has been boarded up as long as we’ve been in the neighborhood. Based upon the transaction history on Property Shark, we’d guess that this place has been the victim of mortgage shenanigans. The deed changed hands for the absurdly low price of $445,000 in October 2004; that same month the owner took a mortgage of $910,000 and proceeded to put exactly zero dollars into fixing it up. There’s a new(ish) For Sale sign on the facade directing interested parties to call someone named Danielle at Brooklyn Heights Real Estate at 917-501-5700; there’s nothing on the brokerage firm’s website though. The price, we found out, is $1.2 million and there’s nothing salvageable on the inside. Total gut job. GMAP P*Shark
I had an accepted offer for this house for $550,000 in early 2005 but backed out of the contract when Landmarks told me they wanted it restored to what it looked like in its tax photo (which is absolutely charmless). They also made it clear that they would not let me extend the building to its full lot width (it’s built 22 feet wide on a 25 foot wide lot, with one detached side that has no windows and is only useful to someone with a very narrow car).
It’s a shame that it has been left to rot, but no one is going to buy it anywhere near its asking price with the amount of work it needs. Assuming it is worth $1,400,000 completed and it needs $500,000 worth of work, I don’t see it selling for any higher than $900,000. At that price, it will sell only to a user who loves frame houses and enjoys the “Chinese water torture” of dealing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
This has been owned by the guy who runs Crown Construction. Not sure what the story is now. Lame if he tore off the roof to get landmarks to cave on letting him tear it down. Hope that’s not true. Is the roof still off? Can’t the city do emergency repairs?
That makes sense why the roof got torn off if it was landmarked. Then they can eventually condemn the building so they can tear it down. SLIME.
Also the 910K was probably used to buy more places that are sitting vacant somewhere. This building was just being used to get more capital.
I looked at this house in ’04 also. Total gut job (nothing was salvagable), but the location is superb at Washington and Gates. I wondered whether the facade had to be preserved because the block is landmarked. Even if that were true, the building is large and a wonderful modern dwelling could be built behind a traditional facade. The backyard was small as I recall. At $1.2 million it makes no sense for a noncommercial buyer. The hassle, time, and major money required wouldn’t be worth it. Maybe a developer could do something with it if permitted to build higher
My g/f lives right nearby and the place was orig bought to separate into sellable condo units. Years later the owner, then, tore off roof and the place has been rotting ever since. It houses racoons, rats and homeless, not to mention a local junkyard. Piece of S**t.
Brooklyn Heights Real Estate doesn’t co-broke, so the owners are surely paying a very low commission. Taking that into consideration, low-ball offers are more likely to be taken seriously…
The listing agent is Danielle Mousse…beware the French.
There may not have been mortgage shenanigans on this one. It is a 25×100 ft lot with a 3,694 sq ft structure on it. The previous owner may have purchased and obtained a rehab loan but for whatever reason didn’t move forward with the rehab. In fact, he may not have even received the money as the bank may have only released it based on completion of work.
When we were looking in 04, we saw this place. It was vile inside. Total teardown.
It was listed at 335K negotiable at the time though.
What’s under the siding?