Paddle Time: 404 Stuyvesant to Hit Auction Block
All of Stuyvesant Heights is aflutter over the latest beauty to hit the market - 404 Stuyvesant Avenue. (Check out the full page photo on p. 252 of Bricks and Brownstone.) According to an email we received from a reader, the current owner, who lives on Long Island, inherited the place a few years ago…
All of Stuyvesant Heights is aflutter over the latest beauty to hit the market - 404 Stuyvesant Avenue. (Check out the full page photo on p. 252 of Bricks and Brownstone.) According to an email we received from a reader, the current owner, who lives on Long Island, inherited the place a few years ago from the old lady who’d lived there for years. He’s been collecting the modest rental income for a while but recently decided he wanted to sell. We hear that the guy’s already been offered as high as $1.5 million for the place but thinks he can do better. So who’d he go with? Corcoran? A local broker? No way. He’s going for a balls-to-the-wall no-minimum auction. It’ll be interesting to see if he’s right. In the meantime, he should make sure his auctioneers know the difference between Brooklyn Heights and Stuyvesant Heights!
Limestone Mansion [Absolute Auctions & Realty] GMAP P*Shark
Today’s auction, though unsuccessful, was a spectacle. It seemed as if everyone on the house hunt showed up. Some to bid. Most to see what the home would sell for. I’d estimate that there were upwards of 60 people in attendance. Less than a dozen seemed to be registered bidders. The auctioneer attempted to get the bidding started at 2mil. Of course no one jumped until he got down to 600k. Within seconds it was up to 900k and then quickly went to 1.5 mil. At that point there were two or three bidders left. The bid got up to 1.2 mil and that where things ended. AAR urged the bidders to dig deep or prepare to go home, “This house will not sell today at this price.” And, after a few more rounds with no bitese they called it quits and returned the checks. Done.
The owners seemed upset but confident that they’d made the right choice in not letting the house go for less than the price they had in mind (1.4-1.5 mil.) Can’t blame them. What a spectacular home. What the auction said today is that 1.2 mil is where the market tops off. Anything beyond that will take a special buyer. If the sellers are willing to wait that buyer is probably out there and I would agree that the auction format is unlikely to yield such a buyer. KPH – good luck to you and your family. This site owes its success to people’s passion for history.
The danger of the internet is misinformation.let me clear up a few issues for you. All of you so-called experts are more like old ladies gossiping over the fence. This property was owned by the architect that built the rest of the homes on the block. everything here is way over and above builder standard, undivided still in the original floor plan from 70 years ago, with real oak wood trim and the servants quarters on the first floor.This is an actual mansion! Many of you wouldn’t even be willing to invest the cost of restoring that ugly mustard/multi colored ORIGINAL paint job. The woodwork detailing and wainscoating is not even seen in homes under 7 figures anymore.Check with your architectural digests and experts. And we are sick to sell it,at any price. It’s been in my fam for 70 years,purchased from the original builder/owner. my brother and his wife bailed me out in ’98 so I wouldn’t lose it to medical bills and the mortgage company.You should do research b4 you spread misinformation or accuse people of fraudulent stories. My story is the real one,not gossip! I don’t blog behind acronyms and code names.There is a plaque in the park dedicated to the owner of this house, my grandmother Albertha T. Matthews.She was instrumental in getting the entire area designated as landmark status/historical district. You need to understand the history of the property. It’s deeply tied to this community.All you are able to see, is black people and not so nice areas 2 or 3 blocks away, in either direction.This property is unique in design and stature. I challenge you to find ten more in all five boros with the same combo of elements,style, history and original ownership.True collectors dig deep to find what others don’t know to find what is special and unique about the things they are passionate about.I guess that doesn’t apply to your little coffee klatch.Money talks and well…we must be at the marathon.
good evening..I find some of these comments very interesting. I’ve spoken to the owner as well, and the property was purchased, not inherited. The auction route is risky, but it only takes one buyer with deep pockets and a love for the property to make it a smart course of action. As many have said, a property like this doesnt come up for sale very often, and believe me, the decision to sell was a very difficult one for the owner. He expressed regret in letting it out of his family, but also recognizes that living in Brooklyn is not his way of life. So better that a true lover of Brooklyn get an opportunity to own such a grand property. Only time will tell if its the right thing to do..(and with regard to the comments about advertising..it’s been advertised in the NY Times (auction and real estate sections), The Wall street Journal, and USA Today..I think they covered their bases pretty well)…
Sale History & Tax Info
Sale History & Tax Info Sale History
12/16/1999: $258,000
No other sale data is available
2006 Property Tax $1,597
Total assessed value: = $21,565
Assessed value bldgs: $20,754
Assessed value land: + $811
See above sale history for the propery from zillow.com The property appears to change hands in 1999 for 258k. Sorry for the mistake made earlier, I was trying to recall it from memory.
404 stuyvesant was listed as changing hands in 1998 for 246k. The website was ziillow.com. The story about the house being inherited may be false.
the year it was erected 1879 dnt know the builders
Does anyone know anything more about the architect who built this building? It’s beautiful.
$500k rehab?!??! Are you nuts? If a house has beautiful intact historic details, new systems, etc, and you say $500k for kit and baths? A fool.
2:35 I can agree with that as a new residentto Bed Stuy I find myself having to go to Fort Greene to eat breakfast and Williamsburg for Thai or other ethnic eateries. Sometimes people want more to eat than soul food, chinese food or awful pizza that Bed Stuy offers. I too have concerns about the school system of Bed Stuy this is made apparent at 3 pm everyday.If and when I have children and this situation continues to persist I will have to send my kids to private school, continue to drive to other areas to see some more diversity. Sorry if you feel were being attacked