What's Sterling Place @ Franklin like?

thats over price for the hood.

Subject: Re: What's Sterling Place @ Franklin like?

realtor guy wrote: this side of prospect hts has come a long way in 7 years and will only get better.

Spoken like a true realtor...

Don't you mean "this side of Crown Heights?" Sterling and Franklin as PH? C'mon...

Carnivore wrote: No attack on Realtor Guy intended. Not only does he seem clearly invested in the community, but he's been a real positive contributor to this board. I just thought it was kind of funny that he offhandedly referred to that location as Prospect Heights, because I've never heard anyone say that besides a realtor.

Oh, I didn't take what you said as an attack on him. I should have pointed out that what I was saying was more directed towards "Guest."

Subject: Re: What's Sterling Place @ Franklin like?

doctorj wrote: [quote=nyflicka]Hey
We live & own a coop on St Marks Ave & Carlton and are looking at a brownstone on Sterling and Franklin. The neighborhood definitely changes once you get past Wash Ave but what do people think of that nabe now...in the future?

Hej 'ny flicka', var det det här ?
http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=794802
It looks really nice, and I think it's one of the better blocks. Down near the S is where it's most sketchy. Asking price looks too high as usual.
http://www.zillow.com/search/Search.z?expand=false&mode=comps&zpid=30592392

price seems high, but I'd take into account relative quality of the property. if it's been well cared for and is in very good condition, I'd say it's worth it. a lot of those properties are in the just-under-$600k range. but if the property you're looking at is in decent condition, I'd consider it a good investment. PH, at least, is at the well over $1M mark for brownstones. at the rate of gentrification, that price isn't terrible, especially if you don't have to redo the floors or renovate the kitchen.

Jack Krohn wrote: "No attack on Realtor Guy intended. Not only does he seem clearly invested in the community, but he's been a real positive contributor to this board. I just thought it was kind of funny that he offhandedly referred to that location as Prospect Heights, because I've never heard anyone say that besides a realtor."

I'm not a realtor and I've always considered the border of PH and CH to be Franklin Avenue.

Washington Ave is the border. Some people stretch it to Classon, maybe, but Franklin is ludicrous.

The previous post was mine. I failed to log in.

Jack Krohn wrote: We'll have to disagree on this one, Carnivore. To me, the border is and always will be Franklin Avenue.

In which case we're all in agreement that this property is in Crown Heights, as it's about halfway between Franklin and Bedford. Slightly closer to Bedford in fact.

Subject: Re: What's Sterling Place @ Franklin like?

alafairnadia wrote:
price seems high, but I'd take into account relative quality of the property. if it's been well cared for and is in very good condition, I'd say it's worth it. a lot of those properties are in the just-under-$600k range. but if the property you're looking at is in decent condition, I'd consider it a good investment. PH, at least, is at the well over $1M mark for brownstones. at the rate of gentrification, that price isn't terrible, especially if you don't have to redo the floors or renovate the kitchen.

At 2466 sqft, at the going rate of up to around $250/sqft, you're looking at about 616K unimproved. Then the question is, have the owners put 282K of improvements into it, raising the value 46% to a new record for Crown Heights? That's a question you could put to the owner via the realtor -- how much have they spent? My rule of thumb with Corcoran in particular is that multiplying their numbers by 0.8 gets you closer to the mark, or 719K here.

In terms of investment, I do think a brownstone between Franklin and Beford is a smart play -- it has everything going for it in the longer term. But, I would not choose Sterling; I like St Johns a lot more and Park Place looks better too. Sterling is noisier, has hardly any trees, is not 100% residential, and the facades aren't as grand. As it happens, a property almost over the back fence of 686 Sterling has a for sale sign on it, so it'd be worth checking that out for comparison. Buying a place at a record price for the area, that's already maximally renovated, in a market with rising interest rates and flat or falling prices could mean a long wait for further appreciation, especially if the economy takes a turn for the worse stalling gentrification for a while. If it had a separate rental unit, that would provide stable and slowly rising income in less ebullient times, and give an extra safety margin.

Probably worth trying to find out who your neighbours would be and having a chat to them too.

But for a home, rather than an investment, I think what counts is the psychology; if you love the place and it still feels good after wandering the surrounding blocks at all times of day and night, then it's right for you.

(held og lykke med det. jeg er ren amatoer, men jeg droemmer ogsaa om at opgradere fra min lejlighed til saadan en i omraadet en dag. haaber det hjaelper)

apollonia666 wrote: Hey, to be fair, Realtor Guy may indeed talk like a realtor (unsurprising since he IS one), he's also been in the neighborhood himself for a long time and from everything he's posted here seems pretty invested in the area and the community. Yeah, it's definitely Crown Heights and NOT Prospect Heights, but it sounds like it probably would be a good place to buy as long as it really is on or close to Franklin and not too far down one of the side blocks.

As to whether it's overpriced, I don't feel like I know enough about real estate to venture an opinion.

Well played,
It's so nice having a MOD that actually lives in the hood that they moderate over.

Carnivore for next PH MOD!!! 8)

Subject: once again....

realtor guy wrote: now, since i've been working primarily in Bed/Stuy, Prospect and Crown Hts. for the past 7½ years, i've found that the PH/CH border has moved from washington to classon and a few years ago to bedford. but we're all still trying to figure it out...

figure what out? Bedford? what a joke.....I'll give you realtors classon(stretching), but come on...do you know anything about this neighborhood's history? Do you know what Crow Hill is/was?

Subject: Re: What's Sterling Place @ Franklin like?

nyflicka wrote: The neighborhood definitely changes once you get past Wash Ave but what do people think of that nabe now...in the future?

It changes so much that a person walking home in the evening can be mistaken for a punching bag.
No future for that hood

Subject: Re: What's Sterling Place @ Franklin like?

greg wrote: [quote=Anonymous][quote=nyflicka]The neighborhood definitely changes once you get past Wash Ave but what do people think of that nabe now...in the future?

It changes so much that a person walking home in the evening can be mistaken for a punching bag.
No future for that hood

Dude, maybe you DO look like a punching bag!

As for myself, I've been walking home since 2002 and working in North Crown Heights a lot longer than that, and so far, knock on wood, no punches.

On the other hand, let's not forget where Amy Watkins was walking.

Dude was outlawed from this website a while back.
As for looking like a punching bag, I was refering to what many of you stylin beauties look like with your pj bottoms walking your k-9, or with your ipods and sunglasses draggin your feet to work every morning. The natives like their targets moving and standing still. I like to read about your encounters as you aimlessly walk the streets in the dawn assuming it's ok

Frank Lynn Ave wrote: This morning i was walking the dog on sterling between classon and franklin, and was stopped buy a guy. he got angry for at me for "not getting out of his way". I was walking the dog along the curb like good dog owners do. he then told me that it was his block and i better stay off it, oh and to "tell my friends". that's the first time anyone's given me any trouble there though.

next time ask him for his pee stain proof that it is his :pblock.