1315 Jefferson Avenue is not much to look at, but man is this a good deal. A mere two short-blocks to recently renovated Irving Square Park, on a tree-lined if architecturally-lacking block, the peccadilloes of this huge house are eclipsed by its virtues. Inside is everything from exposed brick to groovy paneling to country-looking cabinets. It’s a mish-mosh, but everything looks to be in good shape. A sharp owner would live in the garden-level one-bedroom while raking in the rent from the top floors — I think you might almost live free.
1315 Jefferson Avenue | $475,000
2565sqft | 19ft-wide | 3-family, 7br/3ba | frame
Halsey L
Armstrong September 10th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I know you have a soft spot for the area around Irving Square, but I have to disagree. The park itself (nicely renovated recently I will say) is surrounded by inconsistent architecture. The area also seems off the beaten path for any sort of retail.
I’ve been helping a friend who lives on Wilson who recently had surgery, so I’ve spending more time in the area, coming back and forth at all hours; and in my opinion: the area won’t be gentrifying or radically improving in the next ten years. Getting a bit cleaned up? Maybe.
Riding just a block or two past the park on Wilson, one is greeted with abandoned buildings and groups of rambunctious teens, among other signs of dereliction. I was leery on my bicycle in the daytime.
I’ve been in the hood since 2000 so I’ve seen some things in my day. I just don’t see this area changing for the better nearly as dramatically as the area around the Jefferson, Morgan, Dekalb, or Myrtle L stops.
So shoot me.
mopar September 11th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Armstrong, I have to agree. As for the question of a “good deal,” selling prices have dropped significantly in the last year. You’d be surprised what places are going for now.
Jimmy Legs September 12th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
i don’t know if anyone can look at a given spot and claim with any certainty that it definitely will or won’t be all gussied up in no time. certainly the area on this end of the neighborhood doesn’t exactly sell itself, with its aluminum siding and those darned ‘rambunctious teens’ that always seem to exist only in bad neighborhoods.
but i lived in clinton hill in 2001 and even then it seemed like a wonderfully preseved brownstone neighborhood. then i talked to some longtime residents only to have them point out that every house on the block had literally been a burned-out shell not 5 years before. sure, when these houses were fixed up they were awesome brownstones but it’s a good lesson that seeing rundown buildings doesn’t necessarily mean anything for a neighborhood’s future. however, the presence of fedders building does portend lowered expectations :)
Jeremy Sapienza September 12th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Thing is, if you want a 2-3 family house, you pretty much have to look south of Myrtle, as there simply are not that many smaller properties on the north side. In that case, is it not better to be near a renovated park? I mean, oh no, rambunctious teens! Someone might think it’s in Bushwick! Please.
ricmac01 September 12th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Yes!Yes!Yes! J Crew Market Alert:
Vintage Tee embossed as follows-
Rambunctious Teens
Hep Of PooP
Bushwick USA
$52 please and thank you!
(I didn’t get much sleep last night)
Armstrong September 13th, 2008 at 1:34 am
My hat’s off to anyone who tries to improve their homes and hoods, I mean that. I do think with the financial system in the shape it’s in however, we’re going to be seeing fire-sale prices in all parts of Brooklyn by year’s end, including the glut of condos coming on the market in Williamsburg. Hope I’m wrong…
I have been before after all. I just don’t think this is a good time to be buying in that area in particular, at any price.
Capital is leaving the system—vanishing into a black hole, and will bring home prices down.. way down. I’d take a wait-see approach to buying for the next 6 months..
Take your gentrifying dollars and rent a place by Starr and Knickerbocker in the meantime!
mopar September 16th, 2008 at 11:03 am
We are seeing fire sale prices now in Bushwick. I think it’s a fantastic time to buy. Problem is the quality of the housing stock is beyond terrible. These weren’t fancy houses to start with, the outsides are missing their original detail, and the insides are worse — not just detail missing but walls, plumbing, ventilation, air shafts, you name it, it’s been destroyed. Anyone who feels comfortable buying at Wilson, there’s a gorgeous 1910 place with every detail including all the original light fixtures in perfect condition through Weichert. (I am not a real estate agent, nothing to do with real estate, nothing to do with Weichert.)