January 4, 2008

Co-op of the Day: 80 Winthrop Street

You don't see a lot of apartments these days for under $200,000, which is why this studio at 80 Winthrop Street in Prospect Lefferts Gardens caught our eye. The 500-square-foot space has some prewar charm and a new kitchen which won't be in Architectural Digest anytime soon but look perfectly nice for the asking price of $113,295. So waddya think? Is $225 a foot a deal in this location? BTW, there's an open house on Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m.
80 Winthrop Street [Brooklyn Heights RE] GMAP P*Shark

Not bad at all. Not great neighborhood, but for 113K you won't find much else in Brooklyn this close to Manhattan.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:14 PM

Actually a pretty usable studio layout. And if you put 20% down, your mortgage payments would be about $600 a month. I guess a studio in that area would rent for a little more. plus you'd get some tax benefits and equity.

Problem is, you'd have to live there for 3 or 4 years, minimum, to ensure a little profit, because A) the RE market is pretty unsettled, probably trending down until the 08 election; B) That part of town is still a fringe area C)You'll need to cover closing costs as a seller.

It can get mighty cramped in a studio, and 4 years might seem more like a prison sentence...

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:15 PM

1:15 Aren't you forgetting the monthly maintenance of $384.31? Assuming a cost of capital of 7%, your annual outgoings before tax deductions are $12,542.37 per year. And $1,000 per month for a studio in this area seems crazy.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:20 PM

This is SO interesting, because a few months ago on the thread about the new condo development in the old hospital right near this location on the park was according to folks from Prospect Park South and Midwood, their neighborhood, not Prospect Lefferts Gardens. But now this studio is in PLG according to the broker and to Brownstoner himself. So it seems the new condo is in PLG according to the way the brokers are drawing the lines. Which is as we all know, what it's all about in Brooklyn. Not where lines are historically but where buyers and realtors draw neighborhood lines.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:22 PM

Gee, a mere $200,000 to die of a knife or gunshot wound. Sounds like a great idea.

I have it on good authority that if you throw in another $50K they'll include a couple of hours of torture before finishing you off.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:25 PM

ya, just a little interest. You should explain more the cost the reater have to pay. Should add the tax, etc or how many pecents is the price going after one year???

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:27 PM

They'd have to pay ME to live in this miserable building in this dreadful neighborhood. What a joke!

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:30 PM

I have a studio in Clinton Hill and thought for a split second about looking into this place as a much cheaper, possibly all cash deal.... but nah. The apartment looks very nice, but small. Great kitchen for a studio.

Posted by: BrooklynZoo at January 4, 2008 1:47 PM

You people really need to get over it. You talk about neighborhoods without knowing the first thing about them.

I live a block away from this place and have not experianced any potential for violence. In fact I've found my neighbors to be much more pleasant and helpful than my old neighbors in Carroll Gardens.

Granted, I think this studio is a bit high priced considering some other options in the area - there are 1 bedrooms a few blocks away going for the same price and lower maintenance.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:57 PM

1:22, this house is in PLG, on the West side of flatbush. The old hospital is across flatbush near prospect park, on parkside avenue. Ocean and parkside is the corner of PLG.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 1:58 PM

How nice to witness an exciting, historic, win for Obama in Iowa last night, then see a redneck like 1:25 posting his paranoid hatred here. Go back to Mississippi, loser.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:04 PM

Hi 1:57. Nice to see that brokers still hang out here. Lol.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:43 PM

Ummm, 2:04, if I'm not mistaken Obama lives in DC. Granted, he probably also has a home in his home state of Illinois, but I haven't heard anything about his buying home in Brooklyn, let alone in a crummy nabe like PLG.

A tip: THINK first, THEN post.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:45 PM

Right 2:04pm...as though racism exists only in Mississippi and not in NYC. Open your eyes fer chrissakes.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 2:46 PM

I've been living in Prospect Park South (on the border of PLG) for close to 2 years now and I have never had any problems with anyone there. I agree with 1:57 about how friendly everyone in the neighborhood is. I'm sure you'll be kicking yourselves in a year or so. In the past year alone I have seen so many changes, it's amazing. But you know what? I hope everyone continues to think as stupidly as you do about PLG and Prospect Park South. That way NONE of you will move here. Everyone I know that has moved here loves it, and a lot of people I know want to live there. BTW $1000 a month is very close to the going rate of a studio apartment a block or so from the park.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 3:37 PM

Funny 2:43 PM

Like I said I LIVE there. If I was a broker I (which I could have been since I got my license, but realized I have a soul) I would most likely still be living in CG.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 3:37 PM

The results from www.rentometer.com are consistent with 3:37 p.m.'s post:

http://www.rentometer.com/rentometer/compare/?real_estate%5Bcountry%5D=US&real_estate%5Baddress%5D=80+winthrop+st.&real_estate%5Bcitystatezip%5D=brooklyn%2C+ny&real_estate%5Brent_amount%5D=1000&real_estate%5Bbeds%5D=0&real_estate%5Bbuilding_type%5D=50%2B&imageField.x=120&imageField.y=18

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 3:53 PM

"1:15 Aren't you forgetting the monthly maintenance of $384.31? Assuming a cost of capital of 7%, your annual outgoings before tax deductions are $12,542.37 per year"

and aren't you forgetting the tax deductions? why use before tax numbers to prop up your case?

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 4:19 PM

1:22,

Not THAT interesting. This block of Winthrop Street IS in PLG (and has been since the name was coined in 1968); the former Caledonia Hospital, on Parkside Ave.,a few blocks west of Ocean Ave., is not.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at January 4, 2008 4:21 PM

That place is closer to 420SF, FWIW.

Posted by: guest at January 4, 2008 5:01 PM

2:45 = Huckabee

Posted by: Rehab at January 5, 2008 2:08 AM

1:25 "Gee, a mere $200,000 to die of a knife or gunshot wound. Sounds like a great idea.

I have it on good authority that if you throw in another $50K they'll include a couple of hours of torture before finishing you off. "

Hey racist f*cker, the neighborhood doesn't suck as much as you do.

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 9:51 AM

The two responses attempting a retort to 2:04 are completely retarded.

2:04 was talking about Obama winning the Iowa caucuses (watch TV, you'll learn what that is, since you don't have a clue obviously) as a sign of change in this country in white's attitudes towards blacks. The fact that a black man has demonstrated he has a real shot at the white house. The state of Iowa, a very very white state, chose him over the other Democratic candidates.

Turns out Iowans are more progressive than many white Brooklynites. Seems the ranting about the ignorance and non-culture in the suburbs around here is completely unfounded.

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 10:54 AM

It's true, 3:37, people are happy in PPS and PLG and once they get in they don't leave. We've met many people who have been in PLG's LM for over 20 years. White and black both.

I've observed the various issues some people freak out about regarding certain neighborhoods, acts like a filter that lets in only people who share the same values. There's something very similar and sympatico among all our neighbors in PLG. Tolerant, liberal, artsy, good-humored.

The only reason one doesn't hear buzz about PPS constantly is the lovely houses there are so seldom for sale. It's not a bad thing. It means people love it there. But of course it takes logic to reason that one out! Which is in short supply around here.

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 11:06 AM

Very well said 11:06. The "filter" you write about [actually a sort of self-selection mechanism] keeps people like 1:25 out--a very good thing IMO.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at January 5, 2008 2:53 PM

I work in this neighborhood, and my professional experiences (I am a social worker)with the residents have been the very best of my life. Yet I must say that 2 blocks away I witnessed a murder by gunshot one summer afternoon last year, and I have been approached to buy crack while entering the MacDonald's on Parkside. That said, I'd be interested in buying atound here - something more pet friendly. Listen people, you have to participate to get the quality of neighborhood you want. And let's not expect granite countertops or pre-war amenities to provide us with an identity or prop up our self image.

Posted by: guest at January 5, 2008 3:42 PM

A few blocks makes a huge difference. There are blocks of Boerum Hill or Cobble Hill nobody would walk in at night. I get creeped walking the Gowanus blocks, many of them, even in daytime. If you're looking at a property in NYC, visit it at all times of day and night, and walk around to nearby blocks, make the walk to the subway that you'd walk every day. See how you feel. See if there's a noise issue. It's important to do that in any neighborhood you're buying in, simply because even just one block can be so different from another.

Posted by: guest at January 6, 2008 1:15 PM

I left this neighborhood and don't miss it at all..I lived on Hawthorne In a nice studion coop until crazy ass loud new neighbors took over. (By the way 200K is ridiculous for this location for a studio..You can get decent l BR for that price in certain locations) Yeah I don;t miss the pervert across the street from this building on Winthrop who flashed me or the noisy summertime street corners or the Flatbush crowds. I found it crowded and insane after livng there for 16 years I sold nd left out lving in peace. Friendly people where that is complete BS. These are my.02 everyone don't have to like it

Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 9:29 AM

Did the price drop for this place? The listing link says $113K.

$200K is high for this co-op, but $113K sounds pretty good to me. This is a decent block. Although not prime PLG, you could do a lot worse.

Posted by: guest at January 9, 2008 1:52 PM

I purchased shares on a one bedroom co-op at 80 Winthrop street a few years ago (I have since sold it for three times the price I paid, the previous share holder was in a hurry to sell now I know why). During the five years I lived there THE MONTHLY MAINTENANCE INCREASED EVERY YEAR BY AT LEAST $100 and some years more than that. The building it self is just lipstick and rouge everything LOOKS nice (there are a lot of problems here). While I lived there I encounter an army of mice and flying water bugs. Yes. I reached into the very nice linen closet one day and when I pulled my arm out there was a water bug sitting on it. I brushed it off with a scream and it landed on the nicely painted wall, crawled up it a bit and flew away. I reported it to the building maintainer and that was that. On another occasion while sleeping in my bed a mouse ran across my behind and jumped down on to the floor. I reported this to the building maintainer and that was that. The chocolate I received one Valentines day was eaten by the mice that somehow were able to get on top of my coffee table which has wrought iron legs. There where several shooting on the block that first summer I lived there. One incident occurred right in front of 80 Winthrop. I hear they were shooting at the son of the president of the co-op board. If you look closely at the bottom of the front entrance door you can see where they patched up the bullet hole. The son still lives in the building so be aware. Oh and do not let me forget how every time my next door neighbor was having sex it was like dolby stereo sound. The laundry room well I would suggest you wash your cloths out side if you want them to get wet before the wash cycle starts. The board members are CRAZY. They can't agree on anything, their a bunch of cackling ninnies. Each one talking behind the others back. Why in a building of this size with 100 plus units would there only be about 5 or 8 members attending the board meetings. Take a guess I'll wait for your answer. This building SUCKS big time. You would be better off taking your money and purchasing somewhere else. A CONDO which is what I did with the money I received from the poor soul who purchase my shares in that piece of crap called 80 Winthrop st, in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Now the jokes on you.

Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 1:56 PM

Does anyone know anything about the building 590 Parkside avenue? That block feels shadier than even one block west - is it safe for a 65 year old single middle eastern woman to live there?

Posted by: guest at May 21, 2008 9:05 AM

I lived at this location a few years ago and I also took my money and ran. I would not recommend this building to anyone who is looking to buy into shares for a co-op. Take your money and invest it some place else. 80 Winthrop Street suck!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: guest at May 23, 2008 7:09 PM

Has anyone had any issues with the 80 Winthrop board regarding discrimination - specifically homophobia. I would love feed back.

Posted by: guest 80 at November 14, 2008 4:48 AM