Is is the most beautiful street in Manhattan? This is West 147th street in Hamilton Heights between Convent avenue and St. Nicholas avenue in the Historic district. There are a variety of well maintained homes. Recent sales have consistently topped $3 million.
Many sellers of property in Manhattan may or may not understand the transaction from the perspective of the buyer. One of the aspects of a brownstone in Harlem is the appeal of the block itself. 10 years or more ago, there were many more boarded homes in Harlem than there are now. Nowadays, you might one boarded home on a given block in Harlem or none. However, what about the condition of the homes and how do compare a double brownstone block, one with brownstones on both sides and one with brownstones on one side and perhaps apartments buildings on the other side? How does this affect value?
Most buyers that come to visit a home usually comment that they like the block or the block seems okay without really asking or getting into the details of the makeups of the building on the block themselves. Certainly, if your neighbor is running an SRO or there are many apartment buildings on the block, the feel is going to be more transient.
Every now and then you see a row of brownstones that is by itself and most of the rest of the block is apartment buildings. One such property to my surprise has not sold in Central Harlem but this could be why. The block has about 10 homes and the rest are apartment buildings. Perhaps this is why the property has lingered on the market. Take a look at the two photos below. Which block do you find more appealing? What do you think?
189 Edgecombe avenue, a single family home in the Hamilton Heights area of Harlem, sold and closed yesterday for $1.6 million. The property was a 16′ wide townhouse with 4bedrooms/2baths and plenty of original detail still intact. The new homeowner will restore this home by juxtaposing a top of the line renovation with the classic details already in place.
The property did not have a certificate of occupancy and the listing broker wore the dual hat of expediter and was able to get the Department of buildings to grant a letter of no objection to a single family use.
Take one more look inside this home below.
ICER, a landlord and investor in the Harlem market, is gutting and expanding the former SRO buildings at 303 and 305 West 137th street. In total, the buildings will rise 6 stories and have 16 units over 16,000 sqft of interior space. The building is close to the corner of West 137th street and Frederick Douglass boulevard.
Striver’s Row technically is a street and a half. It is both sides of West 139th street and the northern side of West 138th street between 7th and 8th avenue in Central Harlem. This Landmark section of Harlem is in my opinion one of the most beautiful that you will find anywhere in Manhattan. The lovely architecture of the homes is often matched with equally well designed and thought out interiors. 268 West 139th street sold last year for $2.95 million and now another home on the same street is asking $3.175 million and is in contract. So it seems high end buyers are also in agreement that there is something special about Striver’s Row.
Just looking at the photo in this post, you have 5 houses visible and in that group, an 8 family, a single family and a house that was an SRO being converted to a 4 family home. Lots of diversity. What allows such a variety of uses buyers often ask? Well, the zoning allows it and as long the department of buildings allows either the alteration or continued use of the building, it continues. Have you ever wandered down a Manhattan brownstone block and counted bells? Yes, that’s one way to take a guess at the number of units but not always accurate as over time owners may combine units.
The other question that buyers often ask is what is best use of the townhouse? Well that depends on the your strategy. The smaller units are easier to rent out but there is more turnover and more regulation. You will have a much easier time renting out 600 sqft 1 bedroom apartments than 3 floors for $6500 per month but the turnover will be higher. Also, as you have more units, you have potentially higher taxes and different requirements per building codes as you crossover from a residential use to a commercial one. As always, a thorough analysis of the building combined with conversations with your team including general contractor, architect and experienced real estate broker will be the best way to protect your investment.
The townhouse at 189 Edgecombe avenue has now entered contract. The property with over 3000 square feet of above grade space plus a cellar and garden was asking $1,650,000.
SROs or single room occupancies have a wide range of value in Harlem. SROs are typically set up as rooming houses where there might be several rooms per floor with a common bathroom or kitchen. The most valuable SRO will have a certificate of no harassment and be delivered vacant. The least valuable will have non-paying tenants and be delivered without the CONH. What is a CONH and why would having it add at least $100k to the value of your SRO?
A CONH is granted after an investigation or look back by NYC’s Housing Preservation and Development of approximately 3 years. They are looking at your history of tenants to see if any tenants were forced out or harassed. Some of the questions on the application ask if you have had a discontinuation of service like heat, hot water or electricity, a potential sign that the tenants might have left due to poor living conditions. It takes approximately 7 months according to reps at HPD to get a CONH assuming the application is in order. You can have an experienced lawyer do this for you and they will charge $3k-$5k depending on how complicated the case is. So if you have some advance notice you might want to apply for this prior to putting your house on the market. If you are a DIY’er then you can fill in the application yourself and can visit the HPD during the week between 9-11am with your walk in questions. Make sure your property is registered with HPD. The CONH is valuable because the purchaser of your property will not be granted building permits to alter the SRO without a CONH. Also, while it may be difficult for you to come up with the names of all the tenants who lived in the property, it is impossible for the buyer so in some cases they may even just decide to sit on the house for 3 years before applying for the CONH. For that, they will expect a severe discount.
Certificate of no harassment application
As you are arranging your future plans to sell, you will want to maintain an excellent relationship with your tenants so they vouch for you if contacted by the City. Also, if they are not a rent stabilized tenant then you might not want to renew their lease which will give you the option to ask them to vacate with a 30 day notice. If you can get by without the income, vacating the house just prior to listing will make it easier to show and sell, but certainly ethically empty out the house prior to closing. If the tenants are rent stabilized then you may need to offer them a buyout or leave that up to the next purchaser. If you must deliver the house occupied make sure that your tenants are current. A building full of non-paying tenants will be only taken on by investors if the price is very low.
As this sale is a complicated one, you will need a team to insure the most lucrative sale including an experienced and knowledgeable real estate broker, a real estate attorney plus perhaps even an architect or expediter. Even though it may seems like a burdensome effort, it will be worth it in the end especially if you know that you have lead time. If you have even only a few months before you will sell, it makes a lot of sense to plan ahead and get a CONH and get the house vacant for closing.
A single family townhouse at 189 Edgecombe avenue will be coming to the market later this week. It features 4 bedrooms/ 2 bathrooms on the top two floors plus a parlor floor with living room and dining room/den. The yard is accessed from the kitchen. It is located within walking distance of the A,B,C and D train on West 145th street. It can be renovated or lived in as is depending on the buyer and budget. The price will be under $2 million which is rare for a property that is intact and not an SRO.
Pictures and floor plan later this week and first open house Sunday 12:30pm -2pm.
