Dateline: PARK SLOPE
The hunt continues. Today we spent a bit more time hunting in Brooklyn Heights. We scoped out an open house in a fourth floor walk up on Clinton St. The open house was scheduled from 1pm to 3pm on Super Bowl Sunday and you should have seen the crowd on the steps at 5 minutes to One. I thought it was a NY night club and a door control. ;) There were three or four other couples who were their ahead of us.
It was all a very pleasant accept that one of the couples was trying to figure out where everyone else was going afterward. Yeah RIGHT!!! As if we would divulge a tasty nugget of information like that. As we all know, apartment hunting, particularly for a NO FEE apartment these days is like, well, looking for a job in todays job market. So when you find one, you tend to try to keep it to yourself unless it wasn't what you were looking for. At which point you're happy to pass it along. Anyway, so we checked out this Open House which was a bit small, for our needs, but was probably a steal at the price for a "two bedroom". It will probably be rented by the end of the day. Good place. NO FEE NO BROKER. WHOOOPEEEE!!
Next stop�.a two bedroom duplex on 17th Street off of 8th Avenue�. Next to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway by the way. This one was dubbed a great find in the North Slope. If I tell you that it wasn't only NOT a great find, but it was probably $1000 over priced for the area that it was in, I wouldn't be lying at all. What a shit hole. The funniest part was that the guy was trying to gauge what I thought of the place by trying to find out what else I'd seen. If I had to characterize this place it would be like this.
A guy is up late at night watching infomercials about how to get rich quick. He comes across one about real estate. �Buy low!!! Collect Rent!!!! Sell High!!!� he hears from the really "successful" infomercial guy. A light bulb goes on over his head. Hmmmm...he pictures himself sitting on a beach sipping umbrella drinks checking out topless sunbather babes, while his bank account goes CHA CHING CHA CHING. He pays his four easy installments on $29.99 for the starter kit where he promptly receives info on how to buy foreclosures.
Fast forward to the guy buying a cheesy looking house, with metal siding, on the outskirts....the very very ... very outskirts mind you, of a neighborhood which is known for its Brownstones and thinking that this block is going to be the next trendy part of the Slope. He pays, probably 125k and expects to be able to rent it for�GET THIS� $2,300 a month. This guy is smoking crack. Picture if you will, a guy grouting tile in a new, self installed, faux black marble bathroom, with modern fixtures, and installing awful looking oak kitchen cabinets on top of what happens to have be the best part of the apartment, beautifully rich looking pine floors. Now I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder...but anyway.
There's lots more, but I�m hungry and the game is on in thirty minutes. Stay tuned for more.
To be continued...
