High-Rises Cede Rental Ground to Brownstones
IT is not a sentiment commonly associated with
“I don’t want someone I resent in my space,” said Mr. Smart, the live-in owner of a
Prospective renters’ credit ratings, recommendations and salary are all still important, of course, but so are intangibles like personality — which matters when you and your landlord are sharing a backyard, a hallway or a front stoop.
While large developers have long dominated the rental market in
And brownstones — traditionally more stable in price than other properties even in rough economic times, in part because of limited supply — are once again ascendant in the borough. In recent years, as thousands of new luxury rentals flooded the Brooklyn market and large landlords offered incentives like several months’ free rent, the safe old brownstone often had a hard time competing.
While there have always been renters who insist on brownstone or bust, and details like wood floors, elaborate molding and intimate rooms, in the months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers two years ago apartments in small Brooklyn buildings sat on the market for an average of 65 days before being rented, according to internal data from the Corcoran Group.
That was a sharp jump from an average of 10 days during the boom years. “If you offer a buyer so many incentives, of course some are going to be swayed away from brownstones,” said Vicki Negron, a senior vice president of Corcoran who specializes in
But recently many of the new projects have filled up and the incentives have disappeared. The average time that an apartment in a small
And in
There is no comprehensive listing service for
All of these factors can make evaluating a brownstone rental a daunting process. The hunt is further complicated by the fact that prices can swing widely by neighborhood. For instance, apartments on the eastern edge of
“It is a market where it’s hard to pinpoint pricing because many brownstones are owner-occupied,” said Andrew Barrocas, the chief executive of the Real Estate Group New York. “Some of these landlords are not always looking for the highest prices, but the right tenant.”
The financial situations of landlords differ widely.
For instance, someone who bought a brownstone in the 1980s for a few hundred thousand dollars — the going rate in many neighborhoods at the time — is in a much different position than someone who paid upward of $2 million a few years ago and is relying on the monthly rental income to pay the mortgage.
Scott Klein, a broker with Prudential Douglas Elliman, has lived in
The owners plan on living in the garden apartment and renting the rest of the building. The parlor floor — the most expensive in brownstone rentals — and the second floor have been combined to make a two-bedroom duplex, available for $4,350 a month.
The apartment has many of the details treasured by those seeking a home in a brownstone, including tin ceilings, a pier mirror, herringbone floors and elaborate carved moldings in good condition. The kitchens and bathrooms have been updated, and there is a small deck off the kitchen, overlooking a large garden reserved for the owners’ use.
“The owners said that if they have a good relationship with the tenants and if once in a while they wanted to have a party and use the whole backyard, they would be open to the idea,” Mr. Klein said. The rent, too, is negotiable.
The top floor of the brownstone, a one-bedroom floor-through apartment, is also available, for $2,000 a month.
But just a few blocks away, at
“There are people who try and get top dollar for their apartment, and they end up with nothing but trouble,” Mr. Smart said.
Like many brownstone landlords, he came to the neighborhood decades ago. In 1984 he moved into his first apartment, on the very same block where he now lives — paying no rent for years because the owner was a friend.
After he bought his current home in 1998, he first turned to a broker to rent the top-floor apartment.
“The broker brought in like nine people,” none of whom were right, he said. Through word of mouth, a young woman found out he had an apartment for rent. The two clicked and she moved in, staying for six years at the bargain rate of $1,200 a month.
After she moved out, Mr. Smart rented the place to Laurence Richardson, raising the rent to $1,700 a month, still a few hundred dollars less than similar properties in the neighborhood.
“It is very much a family kind of a thing,” Mr. Smart said. “I don’t even have keys for these doors,” he said, pointing to the doors that lead from his apartment to the common hallway.
But he now has the building on the market, for $1.414 million. He hopes the buyer will keep his tenant, but he knows that might not happen.
One of the downsides of living in a brownstone is that renters have little recourse if the owner decides to make a move. Many brownstones have fewer than six units, and as such are usually not subject to rent stabilization laws.
So Mr. Richardson may find himself back in the rental market. He said he had “learned a huge lesson” from his brownstone experience: “Before you move into a place, always get a lease and make sure that the landlord isn’t going to sell the place.”
Ms. Negron says that the owner’s decision to sell the property is one of the few things that dislodge a brownstone tenant.
“I simply don’t find people moving out because they decide they do not like brownstone living,” she said.
Brokers say that success in finding a brownstone apartment is directly proportional to the effort put into the search.
“You have got to hunt,” Ms. Negron said. “You have to look in the tall grass.”
The odds of finding something that would be considered a steal are slim, agents say, but unlike many large properties, brownstones often offer room for negotiation. And because they can be found in a diversity of neighborhoods, something is out there for nearly every budget.
On the high end, at
For that price, a twice-weekly cleaning service is included to help the tenants maintain nearly 8,000 square feet spread out over five floors. There are two kitchens and two washer-dryers, and each room is elegantly furnished, including a living room with a baby grand piano. There are four and a half baths, four fireplaces, a 500-year-old tree in the backyard and a top-floor terrace with views of the
A few blocks away, at
Then there are the quirky apartments at
The apartments can be had for as short a time as a weekend, or for as long as a year. The nightly rate for the two-bedroom is $350; monthly it runs $4,200. It also comes with a perk for pet owners.
“When Arturo likes you,” Ms. Negron said, “he will paint a picture of your dog.”
The town house at
A studio at
Furnished apartments at
Another furnished apartment at
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