Today's CNN clip showed a boarded up brownstone which we instantly recognized since a reader on the block at West 118th Street had inquired about it in the past. Number 145 West 118th Street is just around the corner from ACP/7th Avenue and had a FOR SALE sign up on the front of the shell for the past couple of years. As of recent, the advertisement has been removed from the facade and it currently looks abandoned. The townhouse is actually one of the more unique ones to be found in Harlem, but the future buyer would basically be purchasing the land and four standing walls (since not much of the interior remains). DOB records show that building was formerly used as an SRO so the paperwork might be a little complicated to complete. Does anyone know the history on this house?
Today's CNN clip showed a boarded up brownstone which we instantly recognized since a reader on the block at West 118th Street had inquired about it in the past. Number 145 West 118th Street is just around the corner from ACP/7th Avenue and had a FOR SALE sign up on the front of the shell for the past couple of years. As of recent, the advertisement has been removed from the facade and it currently looks abandoned. The townhouse is actually one of the more unique ones to be found in Harlem, but the future buyer would basically be purchasing the land and four standing walls (since not much of the interior remains). DOB records show that building was formerly used as an SRO so the paperwork might be a little complicated to complete. Does anyone know the history on this house?
Hi, how do you find out whether a building is an SRO?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/bis/bis.shtml
ReplyDeleteThis is how you find out. Now, HUD has it's own set of records but for the most part anybody cares about is what the DOB has. Lots of fully renovated brownstones that have been single family for 20+ years are still SROs by HUD standards. You'd want to be careful buying one that DOB has as an SRO.
Still, what a gorgeous facade for somebody who was willing to put the work in. It needs to be 1/2 the price it sold for 2005 though.
Look at the DOB information under SRO RESTRICTED. This one has a YES in that column.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Just looked up our place and it has it listed as: "SRO Restricted: YES"
ReplyDeleteIt is strange though, b/c the place was gut renovated in '94 and is also classified as R0-CONDOMINIUMS. Anybody know where we stand as we bought our apt in the building only 6 months ago!
Apologies, Chris, I meant to say that people tend to focus on the DOB classification in terms of number of families, not SRO status. Practically every brownstone in Harlem - even those that have been sold and underwritten by mortgage companies in the last 3 years - is technically SRO restricted.
ReplyDeleteAh, no worries GreenGirl. You would think that I might have figured this stuff out before buying the place ;) I looked at a few other brownstones on the web site and they all seem to be listed as "SRO Restricted: YES". I just wonder what this means if we ever want to build an extra apartment on the roof or something and whether it will be a problem if we want to sell the place at some point. The C of O has the top two floors (ours) listed as "1/2 Class A Dwelling" which I gather makes it a regular apartment. Bit confusing really!
ReplyDeleteChris -
ReplyDeleteYes, well I've been through the whole mortgage mess on a Harlem townhouse recentely so I know. It's unlikely to cause problems selling since it's virtually grandfathered in.
As for building on your roof, this comes down to zoning and height restrictions and whether you have landmarked status (I don't remember exactly where you live but you mentioned it before and I don't remember thinking it was landmarked). It's also not cheap to do this so one needs to think whether you'd get your money back.
Regarding 145 W. 118th St., you would actually be buying three walls. The rear wall is mostly missing.
ReplyDeleteThink the main reason to worry about SRO status is if you are changing the C of O for the house. The DOB will want to check if the building is an SRO and then will demand a certificate of non harassment before handing out a new C of O. Even if nobody has lived in the building for years, you might still have to chase down signatures. Takes months or even years.
ReplyDelete