Bed-Stuy brownstone condo - good investment?

The rental market is strong in Bed-Stuy. No one can predict the real estate market in the next five years. I think the neighborhood will continue to improve and a two bedroom tends to be a safe investment especially as schools get better in the area and services grow.

My advice is to work with a buyer agent. Their job is to help you make this decision by creating a spreadsheet of comparable apartments that have sold and show you how much it would rent for. If you're determined to do all the work yourself and still give the listing agent the full commission, here is an old comparable sheet I made for a client.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qlG7z6pAIDfIb7MSLJi26NQ6HRl04ggjdLA9ibStmcg/edit?usp=sharing

Why not consider buying a two family house for a little more. The bank will count the rent you are able to get from the second unit as income. You can also turn it into a condo at some point. I have been reading that the population in urban areas are exploding especially in New York City. The condo looks good too. But you are buying an end product which is fine. But it also makes sense to explore all your options. My suggestion will get you a bigger unit with outdoor space. But would be glad to be of assistance. I am a real estate broker and mortgage broker who can get you cash back for closing costs.

Ellen Silverman
Licensed Real Estate Broker since 1987
Licensed Mortgage Broker since 1990, NMLS#60631
Esfundingco@aol.com

Boutique and Brownstone condos are higher risk and you should consider that in your analysis. What if a neighbor lost their job and defaults on common charges- foreclosing can be very expensive and time consuming, and the cost is spread out only among a few owners. Lots of other what if scenarios can be inserted in it's place, but before you jump into the investor space, you must truly understand the risks which very few brokers understand.

Are you buying an SRO and evicting the tenants to make the investment more attractive? http://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/39327-bed-stuy-neighborhood

I couldn't agree more with see-me-run. Y'all can See Me Run soon too.

Seemerun is absolutely correct--you may also have trouble securing a bank loan for a condo with fewer than, say, 15 units. And I would add that single-family brownstones converted to multi-unit use tend to have terrible soundproofing UNLESS the developer has gutted and rebuilt the entire structure with this in mind.

A unit in a building with less than 15 units should not be a problem as far as financing it.

That said I am searching for myself for a two to three family house in Brooklyn. An FHA loan will finance up to 97% of the cost, allow a seller's concession and include as part of income documentation the income from the units that will not be occupied by the purchaser. FHA also allows for a non occupying co signer .Furthermore if a renovation is required an FHA lender will finance the cost of the renovation based on what the value of the house will be after the renovation is done. It's a no brainier. After all this is completed you can then convert the building to condominium ownership and make a good profit and still keep your occupying unit.

um.........it's a brainer.