Bring Us Your Off-Market Brooklyn Deals

Our Buy Box

Detailed Acquisition Criteria

We want to see deals that fit, and we want to avoid wasting your time on ones that don’t. Here is how we think about fit:

Geography

Our roots are in Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Red Hook, Downtown Brooklyn and Park Slope, and we now buy throughout Brooklyn and Staten Island: multifamily and mixed-use buildings, one- to four-family houses, industrial properties and development sites in every neighborhood.

Property types

Walk-up and small elevator multifamily; mixed-use storefront buildings; brownstones and townhouses needing renovation; rent-stabilized and mixed-regulation buildings; 421-a rentals and condominium inventory; industrial, warehouse and garage properties; vacant land, teardowns, assemblages and air rights; stalled or partially completed construction.

Condition and occupancy

Any condition, from cosmetic to gut or shell. Vacant, partially occupied or fully tenanted, including rent-stabilized tenants and commercial leases.

Situations

Estates and probate, partnership disputes, maturing loans and lender workouts, open violations and stop-work orders, tax and water liens, expired permits, fire or storm damage, and tax-benefit deadlines.

Deal size

From a single brownstone or small lot to multi-building portfolios and large assemblages.

Submission Package

What Helps Us Move Fast

The more complete your package, the faster we can give you a real answer. Ideally, include:

• Property address and block and lot
• Asking price and any pricing guidance from the seller
• Current rent roll with unit mix, legal regulated rents and lease expirations
• Most recent DHCR registration printout for stabilized units
• Operating expenses, including real estate taxes and any exemption such as 421-a
• Commercial lease abstracts for mixed-use properties
• Known violations, open permits and capital needs
• Zoning information and any development studies or plans
• Seller’s timeline and any constraints, such as a 1031 exchange or estate process

If you only have the address and price, send those. We can start from public records and ask for the rest.

How We Work With Brokers

Our Commitments to Brokers

Brokers bring us some of our best opportunities, and we want to be the buyer you call first. That means behaving predictably and respectfully:

• We never go around you. If you bring us a deal, we don’t contact your seller directly, and we don’t try to cut you out later.
• We confirm terms first. Representation and compensation are confirmed in writing before substantive negotiations begin.
• We answer quickly. A pass is still an answer, and we give it fast so you can move on.
• We tell you why. When we pass or price below ask, we explain the driver — rent roll, capital needs, zoning, tax status — so you can guide your client.
• We don’t re-trade. Our offers reflect up-front underwriting; we renegotiate only when we find something new and material, and we explain what it is.
• We keep things confidential. We’re happy to sign reasonable confidentiality agreements, and we don’t share your deals with other buyers.

Wholesalers

Guidelines for Wholesalers and Assignors

We review wholesale and assignment opportunities on the same terms as any other deal: fit, facts and price. To keep things efficient and transparent, we ask that wholesalers disclose their position up front — whether they hold a signed contract with the owner, an option, or simply a relationship — provide the contract terms relevant to an assignment, and confirm that marketing and contracting comply with New York law, including real estate licensing rules. We don’t pursue deals where the seller is unaware of how the transaction is structured. Clear, honest packages get fast, honest answers.

Underwriting

How We Evaluate Your Deal

Our underwriting starts with the public record — zoning, landmark status, certificate of occupancy, violations, permits, DHCR registrations, tax exemptions and recorded documents — and then turns to the income, expenses and physical condition you provide. For regulated buildings, we assume stabilized units stay stabilized under the 2019 HSTPA and account for the Rent Guidelines Board’s 0% increase for leases starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. For 421-a buildings, we project taxes through full taxation. For development sites, we model buildable floor area under current zoning, including City of Yes changes, and feasibility under 485-x and other programs.

That discipline is why we can often give a quick, realistic range, and why our written offers tend to hold. For more on how we look at regulated and tax-benefit buildings, see our guides to rent-stabilized buildings and 421-a buildings.

Priorities

What We’re Looking for by Neighborhood

• Gowanus: rezoned industrial sites, garages and canal-front parcels; Fourth Avenue walk-ups; unfinished rezoning-era projects facing 421-a deadlines.
• Carroll Gardens: family-held walk-ups with stabilized tenants; Court and Smith Street mixed-use; estates.
• Cobble Hill: landmarked townhouses needing restoration; Atlantic Avenue storefront buildings; carriage houses.
• Brooklyn Heights: townhouses and walk-ups needing work; mews buildings; Montague Street mixed-use.
• Red Hook: warehouses and industrial buildings, including sale-leasebacks; lots; flood-impacted buildings; Van Brunt Street row houses.
• Downtown Brooklyn: underbuilt low-rise buildings on high-density lots; air rights; older office and retail buildings; 421-a rentals.
• Park Slope: Fifth and Seventh Avenue mixed-use; stabilized walk-ups; Fourth Avenue development sites; estates.

Pricing Guidance

How to Price Deals for a Developer Buyer

The fastest way to a closed deal is a price grounded in how buyers underwrite today. For stabilized buildings, that means in-place net operating income with no assumption of deregulation, realistic expenses including current insurance and taxes, and a capital budget for the first several years; the 2026 rent freeze means renewal increases shouldn’t be assumed for leases starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. For 421-a buildings, price should reflect the post-exemption tax bill, not the abated one. For development sites, price should reflect buildable floor area after affordability requirements and a realistic construction budget under 485-x.

If a seller’s expectations are above what the numbers support, we’ll tell you what the gap is and why. That transparency often helps brokers reset expectations or find a structure — seller financing, a delayed closing, a retained interest — that bridges the difference.

Special Situations

Notes, Workouts and Distressed Situations

We’re interested in situations where the real estate is sound but the capital structure isn’t: maturing loans that can’t refinance, lender workouts, stalled construction with mechanics’ liens, tax and water liens, and partnership disputes. In some cases we can buy the property directly; in others, the right path may involve the lender, a discounted payoff or a structured transaction. Bring us the facts early and we’ll tell you whether and how we can help.

Estates

Working With Estate Attorneys and Executors

Many off-market opportunities in brownstone Brooklyn come from estates. We work comfortably with executors, trustees and estate attorneys, can sign contracts that accommodate letters testamentary and court approvals, buy with personal property still in the building, and keep long-time tenants in place. For brokers representing estates, we can often provide a written offer quickly enough to help the family make a decision.

Speed

Deals We Can Close Quickly

When title is clean and the facts are clear, we can move fast: a walkthrough within days, a written offer shortly after, and a closing timeline driven mainly by title and the seller’s preferences. Deals that close fastest tend to have a complete package up front, a decision-maker who can sign, and a seller whose priority is certainty.

Market Context

Why Off-Market Deal Flow Is Growing in Brownstone Brooklyn

Several forces are pushing more Brooklyn owners toward quiet, direct sales. Stabilized building owners are absorbing higher insurance, taxes and repair costs while renewal increases are frozen for leases starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Owners of older 421-a buildings are watching their exemptions phase out. Developers with unfinished 421-a(16) projects face completion deadlines. Loans originated when rates were near historic lows are maturing into a very different lending market. And many long-held family buildings are passing to heirs who prefer a simple exit.

For brokers, that creates opportunity — but also a need for buyers who can underwrite complexity quickly and close without drama. That is the role we aim to play.

Process

What Happens After You Submit a Deal

Within one business day, we acknowledge your submission and flag any immediate questions. We then review the public record and your package, and — if the deal fits — schedule a walkthrough through you, never directly with your seller. After the walkthrough, we provide a written offer or a clear explanation of why we’re passing. If the offer is accepted, we move to contract with the seller’s attorney and keep you informed through due diligence and closing.

Relationships

Building a Long-Term Relationship

Our goal is to become a reliable, repeat buyer for brokers who work in brownstone Brooklyn. Tell us what you’re seeing, even if it isn’t an exact fit — neighborhood trends, sellers who aren’t ready yet, buildings that may come to market next year. We’ll share what we’re looking for as it evolves, and we’ll treat every deal you bring with the same speed and respect.

Deal Structures

Structures That Help Deals Close

When a seller’s price and a buyer’s underwriting don’t line up, structure can sometimes bridge the gap. Depending on the property, we can consider seller financing, a delayed closing to accommodate a 1031 exchange or estate, a sale-leaseback for an owner-operated business, a partial retained interest that lets the seller share future upside, or a joint venture on development land. Let us know early if your client is open to any of these; it can change what we’re able to offer.

Confidentiality

How We Handle the Information You Send

Packages you send us are used only to evaluate the deal. We don’t forward offering memoranda, rent rolls or seller information to other buyers, lenders or partners without your permission, and we’re glad to sign a reasonable confidentiality agreement before you share sensitive details. If we pass on a deal, we don’t use what we learned to approach the owner later.