We Buy Houses, Two-Families, Mixed-Use & Land Across Staten Island

Housing Stock

What Staten Island Is Built From

Staten Island is the most suburban of the five boroughs. Most of its housing is one-, two- and three-family homes, the kind of property the city taxes as Class 1, rather than the large apartment buildings found across much of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

The oldest housing is on the North Shore, where St. George, New Brighton, Tompkinsville, Stapleton and West Brighton grew up around ferry landings, shipyards and breweries in the 1800s. Here you find frame Victorians, row houses, small walk-ups and storefront buildings close to the St. George terminal and the Staten Island Railway.

Much of the rest of the island filled in after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964 and connected Staten Island to Brooklyn by car. That boom produced the detached houses, semi-detached brick homes, high-ranches and townhouse rows that dominate Mid-Island and the South Shore. Many of those houses are now owned by the original buyers or their children.

Two-families are everywhere, and so are mother-daughter homes, one-family houses with a second living space for a relative. Some are legal two-families on paper, while others have a basement or ground-floor unit that was never fully permitted. That gap between what is on the certificate of occupancy and how the house is used is one of the most common issues we see.

Common Condition Issues We See

• Original kitchens, baths and oil-fired heating in long-held family homes
• Basement or ground-floor apartments without proper permits
• Storm and flood damage on the East Shore and in low-lying waterfront blocks
• Older wiring, porches and foundations in North Shore frame houses
• Open permits or work done without sign-off over the years
• Houses left vacant during an estate, with carrying costs piling up

Zoning

Zoning on Staten Island

Staten Island has its own layer of zoning that does not exist in most of the city. Since the mid-2000s, most of the island has been part of a Lower Density Growth Management Area, which sets stricter rules on things like parking, lot size, yards and driveways for new homes and community facilities. That makes subdividing a lot or adding units harder than it would be under the same zoning district in Brooklyn.

The island also has several special purpose districts. The Special Natural Area District protects areas with steep slopes, woods, wetlands and rock outcrops, including Emerson Hill, Todt Hill and other parts of the central hills. The Special Hillsides Preservation District, created in 1987, covers the steep North Shore slopes around Grymes Hill, Ward Hill, St. George, New Brighton, Silver Lake and nearby areas. Much of the South Shore lies in the Special South Richmond Development District, which has its own rules on trees, open space and development patterns.

On the North Shore, the Bay Street Corridor rezoning approved by the City Council in June 2019 allowed more housing and mixed-use development along Bay Street between St. George, Tompkinsville and Stapleton. St. George has had its own Special St. George District since 2008, and the former Navy homeport site in Stapleton is in the Special Stapleton Waterfront District.

The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity changes adopted in December 2024 apply citywide, but many work differently on Staten Island. Most of the island remains in the parking zone where existing parking requirements continue, and the Council limited backyard accessory dwelling units and transit-oriented development to areas inside the Greater Transit Zone, which leaves out much of Staten Island. Flood zone rules add another layer near the shore. Zoning on Staten Island is genuinely lot-by-lot, so confirm what applies to your property with a zoning professional or attorney.

Regulated Buildings

Rent-Stabilized Buildings on Staten Island

Staten Island has far fewer rent-stabilized apartments than the other boroughs, because rent stabilization mostly applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974, and the island is dominated by one- to three-family houses. Where stabilized units do exist, they tend to be in older apartment buildings and garden complexes on the North Shore, around St. George, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, Grymes Hill and West Brighton, and in some larger complexes elsewhere.

If you own one of those buildings, the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act limited the ways regulated rents can rise, while taxes, insurance, fuel and repairs have not stopped climbing. We buy regulated buildings with tenants in place and value them on the actual rent roll. See our rent-stabilized building page. For newer buildings with a tax exemption, see our 421-a building page; the 421-a program closed to new projects in 2022 and was succeeded by 485-x in 2024, while existing 421-a buildings continue under their schedules.

Where We Buy

Staten Island Regions & Neighborhoods We Buy In

We buy across all of Staten Island. We group the island into three regions, each with its own guide, and every neighborhood has its own page with local detail.

North Shore

The North Shore is the oldest and most urban part of the island, running along the Kill Van Kull and Upper New York Bay from the Goethals Bridge to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. It includes the ferry terminal and civic center in St. George, the Bay Street corridor, historic districts in St. George, New Brighton and Stapleton Heights, Snug Harbor, Wagner College on Grymes Hill, and working waterfront in Port Richmond and Mariners’ Harbor. Housing ranges from frame Victorians and walk-ups to postwar two-families.

• St. George, including Ward Hill
• Tompkinsville
• Stapleton, including Stapleton Heights
• Clifton, including Park Hill and Fox Hills
• Rosebank, including Shore Acres and Fort Wadsworth
• New Brighton
• Randall Manor, including Livingston
• West Brighton
• Port Richmond
• Elm Park
• Mariners’ Harbor, including Arlington, Port Ivory and Howland Hook
• Graniteville
• Westerleigh
• Castleton Corners
• Grymes Hill, including Silver Lake, Sunnyside and Emerson Hill

Mid-Island & East Shore

Mid-Island covers the East Shore beach neighborhoods along Hylan Boulevard and Father Capodanno Boulevard, the Staten Island Railway stops from Grasmere to Bay Terrace, the wooded central hills around Todt Hill and the Greenbelt, Historic Richmond Town, and the western neighborhoods around the Staten Island Mall and the College of Staten Island. This is where Hurricane Sandy hit hardest in 2012 and where the state’s NY Rising buyouts in Oakwood Beach, Ocean Breeze and Graham Beach took place, so flood zones matter a great deal here.

• Concord
• Arrochar
• South Beach, including Ocean Breeze and Old Town
• Dongan Hills
• Grant City
• Midland Beach
• New Dorp, including New Dorp Beach
• Oakwood, including Oakwood Beach and Bay Terrace
• Todt Hill, including Lighthouse Hill and Egbertville
• Richmondtown
• New Springville, including Heartland Village, Bloomfield, Chelsea and Travis
• Bulls Head, including Meiers Corners
• Willowbrook, including Manor Heights

South Shore

The South Shore runs from Great Kills and Eltingville to Tottenville at the island’s southern tip, near the Outerbridge Crossing to New Jersey. Most of it lies in the Special South Richmond Development District. It is largely detached and semi-detached houses built from the 1960s onward, alongside older village centers, historic sites like Sandy Ground in Rossville and the Conference House in Tottenville, Great Kills Park on the waterfront, and larger lots and land toward Charleston and the West Shore.

• Great Kills
• Eltingville
• Annadale
• Arden Heights, including Greenridge
• Huguenot
• Prince’s Bay, including Mount Loretto
• Pleasant Plains
• Rossville, including Sandy Ground and Woodrow
• Charleston, including Richmond Valley
• Tottenville

We also buy across Brooklyn, just over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. See South Brooklyn or browse all neighborhoods.

Inherited Property

Selling an Inherited Staten Island House

Staten Island has a large number of homes still owned by the families who bought them in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, which means a lot of estate sales. If you are handling one, a few things usually come up.

Who Can Sign

Estates for Staten Island residents are handled by the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court, at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George. If there is a will, the court issues letters testamentary to the executor. If there is no will, it issues letters of administration to an administrator. Either way, that person is usually the one who signs the contract, and some sales need court approval or the consent of other heirs. Your estate attorney will confirm what applies. We can review the property and agree on terms while the paperwork is still in progress.

Siblings, Distance & Carrying Costs

Heirs often disagree on whether to keep, rent or sell, or on what the house is worth. Some live on the island, some in New Jersey or out of state. Meanwhile a vacant house keeps costing money: property taxes, water and sewer, insurance (which can be hard to keep on a vacant home), heat to prevent frozen pipes, and the risk of break-ins or storm damage. A written offer gives everyone the same number to look at.

Houses That Need Work or Have Tenants

We buy estate houses as they are, with contents left behind, dated systems, open permits or a tenant in the second unit of a two-family. We take over tenancies at closing, so the estate does not have to deal with an eviction. Read our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island, or our Brooklyn inherited property guide if the estate also includes property there. This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your estate attorney and accountant should guide the specifics.

Why Owners Sell

Why Staten Island Owners Sell to Us

Most Staten Island owners we talk to are not in a hurry so much as tired of uncertainty. They want a fair number, a straightforward contract and a closing date that fits their plans.

• An inherited house with several heirs who need a clean, fair sale
• A two-family with a tenant, an informal basement unit or rent arrears
• A house that needs a new roof, boiler or kitchen the owner does not want to take on
• Flood damage, flood insurance costs or elevation requirements near the shore
• Retiring to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida or the Carolinas
• A North Shore building with older tenants and rising expenses
• A lot or oversized parcel that is complicated by special district rules

Whatever the reason, we will tell you plainly whether selling to us or listing makes more sense for your situation.

Potential

Where Staten Island’s Value Is Hiding

Because Staten Island’s zoning is protective of low-density blocks, value here usually comes from careful work rather than big density plays. That can mean renovating a dated two-family and legalizing the second unit, restoring a North Shore Victorian, building on an oversized lot where the rules allow it, or redeveloping a commercial corner on a main road.

Along the Bay Street corridor, the 2019 rezoning created more room for mixed-use and apartment buildings near the ferry and the railway. On the South Shore, larger parcels and older houses on wide lots can sometimes support new homes within the South Richmond rules. We look at each property for what it is today and what it could reasonably become. See what we buy for the property types we purchase.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling on Staten Island

Listing With a Broker

Staten Island has a deep pool of buyers for move-in-ready one- and two-families, many of them using mortgages. If your house is updated, vacant and legally matches how it is used, listing may net you more than any direct sale. Expect commissions, showings, inspections, appraisal and a timeline set by the buyer’s lender.

Renovating or Developing Yourself

Some owners renovate, legalize a unit or build on extra land. On Staten Island, that can involve the Lower Density Growth Management Area rules, special district review, flood elevation requirements and Department of Buildings filings. It works for owners with time, capital and patience.

Selling Directly to Us

Selling to Red Hook Development means one written offer, no repairs, no showings and a closing date you choose. We buy with tenants, estates, violations and storm damage. You may give up some of the upside of a renovated retail sale in exchange for certainty. Start on our sell your property page.

How It Works

How Selling to Us Works

• Send us the address and a few details by form, phone or email
• We respond within one business day and research zoning, records and comparable sales
• We visit once, at a time that works for you, your tenants or whoever has the keys
• You receive a written offer with no obligation
• You choose the closing date and we work with your attorney

Your sale stays private. We do not post your property online or put up a sign.

Market Context

The Staten Island Market Today

Staten Island’s market is driven by owner-occupants who want a house with a yard, parking and often a second unit for income or family. That keeps demand steady for clean, well-kept homes. It is harder for houses that need major work, homes with unpermitted units, flood-exposed properties where insurance and elevation are a concern, and occupied two-families, because those can be difficult for a typical buyer to finance.

A direct buyer does not rely on a bank appraisal or a buyer’s mortgage approval. We make an offer based on the property and its realistic potential and explain how we reached it. If you want to compare our offer with a listing, we encourage it.