We Buy Houses, Two-Families & Land in Prince’s Bay

Housing Stock

What Prince’s Bay Is Built From

Prince’s Bay grew up on the water. In the 19th century its oysters were famous enough to be sold by name in New York and London, and the shoreline along Lemon Creek and Raritan Bay supported baymen, boat yards and the Seguine family’s farm and oil works. Later, the dental supply factory near Purdy Place, which became part of the S.S. White Dental Manufacturing Company in 1881, was one of the biggest employers on the South Shore until it closed in 1972.

That history left a layer of older frame houses near the station, on Seguine Avenue and on short streets like Wilbur Place and Holten Avenue, including stick-style and Second Empire houses from the late 1800s. Most of the neighborhood, though, was built after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964 and brought steady growth to the South Shore: detached houses, semi-detached houses, two-families and mother-daughter homes on lots with driveways, plus some newer townhouse-style developments.

Nearly everything here is a one- to three-family house, which New York City taxes as Class 1 property. Apartment buildings are rare. That makes Prince’s Bay a market of individual homeowners, families and estates rather than landlords with large portfolios.

Landmarks You Will Know

The Seguine Mansion at 440 Seguine Avenue, a Greek Revival house overlooking Lemon Creek, is a designated landmark now in the city’s care. Lemon Creek Park protects the creek’s tidal marsh, and Wolfe’s Pond Park runs along the bay at the eastern edge. Staten Island University Hospital’s South campus sits on Seguine Avenue. To the west, the Prince’s Bay Light, an 1864 stone lighthouse, stands on the bluffs at Mount Loretto.

Zoning

Zoning & Land-Use Rules in Prince’s Bay

Prince’s Bay is mostly zoned for detached and semi-detached houses, with small commercial overlays on Amboy Road and near the station. Two layers of rules sit on top of that base zoning and matter a lot for anyone thinking about building or subdividing.

Special South Richmond Development District

Prince’s Bay lies within the Special South Richmond Development District, created in 1975 to manage growth across the southern third of Staten Island. It adds tree preservation requirements, limits on changing the natural grade, protection for designated open space, and a general 50-foot height cap. In 2023 the City Council approved the South Richmond zoning relief changes, which streamlined approvals for homeowners and properties under one acre while keeping closer review for larger, environmentally sensitive sites.

Lower Density Growth Management Area

All of Staten Island is a Lower Density Growth Management Area. In practice that means more off-street parking, larger yards and other limits on new construction than the same zoning district would require in Brooklyn or Queens. The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity changes adopted in December 2024 apply citywide, but here their effect is narrower: accessory dwelling units are barred in the coastal flood zone, backyard units are restricted in the lowest-density districts, and the LDGMA rules remain in place. Confirm any plan for your lot with a zoning professional or land use attorney.

Regulated Buildings

Tenants, Rent Rules & Two-Family Homes

Rent stabilization is uncommon in Prince’s Bay because it generally applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974, and the neighborhood is almost entirely one- and two-family houses. A rented two-family or mother-daughter home is usually unregulated, but tenants still have real protections under New York law, and an eviction is a court process that can take a long time.

We buy two-families with tenants in place and take over the tenancies at closing, so you do not need to empty the house first. If you do own a larger building with regulated apartments anywhere on Staten Island, see selling a rent-stabilized building. For a newer building still on a 421-a schedule, see selling a 421-a building. If a tenant has stopped paying, our guide to selling with tenants not paying explains your options.

Where We Buy

Where We Buy in Prince’s Bay

We buy throughout Prince’s Bay, from the railroad to the bay. Most of our calls come from these areas:

• Seguine Avenue — the old spine of the neighborhood, running from Amboy Road past the hospital to Lemon Creek and the water, with older frame houses and newer homes side by side
• Amboy Road — storefronts, small offices, two-families and the blocks around the Prince’s Bay station
• Hylan Boulevard — detached and semi-detached houses on the side streets toward the bay and toward Huguenot
• Purdy Place, Wilbur Place & Holten Avenue — the older streets near the former dental works and the harbor
• Near Wolfe’s Pond Park — homes on the eastern edge, where Prince’s Bay meets Huguenot and Annadale

Mount Loretto

Mount Loretto covers the western end of Prince’s Bay, straddling Hylan Boulevard where the neighborhood meets Pleasant Plains. From the 1880s it was home to the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, a Catholic orphanage and working farm that grew into the largest orphanage in New York State. In 1999 the State Department of Environmental Conservation bought the land south of Hylan from the Archdiocese and created the Mount Loretto Unique Area, which protects the red clay bluffs, described as the tallest ocean-facing bluffs in the state, along with wetlands, meadows and the 1864 Prince’s Bay Light.

North of Hylan, the Church of St. Joachim and St. Anne and the Cemetery of the Resurrection remain, and some former mission land has been developed with newer homes. The houses around Mount Loretto are mostly detached and semi-detached, built from the 1970s onward, on streets running off Hylan Boulevard and Sharrotts Avenue. Owners here sell for familiar reasons: an estate, a move off the island, a house that needs updating. Because the preserve will not be built on, these blocks sit next to permanent open space, which is part of their appeal. Neighboring Pleasant Plains shares the Mount Loretto edge.

Inherited Property

Selling an Inherited House in Prince’s Bay

A lot of Prince’s Bay homes were bought by families who moved to the South Shore in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of those houses are now passing to the next generation, and the heirs are often spread out across New Jersey, Florida or farther away. We are used to that situation and can handle most of it for you.

Letters From the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court

Staten Island estates go through the Richmond County Surrogate’s Court at 18 Richmond Terrace in St. George. If there is a will, the named executor applies for letters testamentary. If there is no will, a family member applies to be administrator and receives letters of administration, which can carry limits on selling real estate. Either way, the person holding the letters is the one who signs the contract and deed. We can make an offer before the letters are issued and set a closing date that follows the court’s timeline.

Common Estate Situations We Handle

• Siblings who disagree about selling, renting or keeping the house, where a clear written offer helps everyone compare options
• Heirs who live out of state; we can arrange access, inspections and a lock change without you flying in
• A vacant house with taxes, insurance, utilities and water bills piling up every month
• A house that needs a roof, a boiler or a full renovation before a retail buyer would finance it
• A two-family with a tenant upstairs or downstairs; we take over the tenancy at closing
• A full house of belongings; you take what matters and leave the rest

Read our guide to selling inherited property on Staten Island for the full process, and talk to your estate attorney about your specific situation.

Why Owners Sell

Why Prince’s Bay Owners Sell to Us

Prince’s Bay is a stable, family neighborhood, and most homes here do sell on the open market. The owners who call us usually have a reason a traditional sale is harder:

• An older frame house with original wiring, plumbing or foundation problems that lenders flag
• Flood insurance costs or post-Sandy repairs near the shoreline or Lemon Creek
• A lot with trees, slopes or wetlands where the South Richmond rules make building uncertain
• Open violations or work done without permits by a previous owner
• A tenant who will not leave or will not pay
• A move off the island, a divorce or a change in health that calls for a private, predictable sale

We buy as-is and work through those issues ourselves.

Potential

What Gives Prince’s Bay Property Its Value

Prince’s Bay has more protected open space around it than almost any neighborhood in the city: Mount Loretto, Lemon Creek Park and Wolfe’s Pond Park together frame the shoreline, so the water views and quiet are not going to be built away. The Staten Island Railway station connects to the St. George ferry terminal, and express buses run to Manhattan. The West Shore Expressway and the Outerbridge Crossing are a short drive west.

For a buyer like us, value usually comes from renovating a house that has been held for decades, adding space where the zoning allows, or carefully dividing a larger lot within the South Richmond rules. Those projects take capital, permits and patience, which is why many owners would rather sell to someone who does this work every day.

Your Options

Your Options for Selling in Prince’s Bay

List With a Broker

A well-kept house with clean title and no tenant issues will often sell well on the open market, and you may net more that way. Expect showings, a buyer’s mortgage and appraisal, inspections, and a contract that can fall through if financing or flood insurance does not work out.

Renovate or Build Yourself

You can renovate before selling or develop a larger lot. That can add value, but it brings contractor costs, DOB permits, South Richmond tree and grading requirements, carrying costs and time.

Sell Directly to Red Hook Development

We buy as-is, with tenants, estates, violations and flood status taken into account. You give up some possible upside in exchange for privacy, certainty and a closing date you choose. Start on our sell your property page.

How It Works

How Selling Your Prince’s Bay Property Works

• Tell us about the property — address, type, who lives there and what you know about its condition
• We do the research — zoning, flood maps, South Richmond district rules, city records and violations
• One visit — scheduled around you or your tenants; we can arrange access if you live out of state
• Written cash offer — a clear number and terms, with no financing contingency
• Attorney-led closing — on the date you choose

We respond within one business day. There is no fee and no obligation to accept.

Market Context

The Prince’s Bay Market

Prince’s Bay is a homeowner market. Sales are mostly individual houses bought by families, and prices vary a lot between a renovated house on a quiet block near the bay and an older frame house on a busy stretch of Amboy Road. Flood zone status, lot size, tree and grade constraints, and the condition of systems like the roof and boiler all move the number.

We do not publish price claims, because those factors differ so much from one lot to the next. What we can do is give you a written number with the reasoning behind it, so you can compare it with listing, renovating or holding.