Houses, Buildings, Development Land, Rent-Stabilized and 421-a Properties in Brooklyn & Staten Island

Multifamily

Multifamily and Walk-Up Buildings

Walk-up apartment buildings are the backbone of brownstone Brooklyn’s rental housing, and they’re at the core of what we buy. Typical properties are four- and five-story buildings with six to twenty apartments, often above a storefront, built before 1974 and frequently containing rent-stabilized units. We also buy small elevator buildings, converted townhouses with several apartments and newer infill rentals.

We underwrite each building on its actual rent roll and registrations, current expenses and near-term capital needs. We don’t assume that stabilized units will deregulate — under the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, most won’t — and we account for the Rent Guidelines Board’s June 2026 decision to freeze stabilized rents at 0% for leases starting October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The result is an offer grounded in reality rather than optimism, which is why our offers hold through closing.

For a full explanation of how we value regulated buildings, see Sell a Rent-Stabilized Building.

Tax-Benefit Buildings

421-a Buildings and Stalled Projects

Many Brooklyn rentals and condominiums built from the 1990s through the 2010s received 421-a tax exemptions, and a large number are now phasing out. As exemptions shrink, taxes rise, while stabilized and income-restricted units remain regulated. Meanwhile, unfinished 421-a(16) projects face completion deadlines of June 15, 2026, or June 15, 2031 for projects that filed a qualifying letter of intent, and missing the deadline can mean losing benefits entirely.

We buy completed 421-a buildings at any point in their benefit period, condominium inventory, and stalled projects with or without vested benefits. Our underwriting projects taxes year by year, reviews lease riders and regulatory agreements, and, for unfinished buildings, evaluates the realistic path to a certificate of occupancy. Learn more at Sell a 421-a Building.

Development

Development Land, Air Rights and Assemblages

We buy land where we can build. That includes vacant lots, parking lots, garages, gas stations, one-story commercial buildings, teardowns and low-rise buildings on lots zoned for considerably more floor area. We also evaluate assemblages — combining adjacent lots into a larger site — and air-rights purchases through zoning lot mergers.

Land values today depend on more variables than ever: zoning district and maximum floor area, Mandatory Inclusionary Housing where it applies, the 485-x tax program that replaced 421-a for new projects, City of Yes’s Universal Affordability Preference and parking changes, environmental conditions and E-designations, flood-zone construction rules, and construction and financing costs. We work through each layer and share our key assumptions with you.

For owners who want to participate in the upside, we can also discuss joint ventures in which the owner contributes land and we lead approvals, financing and construction.

Industrial

Industrial, Warehouse and Garage Properties

Gowanus and Red Hook contain many of Brooklyn’s remaining industrial buildings: warehouses, workshops, auto-repair shops, garages, storage yards and manufacturing buildings. Some sit on rezoned blocks with residential potential; others are in manufacturing districts where industrial and commercial uses remain the highest and best use. We buy both, occupied or vacant, and we can structure sale-leasebacks so owner-operated businesses keep running after closing.

Special Situations

Distressed and Complicated Properties

Some of the best buildings in Brooklyn are tied up in complicated situations. We regularly buy properties involving:

• Estates, probate, trusts and multiple heirs
• Partnership or family disputes, including buyouts of one partner
• Open DOB, HPD or ECB violations and stop-work orders
• Fire, water or storm damage
• Mechanics’ liens, tax liens, water and sewer arrears
• Illegal or non-conforming apartments
• Stalled construction and expired permits
• Loans in maturity default or lender workouts

Complications are reflected in price, but they rarely prevent a sale. The sooner we understand the facts, the sooner we can give you a clear answer.

Mixed-Use

Mixed-Use and Storefront Buildings

Brooklyn’s commercial avenues — Court Street, Smith Street, Atlantic Avenue, Montague Street, Fifth and Seventh Avenues in Park Slope, Van Brunt Street in Red Hook and the Fulton Mall downtown — are lined with buildings that combine storefronts with apartments or offices above. These buildings are two businesses in one: a residential business that may be rent stabilized, and a commercial business whose value rises and falls with retail demand.

We buy mixed-use buildings with storefronts leased, vacant or occupied by the owner’s own business. We review commercial lease terms, the condition of the retail space and its infrastructure — electrical capacity, gas service, ventilation, grease traps for restaurants — and the regulatory status of the apartments above. Where an owner runs a business in the building, we can structure a leaseback so it continues operating after closing.

Brownstones

Brownstones, Limestones and Townhouses

Brownstone Brooklyn’s row houses range from pristine single-family homes to three- and four-family houses that haven’t been renovated in half a century. We focus on the latter: houses that need a full renovation, a legal conversion, structural repair or a thoughtful restoration inside a historic district.

Common issues we price in include original electrical and plumbing, aging boilers and gas lines, rear-wall and joist problems, water infiltration, illegal basement or cellar apartments, and a legal unit count that doesn’t match how the house is actually used. Inside landmark districts in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Park Slope and parts of Carroll Gardens, we also account for Landmarks Preservation Commission review of exterior work. You don’t need to fix any of it before selling.

Our Underwriting

How We Evaluate Every Property

Regardless of property type, our underwriting follows the same disciplined sequence, which is why our offers tend to hold through closing:

• Public records first. Zoning, landmark status, certificate of occupancy, DOB and HPD violations, permits, DHCR registrations, tax class, exemptions and recorded documents.
• Income and expenses. The actual rent roll, commercial leases, real estate taxes (including any exemption phase-out), insurance, utilities, payroll and repairs.
• Physical condition. One walkthrough covering roof, cellar, façade, structure, mechanical systems and representative apartments.
• Future potential. Renovation scope, legal conversions, unused floor area, air rights and development feasibility under today’s programs.
• Risk. Overcharge exposure, environmental issues, flood-zone requirements, title issues and tenant litigation.

We then share a written offer along with the main assumptions behind it, so you can see how we arrived at our price.

Why a Developer

Why Owners Choose to Sell to a Developer

Investors who buy for stable income typically pay for what a building earns today. Developers can also pay for what a property can become — a restored building, a converted office, a new mixed-use project on an underbuilt lot. When a property has meaningful upside that requires work, approvals or capital to unlock, a developer is often the buyer best positioned to pay for it.

Developers also tend to be more comfortable with complexity: tenants in place, violations, stalled construction, landmark approvals, environmental designations and tax-benefit deadlines. Those are everyday issues in our business rather than reasons to walk away.

Fit

What We Usually Don’t Buy

To save you time, here is what generally isn’t a fit: individual co-op or condominium apartments, single-family homes in move-in condition priced for end users, properties far outside Brooklyn, and net-leased retail with national tenants. If you’re unsure, send it anyway — we’ll give you a quick, honest answer.

By Neighborhood

What We Buy in Each Neighborhood

Our seven neighborhoods each have a different mix of property types, and our focus shifts accordingly:

• Gowanus: rezoned industrial sites, garages, canal-front parcels, Fourth Avenue walk-ups and unfinished rezoning-era projects.
• Carroll Gardens: family-owned brownstones, stabilized walk-ups and Court and Smith Street mixed-use buildings.
• Cobble Hill: landmarked townhouses, carriage houses and Atlantic Avenue storefront buildings.
• Brooklyn Heights: townhouses needing restoration, pre-war walk-ups and mews buildings.
• Red Hook: warehouses, industrial lots, flood-impacted buildings and Van Brunt Street row houses.
• Downtown Brooklyn: development sites, air rights, retail and older office buildings, and 421-a rentals.
• Park Slope: brownstones, stabilized walk-ups, Fifth and Seventh Avenue mixed-use and Fourth Avenue sites.

Each neighborhood page explains the local zoning, landmark and market factors that shape how we value property there.

Deal Structures

Flexible Ways to Sell

An all-cash purchase with a straightforward closing is the most common structure, but it isn’t the only one. Depending on the property and your goals, we can consider seller financing to bridge a gap between price and today’s lending market, a delayed closing to accommodate an estate or 1031 exchange, a sale-leaseback for an owner-operated business, a partial retained interest so you share in future upside, or a joint venture on development land. We’ll explain the trade-offs of each in plain language, and we always recommend you review structure and tax implications with your own attorney and accountant.

Portfolios

Portfolios and Multiple Properties

Some owners hold several buildings across brownstone Brooklyn, often accumulated over decades. We can buy an entire portfolio in one transaction, select individual buildings, or stage purchases over time to fit tax planning or family goals. Buying several properties at once can simplify an estate or partnership wind-down and reduce the time, cost and disruption of multiple separate sales.

Property Types

Details by Property Type

• Houses (one- to four-family)
• Brownstones, limestones & townhouses
• Small multifamily (2–4 units) & walk-ups
• Mixed-use storefront buildings
• Rent-stabilized buildings
• 421-a buildings
• Vacant lots & development sites
• Warehouses, garages & industrial buildings
• Downtown Brooklyn commercial & retail

Guides for Common Situations

• Inherited property
• Pre-foreclosure
• Tax & water liens
• Violations & illegal units
• Fire damage
• Stalled construction
• All seller guides