The Greene House (383 Carlton Avenue)

The massing is simple: a two-story commercial base on the Greene Avenue and Carlton Avenue frontages, and a residential slab above it running three apartments to a floor from the third floor to the tenth, then three penthouses. The layout by line is regular. The South apartments are the compact one-bedrooms; the West and East lines are two-bedrooms in the 1,150- to 1,360-square-foot range on the plan's floor areas; the three penthouses run roughly 2,330 to 2,500 square feet including their roof terraces, per Schedule A of the offering plan. Stacked, consistent lines are useful on resale: a buyer comparing 6 West with 9 West is comparing the same apartment at a different height, which keeps pricing clear.

The plan measured terraces and balconies to the outside of the parapet and noted that those figures exceed usable area, so treat marketed outdoor square footage as approximate. Listing records attribute the Greene House name partly to green features, including a building-wide water filtration system. No green-building certification is documented in public records, and this page claims none.

Per the audited statements for 2023 and 2024 on file:

Budget. Common charges and fees brought in about $563,000 in 2024 against about $605,000 in operating costs. The condominium ran operating deficits of roughly $37,000 in 2023 and $41,000 in 2024. Insurance roughly doubled year on year, to about $75,000 in 2024. Payroll and contracted labor together run about $160,000 a year.

Reserves. Reserve accounts held roughly $254,000 at December 31, 2024, with total cash of about $274,000. The auditors note that the condominium has not commissioned a reserve study and has no formal plan to fund future major repairs; its options when money is needed are borrowing, special assessments or deferral.

Capital work. The roof was replaced in 2023. An HVAC upgrade is under contract for $261,500, of which $134,500 had been paid by year-end 2024. The project was paused in 2024 and restarted in 2025. Other recent spending covered façade and garage-structure inspections, sidewalk repairs, an elevator upgrade and a water pump. In 2022 the board designated four months of common charges as a capital assessment.

A 2023 water event. In May 2023 a fire in one unit set off the sprinkler system and caused water damage to other units and common elements. Insurance reimbursements covered the remediation, with a balance still held against remaining costs at year-end 2024.

Tax certiorari. The board won a 2022/23 reduction in assessed value on the residential lots.

The overall read is a building with no mortgage and no reported litigation exposure, with recent capital work done or under way, running small operating deficits on a modest reserve. Ask for the 2025 audit, the current budget, where the HVAC project stands and what remains to pay, and whether any assessment is planned.

Board review: No approval right over purchasers. The Board of Managers holds a right of first refusal on resales of residential units, per the offering plan. In practice this is a waiver step, not an interview.

Commercial and garage units: Separately owned, separately taxed, and outside the residential owners' control. The commercial units and the garage unit carry their own Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program (ICIP) exemption in Department of Finance records. The residential units do not.

Working capital contribution: Two months' common charges on initial sponsor purchases, per the audited statements. Confirm what the board charges on resales.

Recent sales

Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 3-02120-7501; each condominium apartment is its own tax lot). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price.

The 421-a benefit has expired. The 421-a benefit expired with the 2022/23 roll, so there is no remaining phase-out; future bills still change with assessments, rates and any other benefits on the apartment's bill. Model it with the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator.

Read the audit before you set a price. Two years of operating deficits, a reserve around a quarter of a million dollars, no reserve study and an HVAC contract still being paid off make up the capital picture. All of it should be priced in, along with the current budget and any assessment plans.

Understand the commercial partner. Commercial and garage owners hold about a quarter of the common interest. Ask how the board is composed, how commercial common charges are set and whether any commercial lease or use issue is pending.

Parking is a lease, not a deed. The garage is a single commercial unit under separate ownership. Spaces are rented from its operator, not bought with an apartment.

Sell the height. Few buildings in brownstone Fort Greene offer open outlooks above the rowhouse roofline. Market each apartment's outlook by floor and exposure; no view is protected without a recorded instrument.

Put the tax line up front. A fully phased-in tax bill is an advantage against 2008–2015 Brooklyn condominiums whose abatements are still stepping down. Show the current Department of Finance bill.

Have the capital story ready. The roof, the HVAC project and the 2023 water remediation will come up in any buyer's diligence. Sellers who hand over the audit and the board's project schedule early keep the negotiation on price.

If you're considering The Greene House, also evaluate:

• 75 Greene Avenue — the 1930 former diocesan chancery, converted in 2019 to 22 condominium units two blocks east on the same street; the prewar-shell alternative inside the historic district
• 144 Vanderbilt Avenue — 26-residence Fort Greene condominium at Myrtle Avenue with a large non-residential lot count
• The Forte (230 Ashland Place) — 108-unit Fort Greene condominium of the same construction era near BAM
• 1 Hanson Place — the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower condominium; the neighborhood's landmark high-rise alternative
• Isabella (545 Washington Avenue) — 63-unit condominium filed in 2004, at the Clinton Hill–Prospect Heights edge
• 532 Clinton Avenue — boutique 14-unit Clinton Hill condominium a few blocks east
• 315 Gates Avenue — late-2000s Brooklyn new construction for buyers comparing tax status and scale
• The Washington (35 Underhill Avenue) — mid-2000s Prospect Heights condominium with a separate commercial unit holding the garage