505–515 Flushing Avenue

Two seven-story buildings by Karl Fischer, filed within days of each other in 2008 and signed off a month apart in late 2011. Recorded areas on the upper floors describe four-apartment schedules in both buildings; confirm current layouts from the plans: a 1,228-square-foot B line, a 1,567-square-foot C line, and A and D lines of about 1,860. The second floor drops to three units, among them the building's largest apartments (2B at about 2,808 square feet at 505 and 2,777 at 515). There is no 7B at either building; the seventh floor has three units, and at 515 the 7A and 7D units are about 695 square feet each, less than half the size of the correspondingly numbered lines at 505; matching labels do not establish identical layouts.

One owner holds all four third-floor apartments at 515. Whether any units have been combined is not documented in the records reviewed; they remain separate lots on the tax roll.

The ground floor of each building is commercial: four units at 505 and six at 515, from about 600 to about 4,400 square feet. The garage holds 32 deeded spaces of 153 square feet each, 16 per building. Bedroom counts, exposures and private outdoor space are not documented in the records reviewed and should be read from the floor plans.

A records note. The Department of Finance roll lists 515 Flushing 3A at 11,866 square feet. Every other A-line unit in both buildings is about 1,866, and the assessment on 3A matches theirs. The 11,866 figure is an apparent discrepancy; reconcile it against the approved unit plan and original assessment record rather than selecting an area solely from neighboring labels or assessments.

The 421-a ends this year. The Department of Finance exemption file shows a 15-year 421-a exemption (code 5113) on all 78 residential, parking and terrace unit lots, from a 2007 base year with benefits starting in fiscal 2013. The phase-out is visible in the file: on a typical second-floor unit the exempt amount fell from about 122,000 dollars of assessed value on the fiscal 2021 roll to about 31,000 on fiscal 2027. Fiscal 2027 is year 15 of 15.

At the fiscal 2027 assessments and a Class 2 rate of roughly 12.5 percent, today's bills run about $9,000 to $16,000 for most apartments and about $20,500 for the second-floor B units. When the exemption falls away, those become about $11,000 to $19,500, and about $25,000 for the 2B units: an increase of roughly $2,000 to $4,800 a year per apartment, before any assessment change. The two 695-square-foot units at 515 are the exception, at about $5,000 rising to about $6,300. These are our estimates from the roll, not bills.

The ground-floor commercial units carry a separate benefit: a 25-year commercial exemption (Department of Finance code 1986, carried with an Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program application number) starting in fiscal 2013. It does not affect apartment bills directly, but the commercial units' share of common charges and the condominium's dependence on them are worth asking about.

Operating detail (staffing, the budget, reserves, any assessments and capital work) is not documented in the records reviewed.

Underwrite the fiscal 2028 bill, not today's. The current bill still carries the last stage of the 421-a. Your carrying-cost math should use the full tax from July 2027.

Identify the lot. Contracts, title and the lender file should carry billing lot 7508 and the specific unit lot: 1717–1743 for 505, 1760–1787 for 515. The address on the door, the address in PLUTO and the address a search returns can all differ.

Ask about the sponsor and the commercial units. Sponsor entities still hold four apartments, most of the 515 garage, both roof-terrace units and part of the commercial ground floor. Ask the managing agent whether the sponsor is current on common charges and how the commercial units share building expenses.

Parking is a separate purchase. Spaces are separate unit lots on their own deeds.

Get the documents from the managing agent. No offering plan was located. Pets, leasing rules, any resale contribution, the budget and reserves all have to come from the managing agent and the governing documents.

Get ahead of the tax question. A buyer's attorney will spot the expiring 421-a. Quote the projected fiscal 2028 figure up front and price with it in mind.

Sell the plate. The A and D lines at about 1,860 square feet are large for this part of Brooklyn and repeat on floors three through six in both buildings, but matching areas and line labels still require checking current plans and condition before treating sales as matched comparables.

• 434 Marcy Avenue: a mid-2000s Karl Fischer condominium one block east, with apartments of similar size and an expired 15-year 421-a; what this building's tax position looks like after next year
• 270 Wallabout Street: a 28-unit Karl Fischer condominium on the next block, smaller apartments, abatement expired on the fiscal 2023 roll
• 441 Marcy Avenue: a 23-unit condominium nearby with large apartments and a 15-year 421-a that reached zero one year earlier, on the fiscal 2027 roll
• 330 Wallabout Street: a 2020s condominium on Wallabout Street with large-format apartments and no abatement; the new-construction alternative
• 20 Bayard Street (The Bayard Views): a Karl Fischer condominium whose 15-year 421-a reached zero on the fiscal 2025 roll
• 859 Myrtle Avenue: a 2020s condominium on Myrtle Avenue carrying a 25-year 421-a; the contrasting tax position