Washington Plaza

[Simka]

some buildings are way overpriced IMO, but there are still reasonable deals. just saw this listed today.

2 bedroom with reasonable maintenance right near the 74th hub for 380k

http://streeteasy.com/building/35_38-75-street-queens/4g

needs a reno, but a 40-70k reno gets you a brand new unit

I've often wondered about that building. Even though it's a big building, listings in it don't come up very often. Maybe the percentage of owned apartments is low? Or maybe the it's a great place to live and no one ever wants to leave.

[Simka]

Ha, someone from the RE office must read here because they've amended the floorplan that seemed too small in the E-building - it's listed as 1801 sf now. That makes a lot more sense!

Did you guys hear ETA on Gym and the Gate going up?

No clue! I didn't even know there'd be a gate until a few days ago. My assumption is that they'll wait for most of the renovations to be finished before they start the gym. I think the lobbies will be the final thing they do because they won't want workmen messing up the new floors and scuffing the paint finishes.  I bet the gate will be soon-ish since people will start moving in in a few weeks.

Lilybell, remember the rendering of the guy in the gatehouse? There was a huge gate depicted in that! 

They may be starting the process of painting hallways in my building. Yesterday they were doing something in the hallway on a lower floor that was kicking up a lot of dust, like maybe sanding down the walls?

[dssjh]

i think it may be the former -- number of owner-occupied units.

i've been in two apartments there, one for a party several years ago and the other to pick up something i bought from someone on JH Families. both were nice (though i really only saw the living room in the latter case). i think the common areas needed a bit of sprucing up, but not in a major way.

some buildings are way overpriced IMO, but there are still reasonable deals. just saw this listed today.

2 bedroom with reasonable maintenance right near the 74th hub for 380k

http://streeteasy.com/building/35_38-75-street-queens/4g

needs a reno, but a 40-70k reno gets you a brand new unit

I've often wondered about that building. Even though it's a big building, listings in it don't come up very often. Maybe the percentage of owned apartments is low? Or maybe the it's a great place to live and no one ever wants to leave.

[Simka]

Ha, someone from the RE office must read here because they've amended the floorplan that seemed too small in the E-building - it's listed as 1801 sf now. That makes a lot more sense!

Another heads-up for the RE office.   I was just looking at the listing for C32, and there's something wrong with that, too. The photo/illustration of the living room is wrong for that apartment. If you're looking at the living room from the foyer area, as in the photo, there is no way doorways can be leading off to the right. That side of the living room is adjacent to the apartment next door. The listing doesn't give a floorplan for C32, but there's one in the new amendment, and it doesn't show any rooms or hallways going off the right side of the living room, either. Also, the $615K price doesn't match the price for C32 in the amendment. In fact, I didn't see any apartment listed that had an outsider price of $615K.

[abcdefghijk]

i think it may be the former -- number of owner-occupied units.

i've been in two apartments there, one for a party several years ago and the other to pick up something i bought from someone on JH Families. both were nice (though i really only saw the living room in the latter case). i think the common areas needed a bit of sprucing up, but not in a major way.

some buildings are way overpriced IMO, but there are still reasonable deals. just saw this listed today.

2 bedroom with reasonable maintenance right near the 74th hub for 380k

http://streeteasy.com/building/35_38-75-street-queens/4g

needs a reno, but a 40-70k reno gets you a brand new unit

I've often wondered about that building. Even though it's a big building, listings in it don't come up very often. Maybe the percentage of owned apartments is low? Or maybe the it's a great place to live and no one ever wants to leave.

Ok...so in that building mentioned...if the number of owner occupied apartments is under 50% I believe that a person can't get a mortgage to buy an apartment in such a co-op.

I think that is the rule for banks.

In other words to buy an apartment in that particular co-op it would have to be an all-cash deal.

Am I right? What do you say, real estate experts on this site?

[eddie]

i think it may be the former -- number of owner-occupied units.

i've been in two apartments there, one for a party several years ago and the other to pick up something i bought from someone on JH Families. both were nice (though i really only saw the living room in the latter case). i think the common areas needed a bit of sprucing up, but not in a major way.

some buildings are way overpriced IMO, but there are still reasonable deals. just saw this listed today.

2 bedroom with reasonable maintenance right near the 74th hub for 380k

http://streeteasy.com/building/35_38-75-street-queens/4g

needs a reno, but a 40-70k reno gets you a brand new unit

I've often wondered about that building. Even though it's a big building, listings in it don't come up very often. Maybe the percentage of owned apartments is low? Or maybe the it's a great place to live and no one ever wants to leave.

Ok...so in that building mentioned...if the number of owner occupied apartments is under 50% I believe that a person can't get a mortgage to buy an apartment in such a co-op.

I think that is the rule for banks.

In other words to buy an apartment in that particular co-op it would have to be an all-cash deal.

Am I right? What do you say, real estate experts on this site?

a listing would usually say if its cash only. The 50% rule isn't set in stone, but it would make it harder to get financing.

I think the unknown, post war buildings just dont get much attention. But personally i prefer a n post war building with garage and garbage shute.

[Simka]

I think the unknown, post war buildings just dont get much attention. But personally i prefer a n post war building with garage and garbage shute.

I get the garage part, but are garbage chutes usually postwar? We have them in our prewar building.

[Minimal4me]

personally i prefer a n post war building with garage and garbage shute.

I don't think you're alone. We first looked at pre-war because they tend to get the attention in articles we read. And course they're beautiful - I'd have been totally happy! But DH prefers modern apartments and loves things like sunken living rooms and raised dining areas (blame it on Mad Men!). Once we found a home with indoor parking... end of story. I couldn't even get him to look at anything else.

[eddie]

I think the unknown, post war buildings just dont get much attention. But personally i prefer a n post war building with garage and garbage shute.

I get the garage part, but are garbage chutes usually postwar? We have them in our prewar building.

When I was apt hunting I saw a few pre war units and they had "dumbwaiters", which I learned was basically an opening in the kitchen where you put the trash and ring a bell so that it gets lowered to the basement where the super picks it up. Seemed like a hassle, especially on days where you might have to throw out the trash 2-3 times. Much prefer a chute.

Maybe some newer pre wars have chutes, IDK. I think the dumbwaiters were more for the really old coops before 1920.

[eddie]

personally i prefer a n post war building with garage and garbage shute.

I don't think you're alone. We first looked at pre-war because they tend to get the attention in articles we read. And course they're beautiful - I'd have been totally happy! But DH prefers modern apartments and loves things like sunken living rooms and raised dining areas (blame it on Mad Men!). Once we found a home with indoor parking... end of story. I couldn't even get him to look at anything else.

yea to me the garage and chutes were just deal breakers. But I do agree some prewar units were beautiful. But indoor garage in JH is almost essential with parking around here.

Also while the high ceilings look nice and are nice, higher ceilings also mean higher AC bills in the summer.

[abcdefghijk]

i think it may be the former -- number of owner-occupied units.

i've been in two apartments there, one for a party several years ago and the other to pick up something i bought from someone on JH Families. both were nice (though i really only saw the living room in the latter case). i think the common areas needed a bit of sprucing up, but not in a major way.

some buildings are way overpriced IMO, but there are still reasonable deals. just saw this listed today.

2 bedroom with reasonable maintenance right near the 74th hub for 380k

http://streeteasy.com/building/35_38-75-street-queens/4g

needs a reno, but a 40-70k reno gets you a brand new unit

I've often wondered about that building. Even though it's a big building, listings in it don't come up very often. Maybe the percentage of owned apartments is low? Or maybe the it's a great place to live and no one ever wants to leave.

Ok...so in that building mentioned...if the number of owner occupied apartments is under 50% I believe that a person can't get a mortgage to buy an apartment in such a co-op.

I think that is the rule for banks.

In other words to buy an apartment in that particular co-op it would have to be an all-cash deal.

Am I right? What do you say, real estate experts on this site?

a listing would usually say if its cash only. The 50% rule isn't set in stone, but it would make it harder to get financing.

I think the unknown, post war buildings just dont get much attention. But personally i prefer a n post war building with garage and garbage shute.

Researching this...apparently the Fannie Mae rules require at least 51% of a building to be owner-occupied.  I suppose a person might get a mortgage from another lender...but I am guessing that mortgage will be more expensive.

[Lilybell]

I was just looking at the listing for C32, and there's something wrong with that, too. The photo/illustration of the living room is wrong for that apartment. If you're looking at the living room from the foyer area, as in the photo, there is no way doorways can be leading off to the right

Are you talking about the photos?  They use the same photos for multiple apartments - I don't think they are supposed to "match" the actual floorplans.

[newjhuser]

Seems sales has slowed for this place.

[Lilybell]

Why do you say that?  They hit their 50% goal quickly.  The larger apartments will take longer to sell because of the price, but the one-bedrooms are going fast(except for a few that have awkward floor plans).  There are quite a few apartments that haven't even been released for sale yet because they are renovating them in batches.

The owner doesn't accept offers lower than the asking price. She'd rather wait for a full-price sale and she's in no rush now that the conversion has been approved.

[newjhuser]

Thanks for the inside knowledge.