CO-OP/CONDO BUYERS

The average sales price for Manhattan condos may have slipped slightly in July, but that's not stopping them from rising all over the city. Just outside the Upper West Side's historic district, a 17-story condo building is set to rise. It replaces the garage between Broadway and West End Avenue. YIMBY, which snagged a first look at the development, reports that that 170-foot-tall building will offer 39 apartments spread across 100,194 square feet, which means average units will be approximately 2,569 square feet. As if the promise of space weren't nice enough, potential buyers will want to pay particular attention the floors 12, 13, and 14. Because the structure will be set back after the 11th floor, it will create "large private balconies for residents on the 12th, 13th and 14th floors." Nice, eh? 

Rendering of 269 West 87th Street by FxFowle Architects

Read more

The potential buyer's reported income is spiky, uneven. The board members have been told by the co-op's attorney to make choices based on the money he puts on the table, not on the charm he exudes with his Scottish accent. So what should they do?

My suggestion: think like a broker. You should try to make a deal — not squelch one.

Read more

It looks like a 154,000-square-foot luxury condo development is heading to Tribeca. Citing property records filed with the city early this week, The Real Deal reported that Related Cos. secured $200 million in funding from Bank of America for the development at 70 Vestry Street. "The Jeff Blau-led firm sealed two separate construction loans from the bank, valued at $161 million and $39 million, late last month. The funds will help Related develop the Tribeca site, which it acquired from Ponte Equities for $115 million last year," according to TRD. Unlike other developers who double their buildings' heights (or try to), there's been no move by Related to make the structure taller than 13 stories. No new renderings have surfaced since YIMBY got a first look in late July.

Read more

Usually, when the subject of carpets at co-ops comes up, it's regarding a noise complaint and the 80 percent carpet rule. But in this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times, Ronda Kaysen fielded a different type of carpet-related question. Someone in Washington Heights asks, "Does New York City have any rules or regulations about shaking rugs out a window, or beating them in a courtyard? Could a co-op board object to the behavior?" Kaysen gets imput from Dov Treiman, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, who explains that the city has no laws about cleaning rugs. "But," he cautions, "if your co-op board decides that shareholders should not be slinging carpets out their windows, it might be able to adopt a rule banning the practice. It would depend on whether the building’s governing documents allow the board to change building rules. Check your proprietary lease and house rules to see if a restriction already exists." Kaysen does add some good neighborly advice, however. "You might irk neighbors living below you (or mingling in the courtyard) who would not appreciate a shower of dust raining down from above. So perhaps you should consider a less dusty alternative for your carpets, like steam cleaning," she writes. Remember, courtesy costs nothing and goes a long way to keeping the entire co-op community happy. 

Read more

It may seem like a really sketchy, not to mention frustrating, game of bait-and-switch, but it's simply New York City real estate. Yet another developer, after proposing a shorter apartment building, wants to build one twice as tall. Yet again, locals are saying no way. Where's it all going down this time? At 4452 Broadway, reports DNAinfo. HAP Investment Developers presented its revised proposal last Wednesday to Community Board 12's Land Use committee, where, not surprisingly, it was "met with opposition from residents and the local community board." According to DNAinfo, "HAP must get approval from the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals for several zoning changes, including a bid to more than double the building’s height from 80 to 162.5 feet." HAP reportedly insists that the building must be taller, because otherwise they won't make enough of a profit, you see. A representative for the developer, Frank Cheney, cites "unusual features of the lot, which is built into the side of a hill and includes the entrance to the 191st Street 1 train tunnel." Hmm, you'da thunk they would've caught that when they snapped up the property in the first place. So much for "let the buyer beware." Of course Cheney says the taller building would totally not affect the neighborhood's look, insisting that it would be approximately at the same level as the buildings behind it, "referring to some structures higher up on the Fairview Avenue hill that can be seen from Broadway." Funnily enough, the people who live in the neighborhood disagree. The neighborhood, say local opponents, is dominated by six-to-eight-story apartment buildings. You know, closer to the originally proposed seven-story structure. The full board votes on the revised proposal September 29.

Read more

Looks like Flushing isn't the only Queens neighborhood getting fancy condos. A new upscale condo, reports DNAinfo, is being constructed in Rego Park — a neighborhood that has "recently experienced an infusion of luxury buildings." The developer, Yin Hu, tells DNAinfo that the seven-story, 65-unit building at 65-38 Austin Street and slated to be completed sometime next year will also have a gym, rooftop garden, and bicycle room. And that's not all! The building will also get an indoor parking garage with space for 55 cars. How much will units go for? Well, mum's the word on prices, but we can guess it will be a smidgen more than the affordable prices the neighborhood has been known for. Keeping that luxury market happy. 

Read more

Do some of your fellow board members have "unofficial" meetings without certain members, where they decide things in advance of the regular meeting? Do they get together in secret and arrange to vote as a bloc? Is this legal? Is this proper? And what can you do about such "rogue" board members?

Not much, it turns out. Their secret meetings, according to attorneys, are perfectly legal. But not everything they do may be.

Read more

With condos rising in places like Rego Park and Flushing, we wondered how Manhattan condo sales are doing. CityRealty takes a look in its Monthly Market Report, which highlights the period from July 1 to July 31. It founds that the average sale price for Manhattan condos dipped slightly to $2.4 million. The average price for an apartment, taking into account both condo and co-op sales, was $1.8 million, unchanged month-to-month. There were 1,076 apartment sales, dipping from 1,150 sales in the prior month. Must have been those brutal heat waves. 

Read more

In my admissions interview, I’m not going to tell the board that I practice the tuba every day. None of their business, right?

If you do not care about disturbing your neighbors, then multifamily living isn’t for you. All co-ops have house rules and bylaws that restrict the noise level from an apartment. Many state that 80 percent of the floor space must be covered by carpeting.

New York City Local Law 113 states that quiet hours are from 10 P.M. to 7 A.M. Sounds measured at a level of 7dB(A) or more are not allowed after 10 P.M. and sounds at a level of 10dB(A) or more are not allowed after 7 A.M. by city law. You can be in violation of your proprietary lease if you do not abide by the city laws and the co-op laws, which can lead to an eviction.

Jeffrey M. Weber is president of Weber-Farhat  Realty Management.

Read more

For real estate developers, Flushing is coming of age, and in an overcrowded city where condos are rising anywhere you turn, the Queens neighborhood is a potential goldmine. For the community that has lived and thrived there for years, it may be time to worry. Early next month, sales start at Flushing Commons, a mixed-use development that has been in the works for a decade, reports The New York Times. According to the article, "the first phase of the 1.8 million-square-foot project will be finished in 2017, delivering 148 residential condos as well as office condos and retail.

Eventually, the complex of more than five acres will house a total of 600 residential condos, an outdoor plaza, and a new Y.M.C.A. facility. Completion is scheduled for mid-2021." Construction began last year, and has already caused chaos in the already bustling commercial hub: it's isolating small businesses and beginning to drive parking costs up — "prices have jumped to $3 an hour from $1, vexing drivers and merchants."

What will these changes mean for the mom-and-pop shops "selling pork buns, noodle soups and herbal remedies"? It remains to be seen, of course, but jaded New Yorkers who have already witnessed entire neighborhoods disappear to give way to shiny condos and shinier eateries and bars catering to those with lots of cash may not be too optimistic. People are drawn to the charm and character of neighborhoods like Flushing, only to change everything. As prices increase, people have no choice but to close up shop and move out.

So how much will the new residents of Flushing have to shell out for these new condos? Prices start at $650,000 for a one-bedroom with Swedish oak floors, quartz countertops and Italian porcelain tiles, says The Times. And "among the amenities for condo residents: a dog park, a reading room and Zen walking gardens. Two-bedrooms start at $850,000, three-bedrooms at $1.2 million and four-bedrooms at $2.5 million."

Read more