500 Fourth Avenue Closing Date

viper220- we're going the FHA route....

I have a conventional.

Our conventional loan was recently approved by M & T Bank. We are just waiting on the bank appraisal for the 'clear to close' and our engineer/inspection is scheduled for Monday.
Also, I was told by the agent today that lien issue was resolved (bonded by the bank), so they are supposedly rescheduling closings again starting this Friday. Hang in there everyone!

I think the problem now it that we have to wait for the lien to be officially lifted... hopefully that's something that happens quick!

I raised the same concern with my attorney as government processes tend to run long but I was told that the developer just has to produce proof of payment for the title to move forward...but I'm not sure. I just hope that we can close soon as my lease comes up and I won't have a place to live...I've already extended it once and these management companies aren't always cooperative.

The lien has been bonded. It must have been, because I was able to close late yesterday afternoon - yes, really and truly this time. The fog has lifted! Hopefully there are no further hiccups and we can all be in soon. I look forward to meeting you all. I kinda feel like I know you already.

celebrating tonite man what a workout thanks for the great news rick

Congratulations Rick!

Congrats Rick!!!!

congrats Rick! jealous :) looking forward to meeting you as well!

I would suggest a Happy Hour, but I gotta go pack. Maybe sometime next week we can get together for drinks one night to celebrate the light turning on at the end of the tunnel.

count us in!

Congatulations Rick, I hope your move goes smoothly.

Our attorney tells us the C of O is not necessary to get the tax abatement.

looks like the tax abatement is already in. Our taxes are evidently something like $37 per quarter.

Rick - A big fat congradulations !

Congratulations Rick!

Congrats Rick! That's great news!

I am so nervous that by the time Wed rolls around something else will com up to delay our closing again.....

Well, my closing is still set for noon tomorrow. Hopefully it will actually happen this time. Good luck to everyone else on your closings as well.

Has anyone here closed with a conventional mortgage?

I did with a conventional mortgage through M&T.

Ediacara: Good Luck today!

Good Luck Ediacara!

Thanks. Closing actually happened and I picked up my keys yesterday. There were several other closings happening yesterday and the sponsor's attorney said there would be another 6 or 7 today. Movers are coming tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be packed in time. Luckily we're only moving from 8th St.

My conventional loan was rejected by Fannie Mae because not enough units in the building had sold. My broker is going back to them with an updated sales figure (apparently around 38% or so). If they reject it again then I have to start from scratch with another company. It's taken me over two months so I'm hoping that's not the case.

What I don't get is obviously people here have already had their loans accepted by Fannie Mae, so obviously they've accepted the building in those cases. I don't get why they won't with mine. I'm told it has nothing to do with my particular application since I have perfect credit. Frustrating to say the least.

Ediacara: congratulations! I heard there were 13 closings scheduled between today and yesterday.

Viper: I can't understand it either...makes no sense since obviously other people have gotten through. Have you gotten your lawyer involved as well...might make more headway than your broker would. My broker pretty much stayed out of the financial stuff and let my lawyer do what was needed there. Are you using M&T?

Just heard back that Fannie Mae rejected my second attempt because of their presale requirement which they're saying the building doesn't meet. So MetLife is dropping me now, which pretty much sucks.

My lawyer has been pretty involved with the mortgage process in terms of being in email and occasional phone contact with my mortgage broker, but my broker led the mortgage application process.

My broker says he's able to handle M&T as well, so he's checking with them about how they're able to offer a conventional mortgage and if we should go through them. Fun times.

Wow. I hope M&T fares better. That's another headache on top of the ones you've already had to endure.Why would Fannie Mae reject for you but [presumably] approve others? Not sure why or how that works...did they suddenly decide the building wasn't sold enough?

That's the million dollar question, nobody's able to explain how Fannie Mae's shadowy underwriters work exactly. Relatedly I hope the congress extends the homebuyer credit or else me and everyone else who hasn't closed yet are out 8 grand.

Hope your move goes smoothly. I'll live vicariously through you.

I hope they extend it too, for everyone's sake. We'll know today! For everyone's information re: the homebuyer credit, I checked with my accountant yesterday and was told that I could either file an amended 2009 return (for up to three years, actually) or claim the credit on my 2010 return. So no huge rush on something that's related to this process, at least.

I moved in over the weekend and it all went smoothly. Still a few construction issues in my unit and a few hiccups here and there as they get set up (like the A/C was off in the whole building last Saturday), but they have been on top of things as I report them.

Hi Viper220 - I can understand this process must be frustrating! I am no expert on this but in my understanding it was only M&T and TD banks that were offering conventional loans in our building because they had some kind of arrangement with the sponsor. I think they take the loan onto their own books and do not immediately sell it to Fannie Mae. However, I think their rates are very reasonable. We are working with Lee Mundy from M&T and she has been great.

M&T just told my broker that they're only giving presale exceptions to current bank customers. I have an account at TD, so I guess I'll try them.

I'm not sure that what your broker was told is correct because I am not a current bank customer with M&T and we are getting a loan with them. Did your broker contact Lee Mundy (914-582-2431)? That said, there is no reason not to go with TD, especially if you currently hold an account with them. That would seem to make things easier. Good luck!

Hmm. I'll call TD and M&T directly, thanks for the info. It seems the fates are conspiring against me.

Just FYI - I spoke with Lee Mundy yesterday and she is out of the office today. She should be back tomorrow.

Viper-I have been dealing with M&T bank ( Lee Mundy) and I don't have an account with them either. So far, everything has gone well-my app is complete and I am waiting to here from them to see if my loan has been approved.

It is encouraging to hear that quite a few folks are now moved in and that there are not any major problems.
Congrats to all of you who made it through all these hoops. And I've got my fingers croosed for the rest of us.

we closed yesterday!!! finally- everyone is right, once you have the keys in your hand you sort of forget all of the nonsense that lead up to that moment... like rick, we still have some issues that need to be addressed in the unit but I'm confident they will be resolved in a timely manner- the one thing that is sure to drive me absolutely nuts is the fire detectors! there is a chorus of shrill beeping coming from all directions in unit where I guess the batteries are dead?! good luck everyone!

Congrats on the closing, glad to hear it went ok.

I got in touch with Lee Mundy (super nice lady) and now I'm full steam ahead on getting a mortgage through M&T. Thanks to everyone here for recommending her. I only wish I went with her two months ago.

How are M&T's rates?

I'm not sure what M&T's rates are at the moment as they will vary with the market and it also will depend if you need a jumbo mortgage or not, but this page:
http://tdbank.mortgagewebcenter.com/
has TD's rates listed and they change daily as of 11 am. One thing to note is that this building is not eligible for the Jumbo Conforming loan bracket.

ahw: Congratulations!

I have told the doorman a couple of times about the fire alarm beeping thing...not sure why it's still an issue and as of the other night, neither was he, but hopefully they'll figure it out soon. I must say, Juan and Eduardo have been great about getting things fixed up when and where they can.

And yes, Lee Mundy is terrific. I also found her through this board and am thankful for that!

grats on the closing ahw!

M&T had a 5% rate a few weeks ago when we locked. Now, not sure but cannot be too far off that. Overall they have been very good and responsive most of the time.

The smoke detectors were going off 2 weeks ago when I went by to check on progress, and were still beeping on Monday when I did my engineer inspection. The engineer said the system was hard-wired so the issue may not be only a battery backup needing replacement. I have asked the agents about the system, but got no further details yet.

Good luck to people with closings coming up and we will hopefully be joining the ranks next week.

We've all had to jump through a lot of hoops to close, but closing won't be the end of it. One of the problems with new construction is that the owners don't control the board. The sponsor appoints a managing company that manages the building however they like, with no input from the owner occupants. But as in many other situations, we can seize a little control over our destiny if we work together and support one another. Towards this end, I hope we will be having owner occupant meetings to discuss our common concerns once we all get settled in.

The building told me once we make a condo board we can do anything we want, including changing management companies. So we should have a lot of control.

The problem is that according to the 500 Fourth Ave. Offering Plan, "The Sponsor as owner of unsold units will have voting control of the board of managers until approximately thirty days after the closing of the last unit, or until such earlier time as Sponsor elects to relinquish control." (p. 63) On p. 70 it states: "The members of the Board of Managers of the Condominium will be Itzhak Katan (member of the Sponsor), Michael Matrisciani (member of the Sponsor), and Perry Soskin (employee of the Sponsor). Within thirty days of the closing of title to the first Unit, a Board meeting will be called at which time the Sponsor shall designate one Unit owner who is independent of the Sponsor to serve as manager in place of Perry Soskin. The members of this board shall hold office and exercise all powers of the board of managers until the first annual unit owners meeting which is to be held within thirty days after the sale of the last unit or at such earlier time as Sponsor elects." Although independent of the Sponsor, the owner designated by the Sponsor at the Sponsor's pleasure.

I meant, "Although independent of the Sponsor, the owner designated by the Sponsor serves at the Sponsor's pleasure." In other words, if the designated owner doesn't act in accordance with the Sponsor's wishes, the Sponsor can designate someone who will.

Those who have closed already, has anyone had any success in setting up Verizon FIOS? Is it even available yet? Thanks.

I haven't closed yet but I called Verizon to ask if FIOS was available and they said it wasn't. I also asked the building and they said only they only have Time Warner now.

and the Verizon website also indicates that the building doesn't have it available, dammit.

Had time warner installed today

I also called Verizon and they told me the same thing, we don't have FIOS, at least not yet. The person I spoke to was surprised we didn't have it because he thought all new buildings in Brooklyn were being wired for FIOS. It is more expensive to wire the building for FIOS after construction is completed than before. I wonder why the building wasn't wired for FIOS.

so, what are the options for internet service?

-and land line ?

I'm getting my internet through Time Warner. You may be able to get Verizon DSL but that's going to be slower than cable.

Anybody up for a "meet your new and/or future neighbors" Happy Hour tonight, perhaps at Cantina right across the street from the building?

Has anyone seen 401 8th Avenue #53 in Park Slope?

Rick, what time?

say 7p? The official Happy Hour might be over by then, but I won't be home until about 630, probably.

would love to but can't tonight hope to meet you all at a future happy hour !

We can make it tonight. I may not be able to get there until 7:30 or 8.

I will be at the bar by 7 in a red t-shirt. Looking forward to it!

Sorry I couldn't make the get together. I hope to make a future one.

I just talked with a customer service person at Verizon who said she saw a note attached to the record for our building saying that we will be getting FIOS in 6-12 months. But she also recommended that we ask the developer to ask Verizon to install FIOS. According to the rep I spoke to, Verizon DSL isn't even available at this time, leaving us with only Time Warner for broadband service. Is this correct? Has anyone been able to get Verizon DSL?

Hi. Does anyone have an Idea about the Garage situation? are you assigned a spot? is it valet still?

I know it's still a staging area for construction and probably won't be in use for a few months at least. Not sure if it's still valet...good question. You are not assigned a spot, I don't think.

I believe they mentioned it was going to be operated by a 3rd party and spots would be rented out. Does anyone know what's going to be in the retail space?

Another question - have any of you inquired about bike storage in the building? We would love to have someplace to store our bikes, and have asked about this -- apparently, there are no definitive plans for bike storage at this time, but it may be considered in the future. Perhaps if we all continue to inquire and if prospective buyers continue to request it - it may happen eventually. Who knows.

Oh, that actually reminds me to ask if anyone knows about basement storage units of any kind....?

There are no storage units in the current plans. The garage is going to be run by a "3rd party". I don't know who that will be but I think people will have to lease the spaces from this 3rd party rather than purchase them outright. It also may make it difficult to sort out bicycle storage if the sponsor has earmarked the available space to an outside company.

We were told that parking spaces would be rented on a monthly basis by a third party company for about $260 per month. The plan was for valet parking, which is the only way it would work because if you look in the Offering Plan you'll see that they'll have to move several cars to get any one car out. Only if the garage is not filled to capacity will a valet not be necessary. As for bike storage, Michael the developer told us that part of the space earmarked for commercial use would be used for bike storage at a nominal fee. But no bike storage has yet been made available and it's not in the Offering Plan.

Great news about the bike storage!!

There's also a little nine-car garage space on the first floor, with an entrance on 13th St. It's not connected to the main garage in the cellar, so must be unattended, and looks as if you could get a car in and out, though tight. In the main garage, the plans show 50 spaces. As winter2 said, an attendant would need lots of time to move cars to get one out. Some are three or four deep.

Can anyone tell me what the common charges are? I can't remember. I know they're around $300/month. Has anyone figured out as well how much taxes are a month?

Common charges are different for different units, but the range is relatively low. The building has a tax abatement and so the monthly taxes are extremely low, like $10 to $20! And the tax abatement has already been approved and is in effect.

viper220: did you get a mortgage? have you closed?

My mortgage was finally approved through TD Bank. Should close shortly, provided an earth-killing asteroid or some other unlucky thing doesn't crop up.

For those of you who successfully closed and moved in: How was the moving in process, and do you have any recommendations RE: movers and any tips/warnings? We are scheduled to close early August and plan to move thereafter - we are moving from Manhattan, and any information/feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Viper220: Can you provide us with more details on how the process went with regards to TD Bank? Who did you deal with at the bank? Is it backed by FHA or Fannie? What rate did you lock in, points? I'm considering submitting an offer on a 1 BR, any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and good luck with your closing.

I dealt with Greg Gooch from TD Bank. His email is ggooch@yesbank.com. I got a conventional mortgage and it isn't backed by FHA or Fannie. Fannie Mae rejected the building because it didn't meet its presale requirements. As for rate and points, you can see the latest on TD's website at http://tdbank.mortgagewebcenter.com. I previously tried with Metlife and M&T and ended with TD which wound up being cheaper than both of those other ones, and with a lower interest rate.

My mortgage from M and T was just approved. I'm excited about moving in hopefully before the end of August.
I do hope there will be some kind of bike storage/parking space by then ! Terri was very confident that it would happen so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi, after a few delays from the building we are hoping to close/move-in next week. Did anyone move-in on a Saturday? Or does it have to be during the week? Very excited to finally be in :)

You have to make arrangements to move in with the super and/or management company.

NycBklyn@- I'm really big on Bike storage and would be really dissapointed if it didn't happen, so I'm hoping enough folks will lobby for it and it will become a reality ! I believe the room in the gym area, that was once designated to be a yoga space, has now become a children's play room, most likely due to enough people lobbying for that to happen, so BIKE folks raise up your voices!

NycBklyn@- I'm really big on Bike storage and would be really dissapointed if it didn't happen, so I'm hoping enough folks will lobby for it and it will become a reality ! I believe the room in the gym area, that was once designated to be a yoga space, has now become a children's play room, most likely due to enough people lobbying for that to happen, so BIKE folks raise up your voices!

My loan was approved --yeah! I now need to get home insurance. I believe some of you folks mentioned Allstate, is that right? Does anyone have contact info for home insurance?
Thanks!

Congrats.

I got mine through Walter Wright at Allstate. (718) 499-7000

Thanks Viper !
This board is really a great resource .

I'm a bike person too!!! I just called one of the property managers, Gustavo 212-634-5453, at the Cooper Square Realty and he said that he knows they are"working on it" but that he would call the developers today and see what the status is... I said that it was pretty important now that tenants are in so that we aren't dragging our bikes into the elevators and down the newly carpeted hallways :) I figure the more dramatic the better and the more people that call him the better! I also ran into Mark, one of the contractors today and he said he didn't know what exactly was planned for the bikes but they are moving forward with the storage units- he said something like storage lockers? So Who knows when those will be ready but I guess that's good news too!

I'm happy to hear there are other bike people in the building !!! The room that was originally supposed to be for yoga ( by the gym) was converted into a kids playroom due to enough people asking for a children's space, so I think we need to follow that example and make sure our our voices are heard as well.
Thanks ahwoo1 for the Gustavo contact. I just left a message on his machine.
And that would be great if there were storage lockers as well !

Thanks ahw001! I too left Gustavo a message in regards to the storage unit & also moving in procedures. I would like to move in the last Saturday of the month. do any of you know if you can move in on a weekend?

I was able to move in on a Saturday. I believe the welcome package states that initial move-ins can be made on weekends but are otherwise M-F.

They've been saying there would be a children's play room since at least last summer--nothing new there. What's new is that there doesn't seem to be a yoga room anymore.

I hope they throw in another weight machine or something. Exercise room looks somewhat sparse aside from the treadmills/bikes.

There's more equipment than I expected. In fact it looks to me like they used the yoga space for more exercise equipment.

Can anyone recommend a good place to get blinds/installation?

fyi- for anyone planning to move in this Sat- 12th street will be closed to traffic for a block party so make sure there's another entrance for your moving van! we used the garage on 12th so I don't know if there's another way in for big stuff....

I thought it might be better to create a Google Groups message board for residents of the building instead of this one. It's private, and has much much more functionality.

http://groups.google.com/group/500-fourth-avenue-brooklyn-ny

Did anyone install glass doors for their shower/bath ? If so, who did you use ( assuming they did a good job of course) ?
Thanks.