I bought this apartment.

I hope you know that the apt. is not a legitimate 3 bedroom since the third bedroom does not have a closet. Also, the fact that you have to walk through the first bedroom to get to it is not ideal. Also, the living room and kitchen look awfully small. And finally, why are there no interior pictures? is the place a dump?

Dude, stop pissing on her parade.

Congrats, glamma!

OBVIOUSLY addicted! Congratulations! I hope you'll enjoy it & be VERY happy there. Frankly, I wonder why you're doing this to yourself 'cause after I purchase something, I just stop shopping & don't look back. Hope they'll be kind.

That's a quick closing! Congratulations Glamma! Enjoy your new place. Hopefully the construction will go smoothly.

relax pal. I just hate it when realtors think that any room with 4 walls is a bedroom.

alpie, f off.

glamma, awesome location and maintenance. i'm a downtown sort myself. congrats and enjoy.

you bears ripped 407 PAS to shreds and now your criticizing me for making a few comments to the OP?

Congrats! Love Alphabet City! Lot's of luck in the RENO.

Congratulations, Glamma! Just left the East Village in March after seven years there. Great area, and I'm sure you'll be very happy in your new home. Fingers crossed your renovation goes smoothly.

glamma isn't trying to sell a unit, you idiot, she has bought one. she is about to close, right now your opinion on the bedrooms is absolutely irrelevant.

"I am becoming completely addicted to this board by the way."

go to rehab while you can!

congrats glamma!
and to alpresident - she already said she is renovating it to make it a 2 bedroom so what does it matter whether it was a legitimate 3 bedroom before or not. also how can you compare someone who bought a place and is exited to someone as delusional about his expensive fridge as 407pas. so NOT the same scenario. it's not a bear versus bull thing.

the long hallway has a huge closet running the length of it so that should be fine. after construction, the two BR's will be off the hallway, with totally separate entrances, and the living room will be 12 by 19, prewar with 10 ft ceilings so not too small for me. maybe a little bigger after i expose the brick on either end. when i went to see it, i was expecting the worst. but actually the thing was, it just has really ugly stuff in it and badly needed paint / window treatments. not even ugly - HOAGLEY. like instead of a couch, four kitchen-y chairs with cushions, covered in plastic, lined up in a row? who does that? while the unit upstairs was decorated beautifully but actually not in great shape. for example in my unit, the floors are in great shape, original harwood with zero sloping, etc. thanks to all for the congrats. believe me i check the listings constantly out of curiosity, but i can't imagine regretting this, i literally cannot bear living at home anymore and i won't be selling any time soon. thanks too all for the congrats and for the other comments as well.

If you'd read the post you'd know that those 2 bedrooms you're so concerned about will become the sitting room & the current living area will be bedroom #2. A bit of a hike from the kitchen to the table but it's nice to be closer to the plumbing at night, particularly, I think.

Have F-U-N !!!

thanks. i'm putting in a small breakfast bar. and i don't cook or even eat much lol.

Looks like it's gonna be a winner. Congrats and don't let The SE Gang rain on your parade!

congratulations. there is nothing better than your first home. i like your idea for the living room because it is very important to have light in the living area and east light is wonderful. I really don't think it is as important in the bedroom so i like your plan. i think you did great. don't let the reno drive you crazy. and know that loving your neighbors and the hood is very, very important. congrats.

glamma, congrats! Hope there's years of enjoyment ahead in your new home.

You have amazing restaurants in your new neighborhood btw!

Congrats on the new place!

How's the maintenance so amazingly low? Is it HDFC? Are owners expected to contribute sweat equity of any sort?

It sounds like you have a really good eye and that it has paid off for you. Wishing you many happy years!

Congrats! The Floorplan seems to show avery faint "windows" in the back bedrooms? or are they not windows? I think you're doing the right thing by renovating it early.

alanhart, can't speak to this building, but I once saw a great 1BR on 100th/CPW (not the greatest block of course, but you could do much worse) where maintenance was also $300. Residents definitely did their share to keep the building in shape, but it seemed to work for them. Great to see that in a city where many are spoiled (and have the means to do so of course).

lavagna -- great restaurant nearby

alan - yes it IS HDFC but with NO income cap - they did away with it a few years ago. the mortgage on the building was paid off 20 yrs ago and the maintenance hasn't risen in a looooong time. they own the three stores surrounding them so the view is protected (not that it's great, but still), they make a ton of rental income, and the 80/20 rule was repealed under Bush. and they have a huge reserve. NO sweat equity - live-in super.
proper - there are windows in every room including kitchen & bath, two windows in wat will be the LR.

glamma, mazel tov, enjoy it in good health!

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Very confused...you say that you 'bought' at the end of May and are closing next week, but it is listed as going into contract on July 17th...is StreetEasy incorrect with their dates or do you have your terms confused?

sounds good at this point - check in in 12 months.

they accepted my verbal offer at the very end of may. contract was signed in june, but the seller's broker didn't list it in contract until july 17th. i think he may have been getting a lot of calls about it and wanted the leads or whatever.

Congrats. The floor plan makes it look like a large 1 BR that had the LR and BR divided to make the extra two rooms. Either way - it looks like a decent space. Good luck with the renovations.

Congratulations, enjoy it!

glamma, do you know what the building's sublet/renting policy is?

they are fine with roommates and live-ins, and officially they say you can sublet after a year, for every other year, but that doesn't seem to be strictly enforced at all.

by the way (i must be completely insane to ask this now) - any insiders who can see comps? lol

go glamma
forget the buyer's remorse-looks like a decent amt of space
im jealous sittin here on the sideline

a girl with her own apartment and one that doesn't "even eat much" should be a hot commodity - I say no on the apartment buy but yes to you - LOL -BTW, the only reason I say "no" on the buy is that I think you could get something cheaper in a year, but still not the worst time to buy for sure.

good luck

thanks. by no means am i saying i bought because i think this is the bottom, although hell who knows. i bought b/c i was ready, found a good enough discount for my time line, have been waiting 5 years and was seriously running out of patience. plus, rates were at an all time low when my offer was accepted. for me, waiting another year may have led me to real estate in bellevue.

2008-05-13 12 $660,000
2008-02-25 2 $556,000
2006-09-22 6 $625,000
2006-09-14 10 $550,000
2005-12-20 5 $499,000
2005-08-10 6 $405,000
2005-01-18 14 $360,000

Congratulations glamma and thanks for sharing your experience with us. I hope you will be very happy.

you got the deal when the rates were at all time low! Congrats! Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

Understand ya about running out of patience. it's a project I want to put behind, looking for an apartment, be it to rent or to buy.

how big is the place by the way?

640 sq feet. hey, where are all the bears? i was counting on you guys to eat me for breakfast.

You have to wait until after your closing for that.

glamma - hard to rain on someone's parade but you asked for it - the only reason anyone is buying now is because they've become impatient. We go lower from here -patience is a virtue - for your same monthly payment you could have bought 800 sq/ft 12 to 18 months from now. Then for the next many years you could have lived in a better apartment.

Glamma, you are not alone. I don't feel scared of buying now if I get a price that in my judgement includes a possible further depreciation.
If you've studied the market enough, and you are getting a reasonable but to rent ratio, and don't need to get into scary debt, I believe you can make a good decision.

Congrats and sounds fabulous. But I have to say, this is different than what I thought you would buy from your comments. :) Not good or bad, just different. You'll love the neighborhood.

You'll have to learn to cook with that breakfast bar and all. To start, I recommend the old DVDs -- Julia and Jacques, Cooking at Home. I was a poor kid with no money, and Julia and Jacques taught me to eat the way that I wanted to eat by cooking it myself rather than eating out. I enjoy it because of Julia's old lines -- instead of cream, you can use milk, but you'll be sorry.

Jazzman,
I thinks it's worth paying a premium for an apartment that is perfect for you in price, location, and layout. Also, I think it's worth paying a premium to be able to take your time in looking and in thinking about a purchase instead of feeling pressured in a frenzied market. (as long as you're financially comfortable to do so)

I also think it's worth paying a premium for an extremely well-run building that has low maintenance, especially if the prevailing mindset is to keep the maintenance low and the existing features well-run, rather than constantly pimping everything up. This sounds like that kind of building.