building at 415 West 150th Street

This building is like the forgotten child... Is it because of the lack of marketing?

I believe they have taken to renting some units. I haven't gone inside, but it really seems out of place from the exterior (I live a few blocks away)- considering that it's right off Convent Ave. Convent has some of the most beautiful architecture in the city- and a glass building just seems wrong contextually speaking. I wasn't impressed by the floorplans or the pricing. The floorplans with the split bedrooms aren't bad, but others are just oddly configured. Had the developers brought this to market 2-3 years earlier they might have been able to sell out- but even that is pretty speculative. I could see most of these units selling in the 450-550k range but that is not an easy task with lots of renters now in the equation.

The descriptions of the neighborhood has too many errors i.e. American Numismatic Society...The A.N.S. moved to the financial district many years ago (I have a numismatic background), or Morris Jumel Mansion being in Sugar Hill- nope it's Washington Heights. There were other errors, but my point is the text is horrible.

These prices are insane. $735K for a tiny two bedroom?? In Hamilton Heights?? For less than $100K more, you can have a similarly-sized 2 bedroom/2 bath in a white glove doorman building on Lower Fifth Avenue!

Has anyone rented or signed a lease for this building?

What ever you do, do not live here. The building is being foreclosed and the owner owes over $30k in Con Edison bills and $12 million to the bank. Tenants have no elevator and are at the risk of losing all common area functions due to unpaid bills. There are numerous structural hazards and leakages.

Where are you getting this information brownsuge? I cant find any current information on foreclosure for this building. Several tenants just leased here. Does Perry Real Estate know the building is in foreclosure? The broker herself lives in the buidling.

Google the building or the management company and all the information is there.

The owner is attempting to restructure his finances and to sell units in the building again. He's not currently in foreclosure but he's asking too much in this market so will most likely be back where he was in a few months. Even if the building is foreclosed on, renters by law have the full term on their lease, and some in the building have signed multiple year leases. Common areas haven't been affected, ConEd has been paid, and the elevator has been repaired. There have been improvements around the building. No one is going to be abandoning their apartments. The thing I think they'll have the most problem with is the first floor unit that is meant for commerce. It was originally a Doctor's office, but that tenant left within a year. It's an odd place to be zoned for business since it's off St. Nick and seems kind of inaccessible.

While I don't think the owner of the building is handling all of this particularly well, he got slammed by the economy just like everyone else who was building speculative "luxury" apartments and expected to sell them quickly at bloated prices around 2007. He put the apartments on the market at exactly the wrong time, but unlike other builders in the area who still think they'll be selling their units at exorbitant prices (Aqueduct Court on 152 and Riverbridge Court on 148 come immediately to mind) he started renting almost immediately. The simple fact is that the market will likely take a decade to recover in this neighborhood, if ever. It was the first to fall and barring some miracle in the very near future will be the last to return, overly optimistic realtors aside.

If I were buying the apartment I'm in for the amount they are asking for it, I would have some issues that definitely needed to be addressed, but as a renter I'm happy. Rental price is half or less than what one would pay for a smaller unit half the size I'm in (although the owner and realtor overstates the square footage here by at least a hundred feet most likely by including balconies) with similar finishes downtown. The finishes, while not perfect, are well above anything in this area and are light years better than anything else I've seen in the same price range. Better for example than the absurdly overpriced new Gehry building and the Armani designed 20 Pine (both of which I looked at, 20 Pine quite extensively). The bathroom is particularly spacious and well done, the kitchen less so but again, appliances are mid-high end and better than anything in this price range. Some layouts are strange, but I happen to like the layout of my apartment. Any issues I've had have been dealt with almost immediately by the super.

My point is, brownsuge's hysteria is uninformed and overstated. I haven't noted any structural hazards. There are small problems here and there that come with any new construction and from what I see are being dealt with. I've only seen one small leak in the lobby that is an annoyance and needs to be fixed, and I've heard some tenants complain that they have some leakage problems with their windows, but I haven't encountered any of this in my unit. My neighbors are nice and the apartments are constructed well enough that I hear virtually nothing from them. All in all, I like it here and will most likely stay for some time unless a new owner comes in and jacks up the prices, but I doubt anyone buying this building from foreclosure for rental income would be stupid enough to toss out tenants after their leases are completed at the prices they are currently paying because they won't be getting more for any one else any time soon.

While I think the reason this building was built was most likely misguided, I appreciate that developers came into an area widely and stupidly ignored and built modern buildings. There is beautiful architecture in the area and it's a real crime that New Yorkers discount northern Manhattan. I'm not one of those people that thinks every single brownstone and neighborhood needs to be preserved exactly as it was two hundred years ago, and I like the contrast that more modern buildings like this provide. I turn the corner onto Convent and it's a world of beautifully preserved brownstones. That's pretty cool. In the end, I think the developer did a good deed by bringing this building here. Unfortunately for him, it may not pay off in the end, but for those who rent here it's a nice alternative to many other places in the city.

Oh, and the building is full. I know of one unit they are holding to test sell, and one of the penthouses is being used as an office by the sponsor/owner as an office but other than that there is nothing to rent here.

uomoprimo, I got one of their fake Italian designer suits at Stern's.

60% off asking would be a fair price

I liked your post uomoprimo. I disagree with only one statement: The simple fact is that the market will likely take a decade to recover in this neighborhood, if ever. I haven't seen the pre-war market decline much. Maybe it's new construction? If you look at what apartments were selling for in 2005, 2007, and 2011 you don't see a lot of loss. Probably because owners bought years ago and don't need to sell so, at least in my building, prices are holding nicely. or maybe because there are aggressive flip taxes in a lot of buildings? Overall, I think the building you're in will actually sell once the Columbia construction gets going. Up here on 157th they're almost done with a charter school and you can see the changes already.

Granted, there is not likely to ever be like "downtown but I think the area, overall, has a good future.

who owns this building now? foreclosed like I said.

uomoprimo...who owns this building???