building at 69 Berry Street

axle, I'm not blown away by anything about this building, but nothing stands out as particularly bad either. Good location, pricing is high for my taste (though I said the same thing about 72, so what do I know?), the layouts are not for me, but these will work for the right person. I like small buildings, but this is too small - what happens if someone runs into trouble and stops paying their monthlies? There's too much weight there per unit - you'd like to see the risk spread out a bit more. 66 Berry (same developer, across the street) will probably be very similar, but with more units. I'd wait to see what those are like if you're thinking about this one at all.

Now that we are seeing the Mason Fisk closings in the 550-600psf range, the building seems a bit overpriced.

Also, the building doesn't really stand out at all.

I'm a broker, so take it for what it's worth, but I really like these - for the right buyer. It's rare to get three exposures in any building, and the top apartment (with the private outdoor space) gets great light/views. Yes, the footprint is relatively small, but it's a floor-though condo with an elevator - a rarity. And it should be pretty simple to get financing, given the small number that have to go to contract to reach 70%.
I understand the concerns about common charges, but this ain't the Edge, folks. What's gonna happen - the elevator needs to be repaired? There's no gym, no doorman, no cold storage for Fresh Direct, no kids' room, no billiards lounge...
Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

Am i missing something, where is this 2nd bedroom

Corcoran has them listed as a 1.5 bedroom - you could build a wall to make a second bedroom if you wanted. A little fudgy, though.
Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

tina is it your experience(you hint at it above) that the Edge really is not negotiating. i've been told by a broker friend that they have no mortgage on the property and are willing to wait 2yrs or more for the market to come back.

If Mason Fisk was worth 550-600 psf then where do you think these places will trade?

"Seemed small for the square footage"

priceless

I think it looks expensive for the price

"i've been told by a broker friend that they have no mortgage on the property and are willing to wait 2yrs or more for the market to come back."

No mortgage? Are you sure about that, cfranch? If that's the case, they're going to take longer than I thought to finish, and consequently, sell.

bjw: yes he works for aptsandlofts. they get tired of showing units there as they don't negotiate. he feels 80met and northside are very negotiable

Thanks cfranch. It's definitely a tidbit I haven't heard at all before. Given that it sounds like Northside Piers does have that tiny issue to worry about, it's going to be real interesting how the Edge justifies basically ignoring comps when NSP lowers their pricing on a very very similar product.

If you guys are saying it's priced too high, how would you price the top floor with the private half of the roof?

I saw the apartments too and liked them. Also felt that the square footage was overestimated.

I think these would appeal to people looking for a 1 BR as then they would be seen as pretty spacious. However I think 1 BR's in general don't move quickly above $500K. That being said I do like the layout with three sides of windows. The maintenance is great considering it includes utilities.

I think these will possibly sell at these prices once people are comfortable that the Williamsburg market has stabilized. However that might be a while.

anyone put in an offer on one of these yet?

2 in contract already. 1 more and they'll hit 50%.

Interesting. Wonder how much these people are paying. I actually toured the units -- they look really nice. The penthouse has views of the Williamsburg bridge from the bedroom -- it's the only unit that clears the building next door so that you can see that. Finishes are real nice, and it's nice that you don't have to pay for heat/AC...just the electricity for the fan to blow it into your unit.

I believe this building has elevators that open directly into the apartments. How do you keep your floors clean? Do you put a mat inside the elevator or just inside your unit? Also, do you have to change the elevator code after each party?

I've always wondered these things.

Milk,
The total absurdity of this property allows one to add just about any amenity you care for under the present pricing. I this case, This property is built above a area of Billyburg that contains a dense toxicity that interferes with the earth's gravitational field, enough to allow the owner to float just millimeters above the floor. The real problem is not dirty floors but, a frictionless surface.

ALL in contract?
Impressive.

Interesting - what, if anything, does this mean?

I was told yesterday that all the units in 69 Berry are sold. The same developers are doing 70 Berry - not all the windows are in, but some units are already in contract. Seems well-built and moderately well-priced ... anybody know about this developer?

Lofty are you thinking of buying if you find one of these units you like, which I guess means you're not as negative as many about the Wmburg market prospects, or just willing to take the risk if you find something you like.

Lofty-have a contract at my lawyer's office for 70 Berry. Drove by yesterday and happy to see all the windows in. Broker told me 9 contracts out, 10 more to go to reach 50%. Expecting April closing but I originally thought they wouldn't make it. Now I think they might. Been looking at W'burg for the past year and think it has great potential. At $600/sq/ft I think these units are reasonably priced. Certainly compared to similar properties in the area.

Personally, I'd like to find a place with a balcony of sorts...which I believe few units at 70 have.

The heaters/air conditioners in 70 Berry looked pretty janky to me - they are hotel style units that stick out from the wall. Any idea how well these work? In the model unit they were extremely noisy - hard to hear myself think loud. Is this typical? The broker insisted that it was loud because the building is still under construction, but then again, she also said that she finds the white noise "soothing".

None of the units have balconies except maybe penthouses.

Yikes. meow. now you've given something else to worry about. I guess you can't assume that a medium speed building would have state of the art heaters/ac that aren't too noisy?

It's not a lot of units, but still surprised this went so quickly. They've started taking some of the scaffolding down at 70 Berry, and I think it looks better than 69, though from the listings, I'm (once again) not blown away. Which probably means these will do well also. Anyone know how many units? This corner is going to be quite nice when everything's done (125 North 10th and 72 Berry are there as well).

38 units.

I thought the PHOTOS for 70 Berry were bad, but in person the model unit looks much nicer. The floors look red in the photos, but are actually medium brown in person.

I think they should have used the same decorators and photographers who shoot for Apts/Lofts. They have the opposite problem, where the interior photos look nice, but in reality the quality of product is so-so.

Wannabuy: Would you mind telling me who your lawyer is that is reviewing your contract. I'm in the middle of negotiating as well but don't have a lawyer lined up yet. I'm new to the area and want to use a lawyer that is more familiar with condos in Williamsburg.

Wannabuy: Why you said the condo's $600/sq ft? Even the lower floor units are at least $618/sq ft except the larger units (F and G). Do you mean you're able to negotiate to $600/sq ft? If you don't want to discuss openly here, can you please let me know offline at coolbeans26@yahoo.com? I am in the middle of negotiating one lower floor unit as well. Thanks so much!

i am using fern schwaber 212-643-9140

wannabuy is my other handle here!

When you are figuring cost per square foot...how do you calculate outdoor space. I was told to figure 1/2 of the outdoor space. So if your inside space is 1000 sq ft and you have 500 sq ft of outdoor space you would figure 1250 square ft total and divide that by your purchase price? Anyone else agree or disagree?

That's a good question. Start a new thread with it so people will see it!

is it true that this building is still waiting for its c of o? anyone closed here?

.....

All units were supposedly in contract at the end of November.
No one has moved in.

Yes, still waiting on c of o. Apparently another inspection scheduled for 4/4 and hopefully that will be it.

Everyone was informed today that 30-day closing notices will be going out tomorrow. At last for the buyers!

Have there been closings in this building? Are they still waiting for the CofO?

Nope, the building still does not have its CO. They keep giving a new expected time frame. Sponsor and Corcoran even scheduled closing dates with everyone and of course had to cancel.

Any idea why they don't have CO? Something go wrong? How long does a CO usually take?

Not really sure what the issue is because the entire thing has become like a broken record. They keep failing what sounds like rather minor inspections (e.g. having an outlet on the kitchen island??) but who really knows what's really going on behind the scenes. They told my friend (the purchaser) that they expected the TCO in January. They even scheduled the closing date for end of April. My friend had to move out of his apt and has now been staying with me in the 2nd bedroom. He is now looking for a rental starting June 1 if this keeps up. It's so absurd and I feel terrible for him.

Is #6 back on the market? I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that the building still doesn't have a CO?

Seems they finally got their TCO:
http://a810-cofo.nyc.gov/cofo/B/302/168000/302168259.PDF