Why so cheap ?? 303 East 57th Street

The 50% down might be doing the trick?!

Also there may be internal problems in the building such as an extremely tough board for a mediocre building. I hate it when boards are so full of themselves for nothing, they aren't 740 Park!

"I hate it when boards are so full of themselves for nothing, they aren't 740 Park!"

Sounds like that applies to almost everything below 96th street.

Any board which requires more than 20% down already hints that they will be a bit difficult. At any rate - the buyer universe shrinks when they require 50% down and so they probably need to have correspondingly low prices.

What is the % of buildings requiring 50% down? I dont know exact answer - but am pretty sure answer is close to a very small number.

lol, my building requires 100% down no mortgages:)

if you can't afford to BUY it then you can't afford it

even with 50% down, to be able to get something in that area seems, just not right. There are units going for $600 a square foot

#5, there's a reason for a higher amt down. Some buildings require, say, 25% down because they are want to attract residents who match a particular financial profile. Idea is that if you can afford to put more $$ down you are more financially stable.

If a shareholder defaults in a coop building it can be a financial disaster and everyone else has to pick up the slack. So it's risk aversion to protect the current shareholders, not a 'hint' that the board 'will be a bit difficult'.

Sure people can afford it - but some people prefer to use their money in different ways - especially since they can leverage real estate assets.

100% down is fine - but again - would rather it be a choice rather than rule. It limits your buyer pool.

This building, The Excelsior, has major financial problems. It's a ground lease building, and the lease renewal has not been renegotiated. This info was provided to my by three different brokers, and a friend who lives in the building confirmed it. The brokers said they don't even show apartments in the building because its so screwed up. Factor in the 50% down payment, a relatively difficult board for the location and the ground lease/poor financials and you get apartments selling for $575/sq foot.

Ewwwwwwww that sounds grosssssss

ground lease? is that the same as land lease? i.e. they dont own their land?

Maintenance charge is high and location has above average traffic congestion.