Astoria Condos Please Help

Can anybody else give an opinion about this condo? Thanks

Thanx Calldn, anybody else would like to share an opinion on this condo? (38th St between Broadway and 31st Ave)
what about 30th avenue condos? (36th St between 30th and 28th Ave)... I saw this last one, is nice but I did not like the layout of the kitchen. The 38th St condos look a lot bigger... would you agree?

Hi everyone, the comments on this page has helped me so much when coming to looking for a condo in Astoria. We just put a downpayment and also the closing cost for an apartment in the East River Towers (ERT). However, there were many issues regarding and STILL concerning ERT.

The 2 agents who work for Douglas Prudential Elliman and are the face for ERT are advertising the apt., so to speak, but they have very little info about the place. Let me give you an example: Firstly, we asked about parking as was told that there are 15,000 (uncovered) and 20,000-25,000 (covered). We were told by one of the brokers after negotiating that we could buy the uncovered at 5,000. This was verbalized to my broker and myself. When it came time to submit the contracts she, the Douglas Elliman broker said she never made that statement and the sponsors will not budge. Secondly, upon visiting the unit for an Open House we asked another Douglas Elliman broker if gas (stove) was also put on the maintainence fees. She said no, it came on a separate bill. When I later read the literature from the their handbook for the condo it is clearly stated that gas will be counted as part of the common charges. Finally, and this I think takes the cake, the price of the unit itself ran in the upper 300's, guess how much the closing costs were? $23,000! THEIR lawyer alone (and I found out this is common, but I thought the fee was beyond ridiculous) came up to 2,500 and the traveling fee (mind you, he was not leaving his office to come to the closing) was 750.00.
To say the least, after everything, as beautiful as the units are ERT is unwilling to negotiate and IF they do, make sure you have a paper trail. Oh, I forgot to mention, the uncovered parking had the SAME maintainence charges as the covered parking and it ran around $120.00 CC is $480 for a 1 bedroom unit.

So, I'm back to the drawing board searching high and low for a condo/ 1 bedroom, close to public transportation (not too close where I hear the rhythm of the wheels on the track), but you know ...

I guess to some the prices I listed above are reachable and possible, but I found that everytime we came to an agreement, the broker there said one thing, the contracts had MANY errors and when fixed said something else and the price goes up not by some hundreds but by thousands!

There are 74 units in the building and only 20 have sold. Having spoken to some other customers we met for the open house, we heard the familiar, "The closing cost is ridiculous!"

Its ironic that the location of that building is calling for such exhorbitant prices when there is NO public transportation nearby other than a 17-20 minute walk to the N/R trains.

p.s. the common ground is basically a dog run that they gave a nice name.

Again, thank you all for this discussion thread because I am now able to search for another condo, and AFFORDABLE one without having to limit myself.

Nadal how is your search going? Haven't been to ERT but I'm curious and want to check it out. Does anybody know a website to monitor the mortgage rates changes on a day by day basis?

bankrate.com is excellent but keep in mind that they are advertising nation rates with 0 points.

zingaro66 - I went to an open house at 30th Ave Plaza (36th between 28 and 30) a few weekends ago. I think it's a great location, each unit has a nice sized storage unit in the basement and the finishes are pretty nice, but there's no elevator, there's one rinky-dink coin operated washer in the laundry room and they definitely padded the square footage - I was told the upper 1 bedrooms were 615 but honestly they looked the same size as my current 525 (closets were very nice size so probably including that in square footage). The front 1 bedroom on the first floor is a nice unit - duplex, half bath downstairs and full staircase, not spiral, but they're asking $425,000 and it's the only unit in the building with tiny closets and no outdoor space. Great location, i was really excited to go see it, but I think it's on the bottom of my list at this point.

dominiquet why dont you go check out The Norwood Condominium. The Square Footgare is not padded at all, the laundry room is a true laundry room, there is an elevator in the Building, a rooftop deck and storage in the basement and is located on 37th Street between 30th and 31st Avenues. Info for the building is at www.astorianycondos.com.

If anyone has any questions about anything or needs comps for recent sales in the area feel free to contact me at anytime.

Best Regards,
Vickie Palmos

dominiquet: I liked the 30th ave Plaza, the location is the best, but for some reason I don't like the kitchen layout too much.. and no elevator... Did you see the Norwood Condos? I think they are small and a mini tiny closet space in the bedroom.. good location.. but pricey too. The only condos I've liked so far, are in Plaza 21. The problem here is $$$. They only have 2br's left, starting at 500k. Ok Ok let's say they can go down to 460K... still crazy money for a condo.. with that money, I want to start thinking about a house..
no hope here. Maybe we are looking in the wrong time

My suggestion to anyone looking for a condominium investment (because that's what it is, an investment)in Astoria; walk around the immediate 2-3 blocks of the location your considering, especially your walk to your transportation hub, and take a moment and ask yourself. "Is this really the location I want to make the largest investment of my life in"?
Take the time to investigate the location. "Uncomfortable" with your stroll. It only gets worse!
NY State is a "Caveat Emptor" State (Let the Buyer Beware).

CD 09/22/11

zingaro66 - I agree, 30th Ave Plaza is a great location, but you're right, the kitchen was oddly laid out, although I liked the finishes. I thought the Norwood Condos were small too, although beautifully done. If I'm going to pay for a one bedroom what my friends spent on a house in the suburbs, I want space to grow into. But I don't think we're looking at the wrong time - interest rates are low, low, low. Once the economy picks up we'll never see 4% and below again. It's just that we're looking in NYC, so things will always be more money than the suburbs. Have you considered buying a coop? Of course they're not beautiful new units, but much much more affordable. I have a coop now and was very happy for years. I just want to upgrade at this point and think it's a good time to do it.

Re: Plaza 21. I have reviewed all the comments made on this blog over the many months. For those that now live there, are there any issues or concerns about the building?