building at 3 Hanover Square -- need advice

It's very quiet in that area after work is over. I don't think there are lot services close by i.e. supermarket, cleaners. Don't know anything specific about the building

Its quite after work, but who wouldnt want that? i live on John and coming from midtown, I actually love the fact that its quite. There are a ton of restaurants and dry cleaners, who pick up and deliver. Plus trains a few blocks away from this building. I dont know this particular building but the area is pretty good. Good luck.

I've done two deals in 3 Hanover Sq. -- one representing a buyer, one representing a landlord -- and I really like it. Nice access to the restaurants on Stone Street. There is a valet service in the building that will deal with your dry cleaning.

Points that might not be apparent at first sight:

1) Board is trying to keep down percentage of renters so it's somewhat tough to get sublets approved.

2) Units are all different shapes and sizes, and sometimes the ceilings have been dropped (the easiest way for a newbie buyer to see this is to look at how the ceiling intersects the top of the windows). Raising them makes the units look great, but it's a big job.

3) Pretty much the only co-op around so appraisal is a little bit of tough process because there aren't any real "comps" other than the building itself.

If you have any other questions, email me at ali [at] dgneary [dot] com.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Thank you, everybody.

New listing -- selling 18J, a 600-sq-ft studio (sorry no alcove) with raised ceilings and a riverview. $479K.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Hi Ali,
Do you know how much is it to raise the ceilings in this building?
How is the board on renovation?
Do you recommend a lawyer who has experience in the building?
Thanks.

sorry, i mean, can you recommend a lawyer...

in addition, why is there a big variation in $ per sqft? some listings are in the $600/sqft, some in the $900/sqft, while recently closed apts are in the $300-400/sqft?

bump

Hi msbrooklyn,

I have a studio apartment in this building and did some renovations back in 2005, including raising the ceiling from 9' to 11'. The cost for just the ceiling work came to roughly 5–6k, but this didn't include the costs associated with all the red tape and paperwork that one needs to deal with (from the coop and the city) before the work can begin. The project cost included the removal of the drop ceiling, removing all of the defunct duct work that still exists, rewiring any electric that may be exposed, extending the drywall up from the original ceiling to the new ceiling, fixing any cracks, chips, and/or holes in the concrete ceiling, skim-coat, paint, etc. It's one messy and time consuming job for sure. I moved out for about 6 weeks from beginning to end of the entire project (I was also dealing with the kitchen, bathroom, and floors).

That said, it was worth every penny as it makes quite a positive change, especially for smaller apartments. The amount of vertical storage space I was able to add is simply unbelievable. And again, to be clear, this was back in 2005. I'm sure costs have gone up since then.

In my experience, having lived in the building for over 10 years, the board does encourage renovations, as it increases home values for everyone, but that's not to say they take the process lightly. Everything is done by the book and needs approvals before anything can happen. That said, at one of last year's shareholder meetings, they said they were going to make the process easier as one of the board members recently went through their own process and had a change of heart ;-)

As for the variance in pricing throughout the building, from my understanding and experience (I'm not an expert, just a homeowner), it comes down to three things:

1. Whether the apartment has been renovated or not. There's a big difference between the apartments that are in their original 1985 condition (as mine was when I got it), and after a renovation. Not having to go through a renovation process alone is worth quite a bit to some people. It's not something I ever want to do again in Manhattan if I can help it.

2. Anything with one or more bedrooms has recently been in higher demand as their prices still remain within reach to more people who want a piece of Manhattan, and so studios have been priced considerably lower than everything else. Some owners have purchased the studio next door and combined apartments. It's a great idea if you can afford it.

3. And just as front_porch mentioned, being that it's the only coop in the area, there don't seem to be any comparable buildings, which makes this a challenging property to price correctly (or fairly if you ask some sellers). Get three appraisers look at one place and you'll most likely get three pretty different prices at this location.

One more thing to add. It truly is a great building to live in. The staff is great. The neighbors are great. It's very family oriented, and the area around the building has drastically improved in the past five-plus years. There are few places in the city where you can walk out the front out of your building, be in a park, see the water, have a street full of restaurants less than a block away that's blocked off for outdoor seating, be close to all major transit lines and ferries (free weekend trip to IKEA anyone?), and have a load of historical landmarks to explore and learn about.

I hope this helps.