Why is every West Village apartment a dump?

What part of 'Radical Chic' or 'Rich Hippie' or 'BoBo' don't you understand? Slumming ain't cheap. Pay up.

Funny!

The problem is your budget. $3,000 will get you a nice-enough 1-bedroom apartment in most neighborhoods. In the most expensive neighborhoods (West Village, Soho, Tribeca), this is the lowest end of the range.

You've hit on the West Village Conundrum, the area has charm, the apartments don't.

try waverly rentals....sometimes you get lucky. they are on carmine, manage many buildings.

I have fantastic listings in the wv, but you will pay out your ass for them, and face ferocious competition while you do. 1 beds 4.5k and up. Pay to play.

Your 3k budget is "quaint" walk-up studio territory in what is a ll's market in that coveted piece of our town.

columbiacounty
17 minutes ago
stop ignoring this person
report abuse
hey boner

hehe, you said boner. flmaoz

That's jane stupid.

More useless drivel. Can u find the wv on a map? Know what rents are like there? Why weigh in?

Because I find you disgusting.

Because you represent the worst of NYC.

If it's the feel you're after, look in West Chelsea. You can find similar blocks but with much bigger, nicer apartments.

I can't tell you how many places we looked at in the West Village that had 7' x 7' bedrooms, no closets, cut-up floorplans with narrow that made furniture impossible to move, etc., etc. We'd be thinking places were barely fit for habitation, yet there would be multiple parties submitting applications at open houses

We settled in West Chelsea four years ago and didn't seriously look anywhere else when we bought this past year. The block we live on is as pretty as most in the West Village.

Jim bonehead

You don't sound like a happy camper.

Tough day?

Key didn't work?

Lad- can you define the boundaries of 'West Chelsea"? I would like to consider it as an alternative to the west village. i am also interested to know if withing the defined neighborhood there are larger apartments (above 2000sqf). Thanks.

007
about 2 hours ago
ignore this person
report abuse Lad- can you define the boundaries of 'West Chelsea"? I would like to consider it as an alternative to the west village. i am also interested to know if withing the defined neighborhood there are larger apartments (above 2000sqf). Thanks.

WHAT A STUPID QUESTION. THERE ARE 2000 SQ FT APARTMENTS EVERYWHERE. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER YOU CAN PAY FOR ONE OR NOT.

and in "west chelsea" (first time hearing that) your asking rents/sale prices are marginally lower than the village.

If you're so happy why are you screaming insults at every opportunity?

Yup.

Little Mary sunshine.

Not sure there's an official boundary for "West Chelsea," and the boundary for Chelsea itself seems ambiguous at times.

But if you're looking for pretty, tree-lined streets and grand brownstones similar to the West Village, I'd recommend 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 24th between 9th and 10th Ave. Also 18th through 22nd between 8th and 9th Ave. You may find some blocks outside of these areas that also have the feel, but these are my favorite in the neighborhood.

I dream of the day where I can think about an apartment above 1,000 square feet, much less 2,000, so I can't really comment on the availability of larger apartments. I'd assume so, though.

jim,

you are deranged. do you think talking that way is going to boost business?

wad,

the west village is a tough place to find an apartment, no doubt about it. but whether it is worth the sacrifice to live in your neighborhood of choice depends on your taste and your stage of life. if you are single, fit (don't mind walkups), and spend a lot of time out with your friends, then i'd say go with the location and don't worry so much about the apartment--as long as it is safe, clean, everything works, etc. if you are more of a homebody, or you are married/living with someone, or have kids, etc. then i think you may need to give up on the west village dream and live in one of the other lovely neighborhoods where you can find a nice apartment in your price range.

"happyrenter
1 minute ago
jim,

you are deranged. do you think talking that way is going to boost business?

wad,

the west village is a tough place to find an apartment, no doubt about it. but whether it is worth the sacrifice to live in your neighborhood of choice depends on your taste and your stage of life. if you are single, fit (don't mind walkups), and spend a lot of time out with your friends, then i'd say go with the location and don't worry so much about the apartment--as long as it is safe, clean, everything works, etc. if you are more of a homebody, or you are married/living with someone, or have kids, etc. then i think you may need to give up on the west village dream and live in one of the other lovely neighborhoods where you can find a nice apartment in your price range."

Hey it's aboutready...

The West Village is highly desired. The people who are already there like to stay there. A bunch of bankers want to live there. A bunch of my Hollywood people want to live there.

So, there's too much competition for too few spaces. If you want a renovated unit, grab the one that's $4K.

I'm also very fond of the Archive, which is a Rockrose building, but 1-BRs there are currently running $4k-$5K.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Where did the OP get the idea that he can find a non-dumpy 1 bedroom apartment in a highly desired Manhattan neighborhood for less than $3K/month?

this is BS. i'm told rents are at 2000 levels, yet back in 2000 I rented a 600 sq ft one bed on a great block in the heart of the WV for under $3k, w/o rental fee. what gives? you just need to look around harder.

Printer, I think the rents are back at 2000 level, 1- when adjusted for inflation, and 2- on average in Manhattan. The West Village area has resisted much better than the Upper East Side or Upper West Side. I have friends whose current rent is cheaper (even not adjusted for inflation) than my 1998 rent for something similar.

http://www.prestonny.com/index.cfm?page=details&id=30278

http://www.prestonny.com/index.cfm?page=details&id=30275 sure tiny but an option.

Eli is a great guy.

"this is BS. i'm told rents are at 2000 levels"

As someone else said, this is adjusted for inflation.

Also that is for ALL of Manhattan, not for each and every neighb. The fact is the West Village and Chelsea too are more expensive relative to Manhattan on average than they used to be 10 years ago.

I understand WV is highly desired. I get it. Trust me. And I get that the sizes are rather (very) small given what you pay.

What I don't get is the state of the apartments. Even a 3K apartment is falling apart. Seriously the sinks and bathtubs look like you'd get hepatitis using them. And btw, the 1 bedroom that was renovated at 4K is gone http://streeteasy.com/nyc/rental/697224-rental-191-west-10th-street-west-village-new-york (I don't think it's rented, it just isn't listed anymore).

I'm not asking for a subzero fridge and 1000 square feet. It's either complete crap or truly phenomenal - with little middle ground in between.

Also, I really did like the historic old townhouses in Chelsea, but even those are hard to find (albeit you get much more for the money).

And, KeithB, thank you. You, unlike many of the jerk brokers on here, are incredibly helpful and nice.

Wad, I think it's kind of true everywhere: when people find a nice place that's priced fairly, they stay put. What you see on the market on any given day is the overpriced crap (either dump priced at market or super-fancy priced aggressively), with a tiny bit of recent listings that are OK. Because the demand is so high in the village, the velocity for good listings is probably even faster.
Yes, KeithB seems to be truly helpful, and even-keeled; I would follow his advice.

All the kool kids wanna live there! You want it too, pay up bitches.

Again with the name droppings. I mean droppings.

New York City. A place where there is Barneys, Saks, Rock Stars, modules, dirty execs and filthy over rich apartments. Who is to blame? People?

I hate people.

A thread about dumps? It's about time w67 showed up.

i have a nice studio on 130 Christopher for 2100 in excellent condition if you are interested .

The best West Village rentals change hands behind the scenes, is my sense.

Word of mouth -- at least that's how I got mine (for less than half the price that front_porch claims upthread I should be paying for it).

Define "nice" and "excellent condition", please.

live in the one of the corporate buildings: 95-97 Horatio, 110 Jane, the Archive, the Printing Press. Little generic, but at least not falling apart.

"What I don't get is the state of the apartments. Even a 3K apartment is falling apart. Seriously the sinks and bathtubs look like you'd get hepatitis using them."

Liberal Democrats have passed zoning and rent control laws which make it impossible for these crappy old buildings to be torn down and replaced by more modern and clean apartments.

... which would obliterate the charm that attracts so many people to the neighborhood in the first place. Jersey City, anyone?

"... which would obliterate the charm that attracts so many people to the neighborhood in the first place."

There's nothing "charming" about dilapidated buildings.

Its actually a collaboration btw the dept of buildings and rebny to keep property values artificially high. I chair the committee.

sidelinesitter
about 5 hours ago
ignore this person
report abuse A thread about dumps? It's about time w67 showed up.

what ever happened to the poster dump67street? Did he or she get deleted?

i want to buy an apartment that i can rent out. if you find one for me ill happily rent it to you. rent has to cover only by borrowing costs

Conundrum for sure.

nyc is not always about location, location, location.