What I miss most about the old SE

2) Incessant posting about non-RE issues

it's kind of like times square. everyone bemoans what it has become, but it wasn't exactly nirvana back in the day.

not "everyone" has met IRL. only a relative few. i'm glad i've met the people i have. very much so.

spunky

spunky, that was a class act. good choice kw.

Malraux

the two sort of blur together for me. age has some benefits.

ah...Malraux. Yes. Good one. Its like going back to the beginning of time...

I miss West 81st's open house reports.

Malraux was actually pseudonym before he was Malraux. Pseudonym lost his shit one day regarding the art market and changed his handle to Malraux. That was funny stuff.

"it's kind of like times square. everyone bemoans what it has become, but it wasn't exactly nirvana back in the day."

No, but it was much better. Le sigh.

I miss the good old days with malraux, evillage, and tenemental (though he pops in every now and then). Glad ar, Juice, and kyle are still kicking around. Some of us old timers just cannot kick the habit, huh? I've tried.

Rent vs. Buy math debates...

*pop*

I think the final straw for Malraux came after he posted a beautiful New Year's mssg for 2008, "whether bull or bear," etc., to the legendary "Idiots" thread. I saw it but didn't have time to post, and by the time I got back a there were a bunch of nasty, immature responses. That was the last I saw of him. Too bad.

Funny how hindsight works, as if we were all gentle and considerate once upon a time. Malraux, Juice and I "met" on the Idiots thread, pummeling the crap out of each other, but it was like a bar fight in the movies - we picked each other up, dusted off, ordered a round of drinks and became fast friends. Those are actually my favorite moments here, when enemies reconcile, even for a few posts (Spunky and MMMafia discussing Pinot Grigio, LICC and DCO swapping restaurant reviews...).

I get sentimental after a brutally long work day. I don't post so often now that I'm a semi-retired real estate obsessive, but you're all near and dear.

W81's OH posts got me hooked as a 'listener'--learned a lot from some of you, laughed a lot too--never brave enough to meet IRL although tempted ---now I just check in occasionally and try to steer away from the trolls and nasties--always read threads by nyc10023, juice, kylewest, alanhart and yes even W67...etc...I miss spunky too!!

True, I haven't met the vast majority of posters.

Meeting posters has been fun and terrific and all-good-things (you know I don't mean it that way!) But it seems to me that things started going downhill online after the first meetups.

And SE became annoying after everyone started replying to non-RE post. Of which this is ONE, so, yes pot-kettle-black-and-all-that.

And, please, if I have offended anyone I've met IRL - next time I see you, I'll buy you a drink or unicorn.

things went downhill when the troll appeared, which occurred around that time. not your fault, 10023.

let's see how things go without the troll.

ten, i thought malraux disappeared after happyrenter took him apart on the 15 CPW thread.

I thought Malraux disappeared simply because RE started to tank.

I'll take the unicorn. I always wanted one as a kid.

I miss 30 yrs_20 in REO. I learned quite a bit from him. Nearly every post was a new lesson.

+1 for 30 yrs_20 in REO
RIP!

30yrs, spunky, falco, MMafia, and SE minus w67

I miss wishhouse & cccharley ... I'll try to get 30_yrs to come by a little more often. the abuse/client capture ratio changed in a way that didn't make him happy though.

ali r.

I miss them all but the troll. I miss 30 years, I miss w81 oh, I miss Agentrachael, I miss Spunky. But most of all I miss w 67 and cc. Please Santa, I never really stopped believing.

tenemental reminded me of DCO. I miss that guy. After the first few times, we had some good respectful back and forth without the arrogant insults that you get too often here.

"ten, i thought malraux disappeared after happyrenter took him apart on the 15 CPW thread."

Shit, how did I miss that thread. Just read it: what a classic. So the guy was full-on BS-ing the whole time. What the hell was he thinking -- $1250 a sq ft for a 2/2.5 in 15 CPW?

Even w67th's 7yo daughter knows that if you're going to make shit up, make it unverifiable.

Things have changed along the way but I've been here since we had anonymous posts so I guess that is inevitable. I really backed off when streeteasy (had to?) got involved & started greying people & the feeling changed for me. There is some wonderful information here, though, & some terrific, generous people so I'm still about. If we could all just refrain from responding to the trolls, that would be a huge plus, I think. "Just step away from the keyboard, keep your hands where I can see them!"

Happy Holidays to all!

I miss when re was a 'home'. I miss not being w67, just an immigrant boy with my sweetie working hard and saving hard and believing that a C6 was a reflection of one's gumption, education and a little luck. Now I find everyone just liar loaned themselves into an income bracket and that penthouse in the sky is a facade of one's accomplishments.

Fk the bubble, fk the hangers on, fk u urbandigs with your POS marketing persona and a 'real' live mkt data platform. You are like the crack dealer knowing this buy will kill ya, but if you gonna buy it, let me get you the good Colombian stuff. And I'll take my 6%. You know better. I could never sell stuff I didn't believe in.

drdrd, i'm glad you're back. madoff's terrace wasn't the same without you.

predicting price declines being contrarian

30years, The only broker on this site who posted with no fluff and no shill in any manner.

I think KeithB also deserves the "no fluff and no shill" nod. Fortunately, he's still with us.

HimWhoKnows who turned out to be exactly opposite. Remember when zizizi made some call about prices in Brooklyn dropping by 30% by the following week? That was funny.

happyrenter did give it to Malraux pretty good, I forgot about that. Good stuff

AR, thank you, darling; I love you,too. -sigh-

Yeah. I miss 30yrs..... Even though I'm probably the azz that ran him off. -shrug- my bad but seriously get thicker skin. This ain't pre-k

The great debates were classic! Summarizing R.E. industry was great! Discussing the newest news was great! Declaring a strawman was great too!

I miss that guy who loved Chicago and despised New York. We later learned he was a Columbia MBA reject or something...

.....way it is

I miss when re was a 'home'. I miss not being w67, just an immigrant boy with my sweetie working hard and saving hard and believing that a C6 was a reflection of one's gumption, education and a little luck. Now I find everyone just liar loaned themselves into an income bracket and that penthouse in the sky is a facade of one's accomplishments.

Fk the bubble, fk the hangers on, fk u urbandigs with your POS marketing persona and a 'real' live mkt data platform. You are like the crack dealer knowing this buy will kill ya, but if you gonna buy it, let me get you the good Colombian stuff. And I'll take my 6%. You know better. I could never sell stuff I didn't believe in.

(*sigh*)

I miss the old SE too....

malraux, I feel like I just spotted a UFO. Good to know you're still lurking at least! Hope everything's well.

Im selling crack?

Was that rufus, the "Chicago!, Chicago!" person?

I feel like I'm in the old folks home and you're all talking about the D-Day landing! :-))

Welcome back, malraux, you lying piece of crap. (I say that with love.) Of all the fakies, you had the most realistic stories. But why did you crack? Deep down, you just wanted to get caught?

inonada, sorry if I missed it, but where exactly did malraux so obviously lie? I see accusations of lying in that thread, but not much proof. Though I do trust happyrenter in general.

i miss this thread:
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/9261-open-house-today-130-400pm-high-floor-corner-1-bedroom-407-park-avenue-south-18b

All that great free porno!

Whoops...wrong site

Buying nyc re post the greatest nyc re bubble popping is akin to, smellz like, has similarities, can be smoked like, in powdered form, is in the family of family financial crack.

Obtw, I hear ppl are getting scared with 10yrs spiking. - again the most telegraphed actionable trade in the history of the bond market, and the biggest Fking dagger in nyc re -

Funny enough, the only saving grace fro you nyc re bullz maybe another financial collapse by PIGs and or US financials, which will make the fed squat naked on 5 and 10yr bonds for 3 more years

i'll take a pegasus (no sharp edges).

W67: what can I say? Some of us like playing with fire, others with yachts.

I miss how sooner or later every thread got a stevejhx dissertation on rent/buy formulas. What remains fun is the youthful exuberance of the veteran posters on here who still hammer the keyboard with the ferocity they did some years ago. Maybe the old guard on here post a little less, but I still find the company of the clan enjoyable enough to stay. Aw, let's face it: enjoyable or not I can't quit you SE.

It's nice to see a lot of old names throwing a post or 2 on SE in the last week.
Obviously most are lurking, sadly many (I'm assuming) have refrained from posting due to the troll, the lack of real estate focus or both.

PS - Free DubyaSixSev

kw, a dissertation would imply some level of research and check-able facts.

Maybe kw meant to say dissemblance rather than dissertation

Made me laugh JM.

bjw: "inonada, sorry if I missed it, but where exactly did malraux so obviously lie? I see accusations of lying in that thread, but not much proof. Though I do trust happyrenter in general."

I'm not talking about the "blind trust" bit that happyrenter latched onto. Rather, he makes a claim of buying a 2BR / 2.5 BA facing the park at 15 CPW for around $1250 a square foot. No record of anything like that closing anywhere near that price. If you have a Property Shark account, you can scan the ppsf quickly. Give it a scan, let me know if you see otherwise.

Here's the thread with the claim from malraux:

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/6710-speculation-on-15-cpw

I miss the baby juiceman days!
How is you kid?
Let me do the math...off at college!
How does he like Harvard?

Baby juiceman is expecting a juicy sister or juicy brother, so very excited.

I miss good natured people with a great sense of humor like falco.

congrats, jm. and it must be toddler juiceman by now, no?

but some of the mourning seems misplaced. falco never left.

No ar, but there were more falcos than assholes

Thanks for the congrats, and yes, toddling away.... I'll be starting a thread about schools shortly...

will you have 2 juicelettes under age 2 (or close)? If so, you're in for a wild ride my friend. brave soul. Best!!

"Rather, he makes a claim of buying a 2BR / 2.5 BA facing the park at 15 CPW for around $1250 a square foot. No record of anything like that closing anywhere near that price. If you have a Property Shark account, you can scan the ppsf quickly."

I don't know inonada (sounds redundant, huh?); Property Shark records are not even close to pristine. My building's sales prices are misleading, as they include storage, rooftop spaces, and parking spaces in the purchase price, which can really inflate the ppsf, so it's entirely possible the same thing happened at 15CPW - not sure there's enough to call him an outright liar, as much as some people might have pined for a little schadenfreude there. malraux posted a ton of good stuff, and though he could be a bit snarky at times (tame compared to more recent posters), I think he was always pretty level-headed about the market and willing to debate both sides without trying to beat you over the head with agenda or whatnot. That's the stuff I miss (though to be fair, you're one of the few that still does the same).

W/o reference to the original thread, it looked from ACRIS that malraux was merely the lawyer for the trust that bought at 1250/sqft at 15CPW. I'm just jealous that I didn't pull an Evan-Cole there.

juiceMan: Falco never left. Nor did ar.
Congrats on the new juice-baby.

I agree, bjw. He was always level-headed, which is why I had my head scratching today when I saw claims of $1250 a square foot.

I may not be as good an investigator as nyc10023, but I can't find anything in the neighborhood of $1250 a square foot for a 2/2.5 w/ park views. Even the non-view 2BRs went for $1800 or so minimum.

Do you actually have a line on a specific apartment, nyc10023? I simply cannot find anything that would even remotely fit the bill. The going rate for most such places was $3000 pre-construction for the most part. Sure, I get the idea that if you got in early, you got a cheaper price. But $1250 sounds like a price from early 1989, no? Maybe I'm missing the one listing, but nothing else closed even remotely close to that. Was he the only one to have gotten such a place at that price? And then the fact that he says something about a blind trust, gets called on it, and then disappears just to reappear two years later on this thread?

I'm more than happy to eat crow on this one as I always had a positive impression of malraux, but it just ain't adding up for me.

When I looked at the sales 2 years ago, it looked blindingly obvious which apt it was.
I don't have time right now to figure it out.
But with my non-paying PShark account:

5B 3482sqft $1611/ft
6H 1,084sqft $876/ft - I don't think it's this one, this may be a super's apt
some other ones on the 6th floor going for 1794, 1861, 1834, 1632/ft
8H - 1647/ft
25E - 1767/ft
15H - 1526/ft

I missed a few 7G, 7K, 7L, 7N also below 2k/ft.

The one that jumped out at me was 5B at 1611/sqft because I'm pretty sure it's a parkview 3bed. In hindsight, 5.6m for that wasn't bad.

So it wasn't 1250, more like 1600.

Hi Ali I'm still here. You know I kind of miss Rufus- lol - I swear. He made me laugh.

Here's the problem, nyc10023. In the thread:

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/6710-speculation-on-15-cpw

Malraux claims "direct unobnstructed Central Park views". The only such units are all lines A, B, C, & D. This is true whether in the house or the tower (look at the floorplan section of www.15cpw.com): on floors up to 20-ish, A-D are in the house; higher up, they are in the tower.

So, the only possibility of what you listed is 5B. The problems here are numerous. First, it's a 3/3.5, not a 2/2.5. Second, it's $1600, not $1250. Third, and most damning, if you look up ACRIS you'll see that the buyer is an LLC, but the buyer signature lines have the name "Zeckendorf" and an LLC lookup on "W2001Z" also has associations with Zeckendorf. (For those who are not following, Zeckendorf was the developer).

I did some amount of spot checking on the other units as well, FYI. From the website, it's pretty clear that all things on floors 5/6/7 have to have A/B/C/D to be direct park views. The highest-letter ones wrap around on top of the retail section, I think. The 15H unit doesn't clear the house, even if it were east facing. The 25E unit faces Broadway (which you can deduce because 25A-D are the east-facing 4 units, leaving 25E & 25F as the west-facing ones).

Thank you, Inonada. Then 5B wasn't the LLC I was thinking of. I thought Malraux might have tried to obscure his transaction by throwing out the 1250 number and making up the 2/2.5 apt. I just looked for the lowest/sq ft transactions 2 years ago, and I thought I saw some LLC or trust that had a low price/sqft and that wasn't the Z-family. Again, I'm too lazy to pull out the old thread but I thought Malraux got spooked because we called him on the data.

Which by the way leads into the 3rd thing I miss about SE. Thoughtful discussions about RE, where I felt (maybe wrongly) that there was give and take and some malleability of position in response to other people's data and experience. You couldn't get away with much, RE-wise.

Actually, I'm wrong on 5B I think. I think it was bought by an LLC, whose signing member is some relatively young-looking guy who headed some RE function at GS. Very early contract date, but no SE record of it ever being rented. So, it could have been malraux with fake info to obscure things: unit price, unit size, age, profession, etc.