building at 61 West 9th Street

alex, the price drop is pretty irrelevant when you see that 5D (the exact same unit a floor below) sold for $757k. I wouldn't pay more than that unless the condition is significantly better - looks like they did a decent renovation, but I don't think that adds $150k to the price tag.

This is a relatively good location, though being right off 6th Ave is noisy, so this is not an ideal address even if you are in a great overall neighborhood. The building itself isn't that great, though to be fair, I haven't set foot in it in a few years. It has never really been considered one of the nicer village co-ops, but hopefully someone like kylewest will show up and share his expertise on this one. Good luck!

Agreed, I would also pay special attention to board minutes and take a long long at maintenance history.
5D Which started on the market in June 09 has a $1393 maintenance.
6D started in August 2010 has a $1656 maintenance.
Apartments appear identical, I expect their maintenance responsibilty to be as well. That's a 15% difference in 1 year. That's substancial.

Yes, maintenance has gone up for two years in a row and is scheduled to go up again in 2014, for a little over
5%. Not a good sign for a building that prohibits residents from channeling, ie all new electrical wiring cannot be incorporated through the walls - it must remain exposed. Not a pretty sight........

Street noise is not a problem in the back of the building, the C , D or E lines. Other than the occasional party in the adjacent buildings,
it is amazingly quiet.. I know , I live in this building. The maintenance is very high and continues to rise, this is a real concern.

Apt 3D is for sale in 2022. Really expensive for a tiny, albeit very nice apartment.
The current owner has been renting out off and on for the last 10 years.
It does have a working fireplace, but what they leave out is that the fireplaces in the bldg don't
draw very well. Most people can't burn more than 1 or 2 pieces of wood without smoking out their apartment. Also, there are a lot of retirees in the bldg. If someone is looking for a party pad, be
prepared to have the neighbors complain frequently.

@dumbledore: I agree, this unit is not for the bargain hunter, but it's a nice space, and other older listings in the building seem to indicate that the whole building is well kept. What's your view on how the maintenace has worked out over the years?

The lobby was updated on May 7, 2022. Looks like something out of Pottery Barn or Raymour
and Flanagan. The Board ruined a pre-war lobby.

I have been to this building a while back and lobby felt very dated, dark, and run down to me. It needed to be freshened up. I will take a peak at the new lobby when I pass by.

The problem is that this update could have been done in a tasteful way that looks like 1925 and doesn't shrink the space (the lobby is actually quite small). The new lobby chairs for example are very big and look like something out of Star Trek.........