Sale at 116 East 66th Street

Electric may be one factor, which it lists as included in maintenance. Assuming through wall A/C units in each room, electric appliances (washer/dryer?), computer/sound/TV, etc., it can add up (summer especially). Also, looks to be a smaller building with only ~4.5 apts. per floor, so less units to spread out fixed costs - benefit can be fewer people/less activity/quieter. You should check staffing/service levels - overnight doorman, elevator operator, # of porters, etc. Last, higher floor likely takes disproportionate share of overall maintenance. No original thoughts here obviously.

Someone with specific knoweldge of the financials has to answer. Inclusion of electric has nothing to do with high maintenance here which is very high. Even if a/c and every appliance were run 24/7 all summer, the bill would come to maybe $400/mo.so that doesn't explain the high monthlies. I would be paying very close attention to the underlying mortgage amount and the way the debt is being serviced. If they are locked into a mortgage that is 8.5% but up for refinancing this year, then costs may actually decrease. Even better if the building has been paying down its debt. If on the other hand the building has an interest only mortgage, is not paying down any debt, and is already has a fairly favorable mortgage rate, then they're in a tight box. If it is a service heavy building with lots and lots of staff and amenities you like, then you just decide if it is worth it to you to pay for those things. But paying to service a lot of debt is never a good thing.

"Inclusion of electric has nothing to do with high maintenance here..."

Classic, and so definitive! By definition, electric being included makes the maintenance expense higher than it otherwise would be - I hope this is obvious.

Agree with the need to check the building's financials - but by that point, with full access to the financials, you'll have enough information (aside from just mortgage considerations) to piece together a clearer picture of reasons behind the high maintenance.

EBOC: not sure if you are agreeing with me or disagreeing. I think my point is very clear: even factoring out up to $400/mo that could be attributed to electric costs being included in maintenance, the maintenance is still out of whack and high. And frankly, no way is electric that costly for at least 8 months a year no matter what you are running in the apartment.

My point is even more clear: electricity is one factor that makes maintenance here higher than it otherwise would be. Period.

There are likely a handful of reasons why maintenance here is higher than 2-bedroom comps around Park Ave - but I'm trying to stick to what we know, rather than gravitate towards random speculation around factors that we have no insight into (i.e., the building's mortgage payments and refinancing schedule).

er1to9 - if you're motivated, you (or your broker) can engage with the seller's broker on these questions. By all means ask to see the financials and look for mortgage-related factors cited by kylewest. But to reiterate, there are probably several factors that contribute towards maintenance being higher here.

I know the building and have friends who live there. Although architecturally ugly, it is well run with a tough board who expects a lot of financials. The electric plays into it, as does the number of staff and relatively small number of apartments without the income from commercial spaces on the first floor. The views from the south are very nice, and the southern apartments do not have the unfortunate angled windows of the north side. The current asking price for a two bedroom reflects the maintenance. Well run UES small buildings are approaching $2,000 per square foot maintenance these days - so this isn't that far off with the electric included

Re: the electric, the 1955 ad (from when it was built as a co-op) makes the GE all-electric kitchens a selling point. So, no gas lines.

I don't know how much more per BTU electric cooking costs than gas, but we're probably underestimating the per-apartment impact on the maintenance.