30 E.9th Street - The Lafayette

I wrote this a while back on another thread discussing buildings in the Lower Fifth Ave/Washington Square vicinity:

"If you want to keep your eye peeled for other relative bargains on junior fours in the area, flag 30 East 9th Street as a building to watch. That 1950's 6-story building has some terrific values and nice layouts with good views. For example, pretty much the exact same junior-four layout can be found in 30 East 9th and the Brevoort East at 20 East 9th. The difference? About $300,000. If you are willing to give up the more upscale lobby and appearance of the Brevoort East (which is kind of stuffy and old lady like overall), you can save a quarter million dollars by taking 50 steps across University and buying at 30 E 9th."

The building is extremely strong financially and well-managed in all regards. As for the board, my impression is that there are no surprises there. It is neither permissive nor overly uptight. It is what one would expect from a well-run coop in a fairly expensive neighborhood. This applies to what they require in terms of financial wherewithall, renovation requests, what they consider to be a good neighbor. No parents purchasing for kids or pied-a-terre stuff.

Thanks for the feedback.

Sorry to be so late to the party. I live here and love it. The board is easy and reasonable. I got my renovations approved in less than a week. Ther doormen are great. Not too chatty, but friendly. I wouldn't say that the neighbors are the friendliest, although everybody is respectful (and generally quiet).

It's kind of an odd block. On the north west half of the block, there's a beautiful pre-war complex with some truly fabulous and unique apartments. Conversely, the south side is a drab mishmash of ho-hum post-war complexes. It's certainly the village, but it doesn't really provide that quintessential village feeling of other blocks...

Great building except it is the ugly looking.

Board have a tendency to just increase fees e.g. maintenance and other fees (bike/sub-letting fee) without asking any tenants first, they squeeze every penny out of you. They are backward thinking and not very progressive which is reflected in the number of years the people on the board have lived in the building. I would be worried about other fees, selling 'flip tax' when you move out for example being increased in the future, make sure you read the fine print carefully. Also the walls are very thin and if people are walking around upstairs it is very noisy.

I couldn't disagree with you more 5868broadway. The building fees, maintenance, assessments are in keeping with or lower than comparable buildings in the area from Broadway to 6th Avenue and from 8th St to 13th St. The building's approach to its finances has long been to plan for the long-term and next to preserve and enhance value. Reserves are healthy and reasonable. Monies collected via fees for some amenities and so-called "flip taxes" benefit the cooperative's residents--who else?

I think many people misunderstand what it means to live in a coop in NYC. Like a house, you pay not only for the interior, but for the upkeep of the building--someone has to pay for the things that need upgrading, fixing, etc. And that someone is each resident. Griping about a particular fee or maintenance increase is a bit silly if done without placing the situation in context of the comparable buildings in the area and similar building types overall. A majority of coops (I think a vast majority but don't quote me) use "flip taxes" to help build reserves and pay for things that would otherwise require special assessments or maintenance increases. Nothing unusual there. Virtually all coops charge for storage lockers, and plenty charge for bike storage. These are completely typical.

Similarly, coops are not democracies. Every business decision and operational decision is not put to a vote of shareholders. Chaos would result. Coops elect a board to run things. That's how it works. You don't run a building by a show of hands on how much to charge for a storage bin. None of this should be a surprise to a coop owner.