90 William

90 william - eewh!

I agree it is not the nicest place but I have a limited budget and I have learned you are never going to get everything you want in a NYC apt. It is driving me crazy that I am going to spend over 1 million and not get everything I want. I am not for NYC so it took me a while to realize this. Any suggestions NotAnonymous?

lajeep405 - I personally don't believe FiDi has any good condos available - at the moment. I suggest you either wait a couple of months or expand your search criteria.

The places at 90 William are obviously cheaper than most in the area, but they're not that nice: dark, fairly low quality finishes, mediocre layouts, relatively few amenities in the building (which is quite ugly). It's hard to get very excited about them, except for their size. I think it's reasonable that some people might opt for the size per price of these apartments, but I wouldn't enthusiastically endorse that you do so.

jordyn, any suggestions? My wife and I both work in the Fidi and want to stay close to work to spend more time with family on a daily basis. I would value your opinion.

what size apt are u looking for ? for ementies i like 25 broad, but it's a bit dark. we are consdering buying two one bedroom apts and combining at 99 john. it's just a matter of finding a good layout since each apt in this buliding seems to be unique !

As sfo suggests, depends on what you're looking for and what your budget is. I also like the suggestion of 99 John if you're trying to keep price down--the quality isn't really high-end, but it's reasonable and the light and layouts make me a lot more interested than Be@William. (Of course, it doesn't have in-unit washer/dryers either.)

Another place to consider (if you're a bit of a gambler) is 20 Pine. That's been a troubled development, but for the quality the price psf is unbeaten in the neighborhood, and it comes with reasonable common charges for very nice amenities. (The kitchens suck, but it's nothing installing an island and a bit of other work won't fix.)

If I was rich enough, I'd buy a 2BR at 75 Wall, but it doesn't look like there's anything left at <$1.5M.

Frankly, I'm close to the point of deciding there's nothing I think is going to hold its value and may keep renting. There are some reasonable rental options (including some condo units for much cheaper than buying them). I live at 10 Liberty right now and think it's quite nice as rentals go.

Well jordyn you must be my neighbor at 10 Liberty. And for me it was a no-brainer vs. buying. 10 Liberty is nicer than many of the buildings for sale in the area, it's about 1/2 the monthly cost vs. buying a comparable unit and it's rent stabilized. Washer/dryers in the unit, marble bathrooms , great views and friendly staff, what's not to like?

I looked at 55 Wall, 15 Broad, 55 Liberty, 90 William and 20 Pine and there were nice units in each. But I couldn't justify the cost after seeing 10 Liberty. But some of the units at 55 Wall were incredibly nice, if I decided to really go for it, that's where I'd buy. 90 William is on the cheap end, but the units were a bit small for my taste. Seemed to be good value vs. some of the other buildings, but not vs. 10 Liberty!

does any when know how the sales have been in William Beaver House ? did anyone see it ? i figured not to venture there as it's way off our priceing

lajeep405-if youre in the market to buy, let me know if you have any questions about financing and rates.

William Beaver sales have been slow...lots of international buyers, many of whom are going to have trouble financing their units. Maybe some re-sales going back on the market later.
ANY WITH FINANCING QUESTIONS OR RATE QUOTES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

I also live in 10 Liberty, it is the best kept secrect. Anyone who lives here is spolied becuase you get so much for so less relative to buying. Thanks for all your input. I have no questions about financing. Shong, I hope you are correct that so units will come back on the market. There is actually on at 90 william that has come back on already.

ugly!

looked at 99 john -- fyi they are willing to deliver unfinished and you can gut yourself at probably half what they would charge . . some huge spaces at relatively low $/sft and they are itching to deal; have heard some weird stuff about rockrose, however . . .

lajeep405: Take a close look at the B line unit(s) available at 90 William. Corner unit, wall to wall six foot windows in every room and not facing the neighboring building like units C-H. Take a look at the window layouts at 99 John and you will see they have half the windows and the windows are half the size. And as for people on here complaining about finishes, anyone who has ever owned their own place will tell you that you can upgrade your own "finishes" for one-quarter of what the builder will charge you so do the math when you compare the price per square foot at 99 John and 90 William. Also, people who give advice about what building they prefer and then talk up the benefits of the rental they are in and how happy they are renting are giving you bad advice. These people have made a decision to rent so they either can't afford to buy or would prefer to invest their savings in other ways. Any advice they give you is not going to be a cost-benefit analysis because in their mind, they've already decided there is no cost-benefit to buying, its going to be about superficial things like "that building isn't as pretty on the outside" or "that unit has sub-zero so its better than the one with GE profile". Yes, those things matter but the bottom line is do those things matter enough to justify paying 10-30% more for comparably sized units? To people with unlimited funds or renting and not faced with the real economics of buying, yes. To the rest of us - probably not as much as the developers would like us to believe.
If you can take your time, try to see every building in the financial district (that's what I'm doing) and really compare what you get for the price per square feet.

Jcg, I agree with you. I am looking at the A & B units and they are contrary to the no light claims. Can you tell me what the projected property taxes of the B unit is just based on a quick look? Do you think i should put much weight on the projected property tax without abatement?

I looked at 99 john and thought 90 William has them beat. Funny how everyone has differnt tastes.

For the B-line, projected property taxes look to be $450-$500 per month with the abatement and around $1,400 without the abatement. I would expect the abatement to take place (the seller will have more than a few lawsuits if not) but you should be prepared financially for worst case. No new construction can guarantee you the abatement until the tax year after they start closing on units, so it is a risk with all new construction purchases.

jcg: There's very little sense in buying into a new development if you're not reasonably happy with the finishes when you move in. Yes, you can replace it (for a lower cost than the developers paid), but it's a lot of work and energy and you're likely to get a much better deal buying a resale and renovating it than buying a developer's renovation and then starting all over again.

Admittedly, a lot of the inventory in the Financial District is in new developments, but there are some other options.

I mentioned renting as an option because it's what I'm thinking about, but I'm also thinking about buying in various places. 90 William is not one of them, but I recognize the appeal of the low price per square foot. Despite the lack of light/views, if I was in the market for a 2BR at the Be@William price range, I'd *much* rather buy at 45 John than 90 William, but that discussion is in a separate thread. :-)

I'd expect the abatement to go through at 90 William, but it's probably worth thinking about post-abatement costs when thinking about resale opportunity.

markznyc : so what did you hear/ kow about rockrose, i know as landlords they are on teh dickish side but in buying do you know how they are.

did you get an indication of what % they are willing to take off the price ? the sales office there seems to be jekell and hyde, one day they are open and nice the other day awful

All good points, jordyn, except you can't compare the light you will get in the two bedrooms at 90 William with the light at 45 John. As I said before, the entire exterior wall in the B line at 90 William is windows and gets much more light than 45 John. I've been in both an hour apart one weekend. 45 John is a great building and also good price per square foot and has great finishes. I liked it but didn't love it. Can't believe they put the microwave in the island at crotch level - terrible idea. The washer/dryer and in sink garbage disposal are nice amenitites, though. Probably can't go wrong at either building and just depends on taste. Prices are about $100k to $200k more at 45 John when comparing floor to floor prices of the 2BRs at 90 William. 45 John is also about a year behind 90 William in completion. 90 William said late summer/fall 2007 for completion when then opened sales and its April and they still haven't closed any. Expect similar delays for 45 John. My experience over the last year looking at new construction is the builder/broker is about 9 months overly optimistic when projecting closing dates.

lol, microwave at croch level

The reason they did that is because there is a vent over the 3 burner stove, yes 3 burner. The counters are not deep enough for a 4 burner. On the other hand at least the developer in 45 John spent the extra money to put in a stove vent and W/D hookups. 90 william has neither. All that said, I too lean towards the light.

The 45 John hood is recirculating to the best of my knowledge. There are W/D hookups (with washer/dryers!) though, which is nice.

I totally didn't notice the three burner stove and wonder now if I've gone completely insane.