Scarano Condo in Brooklyn

Most of truly crappy places were built after crash when ambitions and budgets were significantly scaled back. This one is older and looks nice enough. Also now that it is a few years older most problems should have presented themselves. There are also hundreds of condos in bburg so a few stories should not scare you away..

I would stay away. See comments on another scarano property.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/36473-sale-at-868-metropolitan-avenue-1b-alarming-info

The crappy Williamsburg condos are those small buildings without amenities. The developers built them with spit and
Juicy Fruit chewing gum.

...go to the open house for the free, cheapo "champagne". A real attraction for alkie buyers.

They all *look* nice enough. Looks were the whole point.

The banned developer goes by Isaac, Yitzchok and Yitzchak. It's a common name, though, so there might be more than one who hired Scarano, and not all of Scarano's turned out like 57-59 Maspeth.

One little thing can say a lot, though. Look at the front door. Lots of the developers didn't even pay for a little canopy to keep you out of the rain while going in and out. What else did they go cheesy on?

Even so, have your lawyer do a litigation/DoB/AG search before you fall in love with a place.

NWT: The developers went cheesy with the open-house offer of free, cheapo "champagne".

Even the board at the relatively big/fancy One Grand Army Plaza had to sue: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=6f0V6M/hhpmXJZ1bHyvLBQ==&system=prod

NWT:
But: was there any offer of "champagne" in those proceedings?

Scarano design doesn't necessarily mean crappy quality. Scarano designed buildings that pushed beyond building codes and zoning laws. And many feel his designs are just plain ugly. Build quality is developer dependent. 125 N 10th in Williamsburg is one of his designs that seems to be of good construction quality (I have no first hand knowledge).

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/building/125-north-10th-street-brooklyn

which scarano building are you looking at...57-59 maspeth or some other one. it's not clear.

Lookpied is correct....building quality is developer dependent and often a function of whether such developer has a GC who regularly uses the same quality subs or whether the GC sought out the lowest bid for that particular building. Toll had issues with sub-shoddiness in Northside 1; Grand Army was another; Tahoe development (basically all the McCarren Park buildings) have had their fair share of issues; Grestchs has ongoing issues....the list goes on and on.

No amenities is a function of the building size - not whether the developer simply decided to pay for them or not. A small six unit building simply can't fit amenities and its more economical for a developer to include as much livable sqftge as opposed to amenity space.

Re: Scarano...the lesson is to look to see whether the building has its perm C of O or whether it is somehow still operating on Temps. If temps, then def stay away. about.

Generally, the new construction lesson is that you should not expect no issues - because no matter the developer, there will be some. What you should expect is developer responsiveness to the problem and his honoring the warranties afforded you in the offer plan. If the developer is no where to be found and there are significant issues outstanding...stay away. Otherwise, rely on the fact the simply real estate adage - location/location/location. Case in point - Whouse 11....Schwartz & family were original developers; it was built with same quality by same GC/subs as his other buildings; in '08 he claims bankruptcy after which the rest of the units not in contract were off-loaded onto a servicer; servicer then off-loads to buyers for, in some cases, $500/sqft; fast forward to today with some still present - owners are re-selling for 1k/sqft+....anybody who turned down those units in '09 because they thought the some leaks or cheapness in spots are absolute morons.

Thanks CondoPresident. Looking at 52 Ten Eyck/61-63-69 Stagg.

If this is the listing....http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/993112-condo-52-ten-eyck-street-williamsburg-brooklyn. Looks pretty sweet.

Personally, considering the current environment and the looks of the listing, there would have to be some major issues for me to walk away from $737/sqft in the $850/900 (east williamsburg) environment. Just rest assured that a significant % of re-sales occurring in the 'burg now involve buildings where issues/litigation are present.

Which leads back to my comment above, CondoPresident:
I understand why those small Condo Buildings don't have the room for amenities.
The Buildings I looked at were not constructed very well and that is the fault of the developers.

itchingtomove, 52 Ten Eyck/61-63-69 Stagg turn out to be the same banned developer and banned architect as 57-59 Maspeth. That's per the loan docs, with the same name, address, and signature.

I don't know where the listing for 4B at 69 Stagg comes up with Escobar as the architect. Maybe he did remedial work. If so, he needs to finish it, as the photos show missing HVAC grilles.

When you visit, be careful with those stairs. There's a sort of lip at the top, placed to be tripped over.

There're other lies, like calling the 15' ceiling 20', but you get the idea.

On the other hand, the Stagg St. buildings don't appear to have all the repointing work that's been done on the Ten Eyck building.

NWT: Good research, as always.
Enough to scratch itchingtomove.

Missing HVAC grills?! Watch out for the lip at the stop of steps?! Ceiling height is off (and i doubt by 5")?!?

This is exactly the nit-picky BS people lose HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS on. Hilarious.

Again, it's simple.

1) Does the building have a perm C of O (it better or you'll have to come up with all cash...no bank will lend against an older building without a perm or somehow still operating on temps)

2) Does the building have issues? Better yet - does the Unit have issue?

3) If Unit then adjust your offer accordingly factoring in how serious, the cost to repair fix, and the hassle to live there while the issues are being fixed

4) If not unit but building then is spnsor actively paying for and atempting to fix issues.

5) If developer not responsive then is building in litigation

6) Is building funding lawyer fees from assessments or is a deferred contingency agreement. Either way, factor in the likelihood of recovery/settlement and how much from dev. OR if not, the amount of assessment to repair issues (which will be spread among all units no matter if your unit is directly affected or not).

Note a majority of new construction buildings in NYC (even in manhattan) deal with this same this calculus. No building (because its small) is unqiue to these problems or issues.

The more important thing to concern yourself with is this simple notion - right now, the average 2 bed apt. in Manhattan sells for 1.8 - roughly 1800/sqft give or take a few hundred. You will be buying this apt. at 737 - well below the current average for the neighborhood its in and WELL WELL below the average Williamsburg will achieve (see 1800/sqft above) over the next 5-15 years. It's just THAT simple. No f'ing assessment; no missing HVAC grill; no funkiness with a step; no banned developer who built the building will ever stop the train...

Unless it's a Frank Lloyd Wright construction (buildings were known to have issues), most people are not going to purchase a property that is of poor quality. Scarano ain't no Frank Lloyd Wright. Your posts seem to indicate that you have a high risk tolerance and are willing to deal with building issues in order to win financially. Many people who are investing their life savings or are thinking about funding their kids' education are not in a position to sign a check and wait and see what other corners were cut. As you stated, all new developments will have their issues. Some are known to have more issues than others. I used to live in a building that was poorly constructed. I learned my lessons and made sure I did the appropriate due diligence as you outlined before purchasing my current unit. Buying quality, in my opinion, is the way to go. Assessments, ongoing repairs, months of waiting, engaging a lawyer, call after call with the developer, years still addressing outstanding issues, hating the Board for lack of support - Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. I do not want another one. Only the rich can afford to buy poor quality. By the way, I agree with your prediction of the market and the potential to make a nice return.

We all have different crap-tolerance thresholds, I guess.

CondoPresident thinks a million bucks for that walk-up shitbox would be a great deal. I wouldn't touch it. itchingtomove will make up his own mind, after seeing what 7' ceilings in most of the space feels like.

By the way, 4B is in the Ten Eyck building. The one that's had to have major brickwork done: http://goo.gl/maps/NMBiA

NWT with the quick, quality return!