Living in a brownstone vs Condo

With all due respect to your husband's skills, 'fixing things' in a 100+ year old multi-family building is likely going to require skills, tools, and time that may be beyond what he's willing to put in (or require professional licenses that he doesn't have). I keep lots of little things fixed in my co-op apartment, but for many things in my 150+ year old house need to call in professionals (and I spent 25 years in a brownstone prior to the co-op) -- and that's just to keep me warm and dry. Add multi-family, and you're now responsible for all your tenants' problems. Add landmark status, and it's a whole additional layer of hassle. I find maintaining a brownstone / house far more work and more expensive than an apartment, but also more rewarding. It's definitely a labor of love.

I just love living in a brownstone. It has a character and a beauty that I appreciate every day since i moved in here.

What about all the ghosts of the former SRO tenants?

What business of yours are the ghosts of the Symbionese Revolutionary Organizers?

My uncle used to live in a brownstone, there are no real headaches living in one. It just like living in a house, besides paying for heat, water and taxes there isn't much to it.

A good friend of mine purchased a brownstone that had been converted to multi-unit use. The building came with several rent-controlled tenants who would call her at all hours with complaints, yet then would not allow access to their units for repairs. Rents were often late or in one case the tenant simply decided to stop paying altogether, forcing my friend to hire an attorney and head to housing court.

Maintaining the building (and sidewalk) was an ongoing headache. Since the building was in a landmarked area items like replacing a window or the front door or retouching the facade required a drawn-out merry-go-round with the city.

During snowstorms either my friend or her husband had to constantly shovel and salt to making sure the front sidewalk was properly de-iced lest some passerby decided to hit them with a slip-and-fall suit. Tenants' trash had to be sifted through and properly sorted before it could be left for pick-up. Even after hiring a part-time super to handle some of the heavier maintenance jobs the situation was a head-banging exercise in frustration.

Oh, and let me not forget to mention how loud things could get in their parlor-floor apartment--keep in mind that one-family brownstones were not built with sound-proofing in mind. When the folks living above my friend's apartment decided to take up flamenco dancing (yep) she needed to drop her ceilings to install heavy-duty sound-proofing (which didn't really work anyway...)

Bottom line--my friend gritted her teeth and stuck with it for around five years so she wouldn't take a total loss and then dumped the place as soon as it made sense finance-wise.

Plus the little elevator always breaks.

Looks like Brownstones continue flying higher. http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20150709/park-slope/average-home-prices-brooklyn-queens-hit-new-record-highs

Our condo association hit us with a 100% 1 year assessment that I believe was unnecessary. Basically, if the by-laws don't limit the board's assessing power, the sky is the limit and there is nothing you can do except replace the board with a super majority. But, you won't know what they are doing until after the money is spent.

I'm making a trip to Santa Fe later this month to see if we might like living there. I never thought I'd leave Brooklyn. The problem is not just NYC, it's NY State. We have a terrible condo law in this state and it gives unit owners very little recourse against a board with crazy ambitions.

One thing I would say: When you are shopping for condos, be suspicious of any buildings where there is a lot of "churn" in units. Our building is only a few years old, and most apartments have sold at least 3 times. That tells you a lot right there. People do not like living here and they get out as soon as they are able.

>Flutistic - what you have just posted should be a warning for new buyers. From your previous postings you seem to have quite a bit of experience with real estate , and yet you fell for a condo, which you initially loved, and thought was a great buy, a real deal, and only later discovered the extent of your mistake.
All buyers beware of things that look too good to be true.

>One thing I would say: When you are shopping for condos, be suspicious of any buildings where there is a lot of "churn" in units. Our building is only a few years old, and most apartments have sold at least 3 times. That tells you a lot right there. People do not like living here and they get out as soon as they are able.

Well done Flutistic.