The Edge

He was recommended by the buildings agent

you're not required to use the sponsors preferred lender. you're required to apply with one of them to validate your mortgage contingency. that way the sponsor truly knows if you can get a loan commitment. that said the preferred lenders are usually able to write better loans than lenders with less experience in the building. i saved about $10k over what the lender i was previously working with could offer. i don't think they have a mortgage broker at the edge, just preferred lenders.

jeremy @ metlife is one of the preferred lenders, i'm using him as well. i got a slightly better offer from someone else, but he's truly competent, committed, and a tireless worker. i'll spend $1500 to make sure my million $$$ purchase goes well anytime and he's really delivered. i got a loan commitment 2 days after they had all of my paperwork (i was working with another lender, so i knew what they needed and had it ready to go, which helped).

btw - i sent a single email to all of the preferred lenders with all as much information as i could (cost of unit, concessions, my down payment and credit score) and had them send back offers. within 10 minutes I had offers back and decided who i was going to work with a few hours later.

none of this is as difficult as people want to make it seem. there's enough closed units to know what you should be paying and there's enough eager lenders to make sure you get a good rate. i'm not sure why people get so wrapped around the axles buying at the edge. it's like doing paint by numbers, all the information is provided.

thought I should share this article

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=5&id=42331

Maybe my calculator is broken, but it shows 160/565 is 28.3%, not 50%. How are they defining "sold", and why not give out that number then instead of 160?

160 units are closed, the rest are in contract. So that means roughly 122 more are in contract, but not closed yet.

I find that brooklyn eagle will publish whatever propaganda the developer gives them without any verification

thanks buyer and checktest

has anyone had experience with boa as a lender? how was the mortgage consultant?

dh423, most people have gone through Jeremy Gaddy and Met Life. I think everyone who has gone through Jeremy has recommended him. I went through Jeremy and I would recommend him. Hope that helps.

Yea, I am leaning towards him because of everyone's recommendations but just found out approved funding has some ridiculously low rates. How is that possible? I read some bad reviews about the guy from approved funding so not sure if the much lower rate is worth it. What do you guys think?

has anyone encountered a problem or received a rate quote for the insurance requirement in the offering plan
$1 million liability PLUS $1 million umbrella policy
travellers does not offer such high coverage without auto coverage and other carriers charge an additional $600 premium just for the umbrella policy

dh423: what is peace of mind worth? There have been so many horror stories about Approved Funding.

The only crazy case with Met Life was some funny business when a rogue Met Life agent from NJ lied and said he was the Met Life Edge rep. Not true. Gaddy is the one and only. Apparently, someone from the Edge sales office was friends with this rogue agent and told a certain buyer that he was the exclusive Met Life agent. Long story short, the rogue agent never submitted the paperwork, locked in any rates, etc. The buyer's closing date was coming up and he still had no loan.

Finally, the buyer figured out what happened, and Gaddy actually swooped in and fixed the situation. All this has been detailed in previous posts in this thread by the guy who actually went through this.

I would be suspicious of ridiculously low rates. If they are that far off, do you really think that rate will hold up until closing?

Jabra: Yea i definitely was thinking the same thing. Know of anything with BOA? They seemed to have given a lower rate but I don't think I've read much on this forum regarding BOA so not sure how they're process is or how the agent it.

I've spoken to Sunny Hong from BofA and he was very helpful and responsive and offered good rates, but they were only approved to lend in Phase I in the past. Now that the Edge is approaching the 51% sold mark, additional lenders should be coming on board.

oh really? I thought since BOA was listed as one of the 5 preferred lenders that it means, if you qualify financially, a loan would be approved. that's odd

It depends on the type of loan you need. BofA can provide FHA loans for the entire building. For conventional loans they were only providing for phase 1. This was last year and things may have changed now or will shortly after they surpass 51%, so you should shop around and compare GFE's.

http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/DocSearch.dll/ViewImage?Doc_ID=2010080200079002

Edge Complete floorplans. Click the link. Click begin using ACRIS. Click the link again. Go to page 65.

Neat eh?

South edge rather.

Actually both are in there.... take it back.

dak thanks for mentioning the insurance information - i hadn't seen that!

After negotiations and back and forth discussions the situation at Williamsburg Edge has been resolved. I will be moving into the building next month.

I do not wish to receive anymore communications on this matter

Thank you
Jaynie

Brooklyn Flea apparently has rented out the space where the third tower will be built for Saturday as well as Sunday. Saturday will be a green market with ~30 farmers and other food related vendors. The Saturday all food market will be called "Smorgasburg". I am excited about this, but I can see how others might not be thrilled. Hope they have a meat vendor. Starts in May.

http://www.brooklynflea.com/sell/
http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/brooklyn-flea-2011-4/

The quote I got from met life was very close to what approved offered.

Closing in the Edge shortly, and just saw this on the NSP forum. Anybody experience anything similar at the Edge? $250 to be allowed to paint? ---

"whats up with all the restrictions for lighting and decorating? what are ppl doing to install extra lighting as internal chaneling is prohibited
also, just to paint, it seems we need to pay penmark $250 just to "process" a decorating agreement. what are ppl's experience with this? "

Also, what have people's experiences been with moving things in? If you're not using a mover, because this is your first place, how do you go about it?

never experienced anything like that at the Edge. The staff who works for the super is very helpful, and they will do odd jobs for you on the weekend. I had them mount our LCD tv and it came out great. They can also install lighting and paint.

I also had no issues, nor heard of any like this.
If your doing the moving yourself, all you need to do is leave mgmt a move-in deposit, which will be fully returned to you after your done.

Flea would be a cool addition, I liked it in Ft. Greene and DUMBO.... but what does it say about the developer's view of the market. He's not even thinking about building right now...

somewherelse: I completely disagree.

From the very beginning, Phase II was supposed to be 5-7 years after the completion of South and North. Having Brooklyn Flea for just 1 summer does not make Phase II delayed in any way.

I encourage you to try and make an appointment with the sales office at the Edge for a weekend. Or better yet, try to walk in and get an appointment. You'll see how much traffic there is.

Edge is selling fast. Apart from 80 Met which is almost full, there aren't really any other comparable products on the market right now. I used to consider NSP 1&2 competition, but it looks like their build quality is much lower, what with the reports of leaky windows, mold, etc. Just check on the NSP 2 threads here on Streeteasy.

buyer2312 - who's the staff that helped you mount the TV and installed the lighting?

has anyone encountered a problem or received a rate quote for the insurance requirement in the offering plan
$1 million liability PLUS $1 million umbrella policy
travellers does not offer such high coverage without auto coverage and other carriers charge an additional $600 premium just for the umbrella policy

jabra - the NSP2 thread of resident posts does not seem to support your characterization. I would read it before speaking on their behalf.

halfster - there is a full staff in the building that maintains everything. You can put in requests on the building link website for help in the apartment. For example, my movers damaged a small portion of my floor, and they replaced the floorboard for me within a day.

edge_to_edge: I apologize, I mixed up my sources. Please follow this link and subsequent links in the article:

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/03/24/disgruntled_northside_piers_buyers_declare_war_on_toll_brothers.php

since the recent complaints have come about in NSP I was wondering if any current residents at the edge have experienced any of these issues? Are the floors easily susceptible to dents?

Dj423: I would say that floors are easy to dent but not that easy. Not too worried about the floor. More worried about he white counter top because its easy to stain, hard to clean. Also worried about the miles of caulking due to tiny tiles in the bathroom.

Haven't heard any complaints about the windows...yet...

The floors at the Edge are solid hardwood (and not engineered flooring like at NSP). Any wood flooring will be susceptible to scratching or denting to some degree. However, a solid hardwood floor can be sanded and re-finished many times.

for those that have closed or in the process of closing, have you been told by the legal team as well that you have to use the sponsor's choice of title company? It seems strange that your own lawyer can not choose their own title company that they are familiar with and know the time line they work on. If the sponsor's title company spends more time clearing title, we the buyers have to pay for this extra time which I seem to find unfair since our lawyer and we never had the choice to begin with to possibly choose a title company that would not have taken so long. Did anyone have an issue with the sponsor's title company?

I used my lawyer's title company and had issues from the sponsor.

I used my lawyer's title company and had NO issues from the sponsor

I'm sorry, I meant I had NO issues from the sponsor when I went with my lawyers title company.

cranberry- were they issues that were resolved rather quickly? or became a pain? also did you inquire any bills from the sponsor regarding these issues?

*incur

dh423, I meant to say that the sponsor did not give me any issues. I went with my lawyers title company and everything was fine. You should speak to your lawyer about using whoever you choose.

looks like this seemed to have been a misunderstanding on our part. thanks for the input

@salvydicopa and dh423 - i am now about to start the contract signing process. However, from what I've read, the $200 deposit should be refundable. I just emailed the agent who reps the sponsor and she says it is non-refundable per their contract. Help! thanks.

I am using a title company selected by my attorney.

@dak. I just noticed what you're talking about in the condo bylaws! I'm following up on it as every insurance agent I spoke to said that coverage was unusually high. Anybody else can chime in on condo insurance requirements?

joseesq, I contacted State Farm which doesn't offer umbrella coverage without the auto policy, nor do they provide Flood or Earthquake as required. The agent in Brooklyn I talked to mentioned that no other development among all the new construction has such requirements.

From what I've been able to find, Allstate doesn't offer earthquake coverage, and Travelers only offers umbrella with auto (as mentioned by another commenter).

Has anyone found a single company that do everything, at any price? I've reached out to Met Life and Liberty Mutual, but haven't heard back from either yet.

Statefarm can offer a $2M personal liability policy, which will satisfy the insurance requirements. You don't need to purchase separate flood/earthquake insurance. The building's master policy covers that and your personal property coverage should cover your unit. Of course verify this with your insurance company.

I just spoke to an insurance who is handling some closings in South Edge. She said $1 million in personal liability was required. She didn't meniton anything about an additional $1 million in umbrella coverage, which as dak stated, is in the Offering Plan. Confusing!

Interesting. cranberry, did you or someone you know do that @ the Edge? I ask because the personal liability coverage seems different than State Farm's PLUP coverage, which requires auto insurance. But if the Edge was happy to accept that, that's all that matters I suppose. Also, it was weird because the offering plan requirements do spell out flood and earthquake as being required to be maintained by the unit owner in 6.1 (k).

That's what I did and everything went smoothly. I think the personal property or building coverage section (required by mortgage lenders) covers flooding, etc.

cranberry is spot on with the insurance requirements. According to my lawyer, the offering plan wants you to carry in aggregate $2m in liability, whether it's $2m personal or $1m personal + $1m umbrella, it doesn't matter so long as you have $2m aggregate liability coverage. Unless you are a commercial owner, you want to avoid umbrella because it's quite expensive. Allstate and other carriers have to write 2 separate policies to get you to that $2m coverage which will cost you. There are pros and cons to getting umbrella, but if you are cost conscious, then State Farm is the only carrier that I found that wrote $2m in personal liability and I didn't need to bundle auto much less flood, earthquake, etc because the master policy already covers all that. I wouldn't take as gospel what other insurers are saying about the Edge's liability requirements. Of course they are going to say $1m only because that's probably what their max underwriting authority is. They couldn't care less whether you are in compliance with the offering plan or not. Your lender doesn't care so long as you satisfy THEIR liability coverage requirements.

The bottom line is that you should be listening to no one else other than what the sponsor's offering plan says and what your lawyer tells you regarding the liability requirements. There are consequences with not complying with the offering plan T&Cs. My lawyer walked me through these scenarios and ramifications and I got the $2m liability. The offering plan is complex and confusing, I would not try to screw around by guessing at what it all means by myself. Talk to your lawyer, that's what you pay this person for.

Any word on the grocery store downstairs?

Also, do the freezers have ice makers?

haven't heard anything on the grocery store, and yes the freezers have ice makers. The fridge/freezer is a pretty nice Miele unit, we're very happy with it.

I think Savidcopa is correct about the insurance. The insurance requirements are listed in the condominium By-laws which are located in the offering plan. The offering plan for the Edge Condominium is available on line for free at WWW.OFFERINGPLANET.COM

kcaco - you mentioned a grocery store, is there a plan for one in the space at the back of the edge on kent?

I believe there's been advanced discussion about a grocery store on the ground level of the building, but exactly where I'm not sure. Someone here will know though. When I went for a tour in December they said that they were close to a deal but couldn't say what store yet.

i used allstate for my insurance, they've done more than 40 units and know just what coverage you need. it took me well under 10 minutes to get a quote faxed over.

checktest, did you speak to anyone in particular? the sales office told me in marcch that they were close to signing a grocery store, but were not yet ready to announce.

I am currently negotiating for an apartment at the edge and just wanted some insight from those that went through the process. After we come to an agreement on price and concessions, what is the next step. And how long is that process. When do I give them the deposit check?
Thanks for any input

e1r2b3, if you don't already have a real estate lawyer, now is the time to find one. After you come to an agreement, you will provide the selling broker with your lawyers contact information, and your lawyer with the broker's information. You'll buy the offering plan which will be sent to your lawyer, who will have to spend a good chunk of time going over it (its enormous) and the proposed contract. It will likely take some time for the lawyer to approve the contract. During this time you should be working hard on getting financing - talking to a loan officer, getting your paperwork together, etc. Once the contract is signed by you and Edge you can apply for financing, obtain insurance, and at the same time you'll send the deposit check in. At some point you'll get a commitment from the bank, and from there you can prepare for closing. Of course if you aren't getting financing things would be different and you can skip a bunch of steps. Hope that helps.

Also, e1r2b3, if you need a good lawyer, let me know. Mine reviewed every minute irregularity of the offering plan with me and made sure I was comfortable with the risks before moving forward.

Obviously, if you use my lawyer, you have the advantage of someone who not only has already read the offering plan, but has dealt with the Edge already in general. mike under score this username at yahoo.

The deposit check is due when you sign the contract and forward to the Sponsor. When choosing a closing date, make sure to add a sufficient buffer as things will come along the way that will slow down the process.

Thanks so much-All very helpful. Thanks for lawyer referral, but actually all set in that department

Closed! Will move in in a couple weeks. Robe was a nice touch. Thanks for everyone's help on this board and good luck to everyone in the process of purchasing a unit.

I just wanted to second the comments on here regarding punch lists and the closing process. The building is great at taking care of any problems and very helpful throughout the entire closing process.

Congrats, BreukelenZoo!

I'm very close to moving into the building and wanted to see if anyone knows if I can move in on the closing day or if not, the day after the closing.. Are there any restrictions on the days that you can move in?

while a grocery store would be nice, it's not necessary as TOPs is right there on N6th near Wythe, and there's always Fresh Direct. There's a new Food Town on Metropolitan and Bedford.

Thanks nce! Haha looks like my goodbye was a bit premature. I have a quick crowd source question. Owners who have moved in, how do I turn on the AC!?!?! The control panel has a blue arrow down button and a red arrow up button and also a little button with a fan. On the bottom of the panel is a toggle for Fahrenheit and Celsius... There also appears to be a micro USB connection on the bottom. My panel is totally turned off. If you could help my contractors would appreciate it!
I didn't get any appliance manuals when I moved, should I have been given something?

click the button in between the temperature arrows that has the fan icon beneath it. You can toggle through the fan strength, and the unit will cool or heat the room to the temperature you set.

for those who have already signed, how long did the contract stage take? I feel as if it's taking a bit longer than it should. We dealt with the paralegal in the beginning but my attorney wanted to deal with an attorney instead. It's been about 2 weeks since we've tried to get in contact with an attorney and finally got in touch with one last Friday but have not gotten a response yet with regards to the changes our attorney is suggesting. Should we push a little more or this is normal?

dh423 - That sounds like a pretty long time. My timeframe was a lot shorter, but my attorney dealt with the paralegal for all but one or two issues. Maybe they are swamped this time of year.

buyer2312 - No! that is what I feared... I just have a blank screen pushing the fan button doesn't do anything. I am sure its no big deal. I will just get in touch with the building management.

I wouldn't worry they are extremely helpful in getting any small problems solved immediately.

In my experience, the paralegal was generally faster than their attorneys during negotiations. The paralegal can address many of your proposed changes to contract language as they have a pre-approved list of boilerplate language for different scenarios.

whats the issue with dealing with the parelegal? seriously, tell your attorney to get over his big bad ego and sign your contract.

Does anyone know if there's something that needs to be done to get the 25 year tax abatement or do you get that automatically after closing?

@new_neighbor, the tax abatement is not in effect yet but should be coming this summer. My understanding is that for now you will only be billed at the abated rate.

@dh423 it took us a lot longer than expected, as they negotiated pretty tough on changed to the contract terms. Really the contract is heavily weighted in favor of the sponsor (hey, if you were the sponsor, you'd want that too), so its probably natural that your attorney wants to get you some basic protections for you. In the end, remember you are trying to give the sponsor your money, and they want the sale, so they should be (somewhat?) flexible.

@new_neighbor, they are pretty flexible on moving in. I closed late on a friday night and came back to the building around midnight to bring up paints and a few loads of stuff. then the next day showed up with all the movers. you just need to setup a move-in slot with the building for a crew and all your stuff but for little loads like a car or two you can just show up. however you need to make sure you call the front desk when they give you instructions at closing to do so, so you will have a key to unlock the door.

@breukelenzoo & @buyer2312, correct on the buttons for the thermostats but overall they stink. i recommend getting a different one that offers better programming and easy to switch to hot and cold. plus it won't blow hot air in the summer or cold air in the winter just because the temp changed. i recommend the honeywell vision pro th8000 series. it is what i installed and it lowered my electric bill about $20 a month.

Thanks nce!

On moving-in, technically it only supposed to be done during the week, 9-5. The Edge also has some strict insurance requirements for your movers.

hey mswildma, who installed your honeywell for you?

How are people installing blinds in their apartments. I don't know if this is universal, but in my unit my windows open in and there is a soffit that starts right where the window ends. I don't understand how I will install blinds since the windows would knock into the mounting when they were opened. Mounting the blinds to the ceiling would make me lose like 4 inches of my living room space and I think it would look strange. Any suggestions?

BreukelenZoo,

I made the mistake of ordering inside shades instead of outside shades. Luckily, the inside shades were wide enough that they only leave a small gap when installed outside.

By inside/outside, I mean inside the window well vs outside on the regular wall. All of our windows have this "soffit" or inset well. Mounting a roller shade on the regular wall, outside of this soffit, does not look strange. It looks fine.

I had Curtain Call install ours, who was recommended to us by the management company during our final walk through. Her company has done a number of jobs in the building, and other projects done by the same development company. She did an incredible job, and the blinds are beautiful. They are installed right into the window frame itself, and not in the ceiling. Here is her contact info:

Yumi Na Kim
Curtain Call, Inc.
(Tel) 646.505.0730
www.curtain-call.biz

buyer2312- would you be ok with letting us know about how much the job was? My unit is about 950 sq ft(similar to the J line units in the South Tower) so I would just need the living room and the two bedrooms done. I was wondering about how much I should expect to spend on installing blinds.

On curtain call's website I seem to only find curtain type installations. Do they do blinds as well?

We used Horizon Window Treatments to do ours, and they use all Hunter Douglas products. If you want to go with them, you can contact Tom at 917-698-4877.

We were told by the building manager that installing blinds inside the frame voids the warranty on the windows and could potentially cause moisture or wind leakage, so we opted to mount them on the ceiling just above the windows instead. We went with sheer drapes in the living room and wood blinds in the bedroom, and I think they all turned out very nicely. They hang just in front of the window handles, and since they're mounted on the ceilings, they don't get in the way when opening the windows as long as the blinds or drapes are open/up.

For the living room windows and bedroom windows together they charged us about $1200, including installation and taxes, which was a much better rate than I got from some of the other companies.

If you guys are on the Edge Residents Google group, I'd be glad to post pictures there.

Not quite an edge resident yet but hopefully soon. How does one get on this google group?

thanks for the info btw WBer

Thanks for all the comments.
@ WBer How does one join the Google group?

The Google group is for residents only, so it's the best forum for discussing things specific to residents, such as blinds or building issues. Anyone who already lives there can email bburgedge@gmail.com, and they will just have you confirm your credentials for living in the building.

@politikat I installed the Honeywell myself. And after me many other's have on my recommendation. I can help you if you like it is pretty simple once you get the gist of it.

All- As far as blinds we went to JCPenney in Herald Square and they do custom very cheap, they install in you need or you can do it yourself, like I did. For the large living room windows I just screwed the valance into the metal head of the window and for the smaller bedroom windows I screwed it into the sheetrock above the window.

FYI I installed track lighting too by screwing the tracks into the concrete slab ceiling with plastic anchors for the living and bedrooms and into the sheetrock ceiling in the kitchen using toggle bolts.

It depends on what kind of treatments you order. Roller shades are less expensive, while sheer drapes are more expensive. We went with a mixture of the two options. It was about $3000 for all three windows (we got blackout lined drapes in the bedroom). I wouldn't say it's the most inexpensive option, but the finished product was quite impressive in my opinion. Overall, I viewed it as an investment because it certainly will help whenever we plan on selling.

anyone can recommend a RE lawyer that had experience dealing with the Edge?

Seizure, contact me at b b u r g e d g e at y a h o o and I will give you the contact of my lawyer who really helped me out as a first time buyer and also found a lot of the intricate sneaky stuff in the offering plan. The Edge's offering plan is one of the more complex ones out there...

Has anyone closed a North Edge unit through Wells Fargo? Can you tell me the name of your banker?

Thanks,

Go with Jim Khani for your attorney. 212-371-0330. He's been in the biz a long time, has experience in the building, and doesn't overcharge.

where have most people gotten their Hazard insurance policies for their units? What is the average price range of the policy i should expect and how much coverage? Any tips and info on this would be very helpful as I am not familiar.

Thanks!

does anyone know if the existing walls are fully sealed and painted and not just primed?

lilbitofluck: You can get a Wells Fargo loan for the Edge through Chuck Pettid 347-763-1492.

dh423 - I went with State Farm. Cost will vary depending on your mortgage amount. Your lender will let you know the amount of coverage they will require you to get.

seizure - walls are primed and painted white.