The Edge

i have not closed yet, but my mortagage broker has flood insurance in my GFE.

Also does anyone know why if there are like 500 units at the edge, there are only like 165 listed online?

I believe because they are selling in different phases. The 31% sold is referred to the phase 1, not to the entire development.

i thought the phases referred to phase 1 (building 1 and 2) and then phase 2 (building 3). I may be wrong.

No, martintop, the 31% refers to all units in the North and South tower. By "sold" people usually mean closed or in contract, though.

They really don't use streeteasy very much but rely on their sales office instead.

thank you Polisson, in that case the recorded closings are approx 20% so far.

You see, martintop, they haven't even updated the prices of their listings on streeteasy. 6H in the South Tower, a 938 sqft 2BR is still listed for $760k on streeteasy but for $675k on their website.

For those who have closed with approved non-conforming mortgage lenders, did they have any restrictions regarding when you can take physical possession of your unit? I am preapproved for a non-conforming loan ($417K+) with MetLife but they just told me that I can't physically take possession of my unit until the project is 51% sold. MetLife has no such restrictions for conforming loans. Given that the project is currently 31% sold in the midst of the traditional "slow season," I can't see how they can miraculously get to 51% by my Jan 19th close date. There is no way I'm going to wait until the project gets to 51% to close because who the hell knows how long that's going to take? I would love to hear from buyers who are buying/bought with non-conforming loans to see if their bank had the same restriction. Thanks!

salvy -- presumably, since you're in contract, they will give you some very hard numbers about pending sales, that should be in contract shortly....are they really still at just 31%

31% is the number given to me by the sales office only a week ago. Even if we assume that they are being conservative with their number, I still find it hard to believe that they will zoom to 51% in two months time during the most slowest part of the season. Does that sound believable to you? The bottom line is, it appears to me that both sponsor and buyers are backed into a corner because of their sold rate status. I've spoken with every single approved lender and they won't lend on a non-conforming basis until they reach 51% sold. Some can do JUMBO FHA loans but I'm trying to avoid FHA loans as much as I can help it. It seems to me that JUMBO buyers are effectively shutout until they reach 51% sold. :(

It sounds like sales aren't going too well following the price cuts, and much advertising. I'm surprised they aren't at a higher number. They were at 29% in August as I recall, and said they had 4% or so new contracts outstanding due to good summer sales (plus 4% or so in limbo, where buyers were saying they might back out).

I think it's the tail that wags the dog in that they can't get to 51% sold because they won't make pricing concessions and that their pricing discipline is preventing them from reaching 51% sold. Lenders are on the sidelines until they reach 51% sold. Something has got to give no?

I also suspect it's about percieved value, or what is the right price. At current pricing levels, and current sales volumes, it would take say 5 years to sell out, unless the market really picks up to a degree we didn't see in 2010 even with record low interest rates, and no new macro shocks, and stable stock market. Who knows what they are thinking but I seriously doubt they will wait years selling only say 10% a year -- they will either cut more or start renting units, but that is pure conjecture. The situation seems the same at 80 Met (58 met). NSP seems to have a more dynamic pricing strategy -- they will cut prices to move product if it isn't selling out fast enough, although lately they seem to be doing ok at nsp2 so aren't discounting much, according to what I see on here.

It looks like the unit for rent (it is in the B line) has reduced ask from 3200 to 2990, after 50 days on the market. It's a pretty nice apartment.

NSP2 is doing ok because from what I hear they are past 51% sold so buyers have much more financing options than the Edge. An approved lender told me that they will have to sell about 18 units a month for them to reach 51% sold in 6 months time. No way that's happening. 5 a month is probably more realistic all things held constant. The way I see it, thy will either have to cut prices further or agree to absorb the bulk of the closing costs to sell faster.

by the way, are you part of the 31% number?

I'm in contract, but my financing situation is in flux due to the whole 51% sold lending issue.

NSP2 is not 51% sold. I've spoken recently with sales and was told 35% with a few contracts pending.

I believe people have closed with 417k+ loans from ISB (20% down).

Yes, I know ISB can close with 417K+ loans but their 30yr fixed rates are the same regardless if it's + or - 417K and they are quite high. The bottom line is that all lenders must hold their loans on their books until such time they can securitize and sell to Fannie which won't happen until they hit 51%. Therefore, approved lenders are charging more until they can get relief by selling to Fannie. MetLife has the best rates hands down but they have this ridiculous restriction which makes them a de facto conforming lender only. MetLife has no business currently quoting 417K+ loans and I've let them know I don't appreciate their shady tactics by not disclosing their restriction when I asked for a GFE a month ago. At the end of the day, I'm not going get a mortgage I can't afford just to close for closing's sake. I've asked the sponsor to renegotiate so we'll see how that goes. If they don't, well...maybe we can try again when they finally hit 51% sold.

Salvy - does your mortgage contingency clause allow you to not take a mortgage because you deem it too expensive.

Re nsp2: Exactly three months ago, while viewing apartments, I was told "with pending contracts we are near 40%".

The Edge has now had plenty of time for its pending contracts to get signed, so it seems strange they are still only at 31%.

I wonder if sales have slowed at these projects this fall selling season...

The sponsor hasn't even signed the contract yet (although I have). I can simply tell them not to sign. Regardless, my mortgage contingency is quite simple. I already applied with MetLife and all I have to do is instruct them not to issue me a commitment letter. Case closed.

It seems odd they would take your deposit (if they have), and not sign the contract.

My deposit check hasn't been cashed yet. In my opinion, their legal staff have their heads up their you know what. If they wanted to shut me up, they should have countersigned the contract a month ago. Unless the contract is fully executed, EVERYTHING is in play.

salvydicopa, sure, the portfolio lenders tend to have somewhat higher rates. This is one of the drawbacks that you will have to take into account when you buy at a development that can't do Fannie financing yet.

On the other hand, rates are still low now, so you will probably still get a fairly attractive rate and you might be better off financing with a portfolio lender now than waiting too long.

And have you considered going with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)? I think people have said that they are using ISB and got a good rate on a 10-year ARM (where the rate is locked in for 10 years).

Also, they are FHA approved, so you might consider that option.

But if you decide to back out, your mortgage contingency should probably cover you. I don't think they will re-negotiate because of this, though. Their point of view is probably that they have disclosed available financing options.

And yeah, people have previously said that it seems to take them painfully long to move on legal issues / contract signing.

I would love to buy at the EDGE and was very close to agreeing on a unit- but in the end the seller broker who had told me a unit was available in the high 700s came back saying it was in the low 800s.. In the end I was about 5% below what they were asking and wouldn't budge and neither would the seller. If I was in charge over there, I would aggressively move product at this point to get to 51% and then start ratcheting up pricing. More and more inventory will come to the market in the next year (look at construction restarting at several stalled projects in the area) so choice will only increase. And I'm sure there are a few dozen buyers like me on the sidelines that are ready to jump at around 5-10% below the current pricing; give us a "margin of safety" and let's make a deal!

salvydicopa: The Edge has applied to divide the project into phases to reach the 51% mark (same as what NSP2 has done). Not sure if it's approved yet, but you should check on the progress with the sponsor. If you decide on the FHA route, BOA and Metlife are offering good rates.

TGIRentstabilized: I don't doubt inventory is going to increase, but the buildings coming back to life on Kent are going to be rentals - 111 Kent, 175 Kent, N.4th/Berry.

is 111 supposed to be rental?..they had prices up at one point

All the listings have been taken down and the bldg recently changed hands. That's the rumor, but things may change..

It is such a strange market out in williamsburg. So, the Edge is so confident about pricing they won't discount but modestly , while the building is 60% unsold, and they sold less than 10% new units this year, and a building with a terrific view (except for the portion blocked) right across the street is so screwed up it can't even get to market. Wow.....

The Edge is negotiating, discounts vary with each apt. It doesn't hurt to make multiple offers.

I don't know about you guys but FHA to me is a terrible idea if you can put down 20%+. I beg to differ that the rates are "good" because all the jumbo 30yr fixed quotes I received were in the 5.25-5.50% range. All the lenders confessed that their rates would be much lower if the project was 51% sold.

The sponsor keeps telling me that my unit is a "hot property" and that they have received multiple offers in the past and have been in contract twice already. But all that tells me is that none before me could close, most likely due to their inability to secure decent financing similar to what I'm facing now, if not me, then somebody else. That leaves all cash buyers but I haven't seen too many of their kind coming out of the woodworks have you?

So I agree with TGIRent's rationale and say let's cut the crap and make some deals, move some units, and make your money back on the back-end. Letting inventory sit idle for all this time seems nutty to me, but then again, I'm not the sponsor and it's their prerogative to stick to their guns as it is mine to not overpay.

Hey everyone...

Did y'all see the recent sale of 5A? The Streeteasy details must be incorrect right? A 745K 2 bed 2 bath selling for 496k? Perhaps 5A in the South building is a Sudio or a 1 bed?

What do you think?

most likely the wrong building...this has happened before, streeteasy makes a ton of mistakes like this usually

Hmm.... could be real... it is a courtyard facing unit... which is a fairly depressing thing to live in.

Another mistake by streeteasy. The sold unit is in the South building. But the 745k 2 BR is in the North building.

"Nine Buyers Now Want Refunds at Williamsburg's Edge"

"According to the letter from the buyers to the sponsor—to be followed by a lawsuit if the sponsor doesn't comply—the condo agreement didn't include the ILSA-required description of the property, and "the Sponsor has materially and deceptively altered the budget and services represented in the Offering Plan...for the First Year of Condominium Operation." So the buyers claim they're entitled to the return of their deposits, which range from $79,000 to $143,750, according to the buyer letters we've seen so far."

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/12/02/nine_buyers_now_want_refunds_at_williamsburgs_edge.php

Pulaski: I saw that too. What does this mean for The Edge? Is it just buyers stuck at their 2007 prices so their mortgages are underwater?

Or is it a legitimate gripe about cost cutting by The Edge?

the article is slanted of course, it's people who are already underwater on their mortgages who bought in presale. The claims they are making about the building are just lawyer speak, I wouldn't worry about this. Everyone I have spoken to who lives at the building has not made any claims like this, and is extremely happy with the staff there. Don't believe everything that you read!

The Edge (South Tower floors 3-9) is now approved for conventional Fannie Mae financing. sunny.hong@bankofamerica.com

Is there any logical basis for having fannie mae approval given for only a portion of a building when the market value of the particular unit, and economic viability of the development, are inextricably intertwined with the whole project (and when, the portion of the building ready for occupancy far exceeds the floors 3 to 9). This just seems ridiculous -- even if 100% of the first 9 floors were sold out, what matters is the overall viability of the project.

agree. At the end it does not look like a successfull development.

Fannie Mae allowed the Edge to be split into marketing phases to help achieve pre-sale requirements. If phase 1 (south floors 3 to 9) sold out then that can actually be counted toward the overall pre-sale percentage. The goal is get buyers to be able to close and without reaching certain pre-sale milestones buyers have very limited number of lenders to go. Only closed units can help the actual viability of the building and it is Fannie Mae's way of helping out. Sorry I dont make the rules. But I think it does help get contract holders close.

Shong, I totally get that you don't make the rules and were only reporting news. You've always been clear and substantive on this site.

My comment is -- what a travesty that limits which are, as I understand it, intended to orient lending towared financially viable projects are UTTERLY distorted by applying arbitrary sublimits to the project. It makes no economic sense.

I suppose this mean they are over 50% sold in the first phase. Will be interesting to see what effect this will have on sales.

buyer2312 -

No offense, but you are way off about the 9 buyers filing an ISLA lawsuit. They are not just trying to get out of their mortgages. They have a legitimate claim. The Edge slashed it's services. It reduced the number of porters, handymen, and the number of concierge's. They eliminated several other items as well. Most likely in an attempt to prevent the common charges from increasing by 25%, which would have negated ALL the contracts.

Your quick dismissal of the subject leads me to believe you are either very poorly informed, or part of the sales office at The Edge.

- so realist you are saying that if they had kept and carried out the services listed in the plan that it would have exceeded by 25% the budget in the plan, and that would have given contract holders a right to back out (by virtue of law or the plan)?

= weren't common charges actually reduced vs the plan? (not sure about that,,,thought they said that)

buyerbuyer, any fannie mae support for this development should be viewed as a complete and utter gift. it may backfire, actually, but it is extremely difficult to anticipate that. every effort has been made to help NYC real estate. without government support the new development market in emerging areas would have crashed and burned.

you think it's financially viable, but it's not without huge gov't support. in miami what would it be?

about --"you think it's financially viable".

I think you must have misunderstood my point. I've posted several times questioning the sustainability of the pricing strategy of the units (in short, if they can only sell less than 10% of units per year at these interest rate levels, are we really to suppose they will wait six more years to sell out..i doubt it...they will go rental or implode or cut prices). My point today was that it is ludicrous to pick a subsection of a building to measure %-sold ( a test presumably meant to provide some indicia of financial viability of a project). That fannie mae would do that makes a mockery of the intent of their % sold rules.

question for about: you wrote "every effort has been made to help NYC real estate"

I was assuming that this sort of thing (govt help, fannie mae bending rules, fha, whatever) is going on all over the place to a lesser or great degree. Are you saying they have particularly lax policies in nyc with the specific goal of helping nyc real estate?

buyerbuyer, to be quite frank, i don't think that fannie and freddie have any intent other than keeping things alive as long as possible before being cut off, they don't care about the long-term viability of any building. not their fault, it was a back-door way to spend lots of money without congressional approval, a mandate if you will.

as such, any development that relies on fannie/freddie funding that isn't largely sold out could have an extreme shock to the system if politically someone somewhere somehow is able to cut off the financing pipeline.

buyerbuyer, yes, when did conforming loan limits change? the real estate market in much of the us was in the toilet in 2006-07, but not new york. the powers that be let much of many areas fail and be destroyed. maybe just a coincidence that just as the contagion hit new york the powers that be decided that the fall in housing prices needed to be stopped. and fannie and freddie had to take all loans, and that conforming levels had to be increased, and that fha had to be available for numerous condos.

50% is quite a big number for a large development like the edge. Doesn't seem that strange to me to split it into different phases.

And aboutready, you cannot honestly believe that the 9 buyers who are trying to get their deposit back are suing because of staff uniforms... Also, very funny that you say buyerbuyer works at the sales office. Buyerbuyer obviously doesn't seem to be thrilled about the availability of Fannie financing. But you seem to see conspiracy everywhere...

I don't understand why people who have no interest in buying in this building constantly patrol this message board for no other reason than to speak poorly about the building. I guess this is symptomatic of internet message boards in general. Do something more productive with your time people.

buyer1234- With all due respect, SE is a forum for comments pro or con about buildings. That's the whole purpose. Even if you like a building (personally, i think the edge is perhaps the nicest buidling in wmburg, and likely to do well in the long run), all buildings have issues. Dozens of people have commented on pricing at the edge. I'm following buildings in williamsburg, as are many others, and the edge has far fewer negative comments from posters about the actual building characteristics than some other buildings.

As to fannie mae, I guess I should have made clear - my comment had NOTHING to do with the edge itself. I just think it is stupid public policy...or disingenuous at best to measure sales ratios based on tiny portions of a building.

buyerbuyer- The Edge slightly reduced common charges. They, however, slashed the annual operating budget by hundreds of thousands. The original budget was done in 2006. A revised operating budget was created in 2009 by a different company, and many services were cut or eliminated. It is, actually, a big issue. This potential violation has to be reviewed by a federal court, and you know that is no small task to prepare that complaint.

buyer2313 - again, your comments lead me to believe that you are real estate professional. I have no complaints about The Edge as a building (quite the opposite). Just the people who are selling it, writing the contracts, writing the budget, etc.

NYCrealist, So, you are saying they reduced the number of concierges. But I believe they still have a 24 hr doorman / concierge. Are you saying they originally promised more than one? I think most people would rather see reduced common charges than two or more people sitting around in the lobby 24hr. Anyway, wouldn't the residents decide these things once they take control of the board anyway?

I agree with buyerbuyer that positive and negative comments on a building are OK. If he/she thinks it's overpriced he/she has the right to say so. But the discussion should remain factual, and unfortunately there is a point where criticism turns into trolling (I am not saying that this is the case for buyerbuyer). For example, somebody on this thread once said that edge has gone bankrupt (which was obviously a lie, but some people still believed it).

The first year of any budget is always overstated with the assumption that the building will be fully occupied, which would require a full staff. It's common and in my opinion smart for any building to reduce a budget when certain things/staff may not be necessary yet for an unfinished project. Same happened with NSP1..there common charges were reduced in the beginning and later on increased. I've never heard anyone complain about common charges being reduced..

polisson - They reduced the number of porters, handymen, and concierges. It isn't clear what the result will be as to the concierge/front desk. The reduction in common charges was minimal, like less than 3%. So if your common charges were $1000, you would see a $30 reduction. They also eliminated many items. Not just uniforms, but many larger items that could be deemed relevant in a lawsuit. As far as the Condo board taking over the budget...when will that happen? They aren't even at 40% in contract. That could be 3 years down the road.

The fact is they slashed the budget, reducing some staff by as much as 50%. Yet, they only reduced the common charges by 3%. I'd be a little scared about the common charges skyrocketing when the building is fully occupied. I know that it's par for the course for common charges to increase once the building is fully occupied, but I think there could be a drastic increase.

The first year operating budget was reduced by approx. 3%, so a 3% reduction in common charges seem correct. I wouldn't expect a shocker when/if they increase it, but I don't think this would be an issue, as their original budget assumed a fully occupied building.

Does anyone know why so little units are listed on streetwasy? They have about 500 apartments between both towers. So that means most of them are not listed on here as sold or for sale.

also, did anyone get a home inspection which is different from the appraisal.
let me know, dont know if it is something that is needed in new construction.

Their original budget was created in 2006. It's not like they just cut out 3% in cost, that they can add back on later. They drastically changed the budget. When, and if, they go back in and change the budget back to reflect the original services offered under the original contract, the common charges will go up by a lot more than 3%.

I'm cuurious about the wind and cold weather on the waterfront – with these winds and cold weather, how is the walk to the subway?

All the appeared efforts going on to cloud the transparency of in building sales here on SE is a bit of a red flag.
Anyone making offers here, I would take the time through Acris and do proper comp work on what's being sold and get a proper guage of the highs and more important, the lows they are selling for.
If I had any friends living in williamsburg, I would seriously look at this building and the Npier buildings.

(I have heard bad things about how windy it is)

I was looking at them both last january and the wind was very rough. seemed alot worse than in the city. not sure if theres a sientific reason that would support this, but it did seem very windy every time I visited. I guess it cant really be any worse than walking down a street in midtown that is literally like a wind tunnel.

truthskr10, don't know, can't really see a lot of "effort." They're just pretty much ignoring streeteasy and rely on their sales office instead.

I would guess that winds can be strong directly at the water, but I would also think that the air quality is much better.

polisson
It's not about ignoring streeteasy. SE pulls the data off of the main listing database(I forgot the name of the listing service) that all listings are required to be posted.
If info is entered incorrectly, or missing unit #s etc., that info can't get fall into the right spot on SE.
You can bet your A#$ it's on purpose.

OF course, I would defer to any response or explanation by the magical internet robots and unicorns of Streeteasy, if they could appear and explain better....

you can check everything on ACRIS. all closings are listed there. Even on ACRIS the data is about a few weeks behind. SE seems to be many months behind. I have been checking ACRIS everyday, and there are usually at least one closing a day, sometimes a few.
If you go to ACRIS website, search by party name. put in EDGE 11211 LLC as business name and search Deeds.

Question for all: A number of prior sales listings have been removed from SE including most (if not all) studios. Also, there are no longer any studios listed for sale on SE. Does anyone know who does this and why?
thanks

I see 1,898 studios listed, including more than 300 in Brooklyn.

Sorry, my question was specific to listings at The Edge

Has anyone gotten an appraisal other than the one required by the bank to verify if the bank appraisal's are accurate?

thanks

My money is on getting an idependent appraisal. Yes, it's $500 to spend but some of the best money I have ever spent. Saved me from buying into a new construction on the Northside that turned out to be a total nightmare for the other buyers.
I have plenty of friends that bought in new construction condos in Williamsburg, and all of them that didn't get an appraisal regret it, and those that did get the appraisal say it saved them more than it cost.
That being said, they were not in large towers, but in buidlings the size of 15-50 apartments.
Good luck.

Polisson/Truthskr10, TREGNY who is the marketer of this property sends us a data feed of their listings. There are a couple things to note.
1. We split the Edge up into 2 buildings so that we can correctly associate the closings to the listings. You will find a building page for 34 North 7th Street and 22 North 6th Street.
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/building/the-edge
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/building/the-edge-22-north-6-street-brooklyn

2. Developers and marketers do not release ALL their units at once. They strategically release a subset mix of units so that not all the best units are snapped up at once. Their motive is to sell out the building as fast as possible.

barek176: can you recommend an independent appraiser? Thanks.

barek176 -- I don't see much value to an appraisal. There is so much easily available info about comps on SE that anyone can look at, and basically, an appraisal is determining market value based on comps. I think second and third opinions are helpful, but there are myriad ways of getting that -- friends, talking to people in the hood, going to other developments and chatting, etc.

Also, you say an appraisal saved money for some, but hard to see how that can be -- did they go back and renegotiate.

The appraisal won't tell you much about comps but will take a hard look at your individual unit, the common spaces and your building overall. We all do our homework here and other resources to find units that fit our needs/price etc. That's not what this is for.
The appraisal helped me create items for my punch list, items that a common guy will not know to look for.
Couple of items that come to mind were:
- Tiles installed wrong in my bathroom already causing mold
- My terrace didn't have a water drain and sloped towards my living room
- the washer/dryer closet was a) too small for a regular size washer-dryer
b) had no drain
- There wasn't enough amps in my unit to have the lights on and run the dish-washer and dryer at same time (or somethign to that effect)
- The hardwood floors were installed wrong (eventually had to be replaced)
- the Bathroom windowsill was installed upside-down believe it or not

Can't even remember most of the items on the report but the point is that its your chance to have an expert take a thorough look at your unit. If I was dropping 800k on a unit, I better know all its flaws and make sure they are rectified or I get compensated for doing it on my own.

I got 37 items to add to my punch list before closing, and I didn't even do all the stuff the appraiser recommended.
This appraisal is way different from the banks appraisal. Banks appraisal was basically one guy coming in with a measuring tape and a d50 camera for 10 min and cranking out a report comparing my apartment to others in the zip code.
My appraisal was me and the guy and the realtor walking through my apartment for 1hr, and through the common spaces for another 30min - taking notes, pictures and chatting the whole time.
I don't remember my appraisers name, I'll look it up tonight.

barek176- did you buy in the edge?

I did buy in the neighborhood but NOT in the edge.
The problems that were identified have nothing to do with the Edge.
I only listed a few of my issues to illustrate why I was happy to get an outside appraisal.

Streeteasy: It would be very helpful if the two Edge pages were linked

Hi folks, I am a resident at the Edge and want to disspell some slander:

1) The operating budget was reduced, but by no means are we understaffed. We have a 24 hour doorman in both North and South buildings, two 24 hour security guards patrolling the premesis, in-house resident super in both North and South buildings, dry-cleaning concierge, porters, crews finishing the landscaping and addressing punch list items, and and amenities director and lifeguard on duty whenever the gym is open, which is usually 14 hours a day. Everyone's in a brand-new uniform - none of the staff look like slobs.

What else do you need regarding service? A pet psychic? Christmas Tree stylist?

I feel sorry for people who got into contract at pre-crash levels, but complaining about the level of service to get out buying an overpriced apartment when the market moved against you is disingenuous.

I lived in another doorman building before the Edge, and our current staff is far superior. I'm annoyed with the implication that our staff is cut-rate. They are the best. They halls are sparkling clean, the doormen remember your name, the names of your friends, and go out of their way to be helpful.

2) Whatever the quality of other Williamsburg buildings may be, it has nothing to do with the Edge. My punchlist was minor and the developers were responsive in correcting flaws. The nice thing about buying with this particular developer is that they actually have an experienced crew that that they work with on an ongoing basis, and there's some accountability regarding workmanship.

Sorry, when you hire day laborers underneath the Williamsburg Bridge to build your building, they're really not going to care about whether their work is going to look good in 3 months, or next week. The guys who built the Edge for Levine are the same crew that built Gansevoort Park Hotel before they built the Edge, and will build the next Levine building if they're lucky and don't get too many complaints from us Edge residents.

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been perfect. But all issues were extremely minor considering the horror stories I've heard from other friends that have bought into new development.

3) Is the Edge overpriced? I thought so in 2008, but not in 2010.

The Edge's strategy has emerged as - don't advertise discounts but be willing to negotiate, put the less desirable lines on sale to keep afloat while a slow trickle of buyers who are willing to pay a bit more keep moving through the pipeline. Hold out for top dollar on the best units.

If they wanted to unload their inventory in a firesale, they could sell the building out in 6 months at 6-700 PSF for prime views. But there's no underlying mortgage on the land (bought by Levine before the rezoning of the WB waterfront) and the construction note has traded hands. The haircut's already been taken by the original lender. Which in my crystal ball adds up to the developer being willing to hold more units for a longer time frame (3 or more years, rather than 1-2 years.)

I for one think that I got a reasonably good deal. (I signed my contract this year at a significant discount from the asking price.) Only time will tell and that is true of any real estate purchase.

Currently I am renting in a building on N.10th street designed by Kaufman that has window leaks, the thermal quality at the exterior wall is horrible, so the 3' from the exterior wall is always freezing and i think the unit above me is starting to leak into my apartment. They were condos that could not sell. So, they started to rent them out last year. I am now in contract with a unit at the edge and think i am going to get another appraisal from someone that actually checks the construction quality so i don't have what i am currently living with. I have been in the unit a bunch of times, and the construction looks far superior to the condo i am currently in, and my visual punch list will be extremely short. I just don't want 4 months down the road to have water leaks from the window or cold bridging from my exterior windows.

I also agree with Politikat, every-time i have been in the building the staff has been extremely nice. They are always dressed well and very helpful.oh and as for as the Christmas tree stylist, the Christmas tree that the edge has in the lobby is actually beautiful and was probably done by a Christmas tree stylist!

barek176, what you described sounds more like an inspection than an appraisal - did I miss something?

Hi politikat, did you get an interior or exterior facing unit? If you don't mind my asking, how much was your unit per sq ft?

What do you think is a fair $/sq ft in this market for interior and exterior facing units?

ingenieur, the pricing has to do with all different things. floor height, what you look onto etc. i made an offer on one unit that they went down like 11%. On the unit that i ended up buying they only went down 6%. the one i bought has amazing views, the other one was just a normal ny view of other buildings.there is no real base line you can use with negotiations in this building and i think thats what frustrates all of us. its like buying a car, you will drive yourself insane trying to find the lowest possible price. you just have to make the offer you feel good about and not rationalize it via Price Per Sq.ft.

I agree with gettingready. There are just too many variables and variations to think that you can apply a mythical "fair" PPSQFT price across a project with ~165 different unit layouts. PPSQFT is a poor measure of value for this project in my opinion. Only in select apartment lines and floors does this measure make sense. My unit layout was too unique that there was literally nothing quite like it to make a valid apples to apples comparison against other units that closed much less available.

I get the point about ACRIS, but if the developer doesn't release information regarding the SQF of the the unit the information on ACRIS may not be that helpful.

Observation of the closing at North Edge: ALL are below $700,000. At South Edge I counted 25 out of 110 above $700,000. Feels like at some point they'll get have to get aggressive on the 2 beds+.

Now that I think about this some more... It's probably a financing issue. North isn't Fannie Freddie approved.

I am in the middle of negotiations, and as I get closer to making an decision, Any insight from current residence or others currently going through the process would be greatly appreciated. There has not been much talk on the blogs as of late, which puzzles me. That being said, here is my current situation.

I went to see this building a year ago when it was just a hard hat tour. No, I have never owned property before so I enlisted the help of a broker. Over the year I have seen everything from OBBP (beautiful but too expensive for my budget), Oro (nice apartments, great pricing, but I do not like the neighborhood).

Here are the particulars of the apartment I am looking at The Edge:

$770K
952 ft�
$808 per ft�
2 beds
2 baths
Common Charges: $811
Taxes: $7

Please note that these are the FINAL numbers. The initial asking price was $790K which was supposedly after a significant price drop. For this reason and the developer claiming that "this is the last of this particular unit", they were not very flexible.

I have many questions, but I guess the single one to ask is, after hearing my situation, if you too are dealing with The Edge, "what are your thoughts?"

hi buyOrent,

1) Not much action on these boards cuz it's the holidays
2) What floor is this apt on? Manhattan facing? South or North tower? Can't give you any input on ppsf (price per square foot) until you tell us those details...

Hi buyOrent
Just a guess at a comp but 4F in the north building sold for 687,318 on 10/25

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/closing/1772236

I would agree with the comments about the holiday season. The sales office basically shut down after thanksgiving. They only have one lawyer handling all the contracts so there are bottleneck issues. I was told that there were a lot of contracts in the pipeline (mine being one of them) and that we should expect to see a bevy of in contracts in Jan-Feb. We shall see.

Happy new years everyone!

Hi

Oops Sorry,
Hi buyOrent,
Sounds like you are at the F line. I looked that apartment myself. So 4F in the same line is a perfect comp. there are 7 of the same apartment and only 1 is showing up on streeteasy as closed. Have prices for apts. gone up at all since Oct.? much less 12%. That whole last of a particular unit thing sounds like typical BS. considering the # of unsold apartments.

With 500 or so apartments I would agree. I am not familiar with the F line, that apartment I am describing is considerably more money at $790k. The one I am looking faces out onto the water where, eventually, the third building will be. How is the view from the F line? If the F line is also a 2 bedroom, 2 bath with similar square footage I am curious why.

F line faces South with only street views. Reason probably why the price difference.

4F was asking $770,000 before they sold it.

On ACRIS, is possible to search for closings on the South Tower only? If so, how?