150 Joralemon Street

#11B just sold for $391,000. Maintainance below $1,400 is high but not terribly high for a 2BR unit. Given the good location, there must be a fundamental problem with this building. What's wrong with this picture?

I just looked at the sales page for 11B, and I have to say it struck me as overpriced. The floor plan makes it look small. That living room that's 20 by 11 is both the living and dining areas, and the larger bedroom is only modestly sized. The smaller bedroom is really small.

They don't give dimensions for the kitchen, but it looks like a bare-boned galley kitchen, again really small.

I think that a very small two-bed in that location could be rented for less than the monthly carry on this purchase, which is $3400.

I don't see anything about this deal that makes it look good.

In fact, there's an "H" floorplan, which appears to have about the same dimensions, and is also a 2-Bed, 1 bath, that is listed at 776 sf.

Not very big. And that one sold in 2007, at the top of the bubble, for about the same price as 11B -- $399k.

Like I said, I don't think this sale is anything to write home about. It looks like bubble pricing to me.

This is a rather odd building - the second bedrooms are all on an elevated hump, which makes their ceilings very low, and they have an opening to the living room (i.e. not a full wall)that's the Japanese screen things in 11B's photos. MOre suitable for a home office than a bedroom. One of the brokers I spoke with said that this was because it's a converted office building. Not sure what a huge hump in each apartment has to do with that, but I do know that you can't get rid of it. And the maintenance is incredibly high when you consider that this this is essentially a no-service building - no doorman, no garage, no security. But it is a nice location.

As a resident at 150 J, I'm admittedly not an unbiased source, but I will say that it's a very nice building to live in. The maintenance fee goes towards 2 porters and a super who keep things in excellent condition. The financials here are good overall.

The elevated bedrooms still have plenty of clearance - about 8 feet, whereas the other rooms have 11-12 foot ceilings. It gives the units a less boxy feel and I haven't experienced any real downside to them.

Also, because it was once an office building, it's *very* solid: steel studs in the walls, reinforced concrete floors, good wiring. You'll never hear your neighbors here.

It's not a traditional prewar building, I'll be the first to admit, but I've been very happy here.

I need a home office, so the bedroom with the "hump" might be OK with me. How is the laundry in the building? Says it's on every floor. I like the sound of a good solid building. I don't like to hear every footstep above me. Any new updated insights on this building would be very much appreciated!

Can anyone comment on the bedbug situation in this building? I was looking at 5G but I have a friend of a friend in the building who says there was a bad outbreak?!

Um, it isn't the bedbugs I'd be worried about...

http://m.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/bike_share_is_wasted_space_LlrwGjHwMxqyzgTgl6GXKJ

Their building is getting to be known for all the wrong reasons. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the 1st floor entry windows get broken and/or some added tagging. Normally, I wouldn't condone such behavior, but in this instance, it couldn't happen to a nicer building.

Good thing they have high monthly maintenance costs, they're going to need it.

The behavior displayed in that article is disgusting and childish. Personally, I wouldn't want to be part of such a community. Talk about counter-productive....

But aside from these most recent actions, I have viewed several apartments in this building. The one way I'd sum up the whole place, vibe and all: WEIRD. Some are nicely renovated, some have a livingroom that is spacious, but everything seems to be on a odd angle, or off in some way. Space seems to be cleverly used, but still, you are always reminded that this was not originally intended as a residential space. It definitely has an industrial feeling to it. That, on top of the high maintenance, makes this a pass.

now that its 2015 and been some time since these posts would love and thoughts, updates, insight into the building if you bought here, rent or know someone- thanks!

I've lived in the building for couple of years and am very happy. With respect to the comments above: (1) I'm unaware of any bedbug issues, (2) the raised floor (referenced in one of comments) can be removed (we did it), and (3) the 2 porters and live-in super quickly address any building issues brought to their attention.

A few other items, (1) there is additional storage for each unit in the basement (some with the option of having a storage cage built), (2) we have a small fitness room with a treadmill, exercise bike and elliptical machine, (3) although there's no doorman, the porters sign for your packages and keep them in the building office until you retrieve them, (4) the building is very close to the subway, and (5) the board is very quick and reasonable about giving permission to shareholders seeking to make renovations to their units.

The biggest downside is the maintenance, which I agree is a bit on the high side. Nevertheless, on the balance, it's worth every penny.

the building is not a land lease right? what are the renting restrictions?

Can anyone tell me if this building has a common roof deck? It's advertised on some websites but not others.

The building does not have a common roof deck. Only, the units on the top floor have roof access.

The renting restrictions are not onerous. The owner of the unit can rent the apartment out for up to five years. However, for each year the unit is rented out, the rental fee increases.