5sl 1bed condo

ascpa371- You can rent a 1 bed in another building across the street for $2500/month. Not a penny over $400,000. In the next few months you might see it go to $300,000-$350,000.

I assume you mean the boutique 5SL on 47th - IMHO - stay away. As good as the unit might be with good fixtures and all that, apart from the lack of doorman and connectivity to the main bldg on 48th, both bldgs share common walls with abandoned bldgs (on either side 48th and 5th) which will come down at some point of time. Imagine owning a unit which shares this common wall. Location wise though 5SL is no more than a 5 minute commute to GC, but you could get a co-op on either the UWS or UES for that kind of money or even lower mate.

cheers,

asc - dco has an agenda against LIC and always makes incorrect, misleading stupid statements about the area. Don't listen. He wishes prices would crash because he would love to live in LIC and can't afford it and he is bitter.

How big is the unit? What floor?

Also, check some of the other new buildings in the area and compare. 10-63 has a one-bedroom listed, Foundry and Hunters Point condos also are good buildings in the near-waterfront area.

fourth floor and view to north, 754 sqft

ascpa371- Follow the advise of LICC. Look at any building you want, it's not like you will have any competition.

ascpa371: "fourth floor and view to north, 754 sqft"

Not much of view really - overlooking a bunch of dumpy row houses and far on the horizon to the northwest the QB bridge.

As dco mentioned - you should be able to rent a comparable sized apt at either of the Avalon Properties or the Citylights condop for $2500 or so.

How much are you planning to borrow or how much down payment do you plan to make. I ran a quick analysis based on a 20% downpayment:

20% ~$115K
Mortgage Amt ~$463K
Monthly Costs assuming a 6% rate ~$2,300
Monthly Tax/CC ~$650 (this is a wild card - not sure please fill in the right amount)
Total Carrying Costs ~$3000K
Net Costs of Ownership after tax benefits (approx.) ~$2000 pm
(Please note: I have not taken into account things like closing costs etc. which could easily be around $20K or so or more)

Now you have to ask yourself if you feel that this condo will appreciate, stay flat or fall in price in the near-term (2 years or so). This is not easy to do - do you think LIC will be an attractive RE option over the next 2-3 years, and importantly what will be the overall economic situation in NY and the US and globally. Tough questions to answer mate, but I would certainly stay away and rent.
OTOH, if you do want to buy - check out the Citylights Condop - a full service luxury doorman bldg where a comparably sized unit on a high floor with views is going for less than $450K albeit with higher maintenance - Good luck with your decision mate.

cheers,

DCO/baabamaal- what do you think about the remaining two bedrooms unit at 5SL? Cheapest is going for $750 per sq. ft. or $825k. Assuming they pay for transfer taxes, do you think it is a deal? Or should I be patience.

JT:

By no means am I an expert, just have spent time researching some of the properties around the waterfront area bordered by Vernon Blvd on the east. Please see my analysis above and it is easily applicable to a 2BR if you change the numbers. You should be able to rent a 2BR in either of the Avalon or Citylight for less than $3500 maybe even $3300 monthly. The questions you need to ask are the same I posed to ascpa371 above. If you are confident that LIC RE has growth potential near term given the overall RE situation and overall economic conditions in NY and even globally, then well you have your answer mate. My opinion is well, just my opinion mate and right now unless I see a deal which $750psft is certainly not, then I would not buy. And don't even bother going east of Vernon - personally i do not have a high opinion of anything on Jackson - that nabe is too dumpy and industrial. Actually to be politically correct - very avant garde for my tastes.

cheers,

ascpa, I have a good friend who is looking to get out of a contract due to a job loss at 10-50 jackson. I know the unit is on a high floor and will have very nice views. I am not sure of the square footage but I did go real estate shopping with them and 10-50 was a much nicer building than 5sl
Check out the website http://www.10-50jackson.com/ It is an "A" line one bedroom with balcony on an upper floor. Much better than 5sl's little building
I believe they are in contract for 465k (+-)

w18 and ascpa371:

I think I mentioned this earlier - but the one major downside to owning at 5SL is having to tolerate the presence of the 2 derelict empty bldgs adjoining both the 5SL bldgs. Either they are going to have to come down (good scenario) and residents will have to deal with the accompanying dust, jackhammer noise etc. or they just remain there - two abandoned eyesores empty and decaying. So take that into account before deciding if $750 psft is a justified asking price.

cheers,

Sorry w18 - I meant to address the above post to JT and ascpa371 - my bad.

cheers,

I have a 2 bed for sale at 5 SL for $849k, as well as a parking spot for sale for $50k (20k less than the sponsor is asking now). It is 1093Sf with winged bedrooms. It is in the front building with doorman. You end up saving approx. $25k since it is a resale, so there are no transfer taxes, no sponsor atty fees, contribution to super's apt, etc..I have a full video of the apartment on vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/1312685. If you like what you see, I am happy to show it in person.
Cheers,
Andrew

I thought the 1BRs were all out in contract since the start of this year. Is this a contract reassignment?

Seriously, 1BR rentals and Condos west of Vernon b/w 50th and 46th are a goldmine... and if you need to move out of your 1BR condo because of costs or job-loss, rent it out, someone will snatch it up in a second... there are no vacancies in all of the high-rise rentals.... they get scooped up immediatley when they do hit the market.
When people make negative comments regarding LIC, they're talking about Jackson and beyond (East) which I'll admit, can look desolate sometimes...
So, yes, someone, would be making a good purchase in buying a 1BR condo in 5SL. Look at the numbers, there are none left.

JT- I have done plenty of research and I'm certain that the glut of inventory will drive prices down. And if your interested in a rental in one of the high rises, don't believe the hype about none available. The truth is that people move in and out everyday. If I were you I would build cash and wait. Just rent in the area and when the prices fall make your move. Don't get fooled by the "better act now" realtor lines.

Do some research. Look at all the new developments and add the units up. Then subtract those sold/contract. You will see that the inventory number you come up with is far more. The reason is that all developments release only a portion of the units. So a building with 100 units, sells 20 the logical inventory number for that building is 80, right. Wrong, if the building only list say 10 units for sale, then that is all that is counted. The other 70 don't exist for inventory purposes. It's an old trick to make the "better act now" lines more believable. Go ahead and do your own research, after all it your money.

dco you are like a broken record. Even during a housing downturn and the slow summer months, apartments in LIC are still selling relatively well. Your research is either flawed or misses the mark completely.

Good to see back on the boards buddy.

I think $750/sqft is fair and the market wont really shift much from there in the short term. The real question might really be how LIC will fare vis-a-vis the rest of the city. Obviously prices will fall if it falls everywhere else. If that is your concern, then its about buying vs renting and not manhattan vs lic.

dco - what exactly is your agenda? the frequency of your posting amd negativity is...odd, for just a casual observer. Your points are valid, but so are LICComment's. All readers need to balance the two views.

I think the hunter points area will only get better as more homeowners with a vested interest in the area start moving into all the completed apartments. I feel that people buying into LIC are doing so because they truly like it and not just because it is a cheap alternative to manhattan.

NyFineman, isn't your pricing on the 2br, at $849K, a bit unrealistic? Apt 3Q (the mirror image of your listed apartment 3R) recently went into contract for $786,990, and that price is also probably overstated because 5sl is currently giving away incentives such as assistance with closing costs, etc. Also, Streeteasy shows that the previous owner of 3R bought in April 2007 for $780,990. So, don't you think asking $849K in 2008 is a bit rich, especially given the fact that, in the last year, all we have seen are more and more reports of job losses and tightened lending?

Good luck to your client, but I think this exemplifies why the market adjustment in NYC will take a while. People who bought in the last two years towards the end of the national real estate cycle feel that they should somehow be entitled to make a profit, even if the raw numbers don't support it.

Also, I really like the LIC area and have checked out a whole bunch of buildings in the are. My searches indicate that LIC has now reached the point where a purchaser can automatically expect the developer to start negotiating from 5% off the advertised price.

GuardianAngel- Very well said. I think you provided good, sound advice. I'm still shaking my head. It's like so people have no idea what's going on around them. Oh, well enough said.

Guardian Angel,
Fineman got jabbed in a post from his blog on this... same topic but pretty interesting... read the comments. http://afinecompany.blogspot.com/2008/07/on-market-lic-luxury-2-bedroom-at-5sl.html

It will be intereesting to see what happens with prices here. The developer still got units to sell and there are at least 2 flippers with more to come. Prices will likely come under pressure and patience might be a good strategy here.

JT- That a boy. Or girl. Well you get the point. Very wise move my friend. Go rent with in one of the other buildings and enjoy direct Manhattan views for half the cost. Your patients will be greatly rewarded in a year. Enjoy and Best of Luck..

Guardian-
3Q was not recent. It was from last fall and prices were amended up after. Current starting prices for 2 bedrooms in the building are $839,990 for the back building and $842,990 for the front building. There are significant advantages to buying a resale which saves a significant amount of closing costs (no transfer taxes, no capital fund contribution, no sponsor's atty fees, and no contribution to buy super's apt). We are also offering the parking spot at the old price of $50k rather than the current asking price of $70k. So, it is what it is. Prices in LIC have been fairly stable since the beginning of the year and I think most of us are long term bullish on the area. The Hunters Point area keeps improving- The Market is finally opening, new restaurants, Duane Reade, etc..Yes, it is summer, and the financial markets are by no means helping, but if you want to live in the best priced 2 bed (total cost basis) at 5SL, I have it.
Ruzmatx- Oh yeah, I get flamed on my own blog from time to time, no doubt. It comes with the territory.

dco, you have to stop with your wrong information and lies. You cannot rent a comparable unit in one of the other buildings at "half the cost." That is just another ridiculous statement by you.

NYFineman, even though it's not noted on the 5SL website and on Curbed, Toll is picking up city and state taxes (main portion/chunk of the closing costs, we're talking 30K alone on the unit you're selling) on the units still available. I went to the 5SL office and Florence Clutch (lead person there) assured me of these savings for all units still available. Current parking prices as per the office are $55K not $70K which you're saying. Fineman, you seem like a cool dude, but if you bring up wrong and incorrect info, I'll have to expose you for it. 5SL building A and B are fine if you bought a Studio or 1BR, but the 2BR's and 3BR's (that are left) need to be priced accordingly to sell. I could easily go and buy in 212 (albeit a lesser product but still in Manhattan) with the money I'd be droppping on a 2BR or 3BR at 5SL. So I ask, why live in Queens for that price. Keep in mind, I'm not placing any negativity towards LIC, I think the area west of Vernon/11th is great for condos/rentals. Do not place me in the same light as this 'dco' character.

I agree with LICComment about DCO... Dumb info regarding "renting at half the cost!!!" DCO, what are you talking about...? Two people I know who bought condos in LIC (1BR's), their mortgage + common charges alone is equal to what people are paying for rent (in 1BR's) in East Coast 1 and 2...
Get your numbers straight.

Here you go LICComment. 2bed/2bath PH. $3,300/month. And that's asking in CL. So why would I ever pay double that, let alone in this market. This also includes heat and if you want an assigned parking spot it's about $130/month. So here you go. I guess I just made this all up. JT stay the course, you have it right.

http://realestate.nytimes.com/rentals/detail/808-BrianD41925/Long-Island-City-NY-11101

DCO, Citylights is unappealing and disgusting....

Ruzmatx- There is always a problem when the example proves people wrong.

Ruzmatx - "DCO, Citylights is unappealing and disgusting"

Not more digusting then paying for that condo.

ruzmatz, how much did your friends put down for the 1brs? your statement implies a pretty big downpayment number..

example...
10% down for a 1BR at Badge.... w/common = $3450 per month

10% down for a 1BR at 5SL..... w/common = $3300 per month

Ruzmatx-
You don't seem so bad yourself. Last I heard from Florence was that they are asking $70k for parking and that they only had 3 spots left.
dco- trying to figure out if that is a converted 2 or a real 2. The price is way cheap. I'm not a fan of citylights either, but not a bad rental listing there.

dco, go on streeteasy and look up 2-bedroom rentals in LIC. Of the 8 near the water, 6 are more than $4,000 per month and 2 are more than $4,500. There is one for $3,300, the one you picked. Have you still not learned how stupid you sound when you cherry pick one isolated example and try to generalize the whole market with it? Do you not mind everyone on the board thinking you are a buffoon?

The after-tax monthly cost of that 2-bedroom 5SL unit, assuming a $700,000 mortgage, would be around $4,000. I still don't see how you can say that you can rent a comparable place at "half the cost."

I guess it's always a problem for you when real numbers prove you wrong.

nyfineman- real

ruzmatz... i get closer to 4k a month, even without adding back cost of capital, and with pretty conservative assumptions.. dco is wrong, 50% rent/buy is ridiculous, but its definitely cheaper to rent than it is to buy. 4k a month is a pretty nice 1br in LIC.

cb81
The numbers I posted are legit including the Common Charges... This is what people I know pay 4K a month is debateable... It all depends on what type of Interest Rate you get, and if you buy % points for a one-time charge. In my friends case, they both bought points off their rate.

Anyone interested in a buying a studio (554 sq. ft.) at 5SL, building A? I know someone who wants to sell. They paid somewhere around $398,000 and would sell for this price.