What is wrong with this apt?

I don't know this building, but from the floorplan, I wonder if this is a converted studio, and the kitchen used to be where the full bath is?

ali r.
{downtown broker}

I used to live in the building. Alot of the apartments were once part of bigger apartments, so they have ackward layouts. It's a great location and a lovely building. The apartments that were not cut up sell for very high prices. Unfortunately, the ones that have been cut up often have ackward layouts and bad views.

Brokers were a bit aggressive I think. This is a pretty great location (being close to Fairway is huge for some people, myself included) and convenient to transportation, parks, schools, etc. Still, walking in to that kitchen is not particularly pleasant, and the bedroom is a bit on the narrow side (under 10'). Not a terrible deal at $500k, but I think people just haven't been enamored with the place enough to call it home yet.

Biggest drawback-no shower/tub in the Master ensuite. You still need to go thru the living room to get to the shower/tub. So the ensuite is pretty much useless.

Awkward.

The problem with pricing wasn't the layout. It's the comps. Look at comparables which the seller appears to have initially ignored. Assuming apts. in the same line are essentailly the same layout, 2 floors lower, 7FA sold for $485,000 recently enough to be a valid comp. And the same line on the 13th floor sold at $560,000. Why on earth would this 9th floor unit be worth $675,000, or $115K MORE than the same unit 4 floors higher? This unit would have probably done much better to have started with the realistic offer price it currently has. Instead, for whatever reason, they let the property get stale for 4 months by setting a silly start point and then nibbling away at it as potential buyers looked at comps and moved on. Assuming views are consistent from each unit and the layouts are relatively similar, even the best of renovations would never warrant the initial price point. $495,000 seems a reasonable end point given comps, or even a little less in this softening market. Had the seller and agent acted together and set the right price point at the beginning this would be sold by now. Instead, it sits and no one is well-served.

Assuming one will have guests, a second toilet is always good to have regardless of where the bathing facilities are. My biggest complaint here is the kitchen. You can always put a shelf or a cart for some work space opposite that "kitchen" but it appears that the sink is like a bathroom sink so that will be fun when it comes time to do some cleanup - not!

Ouch, bjw2103 you spew such delightful realtorspeak you should just confess:"brokers are a big aggressive" "people just haven't been enamored with the place enough to call it home yet". I was forgetting that you can't call a place "home" if you're renting it for half of what the mortgage would be, and etiquette obliges that you refer to it as "the place I (loud sigh) rent" when you invite people over. It's not like the place is being marketed by amateurs, is it? Maybe they just need to sell it and maybe the haven't received any offers. Or they only received offers that fell through because in this Brave New World is just not as easy to overextend yourself. What other answers could there be for they lowering the price?

Briguynyc - I'm not sure about the comps...when buildings are cut-up the line designations can get really messed up. So, what may be 7FA on the seventh floor may be equal to the D line on a different floor.

Looks to me like you enter the apartment through the kitchen - that will be a real negative for re-sale as you can already see!

Trompiloco, not sure what prompted that. I just happen to think this is a great location (having lived on 74th myself) and that at the current price, it's not a bad deal (under $750 psf in prime UWS is a good deal, even with the pretty high maintenance on the place). Don't conflate seeing value in a place with "brokerspeak."

The location and building are great but the layout is awful. The price and maintenance is too high.

I have not seen this apartment, so I can't comment on the finishes, which may be top of the line. Even if they are, this apartment is overpriced. First of all, it is not 675 sq ft. Add up the numbers, it is really about 550, which puts it at $924 per sq ft, not $750 as the calculation on the listing suggests.

Secondly, the layout sucks. You enter right into the "kitchen" area. And, oh, by the way, there is no place to prepare your food. Even if you put a work space opposite the "kitchen," where are you going to keep all your dishes, pans, utensils and food? In the walk in closet in the bedroom?

It is funny how warped all sense of reality is when you are in a bubble. Hello, $500K is a lot of money. Just because somebody else already paid that amount for a unit in this building does not mean that the next person has to come along and perpetuate that mistake. The dynamics of this market have shifted dramatically. It may not be reflected in today's data, but it will be soon...less than a year in my opinion. This unit was drastically overpriced when it came on the market and it is still overpriced.

"It is funny how warped all sense of reality is when you are in a bubble. Hello, $500K is a lot of money."

I'll toast to that.

*clink*