167 east 61st street

I'd be interested in hearing about this building too - they have several interesting 3-bedrooms for sale, and are dropping asking prices, albeit slightly. Thanks.

I recently viewed an apartment here and the broker told me that it is a land lease building.

I keep hearing that - what does that mean? Sorry if stupid question...

What is a "land lease" building?

The building doesn't own the land upon which it is built, a very bizarre concept to me. When that lease is due to reset, who knows what the cost will be to the owners of the units in the building who do not own their land.

The other terms for this: "lease hold" and "free hold".

One place I came across this was Hawaii where the native people leased the land to developers. Since this concept of not owning the land under the building is a tough one for many of us (see comments on this board), many of the condos I saw were in the process negotiating the purchase of the underlying land and made it known to prospective purchasers.

Lease hold property is very common is England. Why is Elizabeth II the richest woman in the world? The royal family retained much of their land and continues to enjoy the income from renewed 99 year leases.

But I did buy a land lease condo unit in Fort Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle. The US government owned the land and the building had a 99 year lease. I told the agent I didn't want a land lease condo, but the whole deal (including mortgaging) went through so smoothly it's what I ended up with.

there are many buildings without a land lease in nyc, so why bother to take any risk.

ok so its a land lease building. Does anyone know the terms of the lease?, ie when does it come up for renewal, are there set terms on how much it can be raised, etc? Do they have an option to buy the land outright? I read recently that one of the top end lower Fifth Ave post war buildings was land leased and they bought out their lease within the last five years and that helped to increase their value.

I also heard that most of the buildings in Battery Park City are land leased owned by NY state. Is this true or not?

I bet any agent with a listing in the building knows the terms of the lease.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121381333400585313.html

BPC:

PLAN BPC: http://www.nypost.com/seven/07312008/realestate/battery_up_122280.htm?page=0

Although Battery Park City is only a stone's throw from the Financial District and is physically in Manhattan (it was named after Battery Park, which sits to its south), it is technically not a part of the city at all. The planned community is in fact owned and operated by New York State, by way of the Battery Park City Authority. The land is leased to developers and homebuyers.

Instead of property taxes, residents have PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) bills, which vary from building to building depending on when it was built and the timeframe of the land lease. This, along with relatively high maintenance charges due to the land lease, can make living here expensive, despite the relatively inexpensive real estate.

"Some of the stuff has sold slowly because Battery Park City is on a land lease, and they have the PILOT payment in lieu of taxes, which is fairly expensive," says developer Phillip Gesue. This "is [also] why it is so pristine and clean."

It's also the reason BPC is so green. Starting in 2000, the authority mandated that all new residential buildings follow a set of sustainable building guidelines. So eco-conscious residents can breathe easy.

Roosevelt Island is also owned by New York State.

Very helpful, thanks for explanations.

Hey drdrd, do you know if, since Roosevelt Island belongs to the state, RI residents have to pay any more or less in taxes, etc. than the rest of the city?

Now that the property has been bought the co op owners what will happen to with the real estate taxes my guess is the maitenence is going way up