building at 2166 Broadway

They tend to be very small units. The building itself is in a decent part of the west 70's but the lobby is so so as well as the hallways.

It's always been one of the cheapest doorman co-ops. Prewar, but not grand apts as it was built as a hotel.

Also, I'm not sure about the size of the underlying mortgage - mtce could go way up.

the maintenance is pretty high if you look -- considering no real amenities in the building
The views from some of the apartments are fabulous, but typically there is no real kitchen or dining room.
The ones we saw also needed quite a bit of updating -- they would be considered as estate condition for the most part

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/152162-coop-2166-broadway-upper-west-side-new-york
is actually quite nice -- off market now and they tried to sell for a long time -- I felt that at $1.2 million it would sell very quickly, but they were not interested in lowering their price at the time.

sorry to post 3 separate times. Just meant to add that the building has had several apartments with nice outdoor space and while some apts were estate as I described, a couple were very nicely done -- but priced well above 1.5 million. The ones in the price range from the original poster tended to be the ones I reflected on in my 1st post

Anyone have an update on this building? Seems very well priced for the area, even with shabby hallways.

I researched it a little, and also visited recently. I wouldn't call the halls shabby, at least those I walked. But they do have really green carpet that brings out their inner shabby, I'd say. The apartments are well priced, I believe, in general, and often lower than other buildings in the hood. 3 main reasons I see(often apply): small size, lack of view/light, and high maintenance. It's a pretty big place and has a staff to pay. Still, there are some really fine places within, if one get's a bit lucky. And the doorman (one, anyway) speaks French. Voila. I hope there's some other observations to be shared hereon.

I went to an open house there a few months ago for a well-priced, high floor 1 bedroom (sorry can't recall unit#). Anyway, it looked great on paper and even OK in person with view, but being in the building, walking down the narrow hallways, and the lowish ceilings (?) made me feel oddly sad. Walking out, I was trying to explain this to my husband when another couple from the open house overheard us and said - yes, exactly - they also couldn't imagine living there as it felt depressing. We mused it was haunted by the ghosts of unhappy sailors or something when it was a hotel.

The weirdest thing about this building is that there is just a single washer/dryer on every floor and w/d not allowed in the apartments. So I'd think you are pretty much stuck sending your laundry out.

I personally find the w/d on the same floor and NOT in the apartment is a plus. You don't have to sacrifice any SF to a W/D, the noise and smells is makes is out of your apartment, yet it's right down the hall as in a stand-alone home. The floor I know well has only 4 apartments, not bad at all for a W/D ratio. Plenty of buildings have a 20 apt-to-1 W/D ratio. And, like Bertie, I don't like the halls, but then, one doesn't live in the halls. I don't like the halls in most apartment buildings. Not much to like about halls in general, and I spend very little time there.

I just found out that the building has a flip-tax (3% on net profit + $2/share). On top of it, there are leaks throughout the building. The maintenance is already high. Is there anyone on SE really familiar with this building?

This building is cheap for a reason. The co-op and the management company are horrible and irresponsible. Something is always wrong, such as no hot water, broken elevator etc. Last year, F line had a flood due to a building pipe burst. Our floor and the kitchen wall were severely damaged. Eight months later, we are still not paid for the repair cost, largely due to the negligence of the board. The management company has been irresponsive throughout the entire process I would never recommend anyone to buy any apt in this building.