Guess how much this sold for - UWS version

It actually seems like a somewhat decent price, although I don't know that much about the UWS. That said, I'd be shocked if the broker had offers above ask. I've already dealt with so many brokers who are full of sh*t that I don't trust anything they have to say. I would assume that they got one or two offers at $995k and then convinced one to come up a little, probably to $1.05 or $1.1. Broker probably figured that once there was a real offer on the apartment, might as well see if he or she could convince someone that the apartment was a hot property and get them to bite.

My official guess is $1.075.

$1,053,000

i saw this and had a pang that maybe I missed out on a deal -- this broker had offers above ask at 1.35 too.
my guess is 1.025

joedavis - she told me they had offers above the $1.35, but the buyer's financing fell through. No idea whether she was telling the truth, but I'm sticking with my guess.

I also felt something like a pang - this is definitely the best deal I've seen so far. Fantastic building, decent layout (bigger rooms would be better, obviously), not terrible area, right next to express train and riverside park, and apartment was not a wreck.

However, unless you're in a huge rush, or loved this specific apartment, I expect that there will be plenty more chances in the next 2-3 years.

BTW, thanks for actually offering guesses, unlike posters on the UES thread that turned it into the usual bulls vs. bears.

This building is the unofficial dorm of Columbia grad students with landlords being past Columbia grads. My guess is that the new owners pay $1M cash, build a wall in the living room and rent it out to 4 grad students for $1,250/each, generating an annual cash flow of $60K, less maintenance of $24,000, which would give them a net of $36,000/year. Okay, it's not a 20% per year return, but it's still positive. If there is rampant inflation, the value of the unit may go up and if no one wants to "be in" real estate, then rents may go up, too. As long as Columbia keeps accepting students who need housing, I'm not seeing a terrible downside scenario here (unless CD rates go to 15%!).

I could also be off on the rent - they could get $1,500/each, and if they made another bedroom out of the dining area, then they could have 5 students living there for a total annual rent of $90K, less $24,000 in maintenance, or 6.6% return, roughly. Wait, did I do that right? If so, this seems like one way to get positive cash flow in very difficult economic times.

mrsblogs, I also know the building pretty well. There may be lots of Columbia grad students there, but there are also tons of families, so there may be options other than renting out to a bunch of roommates.

You started with the right math. Make the dining room into a 4th bedroom, and you may be able to get $1250 each for $5K total. There was a similar apartment in the building for rent asking $5500, and rents are dropping, so $5K or a bit more sounds right.

However, $1500 each sounds high. And 5 people in that apartment is very, very tight. Maybe some would put up with that, but they'd expect a big discount on rent to do it, so I doubt you come out ahead.

The other factor is that you have to put at least some money into that apartment before it's in rentable condition. If that were not the case, we would've offered to rent it from the sellers.

Do people offer to rent from sellers? Sorry if that sounds horribly naive.

newbuyer99 are you referring to me?... oops I didn't know the rules of this game.... you just wanted a # => $1.00 :) You just don't know me like mrsblogs.

mrsblogs if you want a pure RE play then look at HRP yielding 28% (was 50% last week). 50% leveraged w/o any liens on their property, 50% rented to federal gov't and medical offices (less vacancy risk). Full disclosure, I am loaded to the hilt on this baby, used to follow it as a banker in mid 90's. Economy goes to pot, they lose 50% of tenants, the re-negotiate with bondholders and/or convert them to secured lenders and stretch out loan over 20 years, cuts dividends 50% to yield 14%. Very liquid, and Warren Buffet is a large holder.... someone may even LBO at a certain level as why would you pay 28% to shareholders, just get some sponsor and re-cap this thing... That's my RE play for now... renting to individuals is a pain... one bad party and the Board will be all over you... I know I used to frequent the building in my MBA days.

Everyone repeat after me... I shall wait for the market to come to me... come to me market ....come to me.....

If that doesn't work, let's just keep blogging and force this baby down... .like that song in the 90's... we don't need no water... let the mother------ burn, burn ------------ burn. It was a catchy tune in my days :)

uwsmom... r u up with the baby too? Why won't they sleep?

Yes you can ask a seller if they'd rather rent, but usually by the time it is listed they've already done the math and it doesn't work for them or they believe the market to be falling.... if you believed market would be higher next year wouldn't you rent it out and list next year?

I'm still skeptical that they ever had a valid offer at 1.35. I don't really care what the broker said in order to present the apartment is a hot property. I bid on an apartment where the broker told me the same thing and yet the broker seemed a bit too interested in my offer -- as if she knew that the "higher" offer was either (a) made up or (b) from someone she knew would not be able to get financing or board approval. Being someone that can pass through a coop board is a big issue now as well, and one that people aren't focusing on as much.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/211135-condo-275-west-96th-street-upper-west-side-new-york

So it closed on January 11th, but I still don't see the price. Can insiders see it? Or is it ACRIS? Anyone, help?

Thanks in advance

While we're playing this, how about this one on the low end?

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/349727-coop-66-west-84th-street-upper-west-side-new-york

Where do you see that it closed 1/11? All I see is that it's no longer avail as of that date. There's no "insider' info other than what you're seeing; haven't checked ACRIS. It's always possible the deal fell through.

I see the same thing. I assumed that it sold, since it was in contract. You well could be right.

How can any of these be considered decent deals when you can rent cheaper? I'm with w67thstreet.

Here's one that is definitely sold. The UCC1 was filed last week:
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/351620-coop-255-west-84th-street-upper-west-side-new-york
http://a836-acris.nyc.gov/Scripts/DocSearch.dll/Detail?Doc_ID=2009012701000001

Corner classic eight on the top floor of a great building that has had some serious roof/parapet issues (resolved now, I think). This apartment was directly affected by the problems, and may have been uninhabitable during the worst of it. Interior is well-preserved - comparable to good estate condition.

Any guesses on the price?

275 West 96th #7E sold for $1,150,000. http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/closing/789426

Dwell wins, unless we're playing "Price is Right" rules (can't win if you guess high).

Thanks, West 1st. I guess she was full of it on offers above ask, but it did close at ask. Good for them.

That's West81st. Silly sticky keys.

Ah yes, roof issues. That brings up one of my unwritten rules to never buy a unit directly below the roof. When there are issues, they usually take years to get sorted out and the building will put off fixing the roof for as long as possible. I knew a place where they kept patching the apartments under the rood that were suffering damage due to leaks, for years.