60 west 15th

is anyone going to help me out with this?

1.8mm?

that's exactly what i was thinking. i very much doubt i could get it for that price, but i think if i did i would be reasonably happy. any other opinions?

are the western windows lot line?

I think 1.9-2.0, but not yet. If it's still on the market in May, or if it's pulled and put back on in the fall.

bobbob,

they are lot-line but protected by setbacks. that's my understanding at least--clearly one would have to have a lawyer figure that out for sure before proceeding.

happy, this thing has a way to fall. doubt they would consider $2.0 right now, but give it a few months on the market. but on a side note, is it really the best course of action to go broadcasting places you are looking at on a thread? All it takes is one interested party to bid against you for something. If you really come across a find (which I dont think this is), I would want to go to the open house, negotiate hard and fast and walk away before a lot of people could look at it. Granted this is not the case here since it's been on the mkt 3 months without a change in ask. But still....

special_k,

believe me, if i see an apartment that i want at a great price i am going to be bidding on it, not posting it on street easy. these are apartments that are somewhere within the range of what i am looking for and i am curious what other people think of them. this apartment falls in the category of "would live in it," which means that at some price i would buy it. but not for 2.6, and not even for 2.

happyrenter - have you been to see this at all? I saw it at a much higher asking, and it was... meh... at best. Also, that particular part of 15th street is just terrible. I agree, would have to be under 2 before I would seriously consider. The only plus is that it's in the PS41 school district.

jess,
i've decided against the apartment so i have no problem talking about it, but i really disagree with you. the apartment needs work, but the space is not 'meh' at all. if you like lofts, this is a really good one--the width is very rare, and the protected side windows make a huge difference. a 3100 square foot apartment with high ceilings, easy 3 bedroom/3 bath, plus library, plus expansive entertaining space, with good light, nice architectural features, in a perfectly nice building in a great neighborhood on a less-than-ideal but perfectly fine block has a lot more going for it than PS41.

as for having to be under 2 million, umm, have you seen the asking price? it is asking 2.3, and it is very realistic that you could get it for under 2.

Is it REALLY 3,000 sq feet?

happyrenter, from the listing, this looks pretty great actually. Given the size, maintenance isn't bad and we're already looking at sub-$800 psf here, assuming the square footage given is close. What's the building like? If in good shape, I can see this going for somewhere under $2m, though the proximity to the noisiness of Union Sq might not appeal to some.

I saw this, the building itself appears to have structural issues and likely will have a big assessment due to local law 11. Walk past it, it's pretty obvious from the exterior.

what's local law 11?

the side windows on this unit are lot lined and you could easily lose those.

Local Law 11 is the law the city passed after a falling brick hit a girl on the head. It requires that all buildings do facade maintenance.

Compliance is checked every few years, five I think, and when your building complies it usually involves working with the bricks ("repointing," i.e. adding new mortar, is a favorite).

If a building is older, Local Law 11 compliance often results in an assessment that it is added to maintenance for a few months.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Ali is mostly right about local law 11, but it is a bit more involved and arbitrary. There are a different set of requirements for each 5 year cycle of the law. We currently finished the 11th cycle. Some cycles are as simple as buildings must inspect their facades and patch missing mortar (repoint). Others require deeper inspections and fixes. The most recent was the most intense it gets: inspections of every brick and then down to the metal girders holding up the facade/building and where water has penetrated and corroded them, the actual beams have to be replaced by removed the facade and essentially rebuilding parts of the building. The process goes like this:
1. Bid the job to engineers to inspect.
2. Select an engineer, rent a sidewalk scaffold or "bridge", conduct the inspection.
3. If ANYTHING is found in need of repair (and there is ALWAYS something) the sidewalk bridge stays up until it is fixed to protect the public.
4. Bid the repair job and select a contractor. Erect full building scaffold if necessary including netting.
5. Correct problems.
6. Do this for every facade of the building.

When it is just repointing, not such a big deal. When it was necessary to go all the way this cycle, it sometimes amounted to millions of dollars, spectacular special assessments, and much hand-wringing.

LESSON: when contemplating a purchase, ask the agents to find out for you where the building stands in terms of Local Law compliance with the most recent cycle and what had to be done. Have your attorney look into this with the financials and minutes during due diligence. It can be a HUGE expense you never anticipated if the building has yet to comply. Exception: I believe structures 6 stories and under may be exempt from all or aspects of the Local Law and different rules may apply--not sure here.

happyrenter,

i actually didn't see the 300k reduction, i was going off memory (that's the last time i'll do that!) and was thinking 2.7 was the asking. i saw it back when it was asking close to 3, and 'meh" was referring to the condition of the apartment - floors are well worn and are falling apart in some corners, and some areas where it is obvious it is not level, at least one of the rooms faced into a back alley and had window bars that made that room feel like a jail. definitely a project.

do agree with you re: the space's width.

one concern i have about buying into a small loft building is that relatively few owners shoulder the burden of expenses related to maintaining said building (per the preceding discussions). i would prefer a larger loft building, though those are rarer (i.e. Chelsea Merc( and the newer ones (i.e. Grand Madison) have such high carrying costs once you factor in the full tax.

will be interesting to see what this closes at.

Not a great street

jess,

i am not advocating that you buy the apartment, just pointing out that if $2 million would get your attention, well, we're there. if these people are smart they would jump at a $2 million offer.

i agree with you regarding a small loft building, you are definitely taking on risk regarding structural problems with the building. in exchange, you get a much more pleasant living experience, IMHO, than you get in a large loft building. and in this case, obviously you pay nothing like what you would pay at the grand madison!