Buying in Manhattan--what's the scoop?

[Anonymous]

DH and I were talking (fantasizing) about buying a 2-bedroom/2-bath place in Manhattan, ideally on the Upper West Side. (DH travels up to NY regularly for work, so in our fantasy this wouldn't be a rental but more of a pied-a-terre, and then a place to live when we retire.) I'm poking around on Redfin and just for fun put in a price cap of $1.5 million. As I'm looking, I see that some of the places have been on the market for months and months. One place says it's been on Redfin for 945 days! Can anyone shed some light on this market, this price range for this type of apartment, how competitive it is for buyers currently, and whatever else you can share? Let me dream a bit while sipping a glass of wine on this cold January night!

[Anonymous]

You need a big scoop of gold coins

[Anonymous]

Often it's about a difficult coop board. I know several ppl eager to sell but whose coop boards kept rejecting prospective buyers, for unknown reasons.

Other things to look at include very high maintenance costs or assessments for repairs, etc. Also, and I think this is probably fairly common in the UWS, an apartment may have been inn the family a long time and there's family dynamics on the sellers side that make sales/deals more complicated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I were talking (fantasizing) about buying a 2-bedroom/2-bath place in Manhattan, ideally on the Upper West Side. (DH travels up to NY regularly for work, so in our fantasy this wouldn't be a rental but more of a pied-a-terre, and then a place to live when we retire.) I'm poking around on Redfin and just for fun put in a price cap of $1.5 million. As I'm looking, I see that some of the places have been on the market for months and months. One place says it's been on Redfin for 945 days! Can anyone shed some light on this market, this price range for this type of apartment, how competitive it is for buyers currently, and whatever else you can share? Let me dream a bit while sipping a glass of wine on this cold January night!

I live in DC and my husband lives in NYC. I'll probably move later this year. I think we will rent. There is a new luxury tax on apartments over $1M. Apartments are sitting. The market is hotter in Chelsea, Midtown, Downtown and Hudson Yards. We currently have an apartment in Hell's Kitchen, but the Upper West Side would be much cheaper so that is probably where we will land. We will probably buy a small beach house in the Hamptons instead of the city.

[Anonymous]

Always always check the HOA/CO-OP fees.

They can look ideal and still screw you.

$3,000 HOA/Common fees a month
https://www.corcoran.com/nyc-real-estate/for-sale/upper-west-side/205-west-end-avenue-25-d/5943612

[Anonymous]

I would definitely find a place to rent first. The market is definitely slow right now. Though something well-priced on a good block in a good building on UWS will go. But it's hard to know which buildings, which blocks until you better understand the area.

[Anonymous]

You can’t think of coop fees the same way you do hoa or condo fees here. You own shares in the underlying building so your coop fee includes your taxes (and sometimes some or all utilities)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I were talking (fantasizing) about buying a 2-bedroom/2-bath place in Manhattan, ideally on the Upper West Side. (DH travels up to NY regularly for work, so in our fantasy this wouldn't be a rental but more of a pied-a-terre, and then a place to live when we retire.) I'm poking around on Redfin and just for fun put in a price cap of $1.5 million. As I'm looking, I see that some of the places have been on the market for months and months. One place says it's been on Redfin for 945 days! Can anyone shed some light on this market, this price range for this type of apartment, how competitive it is for buyers currently, and whatever else you can share? Let me dream a bit while sipping a glass of wine on this cold January night!

I live in DC and my husband lives in NYC. I'll probably move later this year. I think we will rent. There is a new luxury tax on apartments over $1M. Apartments are sitting. The market is hotter in Chelsea, Midtown, Downtown and Hudson Yards. We currently have an apartment in Hell's Kitchen, but the Upper West Side would be much cheaper so that is probably where we will land. We will probably buy a small beach house in the Hamptons instead of the city.

It’s not a new tax. It’s called the mansion tax and it’s been around a long time.

[Anonymous]

Many co-ops are not interested in buyers who aren't living in their unit and will reject people who are looking for a pied-a-terre and will impose restrictions on renting out or similar (no airb&B etc).

A friend of mine just bought a place with her partner (while married to someone else) and she literally had to face the inquisition as well as providing very detailed private financial information - more than would be expected by a mortgage broker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can’t think of coop fees the same way you do hoa or condo fees here. You own shares in the underlying building so your coop fee includes your taxes (and sometimes some or all utilities)

Condo fees here can include some utilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many co-ops are not interested in buyers who aren't living in their unit and will reject people who are looking for a pied-a-terre and will impose restrictions on renting out or similar (no airb&B etc).

A friend of mine just bought a place with her partner (while married to someone else) and she literally had to face the inquisition as well as providing very detailed private financial information - more than would be expected by a mortgage broker.

I would think a unit that's only occasionally inhabited, and not rented out, would be desirable? Less noise, less wear and tear on things like elevator or whatever. What's the rationale?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many co-ops are not interested in buyers who aren't living in their unit and will reject people who are looking for a pied-a-terre and will impose restrictions on renting out or similar (no airb&B etc).

A friend of mine just bought a place with her partner (while married to someone else) and she literally had to face the inquisition as well as providing very detailed private financial information - more than would be expected by a mortgage broker.

I would think a unit that's only occasionally inhabited, and not rented out, would be desirable? Less noise, less wear and tear on things like elevator or whatever. What's the rationale?

You would need to ask a co-op board.
What I do know is plain common sense however - if a unit is empty its more likely get mice and rats and other vermin, its just a fact. Also any leaks or other systemic problems are more likely to be overlooked and get worse - and end up damaging adjacent units / units below.

Having lived in apts for years myself I've also witnessed attempted break-ins of empty units.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many co-ops are not interested in buyers who aren't living in their unit and will reject people who are looking for a pied-a-terre and will impose restrictions on renting out or similar (no airb&B etc).

A friend of mine just bought a place with her partner (while married to someone else) and she literally had to face the inquisition as well as providing very detailed private financial information - more than would be expected by a mortgage broker.

I would think a unit that's only occasionally inhabited, and not rented out, would be desirable? Less noise, less wear and tear on things like elevator or whatever. What's the rationale?

Pied a tiers not welcome lots of coops as folks want neighbors and a huge insurance liability

[Anonymous]

Most NYC apartments are co-ops and not condos. The process to buy a place can be daunting, and the boards don't really have to follow too many laws (they do on paper, but they get around them all). One of the big things is often they want to get into your financials and can require that you have multiples of the purchase price in assets. They can make HOAs look like sweet old ladies serving you cookies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most NYC apartments are co-ops and not condos. The process to buy a place can be daunting, and the boards don't really have to follow too many laws (they do on paper, but they get around them all). One of the big things is often they want to get into your financials and can require that you have multiples of the purchase price in assets. They can make HOAs look like sweet old ladies serving you cookies.

Yup.