The first problem with this unit is that 30% of the apartments in this building (Liberty Court) are professionally managed (they have a leasing office down the street) rental units. When we were looking to rent in this area last year, I actually saw three rental units in this building through that leasing office.
The sales agent that showed us this apartment last week "skirted" the rental issue over and over again until I finally gave up asking. Overall, this apartment is really, really small and needs a major overhaul. On the bright side, the price is "very negotiable" and the outdoor space is TREMENDOUS. The balcony is much larger than in the ad and when you go out there, it's kind of like standing on a floating platform in the middle of manhattan. Truly spectacular.
We still wouldn't touch this no W/D, parquet floor mess for $550,000 (or even $350,000), but go check out that balcony!
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Hi DOWNTOWNY, I'm interested in this area but inexperienced with part condo/part rental buildings - can you expand upon your concern about the building being 30% rental...what is the issue? Thanks, Jon
Hi Jon - so there's an "old" issue and a much newer issue with buildings that are some fairly large percentage rental (let's say > 10%).
The "old" issue is that renters (as the theory goes) are much less concerned with keeping up the building common areas etc. (so they treat the building worse than owners). I'm not sure if this is really the case, but this is common perception amongst buyers. So, if you have a lot of rentals in the building (and prospective buyers know this) it can potentially depress resale values.
The "new" issue is that Fannie will not purchase mortgages (I believe this is currently only restricted to jumbos) where a single entity owns more than 10% of the total units. This could make financing quite tricky in developments where the sponsor (or an investor) owns a bunch of units for rent.
In addition, you really feel like a renter in buildings such as 200 Rector. For example, you have to pay a monthly fee to use the gym, which is completely unheard of in any other condo building since that fee is just part of your maintenance. We prefer (and I think a lot of people do too) to have a community in the building where we live - it's tough to establish that with so much turnover.
Thanks, great site btw very entertainingly written. Jon :-)
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