New York Times, Is Gary Shteyngart's Apartment Really a "Good Deal" ?

We read with curiosity today the headline article from the New York Times Real Estate Section advising readers on "How to Spot a Good Deal". Although the article is certainly umm...sorry! simplistic (basing whether an apartment is a good deal primarily on average asking prices in the neighborhood and ignoring oh say, comps from prior years), it does advocate the position that The Russian Debutante's Handbook author Gary Shteyngart's co-op village 1 bedroom is a "Good Deal". Is it?

When we saw this unit back in April (it's #E607 at 575 Grand Street, the East Village Co-op Building), we thought it was an "ok" deal. Priced at just $425,000 for 800 sq ft (not including a good-sized balcony), the well-maintained unit certainly seems reasonably priced, especially when compared with similar units on sale at any of the four Co-op Village buildings and certainly when compared with the rest of lower Manhattan. If you poke around a little though, you may notice that Gary purchased his 1BR unit in 2004 for just $350,000, a price that does not seem unreasonable today given that housing prices on average in the US are at mid-2003 levels. Add to that the recent discussion on Streeteasy regarding the impending financial problems at the Co-op Village boards, including the recent decision to raise the "rental tax" (the amount apartment owners must pay to the board if they sublet their units), to a shocking 150% of maintenance per month. Still a deal? Looks less so, no?

How Absurd(istan)! Does Gary Need to Sell Fast?

In a plot twist reminiscent of the venerable Absurdistan, we were surpised to see that New York Times' bestselling author Gary Shteyngart has lowered the asking price of his Lower East Side 1 BR just two weeks after listing the apartment. Click here for our take on his apartment.

The 800 sq ft apartment, located in the Communist abode of Coop Village, can now be had for a mere $425,000 (or 6% less than the early April ask).

Let's Go See the "Mystery Writer" Apartment!

We were so intrigued by this Curbed article commenting on the listing of Gary Shteyngart's LES apartment that we decided to pop by the New York Times' bestselling author's 1BR located in the Soviet-esque co-op wonderland on the East River about which we have always been curious.

In addition to Gary's apartment, we ended up seeing several 1BRs in this complex, which is actually a Moscow suburb three separate co-op communities . There is the "East River" Coop (close to...well, you get it folks), the Hillman Coop (which is sliiiightly further west), and the much better located Seward community which is priced higher but is somewhat closer to hipster-filled laundromats the subway. Overall, these coop apartments are all attractively priced (listings currently run at around $621 per sq ft but many are priced lower) albeit the apartments themselves are not particularly attractive. Although we did see a couple of renovated units, most units needed a major overhaul (including some really simple basics like cleaning the windows), new floors and appliance updates.

Still, we couldn't help but be drawn into the Cold War aura of these enormous stark buildings and can imagine how the area (maybe in the winter? maybe with fur?) can make you feel part of the landscape of the charming Russian Debutante's Handbook or the wild ride that is Absurdistan.

As far as Gary's actual 1BR, it's quite well-maintained and spartan (duh) although we did enjoy some well-placed Soviet irony such as the picture in the kitchen of a Communist building exterior and a cosmonaut (what?) candy bar.

We also loved peeking into the reading life of Gary Shteyngart (one entire wall of the living room is taken up by books) and are pleased to note that he loves Absurdistan as much as we do, having approximately 10 copies of just that title on his shelves (see the porntastic, "we're just checking our email and not taking photos on our Blackberry" image above). Unfortunately, we were shooed away by the agent before we could find "R" for Russian Debutante's Handbook, but we know it's there somewhere in every language too.