Renting in a condo

if the owner owns one apartment, e.g. he's not some rich mogul, then definitely go for it. :)

Never hurts to ask.

I think that is silly unless you are suffering from a hardship

Silly? My kids are silly. They giggle a lot and run around and draw with crayons.

Is your lease up? If the answer is no, what basis do you have for renegotiation?

And by, the way, my kid tries to eat the crayons, so I would argue he's sillier than your kids.

you could try to negotiate down as long as you were extending the lease

It depends on how close you are to your lease renewal - if it's far off, and you're a long term tenant, I'm sure they might want to be reasonable with you in order to keep their cash flow moving and a person they trust in their rental unit.

how much are you currently paying for "convenience" and ammenities that were attractive in 2006 and 2007 that aren't needed today?

So I terminated my lease and I'm looking at rental buildings. I saw 2 Related buildings, 1 Rockrose building, and 2 other buildings I'm not even sure who they were owned by (but same company). Honestly, talk about depressing. These rental buildings with low ceilings, scratched floors, white appliances or where the appliances were stainless they were totally out of place with the rest of the apartment, small tubs. I watched the doormen interact with the residents - no warmth, rare acknowlegment by the residents of the doormen. Kindof making me rethink this stupid rental building company strategy.

"Honestly, talk about depressing"

simMN, At a Related building? really? Wish I had that high of standards.

"I watched the doormen interact with the residents - no warmth, rare acknowlegment by the residents of the doormen"

That's typical. A lot of renters don't tip. If you tip they will be nice :)

why did you terminate if there isn't a better option?

simMN there is a lot of negotiation going on with rentals right now, and yes in general you will find higher level finishes and better service in some of the condo leases, the down side is a lot more paperwork. I have some clients I recently worked with who were renting a 2 bed in Chelsea, and we were able to get a great deal on a 2 bed where we got well below the ask price because there were so many for rent in the area. Also a lots of people who bought some of these new condos were investors planning on flipping (no longer) and now are really needing to find a renter quickly.

Well, yes at a related building and it was more than disappointing. The other two not Rockrose were somewhat better. For the same price the appliances and floors were better, they had washer driers in all the apartments, the doorpeople seemed friendlier. I have a bit of a bias in that I got into an argument - which I could believe - with the leasing guy at Related on an issue unrelated to me being taken 10 minutes late after an argument between the agent and a tenant who was terminating a lease or some other dramatics.

simMN, do you have a neighborhood preference? Related buildings are pretty mediocre, given the prices they charge. I honestly think you should look at condo rentals since they are usually higher quality.

simMN what kind of rent are you looking to pay for what size place in what area?

rufus
about 11 weeks ago
ignore this person
report abuse finding a good rental apartment in a nice building in a nice area is nearly impossible in NYC. but i agree that you should not go through brokers. the two best companies are related and rose, but their units are extremely pricy. you can also look at archstone, but their units are horrendously overpriced, even those in mediocre areas.

Quantum, the preference is tribeca or bpc, around 4K per month.

My experience was completely different. I saw a bunch of condo rentals, and a bunch of rental buildings. Seriously, all over the map, in both cases. Yes, some of the condos had beautiful finishes, but others were borderline rundown. And some of the rental buildings (notably Glenwood) had beautiful appliances and finishes. Actually, the finishes at the overpriced apartment on 230 West 55th were amazing, too. Some doormen were friendly and warm, others were surly, seemingly irrespective of the type of building.

In any case, I think you just have to keep looking till you find the apartment and the deal you want.

simMN you have plenty of choices...IN THAT AREA THAT HAVE MORE CONDO LIKE LIVING ENVIROMNMENT (sorry cap lock got stuck!) woud u look down at some of those buildings like 88 GREENWICH? THEY HAVE GREAT DEALS THERE

simMN, for rentals, look at 10 barclay, 88 leonard, 50 murray, verdesian, solaire, tribeca tower, tribeca park.

Thank you for suggestions.
10 Barclay and 88 Leonard aren't the right areas; but 10 Barclay seems a good option and 88 Leonard too young for crowds.
50 Murray is a bit too 50s office converstion.
Solaire that was one, low ceilings, rental quality only, but better than the Related with a bad gym.
Verdesian was not in the range, unfortunately doesn't face river but if it is a Solaire plus, worth considering.
Tribeca Tower may look at but turned off by Related.
Tribeca Park was seen - the building is well done, the units are quite poor and same applies to Tribeca Green though even there there's no river view. Also Related.

simMN, there just aren't that many nice buildings in that area, or downtonwn in general.

Watch for it, on Tuesday, you'll see declines in the asking prices of condos for rent. Also, those rental buildings offering 1 month will switch to 2.

simMN... if your landlord ( I am assuming a flipper/investor) didn't set aside a portion of your rent for 1) legal fees 2) capital improvements 3) re-leasing costs/lost rental income 4) downturn in rental market and if he/she has no financial flexibility due to extreme leverage... then hammer away at your lease. Your landlord is a gambler not an investor... no need to feel sorry for him going to Las Vegas. My 2 cents. or yens.. .or kronas. :)

Someone mentioned Verdesian. I saw it today. I'm not sure what the hype is. At all. Liveable and clean, but no lux, no fun, nothing special.

I've seen 2 things with condo rentals for new developments
1 - owners with ridiculous expectations who aren't moving their unit and don't realize that months are like seats in an airplane. If they aren't filled with a tenant or passenger, they can't be sold later, i.e. it is a fleeting asset.
2 - Owners unwilling to sign 2 year leases or 1 years leases with 2nd year options. The reason for this is that they expect the market to rebound a year out and want to be able to negotiate significantly higher.

If you ask me, anyone expecting to stay longer than one year would be ill-advised (that's a polite way of saying it) to sign only a one year lease. When the owner the next year wants to raise you from $4K per month to $5K, you have only yourself to blame. Don't rush into a short-term good deal that could raise significant hassle to you a year out.

Buildings where I've seen #2 in play - Platinum, 20 Pine, Chelsea Stratus in particular.

District, William Beaver, 75 Wall are next.

Yes, those 3 as well. 75 Wall must have only been purchased by investors or occasional pied-a-terre, I can't imagine anyone saying that was their primary residence, whereas with 20 Pine also downtown I could understand residency there for sure.

The hype on the Verdesian (where I've placed two happy clients) is green, river views, great service. If it's not "luxe" enough for you, you're probably looking in the wrong neighborhood. You will get more luxe for your money if you are willing to live near Lincoln Center or on the UES.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

"Is your lease up? If the answer is no, what basis do you have for renegotiation?"

LOL. Low-paid cubicle dweller mentality. People renegotiate contracts, up or down, ALL. THE. TIME.

How about "might want to renegotiate now; in six months when the lease is up things may be a lot worse".

Or, "Gee i'd love to stay here, but i'm not sure i can survive at $5K/month...how would you feel about $4,500, considering that the market is at $4,000."

If he says "blah blah you have an obligation blah blah a deal's a deal blah blah blah i'll sue you blabbetty blah", you say "of course you can sue anyone you like...not sure that's gonna leave you with any more money in your pocket than the $4,500 a month i'm offering you".

Yeah, well I very strongly believe that Admiral is a complete asshole who I want nothing to do with, but that doesn't mean that opinions don't coincide strongly. On the above post - agree entirely.

renting in a condo