prices of apartments in Sunset Park?

bolletje · April 2007

I've been looking into buying a co-op in SP for a few months now and it seems that in the past month or so the prices have been rising quickly, with people asking maybe 15%-20% more than they were just a few weeks earlier (like in March, for example). Has anyone else noticed this?

Does this just happen every spring and it's better to hold off on buying until the spring fever winds down?
I'm getting freaked out that if I let another month go by I won't be able to afford anything anymore.

ben · April 2007

New construction appears to be getting close to $500/ft. However, there is at least one and possibly more buildings near 7th Ave and 41st st that have much cheaper apartments but don't allow mortgages. So if you can come up with the cash through other sources you can get a great deal.

It also seems like the older co-ops are priced more competitively than the new construction units.

filmlover44 · April 2007

Well, I'm not buying for a couple of years (haven't decided on Sunset Park or Crown Heights yet) but I suspect that you are correct. This is not a great time of the year to be house hunting! Keep looking.

bolletje · April 2007

Thanks for the replies. If you buy into one of the cash only buildings, does that mean you will have to sell cash only as well?

Another interesting feature of Sunset Park co-op sales is that the same listing gets hawked by multiple, seemingly unrelated brokers who are vague about details like location, whether the seller is open to price negotiations, etc. I keep on trying to ascertain whether I have seen a place or not and run up against the problem of brokers having a tenuous relation to the listing trying to withold information in order to make me 'dependent' on them for information.
It is frustrating me to no end.
Some realtors have been helpful and professional, so I'm not trying to say they are all shady, it's maybe just the problem of 'open listings' type of situations.

ben · April 2007

if the building is all cash you will have to sell all cash as well, unless you can get the board to change the rules.

It's a bit surprising that these boards don't open up a bit to allow some % financing. If they did so many more people could get in and the prices of the units would go up pretty significantly.

raedog · April 2007

I recently bought into one of the so-called Finnish coops in Sunset Park (near 7th Avenue and 41st Street), and it and a few others do accept mortgages (my husband and I are only the second group in the building to not do an all-cash deal). It seems that some of the formerly all-cash buildings are slowly coming around to accepting mortgages--though you definitely pay more than you would in an all-cash deal. I've seen some good-looking apartments on various Web sites (Warren Lewis has one on the park for about $259,000, I think, with a low, low maintenance, maybe $250?) and Halstead previously had a few Sunset Park apartments, and so the deals do seem to still be better here than in other parts of Brooklyn, for sure. Spring, though, is notoriously when a lot of real estate turns over, and perhaps prices have been raised....

bolletje · April 2007

Hi Raedog, I had looked at those Halstead listings and loved them, but they were above what we are able to pay. I would have jumped on that Warren Lewis one but the broker said it already has an accepted offer, although it's taking a while to go into contract.

We have found an affordable place in a Finnish co-op right near you and I put in an offer this morning...so we will see if it is accepted. I really hope the deal goes through because I want to live in Sunset Park!
May I ask how your co-op board interview process went? What kind of things do they want to know?
The co-op board interview makes me nervous! I would appreciate any insight you have into the process (you can pm me if you don't want to talk on the board)

raedog · April 2007

Bolletje--I just pm'd you, but wanted to say for the record that I wish you luck in the process! So excited about the prospect of people who participate in these boards moving to the neighborhood.

craftsdweller · June 2007

I'm just curious about how this went down, and if indeed anyone closed recently? I'm under contract for the place I think that was mentioned above, an apartment listed in March on the park in a Finnish co-op.

I'm interested in talking with and meeting other dwellers in these things; the first co-op buildings in the entire country, the low maintenace is unique to Sunset Park. Mine is still run by the members, not a management company, and has this really cute interior design that's totally craftsman-inspired, and given the stained-glass windows in our hallways and beautiful hex-tile designs and other details, I'm curious if the craftsman style was original or brought in with a reno, and what other peoples experiences are with their era-co-ops. I'm starting a thread elsewhere on this subject.

Anyone know?

filmlover44 · June 2007

Can I ask how much down payment I should be begging my family for?

raedog · June 2007

Er, we did 10 percent....

craftsdweller · June 2007

My board only required 10 percent, but I'm a first-timer, and suddenly, during the home-hunting process (when I had another accepted offer out), our family matriarch, and my grandma, died. So we put in 20%. And the agent said it made a good argument for me (to the board I presume) purchase. And I believe it has bolstered my mortgage application (though I had been pre-approved).

filmlover44 · June 2007

Ah, I hope that nobody dies! I can probably (mooch) handle 10%.

raedog · June 2007

It seems that all the Finnish coops that accept mortgages are fine with 10 percent down, though obviously nobody will quibble with 20 percent down.

And I have to say that, to me, these apartments seem to be among the best real estate deals in the city....

filmlover44 · June 2007

What kind of maintenance are people paying in the Finnish coops and (as asked above) what kind of interview process?

craftsdweller · June 2007

$243 maint, with assessments as repairs are needed. My interview hasn't happened yet, but I'll let you know. They all seemed nice, and I needed 3 references, evidence from my bank accounts, four tax returns, and proof of a reserve fund.

raedog · June 2007

$321 in maintenance, with oil assessments, etc., as needs arise. Most of these buildings operate on a very low budget, as far as I can tell, often without large reserves in the bank; in fact, our coop keeps the hallway lights off till dusk (with a small exception by the mailboxes, etc.) to keep costs down. Interview was incredibly low-key, relaxed. We also had to provide bank statements, tax returns, and references. The board mainly seemed interested in knowing if we were nice folks who could pay our bills. One thing you should know when considering a Finnish coop: You don't get shares in some of them (as you would in, say, a place that went coop in the 1980s)--or if you do, you get one share, same as everybody else. We got a "bill of sale" when we purchased our place, rather than a proprietary lease, etc. And no shares. Just a "membership," which is fine by us, but might be offputting to people more familiar with the way most New York coops work, with shares determined by apartment size (my husband and I were first-time buyers).

filmlover44 · June 2007

Ok. Good information. How much of a reserve are they looking for.

prices of apartments in Sunset Park?

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