BrickUnderground

Alexander Roberts

In 2000, I moved from New Jersey to Hell's Kitchen (for the first time). Everyone raised their eyebrows when I told them that I lived there, on Ninth Avenue, because Hell's Kitchen conjured images of old Irish, drug deals and prostitution.

The truth was somewhat different. While I did live over an OTB (remember those?) and there was still a sort of sketchy element, there were also small art galleries popping up, some gay bars and some tony eateries -- all signs of the g-word: gentrification.

Within a few years, my favorite supermarket across the street from my building disappeared to make way for a high-rise luxury building. On my corner, the Alvin Ailey dance building appeared. 

In those days, I would try to avoid Tenth Avenue, especially at night because it seemed sketchy and wasn't highly trafficked because there were no popular eateries or places of business there. The few nights I did take the bus up Tenth and exit on 53rd and Tenth, the block and a half walk seemed to take forever.

wenzday01

Q.  I live in a co-op where the sponsor still owns and rents out 30% of the units.   The house rules and proprietary lease both require that all apartments be 80% carpeted, but the renter who lives above me in a sponsor-owned unit hasn't carpeted the floors, and the noise is loud and disruptive.

Do our house rules and proprietary lease apply to the sponsor's apartments?

 A.  A co-op's house rules and proprietary lease apply to sponsors, say our experts, but they frequently contain special exceptions for sponsors, who draft these documents to begin with.

Often "the governing documents afford the sponsor greater rights than other shareholders," says co-op and condo attorney Scott Greenspun of Braverman Greenspun, such as allowing the sponsor "to sell or sublet its apartments without board approval."

Photo Credit / Angela Rutherford

In a perfect real estate world, we would all transition from one apartment to another in a few seamless motions, like a cartoon Tarzan swinging from vine to vine. But even though it really is a jungle out there, swapping apartments rarely happens so smoothly, especially if you’re short on downpayment funds.

A perfect scenario could unfold like this: "Sell your apartment, live in a flex lease rental until you close on the new apartment, then move in. But there are so many factors involved that can make that scenario not happen,” says real estate agent Brad Bateman of Stribling & Associates. 

Among the reasons why wrapping up the sale of your first place might not make sense for you:  You haven't found a buyer, there is a time constraint (like moving out of your studio before the twins are born), or maybe there is a deal too good to pass up.

When you already own an apartment, your first challenge is likely scraping together the downpayment. Then you'll need to get approved by the board (mostly a co-op issue) and get approved for financing if you're taking out a mortgage.

This $995k two-bedroom Park Slope condo has a home office, second bathroom, washer-dryer and extremely low carrying charges.

It was a Brooklyn weekend again.

Homes in the city's most populous borough—from Brooklyn Heights to Prospect Heights—dominated the latest Open House Scorecard, which ranks the ten open houses most frequently saved on StreetEasy this past weekend.

Brooklyn prices on this weekend's Scorecard ranged from $599k for both a two-bedroom Clinton Hill condo and a two-bedroom Prospect Heights co-op, to $995k for the two-bedroom Park Slope condo pictured at left.

The $995k Park Slope condo, at 27 Saint John's Place, has two bedrooms plus a guest suite and two bathrooms, ductless a/c system, washer/dryer, balcony--and incredibly low carrying costs of around $300/month.