washplatformld.jpgYesterday’s cover story in the real estate section of The Times zooms in on the growing number of condo owners who say they’re being given short shrift by developers. More and more buyers are claiming that though developers have promised them the sun, moon and stars, they’re not even meeting the most pedestrian of expectations. Per the article:

Anger toward developers is coming to a head as a record number of units are nearing completion. Manhattan will have 6,444 new condominiums completed this year, compared with 1,614 in 2005, according to Halstead Development Marketing. In Brooklyn, 3,768 units should be finished this year, compared with 480 in 2005.

Some of those thousands of newbie owners are griping about issues like buildings still being under construction after they move in; developers not speedily fixing problems such as electrical or plumbing snafus; obfuscation in terms of concrete move-in dates; and, well before they’ve moved in, lack of communication when it comes to particular details regarding layouts or amenities. We include the photo above from mezzanine-gate-related problems at the Scarano-designed Washington Condo in Prospect Heights last Fall. Anything similar happen to readers recently?
Condos, Brand-New Yet Not So Perfect [NY Times]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. I bought 2 years ago into a scarano building. we’ve had consistent leaks that the builder’s GC can’t seem to fix. yes, they are unresponsive, yes they are irresponsible and yes, they are in it for the money. likely outcome: they stall for 5 years until the plan allows them to escape scott-free while we (the building) gets stuck with the bill for a total roof renovation. if you are looking to buy new, you NEED to have it inspected by someone qualified. why this city doesn’t require thorough inspections before closing is beyond me. its really sad, since a lot of honest, hardworking people are getting burned. from the non-union immigrant laborers to the buyers, the wild-west brooklyn developers are fucking us all.

  2. These are all realtors who rep new buildings posting here. The language is too formal, as someone pointed out. Also, the language is the same in all the posts but pretending to be different people.

    I’ve seen problems with my own eyes in the new, multi-million dollar condos. Things already falling apart, water leaks at windows or doors, etc. If you are considering buying one of these condos bring an inspector, and bring your “caveat emptor” attitude same as you would if you were buying a 100 year old house. Just because a building is new doesn’t mean it can’t have problems.

  3. Actually as far as I can tell I’m up over 25 percent on the second place too. So I made 150,000 on the place I flipped plus 25 percent cushion on my second place. Factor in the 15 year mortgage and I think I did pretty well.
    “Yes, you made money, but that was when the bubble was at its height, that’s not going to happen now.”