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October 4, 2005
Checking In on the Washington Condos
We stopped by to check in on the progress at the Washington Condos last weekend. Far from finished, the development was frankly a bit of a letdown after viewing the slick homepage and hearing positive comments from Set Speed's ltjbukem. Maybe it's the corner location on a wide street, but the scale of the building didn't bother us. Whether or not the finished product is to our specific liking, the creation of a reasonably high-end condo in this location will certainly be good for the immediate neighborhood. By the way, Set Speed just posted a photo of a kitchen being assembled.
Homepage [The Washington Condos]
Are All New Developments Ugly? [Brownstoner]
Comments
agreed that it's not the most beautiful thing out there. but it does look a bit unique w/ its jagged edges. let's hope the finished product looks as good as the snazzy website. but in this day and age of website designers, waht looks good in photoshop, java and flash may not carry thru to the finished product.
i think they did skimp a bit on the windows and the balconies, w/ its' cheap railings, etc.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 4, 2005 11:07 AM
I for one love this project and can't wait to move in. The railings are custom, something you rarely find and thatls far from cheap.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 4, 2005 2:26 PM
really, they're custom? do tell more. i had no idea...
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 4, 2005 2:31 PM
those look like the same kitchen cabinets we have at Boulevard East - except ours are maple! best of luck moving in you guys - it will be worth the wait.
Posted by: i own a condo at October 4, 2005 3:17 PM
I just cheked out the website, they did a really great job. I hope they have an open house, looks like the most interesting building on the market.
Posted by: Alex at October 4, 2005 4:04 PM
i think there are a lot of interesting new condos out there, like park place on flatbush, j condo in dumbo, 85 adams, etc.
we'll wait til the open house comes, if it ever does. even park place, which was started long after the washington, has a model unit already in the sales office. i guess when you're backed by corcoran, you get these types of value-added things.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 5, 2005 9:50 AM
To the last comment, Corcoran really does mean a whole lot. The carlton ave condos are stalled out so is 85 Adams, and it seems that after being on the market for 3 weeks the carriage house isn't moving anywhere. So for a project like the washington to sell over 2/3 of the units with a word of mouth campaign seems pretty fantastic. I gotta give it up to A&H.
Posted by: Alexis at October 5, 2005 3:19 PM
u mean it *doesn't* mean a whole lot if a project is backed by corcoran, right? i think that's what you meant.
well, i'm not sure if 2/3 of the units being sold is due to a&h or not. although this edge of prospect heights is quite a different area than park slope or ft greene, the washington really does represent value in this overhyped, overpriced market. you're getting stuff for less than $500 a square foot at the washington, even after this third amendment. at the other places, you're paying $600-750 a square foot.
ppl are banking on this corner of proho to quickly improve over the next few years, the ratner thing notwithstanding. it's really not much worse than south slope, if at all. imo.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 5, 2005 3:42 PM
The kitchen looks cheap. If your kitchen inventory consists of 10 glasses this might be enough of a kitchen, but otherwise, you need to throw out the kitchen and put in a different one. I don't understand who the people buying this stuff are.
Posted by: Anon at October 5, 2005 4:49 PM
ppl who are poor and can't afford dumbo or pk slope are buying this cheap kitchen. btw, it's a chef's kitchen. not a kitchenette or a galley kitchen. so it is a bit bigger than most.
i have no idea how large your kitchen is, but 10 glasses is exaggerating a bit much.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 5, 2005 5:14 PM
Are you kidding me, I don't think you have any idea of the Kitchens developers are putting in. This kitchen has more cabinets and space than any kitchen
I have seen lately. Compare these to the Carriage House condos these are much better quality.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 5, 2005 6:54 PM
To Lt, your not sure if its due to A&H selling out the project what else would it be due to? Its interesting that when the smaller of the large firms sells something or has a project people have something negative to say. Who sold the building the n? They sold me my unit at city view and they sold the building out in like 3 weeks the same with the park pavillion. Corcoran can't even finish selling the green house. Gimme a break I think your wife works for Corcoran.
Posted by: Chris at October 5, 2005 7:01 PM
When I first got my offering plan I thought the units were way over-priced for the area. I saw something through corcoran on 20th st which was like $500 a/foot. I paid roughly $540 a/foot for my unit at the Washington, and actually the Kitchens were one of my main draws to the project, as well as the underground parking and the gym. I don't think anyone ever thought they would get the prices their geting now, my broker is atually a friend of mine but I think A&H did a really outstanding job. I mean they convinced me to buy from plans, I think that's a real testament to them...
Posted by: Anonymous at October 5, 2005 7:09 PM
A&H does as good if not better job of selling and marketing condos than Corcoran. Corcoran can't even sell the units they have had on the Market for over a year!!!
Posted by: Anonymous at October 5, 2005 11:47 PM
chris, nope, wife doesn't work for corcoran. i think the only ppl who buy apts after seeing a model apt, either 1. has a lot of money (doesn't need to get in on first offering via floor plans), 2. is a new buyer or 3. got in late in the game.
for the rest of us hard-working folks who can't afford anything, you pretty much have to go off of floor plans and believe me a&h didn't have to convince me of much. my parsimonious self saw those prices and jumped at it. in fact, they didn't do good enough of a job marketing it. as soon as i put down my 10%, they threw me to the side. remember, they're just trying to sell the units. once the chase is over, they could care less.
to answer your question, who sold it then? the answer is: THE APTS SOLD THEMSELVES. this was in nov 2004. the market was red hot. you can even argue it still is now for new condos that are priced well.
and to anon at 11:47: when i say backed by corcoran, i mean they are backed by their huge advertising/marketing budget. they can afford to hire some poor schmuck to throw up a website real quick. a&h didn't do this. they advertised the apts twice in dec 2004, i think and i haven't seen a thing since. until they put up the banner on the building. in fact, you can even argue that my el-cheapo blog did more to hype it than they did.
PLUS let's remember there are still 11 units left over at the washington. that's 28%. greene house has 7 units out of 27- that's 26% left over. granted, greene house has been on the market a lot longer. but time will tell if a&h can sell out the other 11..don't give them props that fast. they haven't advertised in print or had an open house or have a model unit ready.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 6, 2005 9:03 AM
a&h have got to be the worst agents around. I bought at the Washington despite the agents' infighting, lack of knowledge, and general lack of help mainly because of the price and location of the building. In a year from now, people won't believe how cheap it was to get a three bedroom apt. ( which is not generaly easy to get anyway) back in 2004 at this place.
I don't even bother calling A&H anymore because I know they basically know nothing and to a large degree, don't care once the contract has been signed.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 6, 2005 1:44 PM
a year from now they'll be surprised? they're surprised now...
good call on the a&h analysis. i'm glad you wrote it. i don't know how many more times my ego will take being called an idiot or that my spouse works for corcoran..ouch!
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 6, 2005 2:02 PM
a year from now they'll be surprised? they're surprised now...
good call on the a&h analysis. i'm glad you wrote it. i don't know how many more times my ego will take being called an idiot or that my spouse works for corcoran..ouch! ...i guess working for corcoran is better than working for a&h. at least at corcoran, they require a college degree...
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 6, 2005 2:02 PM
Its always the same people who have something negative to say about A&H. There is such thing as strategy to advertising, and the best way to market a property is not just ads in the NY times or a model apartment, I think its ingenious the way they sold those units. And please its Washington Ave not 7th Avenue so the fact the you bought there at all is purely based on speculation and nothing concrete. You paid a pretty penny for that location, you both seemed very misinformed....
Posted by: Anonymous at October 6, 2005 2:33 PM
anon, who said anything about 7th ave? we all know it's on washington ave. it's based on speculation b/c there were no model units? or it's based on speculation b/c you think we thought it was on 7th ave?
if we're so misinformed, then please do tell us all you know. i'm starving for info on this project. all i know is onehansonplace.com ..what do you know???
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 6, 2005 2:44 PM
www.thewashingtoncondos.com
You keep mentioning poor?? Are you implying that people who have 50-70K to put a 10 percent down payment on a condo are poor? You're even more jaded than I thought. Don't you have anything better to do with your time?? Don't poor people work?
Posted by: Geez at October 6, 2005 9:58 PM
poor in a relative sense, ie can't afford the $100k+ to put down for an apt in dumbo or park slope.
believe it or not, on the scarano site, the washington used to be under the heading of 'affordable housing'. i kid you not.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 6, 2005 10:14 PM
I am very confused...LT, u are arguing both sides!! Is someone else logging in under ur name? I had the same experience w/ A&H. They in no way shape or form sold me this apartment. I was taken there by a competing broker. When I saw the floorplans and the prices (400/ft), I had no choice but to buy. A&H are the most incompetent retards out there. If they had been marketing the building the way they should have been, it would be sold out right now, especially at the early prices. Ingenious marketing, u say? Try luck of being in the business in the middle of the hottest housing market EVER!! I have no gripes with the building, though. I have been there 6-8 times and they are doing an excellent job. I am resigned to not moving in till Dec 05, at the earliest. But that's fine, cause the place is going to look fantastic. One question. The smaller building on Underhill is noticably farther along then the one on Washington. Can one building get a certificate of occupancy when the other is not done. ANyone have any idea?
Posted by: Big Bald Man at October 7, 2005 12:11 AM
If one goes by the office of A&H on 7th. , there isn't even a sign in the window that says anything about The Washington. I found out from word of mouth and realizing that at 400 to 500 per foot, it was a steal considering that the basic builders costs are about 300 per foot. Considering how long this thing is taking, it might be even more. I didn't even realize how close this project was to the C train across Atlantic, always focusing on the propect heights/park slope side of the world. That fact alone bounced the buildings' value up in my mind (duh!).
Anyway, A&H, has done nothing for me. If this was being marketed by the Developers Group, it would have been sold out by now for sure considering how they can market properities in much worse locations (the Spencer, etc.).
I would like to see this project sold out at this point but it will happen in time. Probably when they finally get the front corner of the building assembled and the green tiles applied. People have a hard time visualizing and that can work to benefit of the early buyers. Luckily for A&H, there are a number of visionaries out there who can look past the early stages of construction and the ineptitudes of bad real estate agents.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 7, 2005 8:39 AM
the a&h website, www.ahrlty.com doesn't even have any teasers for the washington. they had it for the city view gardens, the park pavilion and even the one in crown heights on east new york ave, but none that mention the washington. i'm not sure what the deal is. perhaps this is part of their big plan..i do know that the penthouse units are not for sale at this point. some of those may carry a price pt of the low $1mm's.
yes, it is only 1.5 blocks from the clinton/wash train station. it is a bit further to the 7th ave train station.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 7, 2005 9:58 AM
First of all the developers group can't even sell the properties they have.. so let's not go there. Have you seen 8on8 it's been on the market for 4 weeks and not even 1 apartment is in contract. The washington has just started to market itself since the signs went up, before that it was a word of mouth pre-sales campaign. So if you got in before the 5 price amendments then good for you but the building was never officialy on the market hence no open houses or sales/model apartment or advertisments. Brokers that haven't been around longer than a few years wouldn't know this like the developers group.Except for the same two or three people that are always posting negative comments about A&H and the Washington I have yet to hear any issues with them and their marketing. They have been marketing and selling properties for over 25 years so hot or cold market they will always be around. Did you see the condos Corcoran was selling a few weeks ago for $500 a/ft on 20th st. If that's not underpriced then I don't know what is. if you look on the Washington web-site you'll see that prices are around $540-$575 a/ft and The Washington is a far inferior location. You people really have nothing better to do the same goes for the developers group broker.
Posted by: Issac at October 7, 2005 4:52 PM
If you bought through a competing broker then shouldn't they be getting information for you on the project?
Posted by: Anonymous at October 7, 2005 5:19 PM
hmmm, issac, you sound like a guy who knows something! give us some more nuggets, please.
you wouldn't be mr. fischman himself, would you?
your post makes some points that a regular joe would not know about. i think you're the developer/sponsor-- so please, let us know about the project and when buyers should expect to close.
thanks or email me at ltjbukem@gmail.com
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 7, 2005 5:50 PM
Issac, I posted at 8:39 the comments and trust me I am not a broker from the Developers Group. I am just someone who has experience with brokers and knows who are the ones with professionalism and courtesy and who are the ones who barely have time for you.
Posted by: Anonymous at October 7, 2005 5:58 PM
I didn't buy through another agent...she introduced me to the property and we went together to A&H. As for you Isaac, why are you always defending A&H? You obviously work for them. There are 4-5 people on this post who have had the same experience...No help from A&H, found the building on their own, saw the value and signed a contract. A&H did nothing to facilitate this transaction. NOTHING. I will criticize A&H all I want. Sorry our "negative" comments offend you so, but maybe you should pay attention to the fact that all ofg us had negative experiences. It is my right, no, my obligation to hold A&H to a high standard of service, both for the value our investment as well as the fact that i am a customer, and I would like to be treated like one. In what other business do people not call you back at all? Don't put up a website for something that has no other means of marketing? The fact is, whether yopu like it or not, A&H is an awful realestate agency, and all the units in the Washington have sold themselves. It sounds to me like you work for A&H AND you didn't get into the Washington early enough. Guess what? Tough shit, loser!!
Posted by: Big Bald Man at October 7, 2005 6:01 PM
big bald man, did your agent get any type of co-broke commission from a&h? i would be surprised if he/she did in a new condo situation...
issac, let us know more, PLEASE.
Posted by: ltjbukem at October 7, 2005 10:14 PM
Does anyone know if this place has gotten its certificate of occupancy yet?
Posted by: Anonymous at June 7, 2006 5:26 PM
This is a very old chat. The Washington Condo at 35 Underhill has an elected board, a permanent certificate of occupancy, tax lots, 421a tax abatement until 2023, and a non sponsor management company. It is at least 90% occupied, and has past the growing pains phase. I hope this helps anyone curious.
Posted by: UnderhillResident at April 16, 2008 3:03 PM
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