Co-op of the Day: 224 Henry Street, #2AB

I visited this one at the open house. The apartment is a beautiful jewelbox full of high-design features, and it was staged extremely well.

1) No way is this 25x50. That's the _EXTERIOR_ floor plan. Subtract 100+ for external walls and another 150+ for the staircase -- your real interior square footage is probably less than 900.

2) If you could actually finance the whole thing at 6.5%, your all-in cost would be around $80k/year, or around 6.6k per month. That is at least 50% higher than rent on nearly equivalent properties.

3) The kitchen is marginally usable by two people -- hope you are both thin.

4) The baby's room is smaller than most brownstone small rooms -- I'm not sure it is even legal bedroom size.

5) The en-suite bathroom doesn't have a shower or bath, which is annoying if you are trying to take a shower.

6) There's not much storage in the apartment -- no access to the basement or yard. No package pickup, etc.

So the only realistic use of this is either couple with 0-1 kids for a limited period of time, or an older single/couple.

The price chopper cometh.

I can verify that the basket weave pattern is quite cool, and still in very good condition. Veterans of many condo visits will note that this still has white appliances and a white kitchen, and that the granite is black/dark green and not custom edged. Likewise, the floor-to-ceiling cabinets maximize use of the space.

In my mind, the issue is how much to pay for something like this -- 6600/month for a medium size walkup apartment in a pretty but non-descript building requires a buyer who values snazz over space. But at that price (and maintenance), you could get a condo in a doorman building with even newer, snazzier features and on a less-busy street.

Or put another way: the renovation was very expensive because the guts of a 19th century brownstone had to be replaced. But the same quality can and has been built much less expensively in new construction condos. So the question is how much to pay the current owners in a market where there's plenty of similar supply.

Maybe someone is dumb enough or rich enough to buy it at ask, but long-term, I don't think it will appreciate at the rate that cheaper PPSF apartments will.

CGer: Try looking for rentals. Basically, if you think that granite and fancier appliances are worth an extra $100/day, go for it. You could live in a hotel room for less.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/fee/1591774757.html
(2500)

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/1592868927.html
(3400)

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/1590215245.html
($2200)