A'ight, so let me try to clarify some things, as someone who is, dare I say, buying one of these apartments:
1. They absolutely do not require all cash. I assure you. I am not paying in cash.
2. Wells Fargo has agreed to finance the units, which gives some assurance that they will appraise them in a manner consistent with the pricing. No, they don't guarantee to approve each and every buyer. Alas, we have returned to a credit market in which you need, well... good credit to get a mortgage from Wells. Go figure. But everyone in contract has been approved, and certainly I, for one, am a regular working person.
3. LTV requirements changed everywhere this month, based on moves from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and none of that has anything to do with this building.
3. The conversion is non-eviction. That doesn't mean it's not contributing to gentrification. Of course it is. And as a lifelong bklynite that has seen many a neighborhood go to the dogs via gentrification, I have incredibly mixed feelings about this happening, let alone being part of it.
We could use a whole nother thread on how to keep Sunset Park economically and culturally diverse through the next generation. Perhaps if there had been greater mindfulness about maintaining and cherishing history and diversity (including economic diversity) in other Brooklyn neighborhoods, we would be living in a different kind of town.
A'ight, so let me try to clarify some things, as someone who is, dare I say, buying one of these apartments:
1. They absolutely do not require all cash. I assure you. I am not paying in cash.
2. Wells Fargo has agreed to finance the units, which gives some assurance that they will appraise them in a manner consistent with the pricing. No, they don't guarantee to approve each and every buyer. Alas, we have returned to a credit market in which you need, well... good credit to get a mortgage from Wells. Go figure. But everyone in contract has been approved, and certainly I, for one, am a regular working person.
3. LTV requirements changed everywhere this month, based on moves from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and none of that has anything to do with this building.
3. The conversion is non-eviction. That doesn't mean it's not contributing to gentrification. Of course it is. And as a lifelong bklynite that has seen many a neighborhood go to the dogs via gentrification, I have incredibly mixed feelings about this happening, let alone being part of it.
We could use a whole nother thread on how to keep Sunset Park economically and culturally diverse through the next generation. Perhaps if there had been greater mindfulness about maintaining and cherishing history and diversity (including economic diversity) in other Brooklyn neighborhoods, we would be living in a different kind of town.
Posted by: 3rdgenbklynite at February 14, 2009 11:01 AM in response to Checking In On One Sunset Park