Adding it Up: Suit Over Condo Square Footage
The Times brings word of a long-running legal battle between Rishi Bhandari, who went into contract for a unit in 110 Livingston four years ago, and developer Two Trees over allegations that the developer’s claims about the square footage of the living spaces in the unit Bhandari and his fiancée were looking to buy were…
The Times brings word of a long-running legal battle between Rishi Bhandari, who went into contract for a unit in 110 Livingston four years ago, and developer Two Trees over allegations that the developer’s claims about the square footage of the living spaces in the unit Bhandari and his fiancée were looking to buy were “deceptive.” The whole story is juicy, as Two Trees has “countersued Mr. Bhandari, claiming he breached the purchase contract because it granted him only two options in the event of a dispute over the size: close at the agreed-upon price of $795,000 or take back his deposit and walk away.” But Bhandari, a lawyer, is a man on a mission: “[He originally] wanted the price of his apartment reduced by the size of the discrepancy — or by what an appraiser calculated to be about $111,000. The developer refused, offering to return his deposit, $79,500, plus interest, and to let him walk away. Mr. Bhandari sued, claiming the plans were deceptive. Real estate lawyers say it is extremely rare for such disputes to go to trial, but [today], that is exactly what will happen when the case of the missing 109 square feet begins in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. ‘What they did was totally wrong,’ Mr. Bhandari said in an interview. ‘We’re trying to do whatever we can so that it’s a level playing field.” In the meantime, a rep for Two Trees says that the court has dismissed some of Bhandari’s other claims, such as “breach of contract.”
Dispute Shines Light on How Homes Are Measured [NY Times]
Photo by xymox.
Agree with johnife. Most of the posters here are missing the point of this lawsuit. For too long, brokers and developers have been able to put out BS advertisements for properties with little threat when their lies are exposed.
I remember distinctly when I moved here 6 years ago trying to find a two bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Nearly all of the ‘2’ bedrooms were really just one bedrooms where a pressure wall had been slapped up to divide the living room (and sometime the wall wasn’t even up yet, the broker would just say ‘oh you COULD put up a wall here’).
Or they lie about about the location (I’m sorry but just as 125th is NOT the Upper East Side, Beford Ave is NOT Prospect Heights).
Our current place is listed as 1600sq ft. We love it, but the developer lied through his teeth to get that measurement. It is probably closer to 1300.
I say “good for him”. Overstating square footage, though endemic in NYC property listings, is not universal. We recently bought an apartment at be@Schermerhorn to get our son out of the house and I was very pleasantly surprised to see that all the apartments we considered were virtually exactly the size listed in the offering plan. Sure the guy is trying it on with the damages suit, but I applaud him for attempting to cause violators of pretty simple rules of thumb (if not, alas, actual rules or laws) some heartache.
NYGuy7, my thoughts exactly.
It’s weird. He liked the building so much that he even ran (unsuccessfully) for a seat on the condo board before he filed the lawsuit (but well after he had at least three visits to verify the floorplan measurements).
Of course, it probably isn’t a surprise that the reduction he asked for would put the purchase price more in line with the original offering plan than the higher, amended price he agreed to.
so…. how is the trial going?
He must really want that apartment but at a cheaper price to go through all of this when he could have just walked away with his money.
Good grief.
We purchased our units based on floorplans that stated not only square footage but also listed very precise measurements of all the major room dimensions.
We all had MULTIPLE opportunities to check out our apartments during the construction phase and verify the measurements. My particular unit was within an inch or two of the dimensions given on the floorplan. I can’t say with any certainty that it all adds up to the stated sq/ft, but I knew precisely how large my bedrooms, living room, and kitchen was going to be. Every single purchaser knew just how large (or small) the rooms were going to be.
This is the epitome of a nuisance suit.
Everyone lies about apartment sizes, and it does suck.
However, this asshole signed a contract that clearly listed his rights in case of a dispute over size, and the company is honoring that clause in the contract.
Funny to imagine that there’s someone who lives in the City who pretends not to know that square footage is always overstated.
funny thing is that there is a big time tennant agitator in my two trees-managed rental building and they are referencing this article on flyers to try and convince everyone in the building that two trees are evil. instead of working with the mgmt company they seem obsessed with putting together a lawsuit. i’ll bet they are connected to this guy bhandari’s law firm in some way.