Inside Third & Bond: Week 138
This week we’re hearing from Kelly & Charlie, pictured here in their soon-to-be-own kitchen. They are under contract for a 2-bed 2-bath and roof terrace. Don’t let their charming smiles fool you; they had a lot of tough questions before they signed on the dotted line! T+B: Tell us a little about yourselves? How big…
This week we’re hearing from Kelly & Charlie, pictured here in their soon-to-be-own kitchen. They are under contract for a 2-bed 2-bath and roof terrace. Don’t let their charming smiles fool you; they had a lot of tough questions before they signed on the dotted line!
T+B: Tell us a little about yourselves? How big is your family? What are your professions?
Charlie and I met the first week of freshman year of college and started dating about a week later back in 2001. We’ve been engaged since last year but it looks like we will wait on getting married until we can settle into our new home and save a bit more for a wedding. I am a Trusts and Estates attorney and Charlie is an HVAC design engineer. It’s the two of us and our two cats, Benjamin, a 7 year old Himalayan Persian, and Elvis, a 2 year old Ragdoll.
T+B: Benjamin and Elvis are going to love bird-watching out the back windows. What are your favorite things about the unit you have under contract?
There are so many things we love about our unit– the huge windows in the front with the view of the Kentile Floors sign, the open kitchen and vast counter space, the view from the bedrooms of the backyards and how quiet it will be to be away from the street, the central A/C, the quality of the appliances and fixtures, down to the button tiles in the second bathroom. We really think the reason we fell in love with the development and our unit is the attention to detail of the design team and contractors and their refusal to cut corners. We looked at so many places and saw time and again a willingness to sacrifice quality for speed and cost-savings-here you can tell that everyone involved with the project cared about the end result.
T+B: How long had you known about the project before making an offer? Did you strongly consider any other units?
We knew about the project for about a month before we made an offer. We went back a couple of times to scope out the place before making an offer because it was such a big decision and an important investment. We really liked 404 Bond Unit 3 as well, but we ultimately went with this unit because the price was better for our budget and its location on the street really appealed to us.
T+B: When you set out to find a new condo, what were your top 4 must-haves? What was one thing that you really, really hoped for but knew realistically probably wouldn’t get?
Our must haves were: (1) the neighborhood, it had to be in Cobble Hill or Carroll Gardens since we love living here so much, (2) it needed to have two bedrooms so that we would have room to grow, (3) it needed to have a smart layout, open kitchen, a true second bedroom (not a walk-in closet with a window) and (4) it needed to be over 1,000 square feet so that we wouldn’t feel crowded or that the living space was too narrow, which is our current situation in our parlor floor brownstone apartment rental. There were a couple of things we hoped for but didn’t insist on: central A/C, washer and dryer and private outdoor space, all of which we got here. We could have also tolerated a parking space but we knew that was kind of pushing it!
T+B: We’re glad Charlie didn’t have to show up at work, having bought a condo with window air conditioners. Are you from NYC originally? Is this your first real estate purchase in NYC?
Charlie grew up in Yonkers and I grew up on Long Island. We have lived in Brooklyn for a few years now and this is our first real estate purchase generally, let alone in NYC.
T+B: What do you like about this area?
It really feels like a community, there are wonderful people, fabulous restaurants, great parks and the commute to Manhattan is so easy.
T+B: Are you worried about the Gowanus Canal?
We would say that we are concerned about it, sure. You won’t find either of us swimming in it any time soon. But we have reviewed the information available and took a lot of comfort in some of things that we have seen, including a New York Times article interviewing Christos Tsiamis, the scientist from the EPA who is the project manager charged with figuring out how contaminated the Gowanus is and the best means to clean it. When he was asked what would he say if his daughters decided that they were moving near the Gowanus, he responded “[a]bsolutely. I don’t think there are any issues. I would live near the Gowanus Canal. It’s a beautiful area. I think it’s very expensive, though.”
T+B: And we didn’t even bribe him to say that. Do you think Whole Foods will ever open?
We’re not sure, but we aren’t too concerned since we have a few small markets in the immediate vicinity and Park Natural Foods (which we love) is within a few blocks of the development.
T+B: How has it been getting a mortgage?
It hasn’t been too difficult, but there are a couple of restrictions on lending for new developments that have slowed the closing process. One of the big ones is that 51% of the units are required to be in contract before the bank will release the funds. [T+B: 51% is the requirement for Fannie Mae backed loans. Third + Bond is also approved for FHA loans which can close when 30% of the units are in contract.] We think the best thing you can do is find a broker you are comfortable with so that you can ask all your questions since it can be such an intimidating process. Our mortgage broker, Tim Goss from Wells Fargo, has been terrific and we think that has made all the difference.
T+B: Be honest, how important in your decision-making was Third + Bond’s commitment to being green?
It was very important to the both of us. It really set this development apart from any other units we have looked at. The LEED certification process helps identify that the building’s developer and design team made design considerations that will ultimately help us to minimize our energy and water use while ensuring a healthier indoor environment for years to come. Charlie is a LEED Accredited Professional and I can pretty safely say that you have never seen anyone get as excited about a dual flush toilet.
T+B: How did you hear about Third + Bond?
Streeteasy.com
T+B: When in your buying process did you learn about our postings on Brownstoner? Did they have any impact on you (like you secretly posted mean things during negotiation and now only post nice things)?
After we visited the first open house. I read the blog regularly now and any time I start to read the comments Charlie yells at me to stop because I tend to get upset when anyone says anything negative about our new home.
T+B: If there was one thing about how we developed T+B that you’d have wanted us to do differently, what would it be?
Bike storage. We wouldn’t mind some parking spots, but we could definitely use central bike storage.
T+B: Maybe we shouldn’t tell you that we had bike storage planned for each building, but the storage was lost to competing needs. We’re looking into nice sidewalk racks though. Do you have your eye on any particular new furniture to fit out your new castle in the sky?
We are planning on refurbishing my grandmother’s dining room table, which we never had the space for before. We are also planning to buy some pieces from Copeland, which uses sustainably harvested hardwoods from the American Northern Forest and is Forest Stewardship Council certified.
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Inside Third & Bond: Weeks 1-134 [Brownstoner]
Our legal fine print: The complete offering terms are in an Offering Plan available from Sponsor. File No. CD080490. Sponsor: Hudson Third LLC, 826 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.
Grand Pa;
Philosophically I agree with you 1000%. If it were up to me, the Federal Goverment would stop distorting the housing market with its myriad subsidies, including the mortgage interest deduction.
Having said that, I can see the rationale for the FHA stepping into the crisis at this time. The housing industry had grown to a disproportionate percentage of the US economy. To suddenly withdraw all life-support might have sent the economy into a deeper abyss.
“A lot of misinformation is thrown about and I’m trying to set the record straight.”
Most of it is hype and propaganda about the recovery that never was. We are in the beginning stages of a global deflationary collapse and depression.
***Bid half off peak comps***
“FHA loans have an upfront insurance premium of 2.25% of the loan amount plus an annual premium of .55% for the first 5 years. These people pay a premium to get FHA loans not subsidies.”
Doesn’t matter, Adam. It’s still leverage. These premiums effectively bring the downpayment up to only 5 or 6%. That is not responsible lending. Income can be middle class but it’s still risky. The bear market still has another -37.5% to go. Some of these buyers (not necessarily this couple and not necessarily this development) will be swimming away in the years to come at only -10% drops. Can’t say when but I can say how. Fundamentals!
Responsible lending for the overwhelming majority of transactions is 20% down. Worked great for years until 2003 to date.
***Bid half off peak comps***
To state the obvious, my comment regarding the FHA is not a comment on the moral integrity of the people featured in the article. It was a comment on the general stupidity of US housing policy.
Allison- Fannie Mae is a bankrupt organization that has been bailed out by US taxpayers to to tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. In sane societies, this is known as a government subsidy. Instead of killing the Fannie Mae beast and implementing some sort of market sanity into real estate, the US government has instead continued to pour fuel on the fire.
Woodys the annual FHA mortgage insurance is actually more expensive than most conforming loans but not all depending on the exact criteria. Conforming loans also don’t have the upfront 2.25% so their mortgage insurance is not cheaper than conventional mortgage insurance.
Rob- One of the posters did state that they were for low income people.
“And sorry, but just because your low income doesn’t mean you should be able to purchase a home with 3.5% down. All that does is help drive up the prices.”
I’m not debating the pros and cons of FHA programs. I can go on and on with my grips about the mortgage banking industry and Fed subsidies. I’m just trying to provide people with accurate information. A lot of misinformation is thrown about and I’m trying to set the record straight.
Wow! Record thread for 3rd/Bond? (buyer pic = 1,000+ words?) Got too “quiet” in here? A little shock treatment to steer traffic from the more popular corridors of brownstoner?
Upwards of 700 grand for a 2/2 a block from a superfund site. But I guess a young lawyer and engineer are raking in at least 700/3 = 233 grand/year, even in this economy, and can sustain it. And this unit would easily rent for 700/10/12 = 5 to 6 grand/mo.
Comps will crash and burn before “Venezia” arrives. The FHA status (only 3.5% down, only 30% min inked) speaks volumes about the outrageous pricing (as alluded to by the EPA PM).
FHA is not intended to help out first time buyers (doesn’t help most of them at all as prices are sure to drop more than 3.5% going forward). It’s a conduit to a taxpayer bailout for the banks/developers (yes, we will be forced to bail out FHA in the near future – it has been a disaster!).
Double flush – ha! Yeah, this green/LEED shit is bullshit. Some of it is useful but most of it is hype and part of a larger scheme to blow a new asset bubble. Not that I rule out speculating in it.
But I respect this couple for the expose’. And I have always respected “T + B” for their construction transparency. Can the same transparency be found in contract and closed sale price data before ACRIS?
***Bid half off peak comps***
When I see all that grout in the kitchen backsplash all I see is grease settling in and having a hard time cleaning it.
Love the shortsighted reasoning of the critics of the FHA/Fannie Mae financing, particularly the gripes of those who say that taxpayers who ‘t afford a 3.5% down payment have to subsidize a buyer who can.
I guess they would argue that we should just do away with these programs, but unfortunately this would lead to lower home prices since finance would be less available and more expensive. Maybe these critics forget that property taxes are one of the major ways the city fills its coffers. If we cut the programs and allow property prices to fall, the city tax revenues fall as well. And guess who gets hurt the most from falling tax revenues? Exactly – the lower income people that the critics of these programs claim to defend.
“FHA loans have an upfront insurance premium of 2.25% of the loan amount plus an annual premium of .55% for the first 5 years. These people pay a premium to get FHA loans not subsidies.”
No they get cheap mortgage insurance basically–still a subsidy. We’ll find out over time how much the taxpayer is subsidizing it as losses develop, and I’d say the over is probably a good bet.