DOB OK's the Argyle
‘Tis the season of TCO’s, it seems: A reader tipped us off to the fact that the Argyle, the 60-unit condo on the corner of 4th Avenue and 7th Street, got its temporary certificate of occupancy last week. Closings are slated to start this week. Corcoran’s listings page for the building shows 12 units still…
‘Tis the season of TCO’s, it seems: A reader tipped us off to the fact that the Argyle, the 60-unit condo on the corner of 4th Avenue and 7th Street, got its temporary certificate of occupancy last week. Closings are slated to start this week. Corcoran’s listings page for the building shows 12 units still for sale, with prices ranging from $459,000 for a one-bedroom to $965,000 for a three-bedroom.
Argyle Listings [Corcoran]
The Argyle Unveiled [Brownstoner] GMAP
All hope is gone. THIS is the finished product. A horrible baby blue stucco finish. A bizarre configuration with a walkway between two separate buildings. One elevator. Two new projects going up across 4th Avenue – there goes any possible view of the Slope and the park. I would get to get out of my deposit based on the fact that I am receiving something entirely different than what was promised in the glossy brochure and sales office. If not, leave it and rent – you won’t be getting out from under for at least 5 years – and the tax abatement might not even be in place by then. RUN!!!!
Don’t forget that closing probably means putting a bunch more money into an underwater asset. Let’s say you have put down $80k on an $800k unit. The bank will want you to put in at least another $80k to close. And as of closing your equity may very well be zero. Why let another $80k boil away into space? That’s throwing good money after bad.
“Well I already lost $80k of my net worth on this trade. What the hell, why not lose it all?”
But what if they can’t get mortgages…their downpayment no longer represents 20% of the value of condo. If there were mortgage contingencies, it is an easy way out. If not, alot of people could be out of their downpayments. But the bottom line is, in this environment, as others have mentioned above, in contract is very far from actually closing. I will be amazed if this building is 70% closed
In this economy I can’t see many folks saying ‘screw it’ to a sizeable deposit like that. If I were them, I’d just take my lumps now, close, and wait for the eventual turn-around in the market. Real estate prices may be now or soon will be in the toilet, but they wont’ stay there forever.
It will be interesting to see how many do walk away. Theoretically I agree that this place should be in trouble. But how many 800k apartment buyers can afford to just give up 80k? This would seem to be something of a sweetspot where the dollar deposits are pretty serious money, but not so much that people putting it down can likely afford to lose it without it affecting their lifestyle.
I would be crying fat hot tears if I had put my life savings for a deposit there. What will these people do? I can’t imagine many people would walk away from $60,000, if that represents 50% or more of their liquid assets.
I know they have been pre-marketing for a couple years, but if you signed a contract for this place in 2007 you are easily 20% underwater at this point. I don’t know what kind of deposits people have been putting down, but I can see a lot of them deciding to walk away and forfeit the deposit. Every one of those signed contracts is a possible closing. Not even a likely closing. Just a possibility that someone will not walk away from their deposit.
Let’s say 70% of the units are actually under contract. How many are actually going to close, 35% if they are really lucky? If you’re one of the people who close you have all of the risk of the remaining units being dumped onto the market at lower and lower prices, going rental, developer going under, etc etc.
Are they actually ready to move people in? Seems unlikely. I bet they keep people waiting on the hook for months like Novo did.
To follow up on Lechecal’s statement that this place is not 70% sold: Is it possible that they are claiming 70% of the units released for sale have been sold and not 70% of all units in the building are sold? Or, have they all now been released for sale? I know they did presales at the now closed 5th Ave location, but maybe some weren’t released yet? I honestly don’t know, just asking.