Renting 1 BBP: 'We Would Like Things to be Different'
This weekend’s cover story in the real estate section of the Times is about Brooklyn developers who have started renting units in their condos, with a focus on the hybrid-ization of One Brooklyn Bridge Park, where developer RAL recently began renting some of the unsold inventory. First, the stats: There have been 77 closings at…
This weekend’s cover story in the real estate section of the Times is about Brooklyn developers who have started renting units in their condos, with a focus on the hybrid-ization of One Brooklyn Bridge Park, where developer RAL recently began renting some of the unsold inventory. First, the stats: There have been 77 closings at the building and 26 other units are in contract, leaving 300-some-odd vacancies; for now, RAL is only renting 20 units, and five one-year leases have been inked. Then, there’s the commentary from RAL president Robert Levine, who says stuff like, “This building is not a rental building, it is a condominium,” and “We would like things to be different,” and “We had a vision and it turned out to be exactly what we wanted. And then the world fell apart.” (On this last quote, it’s worth noting that 1BBP went on sale almost a year and a half before “the world fell apart” last September.) Anyhow, the bigger questions the article addresses are, how much of a stigma is it for a condo to rent some units out, and to what extent—if at all—does it push down values? On the first question, an Elliman broker says, “if you start to rent 25 percent of the building or more, it takes on the flavor of a rental,” and on the second question, appraiser-guru Jonathan Miller says that “In the long run, there’s no impairment to value.”
Renters to the Rescue [NY Times]
Rentals, Price Cuts and Loan Extension at 1BBP [Brownstoner]
this might sound strange, but owners tend to have more cockroaches than renters. i remember reading that somewhere on an exterminator blog.
*rob *
crimsonson- Don’t try to blow it up into a What and the n-word controversy. I was making a semantic comparison- which I stated. If you want to make it something else, I’m sure the What will be happy to play with you.
As for your last sentence- it’s meaningless. Care to rewrite?
sith (hmmmm- I kinda like the scifi flavor of that :-), I am a good tenant. And I understand the distinction you are making, which can make sense. But most others make no distinction.
Bxgrl –
you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Your comparison’s point IS about race and ethnicity. If not why not choose another – like left handed vs right handed, actors vs writers, pie vs cake. You wanted the emotional impact and gravitas but you wanted to qualify it. It does not work that way.
Yeah – we don’t like statistics until it works against us.
Jeez – everyone’s panties are sure in a bunch. Who cares?
Also, again, this is not about long-term renters, who by choice or situation do not own, but rent. This is, primarily, about transient renters who are renting an apartment for a few years. Not about a family that has been renting a 5-room apartment on the Grand Concourse or a couple who has been in their Greenwich Villiage rent control since 1975. This is about the professional that moves to NY and rents in a place like 1 BBP for a few years until they buy or move somewhere else. Clearly, there may be differences in how the two groups would treat their apartments.
Yes, Bxgrl, you are being a bit defensive. Again, many renters are wonderful tenants who treat their aparments as if they owned them. But thats because those are generally orderly, mature, responsible people in general. When I rented I was that way, partially because I wanted to make my space as nice and habitable as possible (and partailly because I wanted my deposit back :)). But my tenant neighbors didnt all feel the same way (including the parent who didnt care that her kids messed up the floors). Its just the way it is with some transiant tenants. In the ownership situation, my owner neighbors were ALL very mindful of the value of the building and their own apartments (maybe too mindful, they talked about it way too much) and were very careful to maintain that value. Just a different mindset.
I am sure you have been a wonderful and mindful tenant. Many others, not aso much.
crimsonson- you obviously didn’t read what I said so let me repeat it for you: “Try substituting African American or Jew in there, and then Whites. And no- I am not saying anything about racism- I’m just deconstructing the sentence so you can see how it really reads”
Is that simple enough for you. And you’re damn right I’m defensive- stereotyping and snobbery always make me defensive because they are so offensive. (Spare me the statistics argument- anyone with 5 brain cells knows how easy it is to manipulate stats to make a point. And insurance companies? If you think they haven’t crunched and shoved around a few numbers there’s a bridge I can sell you).
It costs about twice to own as what it costs to rent. Any snobbery on the part of property-owners probably just comes down to the math — those poor owners are a wee bit defensive.