When Condo Investments Go Bad: Toy Factory Loft Edition
You know what sucks? When the condo you just bought sees all manner of water damage after it rains. It also sucks when a new development rises right next door to your condo, obstructing views. Both happened to a guy named Philip Henn, according to a story in the Eagle, after he bought a unit…
You know what sucks? When the condo you just bought sees all manner of water damage after it rains. It also sucks when a new development rises right next door to your condo, obstructing views. Both happened to a guy named Philip Henn, according to a story in the Eagle, after he bought a unit at Downtown’s Toy Factory Lofts in ’05. Henn, a Corcoran broker, is now suing Toy Factory developer Winchester Realty Group, alleging that the Toy Factory building isn’t waterproof. Henn is also angry that Avalon Bay’s 42-story tower is rising right next door to the Toy Factory, since the condo’s great views were one of its main selling points. It’s a little difficult to feel sorry for Henn, though, since the Toy Factory sponsor offered to buy his unit back at cost and the condo’s offering plan said the building’s views might one day be obstructed. Nevertheless, we’re sure it’s not out of the ordinary for condo buyers to be confronted with a lot of unforeseen surprises after they move in because of all the fine print in offering plans. Any readers have similar tales of woe?
Nightmare on Johnson Street [Brooklyn Eagle]
Photo by Scott Bintner for Property Shark.
110 livingston has not “gone rental.” some units are rented out by the sponsor and owners. prices are up 15%.
curbed and brownstoner have become nothing but schadenfreude at misinformation.
An old pre-war building gets re-purposed for residential and ends up being a leaky mess.
Could it be that it isnt just “new construction” that has issues?
regardless of type of project – get your place inspected!
anyway, it is possibly to work with the board and the management company to get results.
to say that this is indicative of just a condo development is silly. my old boss had massive damage in his renovated pre-war coop and both me and my friend in PS, have had severe, i mean severe, water damage from overflowing sewers into our houses. this is so tough because you end up just pumping it to the street where it re-enters the sewer system and just comes right back up through your floor. Roofs, gutters and cracks are easier to repair because you can control it more.
if you go to look at a building and see that the basement is empty, probably means that they have flooding and can’t store anything there.
personally, i get super annoyed when the city spends money on projects like washington sq park and the highline, but can’t get it together to fix infrastructure like the sewer system.
somebody put a fork in this douche…
wow–I love the internet.
i hope curbed picks this up…
Just desserts for Mr. Henn…
I was one of the few kids on my block who didn’t think George and Weezy made a smart choice by selling their single family home for deluxe apartment in the sky. But I guess if was on the market today it would go for a pretty penny.
Take a look at the listings on StreetEasy:
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/building/176-johnson-street-brooklyn
There is one studio listed for $539k(!), another studio listed for $750k(!!!), and our dear Mr. Henn is representing a studio converted 2BR for $775k(LOL). The property descriptions penned by these jokers/brokers all made this place out to be the real Shangri-La. Anything for a buck I guess.
The ominous signs of a derailing Downtown revival plan are everywhere: City Tech Tower – cut, 110 Livingston – going rental, Catsimatidis – getting cold feet, Atlantic Yard – shrinking. The market top for Brooklyn Downtown has come and gone. People who bought properties in the surrounding area in the past 1-2 years may be in for a rude awakening.