Done Deals

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

EAST MIDTOWN


240 E. 55th St.
Two co-op studios


Asking price: $380,000
Selling price: $392,000


Asking price: $400,000
Selling price $435,000


STUDIO CITY


These units may both be studios, but don’t tell that to the buyers. The college student whose parents bought the larger apartment wants to convert it into a one-bedroom.


He’s currently living in a dorm, so he’ll rent out the studio until graduation. And the woman who bought the smaller unit will make it a two-bedroom until her teenage daughter goes to college. Conversion shouldn’t be difficult, because the studio has an alcove, and both of the bedrooms will have windows.


“The whole building is alcove studios except for the top two floors, so it’s great for a first-time buyer,” a Dwelling Quest broker, Stefani Pace, said. The studios are larger than normal because it’s an older building, built in 1959, Ms. Pace said. “In the new buildings, really the one-bedrooms are the same size as these alcove studios.”


Ms. Pace represented the sellers of both studios, and the buyer of the larger unit. Chris Caruso, also of Dwelling Quest, represented the other buyer.


WEST VILLAGE


175 W. 13th St.
Three-bedroom co-op
Asking price: $1.35 million
Selling price: $1.36 million
Time on market: 7 months


CASE OF THE NERVES


The couple who bought this three-bedroom had been living in a nearby ground-floor rental for 25 years.


“They were first-time buyers, and they were very, very nervous,” the JC DeNiro broker who represented them, Danielle Sevier, said. The series of disasters that hampered the sale didn’t sooth their nerves.


The buyers, who had two young children, were living in an apartment below college students whose lives started at 11 p.m. They needed to escape, and settled on this apartment after months of searching even though it wasn’t their favorite.


But the troubles began once they had already agreed to the sale. While performing due diligence, their lawyer learned of a leak that had flooded the apartment and affected the units below. The apartment was a combination of a studio and a two-bedroom, and they worried the two units had been illegally connected.


“The more we looked at it, the more we found out it was a disaster,” Ms. Sevier said. Due diligence took two months, instead of the usual week, but the issues were resolved.


Then came the co-op board interview. Though the husband owned his own business and made more than $500,000 a year, Ms. Sevier said, the board worried his income stream might be unstable.


“I don’t know if this board has ever dealt with self-employed people,” Ms. Sevier said. The deal finally closed after a two-month interview process. With a wall of windows and views on three sides, the apartment should give this family some much needed peace. Nancy Haber of Bellmarc represented the sellers.


EAST MIDTOWN


2 Tudor City Place
Alcove studio co-op
Asking price: $375,000
Selling price: $375,000
Time on market: 5 weeks


EASY COMMUTE


The woman who owned this studio had an easy commute: She worked at the United Nations, which is just up the street from the Tudor City complex at 41st Street and First Avenue.


But she relocates every few years, and the co-op board wouldn’t allow her to sublet. So she decided to sell the unit and invest in a condo instead. The apartment was originally listed with another broker for $410,000. After several months and no sale, the sellers signed up with Sacha Drabble of City Connections, who convinced them to drop their asking price to $399,000.


After another two weeks, however, they brought the price down again, and found other buyers: a couple who were already living in the same building. “Not much comes up in this building, so they were keen to jump on it when they saw it,” Ms. Drabble said.


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