Life at Place 57
A: Place 57 is a new development that is located at 207 East 57th street in MIdtown East. As noted on the website, " Rising a graceful thirty-six stories, this arresting glass tower created by acclaimed architect Ismael Leyva consists of sixty-eight luxury residences". I had the opportunity to meet one of the pre-construction purchasers of Place 57 who agreed to answer a few questions about life in this new development. While her name will be held anonymous, I hope you find her comments helpful should you be thinking about buying here.
Q: What type of apartment did you purchase at Place 57?
A: 2BR/2.5BTH (likely floorplan below)
Q: What price did you pay?
A: More than 2 Million.
Q: What are your TOTAL monthly expenses (maintenance + Taxes) with the tax abatement?
A: $1,600 with the tax abatement.
Q: What is the total square feet of the apartment?
A: 1,626 square feet.
Q: Can you describe the views/exposures/features of the apartment that sold you on it?
A: Fabulous views with East, South & West exposures. The floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the apartment provide great sunlight.
Q: How would you rate the quality of service at Place 57?
A: Quality of service is actually not very good.
Q: How would rate the building amenities?
A: Everything in the building is terrific. There's a small gym, childrens playroom and a lovely baccarrat crystal garden. Basically there are only two apartments on every floor and a resident lounge.
Q: How was the experience of buying pre-construction?
A: The experience was a positive one. No problems.
Q: What were your total closing costs to do this deal?
A: Close to $80,000.
Q: How would you rate the neighborhood for quality of life?
A: Neighborhood is very good. There is hardly any noise heard from the apartment and I am very close to the subway and central park.
There are currently 22 ACTIVE SALES LISTINGS at Place 57 right now including these looking to be flipped:
APT 4C
Price: $1.799M (Reduced from $1.875M)
Size: 1,434 SFT
maintenance: $1,137
RE Taxes: $130
PPSF: $1,255
APT 14AB
Price: $4.48M
Size: 3,250 SFT
maintenance: $2,723
RE Taxes: $406
PPSF: $1,378
APT 25B
Price: $2.45M (Increased from $2.35M)
Size: 1,628 SFT
maintenance: $1,597
RE Taxes: $232
PPSF: $1,505
A big thanks to this new homeowner for sharing with me some details of her purchase, the process, her new home, and living at Place 57! If you have more specific questions for this person, please leave a comment and I will advise her to check in every once in a while to try to answer!
Posted by Adam Vigiano
Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 11:26 AM
Naoh: Have been a huge fan of your site since starting research on purchasing my own apartment. You've been helpful, accurate, and present some great new perspectives. While I'm usually in complete agreement with your thoughts on the market and respect your ideas, I was disappointed with your reaction to imfacingforeclosure.com. Yes, the kid is a scumbag and deserves everything he gets, but your response on that website simply reiterated the negative aspects that others had previously stated. While it's fine to voice your displeasure, you went to such an extreme that it made you look like a bitter, jealous hater that's not making it in the real estate or blog world. You and anyone else that reads your blog knows that this is certainly not the case, but in my mind your comments put a slight mar on an otherwise very professional demeanor, and didn't do much to protect the reputation of citihabitats.
Posted by noah
Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 12:37 PM
Adam - Thanks for the words about urbandigs and your thoughts on my comment. Of course, I didn't mean for it to be misrepresenting of my professionalism or the company I work for, who is in no way responsible for anything I do on UrbanDigs or other blogs with my free time.
After reading a bunch of posts on the iamfacingforeclosure.com, I got very upset. Here is a guy with a get rich quick dream, that was making business decisions with lender's money and ultimately money from friends, by lying to them and committing acts of fraud.
He knowingly did this and then puts up a blog talking about with Google Ads and a DONATE tray.
I just dont feel sorry for this guy. I'm sorry. Maybe you are right and I should have kept my opinions to myself, as this guy obviously made it to the limelight. I'm happy for him. Now what will he do with his debts, 5 foreclosures still set, legal troubles, and ruined credit...hmm, maybe he will get bailed out by someone who feels bad for him and make another headline story.
You know I read a story on like Page 3 of the Post or Daily News, dont remember, about 3 weeks ago about this elderly couple who was defrauded by a refinance mortgage broker looking to scam them into signing over their title to him and rent the unit for a lower monthly price than they currently were paying in loan costs as he would refi. He talked them into it making them believe it was in their best interests. Then he screwd them and stopped making bank payments on their behalf and they went into foreclosure on the home, evicting the elderly couple. Something like this as something sounds wrong there, but very similar. There is a lawsuit pending.
That makes Page 3 of 1 paper. This guy defrauds lenders and continues to deny his bad investment choices via the results they have had, and continues to dig his hole deeper. He gets national attention. But no one helps this elderly couple who is a victim of fraud and now homeless.
There are a lot more victims out there that deserve attention; not this guy.
Posted by Dave
Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 06:58 PM
It's funny how the same thing is open to interpretation - personally i thought Noah was pretty restrained in his comments, i would rip into this guy if i didn't think it was just going to a) fall on deaf ears and b) just propel his already spinning PR machine higher.
Not ONLY is the guy from iamfacingforeclosure.com a complete moron who ignored the advice of those around him, not only has he committed fraud, but he is adding insult to injury by continuing to use his now infmaous notoriety to not only not learn from his mistakes, but to continue to propagate the idea that out of all this foolhardiness, his fortune is just around the corner, and he might be able to make a quick buck out of some schmuck(s) yet who might actually put something in his begging bowl if he shouts and jumps about enough.
This "kid" who lest we forget is a grown man and adult, is symptomatic of what is deeply wrong with many in society today and his behaviour has come to define the bubble behaviour of the housing markets on both sides of the Atlantic over the last decade - combine a lack of personal responsibility, an uncontrolled ego and a pathalogical desire to "have it now" and "get-rich-quick" and it's no wonder we don't have more of these guys popping up. Sure you can't blame a guy for trying, but this guy already tried and FAILED, yet persists in his line of thinking in the hopes some poor sap will throw good money after bad and bail him out. What has he learned from the situation that he can take forward? By all accounts, not a great deal.
This guy and people like him are good for noone who is involved in residential property - not for buyers, not for sellers and not for agents. They are like a whirlwind that comes thundering through the market place, with no real idea of how it works, how to handle themselves and how to go about their business. Unfortunately that impacts on ALL of us because it leads to massive chaos and imbalances, rapid up and down swings and just generally extreme volatility and irrational behaviour. Does this guy care? Having looked at his blog and in particular comments from people who are saying it's not even this guys fault, that "he is just a product of a cheap credit environment" or such like (which i find absolutely incredulous! Just because i have access to $50k of credit does NOT mean i'm going out to buy a brand new M3 series cabriolet tomorrow does it?!), I have to say that it is precisely those harder, honest, and no-nonsense comments from the likes of Noah et al that this guy needs to hear, for his sake as well as others who are directly or otherwise embroiled in any financial investment this guy persues going forward.
Place 57 looks great, incidentally. Noah, you should try and do some more of these interviews, perhaps with a broad range of different buyers. I'd be particularly interested to read about what the first time buyers, the young couples and young professionals are doing in NYC right now - whether they are holding off or looking to grab a bargain, and if so, what are the hot areas that still hold some level of affordability for those who haven't got a couple of million to spend etc.
Posted by noah
Thu Nov 2nd, 2006 08:27 PM
Dave - as always thanks for your comments! I've come to look forward to your thoughts on the variety of topics I cover here on the site.
Yea, I would like to get into more personal posts and interview more people from new devs and other buildings. It would build a nice little journal for future references and hopefully allow people to ask questions about certain buildings. The tough part is finding the willing homeowners to talk to.
Perhaps I'll put a post up after I move in next week to see if I can get some interested homeowners to speak up.
Posted by John Constantine
Fri Nov 3rd, 2006 04:14 AM
I’ve taken a quick look at your postings, which are very interesting. Lots of material and ideas! Congrats on being so focused!
Posted by Adam
Fri Nov 3rd, 2006 06:54 AM
Guys: I totally agree that he needs to take more responsibility for his actions, and like many other posts on his site, I felt that I had finally put a face to the culprit that was responsible for the outrageous price I recently paid for a coop. It's funny how we all get so personal about this stuff. Large amounts of money will do that to you I guess. Maybe now that he's in the limelight, it will be a lesson to others to stick with the fixed 30yr and not overextend.
Any thoughts on what's going to happen with the rental market as prices land (softly or otherwise)? Will there always be high demand for renting in Manhattan, or will rental prices drop when all the new developments hit the market?
Thanks for all the comments on iamfacingforeclosure.com! Reading that site is kind of like watching somebody do something gross on the subway. You're horrified and disgusted, but you can't look away...
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