Residential deals

Financial District
$1.29 million
88 Greenwich Street, Apt. 609

Two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,122-square-foot unit in condo conversion, the Greenwich Club; apartment has stainless-steel appliances and marble bath; building has 24-hour doorman and concierge, package room, cold storage, roof deck and bike room; common charges $1,215 per month; taxes $1,020 per month; asking price $1.33 million; five months on the market. (Brokers: Katherine Rosbottom, Town Residential; Ashlei Sothard, Prodigy Network)

“My clients [the sellers] moved to upstate New York about a year ago to have more space. We were concerned that Hurricane Sandy would deter people from coming to the building, since the gym [was damaged during the storm] and was under construction for a long period of time. We decided to offer a five-year complimentary membership to fitness club Drive495 to eliminate the problem. The buyer chose Apt. 609 because of the layout, the sunlight and the views. Things went very smoothly fulfilling the mortgage, but it did take longer than usual, as we had to wait to get the building’s updated flood insurance policy after Hurricane Sandy.” Katherine Rosbottom, Town

Greenwich Village
$2.52 million
100 West Houston Street, 4th floor

One-bath, 2,200-square-foot loft in a prewar co-op building; unit is a full floor with a private elevator; maintenance $1,448 per month, asking price $2.39 million, 10 weeks on the market. (Brokers: Stephen Love and Michael Gongora, DSA Realty; Rachel Glazer, Brown Harris Stevens)

“The seller’s ex-husband was a music director for the original Saturday Night Live. This loft was the location of numerous cast parties, and the late [comedian] John Belushi was the godfather of the client’s daughter. We had to win the listing in competition with three other firms. [The unit needed a gut renovation] but I was bullish about price — apparently the other brokers undervalued the property because of the renovation cost. As it turned out, the closing price was higher than the asking price. Buyers want to carry out complete renovations and create their own special home, rather than paying for someone else’s taste. I stressed that in all of our marketing, as well as the fact that the ground-floor tenant, a popular restaurant, pays the lion’s share of the building’s expenses, hence the low maintenance. Interest was keen, and we were in a best-and-final situation with four bidders within 10 days of listing the property. Rachel’s clients were extremely motivated. But the contract phase took a long time — we had negotiated an ‘as-is’ deal [where the purchaser agrees to take the apartment in its current state], but the buyers’ attorney slipped in a renovation contingency that threw us for a loop. But we worked everything out. This is a small co-op with only five shareholders, and this transaction was the co-op’s first arm’s-length resale since it was formed [in 1987]. The sale brought up certain issues, especially concerning the renovations that the buyers wanted to do, that the board was unprepared to consider. Our client’s daughter was instrumental in getting the board, who had watched her grow up, to address certain issues.”

Stephen Love, DSA

Yorkville
$3.4 million
1 Gracie Square, Apt. 8W

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 3,450-square-foot unit in prewar co-op building, 1 Gracie Square; apartment has wood-burning fireplace, central air-conditioning and laundry room; building has 24-hour doorman; maintenance $6,686 per month; asking price $3.35 million; 34 weeks on the market. (Brokers: Frances Katzen and Stephanie Hinton, Douglas Elliman; Jonathan Conlon and Patricia Cliff, the Corcoran Group)

“Negotiations were stressful. We had multiple bids from two parties happening in a span of 45 minutes, coupled with an owner who was working with an attorney we do not usually deal with. Apparently [the buyers] had missed out on another property by getting outbid. They were anxious to secure this sale, as they really felt this was a good match for their needs and didn’t want to muck about. This was an all-cash deal.”

Frances Katzen, Douglas Elliman