Turtle Bay
$260,000
45 Tudor City Place
Studio, 1-bathroom, 350 sf co-op unit in prewar elevator building; building has concierge, health club, rooftop deck; maintenance $789 per month; asking price $299,000; 36 weeks on the market. (Brokers: Elliot Adler, City Connections Realty; Laurie Dietz, the Corcoran Group)
“The seller had worked as personal secretary for a major real estate mogul in New York for almost 50 years, and she lived in this same Tudor City studio for almost 50 years too. [But] the owner fell sick a long time ago, and was unable to return to the unit. Before we got the exclusive to sell it, the unit had been vacant for more than 12 years, and there had been no previous efforts to rent or sell it. None of the current building staff had ever entered the unit before I opened the door. The first time we went in, we had to literally climb over 12 years of notices, envelopes, and of course hundreds of menus that had been slipped under the door. I have been doing real estate in New York for almost three decades, and I had never seen anything quite like this. We had everything removed from the unit and had it cleaned up. The buyer liked the price and size, and she saw great potential. Her plan is to do extensive renovations to the apartment right away.”
— Elliot Adler, City Connections
Upper East Side
$1.15 million
200 East 66th Street
1-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 966 sf condo unit in doorman elevator building (Manhattan House); unit has original crown moldings; building has garage, health club, valet and rooftop deck; common charges $866 per month; taxes $581 per month; asking price $1.18 million; eight weeks on the market. (Brokers: Ed Longley, the Hollingsworth Group; Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group)
“The buyers were Russian clients who wanted a place to stay when they come to Manhattan. They needed to be educated on all the nuances of New York City real estate. After looking at approximately 30 apartments, it seemed like the best fit would be a full-service building. I felt it would be so much easier for them and help eliminate the stress of the city. The apartment has a classy feel to it, with custom moldings and a beautiful marble bathroom, but it also has all the modern conveniences. They loved the layout and the light — big, square living room with windows facing south and east. There were various glitches that occurred during the process; buying an apartment in Manhattan is complicated for a foreign purchaser. The development would only take payment in a certain way, and foreign buyers are not familiar with our banking and legal systems. But my clients were very reasonable people and my team worked hard to ensure that the deal went through.” — Ed Longley, the Hollingsworth Group
Downtown Brooklyn
$696,000
175 Willoughby Street
4-bedroom, 2-bath, 1,350 sf combination unit in a full-service gated co-op (University Towers); unit has southeast exposure; building has garage, health club, community room, on-site management office; maintenance $1,413 per month; asking price $699,000; four weeks on the market. (Brokers: Jeffrey Rothenberg, Rutenberg Realty; Kathleen Dillon, Kathleen M. Dillon)
“This was a sponsor apartment, so there was no board approval necessary. University Towers is a well-run co-op with a lot of great amenities. Given that this is a four-bedroom apartment, it was very marketable — there really wasn’t anything like it on the market at the time at such a great price. The purchase worked out well for the buyer, who has a large family and really needed the extra space and open feel. The sale included a parking space [at the development], valued at $25,000.” — Jeffrey Rothenberg, Rutenberg Realty
Interviews conducted and condensed by Katherine Clarke