Clinton
$1.18 million
350 West 50th Street, Apt. 34F
Two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,005-square-foot condo in elevator building (Two Worldwide Plaza); apartment has terrace, hardwood floors and laundry; building has doorman, concierge, health club with pool, garage and courtyard; common charges $1,253 per month; taxes $1,435 per month; asking price $1.19 million; one month on the market. (Brokers: Gabriel Bedoya, the Corcoran Group; Ann Takahashi, Bond New York)
Ann Takahashi
“My buyer, a private investor, was referred to me. Her original aim was to find an apartment for her daughter, then [she] saw the value as an investment. We looked at 35 apartments, made a couple of offers and finally chose this one. [The buyer] was enamored with the water and skyline views, the custom-designed built-ins for storage and the full-service building. A major challenge was working with the lender. The sale took a bit longer than expected due to bank delays caused by the increase in sellers wanting to close by the end of the year. Even with the buyer’s outstanding relationship with the lender, it was still an arduous task to get the process expedited.” Ann Takahashi, Bond New York
150 West 79th Street, Apt. 2EF
Upper West Side
$1.39 million
150 West 79th Street, Apt. 2EF
Three-bedroom, three-bath, 2,300-square-foot co-op in prewar elevator building (the Dorset); apartment has hardwood floors; building has part-time doorman, live-in super, roof deck, bike room, storage, laundry and backyard; maintenance $2,320 per month; asking price $1.39 million; three weeks on the market. (Brokers: Pamela Berman, Stribling & Associates; Louise Phillips Forbes, Halstead Property)
Pamela Berman
“This was my first real estate deal! The previous owner, Jack Gottlieb, recently passed away after 30 years in the apartment. One of the co-executors of the estate is a longtime friend and colleague from when I used to work in the theater business. My friend offered me the exclusive. Gottlieb was [composer] Leonard Bernstein’s longtime associate, so I had a joke about the walls of the apartment being able to sing. It was a spacious apartment with great “bones,” but needed renovation to open it up and modernize it. [In pricing the apartment], we knew that most buyers would want to spend a good deal more to renovate it to their own tastes. I would have to say that the buyers found us. I released the listing, and two days later I had my first — and only — open house. The buyers felt that the space and location worked for them. Once the new owners were approved by the co-op board, everyone was quite satisfied.” Pamela Berman, Stribling & Associates
90 Riverside Drive, Apt.10C
Upper West Side
$1.6 million
90 Riverside Drive, Apt.10C
Two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,300-square-foot co-op in prewar elevator building; apartment has formal dining room; building has doorman, concierge, gym, storage, laundry and courtyard; maintenance $2,120 per month; asking price $1.65 million; five weeks on the market. (Brokers: Ann Cutbill Lenane, Douglas Elliman; Jennifer Bogner, Maxwell Jacobs)
Jennifer Bogner
“The buyer, a good friend of mine, asked me to go to a few open houses with her, and we went to three of them. As soon as she saw this one, she knew. It’s a beautiful building; it has high ceilings. It’s not a really large apartment, but it has a feeling of grandeur. They wanted to put in their own style of kitchen, and that wasn’t a problem. The building has a half-basketball court. They have a 13-year-old son, so the court wasn’t a requirement but it was a huge plus. It was really important for the seller to close by year’s end because of the change in capital gains taxes at the end of 2012. We were a little nervous about the year-end closing because they had to get a mortgage, but it all worked out. The contract was signed in October and we were able to close and get the mortgage by year’s end.” Jennifer Bogner, Maxwell Jacobs