Court Street Lofts, an Update?
A reader, and I'm guessing a potential buyer, wants some updated info on the Court Street Lofts. Her recent request in a past post:
"has anyone bought a condo at court street lofts i saw bad reviews about it .has the new owners fix the problems the tenants were having.need to know."
Can anyone provide updated info for this person (beyond what we already read about problems with past ownership, etc.)?
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I think this building is hot. 12ft+ high ceilings, 24 hr doorman, huge windows. It looks good to me. I guess people who used to live there have complained about both conditions in the past and the transition from rentals to condos but, are there problems now? If so remind me what they are...
I don't really claim to know about this building, especially from the limited sales web site. I do recall thinking, as an architect and hopefully future potential buyer, that the level of quality in this place did not match up to it's price.
Prices seem to have come down about 10%--actually lower even than offered to us insiders (I'm an ex-tenant). At these prices I might not have left, except that the common charges are still way high and liable to go higher...it's an old building that'll need more work. I loved living there though and wish I could still afford to.
Some of the problems I've heard from 2 friends who own there: mice ( not rats but mice ) , a bad air filter that leaves dust and grime -everywhere-, a crack alley to the North side, car break ins, of course the BQE , an extremely hard to deal with management, and I've heard the boiler needs to be replaced.
There was so much crap talked about that building, so much of it unwarranted! The new tenants I've talked to really love living in the building. I heard they fired the longtime disliked mgmt company and there's a new, very professional one in place. The longtime disliked super was recently let go, a good thing. Those are huge apartments with lots of character - some weird layouts sure, and its an old creaky building with some issues down the road - but there are great views through brand-new windows, high high ceilings, subway convenient and 24-doorman. Its unique and not a bad deal, all told. Pretty cool.
505 the latest inside intel:
Read it all:
Most everyone knows the already established facts about Court Lofts so I will mostly focus on items that I have yet to see discussed:
Price aside, I love Court Lofts. It is an attractive building especially to anyone coming from the traditional cramped apartments of NYC. Spacious, high ceilings, views above the third floor (if you are north/west exposure... south/east looks over a scrap yard and the underside of the BQE)
The problem here is relativity... and too much BS... and greed.
Most of the infamous problems the building is known for still still exist, and some are so integral that they will never be addressed. Among these are major design flaws (mostly due to cutting corners) from the original factory conversion. Problems such as wall placement/integrity are here to stay (The walls are to high and poorly set/anchored... they visibly/audibly shake, flex, bend and crack). Continuing the corner cutting, the new windows, while a significant improvement over the old, were another example of cost efficiency: one of the worst original design flaws in the complex was that they ran these very high walls right up against the window frames instead of creating proper partitions with solid vertical anchoring. The replacement of the windows was a prime opportunity for the new owners to correct the flaw, instead they chose to cover it up by leaving the original window frames (connected to the vertical drywall) and CAP them to create mounts for the new glass... an after effect of this was that all the window visibility was reduced by approximately NINE INCHES per frame. In a double-wide, the occupant lost almost TWO FEET of the view. It may seem small, but it was very noticeable to those familiar with the original... and the walls are still flawed.
And someone needs to put this out there:
The 'renovated apartments are total patch jobs. Bathrooms and kitchens utilize low (and I mean the lowest) grade building materials (cheap press board) in the cabinetry and are capped with 'gorgeous granite' tops to gloss over the substandard mill work below. Leaks inside walls that stain through the paint haven't been fixed, merely covered and will show through again in time. Warped floors have been nailed down as opposed to replacement. Alcove studios have been partitioned and renamed 'one bedrooms.' The well known ventilation problem has been the supposed culprit in a lesser know affliction in the building... mold spores... they grow on the wall of the bathrooms and despite whatever efforts have been made, the MOLD is STILL in the ventilation system and continues to spread through the building... I am not sure of the health risks of this, I only know the mold is there...
Okay... enough nitpicking... these are simply facts...
For all the work that has been done (lobby, elevators, windows etc), and the improved management, Court Lofts, as attractive as it is initially, is so overpriced (even with the reductions) in both rent and purchase/common charges, that it bites itself in the a**. For the numbers they seek, most deals in the area (many are new builds with no age related problems) are far superior... having shopped the Manhattan market as well, it is not that impossible to find only slightly higher prices (not too much smaller aside from the lower ceilings) in better maintained complexes with more desirable address' translating in to superior investment potential/resale ability and value. Around here, why would you pay 800k for an apartment when you can still find entire brownstones in low 1m's? Lastly, I can positively confirm that the complex does is in fact suffer from a not-too-subtle rat infestation... big ones...
In a nutshell? I like Court Lofts... at a price in line with what it really is. At the current rates? It falls significantly short of its promise.
... just one man's opinion... and given anonymously as well
wow I had no idea of any of these problems. my wife and I bought a unit and moved in january 2007. so far, everything has been great. the management company is very responsive, the super and his staff are very nice (new guy, never had to deal with the previous guy), i've not seen any rats (we live on the 3rd floor) and the vents seem fine. we get a lot of light even though we face north and the breeze flows through the apartment very well. so, from personal experience the apartment has been great. I did wonder why these units weren't selling faster... I guess other people knew about these problems and were turned off by them. if you have any questions feel free to email me. jerryfarina@gmail.com. btw, we bought a 733 sqft studio and put up a wall ourselves to make it a 1 bedroom. I guess it wasn't a true 1 bedroom, but none of these units were true anything at one point. and it sure beats our 350sqft studio in the village that we came from!
Agreed with the previous poster. I too bought here and have yet to complain over anything. The gripes that have been posted throughout the internet were all coincidentally posted around the time that the tenants were revolting over the conversion. It remains to be seen what will happen to the value of my unit in 5 years, but in the meantime, I am enjoying tranquil loft living in carroll gardens -- by another former village renter turned owner.
Sorry Gianni and Jerry, but I think Kevin is right. I live in this building (new renter) and it's exactly as he says. I can't for the life of me understand why on earth anyone would buy here and pay the over the top taxes and common charges when they could buy in a new building that gets a 25 year tax abatement!?! That's lost cash folks! It's definitely nice to have a larger apartment than I used to, but I'd trade some space for some on-site storage (which I used to have but didn't quite appreciate). Right now I'm storing my bike in the living room which sucks.
And what's up with having to put my airconditioner in the middle window? It blocks the view that I'm paying so dearly for. Whoever selected this window configuration should be fired. I also have leaks at the corners of my window frames in my living room and bedroom. I'm certain this is the result of what Kevin was describing in his description of the second rate installation. I also know a purchasing family that had repeated leaks in one of their closets until the maintenance staff had to rip the whole thing out. They were pissed.
Kevin also mentions the ventilhation system. If you're not having a problem great. I know they had a company come in and clean out the vents last year not too long after I first moved in, but when I look at the vent in my bathroom it is starting to become clogged with black sooty dust probably from our neighbor -- the bQE. I'm gonna have to take it off and clean it out because the humidity has no place to go right now. My question is why they didn't replace all the duct work when they renovated the building for conversion? This and the other infrastructure upgrades like plumbing and electricity and the infamous boiler are gonna cost buyers down the line. I don't think the new apartments got 220 electric, which I thought is the new standard, no? Nevermind cable hook up, satellite, and other goodies offered by new construction.
The upper floors (I'm on 5) definitely have mice. We've caught about 4 since moving in. I feel like they're just a part of living in the city. But I've seen at least one big-a$$ rat in the courtyard (ahem..."private parK") of the first apartment (B?) in the evenings. Thought it was a cat until I saw the tail! I feel bad for the famiy that just moved in there. I think they must have a kid cause I saw a kidde pool in their little courtyard.
My biggest complaint though is the floors. In my apartment they look nice but they're creaky. I can't take a step without practically waking the neighbors. In the hallway the carpets are a gross brown, but even that doesn't mask the filth. Went to the sales office and I didn't even need directions becauwe I just followed the dirt tracks on the carpet!
Speaking of which the building is not well maintained like "luxury" should be. The wall near teh elevator in the lobby with the call buttons looks like it's in the projects. Disgusting. Geez! You'd think that would be cleaned up for the propsective buyers.
On the plus side, most of the people in the building are nice - excpet the ones who walk their dogs in the courtyard and don't pick up the... They suck.
hey it's been a few months since I posted here and just thought I'd give an update. I've had about 4 potential buyers email me after reading this post and are asking the same questions so I'll try to give answers here for all to read.
1. i suspect there are differences in living situations between people who live here as renters and new buyers. in the apt we bought, the windows are beautiful, the appliances are brand new and great, floors refinished (but they do creak still as they are old). I also wonder if renters are posting here to discourage people from buying. I won't really get into that as I have no proof, but that's just what I suspect. but I just doubt from reading these posts that renters are living under the same conditions. I did see our apt before it was renovated and yea, it was kind of not so nice. for potential buyers, just note that the building is not a new building, though I'm not sure how old. I heard it used to be a coat factory, then was converted to rentals, and now is being converted to condos. That's what happens in nyc i guess. But even though the building is not new, they have made improvements. They renovated the lobby, they make the courtyard nice and they installed/fixed the roof over the summer. But the apartments for sale are renovated, not brand new.
2. mouse. yes, our cat DID find 2 mice in our house over the summer. so I found out that those complaints are valid. the super came up and plugged holes in the floor in which the heating pipes run through. just note that these are legit holes for pipes, not holes in the floor or walls due to neglect. we haven't seen any more mice since then. management also called an exterminator who laid out 1 trap under the heating.
3. ventilation and windows. I think our windows were new or at very least refurbished? anyway, they're the best windows I've had since living in nyc and the best part of our apt, I think.
4. managment company. seems to be ok. no real complaints. I had to deal with them becaues of a strange humming noise coming from the heaters last March, and they fixed it right away and were responsive. Since last spring, there is a new super on-board. all the maintenance guys are really nice. The doorman are not nearly as cool as our old doormen though. They do their job, but they don't really care to get to know you, unfortunately.
5. price. well, we owned a studio in the villlage and needed a 1 bedroom. for the same price or more, all the apts in the upper west and east sides of manhattan were smaller, run-down and co-ops. i thought the unit we bought was such a deal as it is new (renovated), a condo, 730sqft, 12ft ceilings, in a great neighborhood. it was perfect for us and we still love it. Look, i know a lot of people currently living as renters there feel it's too expensive and may be bitter if they get kicked out, if i were in their position I'd be bitter too, but...I mean, expensive is relative to what you can afford. For those who are able and are looking for a nice place, shop around and I think you'll see the prices are pretty fair. That's just my opinion, I'm not trying to be their sales guy here.
I think those are the main concerns that people have asked me about. The only things that bother me about the place is that in the mornings, Court St. gets pretty loud. Lots of trucks driving by and inconsiderate people honking. I thought that I would get away from all that moving to Brooklyn, but it's still NYC. And the other thing is that I just miss living in the Village. Carroll Gardens is nice, but it's not nearly as fun for me. (My wife likes CG better though so I guess it's preference).
Any questions feel free to email jerryfarina@gmail.com. Please note the date of this and other postings. Things change over time!
ps. I think if someone here is interested in buying, they should talk to / listen to others who have bought in the building, not renters and people who don't live here... I don't think they are your best sources of information as they probably have a different point of view and don't have the insight you are looking for. just a thought.