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Open House Agenda: Three Apartments to See This Weekend

By Donna M. Airoldi | July 31, 2014 7:55pm | Updated on August 1, 2014 5:52pm
 Check out these units with recently reduced asking prices.
Open Houses With Recent Price Reductions
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NEW YORK — Everybody likes a real estate deal, whether buyers are in the budget end of the market or are considering million-dollar-plus apartments. Here are three open houses this weekend with recently reduced asking prices.

65-15 Alderton St., Apt. 7D, Rego Park, Queens
2 Bedrooms/1 Bath
Co-op
Approximately 900 square feet
$199,000
Maintenance: $1,040 per month
Open House: Sunday, Aug. 3, noon to 1:30 p.m.

Lowdown: This two-bedroom co-op with a southeast-facing balcony is now going for about 9 percent less than when it was first listed three months ago. The drop is to accommodate for the maintenance, which “is a little higher for the unit than comparable listings,” said Danielle Rial, of Halstead Property. “When you hit the $1,000 mark, at least in Queens, that deters some value shoppers.”

With the price now below the $200,000 threshold and its additional appealing characteristics — large size, top floor, sunny, private balcony — the unit “has a lot of potential,” Rial said.

The current owner converted the dining room into a second bedroom and recently redid the bathroom, in which “everything is new.” There’s a “giant” walk-in closet in the foyer, which is large enough to use as the dining area, and the 150-square-foot master bedroom has two exposures. The “very quiet” unit has “leafy views” overlooking a baseball field.

Location: The Painter’s Playground is across the street. Queens’s only Trader Joe’s is less than a mile down Alderton to Metropolitan Avenue. A Costco is a little more than a mile away in the other direction. The unit is also near Queens Boulevard and Austin Street, which has “plenty of retail, Barnes & Noble and movie theaters,” Rial said, adding that the indie art house Kew Gardens Cinema is just a couple stops away on the subway.

It’s .8 miles to the nearest train station, 63rd Drive/Rego Park, for the E, M and R lines. The Forest Hills stop on the Long Island Rail Road is about a mile east. Local volunteers recently transformed the LIRR underpass into an art space.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “Because it’s priced below $200,000 and everything is optimal in terms of top floor, quiet, exposures and the outdoor space, it’s pretty much the Holy Grail of apartments,” Rial said.

2255 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., Apt. PH-A, Harlem, Manhattan
2 Bedrooms/2 Baths
Condo
820 Square Feet
$799,000
Common Charges: $672 per month
Real Estate Taxes: $33 per month, abated until 2033
Open House: Sunday, Aug. 3, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Lowdown: The asking price on this two-bedroom penthouse in a new development in Central Harlem dropped by $50,000, or about 6 percent, in early July. The original price was calculated in part on the size of the terrace, which typically matches larger apartments with about 1,500 square feet, said Jeff Green of Bohemia Realty Group.

“Now that’s we’re under $800,000, we’re getting much more traction,” he added.

The elevator building was completed in 2008, but because of the market downturn, the sponsor waited to sell, so most owners didn’t move in until 2012. The only changes the sellers made were to convert it to a two-bedroom from a one-bedroom.

The west-facing unit’s 642-square-foot terrace offers “wonderful sunsets” and has a grill and outlet for a hose. It’s possible for a new owner to add a “three-season porch or sunroom.” The unit also includes laundry, A/C units in every room and an en suite bath in the master bedroom.

The building is “very well managed, all big banks will loan on it, its investor friendly, pets are allowed and there are no leasing restrictions,” Green noted.

Location: Situated near 133rd Street, the building is close to the Harlem YMCA on 135th Street, Seven Grains Health Food and Hats by Bunn. Nearby restaurants include Keur Sokhna for West African cuisine and Yatenga’s French bistro and bar. One avenue over and within walking distance is the growing restaurant scene along Lenox Avenue, which recently held its second annual Lenox Avenue Restaurant Crawl. Also nearby is Bill’s Place, a former speakeasy, for jazz performances in a brownstone parlor.

The closest subway is the 2 and 3 station at 135th and Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard. The M2 bus runs along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, and there’s a ZipCar location around the corner on 132nd Street.

Why put it on your open house calendar? “They’re motivated sellers, it’s in mint condition and it has all the comforts of a million-dollar apartment — terrace, large bath, king-sized bedroom, laundry,” Green said.

5 Tudor City Place, Apt. B3/4, Midtown East/Murray Hill, Manhattan
2 Bedrooms/2 Baths
Co-op
Approximately 1,100 square feet
$800,000
Maintenance: $1,883 per month
Open House: Sunday, Aug. 3, 2-2:45 p.m.

Lowdown: The sellers purchased an adjacent one-bedroom and studio in Tudor City, then renovated and combined them into this current split two-bedroom, two-bath layout about seven years ago, said Takk Yamaguchi, of Urban Compass.

The sellers ripped out the kitchen in the studio and installed a large custom shelving unit in the space. They updated the apartment again seven months ago, installing 4-inch plank wood floors, new kitchen cabinets, additional switchplates and outlets, and new LG appliances, Yamaguchi said.

Each bedroom has an en suite bath, and there are East River and United Nations views.

Amenities are dispersed throughout the development; 5 Tudor City includes a 24-hour doorman, a newly updated 2,000-square-foot gym, on-site laundry, florist, post office, salon, and a dry cleaning and tailoring business, said Yamaguchi, who used to live in the building. There’s also the Tudor City Café, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The $25,000 price reduction was to compensate for the perceived noise level, because the unit is on the fourth floor overlooking First Avenue, Yamaguchi said. “But it has double-paned windows and noise is not a big issue. It’s not a loud apartment by any means.”

Location: The building is between 40th and 41st streets. The United Nations is just to the north; shops and services line First Avenue. Robert Moses Playground is across the street along the East River. Grand Central Terminal with the 4, 5, 6, 7 and Shuttle trains, along with Metro North, is less than a mile away.

Why put it on your open house calendar? In addition to its river views, “one of the best things about the apartment is the size of the bedrooms, because it’s a true combination and not like post-war [buildings] where space is squeezed as tight as possible,” Yamaguchi said.