Big bucks, tiny apartments (For the right price, you can own your own closet, er, studio co-op)

New York Daily news ^ | 8/3/03 | Tracy Connor

[billhilly]

What is the maintenance cost for. It is unbelieveable that a 250 square foot hutch could justify over $4,000 in annual maintenance. Or am I wrong?

[cyborg]

My sister is moving to Japan for a year...

[firebrand]

That shows the necessity for tenant protections. The fact that people hang on to them for dear life shows that they are needed.

[firebrand]

Abolish rent control...

. . . in Texas.

[brianl703]

They are structured as condominiums (at least in the legal definition of the term) if the owner does not own the land under the unit. The properties described in the article appear to be condominiums, and that would explain why they have maintenance fees.

[austinTparty]

Everywhere. Rent control does not keep rents low. It prices some apartments at abnormally low prices, forcing prices up sky-high for the others. It's like a balloon, push down on one side, it over-inflates on the other.

Additionally, rent control takes away any incentive for landlords to properly maintain their property, causing run-down conditions in many buildings. Rent-controlled apartments are passed along from friend and relative to friend and relative. I knew a doctor in New York who was paying less than $600 for a 2-bedroom apartment in the upper West Side. It is a socialist device, which like all socialist devices, is full of good intentions--but leads to bad outcomes. The law of unintended consequences.

[austinTparty]

Coops are an only-in-NYC phenomenon, and many people don't understand the financial structure.

Actually, they have them in DC, too. :o)

[avenir]

"Crush the Left, see them driven before you, hear the lamentations of the metrosexuals"

LOL! Great tagline remix.

[Allegra]

Wow.

I live alone in a nice 1500 sq. ft. home with big rooms and pay way less than $1,000 per month.

And I live in one the the U.S.'s biggest cities. It can be done.

You just have to pick the right city. :)

[riri]

Where abouts in Idaho? We talk about throwing it in and moving there quite frequently, actually. I figure with all the jobs leaving the country anyway, I will make no difference where I live soon anyway. LOL

[mtbopfuyn]

We thought our old 750 sq ft rental was tiny. Mr. M joked if one turned around too quickly in the bath they'd end up having sex with themselves. I had to put the microwave on top of the fridge. But back in the 80s, the price was right at $250 mo and included (for Mr. M's viewing pleasure) the lawn mowed by the cute landlady in her short shorts.

Now we're in a remodeled 1600 sq ft waterfront home on a tiny lot priced at $150K 10 yrs ago but would go for almost double today. Just 5 years ago the neighbor closeness wasn't a problem but with the city folk & yankees moving in by the SUV load it's way too crowded, what was countryside is now developments, and the taxes have ridiculously tripled to over $2k. Give me a 100 acres away from everything and everybody and I wouldn't care how small the sq ft.

[lowbridge]

Being New York City, what would one need a kitchen for? When you are surrounded by at least 10,000 restaurants/delis within walking distance and can get a corned beef sandwich at 2 in the morning, you've got it made, foodwise.

It's cheaper to buy groceries than to eat out all the time. For what it costs for one sandwich at a deli, one could buy a pound or two of whatever and a loaf of bread, and have enough sandwiches to last a week.

[lowbridge]

What is the maintenance cost for. It is unbelieveable that a 250 square foot hutch could justify over $4,000 in annual maintenance. Or am I wrong?

Maintenance is the occupiers share of ther buildings expenses (it varies from building to building), which can include (or exclude as the case may be) upkeep, improvments, and repairs on the building itself. Property taxes, utility bills, mortgage on the builgding, security, salaries of the doormen (if the building has a doorman), superintendant, custodians, etc.

[Gone_Postal]

Theres a sucker born everyday

[BlazingArizona]

Something tells me that this type of place is where Mr. Yuppie who commutes in from Poughkeepsie keeps his "extra wife".

[spectre]

"Now we're in a remodeled 1600 sq ft waterfront home on a tiny lot priced at $150K 10 yrs ago but would go for almost double today. Just 5 years ago the neighbor closeness wasn't a problem but with the city folk & yankees moving in by the SUV load it's way too crowded, what was countryside is now developments, and the taxes have ridiculously tripled to over $2k. Give me a 100 acres away from everything and everybody and I wouldn't care how small the sq ft."

LOL! I was just thinking that if I could buy a place with a gulfside view of the world's most beautiful beach and wake up every morning to the sound of seagulls, I wouldn't care how SMALL the place was...

Enjoy your waterfront property :~)

sw

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I actually have my microwave in the living room to save counter space.

Microwave on top of the refrigerator. There wasn't room in the living room.

[Noumenon]

We're in the northern Idaho panhandle, about 25 miles north of Coeur d'Alene. Property's still a genuine bargain around here, but you can get even more spectacular - and even more remote places just south of the Canadian border. The Moyie Valley, for example, is absolutely breathtaking, but it's a fair haul to town if you need a jar of peanut butter. Especially in the winter.

I love these winters - it keeps the spineless liberal riffraff out. If they do show up, they usually fold after one winter. That entitlement mentality doesn't get them too far around here.

Once you get out of the towns, most everything is laid out in 5, 10 and 20 acre spreads. This means no cable - ever. You want decent internet access, then you go with StarBand. Selling and setting up StarBand is how I'm getting by these days.

[Clemenza]

Rent stabilized places are common in the outer boroughs, particularly in "non-hip" neighborhoods such as mine. The best thing is to comb the ads in the Village Voice and look for "rent stabilized" in the ads. Even if the ad does not say rent stabilized, ask the broker/agent anyway. In my case, the ad did not say rent stabilized, but when I asked the broker (who was the son of my landlord) he told me that his apartments were indeed rent stabilized, which made this grad student jump for joy.

[Clemenza]

Funny about that poster who wanted stabilization abolished, but not til after they were done playing w/it. Easy to have political beliefs that you don't have to pay the freight for...

Yes, I am a shameless hypocrite :-(.