Posted on 10/16/2011 3:36:47 AM PDT by Cardhu
A LITTLE more than two years ago, Tom Graney was paying a reasonable $2,200 for a spacious two-bedroom apartment on 11th Avenue and 52nd Street.
When Mr. Graney learned in early 2009 that his rent would be rising to $2,500, he decided to see if he could do better for his money. After all, it was just months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and many of New York’s most luxurious apartment buildings were desperate to find tenants, offering wildly generous incentives and cut-rate deals.
Mr. Graney settled on the Helena, a new glass tower at the corner of 11th Avenue and 57th. He found a one-bedroom with a home office for $2,840, and the management paid his broker’s fee and gave him one month’s free rent on a two-year lease.
“When you add in the month’s free rent,” he said, “it was really not much more than I would have been paying at my old place.” The new building was posh, with a fitness center and a rooftop deck that had stunning views. “It was nice,” said Mr. Graney, 28, a video producer, “and it felt like I was making progress.”
Fast-forward to June 2011, when his lease was up.
“I got a letter in the mail notifying me that they wanted to raise my rent to more than $5,000 a month,” he said. “I looked at it and just started laughing. I could not believe they were serious.” He immediately began to look for a new apartment.
Across New York, rents have not only rebounded from the depths of two years ago, but are also surpassing the record high of 2007 during the real estate boom, according to figures from Citi Habitats, a large rental brokerage, and other surveys.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
>> To each his own.
THAT’S the key. I tend towards rural myself — cities are fun places to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. But if one *does* want to live in a city — and doesn’t expect *me* to subsidize their city lifestyle — more power to ‘em.
the smell is of inflation
Urban dwellers are a unique group; I hope they find fulfillment in their roach hotels.
I think they get stuck. Now more than ever.
If one pays $5,000 a month for an apartment, does it include a better class of cockroaches?
I smell ChiCom money coming home to roost.
At $5,000 a month, you get upgraded from cockroaches to bedbugs.
I have no idea why anyone wants to live in New York City, I really don’t. I don’t get it at all. Cold. Dirty. Crowded. Is having cool restaurants really worth all that??
Yeah. And a superior class of bedbugs.
Rent control as instituted as an emergency measure during WW II... it continues because there are far more tenants rthan landlords in NYC,a nd the Dem pols pander to the tenants.
Also, there is nothing closer to hell on earth than landlord/tenant court in NYC..it is almost impossible to get someone evicts for not paying rent..the tenant can keep on delaying...almost ad infinitum..
1. There is a value in being able to get up and move somewhere else quickly.
2. When you factor in the added costs of property taxes, maintenance, insurance, repairs, etc., the cost of ownership usually ends up being far higher than expected.
3. As the recent real estate collapse showed so clearly . . . most "homeowners" don't really own their homes after all. In fact, most people I know who "own" their homes never really bought a home -- they bought a mortgsge.
4. The U.S. tax code actually provides incentives to operate in a pretty bizarre way when it comes to owning vs. renting. Today, the best approach (if you have the resources to do this) is to pay rent for the place where you live and to own another home that you rent out as an investment property. How strange is that?
The culture of endless culture and friends within walking distance in NYC is a draw for more and more people, as the City has become safe again. Especially young people willing to stack themselves up in apartment shares to make it affordable (often for mom and dad, who are sending checks).
To them, living where and how you live would be a near death experience.
I agree. Even if you pay it off, they can take it from you if you don’t pay the endless, endless taxes. You never really own it. You just have the right to paint and landscape. In some places, you can’t even improve without costly permits. It’s a rip-off.
Roaches now are only a problem in low-end, ill-kept buildings. Not where you’re paying $5K a month.
You’re right. If you want to stay put and raise a family for 20 years, owning can be a good thing. If you’re looking for a return on investment, you’d better own through a market upswing—which we’re not likely to see in the 10 years.
Apparently having "cool" ethnic restaurants a short distance from your apartment is the ultimate dream of every liberal scribbler. I say that because I've read numerous articles by lib scribblers touting the wonders of big-city life where having great ethnic restaurants nearby is near the top of the list of wonders.
I'll admit to having very plebian tastes, but even if I did love ethnic food, I'd never move to some big city just to eat food at an ethnic restaurant. "Yes, I've been mugged at least ten times, my apartment's been broken into and robbed five times, the noise is horrible, the living expensive....but they've got great ethnic restaurants...yippee!!!" I don't get it.
bump
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