Friday, December 16, 2011

This Seventh Street co-op studio fetched nearly $200,000 at an auction

An EV Grieve reader told me about attending the New York County Public Administrator's real-estate auction on Dec. 8. I've heard about these, but have no idea what's involved... (To bid, you take a certified or official bank check equal to 10 percent of the minimum bid and payable to the public administrator.)

The auction took place at The Surrogate Court Building on Chambers and Centre. Two of the properties that people bought were in the East Village, according to Malcolm Carter's blog at Charles Rutenberg Realty:

• 512 E. 11th St., #2D, estate of Carl Grimmett, 295 square feet, studio, $300 maintenance, income limited, $110,000 minimum bid/sold for $152,000

• 204 E. 7th St., #12, estate of Gary Walden, 304 square feet, one bedroom, $375 maintenance, $43,000 minimum/sold for $194,000

Per Carter:

The first property offered, a 304-sf co-op in poor condition at 204 E. 7th St., had 15-20 bidders jammed in front of a long conference table at which city officials and lawyers were seated as the sale of Unit 12 began.

Bids for the apartment rose in uncharacteristically high increments, skyrocketing to $194,000 versus the $43,000 minimum. The winning amount was an unlikely 451 percent of the upset price.

The reader noted that both East Village units were in "really bad shape," but "could be very cool renovation projects."

So how bad is "really bad"? Here are two photos from 204 Seventh St.:



Interesting that even a 300-square-foot studio in this current state would fetch nearly $200,000. And some people consider this a good deal. Tells you something about the current state of real estate here.

12 comments:

Karen said...

ah, memories...(of apartment hunting in the late 70s.)

Tom said...

Yuck. That place needs A LOT of work. If you have the extra $66,000, this already renovated 300 sf, HDFC coop on East 3rd St is a comparatively better deal:

http://realestate.nytimes.com/sales/detail/87-525702/311-East-3rd-Street-NEW-YORK-NY-10009

dave Everywhere said...

And now you see why folks of even above qverage means are shut out of the city.

LvV said...

That's exactly what my apartment is gonna look like on the day I finally move out, lol.

Anonymous said...

I've crashed at squats in better shape than that place...some developer will probably add some granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and rent it to some NYU kid for about $2000 a month or more.

Big Gay Ice Cream Man said...

A charming little thrower-upper.

Anonymous said...

OMG that is my dream apartment. So. Jealous!

Tom said...

It'll buff right out!!!

Anonymous said...

Where is your imagination people? Seriously, could be scrubbed, sanded, re-enameled, varnished, plastered & painted in no time. That stuff has lasted over a hundred years ~ infinitely more solid & soulful than the toxic plywood & plastic boxes they rent in the neighborhood for $2500/mo these days...oy

Anonymous said...

is this c-squat nice bathtub does it come with GIN

Jeremy said...

Even if it costs $100,000 to fix up, it's still not a terrible deal. It will be worth a lot more than $300,000 in a few years.

Jill said...

This is exactly what my apartment would look like if I didn't clean and paint periodically. Except I upgraded the sink because that style is really LOW, but it is BIG which was nice. My tub has really nice feet--this one has seems to have lost its feet over the years. Plus, I would bet that much of those pipes are no longer in use and can be easily cut out. If you think that cleaning this up is a big deal, you have been truly spoiled. Look under your fake-wood floors and behind your pretend fancy fridge, this is what lurks--it's likely only one layer away.