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Wow! This seems quite reasonable to me. Is it telling that the maintenance isn't listed though? That's a worry. Otherwise it's beautiful.

The maint is $930 a month and includes gas, electric, and water. It is a walk up in a really neat building. Great people in the building my neighbors are actors, a brewer from Brooklyn Beer, a Pastry Chef, a psychologist, a nurse, and wall street guy. We love the apartment but with baby number 2 on the way it was time for a house.

The first decently priced fsbo I have seen on AT or curbed.
It does look like quite a deal.

Congratulations - you have an eminently salable apartment. I don't know how long you've had it on the market, but I think it will go fast. In fact I wonder if you have underpriced it. It sounds almost too good to be true, but then again I'm used to much higher asking prices so I could be out of touch. Good luck - I don't think you'll have to wait long.

$705 per square ft is affordable? Glad I'm not in New York!

I don't know much about NY real estate. The $930 a month maintenance fee - is that reasonable/normal??

I still don't understand the true value in buying an apt in New York City. While I understand that property appreciates, the cost of monthly maintenance seems outrageous. How do people do it? Especially people making under $100K a year?

I'd love an education.

Thanks.

Like Joanne I don't understand the maintenance bit, but this is what you'd pay in Sydney for a 2 bed apartment, although in a post 1965 block, there would probably be a separate laundry, balcony & car space or garage too.

We pay utilities as individual owners or tenants - it doesn't seem fair to average it. Owners also pay quarterly for building maintenance, which varies per building, number of bedrooms etc.

However it is a **lovely** apartment. Can someone explain what seem to be triple windows in the bedroom? Does each section open?

Maintenance covers the salary of the building staff, any repairs to the overall building, and most importantly - your real estate taxes, which can be as high as $500 per month. The fact that this maintenance includes electricity is fairly significant also, considering that electric bills last summer were running in the $200 range for our apartment which is this size, but darker, so we probably used less a/c than these guys did. Gas is also probably about $30 per month.

Joanne, basically it works this way...
people who do not make a lot of money have not bought in Manhattan in the past few, particularly since down coop payments are a minimum of 20-25% (and can be much more depending on the building). Condos have no minimum, as far as I know, but are priced significantly higher than condos, so it all evens out.

This is why the various boroughs are growing even more rapidly and why many families I know decided to move out of NYC (even with each member making over $100k)

There was just an article in the NY Times about a large increase in the number of people commuting 2 hours each way--including police, firefighters, and teachers.

Also, usually about half of your maintenance is tax deductible, so that helps.

What a wonderful group of people on Apartment Therapy. Thank you for taking time to answer my question.

I truly enjoy stopping by this site each evening.

For a coop, $1-$1.3 per month per square foot is fairly standard, at least in my neighborhood (prewar Upper West Side with no doorman). Without a doorman or electricity included, my small prewar building on the Upper West Side charges $1100 per month for a 950 square foot place. If it includes electricity, $930 for this apartment, given its size, would be a real bargain.

As some of the previous posts have mentioned taxes and the upkeep of the building are included in the maintenance. It is 48% tax deductible, the building allows for investors to rent their places out, which is not that common in a co-op with no restriciton on the length of time. As far as staff there is a porter for each of the 4 courtyards, a live in super, an electrician, plumber, and a carpenter. There is also 2 security guards from 7pm-7am and a video intercom. Also the downpayment is 20%, to get an idea on the tax refund with 20% down and a 28% tax bracket the owner would get back $12,000 yearly in income tax refund from the write offs.

Deb from Oz,

Hi! I'm from Melbourne but live in NY now. I was just dumbfounded at the fact that Sydney apartments are as expensive as Manhattan apartments? I mean, this is USD$600k which would be AUD$1m approx. Is it really this expensive in Sydney?

If I had over half a million bucks to spend on an apartment, it would be this one. Great layout and very well-maintained for an old walk-up. Love the open kitchen.

I saw this apt last night and it's a gem. It's on a secluded tree lined block and the building's architecture is something to behold. My reason for not buying the apt is solely based on the fact that it's a walk-up and I have a close family member who is wheelchair bound. But, make no mistake about it, this apt has charming written all over it!

Maintenance also can cover payments on the underlying mortgage on the building itself, if it's a co-op. Interest on mortgage is tax deductible.

Also, although there may be no minimum downpayment imposed by a condo board (the way there is with a co-op board), you usually do have to put a certain percentage down before the bank will lend you money to buy it.

I suspect the reasonable price comes from its being so far east, and a walk-up.

Looks like a great place. What floor are you on?

It is on the 5th floor, with 4 actual flights of stairs. The natural light is very good especially with floor to cieling windows(buy the way they can all go up or down). When we looked at comprable size space in elevator buildings, we were seeing prices over $800k and needing alot of work to get it to look like our place. With Fresh Direct and laundry in the apt the stairs are not that bad. My wife did the whole pregnancy and it was not an issue. I wish our son was 4 and could walk the stairs then we would stay.

The Cherokee is down the street from me and has an extremely interesting story (maybe only for history geeks like me). It was built to combat the spread of tuberculosis in New York.

Read more here: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/UES025.htm

Jessica ex Melbourne
The exchange rate is better now - today US$599 = A$794.

Keep in mind there is no real equivalent - living in the CBD (downtown) is fairly recent; Porters? Only psychos need guards and luckily they lock themselves up in gated communities; and I have never heard of a live in superintendent here, or onsite tradesmen, even in the new luxury blocks. A 'security block' here is key-only access by owners & tenants. Anything over 3 storeys has to have a lift, although on a sloping site, developers cheat with no more than 3 in either direction.

Check out this page www.domain.com.au/Public/Research.aspx (part of the Sydney Morning Herld - www.smh.com.au) for prices. Pleases remember that 'north facing' = ''south facing' in the northern hemisphere.

PS
It is still a wonderful apartment - even better now I have read its history.

You learn so much about a culture from its housing. For example, no-one here would mention laundry facilities, but from reading the NYTimes I now know that your own washer & dryer is rare & valuable in NY.

Locals know all apartments in the Cherokee have balconies, so Matt didn't draw it on his floorplan.

Do we get to meet the new owner? What are their plans for 'our' apartment?

I'm also in the neighborhood and frequently swing by open houses and it is pretty neat what some folks do to their apartments. This one is pretty generic, though.

It seems the prices have gotten a bit high for what you're getting, especially the few two bedrooms I've seen over the 600k mark. It seems the outrageously priced listings just aren't moving as quickly (if at all).

Matt– I haven't seen your place, but It looks like you don't have much of a view and you have the "shorty" balconies, correct? I've looked at one other two bedroom, and it was similarly configured (facing the back). Are all the two beds like that?

I do wish you the best of luck finding a buyer, but will you please stop your illegal postings all over the neighborhood? Those of us planning to stay in the neighborhood really don't like crap all over our utility poles.

-Bobby Jones

am i missing something? it doesn't add up to 850 square feet. at all.

Bobby get a grip the ads are up on Sunday mornings before open houses, and are promptly taken down after the open house. Yes all of the 2 bedrooms are on inner courtyard side with lots of sunlight, at least this one. But very few look like this one, most are old and in need of renovation. No there is not much of a view, that would cost more. Just how many real 2 br apartments have you seen below $600k in Manhattan, a quick look on NYtimes.com will show you there might be 4, the converted junior 4 where the supposed 2nd br does not have a window does not count. As for the floorplan no it does not add up, the one on this blog was done by Foxtons and is their measurements, the 850 comes from our appraiser when we bought the apartment. It is a nice size apartment and with an open plan more important is the use of the space.

Bobby Jones - why are you so hostile? You are practically the only negative poster about this apartment, and your comments seem like you really have a problem with this apartment! For the record, in my neighborhood EVERYONE posts about FSBO open houses on the lampposts, and I will too if we ever decide to sell this way. Stop taking this particular apartment so personally!

Well we are getting closer, we had an offer that is a good bit below what we will take. But if they can come up and we meet in the middle we will be happy. Thank you to all who have posted some nice comments it is nice to hear positive feedback on our home.

Hi can you tell me what software you used to create the floor plan on this property.

Beautiful property by the way.

thank you.