Are lottery apartments different from / smaller than others in the buildings? (real estate, affordable apartments)
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I moved into my lottery unit as part of the first wave of building residents, so I got to ”inspect” vacant market rate units that had been left open for touring. The finishes were nicer--I think the floors were actual hardwood rather than ”luxury vinyl plank,” the countertops were a better surface, the fridge was nicer, the bathroom was completely instead of one-half tiled, there was a backsplash in the kitchen. I've also seen the floor plan for the market-rate unit directly above mine in the same line. It appears to be slightly bigger with a slightly nicer configuration (no direct line of sight from the door past the foyer, walk-in rather than regular bedroom closet). The non-cosmetic differences aren't dramatic. Certainly not $3K+ worth of drama!
That said, the degree of difference seems to vary by project (and time of completion--the developers are always trying it on and getting rebuked and then trying it on again, it seems).
Haha, exactly - paying an extra $3k for that seems insane (and we couldn't even remotely afford to do that anyway!) I don't mind a slight difference. But my husband is imagining something wildly different, so I wanted to check it out with those in the know.
I knew for sure in my building some lottery tenants got units in higher floors i.e. 32, 33, & 38 floors (my building has 42 floors). So yeah, the building management did spread out the affordable units throughout.
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Originally Posted by macnyc2003
Developers are supposed to spread out the lottery units throughout the building and not just relegate them to lower floors, for example, or worse views. But who knows how often this is enforced? And at some point in the past I did see some specifics about the size of the units, although I can't find that source now. My impression is that lottery units could be somewhat smaller but not appreciably smaller. And they can have less expensive appliances and finishes.
To answer the original question it depends. I’ve viewed lottery apartments in some buildings and asked if it was okay to view the market rate apartments at the time of viewing and in some buildings there was a difference in size. Nothing to major but nonetheless there was a difference in spacing. In the case of 2134 Astoria the bedrooms in the lottery units could only fit a twin size bed with no room for nightstands or anything else for that matter. 1035 Cortelyou road didn’t have a living room and the bedrooms were so oddly shaped you would’ve had to cut your mattress just to make it make sense lol
Guys, I didn't want to start a flame war with this! I get that there are people who really can't be picky at all with housing, and that the current spread of apartments over different AMIs is controversial. That the city should do more to find good housing for those really struggling isn't up for debate - I agree. But it is what it is. And for those considering a move, these are the things we think about.
In our case, the supposedly "under market rate" place we looked at was essentially the same price as our current apartment. But it was 1/3 smaller, the fixtures weren't as nice, the closets were nigh on non-existent. The area was also less desirable than out current one in a lot of ways. So it came down to, why would we move? Sure, the building had amazing amenities but we wondered how often we would even get to use them in such a big building. So then we started to wonder whether the developers were up to shenanigans or not. Hence the question on here.
I'm glad to hear lots of you saying that the lottery places aren't all that different and that many of you have seen places on high floors etc.
Thanks for all your responses, and wishing you all the best of luck in getting your dream lottery apartment!
It depends - in my previous building they allocated a couple of the larger studios on the lowest floors to lottery winners, but the others were the smaller studios spread among the floors. My present building is 80% affordable, with 20% low/very low income, 60% are 130% AMI and 20% market, so everyone is spread out and have the same finishings. However, it seems like the lowest floor without outdoor space and strangely the top floor (24th floor) may have a higher concentration of tenants in the lowest income brackets. And the market rate apartments are concentrated along a couple of lines.
Last edited by popartist; 02-25-2022 at 03:17 PM..
I'm fairly new to the housing lottery game. My husband and I were called to view an apartment at 250 Gold Street, which we ended up turning down as it was significantly smaller than our current place. (each bedroom was less than 10 foot by 10 foot, as was the living room, so less than 400 square feet, even though developers always lie and advertise it as 650 or whatever, and it had two cupboards - literally 1 foot wide each!)
My husband has a theory that the developers deliberately build worse apartments for the lottery residents (smaller floor plans, less closet space, cheaper fixtures etc.) but this to me seems particularly brazen and I would imagine there are some kind of stipulations put in the developer contract to prevent this sort of thing.
Since many of you are in lottery apartments and can compare to other units in the building, I would love to hear your thoughts!
I have seen comments saying the lottery units often don't get a W/D when the market rate ones do, which seems like a great way to make it obvious who is and isn't a lottery tenant based on who uses the laundry room. But I can live with that at least. Space is a non-negotiable.
We are in an AMI that might stand us in good stead for some of the lotteries we have entered recently, from what I have read - a band they often struggle to find tenants for - and so I have looked up some of the buildings online - the floorplans look great to me! But if the lottery ones are likely to be much smaller than the market rate ones, then we wouldn't be interested - we are well past the "live happily in a cupboard just to enjoy going out in NYC all the time" stage of life.
Anyway, thanks in advance for your input!
Not just restricted to "affordable" or "low income" lottery units, but on average much new construction features smaller apartments (in terms of square footage) than those built in past.
It comes down to high costs of building in New York, and developers/LLs seeking to maximize every bit of space. Thus buildings are often large, but also have more units squeezed in as well. Those units are often smaller which allows more of them, which in turn increases total rent or sales per square foot overall.
A few square feet here, another there, and you've got one or more units per floor or in building.
I’m in a lottery apartment (80/20 building) and my finishes are different than the market rate apartment . The market rate units have Miele appliances, top of the line washer and dryer and Wi-Fi enabled thermostats.. oh and better views. In my building the C (1bd) &D (2bd) lines are affordable which you can tell was purposely set up like that because there is a building right next door that we have a view of. The 1 bd gets absolutely no view other than the neighboring building, i live in the 2bd apartment and i get a okay view of the river in my living room. In the other two bedrooms if i look out the window at a angle i do see the bridge…. As far as size, unless you have a corner unit or on the higher floors (where there are less apartments) id say both market rate and lottery apartments are pretty comparable. The apartment across from me (market rate) isn’t big at all! I almost feel like mine is bigger. However they have a window in their bathroom which i love, the bedrooms are on opposite sides of the apartment, and as i mentioned their view and appliances are better.
Just to add, I’m in a 2bd 2bath in washer/dryer. Stainless steel appliances. Dark oak wood floors, my bathroom fixtures are identical to the market rate apartments... overall, Very aesthetically nice, even with the minor difference. Management, my doormen, and the maintenance men are all amazing! My super rich neighbors are even super friendly lol.
I viewed an 80/20 luxury building lottery apartment and there was a small difference: The apartment had no washer and dryer but market rates did. I know this because the apartments advertised on street easy have w/d . I turned it down as I want to own two cats
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