What kind of maintenance issues should I be expecting in a $2000-$3500 3BR in Morningside Heights? (New York: apartments, rental)
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Edit: The subject should read $3000-$3500 3BR. Obviously a $2000 3BR in Morningside Heights is a scam.
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My wife is fed up with the maintenance issues in our apartment building and wants to move, but I'm worried we might see similar issues in any comparable building we might move to. Can this forum shed any light on whether we should expect issues if we're looking to spend around $3300/month on a large 2BR or small 3BR in the west 100s?
The back story: My family of 3 moved from the West Coast last summer into a 3 BR apartment in a pre-war building in Washington Heights (we're in the 160s, west of Broadway). We're pleased with the apartment in general, but the maintenance has been a problem. In the last year, there have been about 10-15 times where the hot water didn't get hot enough for a comfortable shower after 10ish minutes of running the water. Worse, the steam heat in some rooms is too feeble to heat the room past about 60 degrees when the temperature drops below freezing outside. When these issues have come up, we've called the (on-site) super, who always seems to have a story about the boiler having issues, but hasn't been able to fix the problems permanently. (There have also been other issues suggesting the building is in bad shape -- the elevator has broken several times, the water has gone off with no prior warning for 5-6 hours in the middle of the day, one washing machine has been broken since we moved in, etc. -- but we think we could live with those if the heat and hot water were fixed.) We've talked to other tenants in the building, who range from a little frustrated to totally unconcerned, and so we're losing confidence that the issues the super treats as a one-off aren't systemic.
As our lease comes up, we're considering moving, probably to Morningside Heights in the 100s, or maybe further south in the UWS. We're likely looking for large 2BRs or 3BRs, and our budget puts us somewhere around $3300/month (significantly more than we're paying now, but we recognize there's a neighborhood upgrade involved, too). But I'm worried that if we end up in an older building and are still not at the high end of the price range for the amount of space that we're looking for, we'll end up seeing the same kinds of maintenance issues we're seeing in our present place.
Should I be worried about this? Or can we expect better maintenance just on account of moving up in the price range? Does anyone have tips on how we can assess the general maintenance in a building from a simple apartment walk-through?
Last edited by SM10032; 06-24-2011 at 08:37 PM..
Reason: Error in subject
Stand outside a prospective building and ask people going in and out if they are tenants and if they are satisfied with the maintenance and service in the building.Ask specific questions about the issues you are concerned with.If you speak with 20 or 30 people you will get a good idea of what's up.You should be able to do this in in an hour or so at around 6 pm.
You might also keep your eyes open for rental situations in coop buildings as they tend to be much better maintained and serviced.
There are also sites where you can check for violations on a building.
You cannot expect that the higher rental amount will translate into a better building when you are moving into a much better neighborhood.That sounds like a lateral move re building quality.
Its Washington Heights what did you expect? Its a ghetto/barrio, what you described is par for the course.
Your problem is that your expectations are higher than what you can afford in Manhattan.
The reality is that an apartment with the quality you want is approximately $3000 or more for a 1bdrm. So, a 2 and certainly 3 bdrm is outside your budget, except for poor quality buildings like what you are experiencing.
You need to give up on Manhattan and head to the Boroughs! Brooklyn or Queens will have a high quality 2 bdrm in your budget. In Astoria or even Hunters Point you can find brand new buildings with 2bdrms in the $3K range.
Personally, although I KNOW that Washington Heights, Harlem, Inwood. etc. are on the island of Manhattan, I think of them as more "the boroughs" than some of the ACTUAL buroughs.
Income, demographics, etc. play a part rather than strict geography.
Thus you will pay rents in Brooklyn Heights that are FAR closer to downtown Manhattan rents than you will in most of Washington Heights.
I really think that with some due diligence, SM, you will be able to find a nice well maintained 3 BR "in the Heights" for $3500 or less. Not LUXURY mind you, but tolerable enough.
Remember too, if the rent is lower and you have a cold bedroom, a space heater is always an option.
Just be prepared to do a LOT of looking...there are a lot of roach filled dumps out there.
Jfyi, there are LOTS of neighborhoods in Brooklyn with better and cheaper housing than Washington Heights, and none are ghettoes nor barrios.
Brooklyn Heights, the most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn is not a consideration.
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Why is it that some insist upon imposing their individual perceptions as if they are real.
WH, Harleem, nor Inwood are in any way equivalent to any Borough. Boroughs are comprised of many neighborhoods and lifestyles. A neighborhood is not a borough!
Yet, within boroughs, Brooklyn for example, are equivalent neighborhoods for all those mentioned.
Read your two posts.
Do they actually make sense to you?
First you equate Morningside Heights/Washington Heights to MANHATTAN and tell the OP to look in other BOROUGHS and then claim that equating neigborhoods to boroughs is inappropriate? Seems a confused muddle. If anyone doesn't seem to know the difference between a neighborhood and a borough it is you.
But to the Original poster, I am CERTAIN that I could get a nice, well kept large 2 BR/ 3 bedroom in either of the Heights areas if I chose to live there...you should be able to as well with some due diligence.
Pendantry not necessary but some people seem to get off on it.
Last edited by Kefir King; 06-26-2011 at 08:46 AM..
You can also check the building department site and use ACRIS to find violations. ACRIS will also tell you the owner of a given building, and you can then check that out by googling for news stories.
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