Reports pouring in from 505 Court Street, the Carroll Gardens building that's going condo?sort of. A Curbed reader reports:
I also live at 505 Court -- the insider prices are ridiculous. It's only 5% off what the apartments would go for otherwise, which from what I hear is insane (our 3BR, 2bath, corner unit -- which, to be honest, is huge, has wood floors, enormous wraparound windows, but also has mice, is running somewhere in the $850k range). The tenants are pooling together to hire a lawyer to either try to get the prices of the apts. down or at least stall the management company, since while the insider prices are high, the rent is very low, especially on the 3 BRs, which apparently aren't in much demand.
Arlene Waye of the much-hated Awaye Realty was trying to scare tenants scuttling out into the street before we really are required to go. They told us they'd be trying to sell in 3 months and have refused to renew any leases, and said we'd be out on our ears if someone wanted to buy our places. However, lawyers assure us that it takes at least a year after they send out the black book before they can even think of giving us the boot.· Dealtime at 505 Court Street [Curbed]
Good points on the building: a gorgeous shared courtyard (big, rarely used), in-house laundry (though several machines usually broken at once), full-time doorman (Roscoe), very close access to Smith St. dining and lovely Carroll Gardens and the F train, supremely nice fix-it fellow (Peter), huge apartments, most with great views and enormous windows, big bedrooms and living rooms, wood floors (though they haven't been treated in years); currently, very cheap rent, at least on the 3 BRs.
Bad points on the building (and why it's hard to imagine paying nearly a million dollars to live there): Soot from the BQE comes in through the windows all day long, mice, no screens in the windows, drainage problems in the bathrooms, cheap renovations inside halls and actual apartments, cheap fixtures, just over the pass from Red Hook, homeless panhandlers adore our neighborhood, having to deal with Awaye Realty, water shut off at ridiculous times, no heat last winter for days on end and they "ran out" of heaters they were supposed to provide for each apartment, elevators frequently broken.Unfortunately, Carroll Gardens is way pricey and when we looked for something comparable, there was none to be found. I can't imagine the glut if all the residents of 505 really do get turned out.