[Trippy photo courtesy of the almighty PropertyShark]
We feel for those who get so excited about their new homes that they move in right when the building opens. More often than not, they're greeted by a scene that looks like something out of a David Lynch nightmare. For example, take in the plight of this young lady:
I just moved into a new building on Wall St. Occupancy started on Feb. 1 and I moved in on the 2nd. I think about 20 Apartments are occupied out of 300 or so. Basically, I'm living in a construction site. Lobby looks like hell, clueless temporary doormen (actually maintenance crew) have let people walk right onto the elevators, no mailboxes, no laundry. My hallway is unfinished, with torn wallpaper paint splatters are all over the elevator doors. When I contacted management, they wouldn't give me a time estimate as to when it would be finished ("right now our main priority is finishing the apartments so new tenants can move in...")
Now, I'm supposedly in a "luxury" building....When looking at the place, we were told it would be comparable to its sister building next door- which we will still share a lounge, gym, etc. Aside from the building looking like a war zone (My roommate and I affectionately refer to it as the Fallujah Building), design and quality-wise, the two buildings don't even compare. On top of that, they sprung on us after we moved in that they were changing our entrance to the side of the building- farther from the train, and all of the building's garbage is left in front of it.
I guess I have two questions for you... 1. What do you think is an acceptable period of time for a building to be under construction after tenants have moved in? I personally think that they should have had the place ready before we moved in, but hey, I'm trying to be reasonable.
2. Do you think I have any recourse if there is no improvement? I was thinking a temporary rent reduction- It's killing me that they're charging me the same rent as the tenants next door!After some gentle prodding (our interrogation methods are gentle, we swear!), our emailer gave up the information that she's talking about 67 Wall Street a/k/a/ The Crest, home to that much-ballyhooed BMW dealership. We're hearing rumblings that the management copy has had similar problems in the past. If you don't have any advice for our troubled tenant, that's fine. We just love the fact that someone's talking a little smack. But if you've got a couple cents, let's hear it.
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