Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance: The five stages of buying a new-construction condo. To see this range of emotions played out in real time, we direct your attention to the second page of StreetEasy's message board thread on 500 Fourth Avenue in Park Slope/Gowanus. The excitement of buyers' final walk-throughs gives way to outbursts over delayed closings, and finally Zen-like calm over letting things play out. A buyer in the building summarized the situation for us in an e-mail:
Hey guys, can you look into a "Mechanical Lien" apparently being placed on 500 Fourth Ave in BK? We were supposed to move in last November and then it was pushed back to the spring, and now when closings are finally happening supposedly the lien was placed on the building forcing all the closings to be canceled.
This is the biggest (156 units) new building in Park Slope, so I think there's a worthwhile story here. I know I'd like to know the truth behind all this craziness. Happily for buyers (but sadly for us?summers are so boring!), the craziness may be coming to an end.
We're still not quite sure what the lien was for or how much money the contractor claims to be owed, but a rep for 500 Fourth Avenue says this will all soon be in the past:
We are pleased to announce that the issue concerning a lien on the building has been fully resolved and that all closings will be rescheduled immediately. Again, we would like to express our regrets to those purchasers who were unable to close on their apartments last week. As it stands, there are several people currently living in the building who have closed smoothly and are enjoying all the perks of residing in Park Slope’s premiere building. We expect remaining closings to proceed as anticipated.Deep breath, everyone! But 500 Fourth Avenue isn't the only new Brooklyn condo building with agitated pre-buyers. Check out this blog set up by a woman in contract at Greenpoint's formerly troubled Pencil Factory. She may not have the sharpest command of the English language, but her emotions needs no translation. What was a fiery complaint blog at the start ("I got the contract from The Pencil Factory Condos and it looks bad for the buyer!") has turned into a servicey site offering advice on negotiating tax abatements and thoughts on Greenpoint's gentrification. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross would be proud!
· Thread: 500 Fourth Avenue in Park Slope [StreetEasy]
· The Pencil Factory Condos, Greenpoint, Brooklyn [Blogspot]
· 500 Fourth Avenue coverage [Curbed]
· Pencil Factory coverage [Curbed]
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