3 Hanover Square
Bidders will have the opportunity on July 29 to win an apartment at the city’s estate auction of five co-ops and a condo ranging from the Financial District all the way up to Washington Heights.
Manhattan Public Administrator Ethel J. Griffin will seek to dispose of the properties, which can be inspected July 13, 15, 19 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
Two of the properties failed to sell at the last auction, and had the amount of their minimum bids cut, so this is your second chance. (Should they go unsold this time, the apartment will be turned over to a real estate broker to market.) They are:
- 570 Grand St., #H1305, co-op, 1,350 square feet, three bedrooms, one and a half baths with monthly maintenance of $1,009. Minimum bid: $540,000, reduced by $40,000.
- 116 Pinehurst Ave., #F53, co-op, 1,094 square feet, two bedrooms, maintenance of $1,138.36 and assessment of $142.74 monthly. Minimum bid: $620,000, a $60,000 reduction;
The property at 116 Pinehurst Ave. is within Hudson View Gardens, an appealing oasis in Washington Heights.
Added to the foregoing properties are the following ones:
- 204-206 W. 10th St., Apt. 3, co-op, 345 square feet, one bedroom, $634 maintenance per month. Minimum: $325,000;
- 270 W. 17th St., Apt. 3H, condo, 552 square feet, three rooms, monthly common charges of $550 and annual taxes of $6,300. Minimum: $475,000
- 550 Grand St., Apt. G12E, co-op, 780 square feet, three bedrooms, one and a half baths, $719 monthly maintenance. Minimum: $260,000;
- 3 Hanover Sq., Apt. 9B, co-op, 562 square feet, $774 maintenance. Minimum: $310,000.
Bear in mind that the terms of the sale are all cash. Also note that the properties are sold as is, so inspecting the properties with care is essential. And know that the public administrator can withdraw any of the properties any time and reject all bids without notice.
Surrogate's Court, 31 Chambers St.
You’ll need a certified check that is payable to the Public Administrator of New York County equal to 10 percent of the minimum bid, and you should be prepared to pay cash (which, of course, means that financing in hand is acceptable) at closing. Deposits will not be refunded if you fail to comply with terms of the contract.
One bit of good news is that sales of the co-ops are subject to approval by their boards of directors. If they reject you as purchaser, that stipulations means your deposit will be returned.
A second piece of good news is that heavy competition is highly unlikely. The woman who won a co-op at 201 w. 70th St. on the Upper West Side last time around was the lone bidder; she paid only the reserve price. And the man who succeeded with the purchase of a condo at 392 Central Park West did very well, too, against weak competition.
Winning bidders tend to be happy about the sums they pay. Others say that the amounts are not that enviable.
If you want to be part of the action, head with proper ID to 31 Chambers St. (across from the Municipal Building), Room 503, an impossibly ornate chamber in an equally ornate building, at 11:30 a.m. (I’ve never seen such an auction begin on time, especially since it is preceded by a lawyer droning on about the process.)
Don't even think about friending this guy.
Questions? You might be able to get more information by calling the public administrator’s office at 212-788-8455 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 212-788-8455 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
There are few better opportunities to think about your own estate when the subject of an auction such as this one arises. The properties on the block belonged to individuals who died without wills or known heirs.
What better time to update your will or have one drafted if you have not yet done so?
Do you really want New York City to own any of your belongings–including any real property you might own–in the event of your death, expected or otherwise?
Of course you don’t.
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