10 Responses to “Luxury condos – 45 Province St.” »»

1. condobuyer
   Comment by condobuyer | 03/25/09 at 10:34 pm

   That’s the same % I got from the office about 5 or 6 months ago. I don’t know if at the time they were including reservations but they said they were referring to “under agreeement” which I thought meant that a non refundable deposit was made. While I believe they’ll be fine in the long run, it does seem the last 6 months must have been super super slow if the office told me the truth back then.

2. Peter
   Comment by Peter | 03/30/09 at 1:40 pm

   This is about the same number I’ve been getting over the past 18 months. It’s the initial friends and family that got in at the onset of the pre-sales and very little since.

   With the mortgage market where it is those who do not wish to pay all cash on closing to complete their purchase might not be able to get a loan for the remaining 90% (I think down payments were 10%, although that might have been subsequently reduced). Even 80% LTV is tough to get for jumbos these days.

   Further, with the broad markets down so much, both financial and real estate, many people who agreed to purchase at pre-sale prices will see their downpayments as options rather than commitments meaning that many will assume the current market price is lower than the price the originally agreed upon by more than the cost of the deposit.

   All this said, I expect many of those 30 (was it 30, or 30%?) to walk away from their deposits and wait to acquire their unit through auction.

   This leads to the question of when Landesbank H-T G, the bank that put up the $120m construction loan, will demand Epstein to go to auction on the units. The loan isn’t due until late 2010 but I am sure they are in breach of pre-sale covenants already that the bank can use to force auction.

   Just think, this thing is opening for move in very shortly, who is going to cover the multi-million dollar annual maintenance costs when 30% or less of the building is paying condo fees? Surely the bank didn’t sign on for that.

3. Steven
   Comment by Steven | 04/12/09 at 5:09 am

   Well I’m one of those 30+% and while I’ve been biting nails for the last two years, I couldn’t be happier to be moving forward and moving in. The appraisal just came in higher than purchase price and while getting a loan is a bit more challenging, the actual cost of borrowing money is substantially less. One preferred lender on this project is making loan commitments regardless of owner occupancy. Add to that the inventory is low for this type of property; if you’re not looking to flip it, it’s seems a solid option.

4. DagnyTg
   Comment by DagnyTg | 05/12/09 at 6:35 am

   I think the numbers are fudged. An apartment in the Intercontinental went to auction on Friday the 8th. More to come.

5. condobuyer
   Comment by condobuyer | 05/12/09 at 6:52 am

   Personally, I agree with Danny. By the way intercontinental also significantly negotiated on sales of any very large units in recent months. The original $2.5M ones went for a good 20% less.

   Steven..good for you to make a personal decision that suits you and if you intend to live there a long time that’s great. I don’t believe inventory is limited in this category though…Battery, W, Clarendon are all similar in nature with minor differences in amenities if any. Wonder what the office is saying now…still at 30%?

   Moreover, those who bought super early…i’m sure some wanted to sell it off and I imagine that of those who close, 30% will be up for resale.

6. CityMouse
   Comment by CityMouse | 05/12/09 at 7:38 am

   I have a unit under agreement at 45P too and also can’t wait to move in! I was pretty concerned about our appraisal since we signed our P&S in July of 2007 but it came in above our purchase price. We were never planning to flip our unit. Actually, the P&S puts significant restrictions on reselling in the first year.

7. condobuyer
   Comment by condobuyer | 05/12/09 at 7:42 am

   CityMouse…when do you guys get to move in?

8. CityMouse
   Comment by CityMouse | 05/12/09 at 9:59 am

   I believe closings start on May 26th.

9. Peter
   Comment by Peter | 06/12/09 at 6:58 am

   Well, move in was yesterday (6/11). There was one unit, other than the spa, with a light on last night, but I didn’t look closely enough to see if it was inhabited or if salespeople left the light on.

   The Herald covered the ribbon cutting and was nice enough to answer some questions for us;
   – they were never 30% sold, they… rounded up, “At that time, we added people who were on the fence,” said Epstein.
   – they now claim to be holding deposits on 20% (27 units) of the units, but I have to suspect they won’t convert if move in date has passed already and they haven’t purchased
   – the Herald searched the Suffolk Registry of Deeds and “found eight units have sold.”

   CityMouse and Steven, please please tell us what you think – how are your units? What is the feel of the building?

10. CityMouse
    Comment by CityMouse | 06/12/09 at 7:15 am

    Hi Peter. I believe there are 5 closings scheduled for next week. We are closing and moving in on Monday. I believe we will be the 4th unit to move in (the third is this weekend). Several of the people who have closed have their designers working on their units for a few months before they will actually move in. We did our walk thru this week. While I do wish that the building was more sold I could absolutely not be more excited to move in. The common areas are just gorgeous!

Leave a Reply »»