Notable Transactions
220 Riverside Boulevard, 45A – Bought for $4,287,500
3 br 3 ba Condo | Upper West Side
This three bedroom, three bathroom home with views to salivate over, was one of those units that was easy to see past the somewhat dated interiors (they dated back to the 2006 building development). Our buyers knew exactly what they wanted – space and killer views – and they were happy to renovate and put their
personal touch on their new home. These are just a couple of shots of the after. Wow.
This was one of our first Digs transactions, and it was a great one to start with! It was the peak of the market, and a time when bidding wars were more common than not for great apartments. Our clients loved Riverside Boulevard and had their hearts set on these amazing unobstructed North and West exposures – an apartment like this was hard to come by and just what they had been waiting for. How often does an apartment come along where you get unobstructed Hudson River, Riverside Park and Central Park views? They were bidding against one other serious buyer. They didn’t want to pay ask, and they didn’t want to lose the apartment. We negotiated hard, and they ended up using the $71,500 rebate they were getting to beat out the other buyer and feel comfortable that they were not overpaying.
Testimonial
“We were introduced to Digs Realty before we were ready to buy and just wanted to get a sense of the Manhattan real estate market. Dan spent countless hours talking to us about different neighborhoods, market movements, and the pros and cons of various developments, never pressuring us to start looking and always giving us his complete attention. After about six months of picking Dan’s brain, we knew what we wanted. We told Dan what we were looking for, and he sent us our dream apartment within minutes of it being listed. We only had to look at one apartment and, even though there was competition from other bidders, we got our apartment thanks to Dan’s diligence, market knowledge, and negotiating skills.”
P. and S. Mehta
107 West 86th Street, 14H – Bought for $710,000, Sold for $920,000
1 br 1 ba co-op | Upper West Side
This purchase will always hold a special place in our hearts, as it was Digs’ very first closed transaction! Since then, we’ve gone on to sell this apartment (for a nice profit for our client) and then help our clients upsize to a 3br apartment on the Upper West Side for their growing family.
Digs started with our friends trusting us, giving us a chance, and then helping us to spread the word. This first deal was done with our good friend Josh and his girlfriend (now wife), Kristin. Now, we are so lucky to call so many of our friends, clients and so many of our clients, friends. This apartment has amazing bones and killer views but needed some TLC. Kristin is an amazing designer and transformed this 1 bedroom apartment into something truly special (pictures seen here are of the after) on a budget. When we were selling this apartment for them, so many buyers asked who designed it, and one even asked for Kristin’s contact info to hire her on the side while she was on maternity leave!
Testimonial
“As a first time homebuyer Dan expertly guided me through the process from my search through bidding, contract and closing. Beyond serving as in invaluable resource, the rebate that I received paid for my renovation! I have referred Dan to multiple people, all of whom also have great things to say, and we all agree that Dan added so much value, we would use him again even if he didn’t offer a rebate.”
Josh N
9 Murray Street, 8W – Sold for $3,775,000
3 br 2.5 ba Condo | Tribeca
This amazing Tribeca loft may be our all-time favorite sale (in part because the space is spectacular, and in part because we love the sellers). This 2600+ square foot home has 11ft ceilings, and light and views from just about every window. It is 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, has a bonus office, a Poggenpohl kitchen, vented dryer, remote operated split AC units in every room, and abundant storage.
Unfortunately, we got this listing after the sellers tried listing it with another broker, and it sat on the market for nine months. They had been told it would fetch $1M more than the apartment was worth, and, with a nine month exclusivity agreement, they learned the hard way that they had been misinformed. When their exclusive listing agreement ended with the other broker, they hired Digs and dropped the listing price to market. The problem with stale listings is that buyers inevitably think there’s something wrong with them, even when they are amazing like this one. As a result, it took a little longer to sell, but we were more than happy to show every time we were approached by a prospective buyer – we truly loved showing this loft! After three months, we were in contract and saved our sellers $103,812 on their broker fee over what their previous broker was charging them.
Testimonial
“Honestly, Dan, it’s you I need to thank for your support and guidance. Not to mention putting up with all my drama. Out of all the experiences in life where I thought I might walk away with a friend, buying and selling NYC real estate was, not gonna lie to you, not even in the top 500 Few things make me happier than seeing good people do good work. Gold star!!!! And I look forward to hearing more success stories.”
R. Miller
39 White Street, #3 – Bought for $3,200,000
3 br 2.5 ba Co-op | Tribeca
This Tribeca loft dating from the 1860s is one of those masterpieces that, when you walk in, your jaw just drops and you say “wow.” RAAD Studio founder, James Ramsey, renovated his home to be clean and modern, while maintaining the original 19th century architectural details. There is a well-thought out decision behind just about every foot of this space, and our clients fell in love (as did we).
Some feature favorites: 11+ foot high pressed tin ceilings in the great room, white-washed exposed brick, the gorgeous custom kitchen with vented hood, an extra large master bathroom with separate toilet and shower, and custom built master closets.
Comment
This was a transaction complicated by a somewhat messy estate sale, with lots of emotions and a divorce to boot. Our clients were troopers and hung in there through it all until we were finally able to get the deal across the finish line. I have a feeling, in the end, they know all the pain along the way was worth being able to call this beauty there’s.
Testimonial
“Our home search lasted over a year, and we met Dan towards the end (maybe it only ended cause we met him). We worked with over 4 brokers through this time, and we wish we had started with Dan.
We found his approach straightforward, honest, filled with expertise and valuable information. From the places we identified online, he right away pointed out which ones weren’t worth a walk through, pointed out the pros and cons of the places we did look at, some of which only an experienced eye and mind would know. He posed great questions to the sellers’ agents that straight away helped us filter the units/buildings that were going to be a match.
We don’t wish to buy another home anytime soon again, but, if you do, give Dan a call! There is no one else out there that does this as a passion and clearly has a natural penchant for real estate.”
Riti B. and Ajay G.
165 Columbia Heights – Bought for $8,700,000
Carriage House | Brooklyn Heights | 4 br 3.5 ba
When I first started Digs, I was invited to a party by a real estate developer at this incredible carriage house, which was purchased from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and had undergone a top-to-bottom super high end renovation. I was introduced to this developer through his brother’s brother-in-law, whom I had met at a networking breakfast, and we had hit it off with mutual interest in each other’s businesses. He had been renting this house while renovating his own Cobble Hill townhouse a few blocks away, and was able to stay in this house for a few months while the finishing touches were put on his place. The party was one to remember for many reasons, the foremost being the amazing space. Fast forward a few years later, and I find myself back in this carriage house with my client who is interested in buying it.
The seller, the daughter of a Russian oligarch, had spent $9,800,000 just two years earlier and was prepared to take a bath on it, even if she sold it for what she paid (NYC transaction costs can be quite painful, especially at this price-point). Our client was not prepared to pay ask for this home, and we were able to negotiate over a million dollars off the seller’s asking price.
Comment
The transaction started clean, but ended quite messy, with a stalled car in the garage, the house in disarray and some unsavory canine surprises in the house when we arrived to what was supposed to be an empty house. It took a couple of walk-throughs and an adjourned closing before we could finally close. We were very lucky to have represented such a mild-mannered client on this transaction!
56 Jane Street, 4B – Sold for $721,000
Co-op | West Village | Converted 1br, 1ba
The smallest unit we ever sold was probably one of our most successful sales (and such a fun one!). We listed this beautifully renovated 315(ish) sq/ft converted 1 bedroom apartment at, what we thought at the time was, an ambitious price to account for the seller’s high-end bespoke renovation. After one open house (where Rebecca manned the door in the lobby, only allowing up 2 or 3 groups at one time given the tight space) with about 50 different groups coming through, and another week of showings, we had a bidding war. Seven bids came in, with the winning bid being all cash, $22,000 over our asking price plus the co-op’s 2.5% flip tax paid by the buyer.
It was no surprise this space went quickly, but the price tag it sold for was somewhat shocking. Our clients did a fabulous job utilizing literally every inch of the apartment. From moving the kitchen to convert the studio into a one bedroom apartment, to exposing an extra three feet of ceiling height after poking holes to explore what lay above, to custom built-ins above the entryway and abutting each side of the bed to maximize all possible storage space, our clients had an eye for design and knew what they were doing (not to mention, they had impeccable taste, and the place showed extremely well).
