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I do have a buyer, and it is my daughter, Samantha.
Oh. That's great.
MODELL: Selling apartments to other family members
is always very awkward.
I don't know where to go from here.
I feel terrible.
Negotiating the deal with my mom is tough.
Money tends to separate family.
I feel as though we need to come back onto the market
with somewhat of a ***.
HOLT: There's only four days to go until the open houses.
I can see things aren't completely done yet.
HOLT: I see a very unfinished bathroom over there.
This is making me very nervous.
There's a ton on the line here
because my name is attached to this building.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
MODELL: I'm here at 420 East 72nd Street to visit my friend Nina.
She's just completely renovated her apartment,
and I am so excited to see it.
I know it will be absolutely fantastic.
Hey!
[ Smooches ]
So good to see you.
I'd love to.
This is the living room --
very open and airy, as you can see.
I mean, the place looks absolutely fantastic.
I'm glad you like it.
It's a big difference.
Apart from the fact that she has great light and lovely views,
the apartment is pristine.
As brokers, we call this triple-"A," triple, triple mint.
NINA: I always wanted a place where you can cook
and everybody could sit at the counter
and you could still see everybody.
MODELL: I know that you wanted me to see this fantastic renovation,
but...are you thinking of possibly putting this
on the market?
Well, I need your professional opinion.
I was told that I can get $1.5 for this,
and I need you, as a good friend,
to tell me the truth.
We are selling this house
so that we could build a house in the Hamptons.
We do need the money out of this house
to be able to go through with that deal.
MODELL: So, when are you thinking of listing the property?
NINA: I am not listing the property.
I do have a buyer,
and it is my daughter, Samantha.
Oh. That's great.
I'd love her to have this apartment,
but I know the price is too high,
so, hopefully, you could help me out
coming to a fair price.
MODELL: I understand that she wants to keep this in the family,
make everybody happy,
but she has to be mindful of the fact
that she's put a lot of money into this apartment.
I think a good idea would be if I spoke with Samantha alone
and get her perspective on the situation.
That's great.
She's in the building, so I can call her now,
and you can go up and talk to her.
Perfect. Let's do that.
HOLT: So, Robin, thanks for bringing me out today.
I'm really excited to see the building.
HOLT: Today, I am with Robin from Karass Development.
Robin and his team have properties all over the world.
This is going to be a new one,
and we're gonna take a tour of the building,
which is currently under construction.
It was going to be a high-end condo building.
We're gonna reposition it,
and we're thinking high-end rentals.
ROBIN: Lucie worked with me on another building that we have.
It went really well.
She handled it like a pro,
and we're excited to get her input
and see what she thought of this building, as well.
Okay. So, this is the living room/kitchen area.
HOLT: Well, the first thing when I walk in, obviously --
I look at the view up here.
I mean, that's pretty impressive.
And this is gonna be an open kitchen here, right?
This is gonna be an open kitchen.
You're gonna have a breakfast bar that comes this way.
What we're thinking is having this as a model apartment.
I think that would be a brilliant idea.
I think doing this as a high-end rental for now
is a really, really good idea.
In five years, if they decide to sell,
I think that they could get top dollar for this.
So, welcome to the penthouse.
This is the living room here.
Look at this view. Incredible.
And look at the terrace.
ROBIN: The terrace stretches the entire way.
It goes right down to the back of the building.
This is very impressive.
ROBIN: I have really high expectations for Lucie.
I mean, she hasn't done a whole building herself.
There is a certain element of risk there,
but, in this business,
you know, it could be an upside for us
because she is really hungry.
I feel as though we need to come back onto the market
with somewhat of a ***,
changing some of the marketing materials,
get some press out there.
And then, it's very, very important
that we reach out to the brokerage community
because they've got clients waiting for a project like this.
I think the more brokers you can bring in, the better.
That's gonna be a key part to this.
My only concern for you
is we have a really, really tight deadline.
I need to bring in a few experts.
We're aware of those time frames,
and we're gonna work as hard as we can.
I'll just focus our efforts on getting it built,
and you focus your efforts on getting it rented.
Moving forward, I have a lot of work ahead of me.
I have to get the team together,
and I have to make sure I get great tenants for Robin.
This is just the beginning.
MODELL: After meeting with Nina,
I'm now on my way up to Samantha's apartment,
and I'm anxious to see what thoughts she has
about pricing on her mom's apartment
and, certainly, what I could do for them.
Hi, Leslie.
Good. How are you?
Good to see you, too.
I think this could potentially be a very awkward situation,
so I think it's important to meet with Sam separately.
We have a 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter,
and this apartment is a two bedroom, one bath.
Her apartment has another bath.
I like the building, I like the neighborhood,
so it would be really nice to stay here.
SAMANTHA: I think someone who is outside of the family
can help mediate the situation between the financials
and help us work together
and do what's fair for both of us.
And if we could get it worked out,
I would love for you to sell this place.
That would be great. I would love it.
So, why don't you show me around?
I'd love to see it.
This is the living room.
Okay, great space.
We spend a lot of time in here.
This is our dining room.
It's a nice, big dining area.
Yeah. It's a nice space.
And then, over here is our kitchen.
MODELL: I think that Sam's apartment is really beautiful.
It has the same exposures as Nina's apartment,
great light, same protected views,
and it's in great condition.
To me, this apartment's a home run and very easy to sell.
MODELL: I think what we need to do is go out with mom
and go look at some other apartments for comps
and see what's out in the market,
what things are selling for and trading for,
and I think, at that point,
there will be a sense of comfort for you and for mom.
Perfect.
Great.
We're all on board.
All right.
LUCIANE: We're really excited about this project
because it's something very unique
that doesn't really exist downtown.
HOLT: I'm meeting today at Citi Habitats
with three of my colleagues so that we can talk
about rebranding and remarketing this amazing building.
I think the minute we have the name finalized
and maybe even a landing page for a Website,
we should do a release out to the trades.
Two weeks before we're ready to open,
we bring in The New York Times and maybe even New York Magazine
for an exclusive walk-through of the finished model unit.
CHARLES: I have a lot of background working with the media.
Cliff has a lot of background
leasing and marketing apartments.
Luciane knows how to get the brokerage community involved.
Luciane: I can have our team members call
and specifically invite everyone
with a personalized invitation.
I like that idea, actually.
This is a design-driven building.
The Frank Gehry building --
that's a design-driven product, as well.
So, I think if we go there and take a look,
I'll show you the types of ways and methods that we used
to sell design.
HOLT: Cliff is gonna play a key role in my team.
I want to be on top
of every single great building in Manhattan
that's leased out in record time.
And I'd like to see how you're marketing $10,000
versus $25- to $40,000 units.
And I'm excited.
This is gonna be an amazing project.
This particular apartment is two bedrooms, two bath.
It has Central Park views and some water views, as well.
MODELL: My friend Nina and her husband
want to sell their two-bedroom, two-bath apartment
to their daughter, Samantha.
So, today, I'm going to take them out to see a comp,
and Samantha needs to understand
what Nina's apartment is really worth.
Hi. Elia Clemente from Douglas Elliman.
Welcome to Yorkville Towers.
Wow. Fabulous view of Central Park.
It's a beautiful view.
So, here you have a lovely dining area and an open kitchen.
It's a little small. I mean, the living room's...
MODELL: Keep in mind that this apartment is priced less.
We're at $1,195,000
This is a good place for Leslie to show us
because we can see the difference
between the values in, like, let's say,
a $1.2 verses a $1.5, as far as size, location.
You can see what you get and the differences.
So, this is the master bedroom,
and it has, again, a really lovely view.
En suite -- So it has its own bath.
We've seen this price point.
My idea is to show you a higher price point
so that we can get an accurate value
of what Nina's apartment should be valued at.
That sounds good. That sounds fair.
MODELL: I think, by having them see what's out there on the market,
it will immediately lead them to understand
what that market value is for Nina's apartment.
CLIFF: In front of everybody is a complete marketing package
for New York by Gehry.
Today, we're at New York by Gehry.
We're going to be touring the building,
and Cliff is gonna be showing me some of the marketing materials
that he used to launch this very successful building.
Okay. This is a one-piece, and it's about the right size
for what we could do for Mulberry Street.
I think Robin would be impressed.
I actually just got a call from him this morning,
and he's officially named the building Mulberry House.
There are 900 units here.
I only have nine, but they're all top of the line.
And people that are gonna be paying this kind of money
want to know what they're getting for that.
[ Laughs ]
LUCIANE: You can see all the bridges from here.
CLIFF: Every one of them all the way up
to the Whitestone and Triborough bridge.
Now, you do not have a 61st floor,
so let's look at the apartment.
Okay?
CLIFF: The customer at this price point --
they care a lot about entertaining,
so it's very important
how we have the dining and the living laid out,
and it also needs to relate to the kitchen.
CLIFF: In this case, the kitchen is a very open kitchen,
you have the same kitchens at Mulberry House.
Why don't we take a look at the bedrooms?
[ Laughs ]
CLIFF: It's three-bedroom,
so we have to show the versatility
for someone that might have children in the home
versus adults in the home.
So, doing something like this --
a full on the bottom and a twin bunk on top --
and you still have plenty of room
for other furniture in here.
HOLT: Mulberry House has to be a stick-out.
It has to be a gem.
My plan is to actually recreate,
on a much smaller scale,
what they did with the three-bedroom units
at the Gehry building.
MODELL: Hello, there.
Hi.
MODELL: I'm here to meet my good friend Nina and her daughter, Samantha.
Nina is in the process
of trying to sell her apartment to her daughter,
[ Doorbell rings ]
Hopefully, after today's showing,
they'll understand where the price needs to be,
and everybody will be happy.
Nice to meet you.
Hi. How are you? Samantha Berg.
Nice to meet you.
Let's take a look.
SAMANTHA: Sounds good.
Oh, great light.
Yeah. It's nice and open.
So, in here, we have kitchen/dining den.
If we just think about Nina's apartment,
this apartment is 300 square feet bigger,
and it has the outdoor space.
And, of course, this is three bedrooms, as opposed to two.
MODELL: I think, by showing them these comp apartments,
they'll understand what's out in the market right now
and where the prices are.
It's very hard.
Every seller thinks their apartment
is worth that much more,
and every buyer wants to pay that much less,
even in families.
MODELL: Again, you have great light, good closets.
Both bedrooms are good, decent sizes for kids.
SAMANTHA: Negotiating the deal with my mom is tough.
Money tends to separate people when you're dealing with family,
and, you know, I don't want to insult her.
My feeling is, Nina's apartment is worth about $1.4 million.
I think that's a good price for her apartment.
I still think it's a little bit high for us.
How does $1.35 sound?
It's the best price I could do,
and I really want you to have it.
Leslie, if you could sell our apartment
for around maybe $800,000 --
that's what we were thinking and hoping --
I think we could really make something work.
I'll try to get as close as possible, obviously.
I want this all to work out.
My next steps would be to put Samantha and Miles' apartment
on the market
and get as close to that asking price that we can
and get a quick sale done.
ROBIN: Hey.
Hey, Robin. How are you doing?
Good to see you.
HOLT: Today, I'm back at Mulberry House.
I'm meeting with Robin, the developer.
I brought my colleague Cliff with me, as well.
I want to catch Robin up
on everything that we've been doing
in terms of marketing for this building,
and, hopefully, he's gonna give me an update
as to where he is on the renovations.
Wow! Look at the difference!
Oh, my gosh.
Look at the furniture. I mean...
I think we have a kitchen.
I cannot get over it.
And all the high-end appliances -- which is great.
Ooh. Look what they did in here.
This is very chic.
You know, there's a lot of furniture in here,
and it still feels like a really big room.
Oh, crikey.
I see a very unfinished bathroom over there.
This is making me very nervous.
HOLT: There's only four days to go until the open house,
but I'm so apprehensive
because I can see things aren't completely done yet.
We won't actually have a brochure
because we can't take photographs
until all the photos are in and staged.
What Lucie and I discussed was creating a floor plan
and, on the back, just have the logo
and the Web address.
Yeah, and maybe makes it a little more impactful
when the photos on the Web are up, running.
ROBIN: I've got pretty high expectations for the open house.
I'm looking to see how well Citi Habitat, Lucie, and Cliff
are gonna organize it
and make sure that they do get the people here
that they want to be here.
We've gotten some very good press so far --
New York Post, The Real Deal.
And New York Times was interested, as well?
New York Times wants to do an editorial.
They're waiting for this to be finished.
HOLT: There's a ton on the line here
because my name is attached to this building,
and if I get this building rented out successfully for him,
there'll be business in the future.
Isn't that great?
And, by the way, these are all protected views.
I also notice there's absolutely no noise from the street.
You're 18 flights up.
MODELL: So, I'm here at 420 East 72,
and I have several appointments set up.
I know how much it means to Miles and Sam
that we get this sold
so that they can stay in the building
and purchase their mom's apartment.
How long ago was the kitchen renovated?
A couple years ago.
So, she did a total gut renovation --
beautiful new cabinetry, nice granite countertops.
It's a very, very well-run building --
very well-maintained,
24-hour door.
And I think we've priced it right.
This is bedroom number two.
You said they're newlyweds,
so this will come in handy for them.
They are talking about having a kid soon,
so this will work out well.
OLSON: My clients just got married,
and they're on their honeymoon right now,
so it's, in my opinion, a great apartment overall.
And it's also in their price range, too,
so it's kind of hitting all the check marks.
Now, what are the maintenance fees on the building?
So, the maintenance for the apartment is $2,000 a month.
ANDREA: The kitchen had great storage space.
The master bedroom is beautiful. North-facing views are great.
So, here we have the bath.
It's a little bit small, Leslie.
It's actually pretty typical
for this particular-size apartment.
JEFFREY: I'm very interested in the apartment,
but I do want to look at some other spaces first,
and I may make a low offer
to see how negotiable the sellers are.
Thank you for the tour.
MODELL: Samantha and Miles really want to move forward
on their mother's apartment,
but I have to get a certain price
for this apartment,
or none of this will work.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
HOLT: Hey, you. Nice to see you.
Today is the broker's open house, and I'm very excited.
Everything's on target.
The staged apartment looks absolutely fabulous.
I really think that everything's come together,
and I want to thank you guys.
Lucie, did you see the brochures,
Amazing.
Considering we had, like, three days to do it,
they look absolutely spectacular,
so thank you.
So, let's go and do it.
Okay. Thank you, team.
HOLT: So, this is the master suite.
As you can see, it has three windows,
and one of them is facing south, and look at that view.
WOMAN: Beautiful.
HOLT: We have a stone tub here.
Shower.
How many square feet is the entire apartment?
It's 1,922, and that's without the outdoor space.
I kid you not, Lucie.
I'm renting one of these tonight.
The brokers that I've invited today
deal with this high-end product,
and, hopefully, they'll be able to bring their clients by
in a week or two.
Great. And the whole building has central air?
Yes, and these are radiant floors.
TOES: The product speaks for itself. The finishes are really nice.
Great high ceilings.
And I think that it should rent pretty well.
So many other places are very cookie-cutter,
and this is just very unique and special.
We think that we priced the units well,
and there's really nothing like this in the neighborhood.
I've had a very successful broker's open house.
However, the broker's open house doesn't mean anything
if I don't have people that really want to get in
before our deadline.
That's the next thing.
Perfect.
So, how was the party?
The party was absolutely amazing.
Today, I'm meeting with Robin so that I can give him an update
of what happened at the broker's open house.
Have you heard anything back from anyone?
We have two people
that would love to sign contracts immediately.
That's great.
I'm glad to hear
that there was a good, positive response there.
ROBIN: Yeah, I think we made the right choice by going with Lucie.
We're always looking to build relationships with people,
and if she has some success here,
there's always something around the corner.
How's it going with the ad campaign?
What we'd like to do is a really big splash,
but we're not gonna do that, really,
until the penthouse and the lobby is done
because, you know, there's nothing really to see.
No, that's fine.
I mean, logistically,
we're probably looking at three to four months.
We got to have it by those dates
because even the people who are signing the leases --
They've got to move out of where they're living.
Yeah, and you want to get paid.
And I want to get paid 'cause I don't get paid
until they move in the door.
HOLT: I was so anxious in the beginning,
but now I feel like everything has worked out
according to plan,
so I'm feeling really, really energetic and great
about this project.
I think it's gonna be so successful.
Hopefully, we get this building full and we'll all be happy.
MODELL: Hi, guys.
Hi, Leslie.
MODELL: I'm here at the 2nd Avenue Deli to meet Samantha and Nina,
and I have some news for them
that might make this process go a little bit quicker.
So, I have an offer, and I'm pretty excited about it.
It's $738,000, all cash, so you will close very, very fast.
I know it's less than what we had spoken about,
but it allows you to move forward
into Nina's apartment.
SAMANTHA: We needed to get some more out of it,
and we thought the apartment was worth a little bit more,
so we're a little disappointed.
I don't know where to go from here.
This is pushing it for us. Absolutely, it's a push.
I knew coming in that it was a low offer,
and I'm pushing it
because I know it's probably the best offer
she's going to ever see.
How about this?
You obviously have the house that you're building.
Would you consider giving a small percentage stake
in the house to Samantha and Miles?
We have thought about that, and I think --
I'm fine with that,
and the main reason for doing the house
was for you to come out there.
I mean, I obviously have to talk to Miles.
It sounds like it could be something.
It might offset the loss.
What's mine is yours.
It's a stretch for Sam to be purchasing her mom's apartment
at $1,350,000,
but by getting a stake in her mother's Hampton house,
she's able to secure an asset for her future.
I think this makes it an easier pill to swallow for right now.