20 months ago I thought I’d NEVER be able to consider living in LIC, much less in Manhattan again and reconciled myself to the bucolic life in Scottsdale. But things changed and changed FAST!

Obviously I miss Manhattan. Hell, I was born there – so of course I miss it terribly. But now I may be able to have the best of both worlds – simply because I felt I was too tightly stretched to pay that maintenance, the parking, the utilities, and a 1.1 million dollar mortgage payment.

Just for the hell of it – wonder how long it might take Rock Rose to transfer all the assets out of the holding company that enters into these “guarantees” and then file a chapter 7 when the party is over and it’s time to pay those poor buyers some five years hence? Bigger companies have managed just precisely that kind of maneuver to get their tail out of a financial crack. Do you really think RR Development would think twice following that unethical but perfectly legal example as a way to ditch some substantial debt owed to several hundred would be buyers who were dumb enough to trust them based solely on their reputations alone? Given their reputation for being BRUTAL in business (remember when they got bad press for evicting men in the 80′s who were dying from AIDS before the cocktails came along in the early 90′s?) and other charming but perfectly legal and lawful but equally reprehensible not-giving-a-damn-about-their-tenants sorts of actions? Maybe you younger kids don’t remember, but I was there and read all about it in the local papers while RR execs muttered “no comment” when asked to explain their actions publicly! Maybe RR has gotten nicer in the current economy – but frankly I doubt it. Leopards don’t change their spots very often, in my experience.

INVESTIGATE before you invest your hard earned money. What if there are a couple of hundred buyers wanting to exercise their option to bail out in five years and the units are worth 20% of what those buyers paid for them today or tomorrow? Why do you think there was no surety or bond backing this “offer” anyway?

Good advice was once given to Cleopatra, ie: “Don’t take a viper to your bosom.” and in that same genre’ I’d proffer “Don’t expect Rock Rose to play fair if there’s a lot of money at risk and they can do ANYTHING ELSE AT ALL to save their cash.”

Older, Wiser, and OUT OF LIC FOR GOOD – THANK HEAVEN!

also, i think the catch of the 5 year guarantee is that you can’t touch it within the 5 years. so if the mkt drops 20% and stays low for a while but rebounds before the 5 year deadline, too bad, you missed the opportunity to buy it cheaper. on the other hand, if the mkt does not rebound after 5 years, good luck if you can still find rockrose.

it’s a win win (well kind of) plan for rockrose but a lose-lose plan for anyone who’s paying for their full price now.

This is an incredible incentive for buyers and I don’t understand why anyone would criticize Rockrose unless you’re jealous. In this market to guarantee a minimum 10% profit (outside of closing costs) is incredible. Could be very risky by Rockrose but it shows they have a ton of confidence in the LIC real estate market.

I personally will be moving into the Powerhouse by the end of January. I know the sponsor will control the board (3 of the 5 seats) for the first 5 years, and after that they will give up the majority.

Also, I question your statement that they remain in control of the board even after they have sold all of the units. It is quite common for them to remain in control until a certain % of units are sold or for a certain amount of time after the first unit closes (i.e. 1 year) but I’ve never heard of a building remaining in control forever.

I’ve read many offering plans too and what Rockrose has in theirs isn’t standard. I don’t have it in front of me, but when I do I’ll post it here.

oh and Rockrose remains in control of the commercial space, including any income from its lease *forever* and they can put anyone in there that they want with no say from the condo owners/board.

there’s even a clause that says Rockrose the corporation may make decisions that aren’t in the best interests of the condo owners and may even be not in the best interests of the building!

Wow.