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| The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan | 
 enlarge | Author: Steven Gaines
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $3.38
You Save: $11.57 (77%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (22 reviews)
Sales Rank: 286079
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 0316154555
Dewey Decimal Number: 330
EAN: 9780316154550
ASIN: 0316154555
Publication Date: June 3, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Steven Gaines trains his sharp eye on rich people behaving badly. The arena is Manhattan luxury property and the outlandish displays of ego, outrageous behaviour, blood feuds, status hunger and conspicuous consumption that dominate that world. THE SKY'S THE LIMIT reveals the apartment-swapping adventures of many celebrities - from Jerry Seinfeld to Barbra Streisand, from Tommy Hilfiger to Gloria Vanderbilt - whose adventures in promiscuous apartment swapping and renovating are told with typical Gaines verve and style. And Gaines digs much deeper to tell us the fascinating story of how boxes stacked on boxes came to be seen as the ultimate in status for the rich. He explores the development of the cooperative apartment, originally conceived as a way to house the poor. He introduces us to a fascinating, diverse cast of carriage trade brokers, whose most important task is to get their anxious clients past the dreaded co-op board. And he gives us finely etched portraits of a few of the discreet, elderly society ladies who are the real arbiters of who gets into the so-called Good Buildings.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
big money in the big city December 22, 2007
I had no idea that New York's high-end apartment and coop market is a whole world unto itself. There's class / political / socio-economic division and structure (east side vs west side). There are rock star brokers, and there's more money than I could imagine anybody would be willing to spend on a couple of rooms in an apartment building. There's also a little bit of New York history mixed in with the narrative. It's an interesting book. I recommend it.
A City of Vultures-no not monsters but realtors and brokers! November 25, 2007
My sister rented an apartment in New York City and it was a ruthless process. Never mind that she's a lawyer working on Madison Avenue for an international firm headquartered in London. You can put up with a lot in life but dealing with New York City realtors and brokers is something that you can't be prepared for no matter what you expect. Realtors and brokers like Linda Stein, Dolly Lenz, and even Leona Helmsley except for the fact that she's omitted can shed light on the brutal warfare of getting the condo or co-op apartment. Let's say that you want to live in the River House, Gloria Vanderbilt was denied at the River House on the East River that she sued them. Co-op boards are another story. They determine who lives there. 1 Sutton Place South is a good example, an elder gay couple, successful and popular, applied but would have been rejected anyway because they were either no rich enough or they didn't want their kind of company. Places on Fifth Avenue can be more difficult especially 820 Fifth Avenue where Tommy Hilfiger bought into. The East Side is considered more posh than the West Side and being a celebrity like Madonna wouldn't get you in to a premier building. The West Side is not as brutal but some celebrity buildings like San Remo, the Dakota, Beresford, the Majestic, etc. have more than enough celebrities. Celebrities like Donna Karan and Stephen Spielberg want to renovate as well which can infuriate the boards not to mention the building's other residents. While desirable as the addresses are, the book reminded me how lucky that I don't have to deal with that in my life. I don't need to live with celebrity neighbors who barely spend the time there. I love the chapter on the Ansonia which is a New York institution. If you want to buy a co-op or a condo in New York City, it's harder than you can imagine especially if it's in a premier building like One Sutton Place South. While thinking that New York City would gladly welcome Jewish residents, it's usually the one Jewish resident on the board that vetoes the application of other Jewish applicants. Being a celebrity can be a hindrance when it comes to applying at a premier building, West Side or East Side. While Fifth Avenue wants to maintain it's snobbery, wealth, and upper crustness, Central Park West is home to celebrities and people with new money. If I had to choose a neighborhood, I prefer the West Side or the Greenwich Village where the homes and residents are going through the roof. A lot of celebrities have bought in the West Village which is no longer home to the gay community as it once was. It's become more child-friendly with stores and businesses catering to families. The art world too is being chased from there as well into other areas of the city that are more affordable. The East Village is becoming hip to live there and gentrified like Harlem. I would love to live in New York City but I can't afford to live in New Jersey where I live now.
A sad footnote because the author Steven Gaines thanked Linda Stein known as broker to the stars. Linda Stein was murdered in her fifth avenue apartment which her personal assistant confessed shortly afterwards. Despite Linda's toughness and ruthfulness, she was indeed a broker to the stars who put up with so much.
 Great Little Read January 5, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a great read - especially if you've never really understood what the big deal about co-ops v. condos is or even just don't know the difference. The gossipy tidbits in the middle make it interesting, yet it is still fact-filled. Steven Gaines did a great job with this work!
Seems like Coop Boards have more power than the IRS June 24, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book was great! Another fascinating look at the New York real estate market and where there is no limit on what you'll pay for a place to live. Very interesting in how those coop boards can bring potential owners to their knees. The book was well written and provided much insight into property ownership and real estate brokers.
The Sky's The Limit - That says it all! March 28, 2006
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
Gains takes you inside the history of many of the top buildings in NYC (A.K.A.- good buildings or GBs) as well as a beginning to present time chronicle of the often stuffy co-ops and the new money, free-frawl condo market. From the builders to the star brokers and super famous buyers, you get a real sense of how top end real estate shakes out in the big city.
Interestingly, he visits the market at the turn of the twentieth century and the boom and bust cycles that created massive fortunes and whipped so many out. A super great conversation piece is that in 1903 there were pre construction condo flips going on at a frenzied pace, and how did that end... I will say that after the depression, which was a few cycles later, luxury apartments that sold for $50,000 were on the market for $500. I welcome every opportunity to be reminded of the cyclical nature of real estate.
Talk about name dropping; how's Andy Warhol, Madonna, Babe Ruth wandering the Anasonia in his bathrobe, Ron Perelman, Denis Kozlowski, Donald Trump, Jerry Seinfeld, Donna Karan, Steve Jobs, Bruce Willis, Steve Jobs, Bruce Willis, Steve Martin, Tommy Hilfiger and Henry Kravis.
Also interesting is how zip codes can often peg your social and financial status, your religion or ethnic background, or your sexual preference.
The deal driven super-brokers Dolly Lenz and Michael Shivo shed some light of what it takes to be a top producer in the super competitive NYC market.
Dolly Lenz the top producing broker, who raked in $3 billion in sales started buying studios when she was 25 years old with her husband and within a few years owned 31 studios.
Michael Shivo on what it takes to be a successful broker-at least an average IQ and a strong will to work. "I don't do drugs, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I work 18 hours a day and I don't sleep. I think sleeping is a waste of time. All of the energy that you see is from real estate."
I'm real estate investor myself that went from $0 to $25,000,000+ in holdings in less than 5 years starting with $0, only the equity in my house. I also wrote a book: A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate: A True Story About the Ups And Downs from Wall Street to Real Estate Leading Up to Phenomenal Returns. It's a step by step, play by play of how my partner and I built our real estate company in a way that anyone can immolate.
Good Luck, Happy Reading.
My Blog: bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston
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