The costs of buying into the spicy hot Manhattan luxury real estate market don’t end with the closing of the sale, as Hollywood’s Brad Grey is learning after spending a hefty $15.5 million for an apartment at the Carlyle measuring 3,000 square feet.
Grey, the chairman of Paramount pictures, will also need to fork over another $455,352 a year in maintenance fees at the building where John F. Kennedy kept a penthouse. In all of New York, claims property appraiser Miller Samuel, the Carlyle charges the most per square foot per month.
In the end, the cost of monthly maintenance is equal to a new BMW; however Grey hasn’t made a peep complaining. For him, the high fees mean a high degree of pampering, and the luxuries of living at the Carlyle include twice-daily housekeeping, a daily newspaper, Frette bathrobes, and extravagant 600-count Yves Delorme bed linens. Deep discounts on laundry, room-service meals and beverages, and personal training are other perks that the maintenance fees include. Furthermore, Grey may not mind paying the fees because of the prestige and convenience of living at 35 East 76th St.
Brown Harris Stevens broker Kathy Sloane who has sold Carlyle residences in the past explained why many ultra-wealthy clients don’t mind the fees: “It is a way of life that people really appreciate whose lives are quite busy and full. They want everything to be organized for them, and they don’t ever want to question the standard.”
Other services included in the monthly fees are heavy cleaning, window washing, cable television, voice mail, and bath amenities. Services such as personal flower arranging and dog-walking are extra.
