The first quarter is almost over and here is where we stand on prices. 

I thought it might be interesting to pass the market stats for Manhattan Sales.

Average listing prices :

Studios $636,942

One Bedrooms $938,994

Two Bedrooms $1,703,963

Three Bedrooms $3,229,273

The address everyone seems to want is UES. Here are some sprinklings of listing available now...

Rentals:

Studio on East 81st $1725

Studio on East 74th $1750

1 Bedroom on East 85th $1975

2 Bedroom on East 84th $2695

Sales: 

The Henry T. Sloane Mansion on East 68th $64,000,000 

Well you get the idea, the market has slowed but the bubble hasn't burst :)

Tenant Law.  Let me first state that I am not a lawyer and can offer no legal advice.  But what I will offer is a few tips on keeping the peace between you and the landlord.  The information below pertains to normal buildings and not disputed properties that are under undue distress to get rid of tenants inorder to sell. If your dealing with a major problem in NYC the try http://tenant-adviceandalert.com/  or dial 311 and ask for help.

When you rent an apartment in New York City (and most other places) you sign a lease and in turn you should receive keys to a vanilla shell, reasonably clean apartment with all appliances and doors, windows and locks functioning properly.  If there is any concern about any of the above items, do a walk-thru of the apartment before you sign the lease.

The day you move in (or a day before) bring a camera and document the condition of the hallways and the apartment.  A banged up elevator, or wall could come out of your pocket. Document the interior of the apartment with a newspaper showing the date in a few of the photos.

When problems arise make sure you document the problem, date, time etc in writing to the super and the landlord / management company.  A simple non aggressive memo style letter is better than a certified 4 page thesis on why your toilet is stopped up. Understand that the Super's at most building don't make much money so slipping a $20 when the take care of something for you will go miles.  Be respectful to your Super and his family and try to let him know about things at a reasonable hour (8am - 7pm).

If the problems mount and there is no response or little action from the landlord then the inevitable happens, you hold back the rent. This is where most renters cut their own throats.  If the case comes before a judge and he rules for the issue to be fixed, you will still owe the back rent. Oh and once that court case happens in New York City at least, you become a pariah to your next landlord and when they do the background check it will pop up in court records, odd of you getting that new apartment are very slim to none.

So what do you do?  Take the rent money to your bank and open an Escrow account for the sole purpose of paying your rent.  If this is a 3-6 month drawn out fight, keep paying your rent to the escrow account.  When you enter the realm of the court system you will be expected to provide documentation of all communication between the landlord / management team / super. Do not have discussions in the stairwell or sign anything with out some form of council.  Legal aid has low cost lawyers to help you. The judge will see that you have been responsible and are willing to pay your rent and live up to your half of the lease.  This places you in so much better a position to negotiate a settlement. If at all possible express your desire to have the issue resolved without a court judgment.  They know the deal and should work with you.  

Below is the Tenant's Bill of Rights, while important they are never an excuse to be a bad neighbor.  Repairs may take a few days, people have bad days and stuff happens. Give your landlord a fair chance to correct problems. 

As a renter these are your basic rights. 

Tenant's Bill of Rights

• To have hot water in the kitchen and bathroom 24 hours a day.
• Between October 1st to May 31st of each year to have heat at 68•F from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day and the right to have heat at 55•F when external temperature drops to 40•F from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. the next day.
• To have repairs.
• Extermination of your apartment. Landlord should post time when exterminator will come.
• To be free of mildew or mold.
• To have windows that properly open and close.
• A paint job at least every three years
• To know that your security deposit is safe, and not co-mingled with the landlord's money and to know the bank where the security is deposited.
• To organize, join and participate in a tenants association which can meet in the lobby of the building (RPL 230).
• To sue your landlord for breach of warranty of habitability. CRPL 235(b).
• All common areas of the building are kept in proper repair and presentable.

For the few and the proud (about 8+ million in all) who live in the urban jungle of Manhattan there are many costs involved in renting and owning. The biggest price of admission is provable income. Unlike the mortgage debacle with "Stated" Incomes, Landlords in Manhattan want to see hard valid statements of income, and a lot of it! The standard formula is 40x the monthly rent + sterling credit (700+) nothing in the public record etc. And for goodness sakes don't end up in Landlord / Tenant Court.

The included graph shows just what it takes to rent in the city. The numbers are averages compiled over several months and yes you can find cheap apartments if you are lucky and find that one deal but considering an average of 1% vacancy rate they are hard and few to find. The next time around I will reveal a few handy tips to ease a hostile landlord - tenant situation.

Average Minimum Salary's to Live in an Area (@ 40x the Monthly Rent)

Happy New Year! 

Get out the checkbooks, your going to need them. 

I won't rehash the article, just check out the link below.

MANHATTAN DEFIES $LUMP

All I will say is that Apartment prices are going INSANE.  If the new planned Columbia expansion happens, watch out! If you own property up that way it is going to skyrocket much like Coney Island has and they haven't even taken a shovel to the ground. 

If you look to Long Island City the base price for

    500 sq ft Studio is about $2000 give or take $100.  

    1000 sq ft Live / Work loft $3200

    696 Sq Ft 1 bed Apartment w/ terrace $1900

Well it is once again the end of the year and residential rental prices find themselves at all time highs in every borough.
I went to find a one bedroom on the East Side / Upper East Side for a client who's price point was $1500.  Not until 116th and 2nd ave. did I find anything close to what she was looking for.  Reality check here..  I recently rented a 10x11 studio with a full bath and stove fridge combo for $1400 a month in the mid 60's by Lincoln Center.  I'm not proud of the space, but the client was happy and felt it was better than her dorm room in college!

My personal goal is to find people homes where they are comfortable and can be happy on a daily basis. This year I have learned what I thing is to small a space or weird a space is perfect for someone somewhere.  That being said, this time around I just want to toss some areas and numbers out here for readers to digest. I welcome comments and questions about what I write.

My newest site www.OffCampusNYC.com  is drawling students from Columbia , NYU, Fordham, Hunter College, City College looking for dorm repacements so hence a selection of current 2 Bedroom apartments on the market in my system:

Queens:
Flushings    2 bedroom    $1725
Jackson Heights    2 Bedroom    $1750
Sunnyside   2 Bedroom    $2000

Brooklyn:
Flatbush   2 Bedroom    $1250
Kensington   2 Bedroom $2000

Manhattan:
Harlem (Lenox Hill) 2 Bedroom   $2300 (really sweet apartment Contact me for details)
Washington Heights   2 Bedroom   $1900   
Midtown West      2 Bedroom     $2495  (First 2 bed Apartment below 110th  in my system )
Upper East Side 2 Bedroom  $2795  ( Low 90's)
Midtown East    2 Bedroom    $7500    (2.5 Baths)

 
Bronx:
Kings Bridge Heights    2 Bedroom    $1150
Van Cordtlant Park   2 Bedroom   $1500
Seton Park   2 Bedroom   $2845

Staten Island:
N/A

If your looking for a one bedroom, maybe you should consider a roomie and halve your expenses!

To One and All Have a Happy & Safe New Year.

I did an open house for this property this weekend. This is really a nice one bedroom. High ceilings, huge double stacked closet and and pretty good working kitchen space round out this Upper East Side (mid 80's) Apartment.

 

So what will $1900 get you in New York this week? 

As always check out www.thebestofthebigapple.com for the latest rental deals.

Or a Upper 60's West Side (block off the park) Studio 

or in Washington Heights / Inwood you can get a 3 bedroom apartment

 and in West Harlem it will rent you a 1 bedroom apartment. 

That's about $63.35 a day, not including your power, cable and phone bills. 

The first of the month is here and the inventory is starting to fill up.  

There are some great deals in Inwood New York right now like a gut rehabbed Studio, 1 and 2 bedroom unit close to the train and great local atmosphere for $1000 to $1300 a month. 

If your looking on the Upper East Side don't expect to be below $1500 a month for a 1 bedroom with a few exceptions. The 80th -116th street seems to be holding to those numbers.

I have a wonderful one bedroom with a huge bathroom and nice sized kitchen / livingroom combo. for $1595

http://www.hhrealtygroup.com/details.asp?WebID=68721

Low 80's Rail-Road rehab, I just hosted an open house for brokers at a wonderful Flex 3 with exposed brick, sun drenched exposures and a new kitchen for $2995.  While the "flex" bedrooms were a little small, its still very close to the subway.  For roommates it could makes sense to have 3 in the apartment as a dinky, studio a few blocks south just rented for $1500.

6 floor walkup penthouse...  What? Yes but the best part is the terraces that have almost more space than the unit.

http://www.hhrealtygroup.com/details.asp?WebID=70515

I personally would stay away from studio apartments when possible.  It's better to have some space if you can swing the extra $100 a month by living 20 blocks further north. Plan your search 1-2 months in advance so you can make an informed decision.

As always feel free to email me or call me if you have questions regarding NYC properties or are looking to rent an apartment.

Andrew King

HH Realty Group

646-275-6885 

Enough picking on people, lets leard the leson of the week, Fill up the frame with the home.

Notice here we see the house, the carport, the lawn etc  all in a nice tidy frame.  

 Let the lesson begin...

Besides color correction :) Fill The frame up with the house,
I dont think the car and the garbage add to the resale value of the home.

Cool I always wanted a to by a big STOP lawn....  I guess they had to pave the grass under?

Fill The frame up with the house

Close, but 1) Wheres the rest of the house?  PLEASE Don't shoot into the Sun!  Also In most MLS's that I know of posting a photo of a home with the Brokerage's sign up is worth a monetary fine!

 Lastly for today...

THIS IS THE MLS NOT AutoTrader.com

FILL THE FRAME WITH THE HOUSE NOT YOUR CAR

Also on a side note that hill could scare off clients, level the home in the frame when you take a photo.  

Today the King of Real Estate Photography is not beating up on agents with little photo skills, I'm coming off the top rope  and body slamming the Agent who says... "I just Don't Give a Shit About Being a Real Estate Agent"

This just defies description... I'm actually at a loss for words... 

Rule 363 of Photography - Never wear a jet pack while taking pictures -

Heres a great one - Hint - the photo is OK

0 room Condo
0 Full Bath
NONE, - heating
Attached Brick construction
Year Built: 1988

 So what the hell Am I buying for 162k?

 And the ever famous which populates way to many listing below 500k

Look I have nothing personal against the LI MLS or any agents that appear here.  My issue is, as a consumer this is bullhockey, if these were my properties I would implode!  Agents should be held to some kind of standard and so should the brokerage.  I honestly think the MLS service doesn't realize how bad this really is.

Be advised, I'm out there looking for the worst, you may want to say off my list ;) 

Drew