Stephanie L Davis's (theadvocategroup) Blog

  MARKET RECAP With the passing of each week it becomes increasingly difficult to argue that housing isn't in full-recovery mode. This week's data makes it nearly impossible, considering that sales of new homes spiked 9.6%, in July, to an annual pace of 433,000 units. The “experts” had expected s...

Daily Real Estate News  |  August 24, 2009  |  First-Time Buyer Tax Credit Extension Possible Bills to extend the maximum $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, which expires Nov. 30, are pending in both the U.S. House and the Senate. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat and ch...

An Offer Accepted, but Open Houses Go On By Jay Romano   Can a seller’s real estate agent legally and ethically hold an open house after a contract to buy an apartment in New York State is issued? I’m the buyer, and my lawyer is reviewing a contract sent by the seller’s lawyer. I have just found ...

Condos vs. Co-ops: The Monthly Charges   By Jay Romano   While I understand the fundamental differences between a co-op and a condominium, I am curious about the monthly charge. If one were to compare the maintenance charge in a co-op with the condo’s common charge (plus real estate taxes) in ide...

Co-op Board Repeatedly Rejects Potential Buyers By Jay Romano I own a one-bedroom co-op in Yonkers, and the board has rejected four buyers for my unit in the past two years. The mortgage is paid for, so I am paying the maintenance for an empty unit. The board is unsympathetic. What happens if I j...

Failure to Pay Maintenance By Jay Romano What happens when co-op shareholders don’t pay their monthly maintenance fees? Are the fees charged to the other shareholders? Are there legal avenues that the board or the management company can pursue? “When a shareholder fails to pay the maintenance, th...

  Buyer Inspections of Co-ops   By Jay Romano   I recently made an offer on a co-op, which was accepted. I assumed I would need to get an inspector to look at the apartment and the building in general, but I have heard that this is not necessary in a co-op. Is this true? “Under normal circumstanc...

Why Some Fees Are Not Negotiable   By Jay Romano   In today’s market, is it possible to negotiate on co-op maintenance fees? “No,” said Richard Siegler, a Manhattan co-op and condominium lawyer. Maintenance charges under a co-op proprietary lease are customarily determined by multiplying the co-o...