real estate: The intense interest in m127 auction is ironic
- 07/08/10 02:35 AM
When my recent posts on the auction of six condos in a new development called m127, at 127 Madison Avenue, generated a record number of page views on my blog, I was struck by an irony. What hit me – ouch! – was the difference between the number of people who registered to bid for the apartments, which were developed between 30th and 31st streets in Manhattan, and the number of buyers who rush headlong from competition in other purchase situations. To them, the very idea of a bidding “war” is anathema. But I’ll bet many of these same potential buyers … (0 comments)
real estate: HUD ratchets up LGBT anti-discrimination efforts
- 07/07/10 01:47 AM
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says it now will pump up its activities to combat housing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and families (LGBT). New guidance treats gender identity discrimination most often faced by transgender persons as gender discrimination under the Fair Housing Act and instructs HUD staff to inform individuals filing complaints about state and local agencies that have LGBT-inclusive discrimination laws. Last month, HUD announced that it will require grant applicants seeking HUD funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals. In addition, HUD intends to propose new … (0 comments)
real estate: Price is important, but it shouldn’t be everything
- 06/22/10 02:54 AM
Living room of $660,000 one-bedroom co-op on Manhattan's Upper West Side. This is one of four apartments that I took the opportunity of broker open houses to visit last week on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The price of $660,000 for perhaps an 800-sf co-op may or may not seem too steep in the eyes of a prospective buyer. However, less important than the value of the place is the way that the savvy listing broker talked about price by putting it into intelligent perspective. His is a lesson often lost on other brokers and, even more frequently, on consumers … (1 comments)
real estate: Sellers can tempt buyers with attractive financing
- 06/21/10 10:44 AM
In a difficult selling environment, there is one surefire way for a property owner to lure buyers. That approach, which is not without risks, is seller financing. Any risks can be minimized, and the strategy can prove to be win-win for buyer and seller alike: The seller gets to unload a property and obtain a higher rate of interest than with most other options, while the buyer avoids the hassle and uncertainty of borrowing from a conventional lender. As Rockville lawyer Harvey S. Jacobs has pointed out in the Washington Post, it is essential for the seller to insist on a … (0 comments)
real estate: There’s marketing and then there’s fantasyland
- 06/10/10 02:39 AM
All of us get spam and all kinds of mail that we don’t have the time to read. From the e-mails that I receive from other brokers, you might think they were the exception. This is just a sample--every one of them selling a property. More below. I’ve gone to a bit of trouble to show you the e-mails that I received on Friday alone, admittedly a busy day, to demonstrate what too many brokers believe is effective marketing and to take the opportunity to rant and whine. Every single one of the e-mails you see here touts a property, and … (5 comments)
real estate: Comparing sales just got harder, in a way
- 06/09/10 01:35 AM
Six of one and . . . (Flickr photo by theilr) Starting March 12, the city changed the way it displays property records in its online database, the Automated City Register Information System, or ACRIS. The modification was little noticed until the Real Deal ran a piece on its Web site the other day. For example, as the publication observed, the closed sale price of a unit at 10 West 66th St. that had shown a recorded sale price of $1 million jumped to $1.75 million. A studio at 61 Jane St. had a price tag of $87,900 when the deal … (0 comments)
real estate: Is it a losing battle for brand-name brokerages?
- 06/03/10 03:37 AM
Are new business models winning a fight with older brokerages? (Flickr photo by red betty black.) The new June issue of the Real Deal has a piece about an unsurprising development among brokers. In the article, which correctly quotes me, writer Candace Taylor notices that many brokers are questioning the value of their affiliation with name-brand firms in New York City. Referring not only to commission splits but also to annual fees up to $5,000 that brokers must pay their firms, plus errors and omissions insurance, Taylor notes: Most agents are willing to fork over the cash in exchange for the … (48 comments)
real estate: Maybe, just maybe, Shakespeare had a point
- 06/02/10 10:25 AM
The Supremes. Okay, killing all the lawyers would a mistake, especially those in the photo. But there are times when I’d like to savage some whose involvement in a transaction made my life difficult. Such are the lawyers with little experience in real estate, no respect for real estate brokers, no commitment to hard work or some combination of those characteristics. A lawyer, often a relative or a relative of a friend, who isn’t accustomed to real estate contracts invariably is a problem. She or he usually doesn’t appreciate how routine are the negotiations and terms of a sales … (0 comments)
real estate: New Good Faith Estimate has unintended effects
- 06/01/10 02:55 AM
The new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) went into effect at the beginning of the year. Its aim is to protect the consumer against hidden fees and enable borrowers without advanced degrees in accounting or law to compare apples and oranges. Previously, GFEs had a way of departing from reality at the closing table. As mortgage broker Bruce Maasbach and others have written, from which I am shamelessly quoting without little additional attribution, the new GFE rules require lenders to disclose and estimate all the closing costs outside of their own fees accurately. The clincher is this: The lender … (3 comments)
real estate: NYC Brokers flout Fair Housing laws with impunity
- 05/18/10 11:18 AM
Brokers flout Fair Housing laws with impunity By Malcolm Carter When it comes to many matters relating to real estate, the Big Apple often lags the rest of the country. One prime example discussed on this blog concerns the continuing resistance, especially by the biggest brokerages, to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) even while reluctantly accepting VOWs (Virtual Online Web sites). Another example involves the strictures of the Fair Housing Act, along with other anti-discrimination legislation on the municipal, state and and federal levels. Such measures protect certain “classes” of consumers–for instance, by the source of their income, marital status, age, race … (3 comments)
When my recent posts on the auction of six condos in a new development called m127, at 127 Madison Avenue, generated a record number of page views on my blog, I was struck by an irony.
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