tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41708701312664725142024-03-05T12:29:50.186-05:00...with ConfidenceAbout New York City real estate. And once in a while some other stuff.Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-43753520611864535712017-06-21T12:11:00.001-04:002017-08-16T16:31:43.986-04:00Does your apartment have an entry moment?<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sadly, my new apartment does not have an entry moment. Or at least I don't think it does.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I never knew there was such a thing until yesterday, when I went to visit the showroom of a dazzling new development on Park Place. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The building has gorgeous views, a 50-foot pool, a yoga center, a residents’ lounge with a pool table, trillion-dollar kitchens, and entry moments. The broker pointed out the entry moments in several of the apartments.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now, this broker happens not only to <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">be very good at her job, but also a very nice person. I like her. I have liked her for more than twenty years. So I was too embarrassed to admit I hadn’t paid close attention to her description of what an entry moment is. </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">That's why I'm not sure whether my apartment has one or not.</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I kind of think it doesn't. The apartments that I saw that have them cost more than ten million dollars. Mine cost considerably less than that. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I can do without the 50-foot pool (can’t swim), the yoga center (can’t bend), the pool table (don’t know how), and the trillion-dollar kitchen (can’t cook) but I would really love to have an entry moment. Whatever it is. I just like the sound of it</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">. </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>From what I could glean, it's either when you open the door and immediately drop dead from the view, or it's what we in the business have been calling a foyer (I'm not sure my apartment has one of those, exactly, either) only bigger.</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I will figure this out one way or another and let you know. As Rachel says, watch this space.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">UPDATE, 8/16/17: Turns out an entry moment is when, the minute you open the door, you are met with an absolutely stunning view. So you are compelled to pause at the entry for a moment, to take it all in.</span></b></div>
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<b style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Call me at 917-991-9549 or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I'll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker's opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there's no cost or obligation involved. </b></i></span></b><b></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Even if you plan to stay in your home forever, it's always good to know what it's worth.</b></i></span></b></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-76353400449909383392017-03-11T13:15:00.001-05:002017-03-11T14:23:26.360-05:00The pendulum swings again. Prewar is out, and new and shiny is in.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">An article in tomorrow’s Times Real Estate section entitled <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/realestate/prewar-is-so-last-year.html?_r=0">"Prewar
Is So Last Year"</a> talks about millennials
who are stripping the prewar detail from their prewar apartments and replacing
it with nothing, or at least a whole lot less than what was there before.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>In the article, a Douglas Elliman salesman says “Millennials…are
looking for an apartment that doesn’t necessarily remind them of their parents
or grandparents.” </b></span><br />
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" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for mid century modern homes" border="0" height="240" src="data:image/jpeg;base64,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" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-align: center;">I’d say their parents and grandparents were looking
for prewar detail because it didn’t remind them of the mid-century modern
favored by their own parents and grandparents.</b><br />
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">In the ‘70s, friends of mine bought a townhouse in Hoboken (at
the time, Hoboken was in. Now the whole
state of New Jersey is out), and ripped everything out of it so that there was one
room per floor. </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The female half of the couple was an art director and they painted
the newly bare walls in white, cream, and the palest shades of lavender and
blue. They said it had been a rabbit
warren of tiny, dusty rooms. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Thirty
years later people were searching Harlem and Brooklyn for those few townhouses with
tiny, dusty rooms that hadn’t been ripped out in the ‘70s. If you could find one that still had a
working dumbwaiter, you had struck gold.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="https://www.elliman.com/img/ca702272033e15cac28e4b0175a5e131129e1b7a+w+h+0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Elliman Photo</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A building on Third Avenue constructed in 1964 has a large </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">marquee
projecting from its front wall over the entrance. I considered it ostentatious, pretentious, ugly,
and faintly obscene. </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a while I lived
two blocks down from that building, and I was always mortally embarrassed when
anybody mistook that building for the one I lived in. “I would NEVER live anywhere that looked like
that!” I would tell them. </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But then I had a client who was a gallerist. She told me she had seen an apartment she liked in a
building on Third Avenue. “The one with
that wonderful ‘60s floating panel over the front door,” she said. </b></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Go figure.</b></span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #313c31; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px; line-height: 22.8072px;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Call me at 917-991-9549, or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I’ll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker’s opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there’s no cost or obligation involved.</span></i></b></span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even if you plan to stay in your home till the next millenium, it’s always good to know what it’s worth.</span></i></b></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-63379290453007356362016-12-08T13:46:00.004-05:002017-03-02T10:48:48.820-05:00What does a doorman do (besides open the door) and why should you want one?<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">There are four ways to get through the door of an apartment building. Well, five, if you count opening it yourself.</b></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Personally, I prefer to have someone else do it, as I was held up once at knifepoint and once at gunpoint in the vestibules of buildings that didn’t have doormen*. </b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">That was long ago--probably before you were born--when New York was one giant crime scene. New York is now a very different place, the Brennan Center for Justice reports ( <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/nyc-can-still-boast-being-safest-big-city">"New York Can Still Boast Being Safest Big City"</a>), but those experiences persuaded me to live only in doorman buildings from then on.</b></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A doorman certainly opens the door and provides security, but that's only part of what he does. He will also take packages, dry cleaning, laundry, groceries, FreshDirect and anything else that might arrive when you’re not home. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The doorman will have a set of your keys, so if you forget them or lose them, you’re not locked out. If you’re like me, this is very important, as I’m always leaving my keys in the pocket of whatever coat I’m not wearing. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A doorman will let your cleaning person or your cousin in if you’re not home when they arrive. He will also announce your visitors.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The security guard is another form of doorman. When you're looking for an apartment, you should note that some will be advertised as having doormen when they really have security guards. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A security guard's job is simply to guard, not to help. But security guards vary. Some will open the door for you, some will take packages and perform many of the duties of a doorman. Some will just sit and watch as you juggle your keys, packages, and whatever else you may be carrying. I know of at least one who will not move from his desk unless the building burns down. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>So it's a good idea to check on exactly what the security guard will do for you if you are thinking about buying in a building that has one.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The “virtual” doorman is nowhere near your door. He is near a camera that is watching it. He will push a button that opens it and watch to make sure nobody follows you in. He can let in dry cleaning, package, or other deliveries if the delivery person knows where in the building to put them. He can notify the police if you appear to be in danger.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But he can’t let you into your apartment, so you have to remember your keys.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Then there’s video security, which only works if there’s somebody home. A camera allows the person in the apartment to see who’s standing outside, talk to them, and push a button that lets them in. Sometimes there’s no camera, just an intercom.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Some buildings require residents to go down to the lobby and admit guests in person, rather than buzzing them in. Some buildings, especially lofts, have locks in the elevator, one for each floor. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The fifth way is to open the door yourself.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If this is your preferred method, you will have to be home when packages, dry cleaning, or anything else is delivered, and when your guests or cleaning person arrives. And if you're followed through the door by someone waving an ax, you're on your own. But you do have privacy and a lower maintenance (more about that below).</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Some people prefer a doorman-less building. Celebrities often prefer these, because lobby attendants can be bribed to talk. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Others feel not having somebody in the lobby is only acceptable in small town house co-ops of, say, four units, where they know everybody in the building. They want to be sure they can tell a resident from a stranger. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Security doesn’t come free, but it can be surprisingly inexpensive, depending on the size of your building. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>According to indeed.com (“One search. All jobs”), the average salary for a doorman is $33,000. Let’s assume your building has three eight hour shifts of doormen. That’s $99,000 a year. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If the building has 99 units, each unit will be responsible for $1,000, or $83.33 per month. If it has 300 units, it’ll be $330 per year, or $27.50 per month. (The building also has to pay for benefits for doormen, so that's another charge.) This is part of the maintenance. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The smaller the building, if it has a doorman, the higher the maintenance will be. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It's also helpful to tip the doorman at the end of the year. The amount is of course up to you, but I generally divide three to five hundred dollars among the building staff, which includes a live-in super, doormen and a few porters, and nobody's complained.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The initial cost of an apartment with a doorman will be about 12 or 13 percent higher than that of an apartment without one, according to the real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel, but there are a number of factors at work here. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>For one thing, buildings with doormen tend to have amenities like health clubs, planted roof decks, garage spaces that other buildings don't. They are likely to be in locations that are considered more desirable. All of this raises prices. So the doorman is not the only thing that makes the apartment expensive.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A security guard is somewhat less pricey, at $28,000. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The cost for a virtual doorman varies widely as installation charges differ depending on when the building was built and what security systems are already in place, but presumably, in the long run, a virtual doorman is less expensive than an actual human being. </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If you’re put off by the idea of small talk as you pass through the lobby, remember that all you have to say is “Hello.” Or you can say nothing, although a smile is never a bad idea.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Personally, I have never found the small talk offensive. Bottom line, doormen are nice guys. Some keep dog treats in their desks. Some keep lollipops. If they’re not nice, they get fired.</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Once my late husband was entering a building as the doorman returned from the curb, after helping somebody into a taxi (That’s another thing doormen do—they get you a cab). </b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>My husband politely held the door open as the doorman walked through it. “Thank you,” said the doorman. “You do nice work.”</b></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Call me at 917-991-9549 or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I'll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker's opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there's no cost or obligation involved. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Even if you plan to stay in your home forever, it's always good to know what it's worth.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #313c31; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">* There are doorladies, but they’re few and far between. In all my years of selling real estate, a job which involves going in and out of a lot of doors, I’ve seen exactly one doorlady.</span></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-90554522733686755702016-08-02T17:38:00.002-04:002018-06-04T14:44:03.750-04:00All mimsy were the borogoves, and the white zone is for loading and unloading only.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i>“AS of August 8<sup>th</sup>
we will have to start separating our garbage. THE BIN UNDER YOUR DESK will no
longer have a plastic liner in it. It will be for PAPER PRODUCTS/CARDBOARD
ONLY. The BLUE bins will be for METAL/CANS/FOIL/GLASS/RIGID PLASTIC.
The tall BLACK bins (not in the office yet, coming this week) and the SILVER BIN
IN THE KITCHEN will be for all else (food, foam products, plastic bags, chip
bags, etc.). --Office Manager”</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>This is the most recent in an
ongoing series of notices from our much beloved and somewhat beleaguered office manager about what goes where and who does what. She is, after all, Just Trying to Do Her Job. As I understand it,
here’s the way things are at present:</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Paper products
and cardboard go under my desk where there is no longer a plastic bag.
The blue bins are for metal/cans/foil/glass and rigid plastic and it’s
Claudia who does graphic design except when it’s Christopher. Black
bins that aren’t there are for food, foam products, plastic bags and chip bags when we're not in the kitchen </b></span></span><b style="color: #404040; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">where that stuff goes in the silver bin and
Theresa makes the coffee but Brian does advertising and you can’t pour
anything into the </b><b style="color: #404040; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">water machine and it’s two ladies who used to be Anna and Anna but are now something else who do public relations and Carly is now also somebody else and no shorts in the office and Charo puts the
listings in the blue bin and the Xerox machine is not to be used for metal/cans/foil, which are entered in the computer by Bert and we are not open
Saturdays in the month of August when new listings go in the dishwasher or
maybe the black bin that isn’t there and aspirin goes in the medicine cabinet
and I have to go get some RIGHT NOW.</b></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-76014907128895072712016-06-03T16:34:00.004-04:002018-06-04T14:47:35.209-04:00New York City: It's more fragile than you think.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A few weeks ago I watched from my window as the Serbian Orthodox
Cathedral of St. Sava burned, and thought of how many times I’ve walked past that church and never really looked at it. Or in it.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiheAkt_r-iZYZsibhbM_38SPFe-LYXy1L74xJ3gJeGrNy6oTwQcj9bbWDQakmVyzwHdMlHTi2JYwRm1nWopDUQJsVJBdFKXJ6uhro7zhXaVskVRKF8el01xubdyz2MTLmhRoE5f0FR4UNC/s1600/St.+Savas+burning+5.1.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiheAkt_r-iZYZsibhbM_38SPFe-LYXy1L74xJ3gJeGrNy6oTwQcj9bbWDQakmVyzwHdMlHTi2JYwRm1nWopDUQJsVJBdFKXJ6uhro7zhXaVskVRKF8el01xubdyz2MTLmhRoE5f0FR4UNC/s320/St.+Savas+burning+5.1.16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Sava's burning</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Now I can see from what’s
left of it that it must have been truly gorgeous. Designed by Richard Upjohn
for Trinity Church to serve the Episcopalians in what was then "uptown," it was consecrated in
1855. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Edith Wharton was married there in 1885, and mentioned the church in<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGe6ey4nBMJO_e6ARD7MLY-D2ykRSQBdqCFgUIEA_3x1hGq73zepsHbhkqrkhC4d8FcDp68adFAscPJFwgEonr53iQaYmRxIwyTUv3brR3uFAj_SJzji6NhPvr4NWVe571wnKphaPf_wq/s1600/St+Savas+remains+May+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGe6ey4nBMJO_e6ARD7MLY-D2ykRSQBdqCFgUIEA_3x1hGq73zepsHbhkqrkhC4d8FcDp68adFAscPJFwgEonr53iQaYmRxIwyTUv3brR3uFAj_SJzji6NhPvr4NWVe571wnKphaPf_wq/s320/St+Savas+remains+May+2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The remains of St. Sava's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
“The
Age of Innocence.” It was bought by the Serbian people in 1942. (<a href="http://stsavanyc.org/history/">St. Savas History</a>)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Across Madison Square Park is
another beautiful building that I had never entered until recently. The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York
City is at the northeast corner of 25<sup>th</sup> Street and Madison Avenue. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>As I live close by, my lawyer friends were always asking me if I’d seen the i</b></span><b>nside, and I always had to tell them no. I figured you couldn't go in there without a law degree, or maybe a black robe.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>At
their urging (and urging and urging) I finally climbed the steps and went into
the lobby. It’s lovely, and nobody
told me to go away. You should see it
too.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For several years, I had the
great </span></b><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">privilege of working in the Chrysler Building. I walked through that glorious Art Deco lobby every
morning and every evening, but I never made it to the Cloud Club, and now the
Cloud Club is gone.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Okay, you’ve heard this sad
story a million times. Stop and smell
the roses. Enjoy life while you have
it. Etc., etc., etc.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But walking into the lobby of
a building and admiring the art and architecture is one of the few pleasant things
you can do in New York that’s free.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>In addition to the buildings mentioned
above, I also recommend several lovely churches (you don’t have to pray; you just have
to be quiet), St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 51<sup>st</sup> and Fifth, Grace
Church at Broadway and 11<sup>th</sup>, St. Thomas’s at 53<sup>rd</sup> and
Fifth, among others.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Image result for ford foundation building" height="298" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQrxGwJd6LbJ4EQwBGnEYlUuyblBWMiev5YbAJvuqpF99FGOrxF" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Ford Foundation photograph</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>There are also hidden gardens you may not be aware of. The Ford Foundation, on 43<sup>rd</sup>
Street near the UN, is a beautiful quiet </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">green place. There’s nowhere to sit
down, but you can walk through it to your heart’s content. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>And while you’re in the neighborhood, you might as well walk through the
UN gardens. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Also, there are beautiful
little vest pocket parks on the river at the eastern end of 51<sup>st</sup>
Street and the southern end of Sutton Place South.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Downtown, there are some
lovely places to sit in the shade in Battery Park.<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7meUfWKVw3LWot3Uf7_l_93eek7iNGnx1lmEUDb4612exAEygnhNEt9RHqwp8EEJbeRvsMSEt6ak0vDgobb1_QlZ5BDZVmdMIhb3Uy8Iat8b7DF6jQ2mDd3gTO8ZtcDpoX1YfwPUU-aIf/s1600/battery+park+6.14.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7meUfWKVw3LWot3Uf7_l_93eek7iNGnx1lmEUDb4612exAEygnhNEt9RHqwp8EEJbeRvsMSEt6ak0vDgobb1_QlZ5BDZVmdMIhb3Uy8Iat8b7DF6jQ2mDd3gTO8ZtcDpoX1YfwPUU-aIf/s320/battery+park+6.14.15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>From a bench in Battery Park</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Don’t let these lovely bits
of the city go unexplored. And find some more of your own. And when you do, please remember to tell me
about them.</b></span><br />
<b style="color: #313c31; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.2545px; line-height: 22.8072px;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b>
<o:p></o:p><b style="color: #313c31; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22.8072px;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Call me at 917-991-9549, or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I’ll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker’s opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there’s no cost or obligation involved.</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even if you plan to stay in your home till the next millenium, it’s always good to know what it’s worth.</span></i></b></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-62937090934197559332016-04-20T14:26:00.000-04:002016-04-21T13:41:46.186-04:00Astor Row: All you need is a wicker rocking chair and a glass of lemonade.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Where can you find a house with a front porch in Manhattan?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Harlem.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are 28 of them on the south side of 130th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard, which is known as Astor Row.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A few years back, my then-partner and I had a client who was looking for a house in that neighborhood. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We were exploring the area when we came upon a row of beautiful 19th century brick
townhouses with wooden front porches painted green. </span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.brickunderground.com/sites/default/files/styles/blog_primary_image/public/blog/images/Astor%20Row%20After%20Streetscape%202004.jpg?itok=nk_h29FK" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.brickunderground.com/sites/default/files/styles/blog_primary_image/public/blog/images/Astor%20Row%20After%20Streetscape%202004.jpg?itok=nk_h29FK" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">New York Landmarks Conservancy Photo</span></i></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many had become dilapidated over the years, but they hadn’t lost their charm.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not only were there front porches, but they looked out over front yards, which must have once been gardens, and could be again.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I never forgot
those houses. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I was reminded of them today, when I saw an article in www.brickunderground.com titled "A Harlem street with a 'quiet southern town vibe' shines again."</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The article says that the lot on which the houses were built was originally bought at auction by John Jacob Astor in 1844.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">During the next 150 years or so, the houses were built, changed hands several times, and eventually fell into disrepair. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the 1990s, Astor's great granddaughter-in-law Brooke Astor was on a driving tour of Harlem when she saw them. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"What is this?" Mrs. Astor inquired. Funny she should ask.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She was appalled by the houses' condition, particularly that of the porches, which in some cases had been removed. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mrs. Astor was in a position to do something about this.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“After a conversation with the then-President of the
Conservancy, Susan Henshaw Jones, Mrs. Astor pledged the first of two Astor
Foundation grants that eventually totaled $1.7 million to jump-start the
restoration of homes on the row,” Brick Underground says. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Eventually, $3 million was raised to do the work on the
porches, as well as to repair toppling chimneys, damaged roofs,
and cast-iron fences, and repoint and clean the facades.” <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Times have changed in Harlem, especially on this newly restored
row. Today, one of those houses is on the market for $4,300,000. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s the link to the article: <a href="http://www.brickunderground.com/live/Astor-Row-Harlem">http://www.brickunderground.com/live/Astor-Row-Harlem</a><o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Call me at 917-991-9549 or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I'll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker's opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there's no cost or obligation involved. </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Even if you plan to stay in your home forever, it's always good to know what it's worth.</i></span></b></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-21920494224284069472016-04-06T15:24:00.000-04:002016-04-21T13:34:22.328-04:00Is the Manhattan real estate market softening? Yes and no. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">At the top, it's melting, </b><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">rapidly</b><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">. At the bottom, it's granite.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">More than three thousand new and ridiculously expensive apartments are about to hit the Manhattan market. </b><br />
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">As if we didn't have enough.</b><br />
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Central Park Tower, 111 West 57th Street, 520 Park Avenue and 432 Park Avenue are among the new buildings rising on or near 57th Street, now known as Billionaire's Row.</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwYX9iEL1bOyXT0xmuOjee0j6OMCHry_NfPxqd7TjG9WSI79X2mbq-qib2exavWHU9hfvwQI-WiH3cy_lpCI7C-irjxWLed_dA8LOvY7hwcp1Dcd5Eg3H4OmP-0RmAI-9e3Six7LGAY22Y/s320/One57+New+York+Daily+News+MARCHMADE.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Architectural rendering of<br />157 West<br />57th Street (New York<br />Daily News, MARCHMADE)</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group defines ridiculously expensive (they call it "luxury") as costing $2,400 per square foot or more.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The March 31 issue of Crain's New York Business says that well over half of a total of more than 5,000 new apartments will be priced at that point. </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">("<a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20160401/REAL_ESTATE/160339959/another-sign-the-luxury-condo-market-is-cooling">Luxury Market Cooling</a>") </b></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A 2,000 square foot two bedroom (2,000 square feet could easily accommodate three or even four bedrooms, but we're talking luxury here) would cost a minimum of $4,800,000.</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, this is not counting the high-end condos already on the market. Per The Real Deal, condo units at Extell's One57, at 157 West 57th Street, are still not sold out, more than four years after sales launched. </b><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exactly how bad is it? Well, six to nine months of inventory is considered a balanced market. More than nine months is a buyers' market, less than six months is a sellers' market.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The chart below was prepared by Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants. Read it and weep. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>At the moment, there are 28.2 months of co-ops and 26.3 months of condo inventory priced above $10,000,000. </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">From $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 there are 12.6 months of co-ops and 12.4 months of condos.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mlOtbhozeSigjVfFZipzbibhG1Cv_g1RDfICHmAMKIY8RjKsaeGTFeVKwgAoJURAyc9yYNZDqVLpb9UJpEWMNd8Jyh5VWsNILsRVB1quulj9J-VOEDsGN1aEq3jdPOtP_-Iw8aNZONAa/s400/manhattan+absorption+march+16+4.5.16.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>As you can see, at the lower end, the market is still firmly in the hands of the sellers. Less expensive properties are being snapped up before the ink is dry on the listing agreements.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>At the top, the market is at the other extreme, flooded with new, shiny and expensive condos. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It's definitely a buyers' market. </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">But where are the buyers?</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I don't know. The Real Deal doesn't know either.</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">"So how much demand actually exists for uber-luxury condos?" The Real Deal asks.</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Who today knows how many people around the world can afford an ultra-luxury apartment, and how many of them would be willing to buy one in New York?.....This dilemma doesn't just concern luxury developers but the whole industry.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>"If developers are overestimating global demand for high-end New York product, they could be inflating a luxury bubble that could drag down the entire market. If they are underestimating it, the industry may well be misdirecting its resources."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I don't see any signs that they're underestimating it. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>One developer, HFZ Capital Group's Ziel Feldman, is making his properties smaller and pricing them between $4,000,000 and $8,000,000. Feldman is calling this "affordable luxury." We'll see if it works.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Jeff Blau, CEO of The Related Companies, says that at this point, building on Billionaires' Row is more like gambling than investing. (<a href="http://therealdeal.com/2016/03/30/jeff-blau-says-building-on-billionaires-row-is-more-like-gambling-than-investing/">The Real Deal</a>) </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>In a panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y last Thursday, developers Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and Abby Hamlin, along with Blau, seemed to agree.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>"Gary [Barnett, of Extell] built that building and then 40 other developers came out and said, 'Oh, I've got an original idea. Maybe I'll do a similar project in a similar area with similar pricing,'" Kushner commented.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Donna Olshan's weekly newsletter <a href="http://olshan.com/marketreport.php?id=38">(Olshan Luxury Market Report)</a> for March 28--April 3 says that "The biggest stumbling block so far: sales above $10 million. Year-to-date, 45 contracts at $10 million and above have been signed, down from 73 in 2015 and 80 in 2014."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Crain's New York Business says that despite a number of new projects coming online in the past year, the number of sales increased by a mere 8%, while the number of units on the market fell as developers of new buildings chose to keep homes off the market.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Keeping apartments off the market is expensive. Developers carry and service seriously heavy debt between the time a project is begun and the time when the last sale closes. Other than for inventory control, they don't keep apartments off the market unless they really, really have to.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>And they really, really have to.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>On the other hand, if you want to buy an apartment for less than $2,000,000, first, try to find one, and then be prepared to stand in line. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Below $2,000,000 it's definitely a sellers' market. This is where more inventory is seriously needed.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But that's another story.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Call me at 917-991-9549 or email cstimpson@stribling.com. I'll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker's opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there's no cost or obligation involved.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Even if you plan to stay in your home forever, it's always good to know what it's worth.</b></i></span></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-68560158589109485362016-01-26T13:15:00.000-05:002016-01-26T14:39:33.645-05:00How one super-smart, super-organized tech entrepreneur bought a co-op.<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You don't have to be a Meagan Palatino to buy a co-op in New York, but it helps. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here she offers some excellent information for anyone planning to buy one in the near future.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://medium.com/@meaganpalatino/so-i-bought-a-co-op-in-nyc-and-here-s-my-story-52480e3e9f21#.5f6i67mm3">So I Bought a Co-op in New York, and Here's My Story, by Meagan Palatino</a></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For more on the subject, see </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013_10_01_archive.html">What to obsess about when you buy a co-op.</a> </b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-many-of-your-secrets-do-you.html">How many of your secrets do you have to tell to get into a co-op? Or condo?</a></b></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-difference-does-it-make-to-seller.html">The mortgage contingency: what difference does it make to a seller whether you finance or pay cash?</a></b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2012/08/which-is-really-better-co-ops-or-condos.html">In defense of the much maligned co-op.</a> </b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2014/01/essentials-of-offer-how-to-be-perfect.html">Essentials of the offer: how to be the perfect buyer</a> </b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-one-essential-for-working-with.html">The one essential for working with a broker as a buyer. And what you're entitled to in return.</a> </b></span><br />
<br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Call me at 917-991-9549, or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I’ll be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed broker’s opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and comparable sales. Of course, there’s no cost or obligation involved.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></em></strong><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even if you plan to stay in your home till the next millenium, it’s always good to know what it’s worth.</span></i></b></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-12348264669873501282016-01-18T14:46:00.002-05:002016-05-19T17:45:01.487-04:00Does anyone ever really shop for an apartment in January?<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well, yes, as a matter of fact, they do. They may not actually buy in January. But they do begin to
look.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There’s something about the winter holidays that makes people want
to </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">change their lives. They decide to get married. They decide to get</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SFCLI2b8wo8MkGci7R5KnzXf0wMSfUOtisLZV6E2FavquoROqfT4jBEfNboRrY-5V62fgWpK6K1B0AbFGlMwLqxKxD5gAvMVkp_wU834PDxhnBOJg6AaQCi6Olgalv4jUfVt19eBHPA8/s1600/snow+in+union+square+march+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SFCLI2b8wo8MkGci7R5KnzXf0wMSfUOtisLZV6E2FavquoROqfT4jBEfNboRrY-5V62fgWpK6K1B0AbFGlMwLqxKxD5gAvMVkp_wU834PDxhnBOJg6AaQCi6Olgalv4jUfVt19eBHPA8/s320/snow+in+union+square+march+2015.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January. A color picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
divorced. They decide to have another child. They decide to move someplace where it doesn't snow. </span></b></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All of these decisions involve real estate.</span></b></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So if you're planning to sell, January is in fact a good time to
hire a broker and put your property on the market.</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Those buyers who are out there looking are really serious, or they
wouldn’t be braving the winter winds. </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And while</span></b><b><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">your</span></b><b><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">apartment
may not look as appealing in winter, neither does anybody else’s. </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, if you have a fireplace, it will look a lot better in the
winter when there’s a fire in it than in the summer when there isn’t and it’s
an empty black hole in the wall. </span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Also, potential buyers are in town, not off vacationing with their
children, who are in school. Many are beginning to look with an eye to
actually moving in the summertime, when school is out.</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may have less competition, as the conventional wisdom is that
spring </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVY-uSnXZ5zq_R-wTZtt2CexMc0nKVyFwDzMVaeDGmmAt7cByMlzWRj3ncn6HHiXLt5l15Nxxo_dg1mUhEhJd1-BxG0Yx4HSvH8ol4kIM0b8ntyZYOtlQdRpAulJZG4c4YPfuZROlIqP4O/s1600/fireplace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVY-uSnXZ5zq_R-wTZtt2CexMc0nKVyFwDzMVaeDGmmAt7cByMlzWRj3ncn6HHiXLt5l15Nxxo_dg1mUhEhJd1-BxG0Yx4HSvH8ol4kIM0b8ntyZYOtlQdRpAulJZG4c4YPfuZROlIqP4O/s320/fireplace.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">is a better time to sell, so a lot of sellers wait till spring.
This also means that your broker is not quite as busy and will have more time
to devote to your property.</span></b><br />
<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">T</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">here are a few disadvantages</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">but these are easily
dealt with. For example, second only to location, light is the most
important attribute a </span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">property can have. So if you're on the market in January, your broker should try to schedule showings towards the middle of a bright day.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Also, you should make sure your home is warm and friendly, because </span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">buy</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ers may be cold and cranky.</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> A</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> fire in the fireplace can warm cold feet, and t</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">he smell of baking cookies can
do the same for a cold heart. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Speaking of feet, don’t forget to tell your broker to ask buyers
to take their boots off so you don’t have slush all over your floors. Put
a chair by the front door so they can do it comfortably.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The best part is, you will have the benefit of a longer selling
season. If despite all your broker’s research and expertise your price
turns out to be too ambitious, you can drop it and still have plenty of time to
sell before things slow down after Memorial Day.</span></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Call me at 917-991-9549, or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com. I’ll
be happy to visit your apartment, loft, or townhouse and give you a detailed
broker’s opinion of what it could fetch today, supported with figures and
comparable sales. Of course, there’s no cost or obligation involved.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even if you plan to stay in your home till the next millenium,
it’s always good to know what it’s worth.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-83806354039180983252015-12-10T12:09:00.000-05:002016-08-16T18:24:50.321-04:00The median price of an apartment in Manhattan is about a million dollars. That will get you a one bedroom.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The New York Times reports that in the third</b> quarter of
2015, the median price for a Manhattan apartment was $999,000 </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(<span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/realestate/manhattan-apartment-prices-near-million-dollar-mark-reports-say.html">Manhattan Prices Near Million Dollar Mark</a>).</span></b></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The
median price is a more accurate picture of the market than
the average price, which is skewed by those stratospheric sales north of
$50,000,000 you keep reading about. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
And what do you get for $999,000 in Manhattan? Most likely a single
bedroom. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
A quick search for apartments currently for sale in
Manhattan priced between $950,000 and $1,050,000 yielded nine studios (yes, there are million-dollar studios), 84
one-bedrooms, 36 two-bedrooms, and seven apartments with three or more
bedrooms. <o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Yes, I know, not so long ago a million dollars could buy you the moon. And if you're in Columbus or Muncie, it probably still can. But New York is--well, let's just say it's different here.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel Inc. Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants (<a href="http://www.millersamuel.com/">millersamuel.com</a></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">)</b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, there are not enough million dollar apartments to go around. </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you've got one to sell, it will go in a flash.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Here's Jonathan's absorption report for the month of November, which shows
the number of months it will take to sell the currently available properties at
each price point.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij806NtMluetZ-zIVv-Rv90xch01bRnsoTkmezFX7EbiyZYwxxcyZ4itNe2huuxCl35XNk6zzOvEZwnwjhJiT5_Zh_MSkwIRVNxHX864SacIfEvQj1Tq-jA16KOsXSk8UExY-BG_l3ZYOy/s1600/MILLER+SAMUEL+ABSORPTION+NOVEMBER+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij806NtMluetZ-zIVv-Rv90xch01bRnsoTkmezFX7EbiyZYwxxcyZ4itNe2huuxCl35XNk6zzOvEZwnwjhJiT5_Zh_MSkwIRVNxHX864SacIfEvQj1Tq-jA16KOsXSk8UExY-BG_l3ZYOy/s400/MILLER+SAMUEL+ABSORPTION+NOVEMBER+2015.jpg" width="400" /></b></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may have seen this chart here before, but in case you haven’t, the green
columns are co-ops, the blue ones are condos. The total number of months of
inventory in each price bracket is at the top of each column. Less than six
months is a sellers' market, six to nine months is a balanced market, more than
nine months is a buyers' market.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
As you can see, with no more than five and a half months of inventory priced
under $2,000,000, the lower end of the market is still squarely in the hands of
the sellers.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
On the other hand, with up to 31 months of inventory, the upper end is still equally
squarely in the hands of the buyers. If you've got $10,000,000 or more to spend
on an apartment, sellers will greet you with open arms.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
Another reliable
authority on the subject is Noah Rosenblatt, who publishes Urban Digs (<a href="http://www.urbandigs.com/"><span style="color: blue;">urbandigs.com</span></a>). <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />Noah reports that 49% of sales in Manhattan trade at or above the asking price. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />This is what happens when there's so little inventory at the most popular--that would be the lowest--level. It also indicates that properties that are priced properly are the ones that are selling. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />Buyers are not making offers on properties that are priced too high. And they all read what's on the web about real estate, so they know when a seller is delusional about price.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />(For more on this subject, see <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514#editor/target=post;postID=4920752618533411568;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=38;src=postname"><span style="color: blue;">Pricing 101: Why you have to get it right the first time</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514#editor/target=post;postID=4342399331795544865;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=37;src=postname"><span style="color: blue;">Pricing 102: How to get it right the first time</span></a>.)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>
Among other helpful services, Noah also tracks the number of contracts signed
every month (<a href="https://urbandigs.com/chart.php?type=mon+CONTRACT+SIGNED&nbhoods%5B%5D=all&proptype%5B%5D=all&price=all&bdrms=all"><span style="color: blue;">Urbandigs Monthly
Contract Activity</span></a>), which is a </b></span><b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">more current indicator of market activity than the number of closed sales,
as there is a lag time of two or three months between contract signing and
closing. </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
He groups them by the month for the last eight years so you can compare this
past November to Novembers in 2014, 2013, 2012, and the five previous
Novembers, to eliminate seasonal changes in the market. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />
November of 2015 had 861 contracts signed, 9.1% fewer than November of 2014,
which was the busiest November in the eight years Noah has been keeping track.
May of 2013 had the most signed contracts ever, with 1,427.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>
To find out what your apartment is worth in this environment, call me at
917-991-9549, or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com, and I'll happily come to look
at it and put together a broker's opinion of value. No charge or obligation.
It's my idea of fun.</b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If you're thinking of buying an apartment, I'll be glad to help.</b></span></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-59621577843506353432015-10-22T15:26:00.000-04:002015-10-22T15:26:08.800-04:00Under $3,000,000, it's still a sellers' market in Manhattan. Above $5,000,000? That's another story.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">Bottom line, the market for both condos and co-ops priced under
$3,000,000 still belongs to the seller. Although inventory is beginning
to ease upward, there is still a </span><span style="color: #1f497d;">real </span><span style="color: #404040;">dearth
of property in this category. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">For those priced from $3,000,000 to $5,000,000, the market is
balanced. </span><span style="color: #1f497d;">(</span><span style="color: #404040;">This is good for everybody. Sellers get a fair price, and buyers
don’t get discouraged and drop out of the market.</span><span style="color: #1f497d;">)</span><span style="color: #404040;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I’ve been saying it for more than a year, and it’s still true: now
is a great time to sell a mid-range co-op.</b><span style="color: #404040;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">Above $5,000,000, the market overwhelmingly favors the buyer. In fact, it’s interesting
to speculate on what will happen to the 34 months of condo inventory priced
above $10,000,000. Will the prices come down? Will the condos turn
into rentals? Will they just sit there, gathering dust and waiting for buyers? </span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;"><b>The scary thing is, there are more and more of these super-high ticket properties coming on
the market. </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">But (whew!) that’s not our problem.</span><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">Another interesting thing is that, at every level, there are
more condos available than co-ops. This, despite the fact that at least
two thirds of the ownable housing stock in New York is co-ops</span><span style="color: #1f497d;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkt84uTNEIbKGHPDTrPC8dIsK8mzGh8RgQR_veNhZeqSeeMsyhLO_eRKbcW4hnf3X_UpxaBIBR4bUa1n2VQ-mDI6UxrJKPSsts6Asx0bWcV8EIRuCUT4f62uInKd9NqGXBBhyphenhyphenSMxRTeS_/s1600/MILLER+SAMUEL+ABSORPTION+AUGUST+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkt84uTNEIbKGHPDTrPC8dIsK8mzGh8RgQR_veNhZeqSeeMsyhLO_eRKbcW4hnf3X_UpxaBIBR4bUa1n2VQ-mDI6UxrJKPSsts6Asx0bWcV8EIRuCUT4f62uInKd9NqGXBBhyphenhyphenSMxRTeS_/s400/MILLER+SAMUEL+ABSORPTION+AUGUST+2015.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Prepared by Miller Samuel Real Estate <br />Appraisers and Consultants</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The chart above, prepared by Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers
and Consultants, measures absorption rates, that is, how long it will take to
sell the co-ops and condos currently on the market.</b><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The columns represent the different price ranges. The
numbers at the top are the estimated number of months it will take to sell the
properties currently available in that range. Less than six months means
a sellers’ market. Six to nine months is a balanced market; more than nine
months is a buyers’ market. Blue columns are condos, green columns are
co-ops. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information, including information about absorption in
your specific part of town, here’s the link to the Miller Samuel website:
<a href="http://www.millersamuel.com/?s=absorption+&type%5B%5D=post">Miller
Samuel Absorption Report</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>For specific information about the market for your property and a
detailed broker’s opinion of its value, with comparable sales and other
information, e-mail me at <a href="mailto:cstimpson@stribling.com">cstimpson@stribling.com</a>, or call me at
917-991-9549.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m happy to do this free of charge or obligation. And
even if you never, ever, ever plan to sell your property, it’s always nice to
know what it’s worth.</span></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-24652553007745089962014-06-07T11:22:00.000-04:002018-12-13T17:46:10.063-05:00What makes an apartment worth $20,000,000? Or more?<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">At the moment, there are more than 100 apartments for sale in New York with price tags at or above $20,000,000. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Many are in the new midtown buildings that spring up almost daily as builders play their endless game of mine's taller than yours.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Each of these gigantic, thousand-foot-and-more obelisks is</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> surrounded by a cloud of buzz as fluffy as the clouds it pierces.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtzsFcA1ohcX48IhgTjBlBj8d5WSBLx_Ep1X9wg5lJa53_qtu9HF3OgK7Lk2w-p2IQ8SHbG24Czdhhw_HasV1odhDwL-oy9ncgwxAAXYl4G23HhbWEjZBDf2KOhVv4Xp_dt3dn_VfiFDh/s1600/One57+New+York+Daily+News+MARCHMADE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtzsFcA1ohcX48IhgTjBlBj8d5WSBLx_Ep1X9wg5lJa53_qtu9HF3OgK7Lk2w-p2IQ8SHbG24Czdhhw_HasV1odhDwL-oy9ncgwxAAXYl4G23HhbWEjZBDf2KOhVv4Xp_dt3dn_VfiFDh/s1600/One57+New+York+Daily+News+MARCHMADE.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>157 East 57th Street,<br />architectural rendering<br />(Daily News, MARCHMADE)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The buzz, which helps jack up the price, typically involves an expensive marketing campaign and a lot of press about its starchitect (it's always a starchitect) along with the </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Russian oligarchs, the hedge
fund managers</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">and the movie stars who are paying stratospheric sums to live in it. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But if you buy one, besides an address that makes people hate you at the same
time they’re angling for invitations to it, what do you actually get for your $20,000,000+?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">One57, that is, 157 West 57th Street, is the 90-story (Wikipedia says it's actually only 75, but it's being marketed as 90) condominium that began the
transformation of a not particularly exciting stretch of office buildings into
what’s now known as Billionaire’s Row. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDS0mLRmJM72lpCfrI4QOLf6s3oTZiVyQpQjGo4MvsNPggnS3Lco_zkoYDgWSod6io87I9oaQsd1gBIpXFsuPu3H2EyOzJ3Rr9hxytGN9MW36anDY_oNkEgY-qEq94cxyFo0nhNGO5ISTK/s1600/CP+view+6.5.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDS0mLRmJM72lpCfrI4QOLf6s3oTZiVyQpQjGo4MvsNPggnS3Lco_zkoYDgWSod6io87I9oaQsd1gBIpXFsuPu3H2EyOzJ3Rr9hxytGN9MW36anDY_oNkEgY-qEq94cxyFo0nhNGO5ISTK/s1600/CP+view+6.5.14.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Central Park and Canada, as seen from </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">the upper reaches of One57</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It offers a truly spectacular view of all
of Central Park a</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">t once, through walls that are made entirely of glass.
</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">To the south, you see the city skyline—all of that, too, along with</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> both rivers.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You get hotel services from the Park Hyatt. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You get proximity to lots of places to spend the rest of your money, like Bergdorf's and Barney's and David Webb and other shops so expensive and exclusive nobody even knows their names.</span></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOfiJwgsBQEP0QAvciZRTXO5ZQFzK3IJOBAIsilzQkCPrSQwWvn83LSO0aStN6ntNEFJkRrcrz5pNceJN06s_8QT74OWdjgdkeX3Dtq6v1UtljnUVGzC6zwU8_8ec0Cj4bzsvpBr2In3e/s1600/ermengildo+zegna+store+6.5.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOfiJwgsBQEP0QAvciZRTXO5ZQFzK3IJOBAIsilzQkCPrSQwWvn83LSO0aStN6ntNEFJkRrcrz5pNceJN06s_8QT74OWdjgdkeX3Dtq6v1UtljnUVGzC6zwU8_8ec0Cj4bzsvpBr2In3e/s1600/ermengildo+zegna+store+6.5.14.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Fifth Avenue near 52nd Street</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You do not get outdoor space. You do not get a private
entrance; you will share a hall unless you’re in one of the full-floor apartments. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You do get walk-in closets, marble bathtubs and separate showers in the bathrooms, lighting with dimmer switches, brand name fixtures and hardware, a washer and dryer and an intercom system to reach the concierge. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You will share, along with the Russian oligarchs and the hedge fund guys and the movie stars and whoever it was who paid a mere $6,000,000 for the little one-bedroom down on the 39th floor (definitely Not Our Kind, Dear, the poor thing), a fitness center, yoga studio, indoor pool, private dining, catering kitchen, library with billiards table, screening and performance room "and more," the ad says. You can have a pet, and onsite parking is available.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Onsite parking would be pretty cool.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnwmYD-8-L0Sutq5Q0Sp7KlKJCWt7MtWAN3DWJ3ZZ5D-zwDUJ_nd5m0mvhdgctr7eHDx2Q2NVTGejwgDDa-9gEmNQSwb_mruDkjTNFJ-eYOfoaVo6XsB_YlrgQSTQBmsQMLLFXVRA8TBx/s1600/Le+Bernardin+fish+6.5.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnwmYD-8-L0Sutq5Q0Sp7KlKJCWt7MtWAN3DWJ3ZZ5D-zwDUJ_nd5m0mvhdgctr7eHDx2Q2NVTGejwgDDa-9gEmNQSwb_mruDkjTNFJ-eYOfoaVo6XsB_YlrgQSTQBmsQMLLFXVRA8TBx/s1600/Le+Bernardin+fish+6.5.14.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of several choices for the first of three courses on the $76 </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">prix fixe menu at Le Bernardin, an easy walk from Billionaire's Row</span>.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">on
the other hand</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">, if you live in a $20,000,000+ apartment, getting the car is
probably your driver’s problem, not yours.</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For this kind of money downtown, in an older loft building for example, what you get is different.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">These buildings generally have too few units to support a doorman, but then those who buy these properties prefer not to have a doorman anyway. Doormen talk.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Besides, you will in all likelihood get a whole lot
more square footage. In a property of that size, there is room for your own staff
person who will, among other things, open the door for you. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03kPy36OI0nJDFhObwo2ijj2S9xfZ_pZTnSBJsFEtm-r8Diks36NnwW4SwqoHiYAOn1fpfhSRaPm7ee6IVE-SXrd_jvwY-79-lWh6CVqniiIy6nvNOC44OeFAWUzf7z1NIbSEUvmU40tR/s1600/PH+roof+downtown+6.5.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03kPy36OI0nJDFhObwo2ijj2S9xfZ_pZTnSBJsFEtm-r8Diks36NnwW4SwqoHiYAOn1fpfhSRaPm7ee6IVE-SXrd_jvwY-79-lWh6CVqniiIy6nvNOC44OeFAWUzf7z1NIbSEUvmU40tR/s200/PH+roof+downtown+6.5.14.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Warburg photo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You have a much better chance of getting outdoor space. A
whole lot of outdoor space. Sometimes enough for a lap pool, certainly
enough for a hot tub, and you won’t have to share either of them with some Russian
oligarch or </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">hedge fund manager </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">or
movie star you don’t even know. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You can have your own private screening room. You can have
a private steam room big enough for yourself and five friends.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You will not get hotel service or onsite parking, but there are
some very nice hotels and parking garages nearby. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">You will not get a spectacular view of Central Park or the city,
but you will have a lovely view of the flowers and trees in your own roof
garden.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7N2Pu92L-uli_biMJ0M3lFanzMrT6aEhosNiy5Sniw4vSXDLrbmDK0-Db8xQ-2AuHCboDWWXO_p0W2aN12Ghga1IfNkQA9YGJszsxNUPX0ZQVnbUCNoakSwYRVr7aGQ4pyEU7qD2Y2JBP/s1600/383+W+broadway+screening+room+6.5.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7N2Pu92L-uli_biMJ0M3lFanzMrT6aEhosNiy5Sniw4vSXDLrbmDK0-Db8xQ-2AuHCboDWWXO_p0W2aN12Ghga1IfNkQA9YGJszsxNUPX0ZQVnbUCNoakSwYRVr7aGQ4pyEU7qD2Y2JBP/s1600/383+W+broadway+screening+room+6.5.14.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The screening room in a </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">downtown penthouse</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">For a very good reason, you may well have a painfully unpretentious, small, rather dusty
vestibule instead of anything that could be called a lobby. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This is because people who live in these buildings like to keep it a secret that there are trillions of
dollars worth of art, jewels and other treasures upstairs. A lobby that looks like the building is
still a warehouse full of old machine parts is one way to get this effect.<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(It's just possible there is some reverse snobbery involved here as well.)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">As I said, it’s different. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So mull it over. Think about your priorities. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">And let me know as soon as you decide where to spend your
$20,000,000. (Or more.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Any questions? E-mail or call me (<a href="mailto:cstimpson@stribling.com">cstimpson@stribling.com</a>, 917-991-9549)
and I’ll either have answers or know where to get them.</i></span></b></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-80331933154856805912014-05-18T17:32:00.000-04:002014-05-18T17:35:41.034-04:008 in 10 Manhattan home sales all cash? Nope. Not even close.<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Recently the Washington
Post ran an article that offered some very discouraging information for buyers of Manhattan real estate. (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/rampage/wp/2014/05/14/8-in-10-manhattan-home-sales-are-all-cash/">8
in 10 Manhattan home sales are all-cash</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Fortunately, it's far from the truth.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Only 36% of Manhattan co-op sales (co-ops represent 60% of all sales) are all cash, as per Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A full 64% of Manhattan co-op sales are financed.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The overall figure for all-cash sales in Manhattan is 45%, Miller says. </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Here’s Miller’s
explanation: <a href="http://www.millersamuel.com/manhattan-home-sales-are-not-80-all-cash-they-are-45/">Manhattan Home Sales Are NOT 80% All-Cash (They Are 45%)</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">This is still a high
proportion compared to the way things used to be. Sometime back before the flood, when I was in
real estate school getting my salesperson’s license, our teacher told us that
99% of our deals would involve financing.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">No more.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">When the market’s tight
and there is competition among buyers, the buyer who can pay all cash is the
one who gets the property. And
mega-wealthy foreign investors are often looking for a place in the US to park
their cash, as it may be safer here than elsewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">This does not, however,
mean that financing does not occur frequently. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Let me repeat: a full 64% of co-op sales are financed. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">So you’re by no means
automatically shut out of the game if you must finance. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Just be sure you talk to
a reliable bank or mortgage broker before you start looking for your new home
so you have a good idea of what kind of financing you can get. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">And of course, remember that the qualifications
of the building you want to buy in also have to be strong. Not every bank will lend in every
building. There are a number of factors
that can make a building unattractive to a bank.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Also, while the strongest
offers are indeed all cash and the next strongest involve financing (the less
the better) but are not contingent on it, do not ever make an offer that’s not
contingent on financing unless you are absolutely sure either that you’re going
to get it or that you can close without it. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">A good lawyer can write a rider to a contract that protects you in case the building doesn't measure up or the bank changes its mind at the last minute. (That's why they get the big bucks.)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Yes, it does occasionally happen that buyers must default because of
lack of funding, and no, sellers do not return their 10% deposits when this
happens. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">But can you still finance a new home? Yes, of course. Just be careful.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">As for the Washington
Post? They should have called Miller before
they ran the article.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><i>Any questions? E-mail or call me, <a href="mailto:cstimpson@stribling.com">cstimpson@stribling.com</a>,
917-991-9549, and I’ll either know the answers or will get them for you.</i></span></b></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-52682360940247214012014-04-24T08:57:00.000-04:002014-04-24T09:55:33.288-04:00Combining apartments: Need another bedroom or two? How about the ones next door?<br />
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As you may have heard (over and over again), there are very, very few apartments for sale in Manhattan. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Need a bigger apartment? Too bad. There aren't any. So more and more, people are buying the apartment next door and combining it with the one they already have. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some may even buy the apartment beyond the one next door as well, or the one on the other side of theirs, or upstairs, or downstairs. I’ve seen combinations of as many as four units.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This can be a satisfactory arrangement for all concerned.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The people next door may be motivated to sell by the prospect of getting a higher-than-market price for theirs, as they hold all the negotiating chips. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The buyers pay a premium, but they get the additional space with considerably less hassle than they’d have if they sold their current apartment and bought another larger one, assuming they could even find another larger one.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Plus, there's synergy in a combination. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jonathan Miller's <a href="http://www.millersamuel.com/combinations-creating-a-larger-manhattan-co-op-or-condo/">Combinations:
Creating a Larger Manhattan Co-op or Condo</a> says that t</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">he</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> more square feet involved, the higher the price per square foot</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, or in Miller’s words,</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “1 + 1 = 2.5.” So the combination is worth more than its components would be worth separately.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Miller is president of Miller Samuel Inc. Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants, and </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">the universally acknowledged best source of information</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> on Manhattan real estate.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The value of the smaller apartment in a combination is increased even more if
it’s in the back of the building, gets less light, or has other
disadvantages. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now it’s part of a nice big apartment in the front of the
building with plenty of light. If it’s turned into, say, a master suite,
the lack of light may become an advantage.</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some combinations work more gracefully than others. Here’s
what to watch out for:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you’re thinking about converting one of the kitchens to a
bathroom, check with a plumber well in advance to make sure the waste line in
the kitchen will accommodate a toilet. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If a bathroom is to become a laundry room, </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">remember you’ll have to either </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">vent
the dryer or </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">get</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> a
dryer that does not require venting.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you want to move or add plumbing, especially if you’re
thinking about converting a closet to a powder room or laundry room, be aware
that most buildings do not allow wet </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">rooms </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">over dry</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"> rooms</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The room directly below the closet you’re thinking of converting is also a
closet. Leaks happen. Nobody likes leaks, especially leaks into
closets. Closets are where people keep things they particularly don’t
want to get wet. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Be aware that your maintenance may be disproportionately
high. As of course you know, maintenance in a co-op (I’m dealing mostly
with co-ops as they comprise the lion’s share of ownable residential real
estate in New York) is based on the number of shares attached to the apartment
in a co-op. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">From the many offering plans I’ve looked at, it appears that
an apartment gets a certain base number of shares just for existing as a discrete
unit. Then more shares are added for higher floors, balconies,
fireplaces, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">After you combine, you have the base number of shares for two or
more apartments instead of just one. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Thus your new three bedroom apartment
may have significantly more shares—and thus significantly higher
maintenance—than a three bedroom in the same building that’s not a combination.
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of course you </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">will</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> play with the floor plans, which should
be in your co-op or condo’s offering plan. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you’re combining two or</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">, especially,</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> more </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">than two </span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">one-bedroom
apartments, you may have to do significant reconfiguring in order to have a
living room that’s big enough to be in proportion to the size of the new
space. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Make sure the new living room will be facing the street, not a
brick wall or an airshaft (a courtyard in real</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"> estate language</span></b><b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">). </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Check for lot line windows in the new apartment (these are windows that legally
don’t exist, as they will be lost if another building goes up next door). </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Note that thick black lines in floor plans indicate walls that can’t be
removed—either they’re holding up the building or they house plumbing risers or
something else too important or difficult to change.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The fewer obvious seams between the apartments, the
better. The combinations that work best, and are most valuable for
resale, are those where you can’t tell where the division was originally. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Be aware that an architect may have better ideas for arranging the space than
you will, but be absolutely sure you hire an architect who has combined apartments in the
past and is familiar with co-ops.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are also legal issues to be addressed, such as what to do about the stock certificates, and what impact the combination will have on the building's certificate of occupancy. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Miller suggests keeping the stock certificates separate, to give
the owners and the co-op more flexibility. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But if you keep them separate, you may have to re-separate the two apartments,
restore a kitchen, put up a wall or two, or whatever, when you ultimately
sell. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Talk about what to do with the stock certificates with your lawyer and of course your co-op board and or
managing agent. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If possible, talk to someone in your building who has already done a combination.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">By the way, even if you’ve owned your apartment for many years,
you will need co-op board approval to buy a second one in the building.
You will most likely have to go through the same process you did the first
time. For a condo, you will still probably have to get a waiver of the
right of first refusal.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>Any questions? E-mail <a href="mailto:cstimpson@stribling.com">cstimpson@stribling.com</a> or call
917-991-9549. I'll either answer them or know where to get the answers.</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-50637503480065021632014-04-17T16:17:00.000-04:002015-01-04T10:42:57.301-05:00Yes, rent is very high in New York. But it's a lot higher in Los Angeles,* and that's not counting the car.<b><br /></b>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">More years ago than I
care to admit, when I was a very young advertising copywriter in Los Angeles,</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I
needed to borrow money to buy a used Volkswagen.</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b> </b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I had been taking the bus to work from the north end of Van Nuys, where rent was cheap, to Wilshire Boulevard, where the ad agency was cheap.</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">It was sometimes said that this was a great agency if your parents could afford to send you there. At the time it was considered the best in the world. I wasn't about to seek a better salary elsewhere.</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">But after a year of spending
three hours a day commuting, including half an hour walking to and from the bus
stop on Victory Boulevard and twenty minutes waiting for a connecting bus at
Hollywood and Highland,</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I was finally earning enough to </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">buy</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> a small, inexpensive car. </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The bank </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">reluctantly
</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">gave me the loan. They </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">were reluctant because my rent was too
high--23.5% of my salary</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">. </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The rule then was that your rent should be no more than 20% of your salary.</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;">
They wanted me to live someplace even cheaper.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today in Los Angeles, median rent is now a horror-inducing 47% of median income, or exactly double what the bank thought was too high for me years ago, according to a</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1; mso-themetint: 191;"> recent article in The
New York Times </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">(<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/business/more-renters-find-30-affordability-ratio-unattainable.html?_r=0">In
Many Cities, Rent is Rising Out of Reach of Middle Class</a>).</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>And in Los Angeles, you also have to pay for a used Hyundai, a
new Maserati, or something in between. Then, after you pay for the car, you have to pay to park
it, to insure it, to put gas in it, to change its oil, rotate its tires, and on
and on. Cars are expensive.</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">magic proportion for a landlord</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is now 30%</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> or less (re less: fat chance for most).</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> That’s what a landlord wants to see when you fill out an application to rent an apartment.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>The Times, citing an analysis done for the paper by a real
estate website, says there are 90--<i>90!--</i>U.S. cities where the median rent, not including
utilities, is more than 30% of median income.
Los Angeles is at the top of the list.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Presumably, people moved in when their rent was no more than 30%
of their incomes, thus satisfying the landlord, but then their rent went up and
their incomes didn’t.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>New York ranks tenth on the list, with median rent at 39.5% of
median income. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>But our position is artificially
high to my way of thinking, as New York is the ONLY city on the list where you
don’t have to have the added expense of a car.
(Try living in LA without one, as I did for a year. Or in San Diego, or Flagstaff, or Hattiesburg,
Mississippi.)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>California is over-represented in the top twenty, with nine
cities. New York state has only two, us
and Ithaca.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>So yes, if you’re renting in New York, you definitely have a
right to complain. But you’d have a
right to complain a lot louder if you lived in LA, or any of the other eight cities where rent takes more of your income than it does here. Not to mention the car.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>E-mail or call me any time if you have any questions about real estate, or just want to discuss. cstimpson@stribling.com, 917-991-9549</i></b></span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><br />
<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">*Several people have pointed out to me that this headline is not strictly accurate. They're right. In absolute dollars, rent is probably higher in New York. It's as a percentage of income that the rent is higher in LA.</span></b></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-14606640313913549762014-03-14T11:01:00.000-04:002014-07-12T19:36:24.236-04:00The less-than-fabulous truth about some of those fabulous condos in the sky.<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">The longer I stay in the real estate business, the more jaded I get.</span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">Most people walking into a $50,000,000 apartment on a floor high
enough to </span><span style="color: #404040;">have</span><span style="color: #404040;">
a view of Montauk would say oh my god, this </span><span style="color: #404040;">view </span><span style="color: #404040;">is fantastic! </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">I can walk into the same apartment and say oh my god, these floors
are </span><span style="color: #404040;">awful</span><span style="color: #404040;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">This is exactly what I did yesterday. The floors really
were </span><span style="color: #404040;">awful</span><span style="color: #404040;">.
They looked cheap. They were warping and separating. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">Of course, it is true that whoever buys an apartment like this is probably going to think of it as raw space, ready for demolition and a complete redo, regardless of the floors.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">But still.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">Somebody planning to spend $50,000,000 on an apartment is going to notice a thing
like that.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The beauty of a view of Montauk--or any other view--is significantly diminished if you’re
standing on a really awful floor, especially when you’re expected to pay
more than $13,000 for a single square foot of it.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Another apartment I saw recently for a mere $17,000,000 was--no
kidding, seriously--the ugliest place I have ever been. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The original space was probably
lovely when the building was built, but what the current owner has done to it
is obscene. I can’t even describe it. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Every square inch of wall in
every room was covered with something hideous and jarring.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">In yet a third property with a price well into eight figures, the view from the living room was very nice, but the direct, head-on view
from the tub in the master bath as well as the bed in the master bedroom was of the huge black condo building across the street.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">And vice versa. </span><span style="color: #404040;">
<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">There’s nothing the owner can
do about that except maybe put up some curtains (the walls of those rooms are
basically all glass), but it will be interesting to see if the final selling
price is anywhere near the asking price.</span><span style="color: #404040;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Another apartment, same price range, had floors of polished concrete. Polished concrete floors were popular about fifteen years ago; these had been laid circa 2012. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Can you imagine what it cost to put those in? Can you imagine what it will cost to replace them with something friendlier?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">I once showed a famous and very witty writer an apartment with polished concrete floors. She said she wouldn't live on concrete floors unless she was sentenced to them.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">The moral of my story is, don’t wish for some fabulous trillion-dollar apartment. What
you’re living in right now may very well be nicer in many respects. </span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>But if you ever plan to sell it, here’s some advice:<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Have as much fun as you want with the furniture (you can always
store </span><span style="color: #404040;">it </span><span style="color: #404040;">and
rent something less fun</span><span style="color: #404040;"> but more universally
appealing</span><span style="color: #404040;"> to stage the property when it’s time to sell), but keep the walls, floor, kitchen and
bathrooms as neutral as possible. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">If there’s some major flaw, such as a window with a brick
wall view, consider covering that window and hanging a picture in its
place. </span><span style="color: #404040;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">And if there’s one thing you shouldn’t stint on, it’s the floor. </span><span style="color: #404040;">G</span><span style="color: #404040;">et the best quality you can. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span></b></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Any questions? E-mail or call cstimpson@stribling.com </span></b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">or call </span></b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #404040;">917-991-9549 and we'll talk.</span></b></i></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-82325786625796361802014-02-21T15:35:00.000-05:002014-02-22T19:31:03.609-05:00The co-op board interview: Think of it as a small social gathering at, say, Buckingham Palace.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i><b>Part 7 of a series</b></i></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Remember, if only for those 45
minutes to an hour, the board members have a great deal of power over your future. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">They can reject you for any legal</span><span style="color: #404040;">*</span><span style="color: #404040;"> reason they want, and they don't have to tell you what that reason is. So be very, very respectful.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span><span style="color: #404040;">Keep in mind that the vast majority of co-op board members are decent, sane, reasonable people whose primary motive in their capacity as board members is to preserve their investments and to live in their homes in peace and quiet. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span><span style="color: #404040;">So the best course is to smile and be pleasant, but leave your sparkling, witty side at home. Being the life of the party may not endear you to the board members. They are considering you as a potential co-resident of the building, not as a friend or party guest. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span><span style="color: #404040;">And n</span><span style="color: #404040;">obody has ever been rejected for being boring.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Do not bring along anyone who is not invited—definitely not your
broker or attorney. If they have asked for your children or your dog or
anyone else who will live in the apartment to attend, bring them, but ONLY if
they’ve been asked.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Dress in business clothes; for men, a jacket and tie, if not a
suit, are a good idea. If it’s on the weekend, wear what you would wear
for casual Friday in the office.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When you walk in, wait to be invited to sit down. If
nobody remembers to invite you, pick out a spot and say, “May I sit here?”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If offered coffee or tea, accept only if others are having
some. If offered a glass of wine, smile and decline, unless everyone else
in the room is drinking. Then have one glass. Sip it slowly.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">While for some co-ops, the board interview is simply a chance to
welcome the new resident to the building, tell him what days the trash is
picked up, etc., for others it’s a chance to ask </span><span style="color: #404040;">a lot of questions</span><span style="color: #404040;">**</span><span style="color: #404040;">. </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">Answer
</span><span style="color: #404040;">them</span><span style="color: #404040;">
honestly, but don’t say more than you have to, and don’t answer any questions
you haven’t been asked.</span><span style="color: #404040;"> </span><span style="color: #404040;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>In the unlikely event that a board member asks an offensive
question, answer calmly, as best you can. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">If you’re asked </span><span style="color: #404040;">a question</span><span style="color: #404040;">
</span><span style="color: #404040;">you're willing to risk losing the apartment over in order not to answer</span><span style="color: #404040;">, just say politely, “I’m
sorry, that’s something I’d rather not discuss.” </span><span style="color: #404040;">It’s</span><span style="color: #404040;"> entirely possible that
at least some of the other board members will also consider the question
inappropriate</span><span style="color: #404040;">. </span><span style="color: #404040;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Under no circumstances should you take anything personally, or
get defensive. Just s</span><span style="color: #404040;">t</span><span style="color: #404040;">ay serene and pleasant, no matter what.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you’re asked about renovations, it’s best to say you
want to live in the apartment for a while before making any changes other than redoing the floors and painting, assuming this is true. (It’s
an excellent idea, in any case, and I recommend it strongly.) </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>On the other hand, if the
apartment is currently uninhabitable, of course your architect is, or will be,
working on plans which you will be submitting to the board as soon as they’re
ready. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">If you ever plan to sublet your apartment, this is NOT the time to mention it. If asked, you have no plans to do so (which should be the truth anyway, at this point, or you wouldn't be buying a co-op).</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Avoid asking questions
yourself. “When are you going to redo the lobby?” carries the implication that
you don’t like the lobby. If asked, the safest response is to say you don't have any questions. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If given the opportunity, talk about how much you love the
apartment and how you have always wanted to live in the building, but do not
assume you will be living there. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>At the end of the interview, you can say
something like, “It’s been a real pleasure meeting you. I hope we’ll be
neighbors.” Do not ask how soon you can move in.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What happens now?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>As soon as your broker hears from the
managing agent that you are approved (usually within the next day or so), your attorney and
the seller’s attorney will set up a closing time, date and place with the managing agent. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>24 hours or fewer before the closing, you will walk through the
apartment with your broker and the seller’s broker and make sure everything is
as it’s supposed to be. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You’ll turn on all the appliances and make sure
they work, check all the closets and the refrigerator, and make sure they’re
all empty. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If anything is amiss, the seller and/or the seller’s broker
must take care of it before the closing (you’d be surprised how many
refrigerators I’ve had to empty out!) <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Your attorney will explain to you exactly what happens at the
closing, but </span><span style="color: #404040;">briefly, </span><span style="color: #404040;">a
lot of checks will </span><span style="color: #404040;">cross the table</span><span style="color: #404040;">,
documents will be signed, and at the end you will be given the keys to your new
home. </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Take your keys and your partner, pick up a bottle of Champagne and
a couple of glasses, and go sit on the floor and celebrate.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>And if I’m your broker, we will pick a date for me to take you
out for a lovely celebratory dinner.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">On the other hand, if somehow you have been rejected, i</span><span style="color: #404040;">t’s okay for the brokers to ask the managing agent if
there’s any more information you could provide that might help. It’s also
okay for the seller to talk to somebody on the board and try to get a fix on
the problem. These tactics may or may not work.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If they don’t, you get your 10% of the purchase price back. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">And look at it this way: you didn’t want to
live with those nasty people anyway. You and your broker will now
proceed to find something just as good, maybe better.</span><span style="color: #404040;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">And you will. You have my word. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Any questions? E-mail me at cstimpson@stribling.com or call 917-991-9549 for answers or just to talk real estate.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>*The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, family/marital status and occupation, among other things. Find a complete list here: <a href="http://www.dhr.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/nysdhr-fair-housing-guide.pdf">New York State Division of Human Rights Fair Housing Guide</a> or ask your attorney. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">** An article in Brick Underground gives you an idea of the possibilities: </span><a href="http://www.brickunderground.com/blog/2013/01/9_curveball_coop_board_interview_questions"><span style="color: blue;">9 curveball co-op board interview questions and how to answer them.</span></a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-74576431028793741682014-02-13T14:12:00.000-05:002014-02-18T15:32:43.255-05:00Board application packages: More fun than a root canal, but not much.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>Part 6 of a series</u></i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>I will not lie to you. The application process for a co-op
is painfully invasive. And lately, the same goes for condos.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Think of your broker as a local anesthetic</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: xx-small;">*</span><span style="color: #404040;">. He will make the pain go away, or at least most of it, but y</span><span style="color: #404040;">ou will still be involved, and you
will know what’s going on.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Don’t forget, everyone who lives in a co-op or condo has gone through this process. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">And because your neighbors have met the financial requirements of your co-op, they are not likely to default on their maintenance charges, leaving you and your more solvent neighbors to pick up the slack.</span><span style="color: #404040;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">It's the predominance of co-ops, with their stringent financial requirements, that has kept New York from having the huge number of foreclosures that other parts of the country have seen. </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">So this whole Byzantine, complex, invasive process is definitely in your best interests as an owner.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">Today, board application packages for condos are almost--often exactly--the same as those for co-ops</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: xx-small;">**</span><span style="color: #404040;">. If the condo board doesn’t like your board package (condo boards don't normally interview applicants), their only recourse is to buy the condo themselves at the contract price. They can't turn you down, but they still want the information</span><span style="color: #404040;">.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The only way out is to buy in a new building (developers don't care; they just want your money) or to buy a house. All cash. If you want to finance, you will find that the banks are also nosy. So are rental landlords.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here’s what happens: <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Once your offer has been accepted and a contract has been sent
to your attorney, your attorney will do his due diligence on the
property. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>In all likelihood the seller's broker will continue to show the property until the contract is signed, and by law, any and all offers must be presented to the seller. So move through this part of the process with all deliberate speed.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Your attorney will read the two most recent years' financial statements and the
offering plan and all its amendments, which either the seller’s broker or the
seller’s attorney will have sent him. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>He will also go to the office of the managing agent for the
co-op and read the minutes of the meetings of the co-op board (you can go along
if you want; these are almost never sent out). </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>By the time he's through,
he should know everything there is to know about the co-op.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>At the same time, he and the seller’s attorney will be
negotiating the contract—the closing date and various other provisions which he
will discuss with you.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>While he’s doing this, you will be having any inspections done
(definitely if you’re buying a house, and a good idea if you’re buying in a
small loft building or an apartment in a townhouse) and bringing your architect in if you’re planning to do
work. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Your broker will set up appointments, be present, and generally hold your hand through all of this.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When the contract is ready, you will go over it with your
attorney, sign it and give your attorney a check for 10 per cent of the
purchase price to be held in escrow until the closing, when it becomes part of
the purchase price.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Now you’re committed, and as soon as the seller countersigns, he
is also committed. The property will no longer be shown, and offers will not be considered.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Your 10% deposit will be returned to you if your contract is contingent on financing and you can’t get
financing (your attorney will explain the ins and outs of this—it’s
complicated) or if you’re buying a co-op and your application is rejected by
the board.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Which brings us to the board application.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>First, you and your broker put together the board package.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">This is where you will be VERY GLAD you have a broker. All you have to do is give him the information. He will collect the materials from you, get them typed if necessary, assemble them in the correct order, check all the numbers and the arithmentic to make sure they’re accurate, make sure the reference letters are appropriate and will serve their purpose, </span><span style="color: #404040;">make sure the package is complete, </span><span style="color: #404040;">put the whole thing together with dividers labeling each section, write a cover letter and make the necessary number of copies. </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It will look beautiful, and as impressive as we can make it while staying within the boundaries of truth. We pride ourselves on our board packages.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A typical package includes an application form to be filled out
with personal information—your name and address, your attorney’s name and
contact information, plus information about your employment, your supervisor’s
contact information, your employment history, where you were educated, names of
personal references, names of business references, bank and credit references,
etc. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Then there’s a financial statement that includes all sources of
income, all projected costs, all assets and liabilities. You’ll be asked for
two years’ income tax returns, personal reference letters, business reference
letters, an employer reference letter and a bank reference letter, bank
statements and other statements to support the financial statement, and various
other items depending on the co-op.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>All of this has to be done within ten days of the contract
signing, or within a given time period after a co-op loan commitment letter has
been issued by your lender. (This is specified in the contract.)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When the board package is ready and the seller's broker has seen it and is happy with it, your broker will send it to the managing
agent. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Now you and your broker wait for a while. If you're buying a condo, the next step is for the managing agent to obtain the signatures of the condo's board of managers on a waiver of the right of first refusal, after which a closing can be scheduled.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #404040;">If it's a co-op.... </span><span style="color: #404040;"> </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>NEXT: The board interview. <o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="background-color: white; color: #313c31; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.807201385498047px;"><i>Any questions? e-mail me at cstimpson@stribling.com or call 917-991-9549. I'll be happy to answer them.</i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span><span style="color: #404040;">*I was about to say novocaine, but it turns out dentists haven't actually used novocaine in more than thirty years, as per "Directions in Dentistry," a blog by Dennis Calcaterra, DDS, of Orange, CT.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #404040;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #404040;">** See <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/realestate/condos-demand-more-paperwork-from-buyers.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">"Condos Steal a Page (or 20) From Co-ops"</a></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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</script>Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-36657355785033209212014-02-06T22:52:00.000-05:002018-12-13T18:16:56.746-05:00Bidding wars: The only good news is that nobody actually gets killed.<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><u><b><i>(Part 5 of a series)</i></b></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Here's what's wrong with bidding wars: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>They can involve dozens of people, but only two parties win--the seller and the buyer whose bid is accepted. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Everybody else goes away mad, buyers and brokers alike. </b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The worst outcome is that, after everybody else has gone away, the buyer with the accepted offer suddenly realizes he's bid over his head and goes away too, and by that time the other buyers have either found other properties or are still so upset they no longer want this one. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But when inventory is as limited as it is now, bidding wars are a fact of life. There are currently far more buyers than available properties, and that means heavy competition.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>In a recent survey I made of co-op and co-op sales downtown over the last few months, more than half had sold at or above the last asking price. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>That means there were an awful lot of bidding wars.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Most brokers working with buyers (including me) have strategies for winning bidding wars. Sometimes these work; sometimes they don't. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The way a bidding war usually happens is this: When more than one, or perhaps several, offers are made on the same property and none of them is distinctly better than the others (not just higher, but also from a buyer with better qualifications who offers better terms), the seller's broker will ask all the buyers' brokers for their buyers' best and highest offers in writing by a given time on a given day. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes the term "best and final" is used, but as bidding wars can devolve into free-for-alls, the word "final" as applied to an offer can be meaningless.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>After the deadline, the seller will review all offers and choose which to accept. Then a contract will be sent to the winning buyer's attorney.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>You might think this is an orderly, logical and reasonable process. Well, it should be. Maybe sometimes it is. But often it isn't.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>During the time before the deadline, there is a lot of backing and forthing between the seller's broker and the buyers' brokers, who are trying to gain some insight as to how far their buyers have to come up in order to win while also trying to make sure the seller's broker understands how fantastically well-qualified their buyers are and how much they truly love the property.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Buyers' brokers are frantically trying to reach their clients. Clients are trying to reach their accountants.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The seller's broker is fielding phone calls constantly, trying both not to give away information that might hurt the seller in any way, and to get the highest offer possible.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>When all the offers are in, and one is accepted, you'd think we could all breathe a sigh of relief and move on to getting a contract signed. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But no. Not always.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>One of the losers may decide he doesn't want to be a loser and open everything up again by raising his offer substantially.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>When this happens, if I'm the seller's broker, I want to go home and crawl under the bed. But I don't. It's my job, and most of the time I love it.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The new offer may be so high as to be irresistible to the seller. So the seller will accept it and tell his lawyer to send out another contract in addition to the one he's already sent. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It then becomes my job to tell the broker for the first buyer that his accepted offer has been un-accepted, and ask if he wants to raise it, as a higher offer has come in. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Harsh words are usually the result, and I am on the receiving end.</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If a contract is signed at a higher price of course </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am very pleased. This, after all, is the point.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But too often this higher buyer (fun to say that, not always fun to deal with it) ultimately decides he has bid over his head and walks away without signing a contract. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I am then the one who goes back to the broker for the buyer who won the original bidding war and says hey, just kidding, your buyer's offer is accepted after all.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Only by this time, that buyer may be so angry that he is either no longer interested or actually wants to lower his offer.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The can is open, and the worms are wriggling all over the place.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Even more complicated and unpleasant negotiations may ensue, but just thinking about them is giving me a headache, so I will leave the possibilities to your imagination.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A broker needs a great deal of tact, patience, resilience and empathy to deal with this kind of thing. Fortunately or unfortunately, over the years I've been on both sides of many bidding wars and have grown a lot of calluses. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>There are three very important things to remember if you, as a buyer, get involved in a bidding war: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>One, be grateful you're not alone. You have a skilled broker who has been through this before and will make sure that in the end, everything will be all right. (And to quote the character in the movie*, if everything is not all right, then it isn't the end yet.)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Two, decide what is the most you are willing and able to spend for this property and DO NOT GO ABOVE THAT NUMBER.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Three, if you lose, remember this: It's okay. There are more than 300 million people in this country not living in that apartment and not minding a bit. </b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your broker will find you another one that you will love just as much. Maybe more.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>I promise.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Any questions? E-mail cstimpson@stribling.com or call 917-991-9549.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>*"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." Great cast, fun flick.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-26282295548035314372014-01-31T13:22:00.000-05:002018-06-29T13:28:21.992-04:00Essentials of the offer: how to be the perfect buyer in today's sellers' market. (It's not just about dollars.)<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u>(Part 4 of a series) </u></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>At last, you and your broker have found the apartment of your dreams.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>You've seen it at least twice, and so has your partner. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your broker has pointed out any negatives as well as the positives. (She's objective. You may not be. And n</b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ot only will this help you make sure it's the right one for you, but it will help in negotiating the price.)</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And if you're planning to finance the purchase, you were pre-approved (not just pre-qualified) for a loan of up to 80% of the amount you're planning to spend before you even started looking. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Before you make an offer:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, your broker should let the seller's broker know that you're seriously interested, find out if there are any offers currently on the table, and, if there are none, ask to be notified if any are made. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Your broker should also try to find out about possible negotiability and should ask for comparable sales to support the price.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Second, </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">alert your real estate attorney.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Third, make sure you have a substantial amount of cash readily available. When you sign a contract, you must accompany it with a check for ten per cent of the purchase price.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>At the same time, your broker should be looking for comparable sales in addition to the ones the seller's broker has given her. She should research the price as carefully as if she were pricing it for the seller.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Now for the offer. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It's not just a number.</b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The strongest offers are all cash. The next strongest are those that include financing but are not contingent on it. The weakest are those that are contingent on financing. </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Strong qualifications are also a highly motivating factor, particularly if the property is a co-op and the buyer will have to pass the board. </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An all-cash offer from a well-qualified buyer will often trump a higher offer with a financing contingency from someone with less impressive resources.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If the property is new to the market, well priced and likely to attract several buyers, you may want to make a preemptive bid, with a time limit.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A seller who is doing business in good faith will immediately accept an all cash, full price offer (in a sellers' market like today's, circumstances might even warrant a number over the full price), to close at his convenience, from a qualified buyer.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>However, there are those sellers who will have another open house to see if they can get a higher number or stimulate a bidding war. That's why a time limit is a good idea.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If there are no other offers on the table, and the property has been on the market for more than a month, you may be able to negotiate a bit. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>But in today's market, in order to get a response from the seller, your opening offer should be at least 90% of the asking price. Most actual sale prices are now within two or three per cent of the asking price, either over or under.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If you don't think the property is worth that much, your broker can sound out the seller's broker to see if the seller will respond to a lower offer.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br />The formal offer should thus include the number, the closing date, the amount to be financed (if any), the pre-approval letter from the bank, and whether or not the offer is contingent on financing. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>It should also include </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">your net worth, liquid assets, annual income (not just salary) and source of same. </b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Your broker should present your offer the INSTANT you make it, by phone, and should follow up with a formal presentation by e-mail.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>If yours is the only offer on the table and it is less than the full ask, the seller has three options: she can turn you down flat, she can accept it, or she can make a counter offer. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The third option is the most likely. Then there will be some backing and forthing between you and the seller, via your brokers, before you agree on a price and terms. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Both parties may assume that they'll eventually arrive at the midpoint between the opening offer and the asking price, but this is not necessarily true. One or the other may refuse to budge at some point. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A broker is an experienced negotiator and can help you through an impasse. She will do her best to make sure the seller is the one who blinks.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Once you and the seller have agreed on price and terms, the next step is getting the contract signed. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Unless, of course...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>NEXT: How to win a bidding war.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-19676857578525511712014-01-06T15:29:00.000-05:002014-03-15T11:01:36.446-04:00The one essential for working with a broker as a buyer. And what you're entitled to in return.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><u>Part 3 If you're buying:</u></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>You may be tempted to work on your own. Don't.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This may well be the largest financial investment you will ever make. It will affect your life for many years to come. You won't just have to live with it; you'll live IN it.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Do you really want to do this alone? Without professional help?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Working with a broker costs you nothing. And a good broker will save you both time and money.*</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Finding the right broker to help you buy is less crucial than finding one to help you sell. There's no written agreement. If it doesn't work out, it's easier to change (but don't change lightly--more below on this).</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ask your friends, go to some open houses, walk into an office. Be sure every broker you consider is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Once you find one you like, BE LOYAL. </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't try to work with more than one broker at a time. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>It will hurt you.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>There's nothing to be gained by working with more than one broker. We all have access to all listings. REBNY requires that we share our "exclusives" with all other member firms within 24 hours of listing them.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you're not happy with your broker, by all means change. But it's in your own best interest to practice monogamy--serial monogamy if necessary, but monogamy--with a broker.</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>How will we know if you're working with another broker? We are required to give our customer's name when we make an appointment to see a property. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If the listing broker for that property tells us the customer already has an appointment to see it through another broker, or if the customer has gotten in touch with the listing broker directly, nine out of ten of us will drop the customer.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here's why: choosing five to seven apartments for you for an afternoon's tour, reviewing them with you, scheduling appointments with their brokers (which means a meshing of your schedule and theirs, not to mention ours) to see them in some kind of reasonable geographic sequence is extremely complicated and time-consuming.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Also, our firms do not pay for taxis or car services or lunches or snacks. All of those expenses come out of our pockets. And we are independent contractors, on straight commission, with no salary or benefits. If we don't sell, we don't eat.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Okay, this is not your problem. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>But we cannot afford to devote time, effort and money to anyone who may wind up buying through some other broker.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you see something interesting on the web, pass it on to your broker and ask what she thinks. She may know something about the listing that's not on the website--land-lease, brick wall views, whatever. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If, in a moment of excitement about a property, you call or e-mail the listing broker directly, make it clear that you have a broker representing you. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you go to an open house without your broker, </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">put her name down on the sign-in sheet.</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's what you can expect in return:</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you don't already have a real estate attorney, your broker should provide you with the names of at least three she's worked with in the past and is comfortable recommending. Same goes for mortgage providers, if you're planning to finance.</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She should be seriously interested in finding you the perfect property and getting the best price, not just in making a quick sale.</b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(A smart broker knows that this is in her best interest. </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If she does her job well, you will </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">come back to her when you're ready to sell whatever she helps you buy. You will also send any of your friends who have real estate needs to her.) </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She should listen carefully and TAKE NOTES when you tell her what you're looking for. </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before she shows you properties, she should send you a list of them with pictures, floor-plans and other information. Go over the list with her so that if there are some you're not interested in, you can explain why. </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, she should listen carefully and TAKE NOTES.</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>When you actually go out with her to look at properties, it is fair to expect her to pay cab fares and for any snacks along the way. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you're spending in the multimillion dollar range, it is fair to expect a car service, especially if your tour will be in the later afternoon when it's impossible to get a cab.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>After the tour, stop for coffee to discuss what you've seen. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you didn't like something and can't come up with anything beyond "It just didn't strike me," your broker should know how to gently probe a bit, asking, for instance, if the problem was the light or lack of it, or if those white brick buildings that went up in the '60s should be ruled out altogether, or if there was something wrong with the block.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you're looking with someone who will be sharing the space with you, ask for some time to discuss the properties privately. But be sure to discuss them with your broker as soon as possible.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>She should NEVER pressure you to make an offer unless she sees that you're interested in something, and she knows that other offers are already on the table. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>She shouldn't argue when you point out negatives, and she should point out any serious ones you miss.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If you've looked at a dozen properties and can't see yourself living in any of them, sit down with your broker and try to figure out what the problem is. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>But by this time, there should be at least one you like enough to make an offer on.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Now, more than ever, the right broker is essential. Now's the time to decide what your offer should be, and negotiate the price.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>NEXT: The offer, and beyond.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Any questions so far? e-mail me at cstimpson@stribling.com or call 917-991-9549. I'll be happy to answer them.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>*For more on this, see previous post, </b></span><strong><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-buyers-need-brokers.html"><span style="font-weight: normal;">"Don't jump into the pool without a
lifeguard: why buyers need brokers."</span></a></span></strong></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-62645829890329390402013-12-18T15:17:00.004-05:002014-02-14T15:24:10.224-05:00Seven questions to ask brokers before you choose one to handle your sale. And one question to ask yourself.<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4170870131266472514" name="_MailOriginal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Part 2 If you're selling:</i></b></span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>As mentioned in an earlier post (<a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-do-you-choose-real-estate-broker.html"><span style="color: windowtext;">How To
Choose a Broker, Part 1)</span></a> you first need to
talk to friends, check your mailbox for broker mailings and go to some open houses.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Let me add one more item to that list: be sure to check out websites.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Remember, to paraphrase the rental car ads, you're not just hiring a
broker, you're hiring a company. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The website should be attractive and easy to navigate. And the company
should have national and international affiliations so that your property is
seen by national and international buyers. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Once you've done all that, you should have an idea of which three brokers (or more if you don't fall in love with any of these) you want to invite
to look at your property, give you a price, and answer some questions.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Here are the questions:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">What do you think it's worth?</span></u> Beware the broker who takes a quick look
around and says, "I can get you X million dollars for this."<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ask him for very specific reasons why he thinks it’s worth that.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Avoid anyone who gives you what we call "a blur" on the
subject, changing the subject quickly to his or her immense experience and knowledge.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Don’t be led down the garden path by the broker who gives you the highest
price. There are brokers who swear they can get a given over-market price, and
then will ask you to drop it if the first open house doesn't produce an offer. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Accurate pricing is crucial (see <a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013/01/pricing-101-why-you-have-to-get-it_18.html"><span style="color: #073763;">Pricing 101:
Why you have to get it right</span><span style="color: windowtext;"> the first time.</span></a> and <a href="http://withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013/01/when-people-want-toknow-what-their.html"><span style="color: #073763;">Pricing 102:
How to get it right the first time.</span></a>).<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Personally, I never throw out a price at my first meeting with a seller.
After I've seen the property I do my homework and then come back with a price
and a marketing plan. Which brings us to...<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">How are you going to market this property?</span></u> The broker
should provide a written plan explaining in detail every step he plans to take
in marketing your property—advertising, open houses, mailings, everything.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">Does it need staging?</span></u> You need an honest answer here.
<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If the broker says it looks fabulous when you know it doesn't, be
prepared for him to change his mind once an exclusive agreement is signed.
<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If it does need staging, who pays for what part of it? What about a floor
plan? Photography? How much photography? Professional, or
does the broker do it himself?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">How well do you know the neighborhood?</span></u> Although it may be
helpful, it's not necessary for a broker to specialize in your neighborhood.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
But it is necessary for him to learn everything he can about it.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
Recently I had an exclusive on a beautiful Park Slope brownstone. New to
the neighborhood, I went to every single open house in every Park S</b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lope
brownstone on the market. I made appointments to preview those that
didn't have open houses. I made friends with the brokers.</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
I learned the market inside out.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
I brought a fresh eye to the project, which resulted in getting a price higher
than anybody thought was possible. Even after the house was sold, brokers
were telling me the price was too high. But we got it.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">Who else will I be dealing with?</span></u> There are mega-brokers out
there with hot and cold running partners, assistants, masseuses, you name it.
<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>One person shows the property; somebody else schedules appointments; yet
another person handles negotiation and someone altogether different deals with
board packages.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
The person you originally hired? You never see him again. He's off
pitching other exclusives.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
There must be benefits in this arrangement for someone, but I don't see how
it's the seller. One advantage of the exclusive agreement is that you
only deal with the person you hire, not a lot of others, and especially not a
lot of inexperienced apprentices. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
Make sure you get all the expertise you're paying for. And speaking of
paying...<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">What's your commission?</span></u> It's legal to ask for a reduction in
the typical 6% commission. If your property is priced in the
multi-millions (or you've worked with the broker a number of times), it’s not
unreasonable to suggest 5%.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
But remember, you get what you pay for. Can the broker afford to give you
the same time and the same marketing at a lower commission? <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Don't forget that the commission is going to be sliced at least four
different ways--between the seller's firm and the buyer's firm, and then
between the firms and their brokers. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
It's important to make sure the outside brokers have a strong incentive to show
your property.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
And beware. The broker who is quick to reduce a commission just to get a
listing is obviously not a good negotiator.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
<u><span style="color: #cc0000;">How many other exclusives do you have?</span></u> This is a veiled way
of asking how much time the broker will have to devote to yours. There
are only so many hours in a week. If a
broker has a dozen or more exclusives, how many of those hours are you going to
get?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
Once you've asked these questions, along with any others you happen to think
of, there's one to ask yourself. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /><u><span style="color: #cc0000;">
Which broker could you most tolerate being stuck in an elevator with?</span></u> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
Of course, you will probably never be in that particular situation with your
broker. But being in the throes of
a tough deal with someone can feel very much like being stuck in an elevator. It’s best to be stuck with someone you like.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br />
Any questions? Call me at 917-991-9549, or e-mail <span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="mailto:cstimpson@stribling.com">cstimpson@stribling.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>NEXT: If you're buying.</b></span></div>
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Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-11468208964907453202013-12-14T20:44:00.000-05:002013-12-15T10:57:14.327-05:00News flash: There are a few new condos out there that are not super-expensive. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not long ago, while wringing my hands, I posted my thoughts on the stratospheric prices of new or relatively new Manhattan real estate (<a href="http://www.withconfidence.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-can-you-buy-for-12745-manhattan.html">A real estate question: What can you buy for $12,745?</a>).</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Today the Times published an article that says there are new and shiny condos out there for a trifling $1,470 per square foot (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/realestate/luxury-apartments-for-a-little-less.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1387069263-DLjdRKRPtC3w8e4vOjSO3g">Luxury Apartments For A Little Less</a>). </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The article says that of the 230 new development condo units that are now on the market and that are priced below $2,000 per foot, 149 are in the Financial District.</b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But if you don't want to live in FiDi </b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(come on, it's nice down there!)</b><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, you can choose from a grand total of 81 in the rest of Manhattan. </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Any questions? Call me at 917-991-9549, or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-49110417366275041152013-12-11T14:36:00.000-05:002014-02-14T15:25:43.443-05:00Who do you trust to handle what may be the largest financial investment of your life?<b><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><u><b>Part 1: Whether you’re buying or selling:</b></u></i></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your broker is going to help you make some very, very important financial and emotional decisions. And you're going to spend a lot of time with him or her. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be careful whom you choose.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are a number of ways to choose a broker. Use all of them. And talk to at least three brokers before you decide on one to work with.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><br /></strong></span>
<span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong>First, ask your friends. </strong></span><br />
<span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span>
<span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Remember, as Frederick Peters, president of Warburg Realty and among the most highly respected people in residential real estate, says, "The fact that your cousin's mother-in-law recently obtained her brokerage license is NOT a personal recommendation."</strong></span><br />
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<strong>But if anyone you know has had a
really good experience with a particular broker, talk to that broker and tell
him who made the recommendation.</strong></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong></strong></span> </div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Check your mailbox. Like everyone else, you probably
get frequent mailings from real estate brokers. Do they offer you
valuable information about the market, or do they just talk about themselves?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Check the web. Look at the listings for properties
similar to yours, or to what you want to buy. Go to open houses. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do you find any of the brokers helpful? Do any show a
superior knowledge of the kind of property they're representing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Walk into a firm's office off the street. Do you get a favorable impression of the office? Are you greeted
promptly and given a place to sit, maybe even offered a glass of water or a
coffee? </span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Does a broker come to help you within a minute or
two? Does the broker listen to you carefully and take notes? </b></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Maybe most important of all, is the broker a
member of the Real Estate Board of New York? </b></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">REBNY members must adhere to the highest
ethical standards and are severely penalized if these standards are not upheld.</span></span><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;">Check the firm's website. Is it attractive and easy to navigate? Does the firm have national and international affiliations? </span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also, be sure to choose a broker you like
and feel comfortable with. This can be more important than you realize in
a stressful situation.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NEXT: How to choose
a broker if you’re planning to sell.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170870131266472514.post-48739254969353919082013-11-07T12:27:00.000-05:002014-03-31T17:04:04.092-04:00What to obsess about when you buy a condo.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Last week I discussed what to obsess about when you're buying a co-op.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>There are things to obsess about when buying a condo, too.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Of course, your attorney will perform what is called "due diligence" on the property before you sign a contract, as he would with any real estate purchase, including co-ops and houses. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This means reading the offering plan (or at least certain relevant parts of it, especially the "special risks" section) and the amendments to it, reviewing the most recent two years of financial statements, reading the board minutes and investigating the property in general.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>But there's information you should get before you reach that step (perhaps even before you and the seller agree on a price), and a good broker can get it for you.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Ask your broker to find out how many of the apartments in the building are owner occupied and how many are rented, and whether there are any large blocks of apartments owned by a single entity.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Yes, it's great to be able to rent your apartment hassle-free if you want to or need to, as you can in most condos, but if this is not a priority, you don't want to spend a lot of money on a condo only to be surrounded by renters. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If the proportion of investors to owner-occupants is too high, financing may be difficult. Check with your mortgage broker on this. Even if you're paying all cash, it's something to consider for resale purposes.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>As you would with a co-op, check into the amount of money available for work that the building may need, now or in the future. Remember, co-ops can borrow money using their building as security for the loan. For condos, borrowing money is far more difficult. So if the building needs work and there's not enough money in the slush fund, there will be assessments.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>This is not necessarily a bad thing. Owners in some small buildings with few units, condos and co-ops alike, prefer to keep their money in their pockets. And in the long run, it may be better to assess than to increase carrying charges or maintenance. </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>But if this is how the building operates, it's best to know in advance. </b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>At the same time, make sure you know what work has been done recently and what work may be planned.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>For example, thanks to Local Law 11, the city inspects the facades of every building once every six years. If the city says the bricks need repair, the bricks have to be repaired. This can be expensive. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Of course, it's a small price to pay compared to having a brick land on somebody's head, especially if the somebody is you.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Needed and planned repairs may show up in the board minutes, which you or your attorney or both should read before you sign a contract. If they don't, have your broker or your attorney ask the managing agent for information.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If the building is new, it's also important to know if there's a tax abatement. A number of such abatements have been granted to developers by the city in order to encourage construction.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A tax abatement is a wonderful thing, as it significantly reduces real estate taxes for a given building--but not forever. The terms of abatements vary. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>If there's an abatement in place, you need to know what your taxes would be if there were no abatement, how long the abatement will last, and how your taxes will increase over the years till it ends.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Any questions? Call me at 917-991-9549 or e-mail cstimpson@stribling.com, and I'll be happy to answer them. If I don't know the answer, I know how to find it.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Confidence Stimpsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15451138920371015649noreply@blogger.com0