The proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) guidance that would prohibit Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac from buying mortgages on property that have a private transfer tax fee agreement, or a “Flip Tax” as it is known in New York, would seriously disrupt the stability and efficiency of the city’s housing market.

The New York City condo and co-op housing market has operated with a flip tax for some time.  In one study, it was reported that more than 50 percent of the co-ops in New York City have a flip tax. In many cases, the flip tax is paid by the seller and is a percentage of the seller’s profit.

This tax has bolstered the capital reserve fund of numerous buildings thereby funding critical and necessary capital improvements, including facade work which ensures public safety. These improvements have benefited the residents of these buildings and the surrounding neighborhood.

In New York these fees are going back to the property for the benefit of the building and its occupants, not to the building developer.  These fees typically fund building maintenance, the repair and replacement of building systems, and additional building wide improvements that benefit the residents. FHFA is principally concerned with the private transfer fee covenant when the project developer, or their designated third-party receives the proceeds, not when the fee goes to improve the operation of the building.

We urge you to drop this current proposal which would harm New York City’s housing market. In my opinion, condos and co-ops in New York City are sounder investments for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a result of a building’s healthy reserve fund which in most cases has been funded through flip and transfer taxes.

Lee can be reached at (347)829-9996.
Apartments in Manhattan

Copyright © 2009 – The Real Deal, Inc. , 158 West 29th Street New York, NY 10001 , 212-260-1332

Steven Spinola – President, REBNY

New Yorkers who live in condos and coops receive their building financials annually. The building financials include operating budgets and staff salaries. Most shareholders and condo owners are aware of what the building staff gets paid excluding tips and perks. The last strike by building workers was in 1991 also during a recession. A strike not only disrupts “the quality of life for NYC apartment residents. It will affect real estate closings, Open Houses and move-in and move-outs. 

Let’s hope a strike is averted!

 What do you think? Should anyone be asking for a raise in the midst of a recession?

While my wife and I recently lost on a bid we had for a home in Rockland County, I learned something very important. You see, any attorney my wife and i would choose to work with understands the need for a strict financing contingency and appraisal contingency. Why is this important you ask? Well, for anyone putting down more than 20%, a lender / bank might approve your mortgage even if the home or property does not appraise at or above the contract price. Typically lenders will lend up to 80% loan to value. So, if you put down more than 20%, a lender/ bank may still approve your loan even if it appraised at less than the contract price – as long as the lender / bank is not lending you more than 80% of the home’s appraised value.

Since my wife and I felt the home we liked was way over-priced and would not appraise anywhere near the asking price, after having our “reasonable” offer rejected we offered to allow the seller to name their price for the contract. We told them that if the house appraised at or above the contract price, we would be bound by the contract price. If however the home appraised for less than the contract price we would pay 5% less than the appraised value. This forces a seller and their broker to think before they price a home for sale. We found out that the other offer they had included a 40% down-payment. I had a conversation with a very knowledgeable Rockland County broker, I was told that they had never seen a local real estate attorney ask fro an appraisal contingency, not even a basic one that say if the home does not appraise we are out of the contract and get a full refund of our deposit. Needless to say, I was shocked. Being in real estate now for 8+ years and having owned and invested in real estate I thought every real estate attorney would protect their buyer clients with a strict financing contingency and appraisal contingency.

If you find yourself needing a knowledgeable real estate attorney, do not hesitate to contact me.

Visit Manhattan Apartments, for your Manhattan and Riverdale real estate needs.

The website owned and operated by Lee Presser, a New York State licensed real estate salesperson associated with The Corcoran Group and member of The Real Estate Board of New York. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of The Corcoran Group. This website is not the official website of The Corcoran Group or its affiliated companies, and neither The Corcoran Group nor its affiliated companies in any way warrant the accuracy of any information contained herein. Any product and/ or services offered for sale on this website shall not be considered an offer to sell such goods and/ or services in any state other than New York. Information on this site is not intended as legal or financial advice. I operate a business practice that supports fair housing.

So why is it that Rockland County, NY feels they are different than every other local in the country? Pam and I have been looking for our house in the burbs, and the Rockland brokers, who admit that sales volume is way down, insist on taking over-priced listings and then appear to encourage their sellers to hold firm. One Rockland broker told me median home prices for the county are down just 2.4% from the 2008 highs. I find it difficult to believe that home prices in Rockland continued to climb in 2008, given that just about everywhere else in the tri-state area prices peaked in 2007. I think brokers in Rockland County feel good just having listings . I guess someone needs to remind them they are hired to sell those listings, and doing so means you must give your clients, the sellers, honest advice, and sometimes the truth hurts a bit. One real issue I see is that many Rockland brokers are in denial about their home prices because if prices in the county are down it means that their own home is worth less. Perhaps they feel if nothing sells for less than what they believe homes should sell for then the market has not declined? Why would anyone want to work with a broker who is not honest with them?

I provide my clients with detailed financial analysis of a home’s and/or apartment’s value, and can peg a selling price usually to within in 1-3% of my financial analysis. some intangibles may skew some a tad bit higher or lower.

While no one can predict what will happen after March 30 (supposedly when banks will begin to raise mortgage rates because they may have to begin to portfolio loans), buyers and sellers alike in Manhattan real estate are finding that now is the time to  buy or sell a home. Remember that prices need to fall nearly 10% to offset a 1% increase in mortgage rates. Borrowing $100,000 at 5.25% (30 yr fixed) will cost the borrower $552.20, while borrowing $90,000 at 6.25% will cost the same borrower $554.15. Since many experts predict that mortgage rates will climb to over 7% this year, unless you believe home prices will fall 20% if you plan to have a mortgage, now is the time to buy.

If you know anyone who is looking to buy or sell in Manhattan or Riverdale, have them contact me.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Best,
Lee

Have you read the Updated Terms and Conditions of the upcoming Solaria Auction November 22, 2009?   I have. The following is a direct quote from the first paragraph of Section 3

    Bidding and Buying at The Auction:
   
    Reserve Price: All Properties have a Reserve Price, meaning the Seller of each property has established an unpublished, minimum selling price. The starting bid is not the Reserve Price. In order to become the Winning Bidder for a Property, a Bidder must meet or exceed the Reserve Price and have the highest bid (see Subject to Confirmation section below). Except where prohibited by law, the Auctioneer may open bidding on any Property by placing a bid on behalf of the Seller and may further bid on behalf of the Seller, up to the amount of the Reserve Price, by placing successive or consecutive bids for a Property, or by placing bids in response to other bidders. If no bidders meet the Reserve Price, the Seller is under no obligation to sell the Property. Conduct of the Auction and increments of bidding shall be at the direction and discretion of the Auctioneer. Auctioneer is not acting as an agent for any Bidder in any capacity, and is acting exclusively as the Seller’s agent.

A representative for the auctioneer, Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) has informed me that New York City and New York State do allow the practice of the auctioneer bidding on behalf of the seller while the current bid amount is below the reserve price. While in my heart of hearts I still believe that this practice is unethical, we must deal with it, and I have a plan to ensure my clients are not bidding against themselves.

My clients and I will be prepared on Auction Day, November 22, 2009, going in with what I believe should be the maximum prices paid for any of the units available. The prices will be determined based on recent appraisals of similar units as well as recently closed condo sales in Riverdale.

Pricing is a science. The numbers do not lie. I will analyze closed sales in order to determine the appropriate value in terms of dollars per square foot, adjusted up or down for the floor and view as well as whether the common charges and real estate taxes are above or below the average common charges and real estate taxes for those units recently sold.

If you choose to hire me or another buyer’s agent/broker, our services are absolutely free to you the buyer, and are paid by the seller. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Call Lee Presser today to assist and accompany you to the auction on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Do not go it alone! Lee can be reached at (347)829-9996.
Apartments in Manhattan

This stylish 5 Bedroom home in Riverdale has beautifu views of the Hudson!

A listing in the heart of the Upper West Side of Manhattan had nine families/individuals attend. This was our third and final open house.  The contract has been signed – in less than three weeks!
 
A nice one bedroom apartment in Upper Manhattan had four attendees at what was our third and final open house. There is a contract out expected to be signed by Thursday – in less than four weeks from our first showing.

A very large apartment on Riverside Drive had three families attend. Good interest from all who attended. People are a bit more cautious on homes priced over $1 million.
 
Many other agents have listings that have been on the market for more than six months to one year! Check with me and The Corcoran Group for just the right home for you.  Our secret to selling in this market… Pricing right is critical. Over-price your Manhattan Apartment, and you end up chasing the market down. Priced right and the buyers come in droves!

By The Best Apartments Featured writer; Jim Weiss, Avant Relo Consulting

Whether moving to Manhattan or long-distance, many people opt to do their own packing in order to cut costs, and with good reason:  Packing is a major profit center for moving companies, especially nowadays, with the cost of fuel cutting deep into their margins.  Markups on materials often surpass 600 percent above cost, and labor charges for packing those cartons for you can add up in a hurry.

Packing your belongings yourself can cut your moving costs nearly in half, but there are hidden dangers you’ll need to be aware of, too, dangers that could make all the differ-ence between a great moving experience, and yet another horror story.

They Break It, You Buy It
No mover will guarantee that the items you’ve packed will arrive at your destination in one piece.  Harsh as that sounds, they’re not doing this to be mean.  Moving companies (especially the national carriers like Allied, Atlas, and United) go to a lot of trouble and expense to train their packers to perform up to professional standards, so that’s whose work they’ll guarantee.  If the items you’ve packed yourself come out of their boxes damaged or broken, the mover will (figuratively speaking) need to see tire tracks on that box before they’ll even discuss a damage claim with you… and you’ll probably have to call out the local CSI unit to prove that the tracks were theirs!

One way to avoid this unpleasant scenario is to let the movers pack your breakables, while you pack everything else.  If they pack your dishes, glassware, pictures, etc., they’ll be fully responsible for their condition.  Meanwhile, you’ll still pocket noticeable savings by packing your books, bedding, pots and pans, and anything else you own that can’t be broken simply by dropping it on the floor.

What’s the Downside?
The downside is that the dishpacks and mirror cartons the mover will use just happen to be the most expensive cartons they provide (and the labor charges for packing those cartons are higher, too), meaning your cost savings won’t add up to as much as they might have had you done the entire job yourself.   But when weighing the cost of going this route versus the cost – be it financial or emotional – of replacing your fine china out of your own wallet in the event of catastrophic loss, allowing the movers to pack your breakables is what I typically recommend to those clients of mine who are weighing their options.

You Can Do This
If, however, you remain determined to do all of your own packing, I’m pleased to inform you that you can still do a good job of it, even if packing for a cross-country or interna-tional move is something you’ve never done before.  All of the major moving companies publish tips on how to pack your breakables (for instance, did you know that the best way to pack dishes is on their edges… not lying flat?), and make that literature readily available to their customers.  You can also go online and obtain many useful tips on packing from sites like this one.

As it turns out, then, the problems inherent in the actual packing of your own belongings – while in and of itself not the easiest or most enjoyable job you’ll ever perform – can be overcome without much difficulty.  The greatest danger actually lies in what comes next.

Guarding Against Theft
When you do your own packing, it’s of the utmost importance to understand that you’re exposing yourself not only to the possibility of unreimbursed damages, but also to loss or theft.  Most movers are decent and honest people, but as with every industry, there are always a few bad apples in the bushel.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that you can protect yourself against loss or theft by following a few simple steps.

The first thing you must do – without exception – is see to it that your driver makes out a detailed inventory of the items you’re shipping.  Be present when he or she tags your item and writes them down on the form, and make sure that you’ve been provided with a legible copy, signed by the driver, before the truck pulls away from the curb at your origin location.  And finally, upon delivery, insist that all items listed on the inventory be checked off before you agree to sign the paperwork that will inevitably be placed in front of you.  Your signature states that all of your items have in fact been delivered in their entirety, and in good condition, and it’s your responsibility to make sure that that is in-deed the case.

“Packed By Owner, Contents Unknown” – A  License to Steal
Now, here’s where it gets tricky.  No matter what you wrote on the boxes you packed with regard to what was in them, those boxes will be noted on the driver’s inventory as “PBO CU”, which stands for “packed by owner, contents unknown”.  Ostensibly, that’s because the driver has not in fact seen what those boxes contain, and should therefore not be held liable for the condition of those contents.  When dealing with an unscrupu-lous driver, however, once you’ve signed the bottom of that form at your origin address, you will have in effect issued that person a license to steal.  To illustrate, I’ll relate to you a story that was told to me very recently:

Shanti and Dustin Move to LA: A Horror Story
The daughter and son-in-law of some very close friends of mine arranged their move from Dallas to Los Angeles without speaking with me, first.  Instead, they chose a low-cost, no-name mover they found online (their first mistake), and did all of their own packing in order to save even more money.  Included in their shipment was an expen-sive set of pots and pans that they’d just received as a wedding gift, still in its original packaging.  Lo and behold, when their shipment arrived in LA, the set of cookware was nowhere to be found.  There was no inventory to refer to, no proof whatsoever that said cookware had ever been loaded on the truck, and without that proof, the driver got off scot free, with the full aid and support of his company.  And even if there had been an inventory, the carton would have invariably been listed as “PBO CU”.  In other words, the burden of proof that such a set of cookware even existed lay squarely on the shoul-ders of the injured parties, themselves.

Shanti and Dustin were devastated by their mover’s ability to rip them off in broad day-light and drive away laughing, and their respective families were left shaking with frus-tration at their inability to effectively intervene on their behalf.  But sadly, they could also just as easily have protected themselves against this outrage from the very beginning.  All that was necessary was for them to have opened the box while it was still in their apartment, shown the driver what was in there, and seen to it that an inventory form was filled out specifying that box number (whatever) contained pots and pans, manufac-tured by so-and-so, and have the driver countersign in the space that’s provided on all DOT-approved forms.  The carton would still be shown up as PBO, but the C (as it were) would no longer have been U, and the couple would have had the papers to prove it.  Taking this simple step would have not only created the necessary paper trail to supply to law enforcement, but would also have put the driver on notice at the very beginning that he should consider taking his thieving ways elsewhere.

If It Feels Good, Do It!  Just Be Safe…
To summarize:  By packing your own belongings, you can get a great move from a reputable mover, and still save yourself a bundle, just by following these three simple steps: 1) Pack only your non-breakable items; or barring that, 2) get expert advice on methods for packing your fragile items, and 3) protect yourself by ensuring that your most cherished items are all accounted for in writing.

Good luck with your move!

About the Author
Jim Weiss is a 27-year veteran of the relocation industry.  He is the owner and president of Avant Relo Consulting, a free service that matches relocating families with reputa-ble providers for international, interstate, and local (New York City) moves.  To assist with your move, he can be contacted at tjweiss@avantrc.net.

brighten your apartment

or change the mood

without spending $$$

As a Feng Shui expert and Interior Designer, I always advise people to first define how they see their ideal life, then I help them with setting up a home that is supportive of their goals and desires.

So weather you live in a single room or a big house, the rules of thumb for making your space bright and inviting without spending top $$$ are the same.

1-First, having the right lighting creates an atmosphere. If you don’t have a lot of natural light, you can add ceiling lights, task lightings and ambiance lightings. Mirrors are also great light enhancers as they reflect every bit of light you get. And in Feng Shui, we also use Crystals. They diffuse beautiful rays of light when hit by the sun. You can display those by your window.

2-The other element is Color. Color sets the mood of the space. The most important thing there is to know is: only use colors you love! They can be applied to your walls, your soft furnishing, and your furniture in various shades.

They can be vivid or subtle, applied on whole surfaces or as accents in little object. If you are not sure which colors to apply, choose a favorite object, and use it as a guide.

3-The third element is introducing moving and leaving things like plants, water fountains, mobiles. They always make great accents and add life and personality to your space.

And if you feel you need more advice to find a home style and make it really yours, you can contact me.

Marie Burgos : 917-535-9149
www.manobluedesign.com - marie@manobluedesign.com