This holiday-weekend combined post is your chance to catch up with news included to inform, enlighten and perhaps even entertain you. You’ll find Out and About early next week and additional posts every day except President’s Day as usual.
COMMON DISPUTE ABOUT SQUARE FOOTAGE MAKES RARE COURT APPEARANCE
Four years ago, Rishi Bhandari and his fiancée put down a deposit on a condo in Downtown Brooklyn. The price was $795,000, for a two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment, reports the New York Times.
But just before they were to close, Bhandari measured the bedrooms, living room and kitchen area and found that they covered only 634 square feet, even though the floor plans said there were 743.
A lawyer, Bhandari wanted the price of his apartment reduced by the size of the discrepancy–or by what an appraiser calculated to be about $111,000. The developer refused, offering to return his deposit, $79,500, plus interest, and to let him walk away. Thus is the case being heard in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
DUPLEX APARTMENTS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE
Stairs create separation. Stairs take up space. Stairs mean work. There are buyers out there, though, who seek a duplex.
They like the separation of public and private rooms. They don’t mind losing a little space, and a bit of exercise isn’t a bad thing, either.
Developers in recent years have added duplexes to their apartment mix, some creating buildings made up entirely of duplexes. Brokers and developers say that duplexes attract certain buyers, and that if anything, their popularity seems to be on the rise.
SALES START TO SHOW SIGNS OF LIFE
LUXURY-PROPERTY SALES SPURT, BUT IS IT A TREND?
NOW THE AGGRESSIVE OTHER SIDE OF THE DAKOTA DUSTUP DEFENDS ITSELF
SOME BUYERS ARE PAYING ABOVE ASKING PRICE AGAIN BUT BELOW PRE-LEHMAN PEAK
STATE NOW WILL PROVIDE LEGAL AID TO FORECLOSED HOMEOWNERS
CITY COUNCIL WANTS LANDLORDS TO ADHERE TO AND POST TENANTS’ BILL OF RIGHTS
TAX ENFORCERS TAKE AIM AT SECOND-HOME OWNERS AS LUCRATIVE TARGET
FORECLOSURE NOTICES DROP 36 PERCENT FROM DECEMBER TO JANUARY WITH ALL BOROUGHS TRENDING FLAT OR DOWN
REAL ESTATE TAXES DRIVE UP CITY REVENUE BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
SHE KNOWS A HOUSE YOU CAN BID ON
ONETIME BALLET STAR MAKES SHORT LEAP FROM ‘OFFICE’ TO NEW CONDO
$40 MILLION CONDO STRIKES RIGHT NOTE FOR RUSSIAN COMPOSER AND WIFE
FUNNY, BUT TWO CELEBS DECIDE ON RENTING INSTEAD OF BUYING
THIS FORD TRADES IN OLD MODEL FOR NEW AND MUCH COSTLIER LOFT (near end)
EX-FIANCÉ RAPS JILL OVER–GUESS WHAT?–WHETHER SHE OWES HIM MONEY FOR HAMPTONS HOME
THAT PERIPATETIC SLUGGER FINALLY SETTLES ON THE UWS’S RUSHMORE
WITH PURCHASES IN HAWAII, HE PROVES THAT IT’S NOT JUST FITNESS BUT A CASH COW (2nd item)
FORMER WIFE OF BEATLE BUGS OUT OF MANHATTAN AND SELLS $5 MILLION GREENWICH VILLAGE CONDO
SOME CITIES FORMERLY SPARED HOUSING CRISIS NOW FACE FALLING PRICES
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HOMES SWELLS IN JANUARY A BIT ABOVE EXPECTATIONS
RADAR LOGIC FINDS 19 PERCENT DECLINE IN HOME PRICES DURING 2010 VS. 45 PERCENT GROWTH IN 2009 (PDF)
RATES EASE THIS WEEK AFTER BURSTING UPWARD ONE WEEK EARLIER
BUYERS SHOULD BRACE THEMSELVES FOR BIGGER DOWNPAYMENTS
BOUNCE IN RATES CAUSES MORTGAGE ACTIVITY TO PLUNGE
DO FANNIE/FREDDIE PROPOSALS SUGGESTS THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO BUY?
THE FED CLAMPS DOWN ON MORTGAGE BROKERS
OUT, OUT DAMN SPOTS FROM BUILDINGS OLD AND NEW
UNFINISHED MANSION ON 22 PRIME HOLLYWOOD HILLS ACRES LOVED BY GANGS IS LISTED FOR $15.2 MILLION
THE HEARTBREAK OF DIRTY BATHROOM GROUT NEED NOT BE YOURS
AND HERE ARE SOME (MUNDANE) TIPS FOR UPDATING THAT BATH (INSTEAD OF CLEANING IT)
YOU’LL PAY A HEAVY PRICE FOR RENOVATING WITHOUT MOVING OUT
BUILDERS’ CONFIDENCE REMAINS IN THE DEPTHS FOR A FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ISSUES DEFENSE AGAINST CORE LOGIC ATTACK ON HOUSING STATISTICS
SILVER LINING TO HOUSING BUST IS HIGHEST LEVEL OF AFFORDABILITY IN TWO DECADES
AT WHAT POINT–LITERALLY–WILL CONSUMERS RESPOND TO RISING INTEREST RATES?
ECONOMIST SAYS ONLY ONE- OR TWO-POINT RATE INCREASE WOULD DAMPEN SALES
In the sidebar on the right, you can search for properties listed by various brokers, though I encourage you to be in touch with me for assistance and advice. You also may want to see my periodic critiques of properties that I visit in Out and About , which I post on Mondays or Tuesdays.
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Malcolm Carter
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker
Senior Vice President
Charles Rutenberg Realty
127 E. 56th Street
New York, NY 10022
M: 347-886-0248
F: 347-438-3201
Malcolm@ServiceYouCanTrust.com
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