Cuomo says he expects legislature to act in fall, so city retaining abated property tax levels
And appeals of property tax assessments near record number
Manhattan market verges on worried in second quarter
When seeking roommate on Craigslist, the details really matter
Region’s foreclosure rate continues to grow
Three-year extension of rent control becomes law
Area single-family homes experience 2.9 percent drop over 12 months
Trulia says it’s cheaper to rent than buy in Queens
Selling condos to moms and dads often comes down to child’s play
Harlem’s renaissance enjoys revival
Following reports of rent scams by Queens man, attorney general issues Craigslist alert
(flickr photo by Taran Rambersad)
I somehow came across an unsigned ad on Craigslist begging for referrals:
I am a real estate agent. I offer a referral fee to someone that is well connected and may know people looking to rent an apartment in the city.
Maintaining that “I honestly believe in collaboration as oppose [sic] to pure competition,” this agent says he’ll pay 15 percent for up to $2,690 in monthly rent and 20 percent for more expensive apartments. The advertiser continues:
Payment will be done through Paypal.
After you contact me, I will email you the link to my personal and corpotate [sic] website and all my contact information.
We should also discuss details over the phone.
Well now, that’s what I call Continue reading
Everyone selling real estate and most prospective purchasers realize that there is no Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in New York City.
That void results in brokers having to resort to their shared databases through systems such as OLR (OnLine Residential), though listings by many boutique firms never appear in them.
Still, the vast majority of listings are fed into StreetEasy.com, where many buyers check to see what’s available along with services such BuyFolio.com. Both the New York Times and Craigslist can be sources of properties being sold by their owners without brokerage assistance.
It’s not a great system.
Little did I know until meeting Dawn Pfaff at a monthly dinner meeting of the Lucky Strikers Social Media Club that there exists something she has describes as a statewide MLS. Sort of. Continue reading
Condo prices rise 12 percent over May 2009, but pace seems to flag
The Radar Logic data firm reports that Manhattan condo prices went up 4.7 in January over a year earlier but that the rate of growth seems to be slowing.
Although prices have climbed 12 percent above the post-bust low in May 2009, the price recovery is “losing steam” or may simply reflect seasonal weakness in demand, according to the firm’s RPX Monthly report on Manhattan neighborhoods. The report said it was too early to know with any certainty what contributed to the increase.
Uptown neighborhoods fared better than downtown neighborhoods, with year-over-year increases caused by higher prices per unit as a result of a shortage in supply.
Apartments with a washer/dryer clean up when sold
One new value-enhancing amenity that’s catching on is allowing shareholders and unit-owners to install clothes washers and dryers in their apartments. Plumbing issues have been the usual reason for forbidding washing machines.
But one veteran real estate appraiser has estimated that a washer and dryer add approximately 5 percent to the value of any apartment, leading to the increasingly permissive attitude these days.
The rich are Continue reading
If you can’t beat them, you don’t have to let bedbugs join you
Adam Greenberg, president of USBedBugs.com, one of the country’s largest online retailers of anti-bedbug gear, tells BrickUnderground.com that, in comparison with the rest of the nation, New Yorkers are “ahead of the curve” on knowing what to do about bedbugs. Says he:
“Therefore, New Yorkers are both more hands-on in the products they buy for monitoring and treatment of bedbugs and also more proactive at purchasing prevention items like mattress encasements and travel protectors.”
Because almost everyone knows someone who has experienced bedbugs by now, they know the value of the prevention items, Greenberg explains.
Topping his list of 10 preventative items purchased are luggage and clothing encasements–that is, containers for containers. For the other nine, visit BrickUnderground.
New Web site points to best public schools using your maximum price to purchase or rent
SchoolFisher.com is for New Yorkers “who want Continue reading
THEIR COUNTRIES CHANGE, BUT NOT FOREIGNERS’ INTEREST IN HOMES HERE
Foreigners are once again buying in Manhattan, energizing the still-fragile market. In recent months, according to brokers and developers, the money has been just as likely to come from Continue reading
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