Earlier this year, we discussed how the National Association of Realtors' $418 million settlement involving 20 brokerage houses upended the commission structure across the United States. The changes went into effect on August 17, 2024. The seller no longer pays the...
Residential & commercial real estate transactions
A business opportunity: collaborative selling
Film and Broadway producer Scott Rudin recently made real estate news when he and his neighbor jointly put their matching West Village Greek Revival townhouses built in 1845 up for sale. The initial asking price for the two four-story properties is $37 million. In the...
6 Tips for parents buying starter homes for their children
The average Manhattan apartment rents for about $4,000 per month, or $76 per square foot. This is terrible news for those starting their career with an entry-level job in the city unless they work on Wall Street. The price tag can lead college graduates and other...
Whisper listings may be a tantalizing option
The hunt for a dream home can involve drastic measures. Rather than go to multi-listing services like Zillow or similar sites that aggregate data from publicly listed properties, some believe that whisper listings are a better option, mainly if they are buying or...
A home buyer’s look at mortgage rates and purchase prices at the start of 2023
At the top of the long list of considerations for most home buyers who are determining whether or not they can afford to purchase a home are mortgage interest rates and purchase prices. These two factors are so interrelated, that given last year’s market, purchasers...
NYC real estate predictions for 2023
The real estate market in New York and elsewhere has been a critical reason for the Federal Reserve to raise its interest rates four times in 2022, going from 3% in some cases to as high as 7%. This rise led to a price decline, particularly as we noted in a previous...
How will New York’s eviction moratorium extension impact landlords and tenants?
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every facet of life throughout the world, from a single individual to federal governments and international organizations. Among the most densely populated cities in the country, New York has been hit particularly hard. The City and...
Can a co-op shareholder or condominium unit owner access records?
The battle for access to a co-op’s or a condominium’s books and records has been going on for many years. If a shareholder has a suspicion of wrongdoing, mismanagement or other problems, does that person have carte blanche access to the organization’s books? Even if...
3 FAQ’s for condos and co-op owners
Responsibility and accountability go hand-in-hand when it comes to acting as a board member for either a condominium or co-op. Board directors face a wide range of decision challenges that may lead to disgruntled unit owners bringing a lawsuit against either...
Considerations when buying a NYC coop
If you live in New York City, you already know that real estate here is like nowhere else on Earth. One of the most complicated matters involves purchasing a unit in a cooperative building, commonly known as a coop. With this common structure, a company owns the...