Archive for Blog
Are Appraisal Numbers Intentionally Lowered?
Have you had the strange feeling that lenders are lowering the numbers on appraisals? Hearing stories about deals that are all set to go- contract signed, buyers have the mortgage, you’re ready to sign the papers- until the appraisal comes back dramatically lower than the price in the contract and the lender demands the mortgage [...]
El Rushbo is Leaving New York
Rush Limbaugh has been a consistent hater of New York taxes. With shows boasting titles like “El Rushbo to New York: Drop Dead,” his feelings have about as much subtlety as the ornate decor of his opulent condo. Making good on his promise to get out of New York because of the high taxes, Limbaugh’s [...]
Manhattan Market Report for 2nd Quarter, 2010
Manhattan 2Q 2010 Market Report
The 2009 Manhattan real estate market is beginning, if slightly, to recede into the past. This year’s market is stronger than anyone could have hoped for last summer, which means we can all spend a little more time worrying about how to beat the heat than if sales are going to [...]
The Impact of Closing St. Vincent’s
When a major business closes, it’s hard to know exactly what the impact on the surrounding community will be, but there are sure to be economic and real estate ripples. St. Vincent’s Hospital closed at the end of April, and the community lost 3,500 hospital employees, thousands of visitors to patients, and hundreds of suppliers [...]
The Luxury Market is Sitting Pretty
After being listed for just nine days, hedge funder John Read Taylor shelled out $22 million for an apartment at 1068 Fifth Avenue. Listed at $17.5 million, Taylor saw their price and raised them $4.5 million. That’s almost a 25% rise.
The 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom co-op is designed “for preeminent collectors of contemporary art,” according [...]
New Appraisal Rule Fallout
The Home Valuation Code of Conduct passed in May of 2009 with the goal of ensuring appraiser independence. But the rule has also produced low-ball appraisals that can shatter deals, and appraisers say it has harmed appraisal quality. It seems the only group happy about the law are the mortgage lenders, who have seen their [...]
Top Ten Biggest Manhattan Mansions
While Manhattan is certainly a city of condos and coops, it also has some of the biggest and most beautiful townhouse homes anywhere. The Real Deal highlighted the top ten single-family townhouses in Manhattan last week- here are the highlights.
Manhattan’s Biggest Homes
1. 4 East 75th Street. 21,700 square feet
The Harkness Mansion, built in 1899, is [...]
Stocking Your New Bar on a Budget
I offer a lot of information on how to get the right condo or home, but what about once you get that perfect spot? It’s time to sit back and drink it all in- figuratively and literally. Manhattan is a cocktail city- there’s even one named after us. You want to make sure when you [...]
Material Girl Flexes a $1.7 Million Renovation
What more could the Material Girl want than her $32 million Upper East Side triple-wide townhouse? How about a $1 million plus gym? The Real Deal and NY Post report that she’s flexing her financial muscle and adding 1,614 square feet to her mansion, for a grand total of 13,847 square feet. And then there’s [...]
Mortgage Math Tests?
Should you have to take a math test to qualify for a loan? Columbia University assistant business professor Stephan Meier thinks maybe you should, and he has the survey results to back up his question. According to a New York Times report on Meier’s survey, people with poor math skill are three times more likely [...]