General
Reading Co-op Financials
OK I know. Let the lawyer handle the financials. But in today’s ever-increasing competitive environment, super brokers are conversant in all issues affecting their clients’ purchases. Understanding all aspects of the deal, makes clients loyal and your advice to buyers and sellers all the more valuable. This is part 1 of a continuing series to …
READ MORE
Shooting Your Seller in the Foot
It’s easier to borrow less money than more… Right? The answer, like so many answers in NYC real estate, is not so simple. Consider the following. You have a listing and multiple offers are coming in. The seller prefers one bidder far more than the rest, and wants to pursue their offer. But they need …
READ MORE
Success in 2015: Build on What We Learned In 2014
Santayana famously said “[t]hose who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” With that admonition, let’s take a look at what we learned from real estate in 2014 and use it to build an even more successful 2015. It’s All About The Team: Buyers spend months searching for the perfect apartment. They miss …
READ MORE
Opening Your Mail To A Bill For A Million Dollars
I hate opening my mail, as it rarely brings anything that I look forward to dealing with. Bills, invitations to destination weddings in Buffalo, laminated flyers that make me feel guilty when I put them in the trash (what exactly is the recycling protocol on laminated postcards?). But a recent article about a shareholder at …
READ MORE
Two Easy Ways To Save Your Buyer Money On Closing Costs
New York is used to coming in number one in lots of contests. And in the competition for highest closing costs, it does not disappoint, consistently having the highest average closing costs of any city in the country year after year. But a couple of rules about how certain closing costs are calculated can save …
READ MORE
Converting 1031 Replacement Property To A Principal Residence
One of the hidden benefits of doing a Section 1031 exchange is that the code permits the taxpayer to change the use of the replacement property without triggering a realization of the deferred gain that was accumulated into it! But, like so many other rules in this area, strict compliance with the guidelines is required. …
READ MORE
Filing Your Tax Return After Selling Property in a 1031 Like Kind Exchange: A Hidden Landmine in a Safe Harbor
Section 1031 which permits deferral of gains for the sale and subsequent acquisition of a “like kind” property is a powerful tax device for savvy investors. But the rules governing exchanges are a “safe harbor,” meaning that the failure to comply exactly with these technical rules will violate the exchange and force the taxpayer to …
READ MORE
The Fine Art of Buying Apartments in Smaller Buildings: a Lawyer’s Guide
I was recently representing a buyer in a 6 unit coop in Park Slope. The building was self-managed, so I contacted a resident in the building who had been provided to us as a ‘due diligence’ contact. “Are there board minutes for us to review,” my paralegal naively asked. “Board minutes?” replied our contact curiously. …
READ MORE
More Pretending to Be a Coop: Confessions of a Condominium
As we turn the corner toward Halloween, a time of year when people dress up and pretend to be someone else, let’s revisit the subject of condominium boards that like to pretend they are coop boards. Let’s take a minute to review. A coop typically has a right of approval of a purchase transaction. That …
READ MORE
The Coop / Condo Abatement: New Rules That Any Real Estate Expert Needs to Know
NYC real estate taxes are an important component of value, and recent developments in this area require close attention. This abatement gives eligible coop and condominium owners a reduction in their real estate taxes. Here are the changes that were recently enacted. Primary residence: The apartment must be the owner’s primary residence to be eligible …
READ MORE