Brokers

Today we bring you an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
All is us making our living selling real estate here have been hired at one time or another by the children who have inherited a Brooklyn townhouse. It is always interesting to see how the process works amongst them and certain dynamics occur over and over.

Usually we are called in while the children are clearing out the house. As you can imagine, there is a lot of squabbling about who gets what. “Mom always said she wanted ME to have the Danish modern dining set.” Nobody, and I mean NObody, wants the 40-piece Hummel collection. The out-of-town sibling usually gets the worst of the lot.
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Today we bring you an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
WHAT is going on here? This week I listed a new house. It is on a previously shunned Carroll Gardens block and it is small — 2,000 square feet. It has been totally renovated and has a large, lovely garden. The sellers and I agreed that we would reach a bit and price it slightly above where we felt the market is at right now. Fingers crossed.

I arrived for the Sunday open house 10 minutes before the start time. Cars were double parked and people were bunched up outside, all waiting to see it. That was a first for me in all these years — a crowd waiting for an open house?
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Today we bring you an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
Unusually, I have spent the last two weeks working with a number of buyers in failed attempts to become owners of Brooklyn real estate. Boy, is it brutal out there.

Since when does one have to have all cash to be a successful bidder? Sellers have raised their expectations so fast and by so much that we all know bank appraisers will not be able to keep up. So now unless a buyer has at least 50 percent cash, their bid is not going to be accepted, no matter how high they go. For normal working people, that much cash is hard to come by. (more…)

Today we bring you the 16th anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
One reason inventory is so tight in brownstone Brooklyn is that there are so many downsides to downsizing. Here are a few — maybe a creative type might use them to drum up a great purchase.

When a brownstone becomes an empty nest, thoughts turn to downsizing. Visions of high sales prices turning into bulging bank accounts abound. I have been called in to discuss the sale many times. Once the subject of taxes comes up, the visions are deflated. (Please note that I am NOT a tax advisor.) Capital gains taxes will eat a substantial amount of profit and real property transfer taxes will be due. Many sellers stop dead in their tracks when they learn those numbers and vow to be carried out of the house on a box. (more…)

Today we bring you the 15th anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
Well, it has come to this. Inventory is so tight that we brokers are scrounging for listings by going to people who hadn’t considered being sellers at this time and begging them to consider a deal. Is this a good thing? Maybe, maybe not.

The best place to start is with a buyer who has very specific needs and a clear budget. Without this in mind it can be very difficult to entice a seller. This buyer must also be able to make decisions fast without having to visit many, many properties. Let’s say we have a family relocating from London who lived in Brooklyn before. They’ve got the cash to avoid a mortgage and they want a prime neighborhood. This is an ideal situation to lure a seller into action. (more…)

Today we bring you the 14th of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
On Valentine’s Day my thoughts turn to the way in which relationships affect real estate transactions. It is no surprise that buying property is a lot like falling in love; a new home is like a new lover. You can’t help but imagine that you will be a different and better person with this place (person).

A starry-eyed young couple came to me looking for a place to buy together. Their likes and dislikes could not have been more different. I was relieved when they decided to rent instead. Unwinding a failed relationship is hard enough. Add owned real estate into the deal and you’ve got a full-fledged divorce on your hands.

Then there was the married couple. She would look at any and all house listings in Brooklyn Heights. She liked them all. Master of the Universe husband would then visit and reject every one. One day, in the garden of the 14th house, the wife burst into tears and told me they were seeing a counselor to determine why he wouldn’t agree to buy a house. TMI, for sure. (more…)

Today we bring you the thirteenth of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
This is a topic that causes a lot of unnecessary anguish for buyers and sellers of Brooklyn townhouses. More than any thing else, it is a reason to hire a Brooklyn real estate attorney to represent you. Their years of experience can be a tremendous help.

Let’s say you decide to put your house on the market. You have lived in it for a good many years and you have always had a tenant. Your real estate tax bill says it has been taxed as a two-family house. So it is reasonable to represent that it is a two-family house, right? Not necessarily.

Or, suppose you have an accepted offer on a house which has only one kitchen and has been occupied by one family for years. It seems reasonable to assume that it is a one-family house, right?  Maybe not. (more…)

Today we bring you the 12th of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
Following last week’s column on the difficulties of being a buyer of real estate in brownstone Brooklyn, I want to share my thoughts about competitive bidding. Unfortunately there are as many approaches to this as there are sellers and brokers.

This is how I do it. When I first meet a seller, we discuss the possibility of multiple bids. Usually the seller becomes gleeful at the prospect and wonders how that could possibly be a problem. Then we discuss how to approach it. This is one of  those subjects which is best addressed ahead of time. I recommend that if we get multiple bids we will hold a “best and final” round, asking buyers to give it their best shot and promising to accept one of those. It takes some convincing — the seller often wants to know why it isn’t best to just show each bid to all the other bidders. I explain that revealing other bids is so difficult on buyers’ psyches that many good ones drop out. Most sellers get this. I really mean it when I say “best and final.” The process will be over and the best offer will be accepted. 
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Today we bring you the eleventh of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
With short inventory now the norm in all of our brownstone neighborhoods, it is very difficult to be a buyer. I’ve started to advise buyers I’m just beginning to work with to expect a tortuous process. They need to expect bidding wars, reneging by the sellers, unpleasant financial scrutiny and more.

A young couple with a new baby wanted to move from their one bedroom apartment in Soho to one of several Brooklyn neighborhoods. Over the course of a year they submitted offers on five properties, mostly houses in need of restoration. After the first one failed, they started making offers above the asking price in ever larger increments. Their mortgage approval was sound and the jobs were solid. They were outbid all five times. As their broker, I failed in two ways: I counseled caution on the ever increasing offers, and I did not help them get a house. Finally, in disgust, they bought a coop in Soho where they faced no competition at all. (more…)

Today we bring you the tenth of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn: Last week I wrote about basements. Commenters were quick to point out that the proper Department of Buildings terminology for the entirely underground space I discussed is cellar. Basement refers to space which is partially underground but does have windows.

What is possible and or legal in terms of usage for Brooklyn basements? This is a complicated question. Buyers and sellers want simple answers but there are none. I’ll mention a few situations which recur frequently to try to shed some light. (more…)

Today we bring you the ninth of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
As a child I was terrified of our basement. When sent there I would tiptoe down, turn on ALL the lights, and then race back up the stairs with my heart pounding, sure something would pull me back down into the dark. Never would I have predicted that I would go into a field where so many important decisions are made in the basement. Having stood by for perhaps 150 home inspections, I now eagerly descend the steps and go through the mental checklist — electric, water main, furnace, hot water heater, bugs, foundation and support columns.

When showing a townhouse it makes sense to start on the parlor floor, go upstairs and finally view the basement. That way there isn’t quite so much upward trudging — it is hard to love a place when you are out of breath. Usually the parlor floor is the best: high ceilings, large windows and lovely details. (more…)

Today we bring you the eighth of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
Nothing strikes dread into my heart more than seeing in a new client’s email address “gs.com,” “ml.com” or “jpmorgan.com.” Please, I think, don’t let it be a trader. No matter if they are a seller or a buyer — there is trouble ahead.

Traders are good at what they do because they understand valuation. They are avid collectors of information and they have terrific memories. They are also not afraid to stake out a position and stick to it. (more…)

Today we bring you the seventh of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn: How does a family’s school needs affect the buying and selling of real estate?  Obviously, in every way. As the following anecdotes will show, however, not in ways that you might expect.
The public schools that are highly rated are always requested by buyers, and sellers always tout their location within those zones.  (I’ve even listed studio apartments where the seller wants the school zone in the ad headline. ) Over the last 15 years, it’s been wonderful to see the list of desired schools increase dramatically. (more…)

Today we bring you the fifth of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
In this business,  it is always a magical moment when you realize that a buyer has decided that they would love to be the next owner of a house/apartment, and the seller is truly ready to sell. Before the negotiations begin, there exists what I envision as a big bowlful of goodwill. As negotiations commence, and proceed, the goodwill gets used up, often unnecessarily. Sometimes the bowl is emptied completely and that’s when I know a deal is dead. (more…)

Today we bring you the fourth of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
In 2012, 90 percent of the transactions I’ve participated in have involved another broker. In many, I represented the seller, while in some I represented the buyer. On the off chance that there may be some brokers reading this, I thought I would offer some tips that, believe it or not, are not common business practice among many brokers. (more…)

Today we bring you the third of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
Hurricane Sandy is spent and New York has lived to tell the tale. A couple of observations: We are totally dependent on electricity. That’s not news, but when we lose it, the myriad dependencies loom large. So many of us have taken in friends/refugees from lower Manhattan who can’t begin to get back to work without it. It’s nice to be able to “work anywhere,” but we need juice.

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Today we bring you the second of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
The real estate agent’s work world has changed so much over the last 15 years, I thought it might be amusing to describe some of the changes. It is obvious that the Internet changed everything, as it did for so many businesses. But there have been other changes, too.

We used to have a secretary who fielded all incoming calls — the office had just one phone number. You picked up Line 1, or Line 2, etc.  Nothing was more fun than arriving at work to a pile of pink “While You Were Out” slips. The thing I find most astounding in hindsight is that if you were not in the office, you simply could not be reached! How did we get away with that? (more…)

Today we bring you the first of an anonymous weekly column about real estate by one of the most experienced agents in Brooklyn:
There’s a saying in residential real estate: Buyers are liars. It’s not very respectful of people trying to find a home and I’ve always wanted not to believe it. So here goes.
Adorable Family wants me to find them a house. Number one priority, above ALL else, is that it be within walking distance to the Berkeley Carroll School. Fair enough; we see about 10 houses over two months. Listings pass us by and nothing is quite right. Next, several of my calls are not returned. Okay, nothing personal: They’ve likely moved on to another agent, or simply stopped looking. When we next meet, as is bound to happen in our small slice of the world, they announce they’ve moved — to Ditmas Park. An impossible walk to the school. Hmmm… (more…)