The main way a buyers broker can help you is if you DO NOT LIKE negotiating. This can be a struggle for some people. If a broker is good at what they do, it can be helpful only if you're dealing with a major broker. Most Mom and Pop brokers neigotiate lower percentages with sellers i.e. 2-4% as apposed to 6% so they can't afford to co-broke, and they won't. You have to go to them direct. The bottom line is if you have the time, know what you're looking for, an are comfortable negotiating you don't need one. If you're dealing with Brooklyn it's prob best not to use one, however in manhattan it;s a different ball game. Most sellers pay the 6% and everyone co-brokes. Although the inventroy is a lot of co-ops so a sellers broker always goes with the most qualified client to avoid fears of board rejections. A direct deal is better for the seller's broker at the end of the day, but if a buyers broker has more qualified client that will pass the board, you can bet the seller's broker will go with them.

Posted by: IrieMan at November 18, 2009 1:07 PM in response to Need a Broker to Buy?

The landlord has is just the way he wants it, imagine being a LL and not having to deal with tenant complaints and just have to deposit checks every month? Doesn't sound like much work to me. SIGN ME UP! It's amazing how many landlords have this approach, they shoose to be a landlord, but don 't want to deal with the responsibilities. If there's management invloved, that's different, but if you're dealing with the super directly probably has orders NOT to give you the number. The reality is you're probably in a absentee landlord situation. Meaning your landlord doesn't want to do shit. Track him down, acris and streeteasy were mentioned, propertyshark.com is another outlet to get his number. FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT!! Track him DOWN!!

Posted by: IrieMan at November 18, 2009 9:48 AM in response to Contacting Landlord

I wish I had 1 million in cash and trying to figure out how not to spend another 10k...actually, I wish I had 10k!

Posted by: IrieMan at November 11, 2009 12:00 PM in response to Mansion Tax

This is listed by an owner/broker. This guy is your typical delusional seller, to make things worse, he's a broker and thinks he knows everything. He was trying to rent before he put it on the market and was overpriced then too. He sighted some reovations he had done which weren't all that as to why it was worth so much. It's amazing when it comes to Real Estate how some people are so out of touch with the market, while they're so involved.

Posted by: IrieMan at November 9, 2009 2:11 PM in response to House of the Day: 430 10th Street Revisited

I thing Babs said it best, "joe the bummer" is just that a "bummer" what would you expect froma guy who uses MLS for his Brooklyn listings search?!?

Posted by: IrieMan at October 23, 2009 1:38 PM in response to Using a Buyers Agent?

totally illegal. Corcoran is in the wrong here, they can be held liable if you get hurt in the building or worse. No builging can have people living there without a c of o. A friend of mine works for a Real Estate company that got in trouble for this exact situation and now they verify every building before ever listing or renting in the building.

Posted by: IrieMan at October 3, 2009 11:00 AM in response to Broker Rented Us an Illegal Unit

You have more control than you think. You can make things very difficult for your landlord ie. leaving something special in the toilet before the showings. This is of course if he doesn't want to reason with you. It's all a compromise. If you don't give accesss he'll be a pain in the ass for the next six months, if you do give access it should be within reason. If anything were to happen to your stuff sueing the landlord will hold up any sale so he doesn't want that. The 6 months is reasonable only because it can take that long to sell in this market....I would come to an agreement of a window each week they can bring prosepective buyers through, this way you can have control and not expect any random calls to show spur of the moment.

Posted by: IrieMan at October 2, 2009 12:34 PM in response to Right of Entry

6. You're excited for a reason, you're offer is accpeted, now STOP being excited and pay attention, you're a long way from closing and moving in, anything can happen, so take a deep breath and make sure everything is in order and make sure your attorney and mortage broker are reputable and doing their job. They could screw things up in a jiffy.

Posted by: IrieMan at September 24, 2009 1:01 PM in response to Offer Accepted - Now What?

yeah, and if they're short they probably have a Napoleon complex so make sure they're tall as well!! HA!

Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 4:16 PM in response to Choosing a Tenant?

Rob, where did you get that ridiculous number? so all those people tied up in landlord/tenant court for NOT paying rent only make up 1%? come on!! Half of my tenants don't pay in the 1st, they pay later. I'm sure they but their smokes first as well.

Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 1:05 PM in response to Choosing a Tenant?

wait, so people with good credit are high maintenece but they pay the rent right? Would you prefer to have tenants that are "wonderful", never complain, but don't pay the rent? I would rather have the rent paid then chase after tenants any day of the week, even if they insist on changing the light bulb for them.

Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 12:09 PM in response to Choosing a Tenant?

um, yeah, I think the credit check is your deciding factor, that should help, you'll be surprised how "not wonderful" someone is when you run their credit. The fact that your looking for answers without even running the credit is weird to me, I don't ever consider anyone "wonderful" until I see their credit and they're in my buildings for 6 months and I don't get complaints.

Posted by: IrieMan at September 14, 2009 10:27 AM in response to Choosing a Tenant?

Grease the super=problem solved

Posted by: IrieMan at September 9, 2009 11:23 AM in response to Questions About Subletting

Actually, a laundrymat is whats needed on Smith, but I guess it can't survive, I go to the one between Bergen and Dean and it does the trick, but always has machine issues and turns off the hot water in the winter to save money...

Posted by: IrieMan at September 2, 2009 2:50 PM in response to Streetlevel: 216 Smith Street

The skater kids have already taken advantage of the extra pavement, I saw them enjoying the sidewalk just yesterday as I was just thinking "Haven't seen many skater kids lately" as far as a newstand goes, smily dude that sells papers outside the F train entrance wouldn't be too happy. Overall it's a great addition. I've seen too many people fly through that intersection up Bergen which has 2 schools by Court, much safer. It's taken them a year to do it, hopefully it won't take another to make good use of the extra pavment.

Posted by: IrieMan at September 2, 2009 12:36 PM in response to Calming Traffic at Bergen and Smith

10% with Corcoran is pretty good, I hear that Corcoran just rasied there fees for Brooklyn to 15%!!! Which is ridiculous for Brooklyn, 1 month-12% has been the standard for a long time.

Posted by: IrieMan at August 31, 2009 3:41 PM in response to Negotiating Rental Fees

Broker=Middleman

If you go buy a ring in the Diamond District you pay a alot more for a ring than you would if you "know a guy" who is a Diamond Dealer because you're dealing with the middleman & not going straight to the dealer. If you go directly to the dealer you pay what the diamond is worth with a mark up. If you go through a broker you most likely pay a fee, if you go driectly to the owner you do not.
My broker also does buisness in Manhattan and he was telling me how due to the economy and job loss people are trying to break their lease & asking for brokers for help to get replacment tenants & are offering to pay the fee. These are in buildings that have onsite management so they they require a broker, so the same people that rented direct because they wanted to avoid brokers, now need brokers help. Hey, as they say what goes around comes around! Whether people like it or not, brokers provide a service, yes a lot of people suck at their job i.e. those investment bankers, that laughed all the all to the back years back, but now can not find a job & are stuck with a huge mortagage payments or rent becasue they demanded that lifestyle when they had the money, now it's gone, but their are brokers out there that are actually good at what they do. I delt with a few brokers that SUCKED, & finally found one that works hard, 7 days a week, on commision,no guaranteed pay checks just to pay the bills. He also gives me the peace of mind so I don't have to deal with prospective tenants. I've never had to pay a broker fee & never will. Why? because we live in the greatest city in the world & people pay for things here. In most cities they do not, but here they do. If you want to live here you pay the price.

Posted by: IrieMan at May 6, 2009 10:10 AM in response to Downtown Rent Reality Check

Well said North Sloper, I always have priced my apartments to rent and had brokers rent them quickly since I'm not as stubborn as most landlords that rent driect & listen to the market, that said, the owner next store overpriced his apartment by $300 & rented directly to the public, he had the time, I did not. So that's $3600 more on a 12 month lease, so if you rented his place you would have saved some money in 07, but would've been over paying throughout the year. In todays market my broker gets a months rent for services, so in that scenario your losing money at the end of the year. Most brokers only showed you 2 apartments so you worked with multiple brokers it sounds like, but paid them nothing for their time. They aslo probably showed those properties to 20 people & finally got a check. Everyone has a right to make a living, the market decides what rents are, & supply & demand determines what the public will pay. These are the facts. 2 years ago I had NO vacancies & rented my apts in a day, now it takes a few weeks & I'm getting less rent. In another 2 years things wil be back to normal when jobs start coming back. By that time people will be paying brokers high fees again.

Posted by: IrieMan at May 5, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Downtown Rent Reality Check

Well said North Sloper, I always have priced my apartments to rent and had brokers rent them quickly since I'm not as stubborn as most landlords that rent driect & listen to the market, that said, the owner next store overpriced his apartment by $300 & rented directly to the public, he had the time, I did not. So that's $3600 more on a 12 month lease, so if you rented his place you would have saved some money in 07, but would've been over paying throughout the year. In todays market my broker gets a months rent for services, so in that scenario your losing money at the end of the year. Most brokers only showed you 2 apartments so you worked with multiple brokers it sounds like, but paid them nothing for their time. They aslo probably showed those properties to 20 people & finally got a check. Everyone has a right to make a living, the market decides what rents are, & supply & demand determines what the public will pay. These are the facts. 2 years ago I had NO vacancies & rented my apts in a day, now it takes a few weeks & I'm getting less rent. In another 2 years things wil be back to normal when jobs start coming back. By that time people will be paying brokers high fees again.

Posted by: IrieMan at May 5, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Downtown Rent Reality Check

Yeah, don't use a broker, unless of course you want selection. I find it so funny how people are so anti-broker, when it's the owners of these properties that ask brokers for help renting them since they don't have the time or want to bother screening tenants, dealing with tenants ridiculous expectations before lease signing, etc....brokers do help, lot's of shady ones out there, but if you want a good place in an area like Brooklyn Hieghts you will most likely be going through a broker. I tried to rent my place once, what a pain in the a**, I had people constantly wasting my time, the applicants all acted like they were buying the palce and had all these rights before moving in, when it was my property!! I hirsed a broker so they could deal with the headache of renting my units. I need that buffer between myself and the public as a lot of landlords do.

Posted by: IrieMan at May 5, 2009 11:48 AM in response to Downtown Rent Reality Check

Have that 5 day BS tossed out of the contract, in todays market in takes a lot longer to get a commitment from banks. Get a mortgage broker, Manhattan mortage is highly reputable, a good one can save the deal....

Posted by: IrieMan at November 24, 2008 6:55 PM in response to Getting a mortgage (contract signed)

From what i hear the rental market is very soft right now. Apartments are taking longer to rent & prices are getting chopped. $1200 sounds about right, but if you want it rented by 12/1, take what you can get.

Posted by: IrieMan at November 17, 2008 7:23 PM in response to help pricing a 1 BR rental?

AWESOME!!(sarcasm) Another Asian influenced restaurant for Smith Street. I like to see the store fronts fill up, but can't see all this Asian spots on one block making it through this economy...

Posted by: IrieMan at November 14, 2008 3:17 PM in response to Streetlevel: Japanese Restaurant for Smith Street

Thanks for all the love Brownstoner... I appreciate making QOTD Mr. B!!

Posted by: IrieMan at November 13, 2008 11:09 PM in response to Quote of the Day

I love the logic of pay the tax because you feel he should and it is some kind of good thing because it prevents over spending.

LOL - pure genius.

Posted by: crimsonson at November 11, 2009 5:10 PM in response to Mansion Tax

Where's stevieB and the "screw the middle class" mantra on this one?????????

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 11, 2009 5:57 PM in response to Mansion Tax

We've all neglected the second half of the poster's question:

"Any idea on what the closing costs would be on a home this price?"

I've heard that a buyer should expect to pay, in taxes, closing costs, and other fees, between 5 and 15 percent of the purchase price. But this is such a wide window. Plus, I don't know about the accuracy of this estimate.

Does anyone have more intelligent or detailed info about closing costs, closing taxes, and other expenses associated with closing?

Posted by: Pigeon at November 11, 2009 6:09 PM in response to Mansion Tax

Crimsonson -- I may be being a bit hyberbolic, but...

(1) I get a little grumpy when someone presents their "problem" as trying to avoid ponying up $10k when they have just said they basically have the equivalent of a chest of gold. ($1 million is cash!) The amount of money involved, when you look at the bigger picture, almost doesn't justify even *asking the question* never mind consulting lawyers, accountants and so on. Like I said, everyone is fine with paying the realtors $50k for their (combined) 25 hours work... whining about a $10k tax seems obnoxious.

(2) Umm... yeah... if it takes a tax to remind some of you that $1,000,000 is IN FACT a lot of damn money... then so be it. Something has to remind you of this once in a while. If a million dollars "doesn't buy you much in NYC" -- that suggests to me that like the market has gone of the deep end. The least of your worries are the 1% transfer tax.

Jaysus H. Christmas

Posted by: tybur6 at November 11, 2009 6:12 PM in response to Mansion Tax

That is my problem - you label it as 'avoid'. I mean when we all do deductions on our taxes we inherently avoid paying certain amount of tax. And pretty sure we have dodge significant amount of tax by extending deductions a 'bit'.

Who cares if he has a million dollars. So when a hobo starts giving you lessons on your income tax return I'm sure you will be open to that?

Of course I don't condone exploiting loop holes or anything illegal but to grandstand about OTHERS SHOULD be paying in taxes is bit much.

Posted by: crimsonson at November 12, 2009 10:16 AM in response to Mansion Tax

tybur6, your rants are getting more insane by the day. First, just because someone buys a million dollar home, does NOT mean they have a million dollars. You ever hear of a mortgage? As someone else pointed out above, they likely put down between $200,000 and $400,000 of the purchase price. Second, the buyer does not pay the realtor - the seller does. So, your point that the buyer is fine with payign a realtor $50K but not $10K in taxes is moronic as well. Furthermore, even if the buyer was paying the realtor his/her commission, that does not mean the buyr "is fine with" it (as your state). Rather, it measn the buyer wants the property and will pay what he needs to pay (which may include a broker commission). Third, just because a buyer can afford a home, that does not mean that he wants to pay taxes. If he can get around the mansion by paying less than a million, then great. Have you ever heard of a tax shelter? (Since you probably don't know, it is a mechanism to shield income from taxes and 100% legal.) But, I guess in your deluded view of the world, everyone should be happy with with paying taxes. I repeat - you sound like a total moron.

Posted by: Splenda at November 12, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Mansion Tax

Splenda -- First, thank you for calling me a moron.

Second, I would point you to READ the original post. He, in fact, did say he has a suitcase of cash... not a $200,000 down payment.

Third, my view is not "deluded" -- in fact, I would argue that someone employing "tax shelters" (legal or otherwise) are anti-social and deluded... and YES, everyone SHOULD be happy paying taxes (in general). It's called paying for SHARED social services and products. It's called living in a society.

Fourth, I sincerely hope that these tax shelters are destroyed and the wealthy (yes, folks that can afford a $1 million house are wealthy... 20% down payment types and all-cash alike) and the wealthy are required to endure a progressive tax burden for ALL of their assets.

Fifth, I find it amusing that you share the opinion that $1 million is not a great deal of money.

Sixth, yes... the buyer pays the realtors -- either directly or indirectly. And I find it disgusting that the real estate market has absolutely no problem tolerating the inadequacies and overpriced services of real estate brokerage firms, BUT will turn around an bitch about $10,000 that will help fun street lights, police, fire fighters, etc.

Posted by: tybur6 at November 12, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Mansion Tax

Of course you can communicate with the LL directly, rather than his agent. Looking at past behavior, though, shows you that he most likely does not want to get involved. You don't say what the issues are, and whether they are annoyances or lease-breaking breeches.
So, in brief, you have have the "rights", but it doesn't mean you should.
You need to define your goals (problems fixed, move out early, other?), figure out if they are achievable (reach out for free help at your Housing Court), and pick the tactic that will most likely succeed. I don't know the particulars, but I doubt chasing your absentee landlord will do the trick. Your super is probably very secure in his position, which is why he is unresponsive to you. For all you know, he might be the nephew or godson of the owner, or the son of his best friend in grade school.

Posted by: Maly at November 18, 2009 9:58 AM in response to Contacting Landlord

Of course you can communicate with the LL directly, rather than his agent. Looking at past behavior, though, shows you that he most likely does not want to get involved. You don't say what the issues are, and whether they are annoyances or lease-breaking breeches.
So, in brief, you have have the "rights", but it doesn't mean you should.
You need to define your goals (problems fixed, move out early, other?), figure out if they are achievable (reach out for free help at your Housing Court), and pick the tactic that will most likely succeed. I don't know the particulars, but I doubt chasing your absentee landlord will do the trick. Your super is probably very secure in his position, which is why he is unresponsive to you. For all you know, he might be the nephew or godson of the owner, or the son of his best friend in grade school.

Posted by: Maly at November 18, 2009 9:58 AM in response to Contacting Landlord

Remember the LL isn't God, he isn't your employer, he doesn't sign your paychecks.
He is a nothing to you.
get his info and call him directly, tough shit on the super.

Posted by: STARGAZER at November 18, 2009 10:00 AM in response to Contacting Landlord