Value of a Backyard?

I see ProShred Security around a lot at the co ops in manhattan, guessing for the boards etc. Never used them personally.

Posted by: invisible at November 20, 2009 9:51 AM in response to shredding papers

thanks for the replies.

Bklnite thanks for the VF appraisal numbers. Wow, you're right those are really low. Even if one tripled those figures its still seems very low. northsloperenter it was for purchase price, and i've got couple of pooches that would be more than willing to "maintain" any backyard size.

maly, interesting, approach. is that your back of the napkin approach with comps?
that is indeed a lot of coin ($450k) going from no backyard to large backyard. if you were to look at that number just on the yard itself, assuming all else was the same, that would be around 150 -180 psf for the yard value for something like a 17'-20' width. given that many lots aren't usually zero or 200, but that "yard psf" is interesting number. could be even higher if you scaled down the yard range.

ou812 - in R6B land i haven't seen too much FAR squeeze broker babble being advertised today. The only people i usually see doing this are the scaranos of the world doing teardowns, or conversions, which are moving zero inventory right now. i'm referring to less than 3-family if that makes any difference. is this method being used to back into maly's napkin approach, and if so where would that leave the rest of the non-far area?

Posted by: invisible at November 3, 2009 12:04 PM in response to Value of a Backyard?

as one would expect in nyc, people intentionally lowball stuff to game their competition and don't want to represent the market (fellow bidders as well as sellers) showing a strong hand. i think widget has those stoner values, but also the brokers are there automatically above ask on each one too so it seems to even out. probably fewer at both extremes in the real market. weak dollar isn't going to help either with those high tail bids.

my personal theory is that there is a curve where most buyers see value, and a couple on the upper tails, for whatever reason (they either want or feel the need to have it now) but regardless it is the brokers job to convince the bidder the the rest of the curve is right there with them, or at least several motivated parties. very low inventory brownstone brooklyn makes this a reality, so people have bought all the way down on the high side of the "value ranges" for any particular property. and they will continue to do so, until there's no more "down".

and it is this upper tail which is and will continue to create the sales and comps in inventory starved brownstone brooklyn, unless inventory is somehow suddenly quadrupled. the cash is there. whether any particular broker is good at the game is another issue, but there are a few that are better than you think. some of course are as fake as $3 bills and we've seen even the gullible money protest at that.

on the flip side of the equation, there is a lot of competition in the middle of the pack, where it would come down to quality of buyer, but rarely i find it even comes to that. it doesn't seem that the broker is trying to pull some people out of the pack into pushing their bids higher, but rather those buyers are already up there buying from a discount on list price (in some cases very low discount), not really psf or any absolute value.

Posted by: invisible at October 23, 2009 12:50 PM in response to 20 Clifton Place Sells, Kicks Widget's Ass

stuyhts - as far as i know a buyers broker is really, at the end of the day, working for the seller. whoever is paying the bill is the one any broker involved in the transaction needs to appease to get PAID. in the case of such co-called buyers' brokers, there is really no such thing, unless you are paying them a cash fee out of pocket upfront. if not, and you are revealing ANYTHING to a so called "sellers' broker", especially how much you like or want a place, and what is your maximum price, you are completely working against yourself. trust no one. assume the worst. its real estate.

Posted by: invisible at September 22, 2009 7:16 PM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

propertyshark lists two lis pendens from indymac which appear current. how can one tell (they "expire" in late 2010)? wouldn't that make this a total shitstorm to try and actually close? that and same family since 1963 + no pics + "needs renovation" = scary. if the owner gets it together with acorn or mortgage restructuring a year or more into "the closing process" will one be looking back and wonder where a year and half of your life went while other properties come and go?

would be great if someone with lis pendens experience could chime in.

Posted by: invisible at September 15, 2009 4:25 PM in response to House of the Day: 434 4th Street

don't quote me, i believe its former Mitchell-Lama building. Haven't seen any major crime issues out of there for the past few years, its pretty benign. you could encounter resentment on a personal level for being one of the high rent rich people thats displacing long time stabilized tenants.

People buying brownstones across the street haven't seemed to mind paying really premium prices, and while overall i think there are some naive/stupid buyers out there in general, this is one block that actually may pay off. Its not a housing project, and in fact is on its way to being just another apartment building (in 10+ years....).

If you're just a run of the mill renter you should be getting a good deal, if not i'd consider different block with neighbors who graduated from college. depends on discount from market they're renting these things at. spill the beans........how much?

Posted by: invisible at September 15, 2009 2:22 AM in response to Prospect Towers in Park Slope

don't quote me, i believe its former Mitchell-Lama building. Haven't seen any major crime issues out of there for the past few years, its pretty benign. you could encounter resentment on a personal level for being one of the high rent rich people thats displacing long time stabilized tenants.

People buying brownstones across the street haven't seemed to mind paying really premium prices, and while overall i think there are some naive/stupid buyers out there in general, this is one block that actually may pay off. Its not a housing project, and in fact is on its way to being just another apartment building (in 10+ years....).

If you're just a run of the mill renter you should be getting a good deal, if not i'd consider different block with neighbors who graduated from college. depends on discount from market they're renting these things at. spill the beans........how much?

Posted by: invisible at September 15, 2009 2:22 AM in response to Prospect Towers in Park Slope

don't quote me, i believe its former Mitchell-Lama building. Haven't seen any major crime issues out of there for the past few years, its pretty benign. you could encounter resentment on a personal level for being one of the high rent rich people thats displacing long time stabilized tenants.

People buying brownstones across the street haven't seemed to mind paying really premium prices, and while overall i think there are some naive/stupid buyers out there in general, this is one block that actually may pay off. Its not a housing project, and in fact is on its way to being just another apartment building (in 10+ years....).

If you're just a run of the mill renter you should be getting a good deal, if not i'd consider different block with neighbors who graduated from college. depends on discount from market they're renting these things at. spill the beans........how much?

Posted by: invisible at September 15, 2009 2:21 AM in response to Prospect Towers in Park Slope

the gowanus houses had only a few shootings and a few armed robberies in the surroundings over the past year. could be worse, but its not exactly a place i'd call home. bet it will be back on the market in 5 years or less. that shit will wear a proud liberal yuppie hypocrite down fast enough. i'd advise renting across from a project for a few years to see if you still have the balls to plop down 1.7 mil. the cops won't exactly be racing to your house like you're living on the UWS. l am i wrong or were there no bars on the windows?

Posted by: invisible at September 8, 2009 7:13 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

ah, ok the "south slope" was a Charette property, so i guess they did some quick work and nice flip. take a look at the photos on charetteproperties.com lots of detailed pics and you can see the broad appeal plus attractive $/sf

Posted by: invisible at July 11, 2009 2:10 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

propertyshark says the 14th street house went for $1.2 on April 3 (bs says it was May at $1.195). Hmmmm..... Also, this was after being sold for $835K a mere five months prior to that in November, and was put on the market two months after that sale... then went into contract two weeks after the listing, consistent with open house bidding war. Streeteasy still has pics. btw this is gowanus, not "south slope" I don't get it.

Posted by: invisible at July 11, 2009 2:01 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

look for existing or former pratt student if you're looking for an artist that does metal sculpture that can interpret your ideas and knows how to do some interpretative or creative stuff. small non-structural projects (ie not decks, beams for the house) are handyman type stuff that anyone with a stick or portable mig welder can handle.

just fyi if you are looking to do stuff with aluminum, stainless steel copper or unusual dissimilar materials, stuff with very thin metal, and with stuff where a seam should be invisible, you will want to find someone with a shop, they may need a tig welder and more experience.

I've used perfect circle metal works on 11th in williamsburg, don't know with the economy if they are still around, but they had a medium sized shop.

Posted by: invisible at June 22, 2009 11:46 PM in response to Where to find a welder?

The icing on the cake is:

"Current owner willing to stay on and rent the duplex for $2000 per month"

Hey, I'll buy it, relist for a flip and say that i'm willing to stay and rent for $6000. Voila, an extra $800k in value! Minus one year lease of $6k at i'm still clearing $700k flip profit. Yeah baby, i should get into real estate. Duh.

Posted by: invisible at June 2, 2009 10:21 PM in response to House of the Day: 177 MacDonough Street

would help if you clarified exactly what you are talking about - coming from an upstairs or downstairs neighbor, your bass or theirs? Are we talking stereo or cranked 8x10 ampeg bass rig?

if you are trying to deaden a home stereo speaker, try decoupling it (or asking your neighbor to do it on theirs) from the floor. there are many ways to do this (foculpods, spikes, speaker pads, etc). many a mousetrap as far as vibrations.

second, when we are talking about through the wall from the air, usually we are talking density plus airspace. foam will do very little for bass. a recording studio would essentially float a room within a room, a dense wall with airspace between the real wall, or at the very least decoupled with channels to the real wall.

barring that option, adding density / alternating layers and decoupling them may do. as in a layer of sheetrock, plywood, the rubber pad, another sheetrock etc.

so you're basically talking construction of some sort if after decoupling the bass is a problem.

Posted by: invisible at April 30, 2009 7:17 PM in response to soundproofing

what the tinkerswagon and guest4 said, plus start the paperwork for small claims court and let him know you are doing so.

also, i wouldn't hesitate to "apply pressure to the problem". what i mean by this, is show up at his house every day and ask for your money. you must be a peaceful nuisance every day. start taking a video camera with you and start documenting the facts as the camera is rolling. tell him this is going on the internet, angies list, brownstoner, and several blogs.

if all else fails, what's that guy on channel 11 who helps consumers get their money back, as well as the shame shame shame people (FOX?)?

Pressure to the problem. You have more integrity and resolve than him (repeat it to yourself). Good guys win. So should you.

Posted by: invisible at April 1, 2009 11:06 PM in response to Contractor disappears with money

11217 - you're only presenting one side of the story on interest deduction. When your are gainfully employed or have other income, the place could be effectively $1800. If you somehow get laid off, guess what - its $2100! Not insignificant if in the same scenario your rent would be $1500 or $1600. Not to mention rents are falling too.

TD - was yours an "appraisal" for a home equity loan? if so, guess what, they can yank those amounts down right after you blink. Many heloc lenders still appraising at comp asking prices (what sells at ask these days?)

Guess there's a lot of people defending their purchases in this building, and that's cool. After all, its the low end of the market and less savvy buyers that prop up this end of the market based on interest rates, which look fine for now.

This place is grim to me, though. $220.

Posted by: invisible at April 1, 2009 7:57 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 325 Clinton Avenue, #11E

Looks as improved, maybe even a bit over-improved, for a 15 ft wide space.

Being like 100 feet outside the fema flood zone, and in the nyc yellow cat 2 hurricane evac zone, its way too dicey for me. I put 750 but my knees would still be knocking at closing. Putting life savings and weather risk together make me extremely nervous.

I'm sure this is a very nice woman, feel sorry for the fact that she financed 90%. It looks like a short sale to me. Maybe the Elliman wizards can come through for her.

Posted by: invisible at April 1, 2009 12:17 AM in response to House of the Day: 93 2nd Street

the agent obviously thinks she is cute / funny doing the where's waldo / traveling knome thing, plus has a baby pic for her photo. Actually, i did chuckle. This doofus (me) likes whatever makes me laugh these days, which isn't much.

Posted by: invisible at March 31, 2009 1:11 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 60 Plaza Street East

two words: insurance settlement

Posted by: invisible at March 30, 2009 7:37 PM in response to Streetlevel: New FroYo on Vanderbilt

jeez, at 1.1 you're already asking yourself "why pay the mansion tax?" and think 999.999. Also, rule #1 in this market is that if you don't offend the seller you didn't get a good deal. It is in fact a requirement to feel like you ripped off someone's face just to stay 6 months ahead of the (falling) comps.

Posted by: invisible at March 9, 2009 8:58 PM in response to Making an Offer?

Saw the WT place when listed. Buyers must have eaten paint chips as kids.

Posted by: invisible at March 6, 2009 2:34 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

curious, how many kwh are we talking here? i'm about 500-600kwh in the winter and 900-1000kwh in the summer, one person and 1200 sf. with tons of electronics and not so green on the lights (yet). does not incl gas for heat and cooking (stove / oven are gas).

As a general guide, anything that generates heat uses a lot of electricity.

new fridge may not be the culprit, but hey you never know. at worst we're talking maybe 10 bucks though. Have a plasma TV? Those are such a power suck they may be banned in Europe. 2 computers? 2 cable boxes? electric clothes dryer? space heater? cooking in more/eating out less (dishwasher + oven + microwave + stovetop)?

I think the avg con ed customer is around $100. Other than that maybe someone is jacking your power or there is something miswred as said before. I had a landlord re-wire once because I was paying for electricity in the utility room.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/reps/enduse/er01_ny_figs.html#1
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html

Posted by: invisible at March 4, 2009 7:22 AM in response to Energy Audit for Fridge?

cojones for sure! but hey doing what you love and going for it all the way - still an admirable thing imho. at least they aren't opening up in soho/nolita with ridiculous rents and price points. does seem like a good demographic / price point so maybe they'll have some success. And PS real estate seems to be holding up better than manhattan, so maybe its the best place to be customer-wise for the time being. wish them all the best!

Posted by: invisible at March 3, 2009 10:25 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Jewelry Store Opens on Fifth Avenue

Old News?

uhhh, correct me if i'm wrong mr brownstoner - Today is March 3. This report was released on Jonathan Miller's site ******january 13****.

If you want to talk about something relevant with these old stats how about how many of these were entered into contract before the most recent Oct meltdown.

pay no attention that the stock market is almost half what it was before that (affect downpayments?) not to mention that 20% down on most mortgages gave way to 25-30% down. many lenders are considering brooklyn to be a depressed area and are not lending (contrary to some mortgage brokers saying otherwise)

seriously - is this just filler because you guys had the flu? its ok, c'mon just be honest.

Posted by: invisible at March 3, 2009 11:52 AM in response to Brownstones, Co-ops Outperformed Condos in Q4

why do you need the broker? if the landlord gives you the lease directly, blow him off.

Posted by: invisible at March 2, 2009 11:17 PM in response to Non-Working Broker Demands Fee

http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/exclusive-contracts-a-close-look-at-the-fine-print

Posted by: invisible at February 28, 2009 11:21 PM in response to Breaking Agreement w/ Agent

http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/exclusive-contracts-a-close-look-at-the-fine-print

Posted by: invisible at February 28, 2009 11:21 PM in response to Breaking Agreement w/ Agent

there are a million ways to re-negotiate. have you read the by laws, board minutes see the budget and the issues of the co-op? everything is negotiable. in this market, unless you are borderline obnoxious you are probably paying way too much. i have seen one or two offering places out of a hundred in the past year i would say were reasonable.

indeed, since you knew about the wallpaper and carpet, it seems like you are second guessing the fast acceptance of your bid. as a first time (read: gullible) buyer and the nature of your question, i wouldn't hesitate to guess you are. for the last year i have been wondering what morons have been paying the prices that have been reported. after seeing a lot of the comments on this board, it is becoming evident. realize there are a lot of people entwined with the RE market on this board who don't like remorseful bidders. i will admit i know a lot of people have been bidding out of curiosity and walking away (like ebay) when accepted. however, because of the huge gulf between asking and selling prices, this does not bother me as it is like most other assets today. don't be stupid - re-negotiate until they are willing to walk away. even then you are likely to be only modestly overpaying imho you have to be willing to walk away right now. we are in a free-fall.

Posted by: invisible at February 27, 2009 11:41 PM in response to Should seller remove wallpaper?

wow, these are already above where manhattan developers are considering bulk sales. the 20%+ downpayment and job fear factor is a different world.

hope they move em soon, because at best they are at best worth half..... and only a daytime doorman? i always wondered why even bother to pay someone that much just to collect dry cleaning. its not like the safety factor is justifying these ridiculously high prices. i'd feel like a sitting duck living in this building, in this area, in the new nypd reality.

Posted by: invisible at February 27, 2009 12:20 PM in response to Checking Back In On 475 Sterling Place

yeah, put the poor people in the marsh! that way, there will be better news stories like katrina when a tropical storm comes or worse once they get settled in. just thinking ahead you see. its all in the essential planning. "poor people, over to the flood zone, NOW! oh and here's some candy, trust me you'll like it... what, no we can't run the f train underground, are you crazy that's a marsh over there, peoples lives would be at stake. but you can move in, i swear it'll be fine.

Posted by: invisible at February 11, 2009 8:18 PM in response to Gowanus Rezoning Draft Scope Comin' Atcha

yeah, i don't think that's cynder blocks, that's a stone foundation. cinder blocks were barely just invented when your house was built. also, that looks like much more than water from the window. is that black mold? you should check that out. potential indication of more than your wishful thinking.

these stone foundations are usually giving up water here and there, we get torrential downpours every few years, and have very wet seasons occasionally. don't be naive about doing a basement like this, there are 1001 ways for you as well as contractors to f- this up. water and basements go together (even if only every 10 or 20 years), you should hope for the best but definitely plan for the worst when doing a job like this.

good luck

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/finishing-the-basement-a-challenge-in-an-old-house.shtml

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/wet-basement-of-an-old-house.shtml

Posted by: invisible at February 11, 2009 7:59 PM in response to What to do about basement walls

man you guys are a bunch of whiners. try living in harlem for a few years. five churches on my block plus 2 in the backyard. chew on that. at least you know who's *not* responsible for shooting up the neighborhood.

Posted by: invisible at February 10, 2009 11:25 PM in response to Turn It Down! Church Blasts Bed Stuy Neighbors

spyre98:

good post on this at urbandigs to start the new year.

http://www.urbandigs.com/2009/01/mortgages_market_update_0109.html

His take is that it's 20%+ or FHA, or the highway.....basically as far as options.

4.5% is still going to take a while, treasuries have gone down and hit 2% but the spread to MBS is increasing so the overall mortgage rates haven't made as much headway.

Posted by: invisible at January 3, 2009 2:28 AM in response to PMI Rejected

the problem most likely has more to do with mortgage insurance companies' solvency and losses from the housing crisis rather than your credit. PMI, Radian, MGIC, Genworth stock prices are basically priced at lottery ticket values (i.e. for bankruptcy reorg.) Maybe they really didn't like your appraisal, but given how its hard to see them in business without a bailout i'd say questionable / convenient excuse.

You just need to find someone open for business, and thus you see the catch 22 in getting a loan with less than 20% down. You may have to ask every one who is in business. You didn't mention if its a single family or condo/op - if its a house try Republic (RMIC)

Here's the 4.5% chatter i think Cottontop was expressing:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/03/AR2008120302889_pf.html

Posted by: invisible at December 5, 2008 12:29 AM in response to PMI Rejected

any chance you will be having a 90% off sale for, say, the next five years?

Posted by: invisible at November 24, 2008 7:08 PM in response to Bird Blog: Week 22

Apparently nobody reads (or remembers) the news here. Something like this happened a few years ago. Before everybody gets stereotypical about the neighborhood, someone who goes to great lengths to chop someone up and leave them in a box probably went to great lengths to leave it far from where they live.

NYT Article:

June 13, 2003
Police Say Man Admits Dumping Wife's Headless Body in Harlem

By ROBERT F. WORTH
The police yesterday arrested a Queens man who they say has confessed to killing his wife late last month, cutting her head off with a handsaw and leaving her body in a suitcase on a Harlem street.

The man, Oscar Pilamunga, 24, kicked, punched and strangled his wife, Beatrice Yually, 23, on May 31 after she threatened to leave him for her boyfriend, a law enforcement official said.

The killing took place at the couple's basement apartment in Corona, and Mr. Pilamunga then cut his wife's head off with a handsaw, said Inspector James Luongo, the chief of the Manhattan detective bureau. The head has not been found, he said.

The day after the killing, Mr. Pilamunga put his wife's headless body in a garbage bag, stuffed it into a suitcase and took it by taxi to Harlem, where he left it on West 124th Street around 4 p.m., the law enforcement official said. It is not clear how the body got to 130th Street and Lenox Avenue, where it was found by a passer-by about two hours later.

Investigators found a phone number on the body of Ms. Yually, Inspector Luongo said, and that led them to the couple's house in Queens, where they found Mr. Pilamunga.

The couple, who have been married for nine years, are from Ecuador and have two children who live there. Mr. Pilamunga worked in the food industry, and his wife was a street vendor, the police said.

The couple seemed quiet and friendly, said Angelo Pacheco, who owns the apartment at 98-01 37th Avenue that Mr. Pilamunga and his wife rented for $500 a month. Dora Pacheco, Mr. Pacheco's wife, said, ''I am going to bring the priest to bless the house.''

Mr. Pilamunga was expected to be arraigned last night on second-degree murder charges, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.

Posted by: invisible at October 16, 2008 12:40 AM in response to Human Remains on Fort Greene Park

Former PH,
Good luck. You want square footage on co-ops, which are common shares and not real property, with reported frequently outright lies? NorthHeights is right, but he's eluding that you are way in over your head. Start with Miller Samuel or something like that or your client will be dumb money. This is not like compiling stats from the SEC Edgar website. If you don't know who the sucker is in the shell game, its you.

Posted by: invisible at October 16, 2008 12:09 AM in response to Help with Acris

WOW you really want to know. Well the thing is that its about the same price, if not a bit lower than most 2 bedrooms we've seen...and we saw a lot, probably close to 30.

The building has a laundry room, the apartment is close to 1000 sq ft, brand new kitchen, appliances have never been used, lots of closets, a bedroom that fits a king size bed (a luxury in Brooklyn) and a balcony.

We're thinking whatever the building issues, the apartment will be great.

Posted by: thov4 at September 18, 2009 5:13 PM in response to Prospect Towers in Park Slope

Do you really beleive there is another offer? Walk away.

Posted by: lechacal at September 22, 2009 8:34 PM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

earlier this year, my wife and i put a reasonable offer in on a place that had been on the market for a while. as the sellers had alreay moved and were in a hurry to sell, they accepted the offer. a day later i got a call from the broker saying that someone else had offered 50k more (which would have put the offer well over the original asking price). we figured it was an attempt to make us bid up, and held firm at our offering price. sure enough, the broker called a day or so later to say that the higher offer had "fallen through." i have to think it's a common practice in the industry, and it probably works some of the time.

Posted by: NsPx at September 23, 2009 12:28 AM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

Ah, BedStuyTownhouse,

I happen to know who you are. And it's funny how you only tell the story that gains affinity with avid posters here at Brownstoner.com.

Did you mention how low your offer was? Did you mention how long you took in making the initial offer? Did you mention how a real estate broker accommodated your unreasonable request to show you the home at 9am on a Saturday Morning because you had a busy work week ahead of you and other medical appointments that day?

Or did you think because you didn't get your way in the matter and assumed that the broker was lying about the property being shown, that it was ok to come to a public forum and trash their business reputation and integrity.

Any broker commenting here knows that Article 12a of the Real Property Law of New York State outlines the 3 conditions by which we're to confer the public when it comes to presenting offers.

Did you mention the suspicious pre-qualification you presented in your initial offer from a long island mortgage broker with a sketchy background.

You folks have to get it at some point and perhaps listen to MOPAR in her remarks.

I've had respectable, full disclosure dealings with MOPAR. Our client made that sale difficult.

Maybe you should ask your attorney what rights you truly have and see if they've been violated in this experience.

How you feel an experience has gone for you does not qualify as someone being sleazy and unprofessional.

Every broker commenting, although from a REBNY experience, is also aware of the 6 fiduciary obligations we are required when we represent sellers.

The law makes it clear. Perhaps before you start ranting in this manner, you should acknowledge your responsibility for the experience you have.

NO ONE IS REQUIRED TO GIVE YOU A HOUSE JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BUY IT.

A home shopper will always have to satisfy the sellers expectation and I'm sure each broker commenting here will agree.

As for BedStuyTownhouse, I'll make my concerns known to you directly by phone on Friday, 9/25/09.

I hope you post the narrative of that discussion here at brownstoner.com as well.

Posted by: bkemcee at September 25, 2009 5:32 AM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

And to StuyHtsHome,

I'm excited that you and your husband are still interested in the property.

Perhaps you might want to update the readers of this forum on the status of your purchase.

(including the incompetent brokers remarking who only specialize in selling apartments...and don't use the required Disclosure of Agency Relationship form by NYS Department of State in most of their transactions...in spite of the REBNY affiliation)

Of course, you have every right to walk away from your offer any time.

And you would avoid all the stress experienced if you only

FOLLOWED THE BROKERS INSTRUCTIONS...AND NOT WHAT YOU FELT YOU WANTED TO DO.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And from what I understand in MOPAR's experience, that agent was fired after failing to meet NYS Department of State.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kudos to Foul Play for giving a dose of reality to the REBNY endorsement.

Posted by: bkemcee at September 25, 2009 7:16 AM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

Stuyhtshome

It seems that you may be confused about the buying process. The broker doesn’t work for you. He’s representing the seller and it’s his duty to get the most money for his client. How this makes him a super slimy agent is beyond me.

How is this any different from buyers making multiple offers on several properties in order to get the best deal out there? Aren't they looking out for their best interest?

Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. It sounds a bit immature that you believe that because you made an offer that no other bids will be made or accepted after that. I think it’s quite reckless that you are maligning a broker’s reputation based off the fact that someone made a higher bid than you. You should be careful about making liable statements on a blog just so you can feel better about a situation. It seems like the only “crime” he committed was being late for an appointment.

And while you’re considering filing a complaint about this broker, you might want to think about if he’s going to file a complaint against you.

Also food for thought: If and when you do purchase a home and decide to sell one day, I bet you will appreciate the broker that you hire working to get the best and highest offer for your property.

Posted by: bklynliving at September 25, 2009 10:05 AM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

Try this as a basis:

Cost of designing and building typical 4-level 20 ft x 45 ft townhouse on 20 ft x 100 ft lot (which probably get you close to allowable FAR): 3,600 SF x $350/SF = $1,260,000

Likely selling price of house including land: $1,600,000

Land value: $1,600,000 - $1,260,000 = $340,000

Value of land per SF: $340,000 / 2,000 = $170/SF

As a cross check; assuming a R6B FAR of 2 (allowing a 4,000 SF building)the land value equates to $85 per buildable SF which seems about right in these days (though a far cry from the over $150 per buildable SF sites were fetching in the frothiest days of the bubble).

Posted by: johnife at November 3, 2009 12:30 PM in response to Value of a Backyard?

Definitely a back of the envelope calc, and although it seems like a large difference, in my experience it bears out, as perfectly fine houses with tiny backyards take forever and a day to sell. I have been looking at carriage houses, which I personally love for their rustic looks. Some end up without any backyard, or with less than 15 ft clearance, which inevitably lands them at the bottom of their relative value scale.

Posted by: Maly at November 3, 2009 12:38 PM in response to Value of a Backyard?

I don't understand the distinction between FAR and non-FAR area. My understanding is the formula determines the maximum allowable floor SQF of buidable home based on the SQF of the entire lot. What's left is still part of the equation and does not become non-far. You are trying to assign equal value to the remaining SQF but If the deepest lot has unused FAR (Buildings all being equal), that would make that land more valuable per SQF. This does not just apply to the Scaranos of the world doing teardowns. People do put additions onto their homes for many reasons and sometimes they even do it legally. If you want a expert opinion, ask an architect and give them the lot numbers.

Posted by: ou812 at November 3, 2009 2:22 PM in response to Value of a Backyard?