what are you teaching in china? hopefully not ethics.

Posted by: panamac at September 8, 2009 5:21 PM in response to Questions About Subletting

hi ben levin. ironically, i tried to refi directly through Wells at the end of 2008. i called the bank and was told they'd call me back in a couple of days. a couple of days later, a sales manager in queens contacted me. this was one of the least intelligent, least competent people i have ever dealt with. she couldn't even get my name right, calling me "Lisa" on my good faith estimate. she also couldn't explain the closing costs/good faith estimate to me. she didn't seem to have any idea how the most basic numbers/concepts work in a refi (payoff amount, interest charges, timing for last payment under the existing mortgage, etc.), or any idea what was happening with rates in the market. i was also told i would have to pay points for a lock, which didn't happen when i used a mortgage broker. everything was so much more difficult and the process seemed so unnecessarily convoluted that i eventually just gave up (until March when i used a mortgage broker). i think it's funny you're on brownstoner doing damage control for Wells.

Posted by: panamac at September 2, 2009 1:06 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

i hesitated before posting, because i don't want to rub this in the faces of everyone mired in a neverending refi directly with their banks, but i decided to add my 2 cents because this info may benefit those who want to refi but have not yet started the process.

big swinging nick is right: bite the bullet and use a mortgage broker. i started my refi in March and closed in May. not even 3 months from start to finish, and i got a very competitive 4.875 for a 30-year fixed. oh, and get this: both my original mortgage and the refi were with Wells Fargo. it's absurd but true that a refi closes more efficiently when you add another layer of service professional to the transaction.

mortgage brokers get paid when the transaction closes, so their interests are aligned with yours on that front. and they are professional paper pushers -- their job is to deal with most (if not all) of the forms, certificates, closing conditions, etc. and they are more responsive and seem more intelligent than the folks you'll encounter at the bank. when you've finished all the paperwork (with their help) and the transaction is languishing, you call them up and apply friendly pressure. they pass that on to their contacts in the bank (aka dummies on the inside).

Posted by: panamac at September 1, 2009 4:17 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

compared to the time and expense of hiring a lawyer to sue and finding a new place to live, would it be a cheaper and faster resolution to hire an exterminator to treat the place?

i realize that you want your money back, and i agree that in an ideal world you would get it back without the undue hassle of what sounds like a unsympathetic/crooked landlord, but if the apt were free of bedbugs, it sounds like -- based on your post -- it would be your dream apt. can you get together with the new tenant downstairs and split the cost to do the whole building (while your apt is empty)? then move in.

Posted by: panamac at September 1, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Park Slope Bedbug Disaster

i had a similarly unresponsive lawyer when i was buying. i agree that setting the closing date is not in your lawyer's control, but that you do deserve some response.

my approach was to call and email regularly, escalating each time (e.g. 1) hi, it's me, need an update, etc. 2) me again, sorry i missed you, pls call me back. 3) is everything ok? i really need to speak to you, i called the past two days in a row w/no response. 4) this is urgent. respond immediately.) that worked for me, but if calling every day for five days does NOTHING, then you might want to let the lawyer know you're shopping for replacement counsel: 5) i can see that you are not able to represent me adequately in this transaction, and accordingly i've begun looking for a new lawyer.

this might be an incentive for them, because if you fire them, then the tables would be turned. the lawyers usually get paid at the closing, so if you cut them out before the closing, then it will be their turn to chase you -- for payment.

i think.

good luck.

Posted by: panamac at August 28, 2009 12:08 PM in response to Unresponsive Attorney

what happened to the NY Times??

"Nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers believe that now is a good time to buy, according to a recent study of 2,000 potential buyers who responded to weekly polls conducted by the Corcoran Group on its Web site."

that's like saying "2/3 of New Yorkers think it's a great time to commit suicide, based on a survey of 2000 suicidal New Yorkers conducted by makers of anti-depressant medication". hmm, self-selecting population surveyed by financially interested market participant...

i am not a market bear by any means, but this type of nonsensical conclusion erodes the integrity the NY Times and its reportage.

Posted by: panamac at August 17, 2009 3:00 PM in response to The Emotional Undercurrent of Buying and Selling

also keep in mind that dusk and dawn are the times of day that mosquitoes are most active.

Posted by: panamac at August 17, 2009 12:55 PM in response to Mosquitos

this is Crown Heights, not Prospect Heights.

Posted by: panamac at August 17, 2009 12:53 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 358 Eastern Parkway, #8

check the floor plan. the triplex is the second floor and the third floor of the original house, plus an extension built on top of the original house and set back from the front (producing that sizable front-facing terrace on the top floor). this also explains the slanted ceilings and skylights on the top floor. my guess is that there is a lower duplex in this condo consisting of the garden level and the parlor level of the original house.

Posted by: panamac at August 4, 2009 1:30 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 584 Pacific Street

panamanians.

Posted by: panamac at June 19, 2009 2:29 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

rates are actually at 4.875% today for a 30-year fixed conforming. this does apply to co-ops. rates have been hovering around 5% for a while and are coming down in the wake of the Fed announcement yesterday re: buying Treasuries. if you put 20% down on this apt at asking, your monthly mortgage is 1,689. add the maintenance and you're up to 2,147. and even this number is inflated compared to your true cost if you factor in tax breaks for mortgage interest and real estate taxes.

at 20%, the down payment would be 80K, not 90K. not sure why one would conceptualize the down payment as being paid out monthly over the course of 4 years. i think it assumes that your apt is a wasting asset that will be depleted by 20% in 4 years. in normal markets, a home buyer recoups their down payment (and any other equity) upon selling the apt, and under those circumstances, the "cost" of the down payment is more of an opportunity cost, i.e. what else could you have done with that 80K for those four years? if you put it in a savings account, it would generate about 1.875% right now. not a heck of a lot of opportunity cost lost.

one last point, since yesterday someone was prattling on about how high income earners lose the mortgage interest deduction because of the AMT. simply not true. it's actually quite the opposite -- the mortgage interest deduction can reduce your tax so that the AMT no longer applies (or applies with less effect). i got hit with the AMT in 2007 and bought real estate in early 2008 in part to combat the AMT. i can tell you first hand that paying mortgage interest and real estate taxes enabled me to get a sizable tax return at both the state and the federal level, and from a tax perspective, the only economic difference between 2007 and 2008 for me was that i was paying mortgage interest and real estate taxes in '08 but not '07.

Posted by: panamac at March 19, 2009 3:14 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 135 Prospect Park SW, #F12

rent control makes me so angry that my throat closes up.
socialism. disgusting.

Posted by: wine lover at September 9, 2009 2:24 PM in response to Questions About Subletting

It's really shocking and disgusting how some posters who call themselves "pro-tenant" (they're really not pro-tenant; they're pro rent stabilization. Rent stabilization actually hurts many tenants) support these low rent freeloaders who break the law.
I hope the LL throws this guy out on his ass.
The entire RS system is sick.

Posted by: starfish1948 at September 9, 2009 4:54 PM in response to Questions About Subletting

When you do things in the dark..they always come to light.

Posted by: scarter at September 9, 2009 5:58 PM in response to Questions About Subletting

Hey OP do you feel like a crook? Teaching in China? Charging the sublet much more than the actual rent right? Shame on you! Hopefully you don't get caught trying such treachery over there...can be punishable by imprisonment or even worse.
You are abusing the system in a rather disgusting way and such corruption clearly illustrates why RS & RC needs to be eliminated or revised significantly.

BTW we are market rate tenants right here in Brooklyn.

Posted by: pierre de taille at September 9, 2009 6:20 PM in response to Questions About Subletting

The law for rent regulated tenants allows you to sublet your apartment for two years in each four year period. This is your right by law, regardless whether your lease grants you this: if you are rent stabilized and your lease states otherwise, the law trumps your lease. You have rights, but along with your rights come obligations, it's a two way street: fail to meet your obligations and you may forfeit your rights. It's great that you have a teaching opportunity, but it's time to become a student and get a better education in NYC housing law.

So yes, you have the right to go and teach in China for two years and sublet your apartment, the only problem is that you did not do the sublet via the correct legal procedures, but rather that you attempted to sublet informally. I would suggest contacting a tenant attorney...not an all-purpose attorney but specifically a tenant attorney whose practice is focused primarily on representing tenants in NYC. Call by phone from China and explain the situation and see if you can get a free phone consultation and/or purchase a consultation (usually 45 minutes to one hour where you discuss your situation and get a sense of your options). This can be done via phone and I'm sure payment can be arranged via credit card or other means. You may be able to handle the entire process from where you are in China, casually. OTOH, yo umay need to contract an attorney to assist you and/or you may need to return to NYC...get some sound legal input before you do anything.
It sounds to me like you may have a 'roommate' situation now - that you took on a roommate and that you are just out of the country for a few weeks/months (you haven't been gone a full year yet, have you)? If an opportunity to teach has opened up in China, maybe you can sublet your apartment to your roommate....he would then become the tenant for the duration of the sublet, and that may even mean he can take on one roommate of his own if he so chooses. Of course, you would have to do this LEGALLY, formally, and with the landlord's permission in order to preserve your rights to continued tenancy when the sublet terminates.
If you act foolishly now, you very well may lose your apartment. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish. Get advice and/or representation from a practitioner who is experienced in these issues.
You will need to document in writing many things during this process. This is NOT a matter to be handled informally as you are now doing. You need to document the process in writing so you will have proof in the event you are unreasonably denied the sublet by the landlord and also so that you will retain your tenancy rights after the sublet terminates.

Here is some more info for you and for the edification of those following this thread (sorry for the length but this cuts through much confusion):

http://tenant.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4933

"Subletting

Even if your lease forbids it, you have the right under the law to sublease your apartment, and the lease provision is null and void. The subletting procedures below apply generally to tenants renting an apartment pursuant to an existing lease in a building having four or more residential units. The exceptions are tenants in public housing, limited-profit housing, or housing subject to rent control. Rent controlled tenants may, however, sublet if they have a current or prior lease that contains a clause permitting subletting, or if the landlord consents. To sublet, you must closely follow these procedures:

1. Send a letter to the landlord by certified mail, return receipt requested, requesting permission to sublease. (You should retain copies of this correspondence, as well as all other correspondence sent to the landlord.) This letter must contain the following information:

The term (starting and ending dates) of the sublet, not to exceed two years. (If you are uncertain about the term, choose the longer period, because it is difficult to extend the sublet. You can always return early.)

The name of the proposed subtenant. (Choose someone you know if possible. Subleasing to strangers is risky and often full of unhappy surprises.)

The business and permanent home address of the proposed subtenant.

Your reason for subletting (work transfer, school attendance, family crisis, etc). Your reason must reflect an intent to return.

Your address for the term of the sublet.

The written consent of any co-tenant or guarantor of your lease.

A copy of the proposed sublease, to which a copy of your lease is attached, if available.

A separate letter wherein both you and your proposed subtenant state that the attached sublease is a true copy of such sublease. This statement must be signed and notarized.

2. Within 10 days after you mail your initial request, your landlord is allowed to ask for additional information, in order to determine if rejecting your request would be unreasonable. Expect a list of inquiries about the proposed sublessee's resources and rental history.

3. Within 30 days after you mail the initial notice, or after you mail the additional information if requested, your landlord must send you a notice of consent to the sublet, or their reasons for refusal.

If your landlord consents, you may sublease, but you remain liable for future rents.

If your landlord reasonably withholds consent, you can't sublet, and you are not released from the lease and can be held liable for future rents.

If your landlord fails to send a response within the 30 days, this shall be deemed consent to the subletting.

If your landlord unreasonably withholds consent, you may sublet in accordance with the request. If your landlord then tries to evict you, you may recover the costs of any eviction proceedings, together with attorneys' fees, if it is found that your landlord acted in

Posted by: Oxygen at September 10, 2009 2:52 AM in response to Questions About Subletting

[cont.]

...bad faith by withholding consent.

4. If your apartment is rent stabilized, the following provisions also apply:

You cannot charge your subtenant more than your current rent unless the apartment is furnished during the sublet. In this case, a 10 percent surcharge may be added. The landlord may also collect a vacancy-allowance increase during the term of the sublet. It is rolled back when the prime tenant returns. The increase is the vacancy allowance, if any, provided in the Rent Guidelines Board Order in effect at the beginning of the lease, provided the lease is a renewal lease.

You must establish, and should say so in your initial letter to your landlord, that at all times you will maintain the apartment as your primary residence and intend to reoccupy it at the expiration of the sublease. Primary-residence status requires that during your absence from your apartment, you pay New York City resident income tax, listing the apartment as your residence, and that all records of your residence, including your driver's license, car registration and voting records, reflect the apartment as your home.

You, as the prime tenant, retain the right to a renewal lease, and the rights and status of a "tenant in occupancy" as they relate to conversion to condominium or cooperative ownership.

The law limits your sublet to two years, including the term of the proposed sublease, out of the four-year period preceding the termination date of the proposed sublease. Your landlord may agree to waive this limitation, but the law allows him to refuse. There is no harm in asking. If he says yes, get it in writing.

If your lease expires during the term of the proposed sublease, your subtenant is subject to your renewal lease. The landlord is required to offer and accept a renewal lease from you during the sublet period just as if you were in occupancy.

Should you overcharge your subtenant, he or she shall be entitled to damages of three times the overcharge and may also be awarded attorneys' fees and interest from the date of the overcharge. "

If you have questions, here is a good place to ask them:

http://tenant.net/phpBB2/

Good luck.

Posted by: Oxygen at September 10, 2009 2:58 AM in response to Questions About Subletting

Instruct the brother of your friend to say nothing if questioned. He can pretend not to speak English. Don't start making up stories. Don't start planning intricate ruses.

Speak with an attorney and find out what you need to due to legitimate a potential sublet or prepare to either forfeit the teaching in China and/or your apartment of 14 years. It will be money well spent. If you try to game the system and trick your landlord, and he has the monetary incentive to get rid of you, as you claim he has, you may just find yourself enmeshed in a lawsuit(s) and having to spend thousands of dollars just to defend your right to continue living in your apartment.

Posted by: Oxygen at September 10, 2009 3:11 AM in response to Questions About Subletting

OP, your "loophole" is under the provisions for sharing your apartment with a roommate sited in the link to Tenant.net by Oxygen above.

"5. You must inform the landlord of the name of a new roommate within 30 days after the roommate moves in, or within 30 days after a request by your landlord for the roommate's name. Failure to notify the landlord carries no penalty."

That's pretty important about carrying no penalty.

PS teachinginchina, Where do we send the bill?

Posted by: modsquad at September 10, 2009 7:55 AM in response to Questions About Subletting

http://tenant.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6788&highlight=primary+residence

The above link is interesting. Talks about non primary residence.
OP if I were you I would have your "roommate" use one of your credit/debit cards every once in awhile in NYC while you're away.
There is also a good chance that being in China for a year is not in violation of your Lease. Courts don't take the 189 day provision over a single year but look to see a pattern over several years.

Posted by: modsquad at September 10, 2009 8:30 AM in response to Questions About Subletting

As Modsquad hints at, maintaining the apartment as your Primary Residence is important if you wish to keep it, more so if you have a landlord who has an incentive to wants to deregulate it. If you are gone for a year this would be the better method for your LL to evict you.

I suggest also discussing with your attorney what you will need to do to validate your apartment as your primary residence. If you get sued, expect to have your personal data submitted as evidence in court, as per the link above in Modsquad's post. Utility bills/usage are also used to prove a tenant was not living in an apartment during a certain period. FYI, it is also very common for a landlord to video tape their tenants' comings and goings via either an exposed or hidden video camera. My landlord had a video camera the size of a thimble hidden in the lobby, by chance a flash digital photograph of someone's child showed an unusual reflection and that was how it was discovered.

I would advise against notifying your landlord that you now have a roommate. If the LL sends you a request in writing for your roommate's name, then you can consider what you wish to do.

You really need to discuss your situation with a qualified and experienced tenant attorney...DO NOT go to an all-purpose attorney as he will not be familiar enough with these kinds of cases to give you good advice.

Posted by: Oxygen at September 10, 2009 12:04 PM in response to Questions About Subletting