House of the Day: 501 Montgomery Street
This detached townhouse at 501 Montgomery Street in Crown Heights just hit the market asking—brace yourself—$1,485,000. The house is quite large (23 by 70 feet) and has a whopping nine bedrooms. It’s also been recently renovated with results that make for interesting viewing. 501 Montgomery Place [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
This detached townhouse at 501 Montgomery Street in Crown Heights just hit the market asking—brace yourself—$1,485,000. The house is quite large (23 by 70 feet) and has a whopping nine bedrooms. It’s also been recently renovated with results that make for interesting viewing.
501 Montgomery Place [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
Not yet for the bike room and, no a co-op doesn’t have to say why, but these people did right after the law had been passed – extremely dumb! Wow- no personal interviews? What if the buyer showed up wearing polka dot socks or something and the board president hated polka dots?
So, would mentioning a bicycle room in the coop be considered steering/discrimination against disabled (because they can’t ride a bike)?
Interesting re:Jay-Z. I thought that the board doesn’t have to provide reasons for rejection; I guess they were extremely stupid. OTOH, in NJ (not sure whether it’s Bergen County or the whole state) personal interviews are not allowed; the board has to decide based on the paperwork submitted.
NYC has the most restrictive Fair Housing regulations in the country. For example, only in NYC is lawful occupation a protected class (also sometimes known as the Jay-Z law, after he got turned down by a co-op board for being a musician). Only on NYC can you not say “no lawyers” in a rental ad – it’s all over the place elsewhere. And NYers are more litigious than elsewhere (perhaps because there are more lawyers?) and so more likely to sue for real/perceived violations. Or perhaps NYC brokers/agents are just more professional than Weschester and LI?
Are these just NYC rules / sensitivities, babs?
You can search by school district on a lot of major Westchester / LI realtors websites.
It’s meshuggah.
For examle, if I said, “Across the street from Temple Emanu-El,” and didn’t mention every other nearby house of worship I could be sued as well.
An Elliman agent got sued for metioning the school district in an ad, and it turned out to be wrong, as the district lines had been changed (and with 321 for example, I know many people who always forget that the north side of President St w. of 7th Ave is not in 321). Better not to say anything. When people ask me, I always say, “According to the DoE’s website (and include link if it’s an e-mail), this is in district xyz, but you should always call the school yourself to make sure.” Also, if you advertise a certain school district and the kid can’t get into that school for some reason (overcrowding, special needs, etc.), the broker could be sued by a buyer who says that’s the only reason he bought that place (it has happened, believe me). Also, it could be construed as steering, meaning that you are targeting people with children for this property and discriminating against childless people.
An off topic question for Babs – I am really curious why mentioning the school district is not allowed – unlike “suitable for…” and “perfect for…” which are highly subjective conclusions, being in a particular school district is a fact. Besides, some of those without kids are interested in a schoold istrict because either they are concerned about resale value or, on the opposite, don’t want to overpay for something they wouldn’t use.
Unfortunately, ishtar, I can’t tell you that due to Fair Housing restrictions – you’ll have to Google map it or walk around and find out for yourself. Or you can ask me directly – as in, “Where is the closest playground?” but I can’t advertise it.
And, no, *rob*, but thanks (or not, really!), but I can tell you all about any peacock-related fixtures in any house, as peacocks aren’t a protected class (yet).