Open House Picks: Six Months Later 8/3/07
Comment: The broker for the Crown Heights house says the listing has been temporarily pulled while C of O issues are sorted out. All the rest did pretty well, it seems. Open House Picks, 8/3/07 [Brownstoner]
Comment: The broker for the Crown Heights house says the listing has been temporarily pulled while C of O issues are sorted out. All the rest did pretty well, it seems.
Open House Picks, 8/3/07 [Brownstoner]
Just feel compelled to clarify re: ING – the CD rates I quoted are rollover rates (that is, I think you already have to have a CD now to qualify for rates over 4%). But their electric orange savings acct is at 4.25%. Anyway, my point is that I do think there are smarter places to park your cash short-term right now than rushing into real estate if you feel you are making a huge price/quality compromise. From my perspective, many properties really are overvalued now, including, dare I say, my own. It’s really the whole market that feels quite unsustainable right now.
Wow I used to live in the 14th Street house in the late 90’s up until 2001. It was a 4 family w/o any rent controls. Mostly students lived there. It was owned by the same guys who owned the Brooklyn Inn bar building on Bergen St. The building would require a complete gut as there had been no upgrade in utilites at all. The garden floor still had the big cast iron trough sink with no counter tops, mounted next to the chimney stove. You could see down into the basement through the floorboards. Also the place never had any great details and the ones left over were prety worn down. For you history freaks the place still had the remains of the old wooden outhouse back in the rear corner of the garden from before they had running water. The place must have been neglected for decades in a good sort of way as it was certainly a historical artifact. The basement still had lead pipes for drinking and some of the electric wiring ran across these little ceramic/glass bushing things. The basement had this gigantic monster of a cast iron washer with these rubber wringers. It was so heavy no one ever tried to get rid of it.
If the building was still in the same shape as when i left it congratulations for getting over asking price. By the way the brokers were already calling the neighborhood Park Slope back in ’96 when i moved in.
I think what’s REALLY absurd is that you assume those comments are made by a broker.
Or more just ignorant, I guess.
I made a couple of those comments and I don’t know the first thing about brokers…being one or the like.
Here is another prime example of how assuming makes an ASS of you and…well you again.
Discussions like the one above have to be Exhibit A in any argument that this blog is a favorite for brokers looking to pump the NYC market. Why else would otherwise inoccuous comments about potential buyers who feel no urgency right now provoke such heated responses? Really, eveyone, isn’t it obvious that only bokers would argue that, in this market, YOU HAVE TO BUY NOW! YOU’D BE AN IDIOT TO WAIT! REAL ESTATE ONLY GOES UP!
Re: ING – they have short-term CD’s you can lock into for well over 4%, and then they offer roll-over bonuses. Is your money going to make more than 4% in housing/stocks in next 6 months to a year? I doubt it. Again, if the perfect opportunity comes up within your budget – at whatever time – I think housing is a good long-term investment if only because you need a place to live. But really, there seems to be consensus even among brokers that there is a rational shift happening in the market and buyers are in no rush to buy. Well-priced, quality properties will always sell but overreaching ones won’t. Of course, there are going to be many opinions about what is “well-priced” and I suppose that’s borne out on this blog. I’m obviously in a different position than a renter since I already own and am trading up, not throwing rent money away. Also, I have the luxury of cash that’s not dependent on selling my current apt. But I’ve been reading more and more that it’s actually not a bad time to be renting, especially if you ARE depending on selling your place to trade up. The climate is just changing and there is no question that many people are finding things take longer to sell, and often price cuts are required, even in NYC. I think we’ll just see more of the same in the next year or two. Believe me, I don’t want the NYC market to tank since then we’ll all have other problems, but I’m also trying to be realistic.
many stocks oversold and 10 yr yield following in lock step – great opportunity to refi more cash out of your place w/o increasing your payment and staying at a fixed rate and then getting into good stocks at a deep discount. long term perspective on both fronts of course. if fed and ecb disappoint over next few weeks and US jobs data is iffy next week, the opportunity to do this will be fab.
Suze Orman is worth about 50 million bucks, 2:14.
You also?
If so, then I concede.
Suze beat Jim Cramer and placed second after The Donald as “Most Annoying Money Personality”
http://money.aol.com/best-and-worst-in-money-2006/most-annoying-money-expert
2:05 – actually, yes. Being able to sell a few books in flyover country proves nothing about one’s level of actual knowledge. Nor does having a successful TV show. See, e.g., Jim Cramer. I don’t want to get into the business of proving my personal qualifications, but rest assured that I do very well managing my personal finances without having to look for ideas on the shelves at Barnes and Noble.