Mitchell Feldman : brooklyn real estate blog

How can I get a curb cut (driveway) on my property in Brooklyn?

Mitchell Feldman — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:51:00 GMT

How can I get a curb cut (driveway) on my property in Brooklyn?

Brooklyn is an island in and of itself and different than any other city in the world. As an example, we have alternate side of the street parking where-as in most other cities in the United States they do not even know what that is! Based on this and the general difficulties in finding a parking space in some Brooklyn neighborhoods, having a private driveway and/or off street parking becomes a huge commodity. Based on this fact, many Brooklyn homeowners who do not have off street parking decide they would like to create a driveway for off street parking on their property. Often times homeowners will do this in an illegal fashion (either intentionally or by accident) which creates big issues. If not done in a legal fashion you can face Environmental Control Board violations, court appearances, fines and civil penalties. You would then have to legalize and/or correct those violations.

In order to install a private driveway on your property, the first thing you need to do is get a curb cut. A curb cut is a dip in the sidewalk and curb that enables a vehicle to drive to a driveway, garage, parking lot, loading dock or drive-through. To get the curb cut you have to go through a legal process. This involves completing a work permit application and submitting documents to the Department of Transportation's borough office, obtaining approval, filing for construction permits, completing the work and then closing the curb cut process. That is how you do it legally so you do not have a problem.

The thing is that in order to do that in the first place, your property must meet specific criteria. If your property does not meet the specific criteria, then it may be impossible to do it in a legal fashion. As an example, the parking space has to be at least 8.5 feet x 18 feet and the location has to be in a side, front or rear yard within your building lines and may not encroach the sidewalk. In addition to that there are minimum distance requirements from sidewalk obstructions such as trees (7 feet), hydrants (7 feet), light poles (7 feet), street signs (7 feet), utility poles (7 feet), phone booths (7 feet, do they still exist?) and others.

You can find more information on the specific criteria you need to meet via this link on the NYC.gov web site:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/curbcuts.pdf

If you decide to go through the process, you can fill out the application yourself... but it may be worth the extra expense to have a New York State licensed professional engineer (PE) or registered architect (RA) help you out.

You can also find a copy of the actual application on the NYC.gov web site via the following link:

http://www.nyc.gov/apps/311/allServices.htm?requestType=listService&filterServ=License+-+Permit+-+Certificate&serviceName=Curb+Cut+Permit&intentId=87D0A2FC-8138-11DE-8E9F-96DAE110FEB8

If you currently do not have a curb cut, adding one to your property in a legal fashion will theoretically increase the value of your property anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 or more depending on where in Brooklyn you are located!

I hope you found this information useful, if you did or if have further Brooklyn real estate related questions please post a comment to this blog or contact me.

Sincerely,
Mitchell S. Feldman
Associate Broker/ Director of Sales
Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665/ Cell: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com
Web Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com and www.MadisonEstates.com

TOP 11 TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING HOMES FOR SALE IN BROOKLYN (OR ANYWHERE ELSE):

Mitchell Feldman — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:18:00 GMT

TOP 11 TIPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING HOMES FOR SALE IN BROOKLYN (OR ANYWHERE ELSE):

If you are considering selling your home one of the most important things to consider in today's real estate market is having beautiful photos of your home available for consumers to view online. Remember, 90% of all purchaser's start their search for a home on the Internet these days and they want to see photos, lots of them! Gone are the days where you simply place a photo of the front of the house and leave it at that! Now you must also show interior photos because if you do not, consumers will assume the only reason why you are not is because a) your home is in extremely bad condition or, b) you house is hideously ugly. Either way this is not a good thing. No matter how bad the condition is and no matter how ugly the house may be, we can always squeak off at least a half dozen good photos to peak an online consumers interest. As an example, even in the worst of homes you can usually still get the front (maybe from two angles), backyard, porch or deck, view from window (if it is a good one), kitchen, bathroom and living room.

Just make sure that you get the best pictures you can! You don't need to have a $2,000.00 camera either, you just have to focus on the small details! With that in mind, here is my list of Top 11 Tips when Photographing your Home:

Take a picture of the front of your home on a nice sunny day when the grass is green and the sky is blue and the flowers (if you have some) are in bloom. Even if your not selling your home right now, it is good to have this photo available for when you do sell!
Try to get a wide angle camera (25 millimeter or less is good) because given that rooms here in Brooklyn usually are smaller than those in say a Malibu mini mansion, they capture more of the room(s). Also, do not use a fish eye or other type of lens that distorts or stretches the rooms. This is not good because it raises buyers expectations too much and they will be disappointed once they see that the rooms are much smaller than was conveyed online.
Always take horizontal photos, they work better online that vertical photos. If you feel a need to take a vertical photo (usually the case with a bathroom here in Brooklyn), also take a horizontal one just to be safe.
When taking the exterior photo, get as close to the house as possible without cutting off the top of the house or the front garden and make sure your home is centered in the photo.
When taking the interior photos, turn on every light in the house and open the drapes and blinds to let in as much natural light as possible!
Remove all clutter! I often move stuff from room to room just to take the photos and then put the stuff back when I am done. this includes things like kids toys (and/or artwork), shoes, dirty laundry (you'd be surprised), knapsacks and 99% of the nicknaks from flat surfaces. It is OK to have a TV remote and some coffee table books out, but not much more than that!
Set up the dining room table to appear as though you will be entertaining guests for dinner, that is a nice touch!
In the kitchen, remove all items from the countertops, you want to see as much countertop space as possible! No dirty dishes in the sink either and remove those kitchen rags off the oven and/or fridge handles. Remove all personal photos, notes, magnets, etc from the refridgerater! You can leave one or two electrical appliances if you feel the need and a nice bowl of fruit is pretty too!
In the bathrooms, remove all stuff from the vanity, clean the mirror, remove all shampoo bottles and the like from the shower area. If you have a shower curtain, take two photos, one with the curtain closed and one with it opened. And for Pete's sake please, please, please, put the toilets seat and cover down, nobody needs to see the inside of your toilet, yech!!
You do not need to have a picture of every single room in the house, if the room is too small there is no need to photograph it.
Capture the small details that add to the story of your home. I often take close up shots of stained glass windows, parquet floors and/or original wood work.

BONUS TIP:

HAVE A PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE AGENT STAGE AND PHOTOGRAPH YOUR HOME TO BRING OUT THE BEST YOUR HOME HAS TO OFFER!!

If you have a question or comment regarding this blog entry, submit them below or contact me direct. Thanks for reading my blog!

Sincerely,
Mitchell S. Feldman
Associate Broker/ Director of Sales
Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665/ Cell: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com
Web Sites: www.MitchellFeldman.com and www.MadisonEstates.com

© Copyright by Mitchell Feldman. All Rights Reserved. Republication or redistribution of this material is expressly prohibited without prior written consent by Mitchell Feldman. This information is deemed reliable but not 100% guaranteed. Mitchell Feldman is not at attorney and therefore not able to give legal advice. If you are involved in a real estate transaction and have a question, besides speaking to Mitchell, you should also speak to your attorney.

The Evolution of Real Estate in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)!

Mitchell Feldman — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:19:00 GMT

The Evolution of Real Estate in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)!

Now that we have entered 2011 and given the state of the real estate market here in Brooklyn (which I personally think is great), I took a moment to think about the evolution or real estate here in Brooklyn specifically since I first started my real estate career back in 1993.

You have to keep in mind that back in the old days, the “Windows” operating system did not even exist yet! When I first got my real estate license I was the ONLY agent in the office (amongst a bunch of experienced real estate veterans, some who had been in the business for 30 years!) that would even use the computer. The office computer back then was a DOS based system. For those of you who have never saw what I am talking about, the computer screen was all blue and when you typed the letters came out white (the same as a DOS prompt now when you use your computer is safe mode). There were no web sites, no property photos, virtual tours, blogs or anything of the sort. When you logged onto the MLS database you would simply see the printed out property details with NO PHOTOS at all. We had to wait for the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) books to come out once a month in order to see a picture of the house! The MLS paid a guy to take photos of all the listings (he is out of business now) and digital cameras did not exist back then! Nobody even had an email address!

If you wanted to give a customer/buyer the listing or property information, you would have to take this big giant fat book (the MLS book, some referred to it as the “bible”) to the copy machine and photo copy it. Then you would have to black out the information you didn’t want the buyer to see, such as the homeowner’s name and phone number, listing office, listing expiration date and/or commission amount. It’s funny, here in Brooklyn we had this “James Bond” like system called “Black Horse” where each letter corresponded to a number from 0 to 10, “B” was 1 and “E” was 0. Hence if the commission was listed as “H”, you knew it was 6%! I get goose bumps when I think about that.

I really do not know how we survived. Nobody even had a cell phone let alone a smart phone! I remember when my broker told me “Mitch, you have to go get yourself a pager so people could get in touch with you.” Back then only the rich and famous could afford an actual “car phone.” So I gave in and got myself a pager... remember those? In case you do not know what I am talking about, that little black box would attach to your belt and if your clients, customers or broker needed you they could dial your pager number and input their phone number “after the beep.” Then while you were driving the pager would go off (beep, beep, beep) and you see a phone number pop up. Who is it? Often times you had to call to find out (no caller ID) and if there was a “911” after the number you knew you better do it fast. Then we had to scurry around like madmen looking for the nearest pay-phone (praying that it would not be covered in chewing gum or worse) just to return the call in the rain!

Anyways, a couple of years after that, my broker said “Mitch, you have to get a cell phone.” I was defiant because I didn’t want to pay for it; after all, I had my pager! Finally my broker gave in and said he would pay the bill! Cell phones back then were enormous in size as you may recall and the battery life offered you about 5 minutes talk time on a full charge! You got like a 30 minute plan for a couple of hundred bucks; man did the phone companies bang you over the head back then! Ahh, those were the days when a phone was just a phone. No camera, video, planner, web browser, GPS, etc, etc…just a simple device to make a phone call… if you could find a good spot (can you hear me now)!

After that technology just took over, it was crazy. I remember when we first made our company web site in 1996, we were so excited! In our marketing materials, the headlines read “Surf the Net!” and “See you in Cyberspace!” or “24 hours a day from the comfort of your own home!” And we worried that nobody would even know what we were talking about. We also had a very easy to remember domain name/web site address back then… in the ads is read as follows:

“Visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.dmatech.com/madison”

We swore we were the most cutting edge real estate in all of Brooklyn!! Eventually that evolved into www.MadisonEstates.com of course.

Now we have wifi, phone apps, QR codes and we even hand out 2 Gigabyte portable memory cards with our company logo and listings already loaded onto them! What will tomorrow bring, who knows? One thing is certain, you have to evolve and change with the times to stay successful in the real estate biz! As an agent you must set goals and put together a business plan. As they say “Fail to plan… plan to fail!” I embrace and look forward to the changes to come!!

If you have a funny anecdote or comment regarding this blog entry, submit them below or contact me direct. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Mitchell S. Feldman
Associate Broker/ Director of Sales
Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665/ Cell: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com
Web Sites: www.MitchellFeldman.com and www.MadisonEstates.com

How to Buy a New Home While You Sell Your Old One in Brooklyn (or anywhere else!)

Mitchell Feldman — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:32:00 GMT

How to Buy a New Home While You Sell Your Old One in Brooklyn (or anywhere else!)

Often times I am asked by consumers “how do I go about purchasing another home when you have to sell the one that I presently own?” This is one of the oldest questions in the history of real estate and the answer is quite complicated. The goal of this article is to educate consumers on this process and offer insights to help make this process go as smoothly as possible.

Basically when you undertake selling one property and purchasing another you are looking at a double edged sword. On the one side if you start looking for a home to purchase before you sell your existing property (assuming you need the proceeds from your sale to finance your next purchase) you may place your self in a position where you are desperate to sell. As an example, if you see a house that you fall in love with, or let’s say you find an incredible deal, being that you need to sell your existing property before you buy, you are going to have a hard time. If you have not sold your home you will need to request a contingency on your offer regarding the sale of your existing home.

Here in Brooklyn, it is rare that a seller will give you that contingency because it leaves too much of a legal loop hole for a buyer to back out of the deal. In other words, if you as a buyer change your mind after the fact and decide you no longer want to purchase the new house, you can make sure you do not sell your existing property (it is quite simple to sabotage your own deal on the sell side before you go to contract) and back out of the deal on the new property. Now some may say that there may be a seller willing to give you that contingency, but the only reasons a seller in Brooklyn would give you that contingency would be if a) you are buying all cash with no mortgage contingency or b) you were the only offer on the table and OVERPAYING for the property (which you do not want to do).

Bear in mind that when you go into contract on the new property you will also have to write out a down payment check at the signing of the contract, usually they will want 5-10% of the purchase price so either way you would have to have that money handy. In the past when I have tried to get a homeowner to accept an offer contingent on a sale, the seller would ask if the old property is in contract, on the market and/or fielding offers. Again, this is where the problem lies, if you do not have your home on the market, the seller of the new property is going to be scared that you will not be able to affect the sale of your existing property in a timely fashion.

Based on all of this, if the consumer finds a property they want to purchase, they will be pressured to get their home sold quickly and therefore may be forced to have to sell their home for less in order to guarantee a timely sale to salvage the next purchase. Often times a homeowner has said to me the following “I do not want to put my home on the market yet because I first want to find a place to buy.” If you go that route, just be prepared to sell your home for less to make a quick deal.

On the other edge of the sword is the consumer who puts their home on the market feeling the need to get a deal on their property first so they will not have the above-mentioned problem. However, this sometimes creates new problems. Mainly, if a buyer comes into your home and gives you a fantasgreat offer, you will be under duress to find a place to buy. Basically this means you may have to spend more on the house you want to purchase in order to make a quick deal on the buy side.

This is the double edged sword in a nut shell. Ultimately, the later is the better problem to have. “Why” you may ask? This is due to the fact that when you sell you can always slam on the brakes if it becomes problematic finding a house to buy. You also have many options that can help. As an example, you can go into contract on a deal with your existing property requesting that the buyer give you more time to close. Another option would be to close but negotiate a deal whereby you can stay in your existing house for sometime after the sale (like 6 months for example) in order to find a home to buy. If you do that be prepared to pay the purchasers mortgage interest and real estate taxes on a per diem basis. Usually you will also have to place some money in escrow to insure that you do not damage the house prior to moving out. Yet another option would be to rent temporarily until you find a new permanent home.

In my humble opinion the best thing to do is to get started with both the purchase and the sale at the same time. In other words, put your home on the market and start showing it to perspective buyers and fielding offers. Remember, you will not be accepting an offer unless you fell comfortable with the fact that you will be able to find another home. You can even hold the potential buyers for your house at bay if need be while you look. At least you will get an idea as to how buyers perceive your home and hopefully get several offers to give you an idea as to what your home can sell for.

While you’re doing that you can also start looking at homes to purchase. The hope is that all the “planets align” and at the same moment that you get a great offer you will also find the perfect home for your needs. I will tell you this; I have helped homeowners through this process since 1993 and have done it hundreds of times. It seems as though the “planets align” quite often. The important thing that also makes it work is when you as the consumer make the conscious decision that you want to make a move. If you really want it, it will happen. Always does and always will!

If you have a question or comment regarding this blog entry, submit them below or contact me direct. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Mitchell S. Feldman

Associate Broker/ Director of Sales

Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.

Office: (718) 645-1665/ Cell: (917) 805-0783

Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com

Web sites: www.MitchellFeldman.com and www.MadisonEstates.com

Getting a Mortgage in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)? Lock-in the Rate!

Mitchell Feldman — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:04:00 GMT

Getting a Mortgage in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)? Lock-in the Rate!

The most important first step in purchasing a house is putting together a budget and knowing how much you can spend and what your monthly payments will be. When banks pre-qualify buyers (so to speak), in order to do so they have to look at the buyer's last two years tax returns, last three months bank statements and full factual credit report at a minimal level. The bank will form a ratio of your monthly living expense (mortgage payment, real estate taxes and homeowners insurance) vs your reported income.

Several years ago mortgage rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage were about 6%. At that time if you took a 30 year fixed mortgage at 6% for say $400,000.00 your mortgage payment would have been $2,400.00 per month. Right now (6/25/2010) mortgage rates are the lowest they have been in the history of man. Now you can get a 30 year fixed mortgage with a rate of about 4.375%. This means that if you borrow the same $400,000.00 now with the lower rate you will be paying just $1996.00 per month. Wow... a savings of over $400.00 per month!!

Combine that with the fact that prices in most areas are also down by at least 10% in most parts of Brooklyn over the past two years creates a fantastic buying opportunity for consumers right now. The house you were buying for $450,000.00 in 2008 can now be purchased (in most cases) for $410,000.00. When you take that and the lower mortgage rates into consideration, you would be saving almost $500.00 per month!

This is the first time ever that mortgage rates and home prices are both low relatively speaking. Usually home prices and mortgage rates act conversely. When rates go down prices go up and when rates go up prices go down. I think it is safe to assume that as we move forward, either mortgage rates or home prices will go up. Hence if you wait to buy, you may miss a great opportunity.

So in order purchase you need to prepare a budget and get yourself pre-qualified. Your best bet would be to meet with three banks with all the paperwork I mentioned above and have them run your credit. At that point the banks will be able to explain to you your options and what type of mortgage products they can offer you. Keep in mind that as a buyer you will also incur closing costs associated with your mortgage which generally will be about 5% of the actual loan amount. When you compare banks you have to take into consideration the actual rate they offer you and the closing costs to determine who is offering you the best deal. In addition to that, often times a bank will allow you to"buy down" the rate by paying extra points (1% of the loan amount). The only time you will want to consider doing that is if you are certain that you will not be paying off the loan for a long time.

Here is a list of questions to ask the banks when your getting pre-qualified:

1) What is the rate you can offer me?

2) How much are the closing costs?

3) Do I have to pay any points to get the rate you quoted?

4) Can I buy down the rate and if so how much would that cost?

5) How quickly can you get me a commitment once I put in an actual application?

6) Do you need any other paperwork from me?

7) What other types of loan products do I qualify for (as opposed to a 30 year fixed mortgage) and how will they benefit me?

8) Can I lock-in the rate you are quoting me? If so for how long does the lock-in last? Do I have to pay to lock-in?

With regard to number (8) above... most of the time when a bank quotes you a rate it is NOT locked in. This is because nobody knows how long it will take you to find a house you want to buy. Ultimately when you do negotiate a deal and go into contract to purchase a home, you will then be submitting your actual mortgage application to the bank. Because rates always go up and down, the bank will not be able to lock-in your rate until they know you are actually buying a house. Sometimes buyer chose not to lock-in the rate. In that case you will not know what rate you will actually get until the closing is set up. At that point in time the bank would set the rate at whatever the prevailing rates are (which could be anything, who knows). Sometimes the rate can be what the bank originally quoted, other times is can be very different so you have to be cautious. The best thing to do if you want to be sure is to ask what rate you will be given again at the time you submit your actual mortgage application to the bank. At that juncture, if you happy with the rate you should lock-in!

Here are some additional questions to ask when you lock-in:

1) How much do I have to pay to lock-in?

2) Will that lock-in fee be credited back to me at the closing (usually it will be!)?

3) How long does the lock-in last?

You want to make sure the lock-in will be good long enough for you to close. Speak to your attorney about that to make sure you have enough time. I hope you find this information helpful and informative. If you have a question regarding this blog entry or Brooklyn real estate in general, submit them to my blog or contact me direct. Thanks for reading!!

.AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer} .AOLWebSuite a.hsSig {cursor: default}

Selling a Home in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)? Think about the Appraisal!

Mitchell Feldman — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 02:46:00 GMT

Selling a Home in Brooklyn (or anywhere else)? Think about the Appraisal!

Whenever I put a consumers house up for sale, one of the most frequently asked questions by the homeowner is …. “I heard it is hard for buyers to get mortgages these days, how do we know the buyers will be able to get the mortgage?” The answer to that question is simple... I, your professional real estate agent will check out their qualifications to make sure they can get the loan! However, I must caution that even when we thoroughly check out a buyers income, assets and credit scores, we can never be 100% certain that a buyer can get the mortgage. Generally speaking we can only be 99.9% sure. Do you know why that is? Because if by some stroke of bad luck the buyer loses their job or is run over by a truck (sorry to be so morbid), they will not get the loan. Now, of course, the odds of that happening are extremely remote, but you never know. Hence we can only be 99.9% sure.

When I put a deal into contract, I know that barring an act of g*d, my buyers will get the mortgage. Having said that, there is one item that really should be of bigger concern to a seller in today's market and that would be the BANK APPRAISAL! In case you are not aware, anytime a buyer goes for a mortgage, the bank sends an appraiser to physically check out the house, do research and make sure the house is worth what the buyers are paying based on today's market conditions. The appraiser will first look at the size, condition and location of the house along with the sales price in the contract which primarily becomes the target number. The appraiser will then look at what you call sales comps. These are similar homes that have sold in the area during the last, let's say, three months. The appraiser then does a side by side comparison to determine what the “subject property” (your home) is worth and makes a determination of its value.

If the appraiser's determination is that the house is worth the full sales price or more, all is well. If the appraiser's value comes in for less than the sales price, then there "is no joy in Mudville" so to speak. If the appraisal comes up short, the bank will turn down the loan giving the buyers the right to cancel the deal and get back their down payment. This is very painful for everyone involved, probably the homeowner (seller) more than anyone else. There can be very negative ramifications aside from just losing the deal. As an example, if the seller had gone into contract to purchase another home, that deal would also wind up faltering if the seller was relying on the proceeds of the existing home sale in order to close their next purchase. This is the reason why it is important for anyone selling one house and buying another to get a contingency in their contract to purchase regarding the sale of their existing home! At times this becomes problematic because (follow me here) the owner of the house that the seller is purchasing does not want to give a contingency on selling the existing property. Most of the time a seller's attorney will consider such a contingency to risky.

So the question begs to be asked, what happens if the bank appraisal comes up short? Well it goes a little something like this…You sell your house for $500,000 and the buyers are putting 20% down and seeking 80% financing which would equate to $400,000. If the bank appraisal comes in at $500,000, you are fine. But if the bank appraisal comes in for, say, $475,000... the bank denies the loan! At this point the buyer has the legal right to walk away and get their down payment back. In addition, as another option, the bank may offer to lend the buyers 80% of the appraised value. If you take 80% of $475,000, you have $380,000 the bank is willing to lend which is still $20,000 short of the necessary funds to close the deal. Although they are not obligated to do so, if the buyer is willing and able and chooses to, they can take an addition $20,000 from their bank account and add it to their down payment (making the new down payment $120,000 instead of $100,000) thereby making up the difference. Thus the deal can close. But again, the buyer does not have to do this and many times the buyer will not want to do this because they will feel as though they had overpaid for the house and may rather just walk away. Secondly, the buyer may not have that extra $20,000 to put down and so they would not be able to do so even if they wanted to.

So is there anything else that can be done to salvage the deal? Yes there is! If the seller is willing to they can simply lower the sale price by $20,000 to make up the difference and the deal will close! Again, the main thing is to make up the difference! I recently had a deal where the appraisal came up $20,000 short and the buyer put an additional $10,000 down and the seller took $10,000 off the sale price and made it work. They both felt a little pain but at least the deal closed!

If you are concerned about your home being able to appraise there are several precautionary measures you can take to help the cause. For example:

1) If you are relying on proceeds of the sale of your existing home to purchase your next home, make sure you get a contingency regarding selling your existing home written into your contract of purchase.

2) Have your real estate agent pull up recent sales of homes similar to yours justifying your sales price and provide them to the appraiser when he comes to appraise the house. If your agent has a hard time coming up with those comps, it will be very difficult for the appraiser to come up with them. It that case, be afraid…very afraid!

3) When the appraiser goes through your home, compile a list of all the updates and improvements you have done to the house which may increase its value (roof, electric, siding, etc.)

4) If you have a buyer giving an all cash offer, strongly consider it even if it is not your highest bid. If someone is buying all cash, there is no appraisal and you will not have this problem!

5) If you have a buyer coming in with a big down payment (50%), strongly consider it even if it is not your highest bid because in that case even if the house appraises for a little less, generally speaking it will not be a problem because the bank is only concerned that the loan amount not be more than 80% of the homes value.

If as a seller you do have a problem with the appraisal coming in short, you should be very open mined to giving the buyer some financial consideration to salvage the deal. Something is better than nothing. If your faced with the deal dying, and are still going to want to sell your home, keep in mind that when the next buyer comes in, unless you sell for less, you will most likely have the same appraisal problem again. Of course if not selling your home and just staying for like another 5 years is an option, then you do not have to worry about it.

I hope you find this information helpful and informative. If you have a question regarding this blog entry or Brooklyn real estate in general, submit them to my blog or contact me. Thanks for reading!!

Sincerely,
Mitchell S. Feldman
Associate Broker/ Director of Sales
Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665/ Cell: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com
Web Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com and www.MadisonEstates.com

Listing Your Brooklyn Home For Sale? Watch the Commission Split!

Mitchell Feldman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:38:00 GMT

Listing Your Brooklyn Home For Sale? Watch the Commission Split!

Getting A Better Price For Your Home

In order to sell a home for the highest price possible, it is important that your property be well exposed to potential buyers. Without the highest possible level of exposure, many buyers will not know your home is for sale. It is all about supply and demand. If there are less people looking at your home, the demand goes down and so will your ultimate selling price.

The Right Real Estate Agent

Homeowners list their homes with real estate agents because of the high level of exposure the agent provides, usually resulting in higher sales prices.

Choosing the right real estate agent is complicated because their fees and level of service vary. Agents that do more for the homeowner charge higher fees and are usually worth it. On the other hand, those that charge low fees do less for the home owner. Also, offices that take a low fee often cannot make a profit and survive.

Unfortunately, many agents cannot secure business from homeowners based on their knowledge and skills, so they offer lower prices to attract business. Homeowners should be wary of these so called “discount” offices because given the profit margin they are working on, they cannot afford to do as much to expose the property. Like the old adage says “you get what you pay for.”

Commission Split

In Brooklyn, the vast majority of brokers are members of the Brooklyn New York Multiple Listing Service (MLS). When an agent submits a new listing to the MLS, if any agent other than the listing agent sells the property, the agreed upon commission from the homeowner gets split between those agents and their respective offices. It is important to note that 85% of the deals made with homes listed on MLS actually involve two agents, one being the listing agent and one being the selling agent. This is due to the fact that there are over 2400 agents who are members of the MLS. This is also a testament to the power of the MLS.

Real estate agents and offices can charge any commission and offer any split to cooperating agents they choose. It is illegal for real estate offices to collude and fix commission amounts and/or splits with their competitors.

In recent years, some agents and brokers have changed the way they do business in an attempt to make more money—sometimes to the homeowner's detriment. What some agents are doing is offering a very low commission split to the selling agent. For example... if a property's agreed to commission was 6% and the commission was split 50/50 with the cooperating broker, each office would get 3%. This split would attract all MLS agents to sell the property because they are being offered a strong incentive.

Sometimes an agent reaches an agreement with the property owner to list the property for a discounted commission— let's say 4%. The homeowner figures they will be saving 2% so they are enticed to list with that office. However, in order to stay profitable, many times that office submits the property to MLS offering only 1% to the selling agent, hence the discount they gave to the homeowner is reflected in a lower commission to the selling agent while the listing agent keeps a full 3% for themselves.

Now, imagine you were a real estate agent working with buyers. You see five homes you want to show the buyers—you notice that on two of the listings your reward is 3%, on another two it is 2%, and on the third it is only 1%. Which homes would you show first? Which homes would you show with more enthusiasm? Which home would you choose to not even show?

If an agent is going to offer a low split to cooperating brokers, it basically defeats the purpose and benefit of the MLS. It begs the question, why wouldn't they simply keep the listing to themselves as an office exclusive and then they would not have to split the commission at all? The answer is that most homeowners are aware of the power of the exposure afforded with MLS and want their property to be placed on the MLS. Therefore, the agent places the property with MLS but offers a split so low that most agents would not want to show the property, or at best it would be the last house they would show.

I was recently negotiating a deal and learned that the listing agent was getting a 6% commission but offering only 1% to the selling broker. This is the equivalent of an 84/16 split!

Conclusion

Aside from the total commission awarded to the selling agent, there are several factors that should be considered when listing your home for sale with an agent. The seller should ask the following questions to the agent being considered:

a) Will the property be placed on the Multiple Listing

Service?

b) How will the commission be split with selling agents?

c) How will the property be marketed? And—

d) How long is the listing period? (You do not want to lock yourself up to the wrong broker for 5 years.)

If you have any thoughts regarding this blog entry please leave a comment or contact me!

Brooklyn Real Estate Pricing Theory 101

Mitchell Feldman — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:35:00 GMT

Brooklyn Real Estate Pricing Theory 101

Selling real estate is not the same as selling milk! As is the case with most things in life, figuring out a fair price for the item is relatively easy. A gallon of milk is a gallon of milk no matter where you go and of course we all know that here in Brooklyn the going rate is about $3.00.

If I said I would give you a dollar if you gave me eighty-five cents, would you do it? Of course you would! Now what if I told you I would give you a dollar for $1.05, would you do it? Of course NOT! Well, when a homeowner tries to sell their property for more than it is worth, that is basically what they are trying to do.

You see, when it comes to real estate, just like a dollar bill, a house is simply worth what it is worth. The only thing that makes real estate different when it comes to pricing is that a) beauty is in the eyes of the beholder so the opinion of value can differ from person to person and b) buyers and seller's motivations may differ causing them to buy or not buy. The same could be said for sellers. In the end, if either the buyer or the sellers are not being realistic, chances are they will not make a deal.

Being that property values are so subjective, how can we figure out exactly how much a home is worth? The answer is that we cannot. However, when looking at the facts, we can make certain assumptions and conclusions and at least get a good ball park estimate. Now I am sure you will all agree that here in Brooklyn, you have many neighborhoods and/or blocks where the homes are relatively cookie cutter. Don't get me wrong, houses are like babies, no two are exactly a like, but some are very, very, very similar! If you look at a block where all the homes are attached brick one family houses with three bedrooms, etc...they were almost exactly the same, right? The only thing that varies is condition. The point I am driving at it this, if I see that 8 of those homes on that imaginary block sold in the past year or so, and let's say the sale prices were $400,000, $405,000, $500,000, $450,000, $460,000, $475,000, $425,000 and $465,000, it is safe to assume that the average sale prices of these types of similar homes would be $447,500. So a good way to calculate values on these types of homes would be to simply look at the condition of the home itself and figure out where it falls on the "condition" scale. Is it poor, average, excellent or totally renovated. I would dare to say that the home in average condition would be worth about $450,000, the house in poor condition may be worth $400,000 and the house that is totally renovated may be worth $500,000 (or maybe $520, 000 if it is really nice!).

So...if you are a buyer trying to purchase one of these imaginary homes and think your going to be able to purchase one for say $300,000, it ain't going to happen! Alternatively, if you are a homeowner trying to sell one of these imaginary homes and you want to sell it for $750,000, it ain't going to happen. Both buyers and seller have to look at and be willing to face reality in order to accomplish their goals.

I want to point out that on some blocks the homes may not be so "cookie cutter" and as a matter of fact, some neighborhoods have a very diverse set of different types of homes which could make determining value a little harder. In the end you simply have to review all the homes that have sold as of late, the other homes actively listed for sale right now, the condition and exact location of the home being sold along with current market conditions to figure out the property's potential value. Some are easier than others, but I will tell you one thing...the BUYERS know! Most buyers look at tons of homes before they buy and they know what is out there & at what price! Plus it is very easy for them to do research and find factual sale information online.

Most buyers who start looking for homes these days will quickly realize that 9 out of 10 homes that are actively for sale, here in Brooklyn are overpriced! Hence, when a buyer sees a home that is priced "right" they get emotional and act on it, and they will probably buy it!

All of this is what led me to write this entry on my Brooklyn real estate blog. The goal here is to give consumers thinking about selling their homes advice on how to price their property so as to achieve their needs. Here are the main thoughts I want to get across that you as a homeowner should keep in mind when setting your asking price in today's market (from January 2010 through July 2010):

Have a professional licensed real estate agent meet with you at your home and give you an opinion of your homes value. You may even want to have several agents do this. Agents do not charge for this service and typically refer to it as a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). The agents will usually bring you over comparable sale information and expound on why they feel your home is worth the numbers they express to you.
Always try to ask the lowest price possible and plan to be firm!! There is a psychological game that buyers and seller play, its human nature. The seller is willing to accept $500,000 for their home; however they feel they have to ask $550,000 because the buyer will always try to "chew me down." On the same token, when the buyers view this home, they feel it is worth $500,000, but given that the seller is asking $550,000, they feel a need to offer only $450,000 in order the "get the seller to come down to reality." When the $450,000 is presented to the seller, guess what ... nothing happens. Why? Well, the seller feels the "house has only been on the market for 2 weeks and I can wait!" Then the seller does not give a counter offer feeling that the buyers are "just not realistic." When the buyers do not get a counter offer, they refuse to raise their offer because they do not want to negotiate "against themselves!" So as I said nothing happens. Ultimately the house will sell the $500,000 it is worth but only after lots of misery, if they are lucky. Once a house sits on the market for a long time it gets stale and stigmatized and the way the market has been performing as of late, they may be forced to accept an offer of $480,000 out of desperation. As a seller your best bet is to ask the lowest price possible which will create an environment of excitement for the buyers and they will see the value and want to buy your home as opposed to all the others on the market which are not good deals
Always throw a “9” into the price, ask $599,000 as opposed to $600,000, need I say anything more on this? It is also good to make the asking price a little unusual (i.e. $194,500). It gives the appearance that you have given much thought to your asking price. Hopefully the buyers will give it just as much thought! :)
Look at other homes that are for sale right now that are comparable to yours and price yours below all the rest! This will make your home look like a bargain.
Don’t worry about setting your price too low! If your price is below market, all the REAL buyers will see that it is a great deal and you will wind up getting several full price offers. Once that happens you will be in a strong negotiating position where you can then impart unto all the buyers the following “We now have several offers at or above the full price, hence the old asking price is merely a guideline as the home will be selling for above that price. If you want this house you need to give your highest and best offer my midnight tomorrow and the house will be sold to the highest bidder.” Buyers will be so emotionally involved at this point that they would offer more than they would have if the house was priced higher like every other property on the market that is just sitting there.
Some homeowners think that you cannot raise the asking price, this is simply not true. You can raise the price but the only time you would want to do that would be if you had several full price offers. The bottom line is that if you are not getting good offers based on the price you are asking, raising the price will only cause your property not to be shown. Also, if you’re not getting offer or if you’re not getting good offers, it is an indication that your price is to high. This is scary because in most cases it would mean that you are at least 10% too high and if the numbers don’t work it may be a better idea not to sell the house right now.
If you have a real estate agent helping you sell your home (which in my opinion you always should!), never enter into any conversation regarding price with a buyer, other agent or anyone else for that matter. Always instruct the person who ask you anything about your price to “please speak to my agent regarding any questions you have about the price.” If they have a question about your home, answer it honestly, but price questions should only be handled by your agent!

If you have any comments or questions regarding this article, please submit them to this blog or call me as I would love your feedback.

Mitchell S. Feldman
Associate Broker/ Director of Sales
Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665 Cell: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com
Web Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com

© Copyright by Mitchell Feldman. All Rights Reserved. Republication or redistribution of this material is expressly prohibited without prior written consent by Mitchell Feldman. This information is deemed reliable but not 100% guaranteed. Mitchell Feldman is not at attorney and therefore not able to give legal advice. If you are involved in a real estate transaction and have a question, besides speaking to Mitchell, you should also speak to your attorney.

Mortgage Rates Sink to Historic Low Level in Brooklyn (and anywhere else!)! (12/04/2009)

Mitchell Feldman — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:04:00 GMT

Mortgage Rates Sink to Historic Low Level in Brooklyn (and anywhere else!)!

If you picked up today's New York Daily News (12/04/2009) and turned to page 62 you saw the article "Mortgage Rates Sink." The fact is that mortgage rates on a 30 year fixed loan as of today have dipped down to 4.71%. This is the lowest that mortgage rates have ever gone since finance giant Freddie Mac began tracking rates back in 1971! There was also an article about this in today's Chicago Tribune which you can read here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tc-biz-rates-1203-1204-dec04,0,7133013.story

     This means that if qualified, you will be paying less than $520.00 for every $100,000 you borrow on a monthly basis. If you borrow $400,000 you would be paying only $2080.00. After you add in real estate taxes and homeowner's insurance you would still be spending less than $2,500.0 per month if you were to purchase a home in Brooklyn (based on average tax and insurance rates and a purchase price of $500,000 with 20% down). Combine that with the income tax write off you get when you purchase a home to be your primary residence and the end result is that it would cost you less to own a house than it would to rent!

     In addition and as per my last blog entry (www.homegain.com/blogs/mitchellsfeldman-507663/Homebuyer-Tax-Credit-is-Coming-Back-to-Brooklyn-or-anywhere-else-Better--Stronger) as a first time buyer you can get a $8,000 tax credit if you get into contract by April 30, 2010 and close before July 1, 2010 (some restrictions apply, read my previous blog entry). Even if you’re an existing homeowner selling your primary residence and purchasing another property, you will get a $6,500.00 tax credit (again, some restrictions apply, see my previous blog entry for more details).

     In my opinion the planets are aligned right now making it the perfect time to purchase. Home values have gone down over the past three years making today's prices very attractive and there are lots of homes to look at. Combining that with the fact that many buyers wait until the springtime to begin their home search opens up an opportunity for the buyers who are looking to have less competition. This puts the buyer in a stronger negotiating position.

     NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY! Think about it... What are the chances that interest rates will stay low, prices will stay down, inventory to remain high and competition among buyers to be low AND the government offering you thousands of dollars to go out and buy a house? If you’re a betting man, it all adds up to BUY NOW!

     Have an opinion or question, please submit them to this blog or contact me!

Mitchell Feldman
Associate Broker/Director of Sales
Madison Estates & Properties, Inc.
Office: (718) 645-1665/Cellular: (917) 805-0783
Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com
Web site: www.MitchellFeldman.com

© Copyright by Mitchell Feldman. All Rights Reserved. Republication or redistribution of this material is expressly prohibited without prior written consent by Mitchell Feldman. This information is deemed reliable but not 100% guaranteed. Mitchell Feldman is not at attorney and therefore not able to give legal advice. If you are involved in a real estate transaction and have a question, besides speaking to Mitchell, you should also speak to your attorney.

Mortgage Rates Sink to Historic Low Level in Brooklyn! (12/04/2009)

Mitchell Feldman — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:04:00 GMT

The Homebuyer Tax Credit is Coming Back and it's even Better than it was Before!

Mitchell Feldman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:02:00 GMT

The Homebuyer tax credit is back and better than ever!! Read my "Brooklyn Real Estate Blog" entry about it:

Click her: http://tinyurl.com/ygo894m

Happy days are here again!

Homebuyer Tax Credit is Coming Back and it's even Better than it was Before!

Mitchell Feldman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:02:00 GMT

The Homebuyer tax credit is back and better than ever!! Read my "Brooklyn Real Estate Blog" entry about it:

Click her: http://tinyurl.com/ygo894m

Happy days are here again!