Helpful COVID-19 resources for you

Creating an Office for Your Home-Based Business

Image via Pexels There are plenty of benefits of working from home: your commute disappears, you can work in your pajamas if you want to, and the hours are far more flexible than if you were in an office building. However, one major drawback for some home-based business owners is lacking a dedicated office space. If you don’t have space in your home for an office, make it a priority so you can be more productive and successful as a…

The New Rent Laws: What You Need To Know (For Now) by Jessica Feder-Birnbaum

The new rent laws that went into affect in June 2019 have been overhauled to protect tenants. Landlords and management companies are scrambling to be law abiding and stay profitable. As with any new system, there’s a learning curve. Landlord feedback is that the laws skew too highly in favor of tenants. How pushback will alter these policies remains to be seen. Whether you’re a rent stabilized or market rate tenant, read on to see what these changes are and…

Annual Meetings – A Breakdown in Real Time

If you are a New York City coop or condo owner you may have received a notice to attend your building’s annual shareholder (for coops) or unit owner (for condominiums) annual meeting. These meetings tend to proliferate in May and June. Building bylaws follow guidelines that were developed under the Business Corporation Law (BCL) for coops, and The New York Condo Act for condominiums. One of these rules is that a building or community’s bylaws will dictate specifically what month…

Numbers Are In, Here’s Your Q2 Breakdown

By Robert Varvara, The Steven Cohen Team at Corcoran Manhattan’s challenging real estate market welcomed reassuring news in Second Quarter 2019. Market-wide sales increased year-over-year for the first time in two years, up 5% annually to over 3,300 sales totaling $7 billion, about $1 billion more sold than last year. However, this information can be misleading as this increase in closed sales is due to two main reasons:  New Development Closings–  Q2 sales mainly increased due to an 82% spike in new…

Everything You Need to Know if Purchasing After July 1st in NYC

Written by: Robert Varvara, The Steven Cohen Team at The Corcoran Group As New York City continues to experience a desperate need for funds to improve vital infrastructure, legislators look to homeowners in the city’s high-end luxury market. Amid confusion and substantial opposition surrounding the ‘pied-a-terre tax’, answers finally became clear when April rolled around. The so-called “millionaire’s tax” would be an annual charge on any apartment or house in NYC valued at over $5M that serves as a secondary…

Neighborhood Guide to North Brooklyn’s Iconic Hipster ‘Hoods

The North Brooklyn neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick have a similar vibe and lifestyle. A long standing Hassidic and Dominican neighborhood, Williamsburg’s transformation to arts enclave come hipster HQ began in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s. When artists were priced out of Manhattan’s downtown villages, they sought new digs, preferably with live/work art spaces and easy access to the galleries, theaters, and vibrant creative community they’d left behind. Enter north Brooklyn. The neighborhood of Williamsburg had everything the artists were…

Real Estate Happenings

It is a great time to have a listing on the market in Long Island City – with the buzz surrounding Amazon’s decision to split their new headquarters between Long Island City, NY and Crystal City, VA attendance at open houses has shot up and investors are focused on these new hot neighborhoods. While homebuyers have often sought out more square footage for a smaller price tag in the outer boroughs there was a palpable spike in interest just after…

Neighborhood Guide to Greenwich Village

by Camille Coric. Known for its dynamic parks, lively nightlife, young population and prime position in Lower Manhattan, Greenwich Village is a gem of New York City. From food to what the locals won’t tell you, here is your complete guide to Greenwich Village. Housing Cheapest you can get At the moment, the cheapest listing on the market in Greenwich village is a studio on Houston Street for $2,050. The average rent price in Greenwich Village is $4,197 so this…

How To Prepare A Rental Application That Gets Approved

By Jessica Feder-Birnbaum As a licensed real estate agent, I’ve received countless distraught calls from prospective renters when apartments they have applied for have “fallen through.” After submitting numerous client applications, I’ve learned several steps to take so an application doesn’t get denied. Whether you work with a broker or search on your own, here’s what you need to know to prepare a winning rental application. Qualifications Do your homework.  You don’t want to fall in love with an apartment…