Violations of Loft Law Put Landlords In Jeopardy Throughout NYC

A new article by Real Estate Weekly highlights the jeopardy landlords are placed in by violating the Loft Laws.  As many as 339 buildings throughout the City are sanctioned as a result of the law and 264 buildings lack a Certificate of Occupancy meaning that tenants can withhold rent until the buildings are brought up to code.  This has led to many landlords not receiving rent for years resulting in bankruptcies, pre-emptive sales and buyouts by tenants.  It has also led to deteriorating conditions in the buildings due to revenue not being produced to fix repairs.

According to the article, the states interim multiple dwelling (IMD), has given tenants of illegally-converted lofts a tremendous amount of leverage over the process of getting the units compliant with the law.  Property owners have complained about renters not assisting with allowing access to the units for the necessary fixes.  Also tenants must agree to the improvements that must be made by the landlords.  Landlords have nine months to complete the first phase of compliance, which includes compiling reports about the present state of the building and how it will look once improvements are made.  Jason Frosch, a Loft Law specialist at the law firm Borah Goldstein says that a building owner on average will have a year to obtain a certificate of occupancy before tenants can go on perpetual rent strike. However, since most of them former factories and warehouses that’s nearly impossible to do. He states that “the requirements of the Loft Law are costly and time-consuming.  The law doesn’t acknowledge that reality and it requires owners to front those costs while allowing the tenants to deprive them of a revenue stream that is necessary to pay those costs by withholding rent. And it creates a perverse incentive for certain tenants to delay the process and obtain a windfall for doing so."

The IMD drafted in the 1980's was initially aimed warehouses in Soho, Chelsea and Tribeca.  The new updates to the IMD from 2010 also targets warehouses in what is deemed industrial sites located in Williamsburg, Dumbo, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene, Park Slope and Long Island City.
Senator Martin Malavé Dilan, a Democrat from northern Brooklyn has introduced a bill allowing owners more time to make improvements before tenants could withhold rent. That bill was not voted for by the legislature and owners are hoping that they will open a special session to vote on it.  It is uncertain whether they would have the votes to have it pass at this time.

Blue Harbour Property Management is a full service NYC property management company servicing the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.  Whether it be a 1 bedroom condo or multi-family building we are able to assist our clients maximize their investments.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/violations-of-loft-law-put-landlords-in-jeopardy-throughout-nyc/

PropertyShark Report for 2nd Quarter Shows TriBeca Remain As NYC's Most Priciest Neighborhood, Queens Has 2 Neighborhoods Hit $1 Million Dollar Mark

PropertyShark, an online resource provide in-depth data information for over 90 million properties nationwide produced their 2nd quarter of 2018 report of the 50 most priciest neighborhoods in New York City.  The report indicates that although there was a 26% year over year drop, Tribeca remained as the most priciest neighborhood in New York City.  Also around the city, Queens saw two neighborhoods hit the #1 million dollar mark and Homecrest in Brooklyn saw the most significant change in the median price change in the top 50 most priciest neighborhoods.  Manhattan had 9 out of the top 10 priciest neighborhoods throughout New York City.

In Manhattan, Tribeca is overwhelmingly the priciest neighborhood in the city with median sales prices for the quarter at $3,812,500.  As states prices dropped 26% year over year with a total of 62 transactions for the quarter.  SoHo remained at #2 with pricing at $2,925,00 which was an increase of 17% with 27 transactions.  The highest quantity of transactions in the top 50 were also in Manhattan.  The Upper East Side is tops on the list with 600 transactions followed by the Upper West Side with 579.

In Brooklyn there are two significant takeaways from the report.  The first is DUMBO is the most priciest neighborhood in all of Brooklyn and #3 overall in the city.  DUMBO saw prices increase 37% to a median sales price of $2,512,500.  There were 16 transactions overall in the neighborhood.  The second significant takeaway was in Homecrest Brooklyn.  For those unfamiliar, Homecrest is a neighborhood in Sheepshead Bay.  The borders are Kings Highway to the north, Avenue X to the south, Coney Island Avenue to the west, and Ocean Avenue to the east. Homecrest, the #45 most priciest neighborhood saw an overall increase of 80% to a price of $725,000 on 25 transactions.

Queens saw 2 neighborhoods hit the $1 million dollar mark.  Belle Harbor became the #16 most priciest neighborhood.  Belle Harbor saw an increase in price of 40% with median prices at $1,180,000 on 5 transactions.  Hunters Point came in at #25 on 49 transactions and a median price of $1,000,000.  Other significant neighborhoods coming in the top 50 in Queens were #34 tie East Flushing ($880,000.00), #34 tie ($880,000.00), #37 Auburndale ($856,500.00) and #38 Hollis Hills ($850,000.00).

Blue Harbour Property Management is a full service NYC property management company servicing the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.  Whether it be a 1 bedroom condo or multi-family building we are able to assist our clients maximize their investments.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/propertyshark-report-for-2nd-quarter-shows-tribeca-remain-as-nycs-most-priciest-neighborhood-queens-has-2-neighborhoods-hit-1-million-dollar-mark/

Brooklyn Remains Top Sellers' Market in NYC According to New Study

Investors in the market are always looking for the most advantageous deals.  Sellers are  looking for the optimal time to cash out on their property. A new study by StreetEasy indicates that the deals are spread out more throughout the City while the sellers'  have more power in Brooklyn.  The Buyer/Seller survey looked into several factors in determining what is the best to both categories.  The factors included on what they call the Buyer/Seller index included factors as:

• Time on market
• Price cuts
• Sold price in relation to asking price

Based on the criteria it was found that Brooklyn maintained its lead for sellers looking to cash out.  The best neighborhoods for sellers along with the median sales prices according to the index were:

Kensington- Brooklyn $515,000

Prospect Heights- Brooklyn $735,000

Fort Greene-Brooklyn $ 682,720

Cobble Hill-Brooklyn $1,330,000

Lower East Side in Manhattan  $775,000

The neighborhoods that are tougher to sell are spread throughout the boroughs. These are areas that units are harder to sell and prices are reduced in order to close transactions:

Kew Gardens Hills - $248,000

Canarsie - $380,000

Sheepshead Bay - $390,250

Midtown - $1.45 million

SoHo - $3.29 million

This information should assist he investor make informative decisions in determining where to purchase their next property.  There is much more wiggle room when it comes to negotiating prices in the Buyer’s index.  The index can assist you prepare your finances accordingly in order to get into these markets.  Determining what the market and future rents can be are will also help in determining whether this will potentially be an overall profitable investment for your real estate portfolio.

If you are in need of management of your property or properties in NYC then Blue Harbour Property Management is the company for you.  We can help you determine what is the value of your investment and cater to it so you can maximize the revenue potential.

http://www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com/brooklyn-remains-top-sellers-market-according-new-study/

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