Tag: NY Real Estate

I really liked Vivian S. Toy’s recent article “The Apartment Critic” in the New York Times, and wanted to share it with you. Vivian has visited over 600 Manhattan apartments in the last five years for her “On The Market” page in the NYT’s Real Estate Section. Being required her to narrow down each apartment she’s viewed to highlight the Pro’s and Con’s has provided her with a unique perspective on Manhattan real estate. She makes some key takeaways: 1) Be upfront about both the pros and the cons about an apartment with a client – that builds trust between a broker and buyer. 2) Design choices can minimize a con, but sometimes too customized a design choice can become a con and lead to lowered value and longer time on the market 3) and the important acceptance of “To live in New York is to embrace compromise, how else could we live as we do, cheek by jowl and in such limited spaces?”

I think that’s one of the hardest mental hurdles first-time Manhattan buyers need to embrace – Read more…

Leave a Comment »

New York’s power couple, Barry Diller (IAC) and Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) recently donated another $20 million to Friends of the High Line, to support the continuation of the park up to Hudson Yards. Opened in 2009, the park has become a huge attraction for New Yorkers and tourists alike attracting as many as 2 Million visitors a year. Recently I took a walk on the newly extended portion of the High Line – it is hard to convey the serenity one feels walking 40 feet above the street level past all these amazingly modern and old loft buildings without experiencing it first-hand. Sum it up to say that between the plantings, the tourists ‘on holidays’ taking pictures and the lack of street noise or grit, it’s a bit of like floating over Manhattan. Read more…

Leave a Comment »

In 2007, when anything went, a lot on the SW corner of Leonard St and West Broadway which housed a sports bar became a construction site. There rose 34 Leonard St. A small handsome building with 16 units, which tried to integrate the Loft Exteriors of the neigbhorhood into the design. It also tried to capture the essence of the time, naming it’s own Sommelier for the project. Yes, your apartment was coming with a wine-specialist. Much was hoped for it, however it failed to close buyers. Perhaps among other things one major drawback was that it was a Condop (a Coop with Condo rules) in a condo world. The developer had to lease the land it was being built on, so it could not be a condo.

Why do land lease buildings get a bad rap? Read more…

Leave a Comment »

Last week my wonderful client closed on a Brooklyn Heights Apartment. It was a happy day for her because the deal almost didn’t happen.  The instant we walked into the One Bedroom apartment on Montague St, we knew that it was “the one”.  While in need of some touch ups, the views of Manhattan and New York harbor were phenomenal!  Add windows on three sides and it was a done deal. Or was it? Read more…

Leave a Comment »