How to land an apartment in NYC

Getting Started

Renters Should Be Sprinters

AT first blush, it doesn’t make much sense: If you know you’ll need an apartment in New York in several months, why can’t you start a serious search now, rather than wait until your move-in date is just a few weeks away?

The short window of opportunity for an apartment hunt is a fact of life in the city. In large part, it’s a function of limited supply and high demand — landlords believe that the greater the number who see an apartment, the more rent it can command. And renters may not want to commit ahead of time, fearful of missing out on something better or cheaper.

Read the full Story here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/realestate/getting-started-why-renting-is-such-a-mad-dash.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

Wishing you all a Happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Innovative use to showcase condo model apartments as pop-up markets

Even consumers who are not in the market for a new apartment should stop by some model units to shop, because in some locations, shoppers can buy everything that's inside. NY1's Real Estate reporter Jill Urban filed the following report.


Model units are designed to help buyers feel right at home, but at one building in Long Island City, Queens, all shoppers are welcome to come in, have seat, and if they like it, they can buy it.

"We’ve turned a model unit into a pop-up shop. So pretty much everything in the apartment is for sale, whether it’s a piece of art or furniture. If you like it, you can buy it," says Modern Spaces NYC President Eric Benaim.

Some developers are turning vacant spaces into temporary art galleries, but at the Yard in Long Island City, they are taking it one step further. There, the model homes are actually furnished and designed by artists, and all their work is for sale.

Benaim brought the developer and the artists' cooperative We Are Familia together for the project, and it has proven to be a win-win situation.

Click here for full story and link to video: http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/real_estate/149921/some-model-units-have-become-pop-up-stores-of-their-own

Port Authority approves cheaper glass covering for the base of 1 WTC

1 WTC gets new, cheaper glass covering for base

November 16, 2011 09:30AM

1 World Trade Center

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has approved a new glass covering for the 20-story base of 1 World Trade Center, Crain's reported. The initial plans to clad the 185-foot-tall concrete base of the forthcoming tower in special prismatic glass fell through because of manufacturing difficulty and a susceptibility to shattering.

The new glass covering will be significantly cheaper for the Port Authority. The agency will pay $37.2 million to Permasteelisa North America Corp to engineer and install stainless steel slat panels around the base and cover it with glass fins, which will reflect light during the day. That compares to the $82 million contracted for the original plans. Crain's could not determine how much of that was actually paid out.

The installation will begin in 2013 and should keep construction on the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill-designed tower on track. Port Authority Chairman David Samson said the new plan "provides a practical way to cover the tower's secure base, and give it an innovative, inviting look for the thousands of workers who will be employed there and the millions of tourists who will visit it."

Safety concerns have loomed over the construction of the tower, as special measures were taken to ensure the stability of the bottom 20 floors. As a result, those floors will not have office space. [Crain's]

NYU Expansion plans delayed until 2012

It looks like New York University won't be laying the groundwork for formal city approval of its ambitious 20-year expansion plan until the New Year.
To proceed with its plan to add 3 million square feet to its campus in Greenwich Village and areas around Washington Square Park, the university needs city zoning approvals. NYU had originally hoped to begin the lengthy public-approval process known as Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which takes up to seven months, before the end of the year. But at the request of Community Board 2, NYU sent the board a letter on Nov. 3 indicating that it will postpone its plans.
“We were ready [to begin] at the end of November, early December, but received a request from the community board leadership and agreed to hold our submission until after the holidays, in January,” said Alicia Hurley, vice president of government affairs and community engagement at NYU.
The university's 2031 expansion plans have been opposed by preservationists and some local community groups, who believe that NYU is overbuilding in the neighborhood. In an effort to appease some opponents, in September NYU announced that it tweaked its plans and ensured that two city-owned plots along LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, on the east and west sides of Washington Square Village, will remain parkland. It also said no portion of its two proposed academic buildings will rest on the parkland.


Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20111111/REAL_ESTATE/111119969#ixzz1dmn1dWIm

Average City Rental Prices Near All-Time High

A new fall report finds the Manhattan rental market is hot, but New Yorkers looking for a rental can still get a better deal. NY1's Real Estate reporter Jill Urban filed the following report.

Anyone looking for a rental in Manhattan knows the market is tight. A new report released by Citi Habitats shows the numbers in the city are still holding strong.

"The average studio rents for just shy of $2,000 a month, typical one-bedroom is around $2,700, a two-bedroom is just shy of $3,800 and three-bedrooms are just close to $5,000," says Citi Habitats President Gary Malin. "Obviously that includes everything from super-luxury down to walk-ups, but still the blended average is still very high."
Watch the Video and get the full story here: http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/real_estate/150302/average-city-rental-prices-near-all-time-high

Real Estate Board of NY sets up fund for Marion Hedges

If you'd like to help the broker who was injured when two kids threw a shopping cart from a mall overhead parking lot striking her in the head, as she walked by with her son, please see below:

As many of you may know from media coverage, REBNY member Marion Hedges of Prudential Douglas Elliman was critically injured by a falling shopping cart at Costco on October 30^th.

A fund has been set up at the Brick Presbyterian Church to help provide Marion with crucial assistance in her rehabilitation and recovery. We thought we would pass along the following message on how to donate to the fund from Laila Al-Askari, the Church's Director of Administration and Finance.

 The Brick Church will accept checks for the benefit/care of Marion Hedges. Checks should be made payable to: The Brick Church Please write in the Memo Line: Marion Hedges
Mail checks to :
Laila Marie Al-Askari
Director of Administration and Finance The Brick Presbyterian Church
62 East 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
Phone: 212 289-4400 x257Fax: 212 996-7078
lal-askari@brickchurch.org

Rudin managment moves forward with development plans for former St. Vincent's Hospital site.

 

By JOSH BARBANEL

The walls of doctors' offices have been knocked down and replaced with light-filled kitchens and curved plaster moldings in a building that was once part of the St. Vincent's Hospital campus, as the first signs of a rebirth emerge at the bitterly fought-over hospital site.

The 12-story building, plus penthouse, at 130 W. 12th St. near Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village housed medical and administrative offices and some staff apartments for St. Vincent's. It was sold for $55 million in January 2010, a few months before the hospital closed.

Now the site in the Greenwich Village Historic District is being restored by the Rudin Family Development into what had been its original use upon completion in 1941: an apartment building.

Stribling Marketing Associates is scheduled to open an on-site sales office on Monday, offering 42 condominius priced between $1.4 million and $12.85 million. The building is due to open next spring.

That is to be followed by a much larger development by the Rudins on the main hospital site featuring as many as 450 market-rate condominiums. Due to be completed in 2015, it is to include a 203-foot-high tower on Seventh Avenue that has engendered opposition from preservationists. The Rudins paid $260 million for the site in bankruptcy court earlier this year.

The restoration of 130 W. 12th St. into apartments with asking prices averaging nearly $2,000 per square foot has faced little opposition, and there is a list of 200 potential buyers waiting for appointments on the new on-site sales office, according to William C. Rudin, the chief executive of Rudin Management.
Get Full Story Here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203716204577018311356803418.html?mod=WSJ_NY_RealEstate_LEFTTopStories

ING New York City Marathon

 

 

Photograph: Jean-Pierre Durand

Good news, couch potatoes: You don’t have to slog through all 26.2 miles to enjoy marathon festivities. This year, organizers have planned more events pegged to the annual contest than ever before, so whether you’re pounding the pavement or aching at the thought of it, our guide will get you prepped and pumped for race day.
Health and Fitness Expo
The Javits Center will be transformed into a running mecca for the three days leading up to the race. There you can watch The Road to the Finish, a panoramic film that documents the marathon through all five boroughs; grab training tips from sports science experts; and purchase just about any type of jogging paraphernalia. 655 W 34th St at Eleventh Ave. Thu 3, Fri 4 10am–8pm; Sat 9am–5pm. Free.

Read Full Story Here: http://newyork.timeout.com/things-to-do/this-week-in-new-york/2166155/ing-new-york-city-marathon?package=80740

Are you planning on purchasing a condo in NY? Important things to know to successfully close on your new home

Many buyers prefer to purchase condominiums  because of the flexibilty you generally don't have when purchasing a coop or a condop. Condops are basically coops that adapt the terms that you'd generally come to expect when choosing a condo.
When you purchase a condo you don't have have board approval in order to get into the building, and avoiding a potential coop board rejection.
However there can be some pitfalls if you don't plan properly and do some research.

Getting Started

Homework for Condo Buyers

By JIM RENDON

Published: October 27, 2011

IN a city like New York with an aging housing stock — much of it suffering from deferred maintenance — brand-new condominiums have an obvious appeal. Luxury amenities like pools, screening rooms, children’s play areas and high-end finishes can look pretty good when compared with a musty prewar building or a featureless postwar high-rise.

And, curb appeal aside, new apartments dominate the sales market in popular or gentrifying neighborhoods like Williamsburg, Harlem and Downtown Brooklyn, which were once either dominated by rental units or had little housing.       

Read full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/realestate/getting-started-homework-for-condo-buyers.html?_r=3&ref=realestate