The School Debate

Nothing gets people more riled up than talking about NYC schools. (OK, maybe politics, but the school debate pretty much is politics writ small).

For those buyers who are sending their children to private school, the choice of where to live can be liberating: it doesn't really matter. Why live in the PS 87 school district when you can find the same apartment for less money nearby and your kid is going to Trinity anyway?

For most people, private school is not an option. Now more than ever, people are giving a hard look at what the public schools have to offer. It may be apocryphal, but I've been hearing that applications for financial aid at private schools is way up, and that new applications at private schools are way down. It wouldn't surprise me.


For full disclosure, my kids are at a private school, so I haven't had to navigate the Soviet-like bureaucracy of public schools. However, my partner at Rand Realty, Marty Krasnoff, has his child at Manhattan School for Children, and he had applied to all kinds of programs, including gifted and talented programs, the Anderson Program, and the Hunter program.

• Here's the thing: You have to apply for those programs no matter where you live in Manhattan. They are not catchment programs, so it DOESN'T MATTER. (You do have to live in the district where you're applying for a standard G and T, but not the catchment). OK, but those programs are very selective and they are basically like winning the lottery you may say. You can't count on it. True, you can't count on it. But there are a lot of gifted and talented programs out there, not just those.

• The "hot" school of today may evolve, and not only for the better. The "up and coming" school may be tomorrow's hot school. Just ask those parents at PS 199, which is bursting at the seams. There are all kinds of fights going on at that school, most recently because the parents of the Riverside BLVD condos have been re-routed to another public school. Those parents are furious, but I bet that the new school will improve in a hurry.

• PS 166 for example, is an under the radar school with an excellent G and T program, and some other accomplishments. When looking for an apartment, do your research before you rule out a specific catchment.

• If you have a newborn, and you are planning where to buy based on kindergarten in 5 years, you could be making a mistake. Everything changes. Buy the best apartment you can buy that will hold its re-sale value and that will make your family happy. Make it close to a pre-school or two where you can walk your kid to school in a couple of years. Beyond that, everything will change.

• Having said that, PS 87 has been a great elementary school for a generation, as has PS 6. (But even PS 6 is getting re-zoned.) If you can afford those districts, it's like winning a mini-lottery.

By the way, once your child is enrolled at a school, there is often a sibling policy (which they are debating changing). In addition, I'm fairly certain that if your kid goes to PS 87 and you move, your kid can stay at the school. So now's the time to think about leaving that one bedroom for Morningside Heights!

Here's a helpful nyc school website: http://maps.nycboe.net/

Here's an article which touches on some of the school madness:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/education/05rezone.html?pagewanted=print

and one other:

http://nymag.com/news/features/41277/

State of the Market-Buyers Edition

The good news is that with mortgage rates so low, and the credit squeeze loosening, now can be a great time to purchase an apartment. Before you get all cynical ("of course she's saying that now's a good time to buy, she's a broker, blah blah blah) let me state my case:

First of all, I'm addressing this post to buyers who intend to occupy their apartment. If you're an investor, I'd still say there are some bargains out there, but that's not really the focus of my work.

For those people who are looking for a home, the market is loaded with opportunity. Prices are down 20%-25% from their peak. You may ask me, why jump in now when layoffs are just gaining momentum, and the economy is in a world of hurt? How do we know that prices won't fall another 25%?

I don't know for sure, but I really doubt it. I don't think that last year's $2 million classic six will sell next year for $1 million. That's wishful thinking, and for so many reasons, it's highly unlikely. But last year's $2 million classic six might go for $1.5 pretty soon. If you are buying it to stay in and raise your family, then you'll be there for 5-10 years. If you are an empty nester and are retiring here (I see that more and more often) then ditto, you're planning on staying for at least 5-10 years. If you don't think the real estate market will rebound before then, then you should move to Maine, stuff your money under the mattress, and wait for the aliens to land.

By the time people have figured out that the market has rebounded, it's already on its way back up. That makes you competing with many others and that's what drives prices up. That brings bidding wars.

In addition, the most important aspect of purchasing a home is quality of life. You can't quantify what it will mean to you and your family to have a home that you love. Granted, for most people, it's their most important asset, and they don't want to overpay. But I know so many people who have been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for this exact moment. They've spent years in an apartment that was too small, or too dark. At a certain point, the emotional needs can outweigh the financial paradigms.

I read a ton of postings by people who have no intention of buying an apartment, arguing that the markets will go down, it's stupid to buy, it makes more financial sense to wait etc. I don't think those people are buyers. They are observers. When you're ready to buy, you're ready because of so many reasons, market conditions being only some of them.

It's always better to start educating yourself about the market before you're ready. When you finally do see the perfect apt, you'll know it. The worst thing that can happen is that you fall in love with the first thing you see. Then you'll be afraid to jump in, and it'll be gone by the time you realize it was right for you all along.

Get yourself educated. Go to open houses...they are designed for tire kickers. Talk to brokers. See if you find any who you feel understand your needs and your particular situation. Even if you are internet savvy, a good broker can help with many aspects of a purchase...the board package for one. In addition, a good broker can negotiate on your behalf in ways that you may not be able to do for yourself. And a good broker has networks and contacts that a buyer does not have. If you love a particular building, your broker might be able to find you something that's not even on the market yet....not all brokers are used car salesmen...

State of the Market--Sellers Edition

The real estate market is changing all the time. We're constantly asked "how's the market?" It depends on who you ask and what you’re asking. I don't sell new developments for the most part, so I can't speak to that aspect of the market. Based on my recent experience, and based on conversations I’ve had with dozens of other brokers, I’ve come to a few conclusions.

If you have a special apt (and by “special”, I don’t mean your living room faces a brick wall. On the first floor) then you’ll be fine as long as it’s still priced well. A gorgeous, river facing apt on RSD and 114th street just went into contract for over the asking price of $2.3 after a few days on the market. I think it was priced pretty low to begin with, but it generated enormous interest. You can bet those sellers feel relieved. If your apt has some challenges (see brick wall, above) then make sure you are discounting for those challenges. Chances are, you bought it with a discount for the same reason.

If you are a seller, you can either accept current market conditions or you can wait them out. If you are looking to sell and 3 brokers give you one price, and the fourth gives you a higher price, I’d be very wary of that fourth number. You’re in for a long wait and a lot of open houses.

It may seem to you that this has happened overnight, and that 6 or 8 months ago brokers were telling you that you could get $1.6 for your apt. and now they are telling you to start at $1.4. It’s almost surreal. Yet it feels like that to me as well.

Everything is different.

The real estate market cannot be looked at relative to last year’s numbers. You cannot really gauge comps from ’08 or even ’07. 2006 is a better place to work from, even though most sellers don’t want to hear it.

Prices are down 20%-25% from their peak. And the layoffs are just getting started.

I believe that the market will turn around, but I don’t know when. If you need to sell now, price realistically, before you end up chasing the market down.

What does chasing the market mean? It means you started too high and you’re never able to get ahead of where market activity is. You’ll end up cutting your asking price too many times, and you’ll end up with less money than you would have if you had priced lower to being with.

Before you sell, have long conversations with your broker about pricing. It will be the most effective marketing tool that you can have. You’re going to get low ball offers. Now is not the time to get insulted. My advice is to counter and consider every offer within 30% of your ask. Make sure you have confidence that your broker is comfortable with protracted negotiations. This will be a huge asset during the sale.

Speak to your co-op board members and have a frank dialogue about pricing. I’m hearing a lot of stories about co-op boards turning down prospective buyers because they don’t like the purchase price. I can’t prove this—no one can, which is why co-op boards wield so much power. Before you have a signed contract, it’s better to know what you’re up against.

Make sure your apt looks as good as it possible can (see my post on staging).

Finally, sell before you HAVE to sell. That will only put you in an even more precarious position. You should feel like you're in a position of strength, not out of weakness or fear. Your broker is on your team. Talk to him/her on a daily basis. Get a weekly update. Find out how many people have seen the apt or responded to an ad. Ask for comps. Make sure that the comps have not lowered their prices while you have stood firm.

It's a buyers market, but with the right approach, that's nothing to be afraid of.

Stage Craft

The term "staging" in real estate is almost as overused as "triple mint". Sellers always want to know "will you stage my apartment?"

• First of all, let's talk about what you as a seller need to do before you put your apartment on the market. Before you get the photographer in, before even you pick your broker, it would be wise to start thinking about staging. In this regard, "staging" is more like "editing".

• If you live in Manhattan, and storage is scarce, do something right away: call your parents and tell them that you're coming to visit. Don't tell them that you're bringing a U-Haul full of crap that is going to sit in their garage until you sell your apartment.

• Rent a storage unit. It will be money well spent. Then go through your apartment and do at least 3 things: go through every closet and remove all of your non-seasonal clothing. All of it. Put it aside. If you have a massive shoe collection, unless you have a massive walk in closet to show it off with, those shoes should go to storage for awhile. Every closet should appear as though there's TONS of extra room.

• Go through your bookshelves and pack up all of your non-essential books and tchotckes. You know those "whimsical" Hummel figurines you've been collecting since you were 10? Not so much.
  

• The more than you can pack away for a few months, the better your apartment will look. You don't need a professional to tell you this. But it's a arduous, time consuming process. Think of it this way: you have to pack up when you move anyway. This is just giving you a head start.

• But you ask me plaintively "what if I have kids?". If you have kids, leave their stuff. If you can pack up a couple of boxes and the kids won't notice, great. If you can pack up a couple of boxes, and pay your super $20 to keep it for you so that you can rotate those boxes back into play land, all the better. It's important to try and and keep the kids stuff confined to a bedroom or a playroom. Otherwise, another family comes in, sees the toys everywhere and thinks that you don't have enough space in the apt.
  

• Clean your apartment! Nothing ruins a good first impression quicker than a grungy bathroom or dishes in the sink. People look through EVERYTHING. (Except under the bed. I shove a lot of stuff there and have never been caught).

• Get your windows cleaned. Replace light bulbs. Borrow lighting from a friend if necessary, but make sure the apartment is well lit.
  

The point is, you are literally "setting the stage" for someone to walk into your home and have the ability to project what their life looks like there. If your living room is crowded with Hummel figurines, it's hard for that buyer to do. Anything that is personalized should be removed...put away most of your photos (leave the ones on your wall so you don't have to patch and paint), box up your collections. Now is not the time to show your individuality. On the contrary: we want a relatively blank slate for people to see.

If your apt needs more than simple editing, there are other staging solutions. A good broker will be able to guide you about choices: when to hang sheers, whether or not to move furniture or rent a piece of furniture to highlight a room or an area. Brokers have access to rental companies and can easily help with spot staging.

Then there are professional "stagers" who will be able to completely transform your space, if you need it. They are expensive, but comprehensive. They will oversee painting if need be, arrange furniture rentals, but also they usually have at their disposal a whole range of accessories, plants, and accent pieces that can dramatically alter your apt.

My point is, most times people only need to edit, not to add. When you're done, Your apartment will look so good, you'll have a hard time remembering why you wanted to sell it.

Kosher Alley

Amsterdam Avenue in the 90's has always been a dingy, depressing strip of real estate. With the exception of Gennaro's, it's been more of less a wasteland for the last few years.

But the good news is that several Kosher establishments have moved in and the strip seems to be benefiting from the revitalization. Talia's Restaurant,a kosher bagel store, Gan Asia, Supersol Grocery Store, and now a certified Kosher Dunkin Donuts. All we need is a deli and a pickle shop, and it'll be just like the Lower east Side of my youth...

The Square Footage Myth

Part of the reason that real estate brokers in Manhattan are so mistrusted is that they are frequently caught lying. It makes them seem like used car salesmen and it devalues the entire profession.

Obviously, not all of us behave that way. In fact, I feel pretty comfortable saying that most of us do not behave that way. But there are certain inherent problems that make it awkward for us and seem to put most real estate brokers on the spot.

One of these issues is square footage.

When you buy a condominium, you are buying "real property", that is, the actual space in between the walls, as well as a small percentage of the common space in the building. On your offerring plan, it will list the actual square footage assigned to that condo.

In condos, the common measurement is from outside wall to outside wall. So if the broker tells you that the apt you are looking at is 1600 sf, that might technically true, but in reality you might be getting something that's closer to 1450 (see the Ariel if you need a visual).

In a co-op, you are buying shares in a corporation. You are not purchasing based on square footage. Brokers for a long time simply "estimated" the square footage of an apartment, and these numbers became part of the myth of individual buildings. It didn't matter whether they were accurate or not, it was apocryphal yet accepted.

Until the lawsuit. Some time ago,a buyer sued a broker for misrepresenting square footage on a co-op. Since then, it has been standard practice to NEVER quote square footage because the broker could get into hot water.

You could measure the same space twice and come up with very different answers. You could include closet space, or the space between walls.

So, we're really not supposed to quote sf. That poses a problem. Buyers want to know. Buyers are OBSESSED with sf. The problem is that I've seen 1800 sf that seems really big, or some that have really long hallways and tons of wasted, useless space. Size queens aren't looking at what's important..they are stuck on the numbers.

I know of LOTS of apartments where past brokers have put in 1600 sf, for example, but I KNOW from my floor plan guy that it's more like 1500. How do I answer? "It's in my system from prior brokers as 1600 sf, but I think it's slightly less than that".

I'm not lying, and I'm also not giving out information that will only taint a buyer's view of the apt for no good reason. Take a look at an apartment for yourself and then judge. Measure the individual rooms if you want. Invest in a cool laser gadget that measures wall to wall pretty accurately. Make your decision based on thoughtful and careful deliberations. I'll tell you everything I think about an apartment. I'll even tell you approximately the size of the apartment. But don't quote me.

Here's a recent article that deals with discrepancies among condos:

http://ny.therealdeal.com/articles/playing-the-game-of-inches-in-measuring-square-footage

Another Apt I Love..bigger and more expensive

First, a brief discussion on the term "Classic 6". This refers to a pre-war (WWII) apt with a living room, a formal dining room, 2 bedrooms, and a staff room and bath. A classic six can range from 1200 square feet to over 2000 sf (See the San Remo or for that matter 670 WEA at 93rd street).

Depending on the layout, the space can be very flexible. Often, the dining room is so large that is can easily divide and provide an ample dining area (no window) as well as a third bedroom that is accessed from the separate bedroom wing (another common feature in a pre-war building...separation of living spaces from private spaces).

Which brings me to today's tasty treat: 250 w 94th street apt 10H. This apt is over 1800 sf and was built as a classic six. The space is so flexible, it's worth discussing all of the options. It's in good shape, except for the kitchen, which needs to be re-done. The bathrooms are fine, the floors (original herringbone oak in the over sized living room!) are ok. It's asking $1,695,000, down from it's original asking price of $1,795,000. I sold a similar unit 2 years ago for $1,790,000 and it needed an update. The building is a lovely, under the radar pre-war with excellent financials, a great new-ish gym, a glamorous roof deck that no one in the building ever uses, a child's playroom, and an additional community room. The maintenance in this building is about $1 per sf, just about the best you can ever hope for in a full service, 24 hour doorman building with a live-in super.

Here's the link:
http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&listingid=1363707

So here are some options:
1. As I mentioned, you can divide the HUGE dining room, creating a third bedroom with a doorway through an existing closet. Now you have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a dining area, and you still have a separate maid's room for a home office.

2. Open the kitchen to the maid's room and create a big open eat-in-kitchen with a built in home office. For that matter, you could open the space the dining area and STILL create a third bedroom.

3. Divide the dining room using French doors, so there's a den or guest room, but when it's not in use, you still have the window and the light coming in.

One other note about most pre-war apts....there were all designed using courtyards, so some rooms inevitably face a courtyard. In this case, the dining room faces the wall of the next building. But there is some ambient light coming through. The master bedroom, second bedroom and living room have pleasant views facing north over Pomander Walk, a Landmarked mews built in the 1920's that resemble a European street.

The building is on Broadway, but the entrance is on 94th street. It's steps from the express train. What's not to love?

Apts I love

Today's topic might be considered a tad weird, since I'll be discussing listings that are not mine. These are listings that I've seen and shown to various customers. If I had someone to sell it to, believe me, I would.

This listing is something that I've shown to probably a dozen different people.

It is vacant, which is part of the reason it doesn't show well, and it has a funky kitchen, which is totally fixable.

This apt has been on the market since May when it was listed for $1.6. It is now down to $1.395,000 and while I have no insider information, I have to think that the owners are negotiable. They were transferred out of town.

http://www.prudentialelliman.com/973090

Here's the thing: this apt is close to 1500 square feet (really!), it's 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, on a high floor in a gorgeous pre-war building with a roof deck. The building allows washer/dryers, although this unit doesn't have one. 24 hour doorman and well situated.

I sold the same unit on a much lower floor for $1,440,000 which closed in March 2008. That apt did not have the third bedroom carved out of the dining room, but it did have a fully renovated and really dynamite kitchen.

Here's the link if you want to see what the apt and floor plan looked like.
http://www.realestate-websites.com/websites/randrealtyny/listings.cfm?ListingID=85274&ListingSource=RPL

This is a real family sized apt in a great family neighborhood. What more could you ask for?

OK, so here goes my first blog post ever.
Why am I writing this? Aren't there enough real estate sites to troll through late at night? What could I possibly add?

First, let me introduce myself....after 15 years of a very successful career in the movie business as a literary scout and a development executive, I decided to switch gears and started selling real estate. I joined forces with my long time close friend, Marty Krasnoff, who had owned a small firm for several years. He and I talked real estate every day, and he knew my obsession with listings and floor plans.

And when I say obsession, I'm not over stating the case. Way before Street Easy made it casually fun, I was addicted to the New York Times real estate section. My mom tells me that as a little girl I would take the Sunday Magazine section and flip to the back to look at the glossy home ads.

Marty had always told me that he'd take me on as his partner when I was ready. But the movie business was never bad, and it had a certain...allure. I was making a decent living and from time to time I still loved it. I love story telling. When I realized that real estate is also story telling, I decided to jump in.

3 years later, we have a thriving business and a solid reputation. We are still a small firm, but we get lots of exclusives that the big firms are bidding on, we have had enormous success, and we still manage to maintain our dignity. No small feat in this industry. I went from the movie business where everyone is a lying, self promoting shark to an industry that's...well...let's just say it was a very small learning curve.

As I go, I'll elaborate on how I got here and why I love it. But I wanted to get to the main point which is why I would bother to blog.

First of all, i love to write, so blogging is a perfect past time. But that's not the primary reason. Real estate brokers get such a bad rap on other blogs that it's starting to make me feel bad. I can't even post on Street Easy without a snarky comment (usually made by someone who will NEVER buy an apartment, who probably still lives with their mother or far too many cats. I digress). I'm not looking for revenge (although revenge is sometimes good), I'm looking for a little clarity and transparency in a business which has always been maligned and I think misunderstood.

What Marty and I do well (and what others do well too) is to make people enormously happy by telling them the story of how they can live in a certain place. We set the stage, we match the people and the property. I have been called the house whisperer. I can tell what apt will work for the buyer (they don't always listen), but when they do, they are thrilled.

We make people happy by selling their homes in a way that doesn't diminish them or the place that they love. We try not to make their children anxious, or their pets angry. We minimize their stress and more often than not, they are extremely grateful.

Their gratitude and admiration is what often gets me through long boring days or 6 showings of disinterested parties. There is no joy in an open house with 1 person coming through, but there is a huge satisfaction in knowing that a couple will raise their family in a home that I found for them.

I thought that the public might benefit from my perspective on the market, my totally biased and absolutely partisan take on the real estate market in general, and through empirical evidence I can provide, the nature of the market. Very often there are apts that I love that are not my listings. I'll talk about them, why I love them, and why someone out there should buy them.

I tried to do this in other places, and felt like I should wear a scarlet R on my chest. Posters seems angry, and wary, and distrustful, so I moved my show away from the crazy channel to someplace more home-y (pardon the pun).

I'll never trash another broker (OK, not by name anyway) and I'll never deride another listing. But I will give my bossy opinionated thoughts on all things Manhattan real estate. here goes...