Welcome to Front Porch LLC

What effect will the Goldman Sachs bonuses have on the real estate market?

I love this story. Every year there’s a great year on Wall Street, the media acts like the people who made these gigantic bonuses — who probably made them by knowing something about money — are going to act like they’ve never seen money before.

Probably not likely. Of course some of the spending is classic: Porsches, expensive watches, Vegas. But as far as real estate goes? The bonus-baby bias is generally toward renting, in expectation of a softer sale market in 2008.

But that’s okay, I can rent you a very nice loft for $15K a month while you bank your proceeds.

What’s a “Jack and Jill bathroom?”

A Jack-and-Jill bathroom is a bath with two sinks and one toilet, typically set in suburban houses between two kids’ bedrooms.

The concept comes up again in the
Urban Glass House, where the two halves of the kids’ bath are separated by a shower. While the shower has frosted glass and locks, you still got to admire the cojones on Philip Johnson, the project’s inspiration. Or you’d have to if he weren’t dead.

Apparently in real life buyers are simply putting a wall up in those bathrooms.

Our rental building is converting. What’s the difference between an “eviction” and a “non-eviction” plan?

When developers convert a rental building, they file a plan with the state Attorney General’s office.

In a “non-eviction” plan, the conversion plan becomes effective once 15 percent of the units are sold. However, rent-stabilized and senior tenancies (which means if you’re over age 62, or disabled) are honored. If your lease runs through the effective date of the plan, you can also stay until your lease is up.

In an “eviction” plan, the conversion plan becomes effective once 51 percent of the units are sold. Again, senior/disabled tenancies are protected. But if your lease expires — you’re given the chance to buy, and if you don’t, hit the road, Jack.

I’m from out of town. How do I get an idea of what Greenwich Village is like?

Well, you could rent a Woody Allen movie. Or you see some fabulous still photos: Go to Wired New York (www.wirednewyork.com) and hit the “community” tab. You’ll get a bunch of different forums. Near the top, under the “City Guide” heading, will be an underlined “New York City Guide for Visitors” : Sub forum: “Photos of New York.”

So go ahead, click “Photos of New York.” The gorgeous townhouse shot above was taken by member “ablarc” on the Greenwich Village thread.

If you like short films, you can go to www.turnhere.com (a site founded by real estate guru Brad Inman himself) and watch four-minute local movies. Many of them are a little too deliberately “indie,” but check out:

http://www.turnhere.com/city/new_york/greenwich_east_villages/films/519.aspx

for a broker showing a $3.2 million apartment (sorry, kids, it’s sold). A typical luxury apartment would look like this, with smaller bedrooms and no wine room;

the kitchen, bath, and finishes are all typical for a new high-end downtown project. Check out the exposed brick and keyed elevator entrance straight into the apartment, both Tribeca features brought to the Village. (And ignore the lousy view you get for $3.2 million!)

For a little West Village character,

http://www.turnhere.com/city/new_york/chelsea_west_village/films/293.aspx

is a short of a local chef wandering around foodie heaven.

How do I know if I should buy now?

From an Oct. 2006 piece I did for the New York Blade. The Blade has a mostly gay readership, but I think this advice applies to straight people too:

“…media reports aside, the ‘Should I buy now?’ question is also hard to answer for two reasons: 1) if real estate agents could predict the future with absolute certainty, we’d spend all our time at the track; and 2) gay people have children less often than straight people, and gay couples are more likely to keep separate apartments than straight couples, so there’s less pressure of ‘help I’m getting married/having a baby, I have to move next week.’
If you’re lucky enough to have the option to decide when to move, you probably should buy now if:

* You have a chance to buy in a neighborhood you’ve been eyeing. While new luxury condos are getting thrown up every ten feet (look, hon, there’s one in the backyard) it can be argued that their arrival will strengthen fringe neighborhoods like the Lower East Side and the West 30s. You can be a pioneer and have your granite countertops! Just be warned that if gentrification isn’t really successful, being in a poor school district might hurt your resale. And if gentrification is really successful, the riff-raff will follow you.

* You have a shot at generational wealth transfer. At today’s prices, mom and dad (or grandma and grandpa) are often asked to pitch in, and there are different levels of involvement: You can receive gifts of $11,000 per donor, tax free, each year; you can get a larger, taxable gift of down-payment assistance; or you can get a relative to co-sign your loan (which means they’ll have to get approved by your co-op board.) Some buyers don’t want to lean on their families, but I feel if they want to help you while they’re still around to see you enjoy it, fantastic. (And, hey, do you mind having them call my mom?)

* You think prices make sense versus renting. It’s always tough to say what prices will do in absolute terms: will they go down ten percent? Stay flat? Jump back up? But you can tell what else you can do with your money. If you have a professional income and need the tax break, buy. If you’re renting space that would cost you twice as much to own, for heaven’s sake keep renting.”

I’m doing my first walk-through, what should I look for?

Congratulations and welcome to your new apartment!

The important thing to remember about a walk-through is you want to be slow and systematic. Many people bring a list (known as a “punch list”) and just check things off — or you can just answer the questions below (which may be overkill, but at least you newbies know what to look for):

BATHROOM:

* does the toilet flush completely without running afterwards? are there leaks or sweating around the base of the toilet?

* is the tub free from scratches? Does the jacuzzi work? Do both the cold and hot water run easily? Is the drain stopper in place? Check for loose tiles, especially on the wall where the faucet is. Is the grout between the tiles clean and unmildewed?

* Is all the hardware (toilet paper holder, towel bars, shower doors or shower rod, robe hooks) installed? (I had a friend who bought a Harlem condo and she was away so I did her punch list. Her tub was unscratched — I’d made a little mark on my list — but her towel bars weren’t installed. When the contractors put up the towel bars, they dropped a wrench or something, and scratched the tub)

* Do the vanity cabinet doors and drawers work? Is the medicine cabinet level? Is the sink top free from scratches? Is there sweating or water pooled around the faucet? Does the faucet work?

*Do the bathroom lights work? If not all the bulbs work, move a live bulb from socket to socket. Are there covers on the electrical outlets?

*Are the walls, for the sake of a better word, flat? And painted? Is there water damage on the ceiling?*Are the floor tiles in place? Is the saddle (the strip of marble between the bathroom and the hall) in?

*Do the doors closely fully without effort? If there are locks, do they work?*Does the bathroom ventilate, either because there’s a window that slides on its tracks easily or because the exhaust fan works?

*Look up, are there water spots or discolorations that might indicate previous leaks on the ceiling?

HALLWAY:

*Does the entry door feel “flat” — i.e. unwarped? Do the knobs turn easily, and do the locks work (check from both sides). Is the peephole installed?
*If there’s an entry light, does it work? What about the intercom to call the doorman?

*Is there a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector (both legally required) in the apartment? Check that the smoke detector works by lighting a match.

* Is the floor un-nicked, and appropriately finished?

* Are the walls flat, and painted? The paint, especially if new, should have an even level of coloration and “sheen” — a patch where the luminosity is different could indicate a bad repair.

* Is the ceiling even, and painted, and without signs of discoloration?

* If there’s molding, does it lie flat to the walls? Do the corners meet evenly?

* Does the hall closet open easily? Is it painted? If there’s a washer and dryer, are they hooked up? Try (ask the realtor first) to turn them on. Are closet hangings (rods, shelves, etc.) installed? Does the light work?

* Are there covers on light switches, cable outlets, thermostats ?

LIVING ROOM and BEDROOMS:
*Check out your windows. Do the sashes raise and lower? Do the windows lock? Are all the panes of glass whole and uncracked? Are there child-guards (required for kids under 10)? Visually inspect the caulking — If you put your hand near the edge of a closed window, do you feel an obvious draft?

*Legally, every New York City apartment is required to have two fire exits. Your entrance door is one. Find the other (window fire escape or separate fire door) and make sure it works.

* Is the floor free from dings, and appropriately finished? Prod one of the planks or tiles, and make sure it doesn’t pop up (oh, how I wish I had done this in my first apartment)

*Are the walls flat and does the paint have an even sheen?

*If there’s molding, does it lie flat to the walls? Do the corners meet evenly?

* Are light fixtures hooked up as they’re supposed to be? Do they work? If there need to be ceiling medallions under them, are they installed? Are there holes in the ceiling near the light fixture?

* Are switch covers and outlet covers in place?

* Visually make sure you have air-conditioning and heating units in place, and check that they work. If you plan on installing a window air conditioner, make sure that you have an appropriately upgraded outlet (what an electrician would call a “box”) to handle it. Make sure your air conditioner is braced so it doesn’t fall out of the window. Make sure your heating system has whatever radiator covers or duct covers you feel should be there.

*Is the ceiling flat, recently painted and free from signs of discoloration?

* Do the closet doors work? Is the closet hardware/shelving you expect in place?

KITCHEN:

*Is the cabinetry installed? Are the cabinets level? Are the handles and door pulls on?

*Are the countertop edges finished (beveled or polished or otherwise set up so they don’t slice you)? Is the countertop itself sealed (granite will stain if it’s not)

*Is the stove hooked up? Turn on each individual burner to see if it works. Inspect around the burners for little black dots (mouse droppings, not uncommon in new construction)

*Is the dishwasher hooked up? Does it work? (again, if you can, turn it on rather than just getting a verbal assurance)

*Does the kitchen ventilate? Does the range hood above the stove work? Is there a smoke detector in the kitchen? If there’s a window in the kitchen, does it open and are all the panes uncracked?

*Does the sink work (check both faucets, the sprayer, and the garbage disposal)? Open the cabinet under the sink. Where the pipe leads into the cabinet there will be a hole — the size and finish of this hole will give you some indication of the quality of the construction. Also check in the bottom of this cabinet for our friends, the roaches.

*Is the refrigerator in? Is it a few inches away from the back wall to allow air to circulate so it can actually work properly? Do both the refrigerator and freezer work?

*Check the kitchen floor for flatness and blemishes, especially where it joins the floor cabinetry.

*Is there a microwave if you expect there to be one? a wine cooler?

GENERAL:

*Does the apartment smell funny? An old mildewy smell, cooking odors from a nearby restaurant, or the smell of natural gas are all red flags.

*If there are steps, are they level?

*Ceilings not discolored or warped? Floors flat (there’s a little tilty spot on my beach house, but it’s eighty years old — you shouldn’t get this with new construction)

*New construction must be handicapped-accessible: are doorways wide, are there grab bars in the bathroom?

*Once more, with feeling: do you know where your fire exits are? Do they work? Does the place have both a carbon monoxide detector and a smoke detector? Do the child guard windows work?

Does anybody have a real-scale subway map?

Here’s a great map hack

What’s the difference between a convertible-1 and a junior-1?

This just caused some misunderstanding on craigslist, so let’s go over it.

Technically, a “bedroom” has to have a window in order to get called a “bedroom.”

So a “convertible one” or a “flex one” (someone asked about this term although I’ve never heard it) is a studio with a windowed alcove, so if you did want to put up a wall, you could have a one-bedroom.

A “junior 1,” on the other hand, is an apartment with a separate place for the bed that’s more developed than an alcove — it might be a fancy sleeping loft platform, or an extended walk-in closet, or a separate interior room — but it’s windowless, so you can’t call it a one-bedroom.

In my mind, a Junior 1 — we have one coming up in Chelsea — attracts couples, who may need to have two separate rooms with a door to slam in between them.

What are the top real estate websites?

According to a May 8, 2006 USA Today article using ComScore Media Metrix numbers:
Homestore.com Network (9.6 million visitors)

HomeGain.com (4.8 million visitors)

AOL Real Estate (4.0 million visitors)

MSN Real Estate (3.7 million visitors)

Rent.com (2.9 million visitors)

RealtyTrac (2.9 million visitors)

Apartments.com (2.4 million visitors)

Zillow.com (2.3 million visitors)

Service Magic (2.1 million visitors)

Yahoo Real Estate (1.8 million visitors)

Can you tell me more about how to get past a co-op board?

When people say, “hey, what do NYC real estate agents do for a living?” the first response that comes to mind is “xeroxing.”

Manhattan, especially, is home to thousands of co-ops, and buying or even renting (That’s my hand with a recent rental sublet package below) is a paperwork nightmare.

A board package I just did for two renters was a couple of inches high. (Sorry, I’m having image trouble, the photo will go up later.)

If you’re new to the market, don’t freak out. Basically what co-ops want to know is that you’re one of them.

Typically, race and ethnicity are not the issues they were a generation ago, but co-ops do want you to be of a certain economic soundness, so they require a great deal of financial documentation.

And they want you to be of a certain neighborliness, so they require a great deal of networking documentation.

You need to be very careful about how you present this stuff, or you ain’t gettin’ in.

Typical requirements are for an application to live in the co-op, which includes your salary, family members and pets; a statement of assets and liabilities (also known as a “net worth statement”); two business recommendation letters and two personal ones; and a statement from your last landlord that you’re a good tenant.

This information is usually filed in sections with colored dividers (that’s what the pink sheets are for), and then there’s a xerox made for every member of the board.It is very important to have a professional presentation here, just because it’s a sign of respect for the board. You wouldn’t send an employer a hand-written resume, and your board package should be meticulously documented and organized.

I also like to add a narrative wrap-up (referred to by some as “the horses–t letter”) stating who the buyers or renters are and why they want to live there.I’m working with a Canadian buyer now, and we are prepared to face a certain amount of discrimination since she’s a foreign national. But I really do believe I could get T’Pol — or even a litigious attorney — through a co-op board. The main point is to be enthusiastic about the building. (If you’re buying in at today’s prices, that shouldn’t be hard.)

For some very specific tips, click here.

and if you need to email me, it’s ali @dgneary.com