Real about Real Estate

Hurricane Irene - Resources New Jersey / New York

2011-08-29T20:56:00.000-04:00

New Jersey
New Jersey Office of Emergency Management
(609) 538-6050 Monday-Friday
(609) 584-5000
www.ready.nj.gov

New Jersey Office of Emergency Management on Facebook

New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance

New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance - Notice Regarding Flood Damage
New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance - Rules, Orders, Bulletins, and Notices

New York
New York State Emergency Management Office
(518) 292-2275
www.semo.state.ny.us/

New York State Emergency Management Office - Laws and Regulations

New York State Insurance Department

New York State Insurance Department Homeowners Insurance Resource Center -What To Do After a Loss
New York State Insurance Department Homeowners Insurance Disclosure Information and Other Notices - Regulation 159 (pdf)
New York State Insurance Department - Windstorm Deductibles (pdf)
New York State Insurance Department - Laws & Regulations

Other Resources
American Red Cross
Disaster Planning for Pets

Google Domains and G-Mail Accounts - A Cranky Posting

2011-08-29T20:52:00.000-04:00

I recognize it has been quite a few months since my last posting. So besides business concerns, what's made for the delay?

Primarily I am still trying to figure out what Google is up to in changing domains over to g-mail accounts.....I know that it's all about money ultimately and I am not happy about it. It's made getting into this blog a wee bit challenging just to start.

I used to be an advocate for Google domains....then they became GoDaddy domains. That confused me because I had been using GoDaddy as the host for my Google domains.....that took some phone calls to straighten out with GoDaddy....but then I thought well I have these great email accounts that came with my original domains and they help keep info organized. But that was too good to last for long I have discovered.

Now - merger of email accounts?

Why? Not interested. Then I received a note today when I was trying to find my email settings in my law firm's email account - only 30 days of emails would be saved unless I upgrade, at $50/year, to a Google apps program. HELLO?! It's only me out here using the email account and I don't have a need for the business apps.

So - when's the last time you have tried contacting Google?

After much searching I found an email for contacting them.....BUT you have to put in your customer code - WHAT?! Again. WHAT?! If you don't have the "code", you can not send an email. Can they make this more difficult?

AWG to quote Charlie Brown.

So these are my ravings as I'm stuck here in New Jersey recovering from the hurricane travails....

Beware Loan Mod Scams - FTC Files Complaint Against Firms

2011-03-21T12:38:00.002-04:00

On February 2, 2011, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. S.D. of Florida, Miami, an FTC complaint was filed against U.S. Mortgage Funding Inc., Debt Remedy Partners Inc., Lower My Debts.com LLC, and principals John Incandela, Jr., Jamen Lachs, and David Mahler for misleading consumers that they were affiliated with or approved by consumers’ lenders. Consumers were advised not to contact their lenders and to stop making mortgage payments because doing so would demonstrate hardship and the need for a mortgage modification.

The defendants listed had targeted financially distressed consumers by using direct mail, the internet and telemarketing. They would falsely promise loan modifications to make consumers’ mortgages more affordable, even boldly promising to fully refund their money if they failed.

For their “help,” consumers were being charged up to $2,600 for these services, with half of the fee being required upfront. The defendants also claimed a 100% success rate—which should have been the first red flag for consumers. Very few companies or organizations have a 100% success rate for anything, much less something as complicated and as a loan modification.

According to the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services rule recently issued by the FTC, providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services are banned from collecting fees until homeowners receive a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable. Because the defendants’ ads predated the rule, the FTC could not allege any violations of that rule in this particular complaint filing.

New Definition of Service Animal

2011-03-10T13:32:00.001-05:00

March 15, 2011 - new legislation takes affect as to the defnition of a service animal under the Department of Justice’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations.

The new regulations now define "service animal" as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. The rule states that other animals, whether wild or domestic, do not qualify as service animals. Dogs that are not trained to perform tasks that mitigate the effects of a disability, including dogs that are used purely for emotional support, are no longer considered to be service animals. The final rule also clarifies that individuals with mental disabilities who use service animals that are trained to perform a specific task are protected by the ADA. For more information about the new regulatory provisions regarding service animals, please visit the ADA's website.

http://mpetersesq.com/animal.html

PETITION TO PROTECT SEEING EYE DOGS

2011-02-10T13:50:00.000-05:00

Most people are unaware of the risk dog guides and their owners encounter each day. There is no way for a person who is blind and depends on a dog guide to know that a dangerous dog who has been chained to a light pole along a sidewalk might attack a dog guide as it passes. Nor to protect a guide dog from dangerous dogs who are unleashed.

Existing laws must be consistently enforced for the fair and safe treatment of people who are blind and their dog guides.

An attack by an unrestrained dog should be a criminal offense, charged to its owner.

You can send an email directly to New York Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. by clicking here to his website page.

Please send an email directly to New York Assembly Member Philip M. Boyle -- You can copy and paste the following and modify as you see appropriate:

      An attack by an unrestrained dog on a guide dog should be a criminal offense - charged to the attacking dog's owner.

     We need this law -- We need to strengthen state legislation to provide greater protection for people and their dog guides against attacks by other dogs.

     PLEASE give your full support to such a legislative initiative.

     Thank you.

New Federal Site Launches - Consumer Financial Protection

2011-02-03T14:27:00.001-05:00

I received an email from the City Bar this afternoon announcing the launch of a new web site which is "open" for suggestions as to how you as a consumer can be protected regarding your financial situation. As I looked into it, they are seeking postings with "humor" -- which I found just down right depressing to read.

The national banks are running roughshod over consumers, and this website funded by our taxes it appears, is looking for humor on the subject.

The press release states:

In July 2010, Congress created a new federal agency to protect American

consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be a cop on the
beat, working to make consumer financial markets work better for
American families. As the first new consumer agency of the 21st century,
we can communicate directly with the people we serve.

And they are looking for humor....or a "tweet" or a U-Tube Video....as they write, "Most of all, be real

about what matters to you. " Here is the link for suggestions where you can post as you like...

This month - Wells Fargo holding free loan modification decisions in Brooklyn, NY

2011-01-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

January 25 & 26, 2011 - in Brooklyn - Wells Fargo represents that homeowners seeking loan modifications can meet with representatives and get immediate decisions.

Please call 1800-405-8067 for further information.

Homeowner Beats Bank of America In Small Claims Court

2011-01-06T13:40:00.001-05:00

On January 4, 2011, the Huffington Post's Arthur Delany reported a homeowner who was successful in bringing Bank of America into California's Small Claim Court and being awarded $7,595 after the Bank denied him a loan modification.

Dave Graham, the homeowner told the Huff Post, "It was a good victory for me and I think for homeowners around the country." This author agrees.

What is supposed to be a three month trial, the bank dragged on for 18 months - an all too common occurrence; at which point the Bank informed the homeowner that he did not qualify for a loan modification and the Bank demanded immediate payment of approximately $7,000 (the difference between the normal mortgage payment and the modified trial payments), or the Bank would foreclose on the property.

Graham was successful in bringing his case into the Small Claims Court. The Bank states that they will appeal - something they can do in California. Let's see what happens....

Mortgage Foreclosures - Access to Justice in Lending Act

2010-10-28T17:40:00.000-04:00

On October 20, Governor Paterson signed into law the "Access to Justice in Lending Act", Chapter 550 of the Laws of 2010, which adds new Section 282 ("Mortgagor's right to recover attorneys' fees in actions or proceedings arising out of foreclosures of residential property)" to the Real Property Law.

The Assembly Bill is posted at the following link.

New Law Allows Homeowners to Recoup Legal Fees in Foreclosure Cases

2010-10-22T11:32:00.000-04:00

[Reprinted from the New York Times]

ByJOHN ELIGON

Published:October 21, 2010

A new state law signed in Albanythis week will allow homeowners who win foreclosure proceedings to have thelender pay their lawyers’ fees.

Supporters say the law balances whatthey see as the long unfair practice of lenders writing provisions in mortgagecontracts that allow them to collect lawyers’ fees from homeowners when thelender successfully forecloses. Some also say that the new law may givehomeowners a better chance in court because they will more easily be able toget representation.

The law comes at a time when bigbanks are coming under increasing scrutiny for lax handling of mortgagedocuments.

“We have thousands of foreclosuresin New York State where homeowners” have valid defenses, said Assemblyman RoryI. Lancman, a Democrat of Queens who co-sponsored the bill. “But they areunable to assert those defenses because they don’t have a lawyer.”

In some other types of litigation,like employment or civil rights, lawyers’ fees have long been awarded to thewinning party, Mr. Lancman said. But foreclosure litigation has been anexception.

“There’s been a major problem asthis foreclosure crisis has exploded in getting representation for people whoneed counsel,” said Andrew Scherer, the former president of Legal Services NYC,an agency that provides counsel to people who cannot afford lawyers in civilcases.

“This is going to provide a prettyreasonable incentive for private attorneys to take on these cases,” Mr. Schereradded.

In general, homeowners areconsidered to have won foreclosure proceedings when they are able to get ajudgment from the court allowing them to keep their homes. With recentrevelations that banks have cut corners in documenting mortgages during theboom, lawyers say, chances are better than ever to raise legitimate defenses toget a bank’s foreclosure action thrown out.

Even in cases in which a settlementis reached, Mr. Lancman said, lenders may be more willing to negotiate thelawyers’ fees, knowing that they may have to pay those fees if they lose ajudgment.

Michael J. Wrubel, a Florida lawyerwho represents homeowners, said he did not believe the new law wouldsubstantially tip the scale in favor of homeowners.

New York Changes Rules for Filing Foreclosures

2010-10-20T17:05:00.001-04:00

New York State instituted new requirements for filing foreclosure
documents effective immediately to stem a wave of foreclosures that were
not documented properly, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday in
its online edition. Foreclosure claims must now reportedly have a lawyer
file an affirmation that reasonable steps have been take to verify the
accuracy of the information in the documents.

"We cannot allow the courts in New York State to stand by idly and be
party to what we now know is a deeply flawed process, especially when
that process involves basic human needs-such as a family home-during
this period of economic crisis," said New York State Chief Judge
Jonathan Lippman, according to the Journal.

The marketwatch article links here.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ny-changes-rules-for-filing-foreclosures-wsj-2010-10-20

This is the link to the press release from the Unified Court System of New York.
http://www.nycourts.gov/press/pr2010_12.shtml

To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose

2010-10-11T23:05:00.000-04:00

Well, as if its NEWS - the big banks have finally confessed that perhaps some technicalities have been overlooked in their foreclosure process. Putting it mildly. Yes errors were made and continue to be made. I am amazed that anything gets accomplished at all at a bank.

Mortgage Fraud Is Rising, With a Twist -- Wall Street Journal Reports

2010-08-23T14:51:00.001-04:00

Wall Street Journal Real Estate August 23, 2010

Mortgage Fraud Is Rising, With a Twist / Adopting to Tighter Rules After Collapse, Scammers Turn to More Complex Plots

By ROBBIE WHELAN

New data suggests that mortgage fraud—which got tougher to pull off after the collapse of the U.S. real estate market—is returning in a big way.

Data prepared for The Wall Street Journal by research firm CoreLogic, examining about seven million home loans made by hundreds of lenders, show that losses from mortgage fraud—ranging from falsified credit reports to identity theft—rose 17% last year after declining 57% in the two years after its 2006 peak.

In 2009, $14 billion in loans, or about 0.7% of all mortgage loans made in the U.S., were originated with fraudulent application data.

The figures are a fraction of the mortgage market, but the increase is sharp.

CoreLogic, which tracks fraud only by mortgage value, examines about 7 million loans each year using a proprietary computer program that detects discrepancies in loan documents and predicts the likelihood of fraud. The real losses to banks won't be known for several years when banks are forced to write off the value of the loans' value.

New data suggest losses from mortgage fraud nationwide rose 17% last year.
Some of CoreLogic's profits come from selling market research to lenders aiming to cut losses from mortgage fraud.

Investigators and lenders say they are seeing a similar upswing in fraud.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in June indicted a Phoenix man for mail and wire fraud among other alleged crimes when the agency says he tried to steal a house from his landlord. Also in June, federal prosecutors in New Jersey charged 29 defendants—including 12 real-estate agents, four mortgage consultants, an appraiser, a bank employee and a mortgage broker—with wire fraud in an alleged scheme involving 17 properties in the state and losses of $5.5 million.

"Even though we have certain compliance measures in place, people will adapt whatever scheme," said Sharon Ormsby, the FBI's section chief for financial crimes. "It doesn't matter if the market is going up or down."

The kinds of fraud that contributed to the mortgage crisis and the collapse of the housing market were relatively simple. Crooks took advantage of the size of mortgage loans and the lax rules governing who qualified for them.

In one common con, they would recruit as accomplices "straw buyers" with good credit to apply for "no-doc" loans, which required no documentation or proof of income, to buy their house. Good credit was required because lenders generally did check a borrower's credit score, even if they didn't require pay stubs or bank statements.

When the bank sent funds, typically to make a down payment or for a home-equity loan, the schemers and the fake buyer would split the profits and walk away, leaving the house to fall into foreclosure and the bank stuck with the loss.

Since the mortgage crisis, banks and the government-sponsored entities that underwrite or insure mortgages, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration, have tightened lending standards and closely scrutinize mortgage applications.

No-doc loans are a thing of the past, and many lenders now require borrowers to furnish proof of employment, tax forms, credit reports, bank statements and other documents.

Fraudsters have adapted to the new restrictions. With banks less apt to lend to borrowers with shaky finances, criminals rely more on falsifying documents, recruiting loan officers and other bank insiders to work for them, and stealing identities to get loans, federal investigators and mortgage industry research reports.

In the Phoenix case, prosecutors allege, Jose Victor Buencamino did all three. Some people who knew Mr. Buencamino describe him as a large, friendly man devoted to his children, the life of many a party and a passionate golfer. Gary Weaver, who rented a home to Mr. Buencamino last year, has a different impression. He said the Arizona businessman tried to snare him in an elaborate mortgage scheme.

According to a federal indictment unsealed in June, while Mr. Buencamino was renting Mr. Weaver's house on the golf course at Moon Valley Country Club, he intercepted mail intended for Mr. Weaver and obtained his social security number, then applied for a driver's license in Mr. Weaver's name.

Then, the indictment alleges, with the help of a friend who worked as a loan officer at a local branch of Compass Bank, a unit of Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Mr. Buencamino obtained a $245,000 cash-out mortgage on the property. A homeowner using a cash-out mortgage refinances the home loan for more than the mortgage is currently worth and pockets the difference in cash.

A Compass Bank spokesman didn't respond to requests for comment. Mr. Buencamino, who couldn't be located for comment, has not responded to the charges.

A federal agent said he had been tracked to Vancouver, where the agent said he is applying for Canadian residency. Prosecutors involved in the case said he didn't have an attorney on whom they could serve court papers. U.S. authorities said they were seeking his extradition.

"Fraud continues to be a pervasive issue, growing and escalating in complexity," said an April report from LexisNexis's Mortgage Asset Research Institute, which cited as reasons easy access to records via the Internet and, in many cases, though not Mr. Weaver's, the vulnerability of cash-strapped homeowners.

MARI's breakdown of the numbers reflects the shift in technique. Fraud related to falsified credit reports has declined each year since the boom years, MARI reports, while the share of mortgage fraud involving false appraisals jumped 50% between 2008 and 2009.

Application fraud—in which borrowers lie about their names, where they live, how much money they earn, their employment, their debt or their assets—remains high, accounting for 59% of all mortgage fraud.

One of the defendants in the New Jersey dragnet, a mortgage consultant with Newark-based Invest & Investors LLC named Viviane Bernardim, allegedly paid accomplices $15,000 apiece to steal the identities of several New Jersey residents who earned $90,000 or more and had good credit ratings. She used those identities to obtain second mortgages on a number of homes in the Newark area, according to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, head of the office prosecuting the case.

But since good credit ratings are no longer enough to get a mortgage, Ms. Bernardim also needed friends who worked for the lenders to pull off the caper.

"Having players at every level of a conspiracy makes it easier to carry out fraud," said Mr. Fishman. "But each bad actor and criminal act is also another chance for law enforcement to find a way in."

Maria Delgaizo Noto, an attorney for Ms. Bernardim, said that she had no comment until an indictment was unsealed, but that her client "maintains her innocence of any criminal activity."

In Phoenix, Mr. Buencamino's alleged fraud was assisted by an insider, but also by easy access to public documents on the Internet. After intercepting mail intended for Mr. Weaver and obtaining his Social Security number, Mr. Buencamino applied online for an Arizona driver's license in Mr. Weaver's name, according to the criminal complaint and law enforcement agents involved in the case.

When he received the permit, he submitted mortgage application documents by mail to Compass Bank and, with the help of co-conspirator William Baxaveneous, the Compass loan officer, obtained a second mortgage on Mr. Weaver's home—which had no mortgage—without ever having to meet any bank officials face to face, Mr. Weaver said. He said he learned this from the federal agents investigating the case.

Mr. Baxaveneous's attorney said he was trying to settle the case and declined to comment further.

Dog Days of August

2010-08-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

Here we are coming to the final two weeks of August and what is the hottest summer I can remember in many years.

It's been a slow month and I look forward to the cooler days of Autumn and what I hope for is better news across the country with our economy.

What YOU Need to Know - "Real Estate Education" - New York State - Brokers & Salespersons

2010-08-04T16:57:00.001-04:00

The following information is reprinted in its entirety from the Department of State's website for your information:

The Department of State’s “Real Estate Education” Campaign

The following are some basic facts that anyone looking to buy, sell or rent should know.

These facts are part of a new brochure that is available for download on the Department of State homepage, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/. [This is the link to the brochure itself.]

What you need to know before entering into a real estate transaction:

All real estate professionals[1] must be licensed by the Department of State, and they must renew their licenses every two years.
To check if a person who represents themselves as a real estate salesperson or broker is, in fact, licensed by the state of New York, you can search the Department of State website, http://www.dos.state.ny.us/ by clicking on the “eAccessNY” link [this is the direct link to the search area for licensed real estate professionals] and entering the name of the person or by calling (518) 474-4429.
Buyers, sellers, renters and landlords all have the right to hire their own broker in a real estate transaction.
You should not assume that an agent is acting solely on your behalf. Unless you have entered into a written agreement with the broker, he or she could be representing the other party to the transaction.
When you have hired an agent to represent you, he or she owes you the following duties: reasonable care, undivided loyalty, confidentiality, full disclosure and the ability to provide you with an accounting of any money collected or expended on your behalf.
Real estate salespeople and brokers must disclose whom they are representing in the transaction at the time of their first contact with you.
Commission fees are negotiable. You have the right to negotiate the amount of the commission to be paid to a broker or salesperson. There is no such thing as a mandatory commission rate.
If a broker collects fees that you owe to the landlord or seller, such as a deposit or the first month’s rent, the broker has an obligation to separate that money from his or her own. If the money is not immediately provided to the landlord or seller, the broker must put the money into a separate escrow account until the transaction has been closed. If the transaction does not close, the broker cannot keep the money and must return it to you.
Non-refundable commission deposits are not permissible. A broker earns a commission when he or she finds a person who is ready, willing and able to purchase the property or rent the apartment. Only if the broker has assisted the parties in reaching an agreement on all of the material elements of the deal has he or she earned a commission.
Real estate salespeople and associate brokers work under the oversight and supervision of the broker with whom they are associated. You have the right to contact the broker with any concerns about the transaction or the agent’s handling of the transaction. Some salespeople and associate brokers advertise themselves as a “team” or “group.” This is not a separate company. These agents still work for a broker who is responsible for supervising their activity.

The brochure also includes information on where New Yorkers can turn if they believe that they have been a victim of a loan scam or of abusive lending practices. New Yorkers are encouraged to visit the Department of State’s website if they have any further questions about what constitutes illegal or dishonest actions by licensed real estate professionals – and to report these actions to the Department if they experience them.

[1] To become a licensed real estate salesperson, an individual must take specific coursework and pass an exam on state real estate law and practice. To work in New York state, salespersons must be associated with a real estate broker. Real estate brokers are individuals who, after gaining two years of experience in real estate sales, take additional coursework and exams in order to own or operate their own brokerage firms. Real estate appraisers must take required coursework and exams to become certified in estimating the value of real property.

###

Additional news available at http://www.dos.state.ny.us/about/new2.htm.
New York State Department of State | info@dos.state.ny.us | 518.486.9846 | 212.417.5801

Late Breaking News - In NYC You Can See if Someone Has Posted A Doc Against Your Property

2010-07-08T11:27:00.001-04:00

July 6, 2010 the New York City Department of Finance implemented aNotice of Recorded Documents Program. Owners of property inManhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island can registerto receive notification when a deed or mortgage (or related) document has beenrecorded against their property. This program was designed to alert registeredproperty owners or their designees when documents are recorded without theirknowledge so that they can take steps to attempt to limit the harm caused bysuch recording.

An owner’s agent (including a child, spouse, or domesticpartner of owner if listed as a designee), the managing agent, the propertyowner's attorney, the lien holder, and the executor or administrator of theestate of the owner or lien holder of the property may also receivenotification if registered.

To find out more about this program, you can go to the New YorkCity Department of Finance website at www.nyc.gov/finance or ACRISwebpage at www.nyc.gov/acrisand click on the Recorded Document Notification link. to register.

Fannie Mae - New Program for Forclosure Help - starts 8/1/2010

2010-06-03T10:59:00.000-04:00

Fannie Mae Introduces HAFA Program - You can read the announcement here.

On Tuesday, June 1, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2010-07, introducing Fannie Mae's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program. It, like Treasury's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (as described in Supplemental Directive 09-09 Revised), is designed to mitigate the impact of foreclosures on borrowers who are eligible for a loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) but ultimately are unsuccessful in obtaining one.

Program Features:

The Fannie Mae Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, which becomes effective August 1, 2010, simplifies and streamlines the use of short or "preforeclosure" sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) options on HAMP-eligible loans by incorporating the following unique features:

Complements HAMP by providing alternatives for borrowers who are HAMP eligible (including borrowers facing imminent default);

Allows the borrower to receive pre-approved short sale terms prior to the property listing;

Prohibits the servicer from requiring, as a condition of approving the short sale, a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement;

Releases the successful HAFA borrower from future liability for the debt;

Uses standard processes, documents, and timeframes;

Provides financial incentives to borrowers, servicers and subordinate lienholders; and

Utilizes verified borrower financial and hardship information collected in conjunction with HAMP, eliminating the need for additional eligibility analysis.

Copy machines - SECURITY RISK!

2010-05-07T14:54:00.000-04:00

One of my fellow members of the state bar association forwarded this link to a CBS News video which demonstrates that copy machines built since 2002 contain hard drives which maintain a copy of every document.

Talk about a security risk waiting to happen!

NYC first in the nation for mortgage fraud

2010-05-03T13:58:00.000-04:00

New York City was first in the nation for mortgage fraud last year, according to a report by LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute, released on April 26, 2010. To review the report, please click here. The metro area accounted for 12 percent of all suspicious activity reports filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in 2009, squarely defeating second-ranked Los Angeles, whose suspicious activity reports accounted for 8 percent of the nation's total.

While the LexisNexis did not break down its city data further, a recent report from First American CoreLogic found that South Jamaica, Queens was first in the nation for mortgage fraud between 2004 and 2009. On the whole, New York state has seen a sharp increase in mortgage fraud over the past few years, according to LexisNexis. This year, the state -- ranked 18th in 2007 -- took second place, behind Florida.

I always warn persons about mortgage fraud and get help quick schemes....please read more at my law site or contact our office if you are in need of assistance.

3.5% Closing Cost Assistance and Appliance Incentive Extended Through June 30, 2010

2010-04-28T20:09:00.000-04:00

Fannie Mae is extending the 3.5% incentive for homebuyers who purchase and close on a Fannie Mae-owned home by June 30, 2010. Buyers purchasing properties listed on HomePath.com will continue to be offered an incentive of up to 3.5% of the final sales price to be used towards one of the following:
→Closing costs
→The purchase of new Whirlpool® appliances
→A mix of closing costs and appliances, at the buyer's discretion, up to the maximum 3.5%.

Eligibility
To be eligible for this incentive:
* Property sale must close on or before June 30, 2010
* Buyer must be an owner-occupant (second homes are eligible as long as they are owner-occupied) -- investors are excluded.

4/28/10 through 4/30/10 NASSAU COLISEUM - MORTGAGE MODIFICATIONS - Bank Open House

2010-04-27T16:09:00.002-04:00

There is an open house at the Nassau Coliseum this Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, 4/28-4/30/10 from 1PM to 7:30PM where most major lenders will be available to discuss mortgage modifications. There was an article in Newsday, last Friday April 23, 2010, "EVENT OFFERS HELP TO HARD-PRESSED HOMEOWNERS" by Ellen Yan which states:

"Next week, the Nassau Coliseum will host a marathon - three days of face-to-face negotiations between lenders and distressed homeowners. Borrowers can try to make on-the-spot loan modifications with their mortgage holders...."

All mortgagees are invited to come, bring all their records, bills, proof of income (two most recent pay stubs), last two mortgage payment statements, layoff notices, credit card bills, utility bills etc. and try to work out modifications.

Short Sales in New York - Deficiency Judgments

2010-04-14T14:59:00.001-04:00

As an attorney I have been working with homeowners in the luxury real estate market in Manhattan. As we have been completing short sales, the banks have waived the deficiency judgments on loans that are close to the sale price. However, in a recent Bank of America short sale - the loss is in excess of 500K -- I was presented with the following language that the bank would not waive the deficiency unless state law required it.

Is there a New York State law that requires waiver of the deficiency in a short sale? The short answer is no.

How contrary is this? When you access the New York State Banking department's website, it specifically states:

"Short Sale: The lender lets the borrower sell the house for less than the outstanding loan amount, takes the proceeds and forgives the remaining debt."

However after I called the Banking Department about this claim, no one could answer my questions, and they suggested that I speak with an attorney. Interesting.

After speaking with several real estate attorneys, and the New York City Bar's attorneys who specialize in foreclosures - the answer is the same -- there is no law that says the bank must waive the deficiency judgment. It seems to me as a reasonable person, that the bank would recognize that after all the work performed to acquire a buyer for a property at a higher amount then the bank would be able to receive in foreclosure, that waiving a deficiency is a better choice than taking the bankruptcy route. But then again, who ever said that the people at the banks are reasonable?

Keep this in mind - bankruptcy is the option to all of this and in New York State there is no law that says (at the time of this post) that a bank must waive the deficiency against the homeowner for the amount of the loan that will not be paid off in a proposed short sale.

At my law site I have further information regarding foreclosures, short sales, and loan modifications.

New Short Sale Guidelines

2010-04-12T09:27:00.001-04:00

The federal government recently announced the short sale program guidelines for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program which will go into effect on Monday, April 5, 2010.

Bank of America Home Loans is implementing HAFA, the program designed to help those customers who were not eligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or any other modification. For more detailed information on the HAFA program, go to the National Association of Realtors site.

The HAFE program provides incentives for short sales and what are known as a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program.

A list of servicers participating in the HAMP program - including HAFA - can be found at the Making Home Affordable website.

CHASES' website regarding short sales can be accessed for further information.

FDIC Tips for Consumers

2010-03-15T13:30:00.001-04:00

For some nifty tips, you can view:
Winter 2009/2010 which includes tips on online banking and ideas for growing a small business.

Enjoy!

NAR issues brochure to help reduce short sale stress

2010-03-02T11:52:00.000-05:00

On April 5, 2010, the U.S. government will implement the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). The HAFA helps homeowners who are unable to retain their home under the Home Affordable Modification Program by simplifying and streamlining the use of short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures. Homeowners must meet certain requirements to participate and incentive payments are provided to homeowners and servicers. To help REALTORS understand HAFA and its guidelines, the National Association of REALTORS ("NAR") has released an informational brochure available through the links below:
NAR’s press release
HAFA brochure

Legislation Protecting Prospective Renters Passed By NY City Council

2010-02-12T08:54:00.000-05:00

Legislation Protecting Prospective Renters Passed By NY City Council

'Tenant Fair Chance Act' Passed

February 11, 2010

MANHATTAN — The City Council passed legislation on Thursday requiring that landlords provide greater transparency during the tenant screening process.

Landlords are routinely sold copies of housing court histories that misrepresent prospective tenants, which leads to deserving renters being denied housing, the City Council said. Because renters often have no idea that the landlords are obtaining these reports, they are powerless to correct any inaccurate information.

Housing court data is reported by name, not social security number, causing landlords to frequently get the wrong reports, the City Council said.

The reports many landlords obtain also fail to disclose the context of a renter’s appearance in housing court. If someone goes to court because they are involved in a rent strike to protest adverse living conditions, the report simply shows a housing court action for non-payment.

“Prospective tenants across our city have been denied by landlords for the simple fact that their tenant screening report shows a housing court action,” said Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn.

"By streamlining the process for tenants and giving them easier access to reports they are entitled to view, we can ensure that all New Yorkers are given a fair chance to find a new home.”

The new law called “Tenant Fair Chance Act,” requires landlords to tell applicants which company was providing the records, so they can get their own copies and correct problems.

Landlords could be fined $500 for violations, but Quinn said the real estate industry is not opposing the bill.

“Today, we are taking another step to ensure that the deck is not stacked against the renters of this city,” Council Member Dan Garodnick said in a press release.

“By improving the accuracy and transparency of tenant screening reports, we are making sure that tenants who assert their rights in court don't face a backlash for it the next time they try to rent an apartment.”

THE HAMP HOT LINE WORKS! ONE PHONE CALL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

2010-01-22T19:18:00.000-05:00

Don't be threatened when a banker tells you the U.S. Treasury has made adetermination that stops your program - they may be wrong - as CHASE was wrongthis week.

A big applause for everyone working at the Making Home Affordable Program. https://www.hmpadmin.com/portal/about/overview.html

As you may know, I am an attorney working with short sales in Manhattan, andassisting some home owners in loan modifications. Both programs arefrustrating, irritating, hair-pulling, down-right horrible - but there isnothing more satisfying than the feeling when it works!

Since July 2009, I have represented a single homeowner who faced the loss ofher company and was struggling building a new company and needed to apply for ahome loan modification because of changed circumstances and the loss of income.

One loan- from CHASE - which qualified under the Home Affordable Modification Program("HAMP") limit of $729,750.00 - for a modification.

Three months into the process, CHASE lost the short sale package - reason: change of computer systems. The process began again, from the beginning.

The homeowner received nearlydaily phone calls (mostly rude) from the bank's collection agency demanding payments -the homeowner kept explaining that they were in the home modification program -no department of CHASE reports to the other she was told and the phone calls would continue - which they did through October.

November rolled around and CHASE again lost several of the documents -- again they are re-sent....December arrived, CHASE doesn't know what happened to those documents, they need to be sent again and this time, they need to be embellished. More info supplied.

By the end of December, CHASE reports that all seems to be fine and that they are waiting for a "representative" to be assigned.

Encouraged by the press releases and statements from the Obama administration demanding to know why only 5% of all loan modifications are approved, and asking for twice-monthly reports on status from the banks, I am hopeful that a modification approval will be eminently forthcoming.

I'm "buddies" now with "Eric", "David" and"Jennifer" with whom I've spoken over the past several months and they have shared thatthey are sitting in the same office together (Texas) with a few desksseparating them. How cozy.

But NO -- I received a phone call from "Jennifer" January 18th, 2010, with the news that the "U.S. Treasury has put all loan modifications on hold since December until further notice." WHAT? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? "The Underwriters are not able to make a decision". And even though the loan had every appearance of being approved, "should have been approved", it is not. The late payments continue to accrue.

I said - show me where this is in writing - this is completely contrary to what our administration is saying needs to be done! Oh no, I was told, it is an internal memo and only information to be provided to the homeowners.

I wanted to throw the phone through the window. People wonder why homeowners destroy their homes because they are so angry at the banks.

What to do?

I went to the Making Home Affordable website - easily found the Contact Us page (upper right hand corner in big letters) where the page clearly states: "Whether you are having problems registering online, require support forthe servicer tools, or have general questions about the Home AffordableModification program, we can assist." So I called. And they did.

The phone number is (866) 939 - 4469; and you can also e-mail - which I did too - support@hmpadmin.com My e-mail was answered within two hours.

I called - was transferred to a "HELP Team Member" - explained in detail what had been happening and asked if they knew anything about the U.S. Treasury putting a hold on home loan modifications. It seemed absolutely contrary to what should be occurring. She concurred and assured me that their upper management spoke nearly daily with the U.S. Treasury department and she was unaware of anything of that manner.

BUT importantly -- she said she personally would bring their management knowledge of what I was going through and it would be addressed that afternoon with the U.S. Treasury department.

Now, if you're like me - you're skeptical of anything like that being done - but apparently it happened.

I called CHASE later that afternoon and at 4:25 p.m., as I was speaking with the CHASE representative, he stopped me to read to me an email he had just received.

He read: the U.S. Treasury has notified us of some information that has been not quite accurately imparted to some homeowners. Not all loan modifications are on hold. Those that may qualify under HAMP will continue to be processed.

So there you have it. We changed a policy - and hopefully helped accelerate some loan approvals.

New law to help owners facing foreclosure

2009-12-16T16:17:00.000-05:00

The following article was released by Crains New York Business.

By Amanda Fung

Published: December 16, 2009 - 2:39 pm

A landmark foreclosure law designed to help thousands of middle class New Yorkers keep their homes was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. David Paterson.

It is designed to protect property values by requiring lending institutions to maintain foreclosed homes and make them safe and habitable for tenants. The law also expands protections to homeowners with all types of loans. Previously, court-based settlement conferences—where homeowners, court officials and banks sit down to discuss foreclosure proceedings—were only offered to homeowners with sub-prime loans.

In addition, under the new law banks are required to notify tenants at least 90 days before foreclosing on properties to give tenants time to find a new home.

“We still need to do a little more, but overall this is going to go a long way in keeping dreams of homeowners alive,” said state Sen. Jeff Klein (D, Bronx-Westchester), who sponsored the legislation and has been working on it for more than two years.

Before this law was passed, local governments and community groups spent money and time to maintain foreclosed properties to prevent these properties from becoming blighted neighborhood eyesores, Mr. Klein said. Now lending institutions are responsible for maintaining these properties.

The law also aims to prevent foreclosure by allowing banks to decrease the principal of a loan for homes where the home's value has fallen below the original loan amount. In return, when the homeowner sells the property, the banks will get a percentage of that sale price.

“The laws we have passed in New York have stood as a national model for foreclosure mitigation,” Mr. Paterson said, in a statement. “This effort is about keeping New Yorkers in their homes and protecting them during this economic crisis.”

“We commend the government for passing this important legislation,” said Michael Minott, program manager of external education at Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC.

For the first 10 months of 2009, New York state reported more than 58,200 foreclosures, according to Realtytrac.com. Among the top foreclosure counties in the state are Queens with 10,521, Bronx with 3,071 and Manhattan with 1,238. Mr. Minott predicts that the problem will continue to increase as adjustable rate mortgage cause homeowners to experience higher payments. “That will trigger a new wave of default,” he said.

The new law is also expected to crack down on foreclosure and loan modification scams that have arisen due to the market conditions. The law bans any firm from collecting upfront fees from homeowners for loan modifications. Many of these independent loan modification companies charge an unnecessary $2,500 upfront fee, Mr. Klein said.

“Homeowners don't need to hire these companies,” he said. “They can get their lending institution or a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved counselor to do it for free.
Noting that many of these opportunistic businesses take the fees and just disappear, Mr. Minott said, “It will hopefully put them out of business.

Only 5% of loan modifications go through!

2009-12-11T13:00:00.001-05:00

As an attorney working to help homeowners, reports of these stats make me scream! I thank the Wall Street Journal for their reporting which appeared in today's paper. I respectfully copy here the story authored by
Ruth Simon (at ruth.simon@wsj.com).

Foreclosure Rescue Still Bogged Down

By RUTH SIMON

Fewerthan 5% of borrowers participating in the Obama administration'sforeclosure-prevention program, about 31,000 in all, have receivedpermanent loan modifications, the Treasury Department said Thursday.

The new numbers were the latest sign of trouble in the $75 billionforeclosure-rescue plan launched in February. The program providesfinancial incentives for mortgage companies and investors to reduceloan payments to affordable levels for struggling borrowers. But it hasproved difficult to move borrowers from a trial phase to permanentmortgage fixes.

"We agree that servicer performance in converting trialmodifications to permanent ones has been unsatisfactory," a TreasuryDepartment spokeswoman said. The department last week said it wasstepping up pressure on mortgage companies to complete more loanmodifications.

Waiting for a Permanent Fix

See more data on loan modifications, and sort by servicer, the number of loans eligible and the number modified.

See the administration's "Making Home Affordable Program" report

ThroughNovember, more than 728,000 borrowers had begun making trial paymentsunder the plan, up from 651,000 in October, with modifications savingborrowers an average of more than $550 a month, the Treasury Departmentsaid.

Bank of America Corp. had 156,864 borrowers in the trial program and 98 other borrowers had received permanent fixes. Citigroup Inc. had completed 271 permanent modifications and had 100,124 active trial modifications.

A Bank of America spokesman said the company had "the highest numberof...active trial modifications" and expected to gain momentum inconverting borrowers to permanent fixes in December.

A spokesman for Citigroup's mortgage unit said the bank wasbeginning to see "greater success" thanks to "recent improvements indocumentation requirements and increased borrower awareness."

The program calls for borrowers to make three trial payments toqualify for a permanent modification. They must also provide a hardshipaffidavit and other documents.

The administration has been successful in getting borrowers intotrial modifications, said Thomas Lawler, an independent housingeconomist. But its results on permanent modifications has been"discouraging," he said. Officials "clearly didn't think enough aboutwhat would happen on the back end," he said.

The administration had set a goal of 500,000 trial modifications byNovember 1. Many mortgage-servicing companies began the trial processbased on verbal information provided by borrowers. But gettingborrowers to turn in required documents has been challenging. Manyborrowers, meanwhile, complain they are asked repeatedly for forms theyhave already filed.

Some companies have required borrowers to provide most or all of theneeded paperwork before they begin the trial process. Two such firms, Ocwen Financial Corp. and GMAC Mortgage Inc., account for more than 11,000 permanent modifications -- more than 36% of the total.

"Deciding to get the documentation up front has been key," a GMACspokeswoman said. Despite financial pressures, GMAC has boostedstaffing in loss mitigation by 35%, she said.

J.P. Morgan Chase& Co. has 136,686 active trial modifications and 4,302 permanentmodifications. In testimony before Congress this week, Chase said that29% of borrowers who entered the program between April and Septemberdidn't make the required payments; 20% hadn't provided all of therequired documents. "Our focus has been on getting the documents weneed from customers," a Chase spokesman said.

At Wells Fargo& Co., 96,137 borrowers were in the trial plan and 3,537 hadreceived permanent fixes. About 14,000 additional borrowers hadprovided all required documents and most should receive permanentmodifications in the next month or so, said Cara Heiden, co-presidentof Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
More than half of Wells Fargo customers in the program hadn't yetmade all their trial payments because they hadn't been participatinglong enough, she said.

Write to Ruth Simon at ruth.simon@wsj.com

WE NEED THIS LEGISLATION! Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act H.R. 4173

2009-12-10T20:28:00.000-05:00

Once again we have the opportunity to allow our bankruptcy judges to modify home loans. Earlier this year, this very important legislation was defeated in the Senate and rightfully, it is again presented to our House for a vote. HOME LOANS are the only contracts bankruptcy judges can not modify! Please work to have this changed!

This is the letter that I sent out today to Congressman Garrett:

Later this week, the House of Representatives will begin debate on H.R. 4173, the "Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act". During debate on the bill, an amendment that will help families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes ---at no cost to taxpayers - will be offered by Representatives Conyers, Turner, Lofgren and others. Based on key provisions of H.R. 1106, the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act", which passed the House on a bipartisan basis earlier this year, the amendment would allow bankruptcy judges to modify residential mortgages.

As you probably know, the government's voluntary mortgage modification program has fallen far short of its goals. The amendment being offered would be the inducement needed to step up and make meaningful mortgage modifications for the millions of struggling homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

The ongoing foreclosure crisis is having a negative effect on American families, our communities, and our economy. Experts warn that a rise in foreclosures next year and into 2011 could undermine the chances of a sustained economic recovery.

Residential mortgages are the only contract that bankruptcy judges cannot modify. This restriction--which does not apply to commercial real estate or vacation homes or any other type of loan --is costly to everyone, as property values continue to go down and spillover effects multiply.

If adopted, the mortgage modification amendment to H.R. 4173 would simply give bankruptcy judges the authority to modify unaffordable loans for families who are facing foreclosure and cannot obtain a voluntary modification. Such an approach would require no new tax dollars, and it would not excuse families from paying their mortgage.

I join with other concerned and struggling Americans in asking you to stand up for the families in our state and across the country by using your voice and your vote to give your full support to the amendment being offered by Representatives Conyers, Turner, Lofgren and Marshall. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Michele Peters

The Scoop on First-Time Homebuyer Credit - Direct from the IRS - 11/24/2009

2009-12-01T12:28:00.000-05:00

There has been so much bantering about what is covered and what is not covered, that the IRS has posted on their website what you really need to know for your taxes - good or otherwise. As I always recommend, it's best to go to the source. As a convenience, I'm posting below the information the IRS gives (at the link above you can go directly). And check it out -- they actually have a video on YouTube -- scroll all the way down for that link.

IR-2009-108, Nov. 24, 2009

WASHINGTON — A new law that went into effect Nov. 6 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010. Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase.

The maximum credit amount remains at $8,000 for a first-time homebuyer –– that is, a buyer who has not owned a primary residence during the three years up to the date of purchase.

But the new law also provides a “long-time resident” credit of up to $6,500 to others who do not qualify as “first-time homebuyers.” To qualify this way, a buyer must have owned and used the same home as a principal or primary residence for at least five consecutive years of the eight-year period ending on the date of purchase of a new home as a primary residence.

For all qualifying purchases in 2010, taxpayers have the option of claiming the credit on either their 2009 or 2010 tax returns.

A new version of Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit, will be available in the next few weeks. A taxpayer who purchases a home after Nov. 6 must use this new version of the form to claim the credit. Likewise, taxpayers claiming the credit on their 2009 returns, no matter when the house was purchased, must also use the new version of Form 5405. Taxpayers who claim the credit on their 2009 tax return will not be able to file electronically but instead will need to file a paper return.

A taxpayer who purchased a home on or before Nov. 6 and chooses to claim the credit on an original or amended 2008 return may continue to use the current version of Form 5405.

Income Limits Rise

The new law raises the income limits for people who purchase homes after Nov. 6. The full credit will be available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes (MAGI) up to $125,000, or $225,000 for joint filers. Those with MAGI between $125,000 and $145,000, or $225,000 and $245,000 for joint filers, are eligible for a reduced credit. Those with higher incomes do not qualify.

For homes purchased prior to Nov. 7, 2009, existing MAGI limits remain in place. The full credit is available to taxpayers with MAGI up to $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers. Those with MAGI between $75,000 and $95,000, or $150,000 and $170,000 for joint filers, are eligible for a reduced credit. Those with higher incomes do not qualify.

New Requirements

Several new restrictions on purchases that occur after Nov. 6 go into effect with the new law:

Dependents are not eligible to claim the credit.
No credit is available if the purchase price of a home is more than $800,000.
Purchaser must be at least 18 years of age on the date of purchase.

For Members of the Military:

Members of the Armed Forces and certain federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and still qualify for the credit. An eligible taxpayer must buy or enter into a binding contract to buy a home by April 30, 2011, and settle on the purchase by June 30, 2011.

For more details on the credit, visit the First-Time Homebuyer Credit page on IRS.gov. http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

Related Items:

IRS YouTube Videos

New Homebuyer Credit, November 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkzB03uuGlg

Foreclosure Protections for All - The New York Times - By BOB TEDESCHI

2009-11-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers: This is such a good summary of what is happening right now - including some terrific weblinks, that I am respectfully posting here Mr. Tedeschi's article from the Times, published November 29, 2009, in its entirety. As you know, I am a foreclosure mediator for New Jersey and I encourage the use of foreclosure mediators in New York BUT we need some "teeth" put into the process to achieve results. I lobbied to extend the protection to cooperative home owners and the new legislation incorporates these home owners who were left out previously - Bravo!

Last year, a new law was put into place in New York to help protect subprime mortgage borrowers from foreclosure. Now the state is on the verge of extending similar protections to prime borrowers, too.
A bill passed by the State Legislature this month would require,among other things, that lenders give all borrowers 90 days’ warningbefore starting foreclosure proceedings and that they take part insettlement conferences with borrowers before proceeding with aforeclosure action. The bill also covers co-op owners.
Gov. David A. Paterson is expected to sign the legislation; most of the measures would then take effect within two months.

Richard J. Biondi, the immediate past president of the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers,said the new legislation was welcome, if a bit overdue. “It’s terrificthat they finally opened the door to prime borrowers and made theseprotections available,” he said.

Richard H. Neiman, the superintendent of the New York State Banking Department, said that given the recent deadlock in the Legislature, he was pleased by the speed with which the bill was passed.
Of the nearly 20 measures in the legislation, mandatory mediationcould provide the most relief for struggling borrowers, some of whomhave been unable to get their lenders to consider loan modifications.Because of the high volume of mortgage defaults, many lenders have beenunable to keep pace with such inquiries from borrowers.

The foreclosure mediation, free for homeowners, would requirelenders to provide a representative at a certain date and place.Lenders may be subject to sanctions if they fail to come with financialdocuments and other information required by mediators.

New York’s mediation program for subprime borrowers has had onlylimited success, its administrators say, in large part becauseborrowers often do not attend the sessions.

Under the new legislation, when lenders notify the state of animpending foreclosure action, the state must send the borrower’s nameto housing counseling agencies, which can then inform the borrowerabout foreclosure avoidance strategies like the mediation program.

The new measures relating to co-ops, meanwhile, highlight thedifficulties faced by those who fail to make their monthly maintenancepayments, which go toward building expenses and the building’sunderlying mortgage.
Co-op units do not fit the legal definition of real property, andtherefore do not qualify for the protections of traditional foreclosureprocesses. As a result, Mr. Neiman said, co-op owners can often beforced to evacuate a unit within two months of the time theirbuilding’s board takes formal action against a nonpaying resident. Nowthat the new law gives occupants 90 days before they lose theirownership shares, he said, owners will have more time to seek help.

The legislation also includes protections for tenants of multifamily housing units that go into foreclosure.
Jane Azia, the director of nondepository institutions and consumerprotection for the State Banking Department, says that because NewYork’s housing market includes a heavy mix of multifamily units, theprotections for tenants are especially meaningful. By law, she said, alender can evict tenants only after a foreclosure judgment, whichtypically takes about 15 months in the state.

“There are tenants out there who are harassed into leaving after theforeclosure process begins,” Ms. Azia said, “and they aren’t aware oftheir rights.”

The new law would give tenants more time to get out, but Mr. Biondiof the New York Mortgage Brokers Association said this measure couldfurther damage the financial health of lenders.

“Tenants will probably just stop making payments,” he said. “And forlenders, getting any sort of legal enforcement against that willprobably be difficult in the current environment.”

Corcoran Group Sanctioned for Failure to Preserve E-Mail for Discovery

2009-11-17T11:56:00.001-05:00

As reported in the November 17, 2009, New York Law Journal, "A real estate company defendant in a lawsuit has been sanctioned by a Manhattan judge for its failure to preserve evidence and for persisting in deleting e-mails in spite of the court's repeated warnings to comply with discovery."

What's important in this decision (which is being appealed), is that when the court orders e-mails to be presented in discovery, just going ahead and deleting them - and wiping the hard drive (of server and personal computers alike), is not going to elicit warm regards from the court.

This is a good lesson to everyone involved in litigation. I present below the article which appears in today's Law Journal.

Eighteen months after plaintiffs Harold Einstein and Jennifer Boyd sued the Corcoran Group in connection with the alleged deceptive marketing of a condominium, New York Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos learned that three of Corcoran's brokers were continuing to delete e-mails from their individual mailboxes.

"[T]he failure to implement any litigation hold, not only after the commencement of litigation, but also after this court's repeated warnings that counsel should 'read [their] client the riot act', was grossly negligent and rises to the level of 'culpable conduct' required for a finding of spoliation" said the judge, in Einstein v. 357 LLC, 604199/07, ruling that Corcoran "willfully misled" the plaintiffs during the sale of the condominium.

Jay B. Itkowitz of Itkowitz & Harwood, who represented the condominium's buyers, called the ruling "groundbreaking."

He said in an interview that the ruling was the first in the state to send the "critical message" that "when you are sued or know you are going to be sued ... you have to take immediate and significant steps to preserve electronic evidence."

Errol Margolin of Margolin & Pierce, who represented the Corcoran defendants, said that he "disagreed completely" with the ruling, which he plans to appeal. Corcoran added in a statement that "we disagree with the discovery ruling and intend to file an appeal at the appropriate time. This case is still in the discovery phase and no decision has yet been made on the merits of the case."

Einstein and Boyd purchased a condominium in June 2007 for $1.3 million.

According to the complaint, Christina Coats, a Corcoran broker, had previously told the couple that the unit in Park Slope, Brooklyn had been taken off of the market because of a water leak, but that the condition had since been repaired.

Shortly after moving in, the buyers "experienced massive" flooding in the unit's recreation room during a period of heavy rain.

After repeated flooding, the plaintiffs retained an expert who advised them that the "water penetration to the recreation room had spawned a mold condition," and that the condominium was unsafe for the couple and their two children.

In December 2007, Einstein and Boyd sued Corcoran, three of its brokers, including Coats, and a number of other defendants in connection with the alleged defective design and deceptive marketing of the unit.

In June 2008, the plaintiffs served Corcoran and the brokers with a document demand.

The Corcoran defendants' lawyers claimed at an October hearing that the defendants had produced all e-mail traffic from the individual brokers, but the defendants later admitted that they had not handed over a relevant e-mail from Adam Paceli, the vice president of Corcoran, to a co-defendant.

On Dec. 10, 2008, Justice Ramos ordered the individual brokers to "produce their respective hard drives to a non-affiliated vendor ... for inspection and deleted file recovery."

But according to plaintiffs, the Corcoran defendants failed to supply them with a list of the devices and in February 2009, the plaintiffs moved to strike defendants' pleadings or compel compliance with discovery.

Corcoran responded with an affidavit from Terence Thomas, director of information technology for Corcoran, who testified that "all Corcoran e-mails, outgoing and incoming, are forwarded to a central server. As e-mails are sent and received, an exact replica of the central server is recorded on the hard drives of agents' individual computers."

The real estate company also turned over two hard drives, despite the fact that their attorneys had previously told the plaintiffs that they had no list of devices with potentially relevant data.

The plaintiffs hired Kroll OnTrack to search the hard drives, and discovered that certain e-mails were missing.

In May 2009, Thomas submitted a second affidavit, in which he said Corcoran had an e-mail deletion policy as a result of limited server space. If an individual deleted an e-mail from a local computer prior to a scheduled month-end backup, the file was not recoverable, Thomas said.

He later testified at a hearing that he had never spoken to the individual brokers about their e-mail deletion policies, did not investigate what types of electronic communication devices they used, and failed to advise anyone that a possibility existed that e-mails relevant to the litigation were being deleted.

'LITIGATION HOLD'

Justice Ramos concluded that the defendants' engaged in spoliation by selectively deleting e-mails and failing to implement a "litigation hold."

While New York case law and the Civil Practice Law and Rules are "silent" on the obligations of parties to implement a litigation hold, Ramos relied on cases from the Southern District of New York in concluding that the "failure to suspend the deletion policy or to investigate the basic ways in which e-mails were stored and deleted constitutes a serious discovery default on the part of the Corcoran Defendants and their counsel rising to the level of gross negligence or willfulness."

The judge also took to task Corcoran's attorneys with Margolin & Pierce for making "numerous" materially false statements, such as representing to the court that all e-mail traffic had been produced.

"This Court repeatedly warned counsel for the Corcoran Defendants that the failure to make a complete production of e-mails caused the Court great concern and needed to be remedied properly. Yet the Plaintiffs, and this Court, only learned about the manual deletion policy in May 2009," Ramos wrote.

By disclosing that fact 18 months into the litigation, the judge said, Corcoran defendants "willfully and unnecessarily caused extensive motion practice and delay without any reasonable justification."

Ramos found that a "reasonable fact-finder" could conclude that "at least some of the deleted e-mails were relevant to this litigation and favorable to the Plaintiffs," including one which suggested that the brokers cancelled an open house because of "heavy rain."

In addition to sanctioning the Corcoran defendants by finding they misled the plaintiffs about a walter infiltration problem, the judge also held that defendants' "contumacious conduct" entitled plaintiffs to attorney fees and costs in connection with reviewing the two hard drives and counsel fees spent in bringing discovery motions and sanctions.

Itkowitz estimated that the plaintiffs were entitled to roughly $100,000 as a result of Ramos' ruling.

All told, the plaintiffs are requesting $5 million plus punitive damages in the litigation.

Federal Regulators Issue Final Model Privacy Notice Form Nov 17 2009 Press Release

2009-11-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

Eight federal regulatory agencies today released a final model privacy notice form that will make it easier for consumers to understand how financial institutions collect and share information about consumers. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act), institutions must notify consumers of their information-sharing practices and inform consumers of their right to opt out of certain sharing practices. The model form issued today can be used by financial institutions to comply with these requirements.

The Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 amended the GLB Act to require the agencies to propose a succinct and comprehensible model form that allows consumers to easily compare the privacy practices of different financial institutions, and has an easy-to-read font.

The agencies conducted extensive consumer research and testing in developing the model form issued today. Then they solicited public comments and considered those comments in developing a model form that is easier for consumers to understand and use. The final rule provides that a financial institution that chooses to use the model form obtains a "safe harbor" and will satisfy the disclosure requirements for notices. The rule also removes, after a transition period, the sample clauses now included in the appendices of the agencies' privacy rules.

The final model privacy form was developed jointly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Trade Commission, National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Homebuyer tax credit extension and expansion update

2009-11-12T11:17:00.000-05:00

On November 6, President Barack Obama signed into law the extension and expansion of the current homebuyer tax credit, an important step in ensuring a real estate and economic recovery.

The measure extends the present $8,000 tax credit program for first-time homebuyers through April 30, 2010.

It expands the program, effective November 7, 2009, to include current homeowners, who are now eligible for an up to $6,500 tax credit (10 percent of the purchase price) through April 30, 2010 provided they have lived in the home they are selling, or have sold, as principal residence for five consecutive years in the past eight years.

If potential homebuyers have a binding contract on or before April 30, they will have until June 30 to close the transaction.

Income limits for eligible homebuyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples. The purchase price of the home cannot exceed $800,000. To help guard against fraud, buyers are required to attach documentation of purchase to their tax return.

Click here http://www.realtor.org/fedistrk.nsf/files/government_affairs_tax_credit_ext_chart_110409.pdf/$FILE/government_affairs_tax_credit_ext_chart_110409.pdf for detailed information about the legislation.

Mortgage Program Gathers Steam After Slow Start - The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, November 11, 2009

2009-11-12T10:56:00.001-05:00

Some excerpts:

"Whether the program will ultimately be judged a success will depend upon how many trial modifications become permanent."

"The administration won't release figures on completed modifcations until December, but so far it appears that very few trial modifications are becoming permanent, often because of lack of documentation."

"'It's a fiasco in the making,' said Alan White, an assistant professor at Valparaiso University in Indiana, citing preliminary information about low numbers of permanent modifications and complaints from attorneys and housing counselors. "The good news is you've gotten all these homeowners in from the cold and on these temporary modifications," Mr White said. "The bad news is we are stumbling in getting all these people ... all the way" to keeping their homes.

"At Morgan Stanley's Saxon Mortgage Services, about 26,000 to 39,000 borrowers in the program have made more than three trial payments. Roughly 500 have received completed modifications." "'It's hard to get the documents in,' said Saxon Chief Executive Anthonly Meola ..."
"The Treasury department last month gave borrowers who have made three trial payments sixty additional days to hand in their paperwork and relaxed some documentation requirements."

"Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage company, recently hired Titanium Solutions Inc. to go door-to-door gathering needed documents. 'Most of our borrowers got into the loan with assistance' and need similar help with the modification process, said Freddie Mac Senior Vice President Ingrid Beckles."

"Susan Cook, a real-estate broker who works as a home-retention consultant for Titanium said borrowers often report that they have sent in their paperwork 'two or three times.' But there is always some little piece that is probably missing.' she said."

UPDATE: The Proposed Homebuyers Tax Credit Legislation

2009-11-05T14:21:00.005-05:00

What it is in a nutshell:

The legislation extends the availability of the tax credit to purchases made before May 1, 2010. Prospective purchasers with binding contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 will be allowed an additional 60 days to complete the transaction.

The credit will remain $8,000 for first-time buyers, while repeat buyers who purchase between December 1, 2009 and May 1, 2010 will be eligible for a credit of $6,500.

Repeat buyers must have lived in their homes consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years. Income limits are expanded to $125,000 on a single return and $225,000 on a joint return.

Please keep in mind the income restrictions. That is a puzzle piece I find most people are not aware of.

Here's a recent Associated Press news article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hJJraNRE6DjWj2orF7SYJ12PADEAD9BPFFR01

What's with the pricing?

2009-10-26T16:59:00.003-04:00

This week the Cororan Group released their current sales report. Their figures report an overall decline in all contracted sales of 35% since February 2008 -- it does give one "pause". Also during the last six months, only about 3% of all deals were "at" or above the asking price. In other words, deals are being done with negotiation and the asking price is rarely the contract of sale price anymore. Let those prices simply be a guideline.

This is a time where astute research will pay off for the buyer. Be aware of "like kind" properties in comparing what is being sold because there is a difference between a cooperative and a condominium sale to state the obvious. Ask your broker to present you with the hard facts and not suppositions. All brokers have access to the same information and it is all to work for the public good.

Personally I am not in support of the $8,000 tax rebate for first time buyers. I believe there has been more than enough incentive to get people out of their rental "digs" and into their first homes. I believe we need to focus on helping middle income earners who are small business owners or independent contractors who are all fighting for their financial lives right now. I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.

Thank you.

Rents in Manhattan are falling as unemployment climbs

2009-08-31T10:47:00.002-04:00

NYC Apartment Rents Fall as Tenants Gain Leverage (Update3)
By Brian Louis
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Manhattan apartment rents fell as much as 10 percent in August from a year ago as tenants gained negotiating power in the recession and forced landlords to offer concessions.

In buildings attended by doormen, rents on one-bedroom apartments dropped 10 percent from a year earlier to an average of $3,274 a month, according to a report by the Real Estate Group of New York. Studio prices fell 7 percent at those properties to $2,329 and two-bedrooms declined almost 6.9 percent to $5,161. Soho and TriBeCa were the most expensive neighborhoods.

Rents in Manhattan are falling as unemployment climbs. The number of job seekers rose to 402,200 in July, the most since 1992, New York City’s Comptroller William Thompson said yesterday. Landlords are offering incentives such as free rent and paying brokerage fees to lure tenants, said Daniel Baum, chief executive officer of the Real Estate Group.

“The concessions out there right now are pretty aggressive,” he said.

The city’s unemployment rate climbed to a 12-year high of 9.6 percent in July even as the national rate ticked down to 9.4 percent. The U.S. economy has lost 6.7 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, making it the biggest employment slump in the last eight decades. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the unemployment rate will reach 10 percent by early next year.

Rising U.S. Vacancies
That translates into less pricing power for landlords. U.S. apartment vacancies jumped to 7.5 percent in the second quarter, the highest level in 22 years, according to New York-based research firm Reis Inc. Asking rents dropped 0.7 percent from a year earlier to an average of $1,040 a month.

Rising vacancies and falling rents sent shares of real estate investment trusts that own apartments lower in the last year. The 13-member Bloomberg index of apartment landlords fell 36 percent in the 12 months through yesterday.

The Manhattan survey released today is based on data from more than 10,000 available apartment listings, according to the Real Estate Group.

In Manhattan’s non-doorman buildings, the average rent for studio apartments fell 8 percent to $1,931. One-bedrooms dropped 5.9 percent to $2,606 and two-bedrooms fell 8.2 percent to an average of $3,527.

On the Upper West Side, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in a doorman building was $3,236. In Greenwich Village, a similar apartment averaged $3,654.

Across Central Park on the Upper East Side, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in a doorman building is $3,276. In Gramercy Park, the price averages $3,656.

The least expensive average rents were in Harlem, where the monthly price ranged from $1,274 for a studio to $2,105 for a two-bedroom unit in a building without doormen.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Louis in Chicago at blouis1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: August 25, 2009 14:09 EDT

New Consumer Protections for Credit Cards and Mortgages: How They Can Help Borrowers

2009-08-31T10:31:00.004-04:00

With all the discussion of Health Care Reform, much of what has occurred with other legislation has gotten a bit lost in the news. I believe the credit card reform bill is one of them and people should be informed to the rights that have been reinstated to them regarding notice; and also there is an important segment related to home mortgages and disclosures (see more by scrolling below).

The FDIC's press release today, lists many of the key issues - and since they have done better than what I could only hope to summarize, I'm reprinting here in its entirety their release for your convenience and information.

New Consumer Protections for Credit Cards and Mortgages: How They Can Help Borrowers Avoid Surprises Other Topics in the Latest FDIC Consumer News Include Making the Most of Bank Rewards Programs and New Resources Explaining Deposit Insurance Coverage
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2009
Media Contact: Jay Rosenstein (202) 898-7303 jrosenstein@fdic.gov

New federal consumer protections for credit cards and mortgages -- including prohibitions against abusive lending practices and requirements for clearer, more timely disclosures -- will help people avoid surprises. The Summer 2009 issue of FDIC Consumer News from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation features key changes in the rules and what they mean for the public. The protections for credit cards are the result of a new law passed in May that is intended to help shield consumers from abusive fees, penalties, interest rate increases and other unwarranted changes in account terms. Most of the provisions start next year, but some took effect August 20, 2009, including a requirement that card issuers must generally provide a 45-day advance notice of a rate increase or other significant changes in account terms, up from 15 days.

The expanded notice period should give consumers more time to react to rate increases or other adverse account changes.

As for mortgages, the new rules feature prohibitions by the Federal Reserve Board against a variety of unfair or deceptive lending practices involving loans made on or after October 1, 2009. Some of the Fed's rules apply to all home mortgages except for home equity lines of credit, and they include prohibitions against inaccurate appraisals (to prevent a consumer from overpaying for a home or borrowing too much) and the unfair handling of loan payments (to avoid unnecessary fees).

Other parts of the Fed's rules protect subprime borrowers obtaining high-cost mortgages. More broadly, there are new requirements from the Fed and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for early disclosures of mortgage terms and costs.

Also in this issue of the FDIC's quarterly newsletter for consumers are tips on making the most of bank rewards programs, such as credit cards that enable users to gradually accumulate cash rebates or "points" good for free travel or merchandise, and checking accounts that offer cash or other prizes for frequently using a debit card. The publication says that these programs can be great deals for consumers, but the key is to be on guard against potential pitfalls that include allowing the rewards to overshadow the more important features of an account when comparison shopping, and overspending (in pursuit of the free benefits) that can result in interest charges and unmanageable debt.

The newsletter also notes the availability of a new FDIC brochure and video to help consumers understand their deposit insurance coverage, including how to have far more than $250,000 protected at the same bank. The latest FDIC Consumer News can be read or printed at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum09. To order up to two free paper copies, consumers can use the online form on that same Web page or call the Federal Citizen Information Center toll-free at 1-888-8-PUEBLO (1-888-878-3256) weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and ask for Department D96.

The goal of FDIC Consumer News is to deliver timely, reliable and innovative tips and information about financial matters, free of charge. To find current and past issues, including special editions, visit www.fdic.gov/consumernews or request paper copies by contacting the FDIC's Public Information Center toll-free at 1-877-275-3342, by e-mail to publicinfo@fdic.gov, or by writing to the FDIC Public Information Center, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, Room E-1002, Arlington, VA 22226. There are two ways to subscribe to the quarterly FDIC Consumer News. To receive an e-mail about each new issue with links to stories, go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

To receive the newsletter in the mail, free of charge, contact the Public Information Center as listed above. The FDIC encourages financial institutions, government agencies, consumer organizations, educators, the media and anyone else to help make the tips and information in FDIC Consumer News widely available. The publication may be reprinted in whole or in part without advance permission. Organizations also may link to or mention the FDIC Web site.

# # #

Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,195 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed.

The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars -- insured financial institutions fund its operations. FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-158-2009

Can I prevent a foreclosure on my home?

2009-07-23T19:21:00.001-04:00

The best defense in a foreclosure is to prevent it. Whatever the reason – be it lack of employment, medical bills - thousands of people are discovering that they can no longer make their loan / mortgage payments.

This is not the time to fall into a daze of denial. You must remain in a pro-active position. Act while you are still in the bank’s good graces!

You can stop a foreclosure.

First:

Contact your lender – ask for the loss mitigation department. You will need your loan number. Tell them your situation and what steps you are taking.
Do not ignore any notices.
Keep all records of your contacts with the lender – who you spoke to, what day and time, what was the result of your conversation. Even if no one will speak with you – record that note.
If you need to send anything in writing, send it by certified mail return receipt.

A foreclosure defense attorney can intercede on your behalf. I have found that too many people are in such denial that they ignore the proceedings until the auction is scheduled and then that week they call my office for help – and there are few options at that point!

Remain pro-active – many laws have been passed to protect homeowners and you can benefit from them.

Beware of Neighbor’s Home Foreclosure

2009-06-15T16:22:00.005-04:00

Today, the media reported on the escalating number of foreclosures across America.

Forbes Magazine via a Reuters Report additionally spoke on the impact in Manhattan. This story by Bob Tedeschi in the New York Times, speaks on the subject of what happens to you if your neighbor falls into foreclosure. With respect to him and the New York Times, I am publishing it below for your convenience to read. The excellent graph which accompanies the article can be found at the Times website http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/realestate/mortgages/14mort.html?nl=your-money&emc=b2

If you know anyone in the position of facing foreclosure, I represent sellers in foreclosure defense. Please contact my office for further information at 800.461.3190.

Beware of Neighbor’s Home Foreclosure
The New York Times
By BOB TEDESCHI
Published: June 12, 2009

WHEN it comes to selling your house or planning your next home equity line of credit, being a nosey neighbor could very well pay off.

That’s one implication of a recent report from the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group based in Durham, N.C.

The report, which was released in May, focuses on the ripple effects of home foreclosures, and suggests that homeowners who are concerned about their home’s value should watch for signs of trouble among their closest neighbors.

This year alone, it says, foreclosures will cause an estimated 69.5 million nearby homes to suffer price declines averaging $7,200 per home. The loss in property value could total $500 billion.

The resulting loss in financial flexibility is significant. “Homeowners who had counted on using their home equity to finance their retirement, cover tuition costs, start a small business, or pay medical bills in many cases no longer have this option,” the report said.

Ellen Schloemer, the executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending, said that over the next four years, foreclosures would affect an estimated 91.5 million neighboring homes.

“As the foreclosure crisis continues to worsen, the contagion is spreading,” Ms. Schloemer said. “You can’t just say those foreclosures are hurting someone else.”

The rate of home foreclosures has rise sharply since 2007, when the first subprime adjustable-rate mortgages began resetting to higher rates. But even borrowers with good credit have defaulted on their loans as the economy has faltered.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, an industry trade group, about 1.4 percent of all first mortgages entered foreclosure in the first quarter of this year, a 20 percent jump from the fourth quarter of 2008, and a record high.

The center’s report relied on forecasts from Credit Suisse, which said late last year that about nine million homes would probably go into foreclosure in 2009 to 2012. The center also used late 2008 data from the Mortgage Bankers Association to estimate this year’s foreclosure figures (about 2.4 million homes).

Two earlier reports released by the Center for Responsible Lending examined the spillover effects of the mortgage crisis. But this year it relied on new research about how a foreclosure affects neighborhood home values — specifically, a 2008 study that includes researchers at Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored agency, and the University of Connecticut.

This study found that homeowners who lived within 300 feet of a foreclosed residential property experienced a drop of 1.3 percent in home value; those living 300 to 500 feet of the foreclosed home typically see a drop in value of 0.6 percent.

John P. Harding, a professor at the University of Connecticut’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies, and an author of the study, said the properties that are most affected by a foreclosure are the ones close enough to see the peeling paint, broken windows and overgrown lawns that often accompany such situations.

The worst time for immediate neighbors to sell their homes, refinance or cash out some of their home equity, Mr. Harding said, is just before the bank takes title to the property, because that is the point of greatest neglect.

After that point, Mr. Harding said, many lenders will at least maintain the property’s appearance well enough to attract prospective buyers.

Of course, the best time to try to sell a home or convert equity into cash is when neighbors are on sound financial footing, though it may not be easy to determine.

Job loss is the biggest cause of mortgage default, according to industry experts, so if a neighbor becomes unemployed, you should probably start your own clock ticking.

For those living outside the immediate vicinity of the foreclosure, but still in the neighborhood, Mr. Harding said home values typically bottom out around the time when the bank actually sells the home.

“My advice would be to try to ride that out, not panic, and know that this is the peak effect from lower-priced competition,” he said.

Mr. Harding said that banks, municipalities and the federal government are justified in financing foreclosure-avoidance programs, but not if they help homeowners just barely afford to stay in their homes. In such situations, neighboring homes could still see values drop.

“You want to offer help at a level at which people can still do critical maintenance to the property,” he said.

CALL TO ACTION - NYS Homebuyer Tax Credit 2009

2009-06-08T12:49:00.006-04:00

We only have two weeks left --- please let our New York State legislative persons know that you support the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Please find below a sample letter you can use.

Subject: Please Support $7,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit

As a constituent, I am asking for your support on a critical piece of legislation that would provide a personal income tax credit for the purchase of a home in New York State (A.7125 by Assemblyman Vito Lopez/S.3900 by Senator Joseph Addabbo). With just two weeks left in the 2009 Legislative Session, your support is critical.

Under this legislation, homebuyers would be able to receive a $7,000 New York State personal income tax credit that would be returned to the homeowner over the course of their first three years of homeownership, dependent upon their tax credit eligibility. This tax credit would be applied to the purchase of a one or two family house, townhouse, condominium or cooperative apartment that was purchased for one million dollars or less. The homeowner must reside in the property for at least six months of each year to receive the tax credit.

In light of the current housing and economic crisis, this proposal to ease the tax burden paid by homebuyers is a significant step towards stimulating the New York housing market and revitalizing the economy. Over the past year, sales of single family homes in New York State have dropped over 25% and the statewide median sales price has plummeted by more than $22,000 over the past two years.

This State tax credit will work in conjunction with the temporary $8,000 federal housing tax credit, set to expire on December 1, 2009, further stimulating the New York housing market and economy. Increased home purchases will reduce current inventory and lead to production of new housing, resulting in a recovery from the currently depressed building and construction economic sectors. This will ultimately generate additional tax revenue for New York State government from increased income taxes tied to construction employment, increased real estate mortgage recording and real estate transfer taxes, and increased sales tax revenue on items associated with a home purch ase including home furnishings and durable goods such as refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, etc.

Just this year, California enacted a $10,000 homebuyer tax credit, Utah passed a $6,000 new homebuyer tax credit, and 14 other states have introduced home buyer tax credit legislation. New York State is competing with states such as these to lure and retain a young and well-educated workforce and enacting this legislation is a definitive step in the right direction.

In order to retain a qualified workforce, sustain our economy and strengthen our communities, we must make homeownership more affordable to the average homebuyer. I urge you to become a sponsor of A.7125 by Assemblyman Vito Lopez/S.3900 by Senator Joseph Addabbo and help bring this bill to a vote before the end of the 2009 Legislative session. Time is of the essence and the economy in New York State cannot afford to wait.

Thank you.

FICO Web Site May Help Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications -- as reported on Bloomberg.com

2009-05-20T16:57:00.005-04:00

This article is just too wonderful and jam packed with useful information and website links -- so with all respect and credit to Bloomberg.com, I am posting it here for your information.

FICO Web Site May Help Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications
By Alexis Leondis

April 17 (Bloomberg) -- FICO, owner of the credit-scoring formula that many lenders use in making mortgages, is now helping homeowners figure out if they can keep them.

The Minneapolis-based credit-rating company is unveiling a new Web site today, mortgagereliefonline.com, to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. Borrowers complete a confidential online form and should find out within seconds whether they may qualify for loan modifications or refinancing, according to a statement from the company. A free credit counselor approved by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development department will contact the eligible borrower within 48 hours, FICO said.

“This site enables consumers to come to one place and have almost immediate feedback in terms of what they’re eligible for,” said Lisa Nelson, vice president of global scoring for FICO. The company partnered with nonprofit organizations Minneapolis-based Homeownership Preservation Foundation and Houston-based Money Management International, which will provide the credit counseling at no cost to homeowners.

U.S. foreclosure filings rose 24 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of default data, said yesterday. The unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since 1983, as 663,000 jobs were lost, according to the Labor Department.

The initiative by FICO, formerly known as Fair Isaac Corp., follows President Barack Obama’s Making Home Affordable plan to assess who is likely to qualify for foreclosure prevention.

Government Web Site
A government Web site, Makinghomeaffordable.gov, created by the Obama administration in March, also provides an online questionnaire, which analyzes a homeowner’s eligibility for loan modification or refinancing. Links to free HUD-approved counselors are listed on the government’s site for homeowners to contact.

The housing-rescue plan is intended to help as many as 9 million homeowners who may be close to default refinance into cheaper loans. It has two main parts: having lenders lower monthly payments for 3 million to 4 million homeowners by modifying their loan terms; and refinancing the loans of 4 million to 5 million Americans whose properties have dropped in value and may owe more than their homes are worth.

Loan servicers and non-profit credit counseling agencies have been inundated with calls from homeowners concerned about defaulting on their mortgages, said Barry Zigas, director of housing policy for the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America. “The site may be a way to cut through waiting on hold,” Zigas said.

Homeowners should keep in mind that a loan modification or refinancing is ultimately decided by the loan servicer, Zigas said.

Federal Aid
Banks receiving federal aid through the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program must also take part in the government’s mortgage modification initiatives, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in an April 9 interview on Bloomberg television.

The mortgage servicing divisions of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., GMAC LLC, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group AG and Wells Fargo & Co. have signed contracts to participate, according to the Making Home Affordable Web site.

Borrowers struggling with their mortgages are better served by working directly with their loan servicer or a nonprofit agency than with for-profit companies that charge fees, said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan.

Lenders such as JPMorgan will benefit from the new FICO site because it will streamline the number of consumers looking to modify or refinance their loans, said Nelson of FICO.

Seek Counseling
Homeowners who do not meet the government’s guidelines for foreclosure prevention and are deemed ineligible by FICO’s online form will be recommended to seek debt counseling and also be contacted by a counselor, Nelson said.

About 7.6 million mortgage holders don’t qualify because their mortgages are more than 105 percent of the value of their homes, according to real estate valuation service Zillow.com.

“Without congressional action to allow bankruptcy judges to modify the mortgage on a person’s primary residence, voluntary efforts by lenders will continue to fall short and be outpaced by the rising tide of foreclosures that’s at the root of the recession,” said Charlene Crowell, communications manager for the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer group in Durham, North Carolina.

-- With reporting by Dan Levy in San Francisco and Dawn Kopecki in Washington. Editors: Rick Levinson, William Ahearn.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Leondis in New York aleondis@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 17, 2009 00:01 EDT

Senate Approves Measure to Reduce Home Foreclosures

2009-05-07T13:08:00.004-04:00

May 7, 2009 - Today the New York Times reported that once again the Bankruptcy Reform Bill was tossed away - but the Senate did vote to approve the foreclosure situation somewhat with new legislation. Did anyone make note of the results of the last legislative efforts from last summer and called, "Hope for Homeowners"?

It's somewhat buried within the following article, but I quote here: "Only one mortgage was modified (emphasis added) under the program, which lawmakers had hoped would help as many as 400,000 homeowners." HELLO! Please read more below. Thank you New York Times for the report. Found at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/politics/07housing

Senate Approves Measure to Reduce Home Foreclosures
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would expand federal efforts to prevent mortgage foreclosures, shield mortgage service companies from lawsuits if they participate in federal loan modification programs, and give renters of foreclosed properties at least 90 days’ notice before eviction.

The bill included an expansion of federal efforts to combat homelessness, which has risen during the economic downturn.

The Senate bill, however, did not include Democrats’ most ambitious proposal to aid troubled homeowners: a provision that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of primary mortgages. That provision, championed by Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, failed last week to get the 60 votes needed to advance.

The broader housing measure, which the Senate approved on Wednesday, 91 to 5, must now be reconciled with similar legislation approved by the House in March. The House version included the bankruptcy provision but the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said it would be removed.

So far, the federal programs to reduce foreclosures have largely fallen flat, particularly the Hope for Homeowners program approved by Congress last summer. Only one mortgage was modified under the program, which lawmakers had hoped would help as many as 400,000 homeowners.

The new Senate bill does not include additional money to aid mortgage borrowers, but it does draw $2.3 billion from the Treasury’s $700 billion financial bailout fund for various provisions.

The bill also would increase the borrowing authority for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to $100 billion from $30 billion, a move that will save banks billions of dollars by reducing the extra premiums that they would have had to pay to shore up the deposit insurance fund.

The bill also extends through 2013 the $250,000 maximum value of deposits insured by the F.D.I.C. Before the financial crisis, the maximum amount insured had been $100,000.

“This bill is principally designed to provide that long sought-for relief for people who are facing foreclosure,” Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of the banking committee, said at a news conference after the vote. “The bill does other things, but certainly, a major target is to deal with peoples’ housing issues and try to stem the tide.”

Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, a main proponent of the bill, had a strong role in the homeless prevention provisions and others that would give the Treasury secretary more latitude in deciding when to use taxpayer money to buy stock in financial institutions receiving bailout assistance.

Mr. Reed, at the news conference with Mr. Dodd, stressed the effort to fight homelessness. “We’re facing the greatest crisis in homelessness since the Great Depression,” he said, citing news accounts of tent cities appearing.
The Senate bill would provide $2.2 billion for homelessness assistance and up to $440million for prevention.

NYC Budget Update - As reported by NYSAR

2009-04-19T15:47:00.001-04:00

City budget update
On April 1, 2009, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released the council’s Fiscal Year 2010 Preliminary Budget Response. This document is a result of a month of testimony by city agencies and the public.

The council projects an even bleaker fiscal picture for New York City, forecasting tax revenue in the current and next fiscal year to be $438 million lower than the mayor’s estimates. The council also projects that revenues from the real property transfer tax and mortgage recording tax will decrease 43.4 percent and 48.6 percent, respectively, in the current fiscal year with further declines anticipated in Fiscal Year 2010.

The mayor will release his executive budget by April 30, 2009, whereupon the city council will hold another series of public hearings. The fiscal year 2010 budget must be passed by June 30, 2009.

Latest Bankruptcy Conference in New Jersey

2009-04-19T14:19:00.003-04:00

So Friday found me blurry eyed having worked all night prior at my Manhattan office - driving to a nine a.m. bankruptcy conference to learn what's new and exciting.

OK, I can think of a hundred at least other ways of spending my time - no less working on something else - than attending another bankruptcy conference. But I seem to never stop having to know more about what is going on. What if anything is changing in this market? How can I learn something else that can be of use...

So - a few things to report. The Third Circuit is sypathetic to debtors. That's the good news. The bad news - take a look at the means test requirements. That's enough to make anyone take pause, no less an attorney as to why and how a person can qualify to file bankruptcy. The link I've given here to the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court page has some valuable information for homeowners and others who find themselves distressed by their current economic problems.
http://www.njb.uscourts.gov/ The bankruptcy legislation that I spoke about in my last post is still of the utmost importance to be passed. Please read - write, call, e-mail your representatives in support of this legislation.

On another subject - somewhat related - what about just walking away from real estate property that can no longer be afforded?

I am frankly amazed at the number of phone calls I receive from people thinking that the bad investments they have made in real estate should somehow just be forgiven and forgot by everyone involved in them. I imagine that folks think that how easy it was for them to be wrongly qualified to purchase - it should be just as easy for them to walk away from it. Something akin to - you thought I could afford this - well I can't - so here, take it back and don't bother me again.

It isn't so easy. So....if you find yourself in that situation - please call my office and let's talk about what options may be available...212.461.4240.

Let's talk soon.

TELL YOUR SENATORS TO SUPPORT SENATE BILL 61; THE HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES IN BANKRUPTCY ACT OF 2009

2009-03-16T09:36:00.001-04:00

Over 6,600 American families a day are losing their homes to foreclosure. In the next five years, over 8,000,000 American family homes will be lost to foreclosure, unless we do something now. If we don’t, the value of all of our homes will keep going down and our neighborhoods will suffer.

DON’T LET THE BANKS BLOCK THIS NO-COST ACTION TO SAVE FAMILY HOMES AND OUR COMMUNITIES AND HELP RESTORE OUR NATION’S ECONOMY

Our Senators have the opportunity to pass legislation that would allow courts to change bad mortgages so struggling homeowners can save their homes from foreclosure. The result? Fewer foreclosures and more stable home prices for all of us.

Tell your Senators to support Senate Bill 61 - the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009. Reduce home foreclosures at no cost to taxpayers.

Call your United States Senators toll free: 877.354.4958
Or email them at: www.nacba.org/TellCongress

The mortgage modification proposal has been endorsed by leading economists, 22 state Attorneys General, state and local elected officials, newspaper editorial boards from around the country and nearly 100 leading national organizations representing seniors, consumers, religious affiliations, financial professionals, working families, and civil rights and housing groups.

Provided for by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, Inc., a nationwide organization dedicated to protecting the rights of honest, hard-working, financially distressed Americans. Go to www.nacba.org/S61 for more information about the bill and how you can help get it passed.

2009-03-05T15:26:00.003-05:00

In today’s Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/home-page there is a superb article by Nick Timiraos titled, “Mortgage-Assistance Program Offers Disparate Treatment Depending on Goals and Circumstances”.

With respect to the full article, I am excerpting a small section of it because it details important components of the program. Mr. Timiraos writes:
….
The program has two main components. One provision will allow diligent borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments but have little or no equity in their homes to refinance their first mortgage to take advantage of current interest rates, which have fallen to near record lows. That is designed to allow responsible borrowers -- mainly those who have been hurt by falling home prices -- to benefit from the current climate. Lenders won't refinance borrowers who don't have equity in their homes.

The second component involves modifying mortgage loans to lower monthly payments to 31% of the borrowers' gross monthly income, mainly by reducing the interest rate on the loan. This effort would target borrowers who are falling behind on their mortgage payments or who are in danger of falling behind. The government will provide financial incentives to lenders and mortgage servicing companies to encourage them to offer the reduced payment plans, which last for five years.

But as with any broad effort, homeowners are treated unevenly in the programs. The refinance provision is open only to borrowers who have loans that are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That excludes large numbers of borrowers with subprime and other exotic mortgages sold to investors; and borrowers with so-called "jumbo" loans that are too large for government backing. Those groups will be eligible for the modification part of the plan, but only for loans up to $729,750.

Borrowers who owe more than 105% of the current value of their home also won't be eligible for refinancing. That means that fewer borrowers in the nation's most over-heated housing markets, including California and Florida, and in some of the most depressed market in the Midwest can take advantage of the program. "Most of the people we serve are too far underwater to take advantage of this," says Dan Elsea, a mortgage broker in Detroit.

Nationally, 25% of mortgage holders have conforming loans that are within the 80% to 105% loan-to-value ratio needed to qualify for the program, according to real estate Web site Zillow.com. But that number falls in certain high-cost housing markets that have seen big price declines. In Los Angeles, for example, just 9% of mortgage holders are eligible to refinance, while 8% of conforming borrowers are too far underwater, according to Zillow.com.
….

Open Letter to our Legislators

2009-03-03T14:34:00.005-05:00

As my elected official, you should know that I strongly support President Obama's initiatives to help millions of American homeowners and reduce the massive wave of home foreclosures that are fueling today's national economic crisis. I urge you to adopt the President's plan to prevent home foreclosures that do not need to happen. A key part of the Obama plan would permit distressed homeowners to seek home loan modifications in bankruptcy court.

I do not think that what has been tried so far to stop the foreclosure crisis is working. If families are going to stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure, it seems clear that court-supervised mortgage modifications are necessary. We have wasted too much time already on half measures and other dead-end efforts that have done nothing to slow down the runaway foreclosure crisis.

I particularly like the judicial modification approach because it can prevent hundreds of thousands of foreclosures without spending one penny of taxpayer money. Is it too much to ask that you take this no-cost action for homeowners? After all, you have seen fit to spend billions of dollars on bailing out banks, car companies, brokerage firms and other corporate giants. It's time that we face facts: We can't end the financial crisis without ending the rising tide of foreclosures.

At a time when an estimated 6,600 families are losing their home to foreclosure each and every day, there is no time for delay. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to support this urgently needed legislation.

American families are reeling under the weight of the recession today. At a point where you can help lighten that load and save the homes of many Americans, I am asking you to support judicial modification of mortgages. This nation needs to put the housing crisis behind it.

As my elected official, you can be assured that I will be watching with great interest to see how you come down on this issue of great importance to my family, my neighborhood and my community.

Please keep me informed about how you vote on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Michele A. Peters, Esq.

Partying on with our money!

2009-03-02T18:38:00.003-05:00

Another bailout pays for their party. Did you know?

The Northern Trust Company has recently received $1.6 billion from the citizens of the United States as part of the government's bailout program.
Recently, the Northern Trust spent millions of dollars to sponsor a golf tournament (The Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles). In connection therewith, the company incurred the following expenses:

Airfare for hundreds of clients and employees to Los Angeles.
Hotel rooms, including rooms at very upscale properties, for hundreds of people.
Dinner and cocktail parties.
Chicago concert.
Earth, Wind, & Fire concert.
Sheryl Crow concert.

Northern Trust responded that it did not ask for the $1.6 billion but took it only to help the government reach its goal of having the participation of all major banks. It should be noted that Northern Trust is also current with its repayment plan. See Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A., TMZ.com, Feb. 24, 2009; Stephen Bernard, Northern Trust faces scrutiny for event spending, AP, Feb. 25, 2009; and Northern Trust, An Open Letter to Northern Trust Shareholders, Clients and Staff, Feb. 24, 2009.

Why do I post this? Because I RESENT my tax dollars going to these institutions. If any corporation is in need of our "bail out" dollars - they should be in bankruptcy and under the supervision of the court and the U.S. Trustees who will ensure that the money goes to the proper places.

6 things to know about the Economic Stimulus package

2009-02-20T14:04:00.001-05:00

Here are six things you need to know about the Economic Stimulus package which includes the much discussed - $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

1. Eight grand, new first-time home buyers: The tax credit included in the economic stimulus legislation is much narrower than the original proposed amount. This credit is equivalent to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home--although it's capped at $8,000--and applies only to first-time home buyers and principal residences. It does not have to be repaid.

2. First time buyers defined: For the purpose of legislation, a "first-time home buyer" is someone who hasn't owned a principal residence for three years before purchasing a house. (The date of purchase is considered the day that title is transferred.) If you have owned a vacation home--but not a principal residence--within the past three years, you would still qualify for the credit. You would have to prove where your principal residence has been during that time.

3. 2009 buyers only: Only those who purchase a home on or after January 1 and before December 1, 2009 are eligible for the credit.

4. Income limits: The tax credit is subject to income limitations. Single buyers need a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less to qualify for the full credit, that's $150,000 for married couples. Those earning more than these thresholds may be eligible for reduced credits.

5. Refundable: Because the tax credit is "refundable," qualified buyers can take advantage of it even if they don't have much tax liability.

6. Recapture: Buyers have to own the home for at least three years in order to capitalize on the credit. If they sell the home before then, they will have to return the credit to the government. (Exceptions will be made in certain cases, such as death or divorce.)

What a Difference 4 Months Make

2009-01-19T17:07:00.004-05:00

On this very historical Martin Luther King Jr. Day - the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration, the feeling in the City is optimistic for the first time in many, many months.

The snow is falling and still there is a smile on so many New Yorkers' faces. We can all use a good dose of optimism and I welcome our new administration with open arms.

Crashing into Christmas

2008-12-26T12:16:00.003-05:00

I love the day after Christmas where I'm usually found hanging around the house in my slippers and robe. I can quietly enjoy the day after all the whirlwind of festivities and take the time to reflect on what has happened and what may happen in the new year.

Manhattan real estate has been absolutely amazing over the past three months. It's as if - again - "the sky is falling" syndrome has returned. I love taking the time to think how to restructure and organize our business so we can change with the market. Because that is afterall the key to success - be changeable with the times.

By my side is Charleston (my faithful dog), who is essentially sleeping off the doggie treats he has been enjoying. He's encouraging me to do the same.

I wish everyone a wonderful holiday and I look forward to learning more in the new year.

NYC Apartment Rents Fell in November, Vacancies Rose

2008-12-05T11:53:00.003-05:00

Bloomberg.com December 04, 2008
NYC Apartment Rents Fell in November, Vacancies Rose
Sharon L. Lynch

Manhattan apartment rents fell for a fourth consecutive month in November and vacancy rates reached 2 percent for the first time in almost two years as Wall Street’s financial turmoil took a toll on the housing market.

Rents dropped 2.2 percent to 4.9 percent across all sizes of apartments, with the biggest drop in the smallest flats. Studios rented for an average of $1,808, down from $1,901 in October, New York-based real estate broker Citi Habitats said today in a report.

Rents are declining as New York City is forecast to lose as many as 165,000 jobs, including 35,000 in the financial industry, as the impact of the credit crisis spreads throughout the economy. Wall Street firms including Merrill Lynch & Co. have produced mortgage-related losses and writedowns of more than $900 billion and are cutting staff as the economy weakens.

“There’s a lot of volatility out there. A lot of people are worried about their personal circumstances,” Citi Habitats President Gary Malin said in an interview. “Everyone is definitively conscious about price.”

SoHo Most Expensive

The city’s most expensive neighborhood remained the Soho/TriBeCa area, with studios renting for an average of $2,395, one bedrooms for $3,637, two bedrooms going for $5,300 and three bedrooms for $7,045.

A three bedroom in Soho/TriBeCa costs almost 20 percent more to rent than on the Upper West Side, the second most expensive neighborhood for that size apartment.

Excluding areas north of 96th Street, the cost of a studio apartment fell the most in West Midtown, with the average declining 10.6 percent to $1,832. One bedrooms dropped the most in Midtown East, where they fell 7.5 percent to $2,621.

Murray Hill had the biggest drop in two-bedroom apartment rents, falling 10.4 percent to $3,225.

The biggest drop in three-bedroom apartments was in the Wall Street/Battery Park City neighborhood, where the average cost dropped 6.1 percent to $5,304.

The least expensive neighborhood south of 96th Street for studio apartments, two- and three-bedroom apartments was the Lower East Side. Studio rents there fell 1 percent to $1,600 a month, two bedrooms declined 3.2 percent to an average of $2,917 and three-bedrooms were little changed at $4,081.

For one-bedroom units south of 96th Street, the least expensive area was the Upper East Side, where prices fell 2.6 percent to $2,228.

More Discounts

Rising vacancies are also prompting some landlords to offer incentives such as a free month’s rent, Malin said.

“If I’m a tenant, I’m certainly going to have more options of apartments to look at,” Malin said. “They are also going to have more options when it comes to pricing.”

Rents are falling in Manhattan as apartment sales also decline and the inventory of unsold properties rises.

Sales fell for the third consecutive quarter and inventory rose by a third even in the three months ended Sept. 30 even as prices continued to extend a five-year streak of gains, New York-based real estate appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and broker Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate said in a report on Oct. 3.

Transactions dropped 24 percent to 2,654 from a year earlier and the number of apartments on the market increased to 7,003. The median price of a condominium and co-op jumped 7.4 percent to $928,263, the second highest on record.

The third-quarter Manhattan property market results were the first to capture sales since Bear Stearns & Co. was forced to sell itself to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. in March after customers and lenders fled on speculation the company was short of cash.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aCnxy9pXB7O0

Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T17:22:00.005-05:00

It seems with all that is happening in our real estate market - there is still much to be thankful for and that includes right now the ability to even complain about it.

Can I just start charging people $1.00 every time I'm asked - "How's the market?" I think it would help offset my bus fare. My favorite response has always been - "which market are you asking about?" Because we certainly have a commercial; residential; rental; sales; uptown; downtown; midtown; etc. set of markets all of which have been performing differently at different times. But we can be really safe saying now -- every one of these markets is essentially just WAITING. But -- the big one here -- if people felt edged out over the past year by prices, please start looking because there are possibilities out there now. For instance, co-op studios have dropped under 300K - and there is more to follow. Of course, many properties were just simply over-priced to begin with but there's no question that prices have dropped from 2007 - to the tune of 30%.

Traditionally everyone waits about 60 days after a Presidential election (Yea Obama!) to make any major decision, and this year is no different.

I'm longing for January 2009.

I loved receiving from Rick Gregory, my main man at Weichert Financial, the first news of the drop in rates today - followed up by his remarks that he will do whatever it takes to get the deal done for us. Now that's a CAN DO type of attitude I love. He's also a rarity in this business.

What is it about most Manhattanites that everyone has to be so cranky, all of the time? Is it because no matter how much money you make, it's never enough? No matter how many sit-ups you do, it's never enough? No matter how many friends you make - or for that matter, enemies, it's never enough? And on that note - it seems I have no end of either friends or enemies. I've been told it's because I speak my opinion -- classic Sagittarius trait I reckon. But for better and often for worse, I have unfortunately spoken my opinion.

So leading with "crankiness" -- we are smack up against Thanksgiving - a time of reflection, draggin' out the old speeches that other people wrote and said. And I'm feeling a wee bit cranky myself.

Why Sellers Should List With Us

2008-11-13T15:19:00.003-05:00

NAR in MANHATTAN

2008-11-12T16:25:00.004-05:00

Just returned from the National Association of Realtors Convention in Orlando, Florida and it was a blast. For nearly 25 years now, I've worked in Manhattan real estate and most of it I was completely ignorant of NAR's work and the opportunities available.

Gads, it's amazing to me how back woods Manhattan's real estate market is and the fact that a MLS exists and most people don't even know about it.

Well, our sellers and buyers do benefit from our membership and hopefully in time, others will too.

October Leading to the Polls

2008-10-24T17:46:00.006-04:00

OK - I nearly "bugged" out when I saw that my last posting was in August. So much for careful blogging about real estate.

So what did you do when you heard all the financial news announced?

I had such an image in my mind - 1989/1990 people screaming, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling." Clients would yell at me, "We're in a depression!" Why do people feel they need to scream? Our path to incredulous?

Well, I don't know about you but what I did was to pack my satchel and headed to the loving realm of two of my best friends on the coast of Oregon. What a welcome relief. The land of sweatshirts; pick-up trucks; and salmon. Oh dear am I waxing "Palin"? And three weeks later...

Guess what?

We are all still here.

I'd love to break out into song at this moment but we are still talking about real estate and still talking about deals.

Been there - done that - we like to say. Take faith, we do survive these things. Sometimes we just need to be a bit more creative.

So, in that light I'm announcing that tomorrow I head to Pennsylvania to do some campaigning - for Barack Obama. Yes, here I am a founding member of the Federalist Society at New York Law School. I made a call to Tom Cole's office to deliver the news. As if he cares?

So, musing on many issues, I'm grateful our Mayor will be around to help lead this City for a third term. I've never been for extending term limits, but on this call - I beg for it. God bless America.

And to inspire everyone, here are the news headlines tonight as delivered to me by the National Association of Realtors. Enjoy!

State News

NYC Council extends term limits

The New York City Council voted by a margin of 29 to 22 to approve Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to change the term-limits law so he can run for re-election following the conclusion of his second term, which ends in 2009. The bill gives all city officials an opportunity to run for a third term. A recent NY1 poll found that 89 percent of New Yorkers say the issue of term limits should be decided by a voter referendum. Meanwhile, 59 percent of city voters say they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Bloomberg if he ended up on the ballot next year. Click here to find out how the Council voted.

Recent housing statistics

This past week a Prudential Douglas Elliman report found that the median sale price in Queens declined 11.4 percent to $400,000 from the comparable period in 2007. The report also said that sales dropped 35.3 percent to 3,240 transactions for the quarter, compared with the same time last year. The borough has been leading the city in foreclosures this year, up 100 percent compared to the third quarter of 2007. As for New York’s Capital Region, foreclosures have jumped 138 percent in one year, up from 232 foreclosures in the period of July-September 2007 to 553 for the same period in 2008. The silver lining in the Capital Region, despite the jump, is that the region had the 96th-lowest foreclosure rate among the country’s largest 100 metropolitan areas according to RealtyTrac.com.

New York schools could do more to cut property taxes

According to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New York school districts are setting aside about $400 million too much in special accounts to pay for departing employees’ unused time. In a statement DiNapoli said: “School districts may have thought they were planning prudently for long-term costs, but they actually were stranding more than $400 million that could have been used to reduce property taxes.” DiNapoli further recommended that lawmakers pass legislation to require that districts remove excess money from the special accounts. The money could go toward property-tax relief, capital projects or other post-employment benefits. Click here for more information.

Sales in Manhattan - What's Going On?

2008-08-13T16:42:00.002-04:00

While it seems every paper and website has been quoting the same numbers regarding sales in NYC (most relevant to us is Manhattan) - there is a subject that needs to be acknowledged - taxes - the lack there of and how prices might be effected.

In at nutshell -- according to analyst reports from StreetEasy, the sales are: fewer $1million Manhattan apartments traded in the first half of 2008, than in the first half of 2007. However, almost one out of every two Manhattan apartments sold in the first half of 2008 was for at least $1million. Of course the numbers are twisted by 15 CPW and the renovated Plaza closings. But it’s all - interesting to think about.

So, while we have product - there are no fire sales.

August is ALWAYS a great time to buy because traditionally the market is at its “softest” -- sellers are nervous that their property is still sitting, and prices usually drop to compensate. But we saw a bidding war on an UWS two bedroom property over last weekend. Fully renovated, the property appeared at $870,000 - a GREAT price. Promptly 30 parties appeared at Sunday’s Open House - offers flooded in - driving the price 100K above asking - accepted - with three back-ups. As we say - HELLO - smart agent - good work.

But an announcement occurred today. Mayor Bloomberg stated that Wall Street’s mortgage losses have grown so large that some firms may pay little or no taxes for years, widening New York City and state deficits and challenging their ability to provide services.

Some companies are seeking refunds from the city on taxes they paid ahead of time, saying losses have cut their tax liability to zero. The banks pay tax on 110 percent of earnings in advance as a “safe harbor,” protecting against penalties for underpayment.

“It will be a number of years before Wall Street starts paying taxes again,” the mayor said at a press conference yesterday in Manhattan. “They will carry forward all of those losses.”

Now - what also needs to be remembered is that we have in the City a good two years of property tax surpluses that accumulated over the past crazy, bonus years in real property sales. That cushion does assist in the total scheme. The Mayor stated “services” and I think perhaps there should be some thought of belt tightening on many of our public programs our population enjoys.

According to State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, financial firms posted $501 billion in write-downs and credit losses worldwide since the start of last year, a figure the World Bank predicts may rise to $1 trillion as the credit squeeze sparked by the subprime market collapse worsens. The tax drain in New York, where Wall Street accounts for 20 percent of state revenue and about 9 percent for the city, will have an effect.

“If the World Bank’s prediction that the large investment banks will book up to $1 trillion in write-downs because of the mortgage crisis is true, then Mayor Bloomberg is absolutely right,” said Lynn Turner, former chief accounting officer of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “These guys won’t be paying taxes for some time.”

Do I see this as a call for alarm in our real estate market? No, I don’t. Not yet. That cushion is going to cover for a while - but there’s always the fact that it can be siphoned off fairly quickly to areas compensating for a lack of income.

As we enter 2009 -- I want to reconsider all of this.

I have such a headache

2008-08-12T13:30:00.002-04:00

I just got off the phone for a second time today with a person in a relatively high position in their firm wanting to know what's going on in our market.

Yes, I have such a headache.

I do get a bit tired of people equating what is occuring in the rest of the country with Manhattan and wanting an explanation as to why they don't seem to be able to get that two bedroom home for 200K less than the asking price.

Please forgive me but there's a reason for the adage, Location, Location, Location! I've lost count of how many times I've said this, wrote it, but give me a property in great condition in a great location and unless it's absurdly overpriced, it's going to sell..

I think I'm getting too cranky here today..

Fannie Mayhem: A History (Wall Street Journal)

2008-07-14T13:17:00.005-04:00

Ok - This is reprinted in total from today's Wall Street Journal (Opinion Journal) and I believe a very nifty "snapshot" of events that occurred over the past four years leading to what occurred this weekend:

Fannie Mayhem: A History

July 14, 2008

• Fannie Mae Ugly 07/12/08 – Investors continued to flee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac almost as frantically as the political class tried to reassure everybody there was nothing to worry about.

• The Price of Fannie Mae 07/10/08 – It's time Americans understood the price they could soon pay for the Beltway's confidence game with these high-risk "government-sponsored enterprises."

• Too Political to Fail 04/21/08 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren't held to the same standards of accountability as everyone else.

• Fannie Mayhem 11/20/07 – Chuck Schumer is lucky Congress ignored his idea that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should ride to the rescue of the housing market.

• Fannie More 10/23/07 – Barney Frank and Chuck Schumer have come up with a proposal that would increase the risk to taxpayers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• Fannie to the Rescue? 09/29/07 – Fannie and Freddie went up the Hill to fetch a pail of money.

• Freddie Krueger Mac 05/10/07 – Just when you think they're defeated, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac arise in Congress to kill any attempt to clean up their dangerous habits.

• The Fannie Tax 04/12/07 – Democrat Barney Frank and the Bush Administration seem to have found common ground on new rules for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Naturally, there's a catch.

• Memo to Fannie 06/14/06 – A joke in Washington these days goes like this: "What's the difference between Enron and Fannie Mae? Answer: The guys at Enron have been convicted."

• Freddie's Friends on the Hill 04/27/06 – The Federal Election Commission sheds some light on how Freddie Mac rewards its friends.

• Fannie Mae's House 10/25/05 – Every Congressional session can be counted on to produce its share of bad bills. But the "reform" bill for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is in a class of its own.

• Fannie's Friends on the Hill 05/09/05 – Congress finally seemed ready to protect taxpayers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then Republican Mike Oxley decided to ride to their rescue.

• Fannie Turns a Page 12/23/04 – Fannie Mae – a slick, semiprivate firm operating with the patronage of politicians – is the kind of institution one still expects to find in a country like France.

• Fannie the Centaur 12/17/04 – Understanding their half-man, half-beast nature is crucial to fixing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the wake of their recent financial scandals.

• Fannie Mae Liberals 10/14/04 – There were many moments of high entertainment during the House hearings on Fannie Mae's creative accounting. But our favorite was the Mister Magoo performance given by Barney Frank (D., Massachusetts).

• Fannie Mae Enron? 10/04/04 – The company was cooking the books. Big time.

• Fannie Uncovered 09/23/04 – The housing-finance giant has been engaging in some accounting funny business.

• Fannie's Risky Business 02/25/04 – Alan Greenspan puts his credibility behind the cause of reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• Christmas for Fannie Mae 12/23/03 – The Federal Reserve Board releases a new staff study about the impact of taxpayer subsidies for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• White House Fannie Pack 11/11/03 – White House chief economist N. Gregory Mankiw dares to tell the truth about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage giants were not amused, which means we're getting somewhere.

• Fannie Takes the Hill 10/09/03 – When the House of Representatives can't get even a modest regulatory bill out of committee, the dangers of Fannie Mae become clear in reality.

• Speaking Truth to Fannie 03/12/03 – The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warns of a potential crisis arising from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• Fan and Fred Get the Business 02/19/03 – The year has not started auspiciously for the two mortgage-finance behemoths.

• Fannie Mae's Risky Business 09/23/02 – We've been suggesting that Fannie Mae was exposed to too much interest-rate risk. All of a sudden investors seem to agree with us.

• Fannie Capitulates, Sort Of 07/15/02 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac end months of resistance, stonewalling and downright crankiness and agree to register their common stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Fannie's Inside Info 07/01/02 – Even in this post-Enron world, Fan and Fred do not provide as much information about these securities as private mortgage lenders do.

• Inside Fannie 03/19/02 – Fan and Fred don't function like other companies. They're allowed to pile up debt, implicitly guaranteed by taxpayers, without being held to even the minimum of corporate governance standards.

• Frantic Fannie 02/28/02 – Companies taking on so much risk and debt, and backed by taxpayers, ought to be more transparent in what they tell the world.

• Fannie Mae Enron? 02/20/02 – Fan and Fred look like poorly run hedge funds: lots of leverage and snarkily hedged risk. Does the word Enron ring any bells?

Is it Up? Is it Down?

2008-07-02T18:47:00.002-04:00

Shoot - I just read no less than ten different headlines reporting the news of the Manhattan real estate market - which way did it go? The New York Times today reported that sales are up - the number of transactions are down. Good grief.

This report came in today from Property Shark.

Key Takeaways from 2Q08 Manhattan Sales:

• Sales Transactions: The number of residential sales transactions declined by 38% compared to the same period in 2007, with re-sale transactions showing the largest decline.

• Median Sale Price: Median sale price rose 13% over the same quarter in 2007. Median price was down 2% for re-sale properties and up by 48% for new development units.

• Region of Manhattan: For re-sales, the uptown Manhattan market had the largest increase in median sale price compared to the same quarter last year. Among new development sales, the upper west side showed the greatest median sale price increase compared to 2Q07.

All I can tell you is that I think I'm the only one in Manhattan right now sitting at an office desk before this July 4th holiday.

Enjoy!

Darryl Strawberry told me he loved me

2008-06-01T16:00:00.002-04:00

Does it count that I said I loved him first?

Honest - a New York moment.

It happened Friday as I was scampering into my office. 42nd Street between Mad and Park - and there he was standing in the doorway of one of our local stores. Smiling and looking very tall...with people looking very short next to him.

What is it about us that we can see someone who we've never met, but have followed their life through the media for so many years, and then simply shout, "I LOVE YOU"?

Of course I wanted to do a follow-up - "STAY OFF THE DRUGS" - but that thought of course only crossed my adled mind as I walked away...

Yes, a New York moment.

Housing Crisis is Over

2008-05-06T13:22:00.002-04:00

OK - I said it today in our Sales Meeting. However, if you don't take my words for it, it just so happens that it's in today's Wall Street Journal, Page A23 - yep, the same words. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121003604494869449.html?mod=djemITP
of course it's only an opinion.

As we've been watching the market nation-wide and the timing, we've essentially absorbed all the readjustments of all those 5 year ARMS that became due in the last four months. Either people were able to take advantage of the higher conforming loan amounts and excellent loan rates, sell, or they crashed. Manhattan - as normally happens - has been essentially immune to the vast changes seen across the country. Prices have adjusted. The badly constructed new developments will languish; the poorly designed floor plans will be passed over for another property better designed; better located; and in better condition.

We've been selling our exclusive listings within days. If the property is in great condition, and priced correctly, there are buyers wisely waiting the opportunity. Property is not being given away but it is definitely moving.

Spring Begins

2008-03-21T11:37:00.004-04:00

There's an interesting feeling in our residential market these days. And what seems to be the problem? What I've observed is that the product in great shape and location goes almost as quickly as it hits the market. We still have buyers walking in and offering all cash.

And then we just encountered a buyer - HELLO FIRST TIME IN MANHATTAN - saying, "I think the market is going to come down so I will wait." Boy if I had a dollar for every time I've heard that statement since 2002...

But there are some facts to consider.

Our conforming loan limits have raised. But they are only good until the end of the year. The mortgage/loan rates are excellent. If you believe you are in a home too large, I say you should sell and downsize now. If you are in need of a larger home - the same is true. But you need to think about staying where you are for about five years.

Why listen to me? I've only been doing this business for 25 years...but don't just take my word for it. Here's Barbara Corcoran on the topic.
You will find this posted on MSNBC's website. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23726652/

She states:

Waiting for prices to come down.

As smart as you think you are, you cannot sharpshoot the real estate market. You never know when the best time is. Prices ebb and flow, and occasionally, like right now, they go down a lot. Nobody knows when the tide will turn, and based on historic data it always inevitably does. The best you can do is buy within the low and we're definitely in the low right now.

You also need to keep the interest rates in mind. If you wait for prices to come down by 10%, and interest rates go up by a half a point, your monthly payments will be the same. (Emphasis added). Historically speaking this also makes now a good time to buy. The people I would advise not to buy right now are those who don’t plan to stay in their homes for very long. If, however, you are ready to make a long-term commitment, now is as good a time as any to buy a home.

So, here we are moving quickly into April with the chill still in the air. Have a blessed holiday.

YIKES

2008-02-25T01:14:00.002-05:00

OK - here's the real question - who has not been hit with the flu? I think that February should just be declared flu month and no one bother traveling in any public transportation. Shoot I just got over a major hit that took me by surprise and knocked me out for an entire week. We are big washers-of-all-surfaces in our office and STILL....be careful out there.

So we have a changing market. This really is the year that if you were thinking of trading up or needing to refinance NOW's the time. The legislative changes only go through December 2008 so it's made to spur the market and everyone should take advantage of the higher loan amounts for conforming loans. Of course that takes in nearly all real estate in Manhattan but it's a great time for people to move either up, down, or refinance.

In case you ever wonder, I always practice what I preach! I'm doing both -- refinancing and purchasing.
I invite you to do the same.

May the Rates Be With You

2008-01-14T00:17:00.001-05:00

Yes that is the force these days as we plunge into the beginning of the Spring season. Bank of America is bailing out Countrywide and JP Morgan Chase is riding to the rescue of many a loan faced with refinancing.

Indeed, the Fed will reduce rates - the bond market will rally and our mortgage/loan rates will dip lower. Please if you are looking for financing, do everything you can to get your credit rating as superb as you can. That is the key - always - but especially these days. There is product available.

The Crickets are Alive

2007-12-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

Yes - there's renewed life in the real estate action here in Manhattan and I LOVE it especially as we enter the traditionally slow holiday time. I was beginning to think that even the crickets had died here in the office....though I spend way too much time here working. I am continually looking for great people to associate themselves with us here.

Thank you thank you thank you

2007-11-25T23:01:00.000-05:00

There's never enough gratitude for all we have -- plain and simple. Thank you everyone for allowing us to do what we love.

As Fall Begins

2007-09-30T20:53:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the new real estate section of the New York Daily News? I have to tell you I like it very much. None of the chi-chi-I'm-so-cool-it's-ridiculous type writing...it's actually insightful and enjoyable - ah a concept.
Of course they have Barbara Corcoran as their new columnist on Fridays but as far as her words of wisdom that I have read so far, I've heard it and read it all before. It's hard to be always new but this colume is in need of it. The show - where she communicates with a doll is not exactly thrilling to me either but maybe to others....you tell me.

What I wish to learn more about is how she came to be the marketing maven she is, and how to position your company to sell it. That's what she did well - better than anyone.

So have you seen REBNY's listing portal - minus most of the listings? That's all I can muster about that one.

Winding down summer

2007-08-26T00:02:00.001-04:00

Ah the thrill of it all - in one week how can we go from wearing coats to guard against the cold to wanting to rip our clothes off in the heat?

If you're a buyer - hit your offers by tomorrow! The last two weeks of summer are always a great time to put in an offer - that is, if the seller doesn't pull their listing off the market and decide to relist after labor day. It's been alittle lonely around the City these past days - I've been hearing the crickets in my office.

Meanwhile, I do have a few agents still running around and doing the best they can because nothing can replace just simple "drive".

Enjoy these last days of August, I am sure September is going to be full speed ahead and that is always enjoyable.

Ah the foresight

2007-08-18T13:55:00.000-04:00

Three weeks ago I spoke here about the credit crunch and The New York Post got around to interviewing me about it this past week. They - like the Wall Street Journal - failed to quote me. Gee, I wonder why?

Maybe it's just my chirpy optimisim that always gets in the way? Perhaps and most likely so. At least that's my story (and I'm sticking with it.) Fault me but I just don't see the death knell ringing...yet.

We're a small firm - yep, that's obvious - our average sale is between 1M and 2M and reflective of the average in Manhattan overall. Maybe because I stress with my agents the importance of pre-qualifying buyers that we don't have many surprises. We aren't experiencing any radical changes in buying behavior either based on tightening lender scrutiny. We're just continuing to do business as we always have. Unqualified buyers (hopefully I state this because there may be things happening I'm just not told about) just wander elsewhere.

There always seems to be a plethora of real estate agents who fail to qualify buyers and prefer being "show-ers" of properties. I don't get it. I've been surprised by how many agents in Manhattan really don't need to work for living. Unfortunately (or fortunately)I never found myself among those ranks.

Meanwhile we're spinning down towards the end of the summer. This Saturday with the pristine air and cloudless sky brings a lack of humidity sniffing of fall more than Manhattan's usual summer fare. I'm honestly considering taking a break from Manhattan for a few days before the onslaught of the fall season beginning in September.

I look forward to learning what offers come forth from this weekend's open houses. I would imagine there will be low ball offers coming in on properties from buyers hoping to capitalize on all the press about the jumbo rates escalating. I can equally picture sellers saying "no" and holding their ground waiting for the customary school semester beginning and the next round of interested buyers returning from the sandy or wooded acres of their summer haunts.

There's still so much money floating around looking for a place to park in real estate. It's just so interesting.

Dog Days

2007-08-09T16:05:00.000-04:00

Yes, we did survive the Con Edison steam pipe explosion which was across from our building...Wednesday's torrential rain (you haven't truly experienced Manhattan until you see water pouring down the central escalators of Grand Central and the subways all stop running) - and TORNADOES - in New York City! Gads. 20 years ago I remember commenting that soon we would see palm trees growing on 42nd Street, and my goodness we still have wacky weather. Doesn't that bring us to the question - when isn't it wacky?

So enough about the weather - on about real estate. Still our luxury market is strong, we can't get enough of great product in GREAT locations. Resales are strong IF the sellers have renovated and renovated well. If you can not tell the difference between Home Depot and hand crafted cabinets - well, on some people it can be lost, but on those who know -- the properties are being snatched as quickly as they come on the market.

This has been a very busy summer for us even with the many fluctuations in temperature and weather. The fall season is going to be very interesting.

What I will find will take some study is what is occurring with jumbo rate loans (417K and higher). That does affect our Manhattan market where most of the loans are jumbo simply because of the initial high cost of property. This week the rates jumped up - banks are tightening (to some of us - we believe it's about time) the requirements qualifying buyers. Most of our high end customers will continue to be unaffected by these changes; however, first time buyers will be affected.

My contact at Trachtman & Bach, Inc., the very capable Janine Baron, alerted me to the hold on home equity loans that has just squashed their products. Buyers need to scrutinize their credit reports - clean up any delinquencies - so they can be at the forefront of receiving a preferred loan rate.

2007-07-11T14:14:00.001-04:00

One of the things about a blog - you've got to post to it....so here we are in the midst of the annual humidity festival a/k/a New York City and I'm finally getting around to writing.

So first I have a newspaper observation:

Is anyone paying attention to what is happening over at the New York Daily News? They seem to be shaking up the teams over at the New York Times and pulling their best people over. I'm thrilled to see it take place and excited by their enthusiasm and dedication to changing their real estate section. I look forward to seeing what develops.

On a more national media note:

With Manhattan's real estate market being very strong - about the only gloom and doom media writers can whip up seems to be about the sub-prime market. Where was everyone when Washington Mutual whisked into Manhattan offering their 100% financing products? I always have been against 100% financing and today's stories merely give substance to the argument.

I remember a discussion I had with one of our developers in the City - oh about 4 years ago now. He was instrumental in several larger projects Uptown. In a discussion about what financing should they allow for a new housing project - he initially proposed 100% financing. He looked at me and said, "If someone doesn't get 100% financing, something is wrong with them." My response, "You believe that?" His response was yes and in fact on his Florida home he had done just that. His thought process was --- if you don't acquire 100% financing, then perhaps you shouldn't be buying because you don't believe in the strength of your investment. I thought that was an interesting analysis - I didn't agree. I guess that makes me just a wee bit more risk adverse, but I've been in the business for over 20 years.

Why am I babbling here about sub-prime loans? The Wall Street Journal interviewed me a while back about the subject. It was never printed. Perhaps because I could not agree with a conclusive remark that we were witnessing the "collapse" of our Manhattan real estate market. Thank goodness 75% of the housing in Manhattan is cooperative ownership (whatever your opinion may be - good or bad) with the Boards who have not forgotten what happened in the late 1980's -- and well, they should not.

I attended a legal continuing ed class two weeks ago about foreclosures today in real property. An interesting statistic was given. Of all the loans that have been processedin New York State, only 13% qualify as sub-prime. My goodness. I guess with that fact in mind - it leads me to think we should continue discussing whether we should be in Iraq.

May 2007 State of the Market

2007-05-10T15:37:00.001-04:00

So far this has been an extraordinary year - once again. While the majority of the United States is experiencing a “down” housing market, Manhattan sales continue to escalate and in this spring season we are experiencing scenes reminiscent of years ago - dozens of persons appearing at open houses and bidding wars raging on the best properties. However, the bidding wars now are confined to the properties found in prime locations and presented in “move-in” condition.

Importantly the New York Times reported that the Federal Reserve announced May 9, 2007, that the Federal Funds Rate would not increase. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/business/10fed.html?th&emc=th
Favorable loan rates continue to fuel the interest of buyers.

Persons ask -- is this a buyers' or sellers' market? My answer remains - neither - it is a traditional market where well priced properties are still highly desired. Buyers still have product options. However, one area demands excitement -- there does not appear to be a sufficient supply of luxury large properties available for the buyers who want them.

Miller Samuel Appraisers http://www.millersamuel.com/ reported that in the first quarter of 2007, the average sales price of a Manhattan apartment was $1.29 million, an increase of 5.4% from $1.22 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2006. The average price per square foot experienced a rise of 7.2% to $1,070.

We are finding that the experienced brokers who are properly accessing the value of a home for their sellers are having their property’s asking prices met. There is not much negotiation happening across the market as a whole. Clearly if a property today lingers on the market, it is not priced properly.

Additionally, many persons who took a “wait and see” attitude this past winter are discovering that the market has advanced past them this spring.

However we believe that a good real estate sales agent is one who watches carefully what is happening in the market; evaluates it and remains in weekly contact with their seller as to the reaction in the marketplace and my sincere hope is to encourage careful evaluation.

2007-03-17T14:34:00.000-04:00

In this post, I'd like to discuss a subject that has been of increasing concern to me -- discrimination against the disabled and our search to find appropriate homes for the Developmentally Disabled.

When I was in law school, I had the opportunity to moderate a discussion group that featured our former U.S. Attorney General under two Presidents and twice Governor of Pennsylvania- Dick Thornburgh. He played a leading role in the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a conversation with him, I learned that his son had been in a car accident which left his son disabled and through personal experience, Mr. Thornburgh learned of the many obstacles faced by those with disabilities and he wanted and worked for change.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is one of our most important legislative triumphs.

My interest in improving the lives of the disabled does not come from any direct personal experience. My interest comes simply from the belief that it is a test of who we are as a society - as to how we treat those less fortunate then ourselves.

Thankfully our State since the days of Willowbrook and the 1970's, has changed how the disabled are cared for and treated. It is one of my proudest tasks that today I am the exclusive Site Selector for New York State in locating homes for the Developmentally Disabled in four of our five New York City boroughs.

However, I have been dismayed at the prejudice we still encounter -- largely from the Real Estate Brokerage Community with an antiquated belief that property values will be lowered by having the State care for Disabled individuals in our residential communities. It's a belief I find appalling.

Are persons aware of the number of disabled persons being born today and of the current aging population? Are persons aware that with the passing of time - families will not be able to continue to care for these individuals but will be looking to the State to care for them?

Each home that my team of agents examine -- we ask, would I place my child here to live? -- the answer should only be yes.

My hope is that as the New York Times in recent weeks has written stories about the disabled, that it is creating renewed interest in the sophisticated care and humanitarian spirit of what is being accomplished and being worked towards - and that home owners looking to sell their properties will see selling their homes to the State for the Developmentally Disabled as a proud endeavor.

March Rolls In

2007-02-28T19:50:00.000-05:00

Here we are beginning the ever popular spring season in real estate and it's amazing how much activity is happening in Manhattan. (First let's strangle that furry rodent who predicted an early spring...)
Customers who have failed to attend recent open houses - can not believe that they can be one of sixty people showing up to view a property. Are we back to two years ago -- but with some more affordable pricing?

Needless to say - some folks in Harlem read the recent New York Times Article about Washington Heights maintaining its property values over the past six months and have taken the opportunity to RAISE their asking price. I don't know quite what makes these sellers believe that it will prompt more offers -- but I do believe the brokers are being told what to do in those scenarios. What broker would think that is a wise move when a property has already been sitting on the market for a few weeks?

I know one thing and that is that I am in need of more smart agents to join our firm to handle the referrals coming into our office. We have buyers - renters - looking to live in Manhattan and I need the agents to work with them.

On another subject -- I'm looking to see if anyone is actually using the new Agency Disclosure Forms. If you have an agent who has spoken with you about Agency relationships, I'd like to know about it.

Enjoy the warming weather and the warming real estate market.

Real about Real Estate

2007-01-29T16:57:00.000-05:00

Beginning the new year in Manhattan - there's a lot of sale and rental activity in all budget ranges - not just the high-end as most publicized. This has been one of the busiest January's - in keeping with the stronger market we've experienced in recent years.

Nay sayers - I believe they are sitting still in their rental apartments waiting for that magical time when they will finally purchase a home which never seems to happen...yet watching each year pass and seeing nothing at the end of it except the state and a landlord getting wealthier off of their hard earned money.

What's new? Importantly there is a new agency disclosure form that just went into effect this month. Currently it applies to 1 - 4 family dwellings. However, there is legislation that has been introduced in Albany to have the disclosure form apply to cooperatives and condominiums which of course represents the majority of property in Manhattan. Stay tuned for further developments.

And the story of the Real Estate Board of New York and the Public Portal continues to be source of a) annoyance to many; b) consternation to some; and c) not even worth thinking about by others.