Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

Standing on the bus stop yesterday, a woman I chat with often noted the skeleton of one of the high-rise buildings springing up on Flatbush Avenue Extension and asked, “What’s going on in Downtown Brooklyn?  Are they trying to turn it into a mini Manhattan or something?”  The short answer to that question is “yes”.

Here is an interesting article that was published in the New York Post this past November. 

Brooklyn Reaches for The Skies - 11-2007

Its a very interesting reading.

Clinton Hill Co-op Apartments - A Jewel In Brooklyn

If you are looking to purchase an apartment in the $300,000 - $475,000 range in Brooklyn, I highly recommend you take a look at the apartments available in the Clinton Hill Co-ops, which has two campuses on Clinton Avenue between Myrtle Avenue and Greene Avenue. There are so many reasons that purchasing at the Clinton Hill Apartments is a wise investment, but here is a list of just a few:

1. The apartments are large, with good sized closets. One bedroom apartments are approximately 850 Square Feet!
2. All of the apartments have large windows that let in a lot of light, and many of them have fantastic Manhattan views.
3. The co-op has strong financials and a large cash reserve.
4. Apartment values have tripled in the last 7 years.
5. There is 24 hour security and maintenance, as well as onsite laundry facilities.
6. Storage and Parking available.
7. The co-op has a dedicated board that meets all requirements for shareholder meetings and handles it fiduciary responsibility of making sure all of the co-ops bills are paid.



8. The co-op is located in a section of Brooklyn that is just minutes from Manhattan. (I’ve been able to reach 34th street in Manhattan is less then 30 minutes).
9. The Clinton Hill/Fort Greene area has many restaurants and shops, with more and more opening every month.
10. Clinton Hill Co-ops is located on one of most beautiful streets in downtown Brooklyn, namely Clinton Avenue, which has been called “Mansions Row” because of all the historic mansions that line the tree line street.
11. The neighborhood is diverse and has a little bit of a small town feel in the heart of the big city.
12. For you pet lovers, Clinton Hill Co-op is pet friendly. Dogs and cats are welcome.

Have I convinced you that Clinton Hill Co-ops is a fantastic place for you to look for a new home? If you would like to see what apartments are available at the co-op for sale, click here.

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A Flip Tax, which is better described as a “transfer tax”, is monies paid to the cooperative by the seller once a coop apartment is sold (or the transfer of ownership occurs).   A coop’s flip tax, if it has one, will be spelled out in the cooperatives offering plan, and can be a flat fee, a per share amount or a percentage of sales.  For example, a coop that has imposed a 5% percentage of sale flip tax, would collect $15,000 at closing from the seller on a $300,000 sale.

Why do coops charge flip taxes?  Well, its a great way to collect money to fund the coop ’s reserve funds so that the corporation has monies available for any necessary capital projects that arise without having to access the shareholders, or increasing the coop’s debt service by taking out a loan.

Flip taxes are a necesary evil that you have to take into consideration when you purchase a coop.

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Considering the subprime mess that has caused Real Estate prices around the country to take a nose dive, this is the number one question anyone thinking about selling their home has on their mind.

Well, I guess the answer to that question depends on why you want to sell.  Truthfully, If you really don’t need to sell and maximizing the amount of money you get for your home is very important to you, then its probably better for you to wait until prices recover.  Unforunately, you could be waiting a while.  Economists predict that we shouldn’t expect to see a “turn in the market” until late 2008 or even early 2009. 

However, if you really need to move, or if you have so much equity in your home that getting a lower price then you would have 6 months ago doesn’t faze you, then now is as good a time to sell as any.

The main thing you’ll need to do to get you home to sell quickly is to price it right.  Just because “Joe”, who used to owne a house on the same block that is very similar to yours, said he sold his house for x amount of dollars, doesn’t mean you’ll get the same price (and truthfully he could be exaggerating).  When your neighbor sold has a lot to do with what price he got for his property.  If it was during the “real estate bubble” he got top dollar and now that the bubble has burst, you shouldn’t expect to get the same. 

The best thing to do is to find a Real Estate professional who has knowledge of your area and get him or her to do a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) so that you can get a realistically idea of what your home will sell for.  Don’t let the news of doom and gloom scare you.  Do your homework and you’ll be able to sell your home successfully no matter what the economy is.

My name is Elaine Cooper and I’m a Licensed Real Estate Representative with Weichert Realtors - H.P. Greenfield in Clinton Hill Brooklyn.

I’ve been involved in the Real Estate industry in many capacities over the past 10 years, from ownership to Real Estate Sales to Property Management.

I love Real Estate (talking about it, touring it, showing it, decorating it), and I love helping people, so I decided to combine the two and create this blog. The goal of this blog is to help as many people as possible live the American Dream of owning their own home (or coop or condo or whatever your choice is) by providing up-to-date information about the Real Estate market and home ownership in Brooklyn New York.

Welcome, and I hope you find this blog useful.