Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

According to an article in the Brooklyn Eagle, Mayor Bloomberg signed legislation on Tuesday, 12/30/08, that establishes the Fulton Street Business Improvement District (Bid).  The Mayor stated that the BIDS budget for the first year of operation is $300,000.

This is good news for property owners in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene.  The improvement of the commercial corridor along Fulton Street between Rockwell Place and Classon Avenue will help make Clinton Hill/Ft Greene even more desirable to live in (which helps to increase property values) and will hopefully give us a cleaner, more attractive street with more stores and restaurants to patronize.

For more info about the BID, click here.

Today’s New York Times has an interesting article about the effect falling housing prices are having on people who are looking to get divorced.

Thanks Mr. Mayor.

So anyone else who has been anticipating getting their $400 property tax rebate check, it should be in a “mailbox near you” soon.

Here’s a little article posted in the New York Times about the proposed Fulton Street Business Improvement District (BID).

The BID will run along Fulton Street from Rockwell Place all the way to Classon Avenue which passes through both Ft Greene and Clinton Hill. Business that are located in the BID will be required to pay a fee. The fee covers extra security, street cleaning and holiday decorations as well as marketing efforts and other items to improve the area.

Opponents of the BID, particulary in the Clinton Hill end of the mile long stretch the BID covers, are worried that the cost will cause their already failing business to totally collapse.

To see the benefits of a BID, you just have to walk a few blocks over to Myrtle Avenue. When I first moved into the area, Myrtle was not a very inviting place to shop, and I would typically either go to Downtown Brooklyn, or Manhattan to buy what I need. Now, Myrtle Avenue is well lit and cleaner with many new shops and restaurants.  I can now say I shop on Myrtle Avenue weekly.

The Myrtle Avenue BID helps merchants get new signage and provides other benefits that, from my consumers point of view, has only helped to make Myrtle Avenue more vibrant, which in turn must have helped merchants make more money.

Time will tell whether or not a Fulton Street Bid will help do the same for the ailing portions of Fulton Street that the Myrtle Avenue BID has done along Myrtle Avenue.

I got this question from a wonderful young nurse who is looking to purchase her first house, and I thought the answer to this question might be helpful to other first time home buyers.

What Type of Attorney To Choose

When choosing an attorney to represent you when you’re purchasing a home, you want to make sure the attorney focuses on Real Estate Law.  There’s a lot of little nuances involved in a Brooklyn real estate transaction that a general attorney may not be familiar with, so its in your best interest to hire an attorney that is presently practicing Real Estate Law.  If you’re buying a co-op or condo, make sure that the attorney you choose has experience in those specific transactions.

How to Find A Real Estate Attorney

The best way to find a good real estate attorney is to ask your family, friends and acquaintances for recommendations. No doubt someone that you know has been envolved in either buying or selling real estate and used an attorney. If no one you know can recommend someone (which would be the preferred method of choosing an attorney), you can go to the Brooklyn Bar Association’s website to find a real estate attorney or ask your realtor for a list of names.

How Much Will It Cost

Every attorney is different, and depending on his or her experience and other factors will charge anywhere between $500 (which is a deal I got from a family friend) to $1000 for a standard real estate transaction.  In the end, the choice is yours, but don’t just let price be the main factor in choosing who will help represent you in what will probably be the biggest monetary transaction of your life.

Your real estate attorney is the person who will be looking out for your legal best interest in the deal, so choose someone who gives you the sense that he or she will make themselves available when you have questions, and you will have questions especially if this is your first time around.

Find the Attorney Before the House

Choosing an attorney is not difficult, but it is a task in the home buying (or selling) process that should take some time and thought, so if you’re seriously thinking about buying your first home, take the time to choose an attorney before you find that perfect house, co-op or condo.

If you’re a first-time home-buyer, and you purchased a home after April 9, 2008, don’t forget to claim your First-time Home-buyer Tax Credit on your 2008 tax return.

Thanks to the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, any first-time single-family house, condo or co-op buyer can claim 10% of the cost of her home, not to exceed $7500, on her tax return.   To qualify, you (or your spouse) cannot have owned a principal residence in the 3 years previous to the purchase.

The full amount of the credit is available to individuals with an adjusted gross income of no more then $75,000, and for anyone filing a joint return with an adjusted gross income of not more then $150,000.

To be sure you get the full credit you’re entitled to, consult with your tax professional.

And here is some good news for anyone thinking about buying their first home, the First-time Home-buyer Tax Credit does not expire until July 1 2009, so its not too late.  Get out there a buy before that date, and you too can take advantage of the $7500 tax credit!

In a buyers market like the one we’re experiencing now, getting your property to stand out among the crowd and draw the buyers in is one of the keys to getting your property sold.  According to the National Association of Realtor’s(R) 2008 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, for a second year in a row exterior renovations are returning the best bang for the buck. 

What does that mean for Brooklyn house sellers?  Adding a deck, replacing the siding or putting in new windows is a cost effective way of increasing your property’s curb appeal which will help get more buyers in the door. Its cost effective because you will recoup the majority of the money spent on the renovations once the property is sold.

The statistics show that nationally, adding wood decks and replacing siding returned 80% of the project cost.  Window replacements returned up to 76% of cost.

Of course, the old stand by, a kitchen upgrade, is still a good investment.  The report showed that a minor mid-range kitchen remodel returned 79.5 percent of costs.  For information on the cost to value of other types of renovations, got to Realtor.org to view the full report.

Selling in a buyers market can be challenging.  Make it easier. Increase the curb appeal of your property by doing cost effective exterior remodeling jobs that won’t take a big bite out of your profits. 

For more information on the types of renovations that work best in Brooklyn, give me a call at 917-544-2662 or email me by clicking here.

US News and World Report has published its latest list of the top 100 Public High Schools in the nation. They compiled the list by examining the data from 21,069 schools from the 2006-2007 school year. They used a three step process to determine a schools eligibility for the list, and the schools ranking. For a detailed explanation of the criteria they used, go to usnews.com.

Eight High Schools in New York City made the list, one right here in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene Brooklyn ranked #67. The other New York City Public High Schools that made the top 100 are as follows:

#23 – Stuyvesant High School – New York, NY 10282
#29 – High School of American Studies at Lehman College – Bronx, NY 10468
#31 – Dual Language and Asian Studies High School – New York, NY 10002
#32 – Staten Island Technical High School – Staten Island, NY 10306
#33 – Bronx High School of Science – Bronx, NY 10468
#48 – Queens High School of Science of York College – Jamaica, NY 11451
#67 – Brooklyn Technical High School – Brooklyn, NY 11217
#71 – Townsend Harris High School – Flushing, NY 11367

The inclusion of so many New York City Schools on this list, 8 out 27,000 schools nation wide, is a big accomplishment and shows that the city’s public school system, though not perfect, does have some bright spots.