Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

I found this really interesting mortgage calculator website called www.mtgprofessor.com.

Created by Jack M. Guttentag, a Professor of Finance Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, it contains a host of really useful calculators such as mortgage calculators, down payment calculators, APR calculators and so much more.

Take a look.  Of course, nothing in this life is guaranteed (death and taxes excluded), not even the accuracy of online calculators, so be sure to “check the facts” by consulting with a mortgage broker or your accountant before you make any life altering decisions.

There a lot of home improvement projects that get put off until better weather arrives such as putting in new windows and purchasing new air conditioners.

Well summer is here and the weather in Brooklyn is balmy, so if you are thinking about tackling some of those summertime projects, keep in mind that if you make the right kind of home improvements you can get a nice tax right off on your 2010 Taxes.

The Non-business Energy Property Tax Credit

This tax credit allows you to write off 30% of the cost of the following products on your primary residence if they meet the government’s energy-efficiency standards:

• Central Air Conditioners
• Exterior Windows
• Exterior Doors
• Water Heaters
• Natural gas, propane or oil Furnaces
• Insulation designed to reduce heat loss or gain
• A Metal Roof with the appropriate pigmented coatings
• An asphalt roof with the appropriate cooling granules

There is a lifetime maximum credit of $1,500, and in order to claim the full credit you must spend at least $5,000 on qualified energy-efficient home improvements.

The manufacturer of the products you buy should be able to certify that their product meets government standards or you can also check the Energy Star website.

So save yourself some money on your 2010 taxes.  If your planning to make any of the home improvements listed above, make sure that they meet government standards and save those receipts!

I love to read. I love to read a lot, especially anything Real Estate related, so I spend a lot of time in bookstores and libraries. The other day I found this really terrific book called “Mind Your Own Mortgage: The Wise Homeowner’s Guide to Choosing, Managing and Paying Off Your Mortgage.” by Robert J. Bernabé as I browsed through Borders, and I think its really worth a mention.

I really liked the simple and sound principles the author outlines in his book that spans the entire life cycle of a mortgage from choosing it to paying it off as quickly as possible.

His explanation of the recent credit meltdown that sent our economy into a free fall is easy to understand by even the most “finance lingo challenged” individual.  Understanding what happened can help you avoid making the mistakes some borrowers did during the mortgage free for all that led some of them to foreclosure.

Also his “avoid consumer debt like the plague” approach to managing personal finances jives with what I’ve had to learn the hard way.

I found this book to be a really informative read and purchased a few copies to give as closing and housewarming gifts.  I think you’ll find it useful as well, especially if you’re a first time home buyer looking to make your first purchase with a mortgage loan.

American’s are very mobile people. According to the US Census, the average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. Follow the link below and take a look at a fun and facinating interactive map bought to you by the great minds at Forbes, and you’ll be able to answer the question -Where’s everybody going?

Here’s the link —> Forbes Interactive Map – Where Americans are Moving

Enjoy

There are circumstances were renting is better then owning such as if you are only going to be living in an area for a short while or you need to save more money for a down payment in order to buy. If renting is right for you, now might be the time to move up to that larger apartment are change neighborhoods.

According to the latest quarterly Apartment Research Market Update report by brokerage Marcus & Millichap, asking rents will continue to fall this year, but at a slower pace, the report predicted. Landlords will continue to offer concessions, such as one to two months of free rent, this year to retain or attract tenants.

If you are a market rate renter, I can help you find a great apartment in Brooklyn. I know many renter’s don’t really want to pay a brokers fee, which is typically one month’s rent, but you can save yourself the time and effort of finding a really great apartment at an affordable price by letting me do the leg work.

Every so often, I take a picture of a street scene in Brooklyn that just says it all.  Here’s an example of Spring in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn, New York is a vibrant “city within a city” with many diverse neighborhoods.  Here is a simple list of Brooklyn neighborhoods:

Bath Beach
Bay Ridge
Bedford-Stuyvesant
Bensonhurst
Bergen Beach
Boerum Hill
Borough Park
Brighton Beach
Brooklyn Heights
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brownsville
Bushwick
Canarsie
Carroll Gardens
City Line
Clinton Hill
Cobble Hill
Coney Island
Crown Heights
Cypress Hills
Ditmas Park
Downtown Brooklyn
DUMBO
Dyker Heights
East Flatbush
East New York
Farragut
Flatbush
Flatlands
Fort Greene
Fort Hamilton
Georgetown
Gerritsen Beach
Gowanus
Gravesend
Greenpoint
Greenwood Heights
Highland Park
Homecrest
Kensington
Lefferts Manor
Madison
Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Terrace
Mapleton
Marine Park
Midwood
Mill Basin
Mill Island
New Lots
New Utrecht
Ocean Hill
Ocean Parkway
Paerdegat Basin
Park Slope
Parkville
Plum Beach
Prospect Heights
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Prospect Park South
RAMBO
Red Hook
Remsen Village
Rugby
Sea Gate
Sheepshead Bay
Spring Creek
Stuyvesant Heights
Sunset Park
Vinegar Hill
Weeksville
Williamsburg
Windsor Terrace
Wingate

In difficult economic times, most people are looking to save a dollar or two, but is that the best strategy when buying a place to live? No one wants to pay more for a piece of property then they have to, but is the cheapest house really the best deal?

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when buying a house, co-op or condo. How long do you plan to live there? What’s the neighborhood like? Is it improving or declining? How will that effect the value of your property when you’re ready to sell it? Does the property meet your needs now and in the future? And, in my opinion the most important question of all, do you love it?

A young woman I worked with recently found a beautiful condo that she really liked, but truthfully it was no bargain. It wasn’t particularly over priced, but there were other condos in the area that were less money. The problem was that the other properties didn’t have the light the condo she liked had, and she didn’t get that “wow” factor from the other properties like she did when she walked around the more expensive property.

After much deliberation, she went with the higher price condo because, as she put it, “This where I’m going to live and I want to like it. That’s worth more then money.”

So the cheapest house is not always the best deal. The best deal is when you buy a property you really love for a price that you can afford.

Happy house hunting,