Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

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.

Well, according to a New York Magazine article written by Nate Silver, the baseball stats guru who became famous by outpredicting the politicos on the outcome of the last presidential election, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is the 18th most livable neighborhood in the 5 boros.

Of course you know I don’t agree.  Clinton Hill/Fort Greene is number one (could my bias be showing?), but he put together an interesting model that he used to rank 50 of the cities neighborhoods.

First he gathered statistics via an online survey on what most people thought were important factors when choosing a neighborhood and came up twelve categories, such as housing costs, safety, schools and transportation.  Each category received a percentage rating and the stats were complied from there using various sources.

Park Slope took the number one spot with the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Sunnyside Queens, Cobble Hill and Greenpoint rounding out the top five.

Where was Clinton Hill/Fort Greene lacking according to Mr Silver’s statistics? One of the areas was lack of green space. Fort Greene Park and the many tree lined streets throughout the neighborhood surely count towards the area being green.  And I’m pretty sure that a section of Fort Greene won the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest held by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden every year.

Well, I think the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn is a spectacular place to live with restaurants galore, magnificant housing, an abundance of greenery (an over abundance during allergy season) and a 15 minute commute to Manhattan and all it has to offer.  Who could ask for anything more?

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.

Do you want to help make Brooklyn even more beautiful and green then it already is?  Looking to spruce up your property and increase its curb appeal? Then come to Fulton Street and Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn on Saturday or Sunday April 17th and 18th between 10 am and 3 pm and get a free tree!

200 trees will be given away on a first come, first serve basis.  Whether you’re an individual, family or community group you will be given a free tree to plant on your private property.  They’ll even help you bring the tree home and plant it!

For more information on how get and take care of a free tree, go to the Green Fort Green Clinton Hill Website.

Happy planting!

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,

Well, its March 15 and we taxpayers only have 30 more days to file our tax returns. Besides having a wonderful places to live, the homes we’ve purchased, whether it is a house, co-op or condo, allows us to get the benefit of several tax deductions and tax credits. Here’s a list of tax credits and deductions available to homeowners for the 2009 tax season.

Mortgage Interest Deductions – If you took out a mortgage to purchase your home, or you have a Home Equity Line of Credit, then each month you are paying interest to a lending institution. That interest that you’re paying is tax deductible. In order to take the deduction you will have to itemize on your tax return. What you will need to take the deduction is form 1098 that you should have received from your lending institution, and the schedule A form to file with your 1040 or 1040A.

Real Estate Taxes – You can also write off the real estate taxes you pay on your property. What you will need to take the .
deduction is the amount of real estate taxes you paid for the year (if you have a mortgage the amount should be included on form 1098) and again you will have to itemize (use form schedule A).

First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit – If you did not own a home in the 3 years prior to buying one in 2009 or you purchased a home in 2010 (you must be in contract on or before April 30, 2010) then you may qualify for an $8000 First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit. The credit is fully refundable meaning that if you don’t owe the IRS any monies, you may receive the entire $8000 in cash.

For more information on this credit and the form you’ll need to file it, go to the First-Time Homebuyer Credit Questions and Answers Pageon the IRS’s website.

Move-Up Buyer Tax Credit – If you have sold the home you lived in for five consecutive years of the last eight years and purchased a new one between November 7, 2009 and July 1, 2010 (you must be in contract on or before April 30, 2010) then you may qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.

For more information on this credit and the form you’ll need to file to get it, go to the First-Time Homebuyer Credit Questions and Answers Pageon the IRS’s website.

Residential Energy Property Credit - If you’ve made energy efficient improvements to your existing home, you can get a credit of up to $1,500. What are some of the improvements that qualify? Take a look at the Energy Star.gov Website for more information.

As you can see from the tax credits and deductions above, owning a home can really benefit your pocket when tax season rolls around. Be sure to consult with your tax profession to make sure you get all of the tax breaks you deserve.

If I had a nickel for every time a buyer told me that they are looking for a brownstone in Clinton Hill or Bed Stuy, I’d be…well you know.

The next question that I always ask is, “what do you mean by a brownstone?” It might seem like a stupid question to some, but the truth be told, different people have different ideas on what a brownstone is. Some call any row house regardless of the material it’s made of a brownstone. Some call any row house that is brown in color a brownstone. Some call a row house with a layer of brown sandstone applied to its façade a brownstone.

Which idea is correct? Well, in Brooklyn New York, and the rest of New York City, the most widely accepted definition of a “Brownstone” would be a multi floor row house that has a façade made up of brown sandstone which, back in the 19th century when this type of construction was popular, was quarried in New Jersey and Connecticut. The stonemasons of that time period were artisans that liked to use sandstone during construction because it was easy to work with and allowed them to create the varied and ornate design elements you see on the exterior of brownstones today.

When brownstones were first build they were single-family homes that typically included a Garden Floor, sometime called an English Basement, that was at ground level which had a front entrance underneath an exterior formal staircase that led up to the “parlor floor” above, and a rear exit door that led to a garden at the back of the house. The kitchen was generally located on the garden floor.

The parlor floor was where guests were entertained and the parlor was usually the most elaborately designed room of the house with a large fireplace with an intricately detailed mantle, beautifully crafted moldings and fantastic hardwood floors. The entrance to the parlor typically had a set of pocket doors that discreetly slid into the walls when opened. The tall windows that looked out onto the flagstone sidewalk in front of the house would be equipped with raised panel shutters that folded into the window frames when not in use.

One of the things I love most about classic brownstones is the gorgeously ornate staircase banisters some of them contain. I find it so exciting when I see an intricately carved wood banister sweeping up to the floors above, especially if it still has its original finish.

Today, most brownstones have been converted to multiple family dwellings with a lot of the original detailing lost to neglect, indelicate care or too many coats of paint. Still, if you are looking to own a home with some of the finest architecture in Brooklyn, then a brownstone might be for you.