Wednesday, January 29, 2014

NYS Attorney Generals Office in Action to Protect the Consumer!

NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL --Illegal anticompetitive practices hurt the real estate industry as well as the consumer

Contact The Antitrust Bureau
Participants in the real estate industry are closer to daily real estate activity and more
likely to observe anticompetitive conduct. We rely on reports from real estate lawyers, brokers, purchasers, and others in the industry. Please feel free to contact us with your questions and concerns.
Antitrust Bureau
State of New York
Office of the Attorney General
120 Broadway, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10271
antitrust.realestate@ag.ny.gov
212-416-8262

What to Look for
Illegal anticompetitive practices in real estate transactions can include:
  • Agreements among brokers not to charge
    commissions under a certain level;
  • Agreements among brokers not to work
    with discount brokers;
  • Refusals to deal with brokers who offer
    rebates to their clients;
  • Refusals to show properties that are for
    sale by owner (FSBOs) or listed by a discount
    broker;
  • Agreements among brokers or multiple listing services (MLSs) to prevent competition from real estate websites.
Agents and Fiduciary Responsibilities
Frequently, a real estate agent’s fiduciary duties are not well understood by consumers, and even by some real estate professionals. Consumers should receive full disclosure of all the information they need for a fair real estate transaction. For example,
  • Buyers must receive the required disclosure form listing the broker’s fiduciary duties and disclosing whom the broker represents.
  • Buyers should be informed if the agent representing them is going to be paid by the seller’s broker.
  • Buyers should feel free to inquire about how much commission their broker will earn on a transaction.
  • Both buyers and brokers should know that rebating commissions is legal in New York.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Bottom-line About Our Company: We Put Our Clients Highest and Best Interests First!

Like I always say on here or other forums, the majority of real estate agents/brokers are sincere, honest people who take their clients needs seriously and put them above their commission. But there are always exceptions, agents who put their own petty feelings and commission above all else.

 I have been contacted by the NYS Attorney Generals Office twice (yes they called me). They like what we are doing and they want to make sure that no one is interfering with our ability to do business with a model they believe benefits the consumer. We always work fairly with all parties; sellers, brokers etc, that is our nature. We have received complements from some of the top real estate brokers/teams in NYC!  It always surprise's me when an agent from a large "white shoe" type firm behaves with total disregard for their own clients best interests as well as for the desire of the buyer. It does not mean a thing who you work for or what organizations you belong to.....We strive to do the right thing, because it's right.

Monday, January 20, 2014

We Take a lot of Pride in the ALL Board Packages We Prepare!



"First, I have to say your board package was beautifully put together.  I especially appreciated the highlighting and circling of the relevant totals in the bank and investment statements."

This is just one of many compliments we receive from brokers, agents and managing agents.

  

Sunday, January 12, 2014

New Mortgage Rules

So here is a link to the new mortgage rules that have been established to prevent another credit crisis and protect individual buyers. One thing you will notice is the debt to income ratio cannot exceed 43%, Traditionally NYC co-ops want to see a D to I of no more than 25%. This rule established by co-ops certainly helped insulate NYC from the fall out we saw throughout many parts of the country. Co-ops also typically want to see 24 months of liquid savings available post close, This along with the D to I limit certainly helped many New Yorkers avoid a catastrophe. Having sufficient reserves, combined with an affordable payment should be the goal of all home buyers.

Mortgage Rules

Valuing Outdoor Space

This is a very informative piece by Jonathan Miller. We have covered this here previously, but it is refreshing to hear this from one of the most revered appraisers in NYC.

Understanding the Value of Manhattan Apartment Outdoor Space