We are really proud of the work we do and what we have accomplished since starting The Burkhardt Group over 7 years ago. I just read through some of our testimonials from previous clients and it was very touching. I am looking forward to many more!
Best,
Keith
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Yes...I'm Tooting Our Own Horn, So Kill Me!
From a top broker at Sotheby's:
"Christian and Keith,
I just reviewed the package. Thank you that was a extremely well
done application (and I have seen some really crazy ones of late that required
numerous revisions). THANK YOU. The only remark is perhaps think about putting
the proposed closing date on page 1 of the application as "on or about
9/22/14" lest the board feel pressured by that date.
Thank you again for being so wonderful to work with, I foresee
this being no issue. Xxxxx'x letter too was well written as was his letter
explaining his two forms of income and employment.
Have a good Sunday."
On another note I had a terrible experience with a listing agent last week, actually quite deceptive, enough so that I was very close to calling my contact at the AG's office as well as filing a formal complaint against the agent with the NYDOS. It is amazing how someone will justify away their actions to try and clear their conscience. I will spare you all the details, however the email chain and other docs have been filed away. In my personal life and my business life I practice the Noble Eightfold Path, I'll let it go for now.
Hope everyone is having an amazing summer!!
Friday, August 15, 2014
Buying a Town House/Brownstone in an Up and Coming Neighborhood....
We have represented a few buyers in the purchase of a home in some "up and coming" neighborhoods, primarily in Brooklyn. I refer to them as up and coming in the context of buyers whom may have overlooked such areas in the past are now exploring them, certainly they were intact neighborhoods before this phenomenon occurred. The social and economic circumstances that lead to the decline of such areas is much to complex to tackle here, however let's hope the changes taking place help the entire community become more dynamic, with better services etc for all the residents.
This strong sales market has brought new players to the development business, some trying to exploit this very active sellers market. Neighborhoods such as Bedford Stuyvesant have many once beautiful homes that are now in need of complete restoration. Some of these new developers are doing less than a stellar job and completing renovations and bringing the properties back on market for resale. We have seen shoddy work, non-compliant renovations and basically just covering up the old mess with sheet rock, paint, carpet etc.
Before you spend money on a home inspection, do your own thorough look around and something we have found to be of the utmost importance; ask the listing broker for a list of previous work completed by the current developer (flipper?) Find out the name of the developer and do a thorough GOOGLE search, pour through Brownstoner for information on the builder. Many times a building will look pretty decent, we do our best to scour through the property, building records, DOB etc to garner as much info as we can, however you need a licensed building inspector/engineer to really get a proper understanding of what is going on. But the best place to start after viewing a property you are interested in, ask about the developers previous projects, we have found this to be a great leading indicator of what kind of work was done. Whenever we cannot get a clear answer to this question, it's never been a good outcome.
At least if you are buying a property that needs a gut renovation you know what you are getting into and can plan/budget accordingly to create your dream home. Buying a property that you think has undergone a renovation only later to discover the electrical work was not done to code, plumbing has been hobbled together, a structural wall has been removed and the added beam is not sufficient to support the load will break your heart and then your bank account! No one wants to feel like they have been taken and suddenly the dream of buying your brownstone has become a nightmare.
This strong sales market has brought new players to the development business, some trying to exploit this very active sellers market. Neighborhoods such as Bedford Stuyvesant have many once beautiful homes that are now in need of complete restoration. Some of these new developers are doing less than a stellar job and completing renovations and bringing the properties back on market for resale. We have seen shoddy work, non-compliant renovations and basically just covering up the old mess with sheet rock, paint, carpet etc.
Before you spend money on a home inspection, do your own thorough look around and something we have found to be of the utmost importance; ask the listing broker for a list of previous work completed by the current developer (flipper?) Find out the name of the developer and do a thorough GOOGLE search, pour through Brownstoner for information on the builder. Many times a building will look pretty decent, we do our best to scour through the property, building records, DOB etc to garner as much info as we can, however you need a licensed building inspector/engineer to really get a proper understanding of what is going on. But the best place to start after viewing a property you are interested in, ask about the developers previous projects, we have found this to be a great leading indicator of what kind of work was done. Whenever we cannot get a clear answer to this question, it's never been a good outcome.
At least if you are buying a property that needs a gut renovation you know what you are getting into and can plan/budget accordingly to create your dream home. Buying a property that you think has undergone a renovation only later to discover the electrical work was not done to code, plumbing has been hobbled together, a structural wall has been removed and the added beam is not sufficient to support the load will break your heart and then your bank account! No one wants to feel like they have been taken and suddenly the dream of buying your brownstone has become a nightmare.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Vote for Your Favorite Real Estate Photograph!
Terrible Real Estate Agent Photos!
I have seen some pretty bad photos, especially in the burbs, but there are some real pieces of work in this collection! Enjoy!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Why We Do What We Do (And How?)
I often get asked these questions and often keep my reply pretty short and sweet. Really though it's pretty simple, things eventually change, they have to evolve and this is happening (albeit at a slow pace) in real estate just as it did in everything from buying shoes and diamonds , to planning vacations and purchasing stock. I thought about this back in 2007 as I was preparing for the eventual bursting of the "bubble". It really started when I decided to stop selling in the wake of the coming storm and focus on rentals, though with a twist; a discounted fee based on a variety of factors. The agents I worked with thought such an idea would never work in NYC, it actually worked quite well.
By the middle of 2009 clients began asking if I could offer such a model for the purchase of property? This was already the plan, I was just waiting for the market to show signs of life again. After some research into what I could and could not offer I started to experiment a bit with different models for both selling and representing buyers, I settled on buyers. There was quite a backlash towards brokers, especially after 2008. I was an early reader/user/participant of blogs like Curbed and the now famously spectacular real estate site StreetEasy. It was here that I discovered not everyone cared for brokers (to put it mildly), so I started thinking about a way I could cater to what I referred to as "Real Estate Quants". These buyers were armed with data that was once held tightly by agents and their firms, they were discussing the market on blogs, creating spread sheets and mining data.
So I decided to offer something different, a partnership where we worked together, full disclosure and 100% transparency was the order of the day. We would reward this relationship and loyalty to us with a commission rebate based on the circumstances of the deal. What I knew from the beginning was the rebate would not be enough to grow and survive in the sophisticated market of NYC, we would also have to provide outstanding service and careful analysis of property. Our typical client may be happy to receive a rebate from us, but they stick around, refer us to their friends and colleagues because of our dynamic and effective business model and 100% commitment to provide them with outstanding service.
Look, it happened with selling diamonds, airline tickets, shoes and stocks; we are now bringing that model to NYC real estate.
How: We have virtually no overhead, we do no advertising, no big office space; we have phones and a few computers with access to the world via the internet! We have over 30 years of experience in NYC real estate, raised families here, sent our kids to school here. I moved to Manhattan in 1982, I understand living here, I understand how we arrived at where we are via bubbles, market crashes, booms, terrorist attacks and the changing dynamics of NYC as a place to nest, not just pass through like in years past.
Why: I like change, I am a bit of a rebel having first arrived in NYC in 1982 to play in a punk rock band in the East Village, where I was living. I was intrigued by the discussions taking place on StreetEasy and Curbed and thought I could offer something meaningful to the conversation. Knowing the NYC market I understood that it was important for the vast majority of buyers to have their own representation; a good real estate attorney was not enough, their role starts after a property is found and negotiated. I knew from experience that there was no financial/strategical edge to going it alone based on the structure of the market.
So here we are, over $50,000,000 dollars in sales per year the last two years and many friends made along the way. And just like StreetEasy took the brokerage community some time to accept (it was despised at first, ridiculed by many) we have grown to be respected by some of the top brokers in the city. Why? Because we have a great deal of respect for this business, we love what we do and we treat the agents we work with, with the same amount of respect we give our clients. We are lauded by the brokers we transact with for our professionalism throughout the entire process from the first showing to the closing table.
We look forward to speaking with you!
Keith
By the middle of 2009 clients began asking if I could offer such a model for the purchase of property? This was already the plan, I was just waiting for the market to show signs of life again. After some research into what I could and could not offer I started to experiment a bit with different models for both selling and representing buyers, I settled on buyers. There was quite a backlash towards brokers, especially after 2008. I was an early reader/user/participant of blogs like Curbed and the now famously spectacular real estate site StreetEasy. It was here that I discovered not everyone cared for brokers (to put it mildly), so I started thinking about a way I could cater to what I referred to as "Real Estate Quants". These buyers were armed with data that was once held tightly by agents and their firms, they were discussing the market on blogs, creating spread sheets and mining data.
So I decided to offer something different, a partnership where we worked together, full disclosure and 100% transparency was the order of the day. We would reward this relationship and loyalty to us with a commission rebate based on the circumstances of the deal. What I knew from the beginning was the rebate would not be enough to grow and survive in the sophisticated market of NYC, we would also have to provide outstanding service and careful analysis of property. Our typical client may be happy to receive a rebate from us, but they stick around, refer us to their friends and colleagues because of our dynamic and effective business model and 100% commitment to provide them with outstanding service.
Look, it happened with selling diamonds, airline tickets, shoes and stocks; we are now bringing that model to NYC real estate.
How: We have virtually no overhead, we do no advertising, no big office space; we have phones and a few computers with access to the world via the internet! We have over 30 years of experience in NYC real estate, raised families here, sent our kids to school here. I moved to Manhattan in 1982, I understand living here, I understand how we arrived at where we are via bubbles, market crashes, booms, terrorist attacks and the changing dynamics of NYC as a place to nest, not just pass through like in years past.
Why: I like change, I am a bit of a rebel having first arrived in NYC in 1982 to play in a punk rock band in the East Village, where I was living. I was intrigued by the discussions taking place on StreetEasy and Curbed and thought I could offer something meaningful to the conversation. Knowing the NYC market I understood that it was important for the vast majority of buyers to have their own representation; a good real estate attorney was not enough, their role starts after a property is found and negotiated. I knew from experience that there was no financial/strategical edge to going it alone based on the structure of the market.
So here we are, over $50,000,000 dollars in sales per year the last two years and many friends made along the way. And just like StreetEasy took the brokerage community some time to accept (it was despised at first, ridiculed by many) we have grown to be respected by some of the top brokers in the city. Why? Because we have a great deal of respect for this business, we love what we do and we treat the agents we work with, with the same amount of respect we give our clients. We are lauded by the brokers we transact with for our professionalism throughout the entire process from the first showing to the closing table.
We look forward to speaking with you!
Keith
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