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  • Real Estate Want: A two-story wall of windows

    by Julie Inzanti | 4/04/13 - 4:16 PM

    This East 9th Street, garden-level, $17K per month rental has nearly 3,500 square feet, 3-beds, 2.5-baths and an incredible two-story wall of windows leading to a private courtyard just off the kitchen/dining area. 

    Even if you’re trapped inside during the April showers, you can still feel like you’re enjoying the great outdoors!

    It might be time to invest in a few Adirondack chairs and animal pelts (faux, of course) because with the rustic wood ceiling beams and exposed brick, this place feels more like a mountain lodge than an apartment in the East Village....

    Real Estate Want is a weekly column featuring New York City apartment details we're coveting right now.

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    filed under east village, garden, renting, windows

  • Rent Coach: Can I overstay my lease?

    by Mike Akerly | 4/04/13 - 1:03 PM

    Rent Coach Mike Akerly

    Q. My lease is coming to an end this month, but I'd like to stay on a couple of extra months for my daughter to finish school (which we chose because it's in our neighborhood).  Can I stay on without officially renewing my lease?

    A. If you are a market rate tenant and neither you or your landlord move to extend your lease further, you would become a month-to-month tenant if your landlord continues to accept rent from you.  In that case, either party could terminate the lease upon thirty days notice. 

    Your landlord can increase your rent during this period with your consent (or change any other terms of the tenancy). In the event you don’t consent, your landlord could choose to provide thirty days notice of termination.

    Alternatively, you could ask your landlord for a new lease that terminates at the time that you wish to leave.  This would provide certainty with regards to the rent you be charged and security that you will not be forced to leave sooner than you wished.  Given that you’re looking to depart during the busy summer rental season, your landlord may find this to be an attractive option. 

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    filed under landlords, mike akerly, rentals, renters, renting
  • Confessions of a Neighborhood Blogger

    The SoHo Memory Project: One eye on the past, and the other on the $45 million penthouse across the street

    by Julie Inzanti | 4/04/13 - 10:43 AM

    Yukie Ohta, founder of The SoHo Memory Project, was born in SoHo in the1960s and currently lives in the same building where she grew up. The loft she lives in (owned by her family) is one floor up from the once she grew up in and has been split into two living spaces for her family and her sister's family. It is one of six units in a four-story cast iron building on Mercer Street built in 1898. 

    Being the true New Yorker that she is, Ohta went to the SoHo community playgroup, P.S. 3, I.S. 70, Stuyvesant High School before enrolling in Barnard College.

    She has lived all over the city, from Greenwich VIllage to the Upper West Side and as far out as Brooklyn--but has always considered SoHo her home and says she will probably never leave. 

    Launched in 2011, The SoHo Memory Project covers the history of Soho from the 1960s to today--including the art scene as well as the diverse community of SoHo, including the families, businesses, community groups and basically all creative activity (photographs, sound recordings, video, etc.).

    Ohta hopes that the blog will be a record of the lost community of SoHo comprised of myriad memories and experiences.

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  • StreetNoise

    "Insane" year for NYC real estate, rise of the haute doorman, and more

    by Lucy Cohen Blatter | 4/04/13 - 8:59 AM
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    filed under buying, doorman

  • Your Celebrity Neighbor: Anderson Cooper

    by Sharon Krum | 4/03/13 - 3:32 PM

    Prphotos.com

    WHO: Anderson Cooper is rumored to have been approached about Matt Lauer’s job on “Today,” but reportedly is wary because he is not a morning person. We hear you, buddy. 

    WHERE:  Journalist and host of CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” lives in a converted firehouse in Greenwich Village, where the median sales price is $935,000 and the median rental price is $3,650, according to StreetEasy.

    Your Celebrity Neighbor is a weekly heads-up on the A-listers who call your neighborhood home and (in theory) shop the same Duane Reade as you.


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    filed under celebrities, neighborhood, neighborhoods, neighbors, west village

  • Room for Improvement: A dishwasher, a non-captive bathroom, and an extra closet

    by Mayra David | 4/03/13 - 2:17 PM

    Photo Credit / I Spivey 

    Bathrooms, closets and scaffolding...These five city dwellers tell you what challenges them the most about their apartments....

    • Too much living room For the square footage, there should really be a second bedroom…there’s tons of living area, probably meant for entertaining. But if we’re meant to entertain, then there should be an elevator in the building  - Kim, Chelsea
    • A hallway bathroom instead of en suite I would have the bathroom entrance be from the hall so you didn’t have to go through the bedroom to get into it.  We’d just have to rearrange every feature of the bathroom but technically it can be done. - Millie, Carroll Gardens
    • No more scaffolding  They have just built scaffolding right up against my window. I live on the top floor and never thought I’d have to deal with people outside my window! But not only are there people, one of those people left his cup of coffee sitting on the sill outside my window. So there’s litter now, too. - Yancy, Harlem
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  • Real.Est. List Spotlight Gallery

    Need a new front door? Emerald Doors can guide you

    by Leah Hochbaum Rosner | 4/03/13 - 12:14 PM

    Entry doors serve an important function. They keep the elements at bay, deter would-be burglars, and add or detract from the overall look and value of your home.

    So when you need to replace one, it can be a surprisingly tough decision, says Peter Pastor, owner of Astoria-based Emerald Doors—the subject of this week’s Real. Est. List Spotlight Series.  

    Established in 2010, Emerald Doors installs doors, window gates and locks of all types, but specializes in cellar doors and the doors most common in New York City apartment buildings: fire-rated doors (steel doors that are specially designed to contain fire).

    Pastor says he decided to go into the business when he realized that many people were ripping clients off and speaking in terms they couldn't understand.

    A onetime locksmith who learned about doors while fixing locks, Pastor was determined that his business would be different.

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    filed under design, New York City

  • Dear Ms. Demeanor: Help me write a letter to my frisky neighbors

    by Jamie Lauren Sutton | 4/03/13 - 11:25 AM

    Dear Ms. Demeanor,

    My neighbors have loud (porn-style) sex almost every night between 1 and 2 in the morning. I'm too embarrassed to say anything, but it's really annoying and I can't sleep. Can you recommend a well-worded letter?

    Sincerely,

    The Accidental Voyeur

    Dear  Accidental Voyeur,

    A delicately worded letter for a delicate matter... So many of our readers complain of noisy neighbors but the hardest ones to deal with head on, as it were, are those whose sighs of intimate pleasure are more like screams.

    To attempt coitus interruptus, we've heard of neighbors placing prank calls mid-session, as well as ringing the doorbell and then running away. Some publicly shame the moaners by telling other neighbors about it. But we still think a firm, but fair letter is the most mature way to go.

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    filed under neighbors, noise, overheard

  • 10 ways to be an awesome board member

    by Tripp Whetsell | 4/03/13 - 8:57 AM

    Photo Credit / Traci Lawson

    The recent racial discrimination lawsuit between longtime African American resident Alphonse Fletcher Jr. and two board members at the legendary Dakota co-op sent a major wake-up call to the estimated 40,000 unpaid volunteers who currently serve on co-op and condo boards throughout the city. Among other things, it opened up the door to personal liabiility for board members in certain types of lawsuits. 

    The case also signifies what a slippery, if not treacherous, slope the job can often be to navigate even at the best of buildings.

    “While the vast majority of co-op and condo boards members are able to do this successfully, it’s obviously not possible all the time,” underscores Mary Ann Rothman of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums, a non-profit membership organization for co-op and condo owners.

    If you're thinking about running--or already serve on your building's board--follow these suggestions for a smoother tenure that (hopefully) won't end in a courtroom....

     
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    filed under boards, co-op board, property manager

  • Ask an Expert: Do all co-ops have the same ridiculous liquid fund requirements?

    by Teri Karush Rogers | 4/02/13 - 2:16 PM

    Photo Credit / oinonio

    Q. I'm searching for an apartment to buy and I'd like to know how to find coops that don't require 1 or 2 years mortgage and maintenance in liquid funds. This seems like a ridiculous request if you have the equivalent in a Roth IRA which would be accessible. 

    I've found one co-op that will consider far less with 10 years or greater employment history with one's current employer.  What other options are out there and how do I find them?

    A.    This requirement is not unusual--nor is it universal. The challenge is finding a more flexible board, say our experts.

    "There are plenty of co-ops whose rules are more lenient," says real estate attorney Adam Stone of Regosin, Edwards, Stone & Feder. "But those generally will not be the Fifth Avenue or Park Avenue buildings. It may not be possible to know a building's particular rules before going to see the apartment. But once you know who the managing agent is you can request a copy of the coop application and ask if there are any predetermined guidelines for applicants."

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    filed under buying

  • How did you find your no-fee apartment? BrickUnderground wants to know!

    by BrickUnderground | 4/02/13 - 11:34 AM

    via flickr by adactio

    In anticipation of peak rental season, BrickUnderground is taking a closer look at the holy grail of NYC apartments: the no-fee rental.

    If you’ve found an apartment in the last 12 months without paying a broker's fee, we invite you to pay it forward by telling us how you found it--along with any other suggestions for fellow apartment hunters looking to get so lucky.  

    We will combine your collective intelligence with our own sleuthing and wrap it all up in a blog post later this spring (so if you haven't found your no-fee apartment yet, be sure to check back for the latest no-fee intel). 

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    filed under rentals, renters, renting

  • Condops demystified: What they are, why you should care--and how to find one

    by Marjorie Cohen | 4/02/13 - 8:57 AM

    This $4m Soho loft is a condop. Not sure what that means? Read on.

    Sponsor apartments aren't the only perplexing apartment type you may have run across while browsing through sales listings.  If you've also been puzzled by the description of an apartment as a condop, you're not alone. 

    In fact, a condop is probably one of the most misunderstood designations in New York real estate.

    When asked to define a condop, one long-time broker told us simply: “I’m not really sure. Is it legal? Sounds kind of wishy washy to me.”

    What's a condop?

    Condops are, in fact, completely legal--they're just not very common. They’re a category created by owners and developers in the 1980’s who wanted to get around an IRS rule that threatened to stifle their profits.

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    filed under buying, co-op board, condo board, real estate agent, real estate agents, retail tenant

  • The Open House Scorecard: The calendar says it's springtime. So do the most popular open houses.

    by Emily Feldman | 4/01/13 - 1:57 PM

    This one-bedroom corner-unit condo on West 19th Street sports 11 foot ceilings, two balconies and access to a shared rooftop sundeck. It's going for $1.24 million.

    Buyers, perhaps salivating for summer, seem to have their eyes trained on windows and outdoor space this past weekend, as half the properties on this week's StreetEasy Open House Scorecard—the 10 open houses saved on StreetEasy more often than any others this weekend—boast some sort of open-air area, from balconies and rooftops to courtyards and sundecks.  

    Let's start with the bright, modern Flatiron-district $1.24 million one-bedroom condo pictured here. The lofty corner unit has 11 foot ceilings gets a double dose of sunlight from the south and east. A set of French doors in the living/dining area opens to double Juliet balconies. Owners also have access to a two-tiered Mediterranean style sundeck. The kitchen is no mere kitchen but a "freestanding kitchen pod" outfitted with the usual high-end appliances; it can apparently be closed off when not in use. 

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    filed under brooklyn, buying, lighting

  • Apartment insurance coverage for mold? Here’s what you need to know

    4/01/13 - 12:07 PM

    Photo Credit /  theloushe

    Next to bed bugs, mold is perhaps the least welcome of uninvited houseguests.  It can also be hazardous to your health and expensive to get rid of. 

    Unless you’ve taken out supplemental mold coverage, you’ll get limited assistance from your renter’s, co-op or condo insurance. 

    ‘Most policies either don’t cover mold or put a pretty strict limit on it,” says apartment insurance broker Jeff Schneider of Gotham Brokerage. “Insurers feel they cannot get a handle on predicting losses or charging an adequate rate, partly because when people are sensitive to mold, everything that has been impacted by it has to go, and claims can be huge.”

    Standard apartment insurance focuses on mold prevention

    Mold problems in New York City apartment buildings typically stem from untreated or unrepaired water damage sustained after a burst pipe, overflowing toilet, or leaky roof or radiator, in addition to conditions like bad ventilation which can lead to build-up of moisture or humidity.

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    filed under insurance, leaks, mold, odors