Emily Myers

A title company can perform lien searches to determine if there are open mortgages, liens or judgments that might encumber the co-op shares.

The Democratic-held New York State Assembly and Senate have agreed to change the rules on rent-regulated apartments. The newly hammered-out agreement ends vacancy decontrol, makes preferential rent last for the entire tenancy, and addresses Major Capital Improvements (aka building renovations) so they don’t create such a weighty rent burden

The city's rental vacancy rate is calculated by taking a large sample of rental buildings in and measuring their turnover and activity. That gives a figure that can be applied across the city. The lower the rate, the fewer the available units, and that shrinks your likelihood of getting concessions—those sweeteners where landlords offer you a free month or pay the broker fee when you sign your lease. 

The city's giving more details on a plan to put a protected bike lane on Central Park West with a physical barrier between cyclists and cars.

The amount of leverage you have on negotiating a deposit on a pre-construction condo will depend on whether you are an early buyer or what kind of market it is. Luckily for buyers, you are more likely to be able to negotiate this right now than at any other recent time.

Currently, there are no protections for market-rate tenants when it comes to lease renewal in NYC. A landlord can decide not to renew and there's little you can do about it. The good cause eviction bill aims to correct that statewide.