The Brick Report at 6 months: How savvy New Yorkers use insights from this comprehensive building review
- Brokers are running reports to check for building violations that could derail deals
- Tenants with leases up for a renewal are checking if buildings plan major work
Running a Brick Report can help you determine whether a listing has been issued violations for pests, plumbing, or heating problems.
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The Brick Report is fast becoming a valuable tool for buyers, renters, and agents to gain insights about a listing—plus owners and tenants who are curious about their own address.
It’s been six months since Brick Underground launched the Brick Report and in that time over 2,000 readers have created their own comprehensive residential building reports. Some are “power” users and have run dozens of reports.
When the Brick Report launched in January, it was intended for New Yorkers on the cusp of making a major real estate decision such as buying or renting. However, it’s also proving popular with tenants considering renewing a lease and looking for information on building projects. Co-op shareholders have run reports to see whether their building has any violations, according to feedback from users.
Some upgrades have gone into effect, such as a reorganization that makes the information consumers most want to see easier to find and more improvements are coming, said Justin DeMaris, advisor and minority owner of Brick Underground.
“We’ll be translating some violation records for users. A lot of this information from the city is in a form of shorthand so the Brick Report will help make it more understandable for consumers.”
Another addition will be easier-to-understand flood risk designations. “Right now, you’re shown a map and told whether your area is high risk. In the future, we’ll include more explanatory information on why this matters in terms of insurance and maintenance issues,” DeMaris said.
What brokers like about the Brick Report
Aaron Kass, a broker at Compass in Manhattan, said he appreciated the ability to pull together a wide range of information about a property for free. “Traditionally it would cost a pretty penny to get all this info on a property,” he said.
He ran a Brick Report to make sure a deal he was involved with wasn’t going to be held up by violations or any other surprises.
“As a broker, I have to comb through ACRIS and DOB records to make sure there's nothing that will derail our deal. The Brick Report covered both HPD and DOB violations without me having to search both systems individually,” he said.
Rachel Fiegler, co-founder and CEO of the Pinpointe Group, a boutique NYC real estate firm, had a similar experience.
"I found it helpful as it aggregates the data I'm looking for in one place rather than having to look at multiple databases. One of the main things I was looking for was violations in the building, which was clearly noted in the report. I'd definitely use it again and recommend it to agents in my firm," she said.
How a Brick Report can help you
Running a Brick Report can help you determine whether a listing you are considering has been issued violations for pests, plumbing, or heating problems. You’ll also be able to confirm when the building was constructed and access information about recent construction permit requests as well as energy ratings and usage.
The report also provides neighborhood information, such as demographics, crime reports, overviews of restaurants and grocery stores, nearby schools and government institutions.
Where the data comes from
Brick Report draws data from NYC’s Open Data portal and combines data sets from Housing and Preservation & Development, Department of Buildings, Department of Finance, 311, New York City Police Department, as well as Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Census Bureau, and Open Street Maps.
Why do I have to provide my email address?
Brick Underground securely stores your email address so we can send you the report you requested. We may also contact you in the future if we find errors in the data that was used to generate your report.
Brick Underground may use this information to email you about relevant offers from Brick Underground or our sponsors in the future. Brick Underground does not publish this information, nor share this information with any of our sponsorship partners.
Brick Underground is not currently charging for Brick Report. You can try out the report for free to learn about where you live now or about places where you are considering moving. For questions, feedback, or sponsorship opportunities, reach out to [email protected].
Brick Underground reaches two million unique readers a year who are making a critical decision about renting, buying, selling, or renovating in New York City, one of the priciest and most complex real estate markets in the world. The site, which was founded by former New York Times real estate writer Teri Karush Rogers, has published more than 10,000 original articles in its 15-year history.
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