Brooklyn Real Estate Q&A and Info

Fort Greene Brooklyn has a number of spectacular places to live, but none outshines University Towers Cooperative Apartments.  The co-ops complex consists of three sixteen-story apartment buildings located at 122 Ashland Place, 191 Willoughby Street, and 175 Willoughby Street. 

One of the things that I’ve found most impressive about the complex is the 5 1/2 acres of beautifully manicured lawns and stately trees that are accented by a charming gazebo.

The apartments are quite spacious with wood flooring and large windows that let in a lot light.  Take a look at the many amenities that the co-op provides, and you’ll see why University Towers is a great choice for fine living in Fort Greene.

1. 549 Apartments
2. Huge cash reserves of 6 million dollars (in 10/08)
3. 75% Owner Occupied
4. Hardwood Floors
5. Laundry facilities in the building
6. 24 Hour Security
7. Fitness Room
8. Onsite Parking Available
9. Playground
10. Barbeque Pits for residents use
11. Two blocks from the Dekalb Avenue Station
12. 5 minutes to Metrotech, Polytechnic and Long Island University

With prices that are still are very reasonable for Fort Greene (a 1 Bedroom/ 1 Bath apartment was selling for $473,000 in 10/08), University Towers is a great place to get a good bang for your buck and still enjoy high-end amenities.

View Larger Map

If you would like to find out more about the apartments for sale in University Towers, please give me a call at 917-544-2662 or 718-338-3380 or click here to email me.

According to the Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) 2nd quarter statistics, DUMBO, which is an acronym for Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Underpass, is now the most expensive neighborhood in Brooklyn. At a whopping $917 dollars a square foot, it is no longer the little haven of the artistic type it was just 10 years ago. The long standing most expensive neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights, came in at $834 a square foot, and Park Slope rounded out the top three at $801 at square foot.

If you’ve got the income and are looking for a modern condo that has all the amenities like fitness centers, concierge service, hair salons and the like, with spectatcular Manhattan views to boot, then DUMBO is the place for your.

Yes, if you are planning on buying a multi-unit dwelling and renting out one or more apartments (or the entire property), then you will be a business owner.

Why do I say that?  Well, the definition of a “business” according to Dictionary.com “is a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; a profit-seeking enterprise or concern”.   If you own a property and intend on renting all or part of it for a profit (or to be able to make your mortgage payments), then you are providing a service to your tenants for the purpose of making money.  Or in other words, you’re in business!

Well, you might me be asking yourself, “What does it matter?”  Well, it matters a great deal.  If you want to be a successful landlord then you need treat it like a business.  What are some of the things you need to know to operate a successful Residential Property Rental Business.  Here is a list of just a few:

-How do you find good tenants?
-What do you do if a tenant doesn’t pay his rent?
-How many payments can a tenant miss before you can evict?
-Do you pay taxes on the money you collect from your tenants?
-What services are you legally obligated to provide for your tenants?
-What are the landlord tenant laws in Brooklyn?
-Who is responsible for repairs?

These are just a few questions that anyone who wants to rent out residential property should know the answer to.  Unfortunately, I’ve seen many people buy multifamily houses without ever giving serious thought about the difficulties that can come when you have to deal with rental tenants, and that’s a big mistake.

Owning rental property is a great way to generate income now, and build up equity for the future, however it comes with many challenges. Make sure you are up to them by doing your homework before you take the plunge. After all, you’re going to be a business owner, and you don’t want your business to fail.

To get you started, here’s a website, Mr Landlord.com that is chock full of useful information for landlords and landlords to be.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

I was asked by a fellow shareholder at the co-op where I live if its worth the money to get an co-op insurance policy. My answer to the question is a resounding yes!

Many shareholders are under the impression that the co-op corporation’s insurance policy should be all the insurance that they need. So, what does the co-op’s master insurance policy cover? Typically, it covers any liabilities that occur in the common areas of the co-op. For example, if some one slips in the hallway outside your apartment, the co-op’s insurance policy would cover any bodily injury that occurs. However, if that same person slips and falls in your unit, the co-ops insurance does not cover any liability, you would be responsible.

A co-op insurance policy will cover any losses to your unit as a result of a burglary, if fire damage ruins the walls in your apartment, or if someone is injured when he trips and falls over an object in your living room.

Protect yourself and your belongings and get a co-op insurance policy (if you’re a renter, you should have a renters policy). They’re not that costly. I personally pay about $300 a year for $50,000 worth of coverage. Better safe then sorry.

When you’re a parent, one of the first things you look for when you’re planning to move your family to a new neighborhood is the location of the schools.

This brief little article which will help take the guess work out of finding the local schools in the Clinton Hill /Fort Greene area.

Elementary Schools

P.S. 20 Clinton Hill School
225 Adelphi Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
Phone: (718) 834-6744
Public School
Pre-K to 5th Grade
P.S. 20 Website

P.S. 11 Purvis J Behan School
419 Waverly Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-638-2661
Public School
Pre-K to 6th Grade
M.S. 113 Website

P.S. 46 Edward C. Blum
100 Clermont Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-834-7694
Public School
Pre-K to 5th Grade
PS 46 Website

Queen of All Saints Elementary School
300 Vanderbilt Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-857-3114
Private School
Kindergarden to 8th Grade

Junior High Schools

M.S. 113 Ronald Edmonds Learning Center
300 Adelphi Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-834-6734
Public School
6th - 8th Grade
M.S. 113 Website

High Schools

Benjamin Banneker Academy
71-77 Clinton Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-797-3702
Public School
9th - 12th Grade
Benjamin Banneker Website

Brooklyn Technical High School
29 Fort Greene Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-804-6400
9th - 12th Grade
Brooklyn Tech Website

Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
357 Clermont Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-857-2700
Private School
9th - 12th Grade
Bishop Loughlin Website

Yes, despite all the doom and gloom we’re all reading in the papers, its a terrific time to buy a house, co-op or condo in Brooklyn.  If you are wondering why, here are a few good reasons.

1. Prices have dropped as much as 15% in some areas of Brooklyn from just a year ago.  Its a great time to get a bargain on a piece of property.
2. Interest rates are still low.   According to Bankrate.com, a 30 year fixed rate mortgage can be had for as low as 6.45%. 
3. You’ll find that sellers are much more willing to negotiate on price then ever before.
4. Prices in the areas of Brooklyn that I specialize in have stabilized over the last two months or so.   If prices have hit bottom, which many veteran Realtors are saying they have, then prices will hoover for a while and then begin to rise. 
5. The economy will rebound.  It always has, it always will. 

Don’t try and time the market.  If you’re in the position to buy, but you have been hesitant because of the situation with the economy, don’t sit on the fence.  Go ahead and buy!!  Before long, you’ll see prices start to rise along with interest rates, and you will have missed the “get a house, co-op or condo for a steal” boat.

p.s. - If you have any Real Estate needs such as buying, selling or renting real estate, and want to work with a real estate professional who will provide exceptional service with a smile, call me today at 718-338-3380, 917-544-2662 or Click here to send me an e-mail.

Since I answered the question about Clinton Hill’s Borders in my last post, I decided it would be a great idea to outline the borders of another one of my favorite Brooklyn neigborhoods, Bedford Stuyvesant.

So to get that information, I asked a fiend of mine who is a lifelong Bedford Stuyvesant native what streets make up the bounderies of Bed Stuy. Without hesitation, he said Flushing Avenue to the North, Atlantic Avenue to the South, Classon Avenue to the West, and Broadway and Malcom X Boulevards to the East make up the borders of Beford Stuyvesant.

p.s. - If you are interested in selling your home for the highest possible price in the least amount of time, please contact me at 917-544-2662 or Click here to send me an e-mail for more information.

A perspective buyer asked me this question the same day it was reported on New York 1 News that three young women robbed a cab driver in “Clinton Hill”.  The women robbed the cabbie on the corner of  Franklin and Lafayette Avenues.  

Well, I’ve lived in Clinton Hill for seven years now, and when I ask the old timers, people who have lived in Clinton Hill for 25 years or more, they all tell me that the borders of Clinton Hill are Park Avenue to the North, Atlantic Avenue to the south, Vanderbilt Avenue to the west and Classon Avenue to the East. 

Of course if you ask some of my fellow realtors, they will probably tell you a different story.  They will often move boundries around so that they can advertise that a property they are selling is in a “hot neighborhood” even if its not.  Let the buyer beware.

Regarding the news story I talked about earlier, the corner of Franklin and Lafayette Avenues is in Bedford Stuyvesant, not Clinton Hill.