General
Landlords Now Required to Disclose Bed Bug Infestation
Aug 31st
From REBNY:
Governor Paterson signed S8130 into law, requiring owners of New York City residential property to disclose bedbug infestation history before an apartment is leased. The legislation requires disclosure of bedbug infestation regarding the apartment rented by the tenant and the building within the last 12 months. The law takes effect immediately. The Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) must promulgate or approve disclosure forms. We have received many questions about how the law will be implemented. We have contacted the staff at DHCR and are seeking answers to these questions.
This is a copy of the attached letter:
S 27-2018.1 NOTICE OF BEDBUG INFESTATION HISTORY. A. FOR HOUSING ACCOMMODATIONS SUBJECT TO THIS CODE, AN OWNER SHALL FURNISH TO EACH TENANT SIGNING A VACANCY LEASE, A NOTICE IN A FORM PROMULGATED OR APPROVED BY THE STATE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL THAT SETS FORTH THE PROPERTY’S BEDBUG INFESTATION HISTORY FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR REGARDING THE PREMISES RENTED BY THE TENANT AND THE BUILDING IN WHICH THE PREMISES ARE LOCATED.
B. UPON WRITTEN COMPLAINT, IN A FORM PROMULGATED OR APPROVED BY THE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL, BY THE TENANT THAT HE OR SHE WAS NOT FURNISHED WITH A COPY OF THE NOTICE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION A OF THIS SECTION, THE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL SHALL ORDER THE OWNER TO FURNISH THE NOTICE.
S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Mid May Market update
May 17th
Rental Market Update, Summer 2010
The vacancy rate appears to be very low again! The major landlords seem to have much less vacancy on their lists. I haven’t seen it this low since… I don’t know… 2007! People who are calling need to move. It’s the summer, which is the busiest time for Manhattan rentals and it seems that it’s becoming more of a landlord’s market again. People who hesitate to apply are losing apartments in a matter of minutes! Here’s some advice for you….
Scott’s Advice
- When to start looking - many apartments that you will be seeing will be vacant apartments. The landlords and management company’s primary concern is filling the apartments as soon as possible. Now, if you want let’s say June 1st and it’s only May 1st, in most cases you won’t get the landlord to leave an apartment vacant for an entire month and you may have to take May 15th as a move in date. If you are looking on May 15th for a June 1st move in, you are more likely to get it. But you don’t want to start only 2 weeks before, do you? My advice… Start looking, ONE MONTH PRIOR to the date you NEED to move by. The best selection will be at the beginning of the month and the people who refuse to take an apartment too early will not pull the trigger and you will have first choice. Who cares if you have to eat 2 weeks worth of rent and take a mid-month move in? This is where you live and will live for at least a year, if not 2 or 3! I think it’s much better to have your choice of apartments and take one early than have to scramble at the end and take whatever you can get! But that’s just my advice.
- Find an amazing broker! Hahahahaha…. Sorry, I made myself laugh, because there are so few great agents out there to work with. Luckily, if you’re reading this, you found at least one!
A really good broker gets all of the listings right when they come out, or sometimes before so. We have relationships with supers, on-site leasing agents, management companies, and private owners. Even if there is a building that you could apply at directly, by the time you find the apartment, there are already 1,000′s of agents who know about it and have already shown it. By the time you call them up to inquire about what to do to apply for the apartment, an agent is calling up the person who approves the deals saying “Hi Linda, it’s Scott from Mark David & Company. How was your birthday last week? Great, I have a complete application to send you with all of the paperwork and the client left a deposit with us. He’s more than qualified and we just ran his credit and it’s 784. I’ll bring you the application fee in 10 minutes.” You’re most likely going to end up using a broker anyway. You may as well find a great one and have the agent on your side, doing all the work for you. Keep in mind that even “no fee” apartments are usually brokers advertising, but the owner has agreed to pay the fee. And watch out for Craigslist Apartments by Owner. 9 times out of 10, it’s a shady broker! You do NOT want to work with a shady broker… do you?
- Paperwork!!! Get your paperwork together before you start looking at apartments. Apartments are renting SO FAST it’s ridiculous and you need to be prepared. Speak to an experienced agent, such as myself, who can discuss your situation with you and make sure that we are showing you the right apartments. If you are an international student, if you have questionable credit, if you don’t have a qualified guarantor, we need to figure out which landlords we can take you to. Conversely, if you are an ideal applicant, you may overestimate how easy it will be and not prepare enough. Some will say “Oh, that’ll be fine. I’m a great tenant and make lots of money and a landlord would be foolish to reject me.” Great, so you should have no problem putting together the paperwork they require. Guarantors, who are typically parents who are co-signing for you should be prepared as well, since they will be applying as an applicant as well. If you are working with me, I’d love to speak with your guarantor beforehand, so that everyone is on the same page. Many landlords will take you on a first come first serve basis, but there are many who want a complete application and do not want to wait while you are finding your tax returns and getting an employment letter from your company. Here’s the typical list of documents required:
- Letter of employment stating salary, position, and length of employment. (if self employed, a letter from your certified public accountant.)
- Last two year’s tax returns (first two pages only)
- Most recent bank statement
- Two most recent consecutive pay stubs
- Verification of any additional income (i.e. trust fund, portfolio statement)
- Clear copy of Photo ID
That said… If you do want to work with me, give me a call. This is the way I like to work with my clients:
- Have a phone conversation (not email) about your situation, move in date, why you are moving, if you have pets, if you will need a guarantor, what you are looking for in an apartment, etc.. and set an appointment.
- I then research based on my market knowledge and massive database (we work with most landlords, management companies, and brokers in Manhattan.) And I’ll choose everything that I think that will work for you and weed out the ones that definitely will not.
- You will meet me in my office and we will go over the process, choose the best apartments to start with, grab whatever keys we need, and go out.
- We will work progressively to narrow down the apartments based on your feedback and my market expertise and find you the best possible apartment in the least amount of time.
- You will apply for the apartment you like the best and I will work with my management team to get you approved and sign leases.
- You will move in, be happy, and refer me to your friends and family and I will be your broker for life
Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions or would like to work with an experienced real estate agent!
Scott Rubin
Vice President / Associate Broker
MARKDAVID SOHO
560 Broadway, Loft 201
New York, NY 10012
o 212.775.6127 | c 646.637.6377
f 212.334.5444 markdavidny.com/scottr
iPad 3G launch at Apple Store MePa
Apr 30th
At 5pm on April 30th, the 3G iPad was launched. This video is of me at the Meatpacking District Apple Store, purchasing an iPad. I know, I know… I said it wasn’t worth it at first, but I ended up changing my mind! Here are a few reasons why…
I have wanted a tablet for quite some time, but the older types were just laptops that swiveled around and worked with a stylus to write on the screen. The iPad is something I can carry around everywhere and is always on like an iPhone. No need to go through a lengthy startup process, every time I want to use it.
The iPad, using the same operating system as the iPhone, makes it just as seamless and flowing as its predecessor.
The only competition seemed to be the HP Slate, which looks to have been scrapped by HP, shortly after its acquisition of Palm and if they actually do start designing tablets with the WebOS operating system, it will most likely take a long time before it comes out.
The Microsoft Courier was a nice rumor, but it had been postponed till 2011 and then later scrapped as well.
No telling what Google and Android are planning, but there is nothing in the near future that makes sense, or is going to come close to putting out a product that Apple did!
It just made sense to me and now that I know it CAN handle pdf files and can receive word documents, edit them, and email them back. And you can upload pictures from a camera, directly to the device. There’s a lot more you can do with the iPad than skeptics will lead you to believe, minus the headaches of a computer/laptop.
But, Scott… there’s NO Flash! Yes, I still am aware of this, but for real estate purposes, it isn’t necessary and most of the sites i frequently visit, do not require flash. I am using it more for a pad, because I hate paper and for real estate purposed, to stay organized and to take my office with me on the street!
Maybe I’ll submit a formal review, once I’ve owned it for a bit. Thanks for reading and I’ll talk to you all soon!
Scott
now you can rent that apartment with no views!
Apr 15th
Do the windows in your apartment face brick walls or other unattractive sights? Have you been seeing great deals on apartments that have been discounted due to horrible views? Here’s a possible solution:
iPad day! …not that big a deal
Apr 3rd
Yesterday was Good Friday, tomorrow will be Easter… in between we now have iPad Day! Just walked down Prince Street in Soho to see how much of a big deal it was. Apparently they just made it a much bigger deal than it really is. Not nearly as many people as when the iPhone 3G came out. There were lines around the block for weeks. This is just sort of lame, to tell you the truth!
smells like wet dog!
Mar 30th
Today in the pouring rain, there were so many dogs out there… soaking wet dogs! Can’t they have an umbrella too? On Sunday, I saw a guy shooting a hose at a dog in the freezing cold! Come on people… Keep your dogs dry!!!
TOP-OF-THE-LINE Moving Company
Mar 23rd
Being in real estate, I help a lot of people find homes and some of them ask me to refer them a moving company. I have a lot of things. A lot of… expensive things! …and the most important thing to me is my belongings moving from one place to another, without being damaged!
I’m referring A1 First Class Moving & Storage because of their high level of customer service/customer care. In real estate, it’s very important to me to provide the highest level of service to my clients, so I cannot refer a cheap or unreliable service to continue where I leave off. This is the only moving company I know takes care of their clients over and over again.
Here’s a blurb about them:
A-1 First Class has been in business 60 years and provides a full-suite of Relocation & Storage solutions (locally, out-of-state & globally). Their goal is to provide clients with a seamless relocation experience so clients get to focus on the things that matter most to them while A-1 handles all the other details. A-1 has full storage solutions in Brooklyn, Long Island & New Jersey.
I will paste the company president’s contact info below. Tell him Scott Rubin from Mark David & Company referred you and he will take care of you.
Matt Schwartzberg
President
A-1 First Class – Viking Moving & Storage
Agent for Atlas Van Lines
718 745 3400
Matt@a1firstclass.com
www.a1firstclass.com