New Studio Listing in Williamsburg!

242 South 1st Street, 2F

Here's Your Chance to own a REAL Williamsburg LOFT! This stunning and sunlit studio LOFT plus Balcony is in Williamsburg's sought after LOFTS1 Condominium. Formerly a cheesecake factory built in 1911, this four story Williamsburg conversion is complete with fine finishes and modern amenities while preserving much of its authentic pre-war warehouse detail including wide plank maple wood flooring and the original exposed concrete beamed ceilings. There are upgrades galore including ceiling fan with LED light, window in wall, German-made ironwork outdoor lighting fixture, entryway LED lighting fixture, o
verhead chandelier, a custom Murphy bed and closet system and automatic blackout blinds

The building is a block from the Grand Street Shopping District (home of the upcoming Whole Foods and Apple store), and several more blocks from the Bedford Avenue strip and L train. The Marcy Avenue J, M, Z is also just short walk away. Superb opportunity to explore and experience Williamsburg's hottest venues, restaurants, bars, shopping and nightlife at your fingertips! Pets are allowed. Interior photos will be posted over the weekend.

For more details, click Here

New Williamsburg Listing!

125 North 10th Street, S3I

This bright, beautiful, mint condition, southern facing 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom residence offers 823 interior square feet and 82 exterior square feet. Features include ceilings over 10-feet high, beautiful walnut floors, a Living/Dining room large enough for a full-sized dining table and a state-of-the-art kitchen with custom cabinetry, recycled glass counter-tops and stainless appliances. The bathroom features a large soaking tub, custom vanity and over-sized Italian porcelain tiles. The master bathroom is spacious with two walk-in closets and large enough for a King-sized bed and much more. There is a stackable LG washer/dryer in the apartment, as well as central A/C and ample storage space.

125 North 10th is the premier full-service condo building on the prime North side of Williamsburg. Perfectly triangulated, it is located just three blocks from the first Brooklyn stop on the L train, two blocks from McCarren Park and the waterfront East River State Park, and just 10 minutes from Union Square. Amenities include a 24-hour concierge, two common roof decks, sculpture garden/courtyard, wellness floor with a gym and body-work studio, play room, multi-media room and billiard lounge. Pets are allowed. 

For more details, click Here

The history of keys goes back for thousands of years, reaching the very first moments when modern human civilization established their reign and started developing sciences and technologies enabling the birth and growth of our present way of life. Even in those ancient times, people wanted the ability to safeguard their possessions and store them in places where nobody else could have access to them. 

For that purpose , engineers, designers and scientists created the first example of keys. Keys represent possession and when speaking about residential real estate, possession is 9/10ths of the law. You provide the keys to the buyer when selling and hopefully obtain a fair value in exchange, A more memorable experience is when you obtain the keys to your new home. We strive to be present in these joyful moments and ensure you maximize your investment. Call us today for a complimentary market evaluation. 

Listings in Manhattan:

269 West 72nd Street, 6CD
http://www.corcoran.com/nyc/Listings/Display/3482238

1991 Broadway, 3C
http://www.corcoran.com/nyc/Listings/Display/3497266

The Person You Need By Your Side

Buying or selling a home is an emotional and financial obstacle course. Doing it in New York City means every obstacle is higher and wider. In order to come out on the other side happy and confident in the decision you’ve made, you'll need an expert by your side. Not someone who has a real estate license because of Groupon. Not a part-time actor. Not someone who always lets your calls go to voicemail. You need a dedicated partner who:

• Can predict every step.
• Is sensitive to your needs.
• Understands what you want.
• Knows the terrain intimately.
• Will not let you make a mistake. 
• Has a tested network of real estate professionals.

Jeff Nolan is that partner. A natural advocate for his clients, he is ranked in the Top 1% of 45,000 Sales Associates in North America for the largest Real Estate holding companies in the country NRT or more commonly known as Realogy (RLGY). Since 2011, he has been a Multi-Million Dollar Club Member in one of the most prestigious agency in New York City, The Corcoran Group.

An Advocate

Jeff has a simple sales philosophy: he gets you the Highest Amount of money in the Shortest Amount of time possible. He believes in doing the research and applying his real estate knowledge to make sure your property is priced correctly. Why waste your time waiting for an unreasonable selling price at some vague, future time, when you can get the amount you deserve right now?

As an investor in Real Estate in upstate New York, Jeff knows the longer a property stays on the market, the more money the owner loses. When he began analyzing New York City Real Estate 11 years ago, he was shocked to see so many people losing money by leaving a property on the market for too long. Reasons ranged from: overly high asking prices to rundown kitchens, the #1 feature buyers care about. Jeff quickly realized many real estate agents either didn’t know why the property wasn’t selling, were unfamiliar with its true value, or they were afraid to tell the seller the truth.

Over time, Jeff used these observations, along with over a decade of market analysis and first-hand experience, to perfect his system for selling properties. To get you the highest amount of money in the shortest amount of time. The plan hinges on four principles that work in concert:

• Create a targeted marketing plan.
• Leverage his knowledge of the market, the brand identity of Corcoran, and the many tools Corcoran provides to create maximum exposure.
• Create a sense of urgency in the market.
• Capitalize with his excellent negotiation skills, first honed in the luxury automotive business.

It is a plan that gets results. Jeff consistently provides his clients with the highest price per square footage in the building. He sells apartments other agents can’t sell – even at the same price, and he always gets his clients the highest amount of money in the shortest possible time.

A Stealth Negotiator

Almost 80% of homes in New York go to a bidding war. You may have experienced a situation like this in the past. At this level of negotiations, you want a partner on your side that has done it hundreds of times. Before becoming a real estate agent, Jeff worked for Ford Motor Company for 13 years. His job was to negotiate directly with the owners of luxury automotive dealerships. He learned how to win a negotiation from some of the most savvy business people in the automotive industry. The most important lesson: the negotiation is won before it even starts.

Jeff has taken this key principle with him into the world of Residential Real Estate. When you’re out with Jeff, you’ll find he’s always asking the right questions at the right time – of the listing agent, managing agent or the seller. Some of his questions may not seem relevant to the purchase of the property, but while you’re looking at kitchens and closets, Jeff is already preparing for the negotiations, uncovering valuable information:

• What motivates the seller and the broker? Is it the asking price, emotional ties to the apartment, the fairness of the process, a non-contingent deal? 
• How savvy are the seller and broker about New York City real estate? 
• How will other bidders and their agents act? What motivates them? 
• What is the true value of the property, regardless of the asking price?

All of these questions are asked with one goal in mind: to save you time, energy and money. He’ll also go the extra mile to protect you from a poor investment by uncovering undisclosed information, discovering costly aspects of the property and evaluating recently sold comparables to determine whether a building is the right fit for your needs. 

Always a good listener, Jeff asks many questions of his buyers as well, making sure he fully understands what you’re looking for. Your needs, your wants, your financial picture and what you are willing to do to get your dream home.When the fit is right and you have to have a particular condo, co-op, or townhouse, regardless of the terms and conditions, he’ll figure out a way to achieve your goal.

You’ll Want to Have Him Over for Dinner

Working with Jeff Nolan is great, because he manages to reduce the stress and increase the excitement of finding your home. One of his recent clients described it this way: "Jeff negates every cliché you hear about NYC brokers. He is smart, savvy, incredibly concerned with his client’s financial well-being as well as their happiness. He is tough negotiator and runs his business as if every client was family.”

Laid back and funny, Jeff is originally from Detroit. He spent his childhood in London and graduated from the American School in London. He later moved to Denver, Philadelphia and Syracuse, NY, where he met his wife. Originally from Lima Peru, Lorena was most recently a Creative Director of a Manhattan based brand/strategy/packaging design firm.

Jeff and his wife share a love of travel, and after visiting over 40 countries, he plans to keep on going. Jeff is also a runner, who completed the NYC half marathon and is an avid cyclist, riding in the DALMAC quad-century with his father and brother four times. Next he’s working on completing his first triathlon. Jeff currently lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with his wife and daughter, Valentina.

Falling Oil=Falling Rates: How Oil Prices Affect Your Mortgage

We all know falling oil means more discretionary spending, with obvious repercussions, but did you ever think that falling oil would mean falling mortgage rates? Most real estate economists have been forecasting mortgage rates will rise in 2015, but the recent steep drop in oil prices could change all that. According to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, an examination of break-even inflation rates suggests sharply lower oil prices are a key driver of the 90 basis points rally in 10-year Treasurys and the 60 basis points drop in mortgage rates in 2014. "The possibility of further declines in oil prices increases the chances that mortgage rates drop to the 3.25%-3.5% range that we believe is necessary to get housing back to affordable levels for many," says Chris Flannigan, ABS and MBS strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Full Article

Townhouse Qualifiers

Many Brooklyn purchasers are considering a multi-family townhouse as a viable option with more living space, private garden area, storage in the basement and an additional unit generating rental income to reduce their overall out of pocket monthly expenses. The first order of business is getting pre-approved for this type of transaction because there are different requirements for conforming (under $625K) versus non-confirming (JUMBO) loans. One consideration is the down-payment requirements for 2 versus 3 family homes. Typically 3-family townhouses  require a 25% down-payment, a little more than the normal 20% down-payment. Also, the buyer’s ability to use rental income in order to qualify depends on the size of the loan too. Lenders will use the rental income if a conforming loan, however on a JUMBO loan, the requirements are tougher. In order to show the use of rental income, the buyer will have to show a history of managing rental properties with two years of tax returns supporting the claim. An exception may be considered with strong credit and post-closing liquidity. 

Mortgage Default Rates Keep Falling

Despite fears over the country’s housing market, the rate of defaults is declining; it has dropped 3.5% since its peaks in May 2009 and seems to defy all other indicators. The 2nd quarter of this year was the best quarterly performance since 2007 and if it continues to decline at the current rate, it will soon be at 2004-06 levels.

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/07/19/mortgage-default-rates-keep-falling/?mod=WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_Real%20Estate_BLOGSDEVELOPMENTSFEED

Mortgage Costs May Rise for Some Borrowers

Conforming loan limits set by the government are changing on October 1 with opinion divided on how they will affect the market. There are fears among some analysts that they will have an impact on the high end markets. Jumbo loans require higher credit scores and a larger down-payment; as much as 35% of the purchase price. However, there are some reassurances that lending will increase to fill the gap.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mortgage-costs-may-rise-for-some-borrowers-2011-07-18

Abolishing Fannie Mae: Harder Than It Looks?

Politicians from both major parties are struggling to solve the problem of Fannie Mae, leading Republicans are calling for Fannie Mae and sister organization Freddie Mac to be abolished and government guarantees on loans to be stopped. However, these government agencies now back 9 out of 10 new loans and both the Democrats and the real estate market want a permanent government presence to help protect the $10.5 trillion mortgage industry.

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2011/07/13/abolishing-fannie-mae-harder-than-it-looks/?KEYWORDS=fannie+mae

Best Consumer Credit Since ‘06 Reveals Loan Rebound

Credit scores across the country are on the increase, the average score, which is out of 850, rose to 696 in May which is the highest since 2006. The score is a measure of how likely a lender is to be paid back. This improvement allows people to borrow more money as fears about the U.S. economy diminish. It must be stressed, the economy must continue to grow and debts reduced, before it can fully recover.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-04/best-consumer-credit-scores-since-2006-reveal-lending-rebound-across-u-s-.html

Foreign Buyers Lifting U.S. Home Sales

Housing markets across the country are being boosted by foreigners. The dollar is currently weak against many international currencies such as the euro, Canadian dollar and pound sterling. Many people are taking advantage of the low cost of American housing buying in many of the more desirable holiday destinations. Florida in particular has historically attracted foreigners and 8 of it cities rank amongst the 20 most popular cities for foreign investors in the U.S. The most popular nationalities are Canadian, Chinese, British and German.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-07-05-forign-buyers-real-estate_n.htm

Worried About Rising Rates? 5 Things You Can Do

With debt levels at an all time high, interest rates are under intense scrutiny from everyone involved in economics and business. If you are concerned about the potential for a sudden large increase in interest rates then there are five things you can do:

1.) Refinance your mortgage at the current low rate
2.) Consolidate variable rate loans at a fixed rate
3.) Reallocate your portfolio to include fewer long term bonds
4.) Ladder your bonds so that each one runs out in a different year
5.) Always look out for more opportunities to make money

http://blogs.forbes.com/financialfinesse/2011/07/06/worried-about-rising-interest-rates-5-things-you-can-do/

Buying, Holding Pays Off

Buying during the recession may seem like a daunting prospect but for one group of investors who purchased the Worldwide Plaza office in 2009 it was a risk worth taking. The deal, for an office building which had forty six percent occupancy cost them $600 million but now the skyscraper has an estimated value of $1.1 billion. This has been helped by a huge deal with Nomura Holding’s American arm now renting nine hundred thousand square feet of office space helping boost occupancy to ninety six percent.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304803104576426051784656600.html?mod=WSJ_NY_RealEstate_LEFTTopStories

Loan Limit: Will It or Won't It Hurt Housing?

It is unknown how the upcoming change to the loan limit will affect the housing market. The initial prediction is prices will go down as fewer people will be able to buy high cost housing because they have less purchasing power. However, new research from the George Washington University indicates there will be little change as 95% of people will be able to loan and buy in exactly the same way. Many economists have given varying opinions on the matter and only time will tell of the long term effects.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43643094

Pending Reduction of Conforming Loan Limits

You may not be aware that the federally-mandated threshold for jumbo loans is scheduled to be changed on October 1, 2011. The threshold will be reduced from $729,750 to $625,500.

Background

In 2008, Congress enacted temporary higher loan limits as part of the government’s economic stimulus package. Conforming loan limits were set at $729,750 for high end markets such as ours. The Economic Recovery Act increased the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and FHA conforming loan limit to encourage prospective buyers to enter the market and to enable them to be eligible for larger loans without having to pay jumbo loan interest rates.

As a condition of the original legislation, that limit is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30th. The new conforming loan limit will be reduced to $625,500 as of Oct. 1st. Please share this information with your clients whose financing could be affected by the reduced loan limit as well as the timing of their purchase decision.

What Does This Mean for Buyers?

We’ve heard banks are already beginning to impose stricter requirements based on the upcoming October 1st changes. Anyone considering closing on a home between now and October 1 should try to do so expeditiously, particularly if their loan approval has not yet taken the expiration of the current loan limits into account.

Also, anyone thinking of signing a contract in the near future needs to know about the limit changes in case it impacts their need for financing.

Finally, anyone looking to refinance their homes won’t be able to do so for a $729,750 mortgage without paying the $104,250 discrepancy toward the loan balance at the closing – unless they refinance it as a jumbo loan; hence higher mortgage rates!

Please note, it is important if you are considering buying a property in the next few moths you should speak with a mortgage broker or banker to discuss fully how these changes may impact you and your financing.

Can a Credit Inquiry Affect my FICO Score?

There are many questions and some confusion surrounding this topic. A credit inquiry is when a consumer's credit is reviewed by a lender, creditor, or by the consumer personally. Inquiries remain on the credit report for two years. Some types of inquiries will hurt credit scores, while others won't affect them at all. This seems to be where the most confusion lies. When a third party pulls credit with the consumer's authorization this inquiry will hurt the credit score. This is called a "hard pull".

On the other hand, if a creditor pulls credit without authorization (for example, to consider a consumer for a promotional credit card offer), it is considered a "soft pull." A soft pull is an inquiry that does not negatively impact the credit score. But suppose the consumer applies for the promotional credit card? Then the creditor will undertake a more in-depth review, this time with authorization. This will be considered a hard pull, which will reduce the score.
To understand inquiries we must look at scores as well. We will take the FICO Score as an example. FICO is used by mortgage lenders when deciding a consumer's risk level. Based on the risk level, lenders decide what interest rate is appropriate for a loan or if it will be approved at all. When lenders pull FICO it is considered a hard inquiry and will negatively affect the credit score. FICO also sells scores directly to the general public online at www.myfico.com. Ordering your score and credit report directly from this site will not affect your score. In fact, even if a consumer pulled his credit and scores 80 times in one day at www.myfico.com, all 80 pulls would be considered "soft" and would not affect the score.

Consumers can also obtain their credit directly at other online sites, such as www.annualcreditreport.com, www.freecreditreport.com, www.Equifax.com, etc. without hurting their credit scores.

Credit Inquiries – Do they affect your FICO Score?
It has been a while since I last addressed the subject of Inquiries. It seems there are always endless questions and confusion surrounding this topic. What is an Inquiry? An Inquiry is when a consumer's credit is reviewed by a lender, creditor, or by the consumer personally. Inquiries remain on the credit report for two years. Some types of inquiries will hurt credit scores, while others won't affect them at all. This seems to be where the most confusion comes into play.

When a third party pulls credit with the consumer's authorization this inquiry will negatively affect the credit score. This type of inquiry is called a "hard pull". On the other hand, if a creditor pulls credit without authorization (for example, to consider a consumer for a promotional 2% credit card offer), it is considered a "soft pull." A soft pull is an inquiry that does not negatively impact the credit score. But suppose the consumer applies for the promotional 2% credit card? The creditor will then undertake a more in-depth review, this time with authorization. This will be considered a hard pull, reducing the score.

To understand inquiries we must look at scores as well. We will take the FICO Score as an example. The FICO Score is used by mortgage lenders when deciding a consumer's risk level. Based on the risk level, lenders decide what interest rate is appropriate for a loan -- or if a loan will be approved at all. When lenders pull FICO Scores it is considered a hard inquiry and will hurt the credit score. But FICO also sells scores directly to the general public online at www.myfico.com. Ordering your score and credit report directly from this site will not affect your score. In fact, even if a consumer pulled his credit and scores 80 times in one day at myfico.com, all 80 pulls would be considered "soft" and would not affect the score. Consumers can also obtain their credit directly at other online sites, such as www.Equifax.com, www.annualcreditreport.com, www.freecreditreport.com, etc. without hurting their FICO score.

This is how FICO defines the effects of inquiries:

"The impact from applying for credit will vary from person to person based on their unique credit histories. In general, credit inquiries have a small impact on one's FICO score. For most people, one additional credit inquiry will take less than five points off their FICO score. For perspective, the full range for FICO scores is 300-850. Inquiries can have a greater impact if you have few accounts or a short credit history. Large numbers of inquiries also mean greater risk. Statistically, people with six inquiries or more on their credit reports can be up to eight times more likely to declare bankruptcy than people with no inquiries on their reports. While inquiries often can play a part in assessing risk, they play a minor part. Much more important factors for your score are how timely you pay your bills and your overall debt burden as indicated on your credit report." **

Fico speaks about the five points as if they were insignificant. But five points at a 740 or 720 FICO score can make a big difference in interest rates, which could equate to a considerable amount of interest over the life of the mortgage depending on the size and life of a loan. It is essential to think about timing when you manage your credit. Timing is everything. If a consumer is planning on applying for a mortgage within one - two years, every action that could affect their credit score should be weighed by the impact it will have on that loan. Since a home is one of the largest purchases a consumer will make in their lifetime, and the mortgage will be one of their largest monthly payments, it only makes sense to try to get the best interest rate and make the lowest monthly payment possible. With this in mind we must understand how different inquiries happening at various times change a consumer's scores.

When lenders pull credit scores through their pulling service (a third party between the bank and the credit reporting agencies - Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax) they are given merged reports that come in a format of the bank's choosing. What most people and bankers may not realize is that each bank chooses what "window" they will use to decide the effect of inquiries. The window is defined as the time period the consumer has been allotted to shop for a mortgage loan, car loan or lease, or student loan, without each inquiry reducing their credit score. During this window they can have 10, 20, or even 60 inquiries and it will only affect the score as if it was one inquiry (or hard pull). This applies only to the three loan types mentioned above, and each group is considered separately in batches of inquiries.
For example: Brian was shopping for the best rate on a mortgage. He went to Bank of America on August 1st , Wells Fargo on August 3rd, HSBC on August 12th, and M&T on August 16th. All of these banks had a 14 day window that they allowed for inquiries to be viewed as one in batches. The three inquiries within the 14 day period only reduced Brian's score by 4-5 points but the inquiry that occurred on the 16th day, which was past the 14 day window, decreased his score another 4-5 points. Brian's score was a 725 when he began and by the time he decided he wanted to get the loan 2 months later, after having his credit pulled yet again, his score was down to a 710. Brian could not get the type of loan he originally wanted because of the lowered score. He wound up paying more for the loan but he was lucky because he could have been turned down completely.

Most banks used to have 30 day windows but when the economy changed they became more restrictive on lending money. Reducing the window reflects the banks' more conservative posture.

Now getting back to Brian: If we take the same situation as the above but we have Brian shopping for a car at the same time it would look like this: Brian went to a Toyota dealer, a Lexus dealer, and an Acura dealer looking for a car loan on August 5th, 10th, and 14th. This would only have reduced his score another 4-5 points since it was done within the14 day window. But if he also increased his spending limit at Macy's on August 9th that would reduce his score another 5 points. Now we are talking about a 700 score. This is a major change in score and could make a huge difference in his loan rate.

To be clear, then: Each grouping (or batch) of inquiries for a car, student loan, or mortgage is considered as one single inquiry per group, as long as they are performed within the allotted window. Any other hard pulls during the window, such as for an increase in spending limits or to open new credit, are never viewed in batches and always reduce the score individually.

Once empowered with an understanding of how inquiries can decrease their scores, and the art of timing when shopping for loans, consumers have the power to make a big difference in their financial lives.