Rent Control vs rent Stabilization

I get this question a lot: what the difference between rent control and rent stabilization? So here you go:

Rent Control
The rent control program generally applies to residential buildings constructed before February 1947 in municipalities that have not declared an end to the postwar rental housing emergency. A total of 51 municipalities have rent control, including New York City, Albany, Buffalo and various cities, towns, and villages in Albany, Erie, Nassau, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Westchester counties.
For an apartment to be under rent control, the tenant (or their lawful successor such as a family member, spouse, or adult lifetime partner) must have been living in that apartment continuously since before July 1, 1971. When a rent controlled apartment becomes vacant, it either becomes rent stabilized, or, if it is in a building with fewer than six units, it is generally removed from regulation. For more information on succession and the definition of family member, check out the fact sheet.
An apartment in a one- or two-family house must have a tenant in continuous occupancy since April 1, 1953 in order to be subject to rent control. Once it is vacated after that date, it is no longer subject to regulation. Previously controlled apartments may have been decontrolled on various other grounds. On rare occasion, a decontrolled apartment is ordered back under rent control as a penalty for certain violations of the rent laws.

Rent Stabilization
In NYC, rent stabilized apartments are those apartments in buildings of six or more units built between February 1, 1947 and January 1, 1974. Tenants in buildings of six or more units built before February 1, 1947, who moved in after June 30, 1971 are also covered by rent stabilization laws.
A third category of rent stabilized apartments covers buildings with three or more apartments constructed or extensively renovated since 1974 with special tax benefits. Generally, these buildings are stabilized only while the tax benefits continue.

I know, today’s post is a bit technical (i.e. boring!) but it’s informative, right?

New Development: 500 W 21 ST

I just went to see a new condo development at 500 W 21st Street, in West Chelsea. The building is being built right by the High Line. Its apartments and common areas are meant to remind the feeling of a Parisian turn-of-the-century building. In a word: lovely. Or shall I say jolie?

The building is a collection of 32 luxury apartments designed by architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox ranging from 1 to 3 bedrooms. Forget about the one bedrooms though, they are all already gone.
The sustainable garden facing the western side of the building, was created by internationally-acclaimed landscape designer Rees Roberts + Partners. The dense, native plantscape reaches as high as 40 feet and varies with the seasons, creating a private urban sanctuary.

The crafted open, loft-like layouts interiors are curated by West Chelsea-based interior designer Mark Zeff with carefully selected materials such as limestone and oil-rubbed bronze.

The amenities include: 24-hour concierge, 2,000 square foot fitness center, club room, children’s playroom, on-site parking (for lease at about $1,100/mo – limited), live-in resident manager, closed-circuit TV security system, cold storage, individual storage for each residence (5X5X8 cages assigned to all apartments), four-pipe fan coil heating and cooling, strategically located mechanical equipment, and gas-fired generator.

Here are some pictures of how the building will look like.

500 W 21 ST

You can find out more about 500 W 21st Street right here.

CO-OPS

As a real estate agent, I get this question a lot: ‘what’s a co-op, exactly?’ Especially when I deal with international investors, who have no idea of the existance of such an ownership structure in real estate, it is essencial for me to explain what co-ops are and how they work. And why they -the international investors- should stay away from them. But that’s another story.

Let me share my knowledge with you.

Co-ops (short for cooperatives) are apartment buildings owned by a corporation. Individual tenants do not own their apartments, instead they own a share of stock in the corporation who formed the building. Every owner is assigned a share of stock based on the size and floor level of their apartment. Ownership is established by a stock certificate and occupancy is governed by a proprietary lease.

Coops are currently the most popular form of property ownership in Manhattan, where 85% of all apartments are co-ops. Also, nearly 100% of Manhattan’s pre-war buildings are co-ops.

The first co-op buildings appeared in Manhattan in the late 1800’s; they where called “house-clubs” back then. 

During the years co-ops have been “in” and “out” the preference of New Yorkers. In the 70′, when ownership had become more desirable and there were city and state advantages to converting into a co-op, many buildings did so giving their tenants a great advantage: instead of writing off the interest expense on the unit owned, one could also write off the interest on the underlying mortgage of the building.

Nowadays co-ops are a bastion of exclusivity, with boards having the right to reject any borrower who they think does not qualify.

What about you? Do you live in a co-op or a condo? What’s your experience?

beeckman place

Located in Midtown on the East Side, from the East River to First Avenue, between 49th Street and 51st Street.

Beekman Place on a map

This is a neighborhood of beautiful townhouses — Irving Berlin used to live here — and grand co-ops is only a few square blocks big. Because the neighborhood is so small, the number of Beekman Place apartments for sale at any one time, whether co-op or condo, is limited — but the Beekman area is worth the wait! The neighborhood centers on two-blocks-long Beekman Place, with grand buildings like One Beekman Place, a co-op with a garage and and an Olympic pool. In fiction, that East Side co-op was home to the madcap Auntie Mame; in fact, it contains what many believe to be New York City’s grandest and best apartments.

Beekman Place

More Like its big sister Sutton Place, this tranquil enclave in the East Fifties is known as much for its spectacular river views as its classic East Side apartment houses. Recent condo buildings include the Beekman Regent, a nineteenth-century landmark turned twenty-first century modern condominium, and the limestone Grand Beekman (which offers a garden court as well as a fitness center with sauna). Once a staging area for the British during the Revolutionary War, Beekman Place offers a wide range of townhouse architecture, including a celebrated glass townhouse designed by modern architect Paul Rudolph, a true pioneer of green building well known for his work in Florida. It’s truly a special enclave, and in addition to the sunrise views available from the wonderful Beekman apartments, great people-watching.

The reason why I like Beekman Place is its being so European. Once you are in BP, you go back in time. It feels like another era. The architecture has so much character, the buildings are grand.

Just stroll over there in the next few days, around 4.30-5pm, when the sun is still somewhat warm, and you’ll feel the history, the people, the charm of this little gem in the city.

hudson yards

Hudson Yards, the project

Innovative architecture, imaginative new parks, arts and culture will soon create a new neighborhood that New Yorkers will love: Hudson Yards.

The construction at Hudson Yards started in the fall of 2012 and will be completed in two phases:
> Phase I – Eastern Rail Yard: From 10th to 11th Avenue between West 30th and West 33rd streets;
> Phase II – Western Rail Yard: From 11th to 12th Avenue between West 30th and West 33rd streets.

There will be a total of 13,340,000sf grandfully added to the city of New York:
Office : 6,750,000sf
Residential: 5,000,000sf
Retail: 1,150,000sf
Hotel: 220,000sf
School: 120,000sf
Culture Center: 100,000sf
TOTAL: 13,340,000sf

The plans include 1 block a.k.a. the “superblock” of retails space, two office towers (North Tower and South Tower), two residential towers (D Tower and E Tower), a cultural shed, and of course open spaces and parks for everyone to enjoy.

In addition to that, works have started for the extention of the subway # 7 up to 34th street, between 10th and 11th Avenue. Finally, the last phase of the high line requalification (phase 3) should complete the landscaping of the area making it a real gem.

To learn more, please click here.

the west side cowboy

This is the story of the urban cowboy.

Before the West Side Improvement Project created the High Line, trains ran down Tenth and Eleventh Avenues. A flagman, or West Side Cowboy, would be preceding the train to wave a red flag by day and a red lantern by night to give the necessary warning.

“The job of urban cowboy was created by an 1850s city ordinance that permitted freight cars to run along the streets so long as they didn’t exceed six miles per hour and dictated that the railroad — first the Hudson River, later the New York Central — “shall employ a proper person to precede the trains on horseback, to give the necessary warning in a suitable manner on their approach.” Still, so many accidents and deaths occurred on the at-grade tracks along Tenth Avenue between 17th and 30th Streets that it came to be known as Death Avenue.”

On March 29, 1941 the last cowboy, named George Hayderode, rode down Tenth Avenue for the very last time. He was, age twenty-one, mounted on what one reporter dubbed “his faithful bay, Cyclone.” The two led a string of fourteen freight cars loaded with oranges.

The urban cowboy has since be seen only in vintage photos, like the one we posted.

To learn more about the West Side Cowboy please visit the High Line webiste.

gramercy by starck

For anyone who really enjoys design, industrial, interior, any design type really, Gramercy by Starck is generally a hit.

Philippe Starck and his design team YOO, are behind all the details of this cool property.

With a 2,600 sq ft beautifully designed state-of-the-art fitness center with sauna and steam rooms, a full floor resident’s lounge with cozy fireplace, library, screening room and billiards room leading out to a beautifully landscaped outdoor garden with fireplace, a landscaped roof deck with spectacular river and city views and private cabana, this building has it all.

The personality of the building is strong. One expects to see Mr. Starck seating in one of his chairs or sunbathing in the roof deck cabanas anytime.

Très chic.

maisonette

A maisonette is -literally- a little house, a large multi-storey apartment located in an apartment building.

A maisonette in New York City, has the power to make people go back in time. One of my favorite ones is located at 1 East End Avenue, Maisonette A. With 6 bedrooms, abundant light, a wood-burning fire place, and a wood-paneled library, one sure feels like living in a French home from the 1800s.

The usual layout for a maisonette is a combined kitchen and dining room, living space and accessories on the lower floor, several bedrooms and a second bathroom on the top.

Maisonettes can be fund all over Manhattan, especially in the Upper East Side.

it’s a sellers market in New York City

In the case that you haven’t realized it yet, let me tell ya: it’s a sellers market.
Sellers have all the power. If you like the apartment be ready to pay full price.

What I am seeing as a junior real estate agent is the frustration of buyers who have been looking for a while and cannot find a property they like. These buyers have only a few options:
> increase the amount of money that they are willing to pay for a property;
> expand their search criteria to more neighboorhoods;
> lower their expectations (you can’t get everything anyway, most of the times);
> wait.

What’s your experience in this market? Are you going to wait? Are you expanding your search criteria?