Wherefore art thou, inventory?

by McIntosh October 18, 2011

We’re well past Labor Day.  You know what this means, right?  No, not the passé no-more-wearing-white-pants rule:  the explosion of new listings coming on the market!  Time to cheer and break out the bubbly at the abundance of fresh meat from which buyers can pick.   Except there’s a problem with that … we’re not seeing [...]

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Appraisal jam: multiple appraisals asked for the same property?

by Red Delicious October 6, 2011

As you may know, our team has a collective 30+ years of experience in the real estate industry. You could say we’ve seen it all … until now, that is. Thankfully, we had an amazing August; during the month, we encountered three, count them, three requests for doubling up on appraisals. To spell this out [...]

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Baby on Board? What to expect when you’re expecting

by Honeycrisp September 29, 2011

Few life events are more impactful than having a baby.  It changes your life, your priorities and, more often than not, your housing needs.  The prospect of a new giggling, pooping and seemingly always eating family member effects more than just your perspective on work and family:  it has very real consequences on the timing [...]

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When NOT to walk away from negotiations

by Honeycrisp September 8, 2011

We’ve worked with a few buyers recently who want to test a seller’s resolve via the negotiations process.  Sounds normal, right?  The issue is that we’re seeing many buyers not willing to take the process to its conclusion.  They begin bidding, receive one or two counters and then stop and pull out altogether, assuming that [...]

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Buying as a lesson in financial discipline for your children

by McIntosh August 16, 2011

If you’re a parent paying your child’s rent, pay close attention to this post.  (If you’re that child, read carefully as well and pass it on to your parents.)  The NYT recently ran an article on an increase in the number of parents buying for their children.  Normally we would speak about this to sellers, [...]

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Which buyers will get squeezed by lower jumbo loan limits?

by Empire August 10, 2011

It’s official:  jumbo loan limits are shrinking from “jumbo” to “extra large” instead.  One by one, banks are cutting off their conforming loans at the $625,500 limit that Fannie will impose come September of this year (this is down from the current $729,500 limit).  At first, upon learning of the lower jumbo cut-off, we started [...]

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International buyers are back! C’est vrai!

by Red Delicious August 1, 2011

It’s been some time since we’ve talked about foreign investors.  We now have good reason to revive the conversation.  According to Urban Digs, much of the uptick in activity we’ve seen over the last six months has come from foreigners swooping in for pied-a-terres, looking to buy their piece of the Big Apple.  Indeed, even [...]

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The Debt Ceiling and NYC Real Estate: What’s to come?

by Honeycrisp July 27, 2011

It is a rare evening nowadays that one’s ears are not affronted by the constant partisan posturing around the debt ceiling and the right path forward.  Whether you’re a Rachel Maddow fan, a Bill O’Reilly follower, or just plain don’t give a damn, you’re certain to be impacted by whatever outcome results from these dreary [...]

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Vent of the day: blind apartments!

by Honeycrisp July 25, 2011

We rarely vent here at TAP, but one too many of these have crossed our path as of late: blind apartments.  What do we mean?  Apartments exclusively listed by a broker with no photos or floor-plan attached.  You may recall our having written about why sometimes the best apartments come with no photos.  The apartments [...]

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When should you buy in a new development for the best deal?

by Red Delicious July 18, 2011

With tax abated properties getting absorbed with each passing week and the inventory of spanking new properties dwindling, fresh new developments coming to market are attracting many interested buyers.  Generally, they are frustrated by the feeling of seeing properties 80%+ sold and having few options from which to choose.  They are also feeling the pressure [...]

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