Pre-qualifying customers is no small task for residential brokers, but avoiding an awkward conversation about finances can lead to disaster, according to Halstead Property sales and rental agent Michael Rovner, who wrote about the importance of a fiscal review between broker and client in the Post. While asking a buyer what he can afford could lead to an ego deflation, many co-ops and condos have increasingly rigorous restrictions for real estate shoppers, Rovner said. “Some buildings don’t allow mortgages, and others require owners to have two to three times the purchase price in cash after closing,” Rovner said of some co-op boards. [Post]

From the December issue: The New York City residential real estate market has come a long way
from the dark days of late 2008 and early 2009. But despite the moderate
improvements in the market, succeeding in the current climate remains
far from easy. Many brokers and developers left the industry when the
economy soured, and those that remain have no choice but to be on their
“A” game.
This month, The Real Deal is recognizing people and projects
in the industry who managed to have stellar years despite the difficult
economic conditions. To compile this list, we conducted an online
survey, receiving more than 300 responses. We also got input from
industry experts, gathered data from real estate listings aggregator
StreetEasy, and relied on our judgment as 24/7 industry observers. [more]

Elizabeth Stribling

Residential brokerage Stribling & Associates has joined forces with London-based real estate services company Savills, forming a professional association, according to Stribling representatives. The association is meant to help Stribling’s “client’s homes reach the widest possible market,” according to founder Elizabeth Stribling, while giving Savils an entree into the U.S. market. Attorneys Jay Neveloff and Steve Senir of Levin Naftalis & Frankel represented Stribling in the formation of the association. As The Real Deal previously reported, Stribling has also recently expanded its grasp to Italy, taking on listings in Tuscany and beyond. TRD

[more]

Elizabeth Stribling

Residential brokerage Stribling & Associates has joined forces with London-based real estate services company Savills, forming a professional association, according to Stribling representatives. The association is meant to help Stribling’s “client’s homes reach the widest possible market,” according to founder Elizabeth Stribling, while giving Savils an entree into the U.S. market. Attorneys Jay Neveloff and Steve Senir of Levin Naftalis & Frankel represented Stribling in the formation of the association. As The Real Deal previously reported, Stribling has also recently expanded its grasp to Italy, taking on listings in Tuscany and beyond. TRD

[more]

Douglas Wagner, president and general manager at Benjamin James Real Estate, has left the shrinking company for a position at brokerage Bond New York. Wagner became executive managing director of sales at Bond just over a week ago, according to Bruno Ricciotti, a principal at Bond, and will manage sales and rentals at the company’s 45-agent Upper East Side office at 1500 Second Avenue between 78th and 79th streets. Ricciotti said Bond and Benjamin James have often worked on rental deals together. Wagner’s departure raises questions about the future of Benjamin James,
which has lost market share during the recession. James Benjamin Ferrari founded the
firm in 1993, but in recent years left the company almost entirely in
Wagner’s hands.
Ferrari was not available for comment by press time.
[more]

From the November issue: During the boom years, Manhattan real estate seemed like an open book.
As prices climbed higher, news of record-breaking Manhattan deals –
like Harry Macklowe’s $60 million Plaza buy or Jonathan Tisch’s $48
million co-op purchase at 2 East 67th Street — was reported not just
throughout the country, but all over the globe. With city data about real estate transactions being published
online, some brokers jockeyed to have their names linked with
high-profile sales. Buying or selling a high-priced Manhattan apartment
became a badge of honor.
Still, there was an element of polite society that preferred its
real estate quiet, working with discreet brokers who could be trusted
to keep their names and activities out of the headlines.

Cockroaches, rats and other critters are a common (and gross) inconvenience for New Yorkers of all ilks. But the bedbug has a unique ability to spread panic among apartment dwellers. Those afflicted with a bedbug infestation often shell out thousands of dollars to kill the bugs and, in some cases, throw out furniture just to be rid of the tiny-legged plague, the New York Times said, which is why assessing a building and a unit’s propensity for bedbugs — with experts or even specially trained dogs — has become a central part of buying a home in the city. If a new residence has a past problem with bedbug infestations that can, in some cases, kill a deal, Steven Sladkus, a real estate lawyer with Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, said. “It’s like the dreaded mold that was killing values for a while,” Sladkus said. “People don’t want to buy into a building if they find out there are bedbugs.”

From the August issue: Manhattan’s residential real estate market might be feeling serious
pain, but many real estate insiders believe the city’s commercial
market will spend a much longer period in the doldrums.
While residential real estate is suffering from an oversupply of
inventory and a bursting price bubble largely spurred by a drop in
lending standards, commercial real estate is confronting obstacles on
the debt side that appear to be more entrenched. What’s more, experts
say the problems on the commercial side are in many ways just getting
started and will require far longer to sort themselves out.
For one, Manhattan’s office vacancy rate last month was 13.1
percent, and the commercial brokerage Colliers ABR is predicting it may
hit a high of 18 percent, significantly higher than the last downturn,
said Richard Bernstein, a vice chairman at the firm. [more]