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LandlordsNY MemberFlood Insurance
The New York Times ran a good primer on flood insurance today. Given how active hurricane season has been this year, it might be a good idea to look into getting insured.
The article contains the following sections:
Who needs flood insurance?
Where can I buy flood insurance?
How much does flood insurance cost?
Does my homeowner or renter’s insurance protect me from floods?
Does flood insurance cover water damage from plumbing leaks?
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 20th
The New York City Council is considering finalizing Int Int 1447-2017, a controversial piece of legislation ostensibly meant to improve safety on construction sites. If finalized, the bill could come to a vote as early as next week. The amended bill will require all construction workers to obtain a safety training card after 40 hours of instruction instead of the previous 59 hours. A few other minor amendments were made.These adjustments did not assuage critics like Bertha Lewis, head of the Black Institute, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who have expressed their concerns that the bill perpetuates the systematic exclusion of small contractors and … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Are We Seeing the Calm Before the QT Storm?
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce tomorrow that it will start winding down the easy money policies of the past nine years. This means slowly ridding itself of approximately $4.2 trillion in mortgages and Treasury bonds that were originally purchased in an effort to stabilize markets during and after the financial crisis. This was done through the unconventional monetary policy of quantitative easing. The shift in policy is what is known as quantitative tightening (QT).
The Wall Street Journal reports that the central bank plans to begin shedding these instruments passively next month by letting bonds mature without buying replacements. It's like … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 19th
In a controversial move, the City Planning Commission approved a rezoning plan that will allow the redevelopment of the former Pfizer sites in the Broadway Triangle, a region of Brooklyn that borders the neighborhoods Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Now that the City Planning Commission has approved the plan it will move on to the New York City Council. If it passes there, it will be sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio for final approval.
The project is being proposed by the Rabsky Group. If it is granted approval in its current form, it is expected to generate 1,146 apartments, 65,000 square feet of retail, 405 parking spaces, and half an acre of public … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Case of the Week: The City of New York v. Alan Landsman
Believe it or not, squatters can claim to be your tenants if they manage to stay on your property for a set amount of time. It doesn’t matter if breaking and entering was involved. If they are there for long enough, they can claim to have taken “adverse possession” of the unit or property. While it seems absurd, it is less strange than the fact that you have to go through the eviction process to get them out once they’ve established adverse possession. Even stranger, if a squatter manages to take over an entire property and remain there uninterrupted for more than 10 years, they can claim ownership.
While New York State law asserts that a squatter … read more
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Is Aces Laundry Better than a Dinosaur?
There have been several articles about over-the-top amenities like doggy spas, climbable dinosaurs, and golf simulators. However, most tenants are far more interested in practical facilities. They want things that improve their quality of life rather than serve as indicators of their vast stores of disposable income. Of all the practical amenities there are, a laundry room may be the best, especially if you have the laundry room installed by Aces Laundry.
No matter the size, @ACES Laundry will build out a laundry room in your building at no upfront costs. They will also use their state-of-the-art software to oversee and care for all of the machines in the laundry … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 18th
New York City is officially trying to get Amazon to open its second headquarters, HQ2, somewhere in the five boroughs. The city is asking developers and business groups to come together to hatch a plan that will highlight the many assets of being a corporation based in New York City.
However, New York City is not the only metropolitan center in the state wooing Amazon and the estimated 50,000 workers that they hope to employ at the H2Q facility once it is completed in 15 to 17 years. Buffalo, Albany, Westchester, and Long Island are also contending for consideration. However, there have been reports that the front-runners are currently in Boston, Denver, and … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 15th
New data reveals that the tax system in New York City is most painful for both the very poor and the very rich, but for different reasons. A high percentage of poor people’s income goes to paying property taxes, and the burden gets progressively lighter the more money a household makes. For those earning $25,000, that number is 8.8 percent; for those earning, $75,000, it’s 3.5 percent; and for those who make between $1 million and $2 million, it is 2.1 percent. Conversely, the income tax rate is most burdensome for wealthy households, and becomes progressively less cumbersome the less money one makes. For those making $25,000, the tax rate is -0.8 percent; it is … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
City Council Considers Legislation to Improve Participation Rates of MWBE Contractors
Four pieces of legislation were discussed yesterday, September 13, at a joint hearing of the Committee on Contracts, the Committee on Economic Development, and the Committee on Small Business. All of the legislation aims either to improve opportunities for minority- and women-owned business entities (MWBEs) or to ascertain information about diversity in the workplace.
The City Council has proposed these pieces of legislation because MBWEs have historically struggled to win contracts with developers and property owners, despite programs designed by the city to mitigate this problem. Local Law 129, for example, was … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 14th
Cornell Tech has opened on Roosevelt Island. The $700 million first phase of the complex has been completed, and is now home to three buildings, 30 faculty members, and 300 graduate students. This is expected to be a boon for western Queens neighborhoods like Long Island City and Astoria, which will be capable of accessing the campus either by the F train or the new Astoria route of the NYC Ferry. The campus is expected to generate as many as 8,000 permanent jobs, hundreds of spin-off and startup companies, and billions in revenue for the city.
The Queens Times-Ledger has more.
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Brooklyn lawmakers and property owners are attempting to woo Amazon … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
B’nai B’rith Real Estate Luncheon.
B’nai B’rith Real Estate had a wonderful luncheon this afternoon with guest speaker Abraham J. Hidary CEO of Hidrock Properties. The B’nai B’rith Real Estate luncheon happens once every month except for in the summer, so this luncheon had a big turnout because it was the first one they have had in months. The luncheon was very insightful and gave an in-depth report on the hotel industry.Abraham J. Hidary of Hidrock Properties spoke very eloquently about his responsibilities as the company’s CEO. Abraham J. Hidary develops hotels in areas which he believes will be the best for business. His key to buying buildings that will later become hotels is that you should buy … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 13th
The Long Island Railroad’s Lower Montauk branch is a largely abandoned stretch of track that runs 8.5 miles between Jamaica and Long Island City, and cuts through the neighborhoods of Richmond Hill, Glendale, Ridgewood, and Maspeth. Rather than letting this line rust over, a new plan is proposing that it be converted into a commuter rail line dubbed the QNS Rail. It would bring relief to overcrowded subways and buses, reduce road congestion, and promote both residential and industrial development in neighborhoods that are currently cut off from mass transit.
This rail plan appears to be gaining steam and has been endorsed by both Thomas Grech, the executive … read more
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How to Rent to Students Without the Risk of Rent Loss
With the school year beginning, many landlords will face a difficult question: Should I rent to an US and international student or group of US and international students? It’s not an easy decision because you oftentimes have no way of knowing what type of people students are. There is no public background to check. Many students have never rented an apartment before and a similar number have yet to establish much of a credit history. International students have no US credit, and their parensta re overseas.
During periods of extremely low vacancy rates, cautious landlords have the freedom to only rent to people with established credit, good jobs, and … read more
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Save Money and Give Your Bathroom a Fresh Look with This Tip!
Shiny and new isn’t always the best option, especially when it comes to your bathtub. If it’s time to update the bathrooms in your units, think twice about a full tub replacement. While it may seem cut and dry, the process to rip out, dispose, and install a brand-new tub can quickly snowball from a few hundred to thousands of dollars while risking damage to plumbing and tile.
The better option? Bathtub refinishing.
With bathtub refinishing you can achieve a fresh updated look in your bathroom in less time and with less costs.
A full tub replacement can take your bathroom out of commission for days or even weeks. But with bathtub refinishing, … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for September 12th
U.S. cities are growing less robustly than in previous years. Revenue growth for the fiscal year ending on June 30 is projected to be 0.9 percent, which is down from fiscal 2016’s growth rate of 2.61 percent and 2015’s rate of 3.26 percent. These numbers represent just an average and a trend of 261 cities from throughout the nation.
The reduction in growth rates is due to several factors. First, property tax revenue is not growing as fast as it was in the recent past, even though there continues to be a strong housing market. The report is not clear why this is happening. Second, revenue from sales tax is on the decline. This is due to brick-and-mortar retail’s … read more
