All Forum Posts by: Rick Wang

Thank you very much. I went to 6 open houses, I should post some pictures. Lets just say the bathroom in horror movies are in better shape than these. They still wanted top dollar.

This the synthetic wood floor?

Do you have a link or something to the auction? I was just about all done in nyc, everytime I try and give up, it seems like prices just keep going and going and going...

You can find something decent in a good neighborhood- for around 1 million.

From a rent roll stand point, it doesn't make any sense. You spend 1mm on a small multiplex (2 fam?) and rent it for maybe a net of 36k a year. It would take you 30 years to break even, not including mortgage liabilities, taxes, insurance etc.

Where you make money in NYC is buying and holding, as value appreciates. While rent roll is important, do not expect to make it rich quickly- you must be caught in the direct path of rent increases (such as williamsburg, carrol gardens, park slope) and you had to have purchased in that area YEARS before there was ever a hint of an increase.  Look at Michael Gansburg, he went into Harlem way early; to buy the same today would not fit the numbers anymore.

 Really hard to say, Mr. Williamsburg :) (I mean it in the most jokingly way possible). Downtown brooklyn is the new yuppie suburb... city.. ish.. but its mostly yuppie.

Sounds like you still win!

how was it bidding with the city for realestate Can you go into some more detail?

Ok, now it makes more sense. However, placing it in his control was a bad idea. Obviously hindsight is 20/20.  What is the residual value of the building as it stands now? Is it more or less than 50% of the value at the time of the agreement for him to manage? If so, you may just be able to obtain the building and have 100% ownership. Obviously, if the lawyer and your ex step father failed to pay taxes and insurance, you can sue the lawyer and your ex step father, but only if what you described is true; that paying that was part of an escrow fund to his attorney. Naturally your mother should have noticed a smaller (if non existent) monthly rent roll, if rents did decrease, and they were still taking money for that escrow. That would be a misappropriation of funds.

"court gave control of the property to my stepfather"

This is the only line of concern, which you should clarify. I'm not a lawyer, but property isn't usually part of a joint ownership (after a divorce). There must be some odd stipulations as to the continued relationship as to why he was given control, and how you got back control after a  few years. 

You got back control later, only after a fire, but there may or may not have been a requirement for him to buy insurance. 

No, do not pay. 

Well there are some. If your not working with the listing agent directly, the middle agent sometimes will try and "steer" your decision making. They will often tell you to bid higher than what you had originally thought to try and "win" a bid (otherwise they make no money). The listing agent doesn't really care, they do this all day long. They make money regardless of what you bid.  If you have a good agent, then they should know how you like to operate. Good agents know that you won't be a one shot wonder, and will provide that added value to tell you to consider other properties, or if your bidding possibly too high or too low, and be accurate in their assessment. Failed bids are waste of their time and yours. Property that is way too expensive for your budget, or outside of your criteria are also a waste of time. However, don't be surprised if your agent tries to send you things to consider from time to time; it is always worth considering, and sometimes can expand your horizon.