Are you in the market for a NYC condo apartment? Are you looking for something sparkling new, sleek and dynamic?

Consider a NYC Green Home. Featuring all of the amenities of traditional doorman, luxury hi-rises; eco-friendly buildings offer something even more: peace of mind.

Set your mind at ease. Not only will you purchase a home which is built from re-used, recycled, reusable or sustainable products, a home in which the air and water is filtered, and the rainwater reused to keep the grounds beautified, but you will also purchase a house in a micro-market that seems to be weathering the current economic downturn. According to Lydia Depillis’ article in the November 13, 2008 “New York Observer Article” the market for environmentally friendly housing in New York City is “…going strong: Driven by growing demand for eco-friendly living and working space, developers are forging full steam ahead on plans to obtain green certification.”

With many new LEED certified buildings in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, you’ll have a variety of neighborhoods and styles to choose from. Of course, you’ll have to do your due diligence by reviewing the building’s financials and having a lawyer look over your contract before purchasing.

Have questions? Want more information on LEED certified buildings? Would you like a tour of the newest eco-friendly condos? Ask Lala.

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You don’t have the time to do your own thorough search.  You don’t know if you’re getting access to all the listings.  You are dealing with too much back and forth between different agents – who you know all share the same listings.  And negotiating… you don’t even know where to start.  Does paying more up front give you a discount on the rent or purchase price?  If so, does it still give you a discount if you have bad credit?

There are many reasons to hire a real estate professional to help you with your search.  It’s picking the right person to handle all your real estate needs that really matters.

Here are some considerations in finding the right agent or broker:

1. Does your agent have access to all the co-brokered listings?
2. Do they have expertise in the areas you would like to live?
3. Are there other agents in the company that would help manage your search if your agent becomes unavailable?
4. Is your agent punctual in responding?
5. Does your agent seem to understand the market?
6. Does your agent have the support of his/her agency? If this is a less experienced agent, do they have the advice of more experienced agents at their company?
7. Is your agent always reachable?
8. Does the agent you’re working with have the upper hand on technology?

The right agent will show you apartments in your budget and just above your budget to allow for negotiations.  To figure out your budget, they will ask you questions about your income and assets.  If you’re buying there will be additional inquiries into what you have to put down, where money is coming from and what assets you will have after down payment, closing costs and other charges associated with buying a co-op.

It is important to work with the agent you feel comfortable with.  Real estate professionals work on commission, and commission alone.  If you searching for the right agent do so only in the preliminary process.   Due to REBNY rules, all REBNY members share the same listings.  Stick with the agent you have come to know and trust.  Of course, if your agent is not representing your interests, it is always advisable to find a new agent as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions, Ask LaLa!

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Actually, “drags the industry kicking and screaming” might be more accurate. Nearly three years after filing an antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors, and only weeks before the trial date, the Justice Department announced a settlement with the NAR that ends some of that organization’s restrictive practices.

Even though the NAR gets away without paying any fines or damages, the settlement is a big victory for consumers – NAR-affiliated multiple listing services can no longer allow members to withhold listings from “virtual office websites,” or VOWs – brokerages that use Internet technology to deliver real estate services at a discount. Traditional brokerages didn’t like competition from these upstarts, so instead of becoming more efficient themselves, they tried to keep the online brokerages from getting any information. In one egregious case, all of the brokers in a market withheld their listings from the single VOW in the community, which then had to shut down.

This settlement also vindicates our approach to real estate services at MLX.com. It doesn’t affect us directly – the dominant trade association here is the Real Estate Board of New York, which doesn’t belong to the NAR – but as an “upstart” brokerage that tried to use the Internet to create efficiencies, and pass those efficiencies on to the consumer, we’ve had our own run-ins with the traditional brokerages and their captive organizations and regulators. (See the previous item for news of our antitrust settlement with REBNY.)

Amazingly, the NAR still doesn’t get it. In a New York Times article, an NAR spokesperson calls the case “a five-year education of the Department of Justice” – as if they had begged to be allowed to give up their restrictive practices. Well, whoever educated the folks at Justice, we’re glad they saw the light.

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BrokersNYC, the service that we operate for independent real estate brokers in New York, won a major victory recently. We settled a long-running lawsuit against the Real Estate Board of New York and some of the biggest brokerage firms in New York.

A little history: The Real Estate Board (aka REBNY), a trade association that is controlled by the big brokerage firms, started a residential listing service a few years ago. These exclusive listings come from REBNY members, and their distribution is tightly controlled. The independent brokers who subscribe to our BrokersNYC service would have to pay through the nose to access them in any readily usable form. When we asked REBNY if we could disseminate the listings to our members through the BrokersNYC website, REBNY refused.

We filed an antitrust suit in 2004, saying it was anticompetitive to prevent services like BrokersNYC from distributing these listings to independent brokers at an affordable price. (And of course, the lack of competition doesn’t just hurt BrokersNYC and the independent brokers; it hurts consumers, too.)

Our lawsuit asked that REBNY be required to deal with any listings information service that, like BrokersNYC, operates on behalf of REBNY members, and to integrate directly with our software so that independent brokers could get a product equivalent to what the majors were getting. We also asked for at least $78 million in damages.

Last August, a judge threw out REBNY’s motion to dismiss the case. In January, we met with Magistrate Judge Dollinger and agreed to settle, and the settlement went into effect recently. While we didn’t get everything we asked for (that’s the point of a settlement), BrokersNYC is now free to compete on an equal footing with its competitors that service the brokerage community – and our clients, and ultimately the consumers, will get a better deal. We’re looking forward to rolling out new features for BrokersNYC very soon.

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Hardwood floors and big closets are great, but the difference between a good apartment and a not so good apartment often comes down to the quality of the landlord. In fact, the quality of your landlord can drastically effect your entire quality of life.

A good landlord means quick and attentive help with problems. A good landlord means a painless living situation. A good landlord means concern for tenant well being.

A bad landlord can mean living in a unclean or unsafe building. It can mean having your concerns ignored, getting ripped off, or even having your civil rights violated.

But frankly, we don’t need to tell you what makes a good or bad landlord, because you know from your own experience. As always, we’re interested to hear from Ask LaLa readers about their experiences. So tell us: Who are the best landlords in New York City? Who are the worst ones? We’d love to hear how different landlords youv’e come across- as either a tenant or as an apartment hunter- rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best), or any other comments you have about New York City landlords.

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An article in Friday’s New York Times describes a lawsuit against Brown Harris Stevens by a Brooklyn couple who claim the brokerage firm repeatedly steered them away from suitable apartments because they have a child. This type of steering is a clear violation of federal housing laws. I don’t want to prejudge this particular case, whose facts are in dispute, but it’s an open secret that steering is a common practice in the New York rental market. Some landlords don’t want to rent to families with children. Others don’t want to rent to people of color, or gay couples, or immigrants, or whoever else doesn’t conform to their notion of an ideal tenant. And too many real estate agents are willing to help landlords act on their prejudices.

Yes, brokers are supposed to represent their clients, but – just like attorneys – their representation is supposed to stop at the point where the client asks for help in breaking the law. Brokers also have a larger responsibility to the communities where they live and work, and steering is a betrayal of that responsibility.

Discriminating against would-be renters doesn’t just hurt the individuals who are discriminated against (which would be reason enough not to do it); it hurts us all by making New York City an even more difficult and expensive place to live. Middle-class couples have a hard enough time raising kids in the city, and brokers shouldn’t be helping to drive them out. Think about it – one of the couple in the lawsuit is an ER doctor. Do we really want to lose our ER doctors?

We also have to ask why brokers are willing to go along with this kind of behavior. Generally it’s not because they hate children (or blacks, or gays, or whoever). It’s because they only get paid when they rent an apartment. When they spend time showing apartments to tenants they think will be rejected, they lose money.

This is why alternative brokerage models are needed – an idea we’ve been promoting at MLX for many years. Successfully renting (or selling) an apartment shouldn’t be the only way for a broker to get paid. Apartment seekers should have the option of hiring brokers and paying them for services rendered, whether or not they close the deal. Under this type of arrangement, brokers know they’re only working with serious renters (or buyers) and not wasting their time with window shoppers. This allows them to price their services more reasonably, and – getting back to the original subject of this posting – it takes away their incentive to accommodate landlords’ prejudices.

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Today we received Judge Leonard Sand’s opinion denying the trade association, Real Estate Board of New York’s (REBNY) motion to dismiss Klickads dba BrokersNYC’s antitrust claims. Because the monopoly claims included more than one entity, Sand granted dismissal on charges concerning monopolization. The case will now be set for a jury trial.

For background on Klickads v. REBNY case, click here.

Inman article Manhattan real estate antitrust lawsuit proceeds, click here

Real Deal article BrokersNYC suit against REBNY progresses click here.

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By Charles V. Bagli
The New York Times

The bill looked like a shoo-in to pass.

After nearly a year of painstaking analysis and tough negotiations, the Bloomberg administration, the City Council, housing advocates, lenders and real estate developers had hashed out a measure intended to revamp a popular tax-break program so it would generate more relatively affordable housing while restricting subsidies to luxury high-rises like Trump World Tower. It was all done with a minimum of grousing.
read more…

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By Lisa Colangelo
New York Daily News
After a loud, raucous meeting punctuated by the chants of angry tenants, the Rent Guidelines Board last night approved hikes of 3% for one-year leases and 5.75% for two-year leases on the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.

“Zero! Zero! Shame! Shame!” tenant advocates screamed, drowning out speeches given by board members.
read more…

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Glenn Roberts of Inman News reports that the Missouri Real Estate Commission has construed Kansas City Premier Apartments’ business to “constitute the practice of a real estate broker … and/or as a real estate salesperson” and, accordingly, required the company to obtain a real estate license. Kansas City Premier Apartments provides a free service to renters and is paid by the property owner. KCBA has filed suit against the Missouri Real Estate Commission.

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