People seeking a home in New York are finding it increasingly difficult to find an available home. A combination of limited available homes plus growing demand for those homes means housing prices are being driven up across the board, even as interest rates for mortgages remain at record lows. Even luxury properties are rising in value, despite their higher associated cost, as more prospective homeowners compete for the limited inventory. Continue reading “Limited Inventory Plus High Demand Equals Higher Housing Prices”
Commercial Landlord-Tenant Disputes
When people think about landlord-tenant disputes, they normally are referring to residential renters who get into arguments with their landlords over payment, conditions on the property, and so forth. However, many businesses are renters as well, choosing the relatively cheap path of renting out their business space rather than purchasing real estate. However, commercial renters can have just as many problems with their landlords as residential renters do, and sometimes they can be even more intense.
Of course, many of the issues that plague residential landlord-tenant relationships can also afflict commercial landlords and tenants as well. Disputes over rent payments are reasonably common, whether because the tenants are late with their payments, or because the landlord decides to suddenly increase the rent. A landlord may also fail to uphold their duty to maintain hospitable conditions on the property by not repairing dangerous or obnoxious issues that arise, such as a problem with the heating system or a termite infestation.
However, the fact that it’s a commercial property adds additional potential issues. After all, most businesses select a property because it suits the needs of their business, such as its geographical location, or perhaps the building has special structures (like loading bays) that are necessary for the business to run. Either way, if issues arise on the property that obstruct business, that could give rise to a landlord-tenant dispute as well.
On some occasions, a landlord may even become hostile to a tenant, perhaps out of personal animosity, or perhaps because the landlord believes they aren’t making as much out of their rental agreement as they could be with a new tenant. In such cases, a landlord might deliberately make efforts to force their current tenant out of the property, potentially violating the warranty of habitability in the process. Not only does that make your life more miserable, but it makes it that much harder to simply run your business and make a living.
If you are involved in a dispute with your landlord, or you’re a landlord dealing with a problematic tenant, you’ll need legal counsel to advise you of your rights and protect your interests. The real estate law attorneys at Wingate, Kearney, & Cullen, LLP have offices in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York. The firm is experienced in handling commercial landlord-tenant disputes. For more information or to schedule a consultation, call (718) 852-5900 or fill out our contact form.
The Importance of Recording a Title
Buying real estate, whether as a home or for your business, is always a complicated affair. You need to secure financing, you need to have the premises inspected, you need to negotiate the price, and so on. However, there’s one additional factor you may need to worry about that isn’t always obvious: officially recording the fact that you’ve bought the real estate.
Whenever you purchase real estate, a part of that process is supposed to include recording the transfer of title with the local clerk’s office. This is to make sure there is a consistent record showing the transfer of ownership between one person to another. However, not everyone remembers, or knows, to have their deed recorded, which can potentially lead to a lot of issues down the line, if there’s ever a dispute over who truly owns the property.
For example, there have been cases where one person attempted to claim a house they inherited from a deceased relative, only to find that the house was sold years before and the deceased relative never changed their will to reflect that. At other times, less-than-honorable people have sold the same property to multiple buyers, creating duplicate deeds for every person they sold it to. In these cases, whether someone recorded their deed can mean the difference between whether they get to keep the property they bought (or inherited, as the case may be).
Wingate, Kearney & Cullen, LLP represents buyers and sellers of residential and commercial properties including co-ops, condominiums, single-family homes, and multiple family dwellings. With law offices conveniently located in Brooklyn, New York, and Melville, New York, our lawyers are available to assist residents of the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island with their real estate needs. If you are looking to buy or sell real estate, call (718) 852-5900, or reach us through our contact page.
What is “Clear Title?”
If you ever deal with any real estate deal, you might hear people talk about “clear title.” Establishing clear title is a crucial part of any real estate transaction, and failing to establish it can cause a lot of legal and financial problems down the line. But what does that mean, exactly, and why should you care? Continue reading “What is “Clear Title?””
PropertyShark: Tribeca is the Most Expensive Neighborhood in NYC
According to PropertyShark, Tribeca was No. 1 among the 50 most expensive neighborhoods in New York City during the first quarter of 2019. The median home sale price in that area was $4.2 million. SoHo was a distant second with a median price of $2.9 million. Rounding out the Top 10 were the Garment District ($2.5 million), Hudson Square ($2.4 million), Flatiron District ($2.1 million), Theatre District-Times Square ($1.7 million), Central Midtown, Columbia Street Waterfront District and DUMBO (all at $1.5 million) and Carroll Gardens ($1.4 million). Continue reading “PropertyShark: Tribeca is the Most Expensive Neighborhood in NYC”
With the Return of the L Train, Where Does the Brooklyn Real Estate Market Stand?
In July 2016, it was announced that L train service from Brooklyn to Manhattan would be shut down for 15 months in order to make necessary repairs and updates. To the delight of Brooklyn natives, on January 3, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the closure of the L train service planned for April was canceled. On January 17, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) made an official announcement to confirm that the shutdown of both tunnels and all service was not necessary. Instead, updates would continue to be made during nights and on weekends but service both ways would still be available 24/7. Continue reading “With the Return of the L Train, Where Does the Brooklyn Real Estate Market Stand?”
Manhattan Home Sales Prices Fall to Lowest Level in Three Years
A report from StreetEasy showed that its Manhattan Price Index during the month of November 2018 fell to $1,133,988. That is the lowest level since October 2015, when the Price Index was $1,132,855. Further, the Price Index fell slightly by 0.6% from the previous month at $1,141,397 and was a 3.3% year-over-year decrease from November 2017’s price of $1,172,189. Continue reading “Manhattan Home Sales Prices Fall to Lowest Level in Three Years”
Building in a NYC Opportunity Zone
New York State is taking part in the federal Opportunity Zone community development program, which was formed as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The program incentivizes developers to bring their projects to economically distressed areas. Continue reading “Building in a NYC Opportunity Zone”
Churches Selling Air Rights
With New York City running out of real estate, developers have nowhere to go but up. This means they are looking to purchase development rights (or “air rights”) from other institutions in order to demolish and build new structures or build on top of existing ones. Most recently, churches have gotten involved and it has resulted in a win-win: the developer gets the air rights they need for their project, and the church can use the proceeds to pay for much-needed renovations. Continue reading “Churches Selling Air Rights”
An Attorney’s Role in Real Estate Transactions
While engaging in the process of buying a home or a piece of property, many may overlook the importance of using an attorney. A real estate attorney plays an important role in the drafting of any documents relating to the sale and transfer of ownership of the home or property. One of the most pertinent documents that a real estate attorney will draft in this situation is the contract of sale, also known as the purchasing agreement. This document outlines the following: Continue reading “An Attorney’s Role in Real Estate Transactions”
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