Q. We are thinking about buying an apartment. But its kitchen has only a refrigerator; there are no cabinets, stove, counters or even a sink, just the plumbing for one. Would this be a problem for banks, and if so, what’s the minimum amount of kitchen equipment needed? A. Rosemary Liuzzo Mohamed, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, Full Article…
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Q&A No Pets, No Parties–No Smoking?
Barbara Langdon and her boyfriend saw a loft for sale on West 15th Street right before Christmas and knew they’d found a winner. It was in great shape and sprawled over 2,300 square feet, just what they wanted, so they made an offer for $1.75 million that was quickly accepted. “We were excited because we’d only been looking three weeks,” Langdon remembers. Soon after, though, their broker called to convey a fussy bit of news: The coop was entirely nonsmoking, not just in common areas but also in the apartments. “That was the dealbreaker,” says Langdon—never mind that she doesn’t smoke. “How dare they tell me what to do in my own apartment.” Apparently, they Full Article…
Money (That’s What I Want),Habitat
The 16-unit East Village co-op has come a long way. Many shareholders have been there from its days as a down-and-out rental building, through its conversion to a Housing Development Fund Corporation property to the present. Now, as a strong, self-managed co-op in a hot neighborhood, the prices of apartments have skyrocketed. The shareholders are Full Article…
Q & A: Who Can Pay for a Rent Controlled Apartment? The New York Times
By Dov Treiman Q. My disabled father is a tenant in a rent-controlled building. Recently, he had a fall and was taken to the hospital. While he was in the hospital, I had to mail in his rent check. When I called the landlord to find out the address, I was told that they would Full Article…
Q & A: A Rent-Stabilized Tenant Seeks to Negotiate, The New York Times
By Dov Treiman Q. I live in a rent-stabilized building, but the new rent (coming up in April) is still rich for my blood. Can tenants negotiate rent-stabilized rents? Would you have a suggestion as to how to approach a landlord or management company? A. The legal stabilized rent is the maximum a landlord can Full Article…
Q & A: Can a Landlord Raise Rents on a Sublet? The New York Times
By Dov Treiman Q. My fiancé and I are trying to sublet our furnished apartment for six months. Our lease does not expire until 2010, and we intend to return to the apartment after the six-month sublet. In seeking permission from the landlord, we were told that he would increase the subtenant’s rent by 10 Full Article…
Court Ruling Makes Some Evictions Easier
By JAY ROMANO A decision by a New York appeals court has resulted in a major change in how eviction cases involving tenants in illegal apartments are handled in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The decision, binding on lower courts in those boroughs, allows landlords to use Housing Court — rather than the state’s trial Full Article…
Room to Rent: Bath Nearby, The New York Times
By Elizabeth A. Harris NO one in New York has any privacy. But would you be willing to share a bathroom with that guy down the hall to save a buck? Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times Kaya Williams and Davin Sweeney in one of the two common kitchens in their rooming house, also in Brooklyn. Full Article…