All posts by Brian Silvestry

I have been in the real estate industry first as a licensed agent and as a broker since 1999. I have sold in every Manhattan neighborhood though do work a lot on the Upper west side where I live and upper Manhattan. I speak French,Portuguese, and Spanish.
CentralParkWest, Upperwestside

Madonnna denied special treatment in lawsuit vs co-op board

Madonna has been in and out of litigation with her co-op board at 41 Central Park west on more than one occasion. The co-op board apparently had changed the rules requiring a shareholder to be present in the apartment while other family members or domestic help are there as well. There goes the idea of using her Harperley Hall upper west side cooperative as a place for her domestic help to stay while she slums it in her Upper East side mansion or tours. The judge hearing her suit will rule in the coming days but denied to give her any special treatment.

This points to the idea of how a co-op works. They change the rules and then as a shareholder,(even if you are Madonna) you have to abide by the rules or they can evict you and terminate your proprietary lease. The relationship that you have with your co-op board is more like a landlord(them) tenant(you) one than in a condo. In a condo, it’s much more difficult to remove an owner who may be ignoring the rules.

Read the full story about Madonna’s lawsuit here

Upperwestside

City contemplates halving nyc tennis permit price

The NYC tennis permit currently costs $200 per season. Due to a declining amount of permits sold each year, the City is proposing to cut the price in half to $100. About 6000 permits were sold last season compared to 2008 when the amount was more than double and the price stood at $100.

 

Read the WNYC story

Harlem, Townhouse

What allows one townhouse to be a single family and another to be 8 units?

Just looking at the photo in this post, you have 5 houses visible and in that group, an 8 family, a single family and a house that was an SRO being converted to a 4 family home. Lots of diversity. What allows such a variety of uses buyers often ask? Well, the zoning allows it and as long the department of buildings allows either the alteration or continued use of the building, it continues. Have you ever wandered down a Manhattan brownstone block and counted bells? Yes, that’s one way to take a guess at the number of units but not always accurate as over time owners may combine units.

The other question that buyers often ask is what is best use of the townhouse? Well that depends on the your strategy. The smaller units are easier to rent out but there is more turnover and more regulation. You will have a much easier time renting out 600 sqft 1 bedroom apartments than 3 floors for $6500 per month but the turnover will be higher. Also, as you have more units, you have potentially higher taxes and different requirements per building codes as you crossover from a residential use to a commercial one. As always, a thorough analysis of the building combined with conversations with your team including general contractor, architect and experienced real estate broker will be the best way to protect your investment.

 

Upperwestside

Citi Bike station on Central Park west moved

The Citi Bike station that was on the sidewalk just south of West 100th street on the western side of the street has been moved to the park side of the street. While some people may mourn the loss of parking spaces, pedestrians who walk to the subway between West 100th street and the B,C train at West 96th street will no doubt have a little more space now that the station is gone. Word is it that Park West Village, the condo development adjacent to the station and locals complained about the location and to their credit DOT moved it to the park side of the street.

 

Real estate

Central Park tennis courts season ends today

So after another extension, it was mixed emotions we say goodbye to the Hartru tennis courts of Central Park until next year. Sunday will be in the low 40’s so probably only the most committed tennis players will be out there saying farewell in person. On the positive side, the teaching courts stay open all year round and you can get out there whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Until next year 6am players lining up, 8am doubles groups, favorite courts and of course Central Park tennis ladder aka Leon’s ladder!

Real estate

Are NYC public schools preparing students for college?

1 Comment

According to the latest research, only a small percentage of students are considered college ready. The latest statistics from the department of education, show a slight uptick in the percentage of New York City students entering college. Is this enough? What is your opinion?

DNA Info coverage

CentralParkWest, Upperwestside

Police begin to enforce traffic laws for bikes and cars on Upper West side

Last week, I was walking across Central Park West at West 100th street and a car turned in front of me. At that time, the police car that is frequently stationed at West 100th street and CPW, did an immediate U-turn and pulled the driver over. I thought could it be that the driver was pulled over for not yielding to a pedestrian in the crosswalk? Nah.. But then, the same exact thing happened this morning at which point, the police immediately pulled over the driver. Then about 30 minutes later, at the very same intersection, I saw a very rare sight. Two bikes that ran through the light at West 100th street were stopped by the same police cruiser written summons. Could there be a shifting in the enforcement of the laws in favor of pedestrian safety?

Harlem, Real estate, Selling tips

Thinking of selling your Harlem SRO?

SROs or single room occupancies have a wide range of value in Harlem.  SROs are typically set up as rooming houses where there might be several rooms per floor with a common bathroom or kitchen. The most valuable SRO will have a certificate of no harassment and be delivered vacant. The least valuable will have non-paying tenants and be delivered without the CONH. What is a CONH and why would having it add at least $100k to the value of your SRO?

A CONH is granted after an investigation or look back by NYC’s Housing Preservation and Development of approximately 3 years. They are looking at your history of tenants to see if any tenants were forced out or harassed. Some of the questions on the application ask if you have had a discontinuation of service like heat, hot water or electricity, a potential sign that the tenants might have left due to poor living conditions. It takes approximately 7 months according to reps at HPD to get a CONH assuming the application is in order. You can have an experienced lawyer do this for you and they will charge $3k-$5k depending on how complicated the case is. So if you have some advance notice you might want to apply for this prior to putting your house on the market. If you are a DIY’er then you can fill in the application yourself and can visit the HPD during the week between 9-11am with your walk in questions. Make sure your property is registered with HPD. The CONH is valuable because the purchaser of your property will not be granted building permits to alter the SRO without a CONH. Also, while it may be difficult for you to come up with the names of all the tenants who lived in the property, it is impossible for the buyer so in some cases they may even just decide to sit on the house for 3 years before applying for the CONH. For that, they will expect a severe discount.

Certificate of no harassment application

As you are arranging your future plans to sell, you will want to maintain an excellent relationship with your tenants so they vouch for you if contacted by the City. Also, if they are not a rent stabilized tenant then you might not want to renew their lease which will give you the option to ask them to vacate with a 30 day notice. If you can get by without the income, vacating the house just prior to listing will make it easier to show and sell, but certainly ethically empty out the house prior to closing. If the tenants are rent stabilized then you may need to offer them a buyout or leave that up to the next purchaser. If you must deliver the house occupied make sure that your tenants are current. A building full of non-paying tenants will be only taken on by investors if the price is very low.

As this sale is a complicated one, you will need a team to insure the most lucrative sale including an experienced and knowledgeable real estate broker, a real estate attorney plus perhaps even an architect or expediter. Even though it may seems like a burdensome effort, it will be worth it in the end especially if you know that you have lead time. If you have even only a few months before you will sell, it makes a lot of sense to plan ahead and get a CONH and get the house vacant for closing.

Central Park

The Secret Garden on the Upper East side

Is the Secret Garden aka the Conservatory Garden on 5th ave and 103rd street the best place to see the Fall colors? It’s definitely worth a visit and now is the time to go. You can enter the garden through 5th avenue or inside the park as well.