Last week, I had an interview with James Striar who is a real estate attorney specializing in wills, estates and trusts. Here is part 1 of his interview.

Brian: Maybe you can just give us a little information as to what should be included in a will or what things that you normally see that are often missing in a will?

James: Sure. A lot of times people delay making a will for a variety of reasons but eventually, hopefully, they get around to it whatever stage in life that you’re at – whether you’re single, you’re getting married, having children. As far as the will itself, obviously you want to have a very clear idea of how you want your assets to go, who you want them to go to. Obviously, most of the time it’s spouse to spouse. Then if not then to the children or some combination of. Everybody’s situation is different in whatever stage in life they’re at. You wanna be as clear as possible. Think it out as well as possible whether you’re speaking to your attorney, your spouse. You’re going to have to name an executor – the person who
you’re putting in charge of handling the estate. Generally, that person is gonna be somebody that you trust. Most of the times it’s a spouse. If there is no spouse, a sibling. Somebody who is of similar age or possibly even a little younger depending on the age of the person making the will. Generally, you don’t necessarily want to have somebody much older than you be the executor for just age reasons- lifespan. You’re gonna want to name an alternate executor as well just in case the person that you appoint isn’t around or isn’t able to serve as the fiduciary. Some people wanna have co-executors. Maybe they have a brother and sister and they don’t want to choose or maybe choose one over the other. Maybe one sibling lives far away and the other lives close. There might be practical reasons to only chose one over both but often times, for sentimental reasons or not wanting to hurt somebody’s feelings, people would choose co-executors. There’s pros and cons to each of those. Once you’ve allocated who you want your assets to go to, how much to each party or person, some people obviously give to charities or foundations, you wanna have your executor. If there’s anything specific whether it’s a piece of property i.e. real estate, whether it’s a particular brokerage account or bank account, or jewelry, that’s gonna be laid out in the will specifically so there’s no confusion or there’s no arguing after the fact.

Brian Silvestry, is a licensed real estate broker since 1999. You can find him on social media on facebook, instagram,twitter and youtube.

#JeffJacobsMusic started performing about 2 weeks right after the 7pm moment of appreciation for the healthcare heroes. He comes out and performs three to four favorites and then mixes in his own music. As a resident of the building directly across the street, it is a much needed and appreciated silver lining.

Tomorrow 7:30pm on FB Live I will discuss the current real estate market and predictions for the coming weeks, months as the NYC economy reopens.

www.facebook.com/bsrginc

26 contracts were signed in Manhattan last week for property priced at $4 million and above. Perhaps, the winter slowdown plus price reductions may begin to fuel higher activity for the Manhattan luxury market.

Read the full story here

Amazon had intended to open a HQ in Long Island City but local politicians and some local residents opposed the opening feeling that too much was being given away. Nearly $1.5 billion in tax incentives were being allocated. As a result of the push back, Amazon took their semi-empty cardboard boxes filled with one item and went home.

Read the coverage on CNN

CPW Towers, aka Park West Village, the 4 building condo development, that runs between West 97th street and West 100th street and between Columbus and Central Park west, has low common charges and taxes, making it an affordable option for buyers. As a result, inventory though it increased has remained low. 

The buildings are 372,382,392, and 400 Central Park west. All 4 buildings are condo, though separately managed, they become condo about 25-30 years ago and are postwar buildings with similar amenities. They all have access to the playground in the middle of the development, have available parking(waitlist), live-in-supers, on-site management, community rooms, 24 hour concierges, gyms and laundry rooms in the basement. 

See below tables for current availability by building and apartment size. 

CPW Towers July Market report

In another post, we will take a look at the sales data for the 4 buildings for the 2nd half of 2018. 

The Author- 

 Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.