Eileen Hsu (許小姐) Manhattan NY Real Estate

Not only the Real Estate in Manhattan New York city is expensive, sometimes the closing cost can be intimidating as well. It is important to calculate the closing cost or have an idea of it before buyer starts to look at properties.

My buyers always ask... WHAT IS MANSION TAX, especially when they are looking into New Construction in New York city...

HERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND
In 1989 the New York Legislature enacted New York Tax Law Section 1402-a, which provides for the ability of the state to collect a 1% tax from buyers who purchase a one, two or three family home or an individual condominium or cooperative unit for $1 million or more. The "Mansion Tax" as it is commonly known was created when the average price of a New York City apartment was far less than the $1.3 million mark it is today. What was meant as a tax on the ultra wealthy has become a tax on the average homebuyer in and around New York City. Homeownership can often seem cost prohibitive to many families as it is. When including the 1% mansion tax, some potential home owners are stretched beyond their budget.

If the mansion tax had been adjusted annually to account for inflation, the selling price would have to be over approximately $1.7 million for the mansion tax to be applied. While this is certainly an improvement, real estate prices in New York City have certainly increased by far more than inflation.

While $1 million can buy you a mansion in another state or city, the average price of one bedroom condominium in New York city is about $825,000, and two bedroom condominium is about $1.2 million... Sadly with your hard earn $1 million can hardly buy you a mansion.

Working with buyers who are looking around $1 million range on the regular basis, it is important to advise the buyers the different closing cost when they make offers... dashing off to the other side of the zero can be more than just what they think!!!

Does your state have mansion tax? Or any particular closing cost that buyers are responsible for?

New York city Real Estate is made up with Co-ops, Condominiums, Townhouses and Rental Apartments.

Many of my out of town buyers have often seen 'SPONSOR' unit Co-Ops, I thought it will be helpful to create a post so everyone can understand the difference between a traditional Co-Op and a Sponsored Co-Op apartment.

"Sponsor units have NO BOARD APPROVAL! When an individual or company converts a rental building to a co-op or condo, the first transfer of an apartment, or "sponsor unit" does not require board approval. Sponsor Unit: Apartments that are held as an investment by the sponsor, the original developer who built the building or converted the building to a co-op. Sponsor apartments are usually exempt from board approval. (Source: Wallfly.com's Glossary)

• Sponsor units command a premium because people who might not pass a board can buy them.
• For example, a sponsor unit would be a good choice for parents who want to buy an apartment for a child who is a student.
• A sponsor unit may be the best apartment for someone who is not working, or only has a short job history.
• Basically, if you aren't a candidate for a co-op building and can't quite afford a condo, keep an eye out for a sponsor unit!
• Buyers of a sponsor unit should take note that they will need to pay NY State and NY City transfer taxes, and often the seller's attorney fees.
• You still have to submit a board package (Homeland Security! The management company needs to know who is moving into their building) and you almost always have to abide by the building's house rules as far as sublet requirements and pets.
• Although it varies from sponsor to sponsor, you may be able to put down less than the minimum financing normally required by the building.

NEW YORK CITY MANHATTAN RELOCATION USEFUL INFORMATION:

CONTACT US TODAY for your specific relocation question!

Ten Pointers to Help You Pass the Co-Op Board Interview

1 - Being invited to the interview is a good sign. The interview is the board's opportunity to meet you and ask specific questions about your application. The style of the interview can range from an informal gathering of board members in an apartment to a formal interview with board members lined up at a table with you in the hot seat.

2 -Dress-up and be prompt. In terms of dress and promptness only a board interview should be treated no differently than a professional job interview.

3- Prepare for a lack of privacy. The board has great latitude in the kinds of questions it can ask, be prepared for this and do not avoid answers to personal questions, or be angered by this intrusion.

4- Know your application. You should be able to quickly, and concisely answer any questions asked regarding your application, preferably without having to look at your application.

5- Unlike a job interview, do not try to sell yourself. Only answer questions asked and let the board run the show. Boards rarely turn down applications for being too boring.

6- Never volunteer information or engage in unsolicited conversations except for the basic cordial remarks and greetings.

7- Do not ask questions. Questions can often unintentionally convey negative information to the board. For example: "Do you have any plans to renovate the lobby?", is the kind of seemingly innocent question likely to offend the board member who was in charge of the last lobby renovation. If you have additional questions you can direct them to me.

8- A short interview is better than a long one. While there are no hard and fast rules, a short cordial interview with a few board questions and remarks is often the best co-op board interview.

9- Couples should decide in advance who will answer what types of questions. For example, you may agree to answer all financial questions and your spouse will answer all other questions. Avoid discussing answers to questions with your spouse in front of the board.

10 -Do not expect an answer at the end of the meeting. Most boards do not give their decision until a day or two after the meeting. I will take the necessary steps to determine if you have been approved.

• New York City Terminology
• Types of New York City Buildings
• Relocation Renter's Step by Step Guide

CONTACT US TODAY for your specific Manhattan Real Estate question or relocation concerns!

The New York Times recently reported that real estate agents around the country are ratcheting up their efforts to woo the Russian oligarchs, Irish investors, Korean industrialists and other international cash rich buyers who have been making headlines with lavishing purchases.

With my own client list include 85%Asian investors (doctors, attorneys, financial consultants and professors from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia), 5% European (Italian buyers in fashion business, British buyers in music business), it is very hard to ignore that New York city is a diverse place to live and I begin to think that everyday we are becoming the citizen of the globe.

As we are approaching 2009, it is important to implement extra marketing reach to the international clientele, here are some of my own marketing that I have found effective and they do not cost too much of your advertising dollars.

INTERNET: Clearly, we are all on Activerain and we understand the importance of internet, perhaps build a foreign language website that explain the home buying process of your particular state or area. Each country/state has their own buying procedure, building an information website with a foreign language, that will draw the buyers to you as the expert rather than just another Real Estate agent. My team and myself have build a website: http://www.GoldHouseUSA.com to cater our Asian buyers, the entire website is in Chinese language. You can always find an elancer on http://www.Elance.com to help you translate the content.

NETWORK WITH FELLOW AGENTS OVERSEA: If you are targeting towards Spanish buyers, perhaps the thing to do is to do a little bit of research, find out who is the top Spanish Real Estate agents, and be proactive give them a call or drop them an email in regards to your service in your neighborhood/state and offering them a referral fee. What I also find it helpful is to follow up the phone call with a printed brochure or pamphlet about you or your team with a handwritten note so they have a hard copy when they have a possible referral for you.

NETWORK WITH FELLOW AGENTS IN U.S. : Same as network with oversea agents, find out who are the agents in other U.S. States are doing business the way you want to do business. Reach out to them and let them know that you would like to create a partnership to serve that particular clientel, and of course offering referral fee.

Since my team and I have created this website for Chinese buyers: http://www.GoldHouseUSA.com, we have received lots of positive feedbacks from other Chinese Real Estate agents from all over United states that we have now developed a great network of referral system.

PARTNER UP WITH BILINGUAL REAL ESTATE AGENT: Seek out which agent in your office or area that may need a partnership. Perhaps you have more sales experience than themselves but they are fluent in another language and team up you can faciliate the foreign buyer better?

LOCAL FOREIGN NEWSPAPER: Once you have partner up with the foreign Real Estate agent, you may want to write an article in the foreign language newspaper and do a PR piece about your special services.

OVERSEA FOREIGN NEWSPAPER: Same as above newspaper PR piece, I would try to contact the oversea newspaper and let them know about this special service and have them publish in the oversea foreign newspaper...

Obviously each one of these tips takes research and precise planning, my suggestion would be pick one thing that sounds good to you and start at it. It does not matter where you start, just start... in order to suceed in 2009, we must implement some new marketing strategies to reach new heights.

Best luck to all, contact me anytime shall you have any additional questions or suggestions. Happy Holidays!

Closing Costs

This closing cost guide is designed to give you the general costs associated with the purchase or sale of a cooperative, condominium or townhouse property. Please note that these are estimates and that potential buyers and sellers should consult their real estate attorney or financial advisor for specifics. Please take note we do not represent that these are the entirety of potential costs, but are only to be used as a guide. Mortgage closing cost estimates have been furnished by our affiliate, Preferred Empire Mortgage Company.

Condominiums