SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Is 1702 Avenue Z cursed? It could be, because what once was among Sheepshead Bay’s glitziest properties now has signs of a downhill turn.

First of all, it’s almost a year behind the completion date of the building and work is still being done on the interior of East 17th Street and Avenue Z. Things started to look up in August, as the commercial broker, Massey Knakel Realty Services, told us they were closing a deal with a group of local doctors to use the entire office/retail space as a medical center. Then, in November, the posh residential units hit the market under the elite Corcoran name, with asking prices of more than $800,000.

Now, just a measly three months later, all the big boys have pulled out. The deal with the doctors fell through, and Massey Knakel is no longer representing the building. Similarly, The Corcoran Group has pulled the listing from its website.

Click to see broker's sign

The entire development – commercial and residential – is now represented by the mysterious Dreamlife Realty, for which we can find little information. Their website is dated 2008 and is notably blank and sets off anti-virus alerts. Similarly, a Google search for the agent – Olga Orak – reveals little more than she represents a few McMansions out in New Jersey.

So what’s the deal? What has made two of New York City’s biggest brokers turn tail and run for the hills? And will Little Miss Dreamlife Realty have the pull to market such a high-priced, mixed-use development?

I guess what I’m asking is: are these ever going to sell, or does something smell fishy in Sheepshead Bay?

The owners of the two houses at 1809 and 1811 Voorhies Avenue told Courier-Life reporters they would prefer to subcontract the houses to the city for use as a halfway house or homeless shelter.

We wrote about the houses last week, after tenants at 1811 Voorhies sprayed graffiti reading “Welcome to Hell” and “Bed Bugs Paradise” along the front. The graffiti has since been removed.

One can only wonder what set Courier-Life on the case (hmm…), but reporters spoke to the owners, Iliya Honovich and Vladimir Parsol, who said they bought the properties back in 2006. They are approved only for single room occupancy (SRO) so they can only serve as rooming houses. The duo bought the pair of houses hoping to rezone it to build condos, but Community Board 15 rejected their attempts saying there are already too many condos in the area.

“Having an SRO is like a suicide deal. There’s always going to be some kind of problem. There’s always bums and weird people that live there,” Honovich told Courier-Life.

Now the owners are seeking to subcontract the buildings to the city for use as a shelter or other institutional housing, saying the guaranteed rent from the city would afford them better security and maintenance. To simply turn the houses into two-family homes would involve a lengthy,  expensive battle through housing court.

Rising co-op prices could alter Sheepshead's character for years to come (Photo courtesy of Lisanne Anderson)

What to do, what to do, what to do? When panic consumes much of the real estate market, many of my clients were still able to find good values for co-ops in Sheepshead Bay. Last week I completed two closings, one for $150,000 for a one bedroom in Gravesend and another for $225,000. You can’t find prices like that in nieghborhoods as good as Sheepshead Bay anymore. However, cue the tax man, because Governor David Paterson now wants to put a mortgage recording tax on co-op purchases.

Let me explain: When one buys a home, let’s say in Midwood, the purchaser will pay anywhere from 2.05 percent to 2.175 percent mortgage tax on the amount of mortgage they take out for the property. That occurs at the closing. However, since co-ops were not considered real property for tax purposes (they were thought of as personal property, more specifically shares in a corporation), co-op purchasers would literally pay a fraction of the closing costs that purchasers of homes and condos would.  We’re talking thousands upon thousands of dollars in savings, which is, among other thing, what made co-ops a good value. Now, to close a budget gap (until our next one shortly thereafter) Governor Paterson wants to do away with this exemption. You can imagine that co-op owners and propsective owners aren’t thrilled by this.

Continue Reading »

This is NOT how you build a treehouse

Three years ago, workers began demolishing 2820 Avenue Z to make way for a new building. The problem is, it never had permission to do so. The resulting mess is a portrait of Department of Building’s inefficacy that is now putting schoolchildren across the street at P.S. 52 in danger.

After making your way past the fallen fencing and through garbage and jagged debris, you reach a 7-foot drop into a partially excavated foundation, which the DOB forced property owners to re-line with cinder blocks. In the middle of it all is a pile of loosely standing splinters that could generously be called the construction’s frame.

Beer bottles, junk food wrappers, spray paint cans, and the graffiti on the walls show that teenagers have been messing around in here. A crossing guard for the school across the street says she chases the school children out of there on a daily basis. She’s tried calling the number on the side – a general contractor – but gets no response.

Continue reading about the violations, and DOB’s inability to take action

There is another huge mortgage problem on the horizon, one that will even more directly burden the taxpayer than the current crisis: Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans.

Let’s compare what happened during the mortgage crisis and what’s happening now.

Before, if you didn’t have money to make a down payment on your new Sheepshead Bay condo, no problem! Banks were giving out dollars like crazy and so the purchasers would take out 100 percent financing. Sometimes they would even walk away from their purchase with money in their hands after they purchased a unit for a few million.

We know how the story ends. It’s not a stretch to say the majority of people who purchased homes in the West Village, Park Slope, Sheepshead Bay, or anywhere in New York City with 100 percent financing have either foreclosed, are behind in their mortgage payments, or are having issues.

Now, if you don’t have money to make a down payment on your new Sheepshead Bay condo, no problem! Buyers are still being offered almost 100 percent loans. But this time it’s backed by the government through the FHA. So taxpayers are insuring housing loans, not private companies. Worse still, those loans are making up the fastest growing part of many lenders’ businesses.

Continue Reading »

I don’t mean to sound like an infomercial, but… you, yes YOU, can save thousands of dollars when purchasing new construction condos in places like:

• Upper East Side
• SoHo
• Tribeca
• and even SHEEPSHEAD BAY!

Okay, enough silly gimmicks. Let’s get to the point. Continue Reading »

No, it's not a dorm. These condo units at Avenue V and West 11th Street just hit the market. Asking prices range from $429k. They're a block away from the Marlboro projects.

Listen, Brooklyn developers, can I get a word with you over here? Ok, good. Now, let’s keep it real. Sometimes – sometimes - you’re a friggin’ idiot. What? No! Don’t get offended, but it’s true. Like, you know, lacking common sense. I mean, you bought an entire block some years ago on Avenue V and West 11th Street with the intention of building some high-end condos. I know, I know – everyone was doing it. There’s money to be made, I get it. But, well, it’s just that not everyone does it a block down from the projects, know what I mean? What? I don’t care how good the market was back then, that’s just dumb. Those projects ain’t goin’ anywhere. It’s the Marlboro projects – been there since ‘58 and has almost 4,000 people living there. They not movin’. You really thought people would want to shell out $429,000 and up for your parquet floors, elegant kitchens, and ambient gunshots in the background? Get real, man. Yeah, at least you put indoor parking. But holy fuck, man, really?

Twenty-three individuals were indicted in the Southern District of New York on allegations that they participated in an illegal scheme to defraud various banks and financial institutions by submitting fraudulent applications and supporting documentation for mortgages and home equity loans. As a result, the lenders were induced to make loans to persons and at terms that the lenders otherwise would not have funded. The defendants include brokers and processors who worked at the mortgage brokerages AGA Capital NY, Inc.(’AGA Capital‘) and Northside Capital NY, Inc. (’Northside Capital‘), in Brooklyn, New York, real estate appraisers and loan account executives.

-”Twenty Three Indicted in New York Straw Buyer Scheme”; Mortgage Fraud Blog;Jan. 5, 2007

Two ringleaders of a multimillion-dollar mortgage scam [Maurice McDowall, who directed the daily operations of the scheme, and Aleksander Lipkin, a mortgage broker who coordinated the fraudulent loans] are facing up to 30 years in prison and heavy fines and restitution after pleading guilty to bilking banks and fleecing foreclosure victims in Brooklyn

-”Two found guilty in mortgage scam and face 30 years in prison“; Daily News; June 5, 2008

I am under a fiduciary duty to my clients. I must put their interests ahead of mine. All attorneys do. The problem is, when millions of dollars were on the line in Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island, some attorneys didn’t do that. In one of the more elaborate schemes to play out in the world of real estate fraud in Brooklyn, members of AGA Capital, Inc., a mortgage brokerage on Coney Island Avenue, teamed up with attorneys, including Alexander Kaplan, Esq., real estate brokers, and appraisers in a scheme which earned millions of dollars in fees from using “straw” purchasers and filing false documents, including appraisals, earning commissions, fees, and more in the process. Many of the defendants have been sentenced to long terms in federal prison and the attorney involved lost his license and is also going to jail for some time. Worst of all, homeowners were literally robbed of their houses.

Believe it or not, this kind of thing happens every day, though usually on a much smaller scale. So what in the world are you to do if you are a purchaser in Sheepshead Bay and want to make sure your attorney is legitimate? Here are some tips to protect yourself: Continue Reading »

We’ve been curious for some time now when the condos over at East 17th Street and Avenue Z would hit the market. It’s been months since we announced that the retail portion of the building was sold to a group of local doctors for a medical office. And we’ve been following construction on the building, noting in September that the building seemed almost complete. Still, we wondered when The Corcoran Group, which represents the residential units of 1702 Avenue Z, would announce open houses. Well, wait no longer: the high-end real estate giant posted prices and floor plans to its website yesterday.

The units are asking between $800,000 and $900,000 for between 17,000 and 19,000 1,700 and 1,900 square feet. They each feature three bedrooms and balconies, and most have three or three and a half bathrooms. Corcoran is marketing the high-end nature of this building on what was once a rundown garage: African Walnut hardwood floors, roof access, granite countertops, porcelain tiling, and Bosch appliances. What it’s notably lacking, though, is parking. Though the 10 units are attracting new families to the area, it does little to alleviate the extra burden they’ll put in an already parking-strained area.

If you’re interested in doling out almost a million dollars for a parking nightmare, Corcoran is having open houses tomorrow between 5 and 6 p.m.

Real estate is a nebulous industry, filled with scams, screwballs, and the occasional sweet deal. That’s why we’ve asked a locally born-and-bred real estate lawyer to make sense of it all. Sheepshead Bay bankruptcy and real estate lawyer Daniel Gershburg will contribute a regular column about the real estate scene. His first piece gives buyers tips for getting into that coveted Sheepshead Bay apartment co-op, a segment of real estate that represents a huge chunk of sales in the neighborhood.

So you want to buy a co-op in Sheepshead Bay? But you have questions that your real estate broker refuses to, doesn’t, or can’t answer. What do you do?

Well, what I can tell you is that when you buy a co-op in Sheepshead Bay, or anywhere for that matter, the first thing you should do is do some internet research on the address. You can try looking on Trulia.com. But my search would be more general. There are tons of forums online discussing issues with co-ops. From aggrieved co-op owners complaining about poor management to lawsuits against corporations, you can find everything. But that’s just the start. You should also ask your real estate broker about whether they have had past clients in the building and if they could put you in touch with any so you can ask them about their experiences. Is this out of the box? Absolutely. But it works better than many other things out there. Do your research before you purchase a co-op in Sheepshead Bay.

But let’s take this a step further. Say I am purchasing a co-op in Sheepshead Bay. I’ve done my research, spoken to people in the building, and now I have my interview. What can I expect?

Anything. That’s right, anything. A co-op is a corporation. The board of directors are therefore making a business judgment as to whether or not you “fit in” financially and otherwise with the building. Now unless you have a habit of fighting pit bulls in your apartment, you’ll likely be fine so long as your financials are okay. Having said that, if you are rejected for one reason or another, the co-op technically does not have to disclose the reason you were rejected, other than saying, “Sorry you can’t live in this co-op in Sheepshead Bay, try Brighton Beach.” Yes, yes you can try and sue and all those good things, but it will cost you money and will usually not leave you in a better position. The best way to avoid this embarrassment is to literally be as prepared as possible. Each co-op has a “package” which has to be prepared including your financials, references, et cetera. Make sure you go over this diligently before the meeting and everything is complete. Make sure you look prepared for the meeting.

When you buy a co-op in Sheepshead Bay, when will the closing take place?

This is one of those “Why is the sky blue?” questions. There are so many variables involved here. Typically a closing for a co-op in Sheepshead Bay will take place immediately after the co-op approves the individual and the bank clears financing. There are, however, many hurdles and obstacles that your attorney will have to navigate for you. Sometimes the bank is late, or they haven’t apprised you of issues they have, which delays financing. Sometimes the board won’t meet for several months, thereby delaying the closing and causing you to make sure your rate for your loan is locked with the bank. Sometimes the management company’s attorney will request a delay in closing to make it occur at a convenient time for them. There are literally multiple variations that could delay your closing, so make sure you choose an experienced real estate lawyer in Brooklyn to help you through this. It’s not a sales pitch, it’s reality. Just ask anyone who has gone through the process.

Daniel Gershburg Esq., is a real estate and bankruptcy attorney with offices in Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan. The practice was specifically set up to change the way people view attorneys, by incorporating radical ideas like calling people back quickly, returning emails, giving clients ’round the clock access to their cases and charging low fees. For more information please visit Brooklyn Real Estate Attorney Daniel Gershburg’s website.