Researching a listing

That's an excellent question and of great interest to a prospective buyer such as myself. I used to work as a librarian so I'm looking at your question from that perspective, not as a broker. You could start by googling the address to find out if there is any real estate periodical which has a story on that building. I would also try to find a real estate broker who specialized in that section of the city who might know the dirt on the building or could find out. You could even walk in the building and try to queetion the doorman/concierge who might tell you something about the building. Also each neighborhood has a neighborhood association and they may have discussed the building at a recent meeting if there is really something unusual going on with that building.

To me, that's the one of the few services a buyer's broker can provide. You don't want to rely on the doormen or concierges. If you're looking in a co-op, #1 would be financials & condition of building. Other than a broker, or the chance article in a publication, the best source would be to actually get the offering documents and the board meeting memoranda. For Bk, brownstoner.com is a great forum to post questions.

Thanks Lobster, those are all good questions (pounding the pavement to look for answers is generally a good approach). Are there any good web-based resources (city planning websites, perhaps)?

I echo nyc10023's comments about getting the financials and board meeting memoranda about the building in question. If nothing fishy is going on, you should be able to get that information from either the seller's broker or your own broker. We've gotten the financials for some of the buildings where we saw apartments (without having made an offer) and if you can't get those documents easily, then I would be suspicious.

The public records are kinda opaque unless you already know the backstory. Beware of board memoranda - boards have been known to keep sensitive information (like bedbugs) off the written record. IMO, if your target market is a small co-op (i.e. not a large "well known" building), it might be worth going through a knowledgeable broker. NYT archives is a good place to start looking, as are some of the older publications (now defunct). But you're looking for a needle in a haystack.

SE is a great resource, of course - post the address, and I'm sure you'll at least get some direction as to where to look.

Gopher - what areas are you looking in?

Sorry for the delayed response 10023 (I've been away), I was looking into houses in Cobble Hill. There are a lot of places on the blocks between Kane and Degraw that seem to be for sale. I wondered if there was something being built there causing it

Ah, then go to brownstoner.com and ask the same question on the forums.

it this area landmarked? not too familiar with it over there

PropertyShark can be helpful with comps.

>>To me, that's the one of the few services a buyer's broker can provide. You don't want to rely on the doormen or concierges. <<

I'd probably trust the doormen over some broker eager to make a sale in a soft market. But that's just me...

Re: co-op building finacials/board notes--you will not be able to gain access to those until you've gotten an accepted offer.

I assume you know about ACRIS

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/jump/acris.shtml

And property shark's subscriber info is pretty good. The subscription isn't cheap but you can get a 3-month sub.

Also, many buildings and/or management companies have websites.

And, put the address into Street Easy and look for a link to discussions about the building.

{Manhattan real estate agent. Former journalist.}

I think I may tap the brownstoner board to see what they have. Thanks for all the suggestions