Need a broker recommendation

Let the games begin...

unless your talking pocket deals and unlisted apts that may soon come to market, SE pretty much has great coverage in regards to inventory in Manhattan. So what you see here is for the most part, what is out there. Just use caution when deciding on taking on a broker who promises you access to 'fresh' listings that you dont see here on SE. I have a feeling what they send you will be the same stuff you saw here already

I can see that your target submarket, especially with the new construction requirement, will be very limited in supply in that area. Have you considered expanding to existing resale, not just new construction?

yes, i would look at resales as well. i just like new buildings better than old - updated amenities and fixtures. i would be willing to talk about other areas in manhattan as well, but my ideal would be uws. it's quite possible that what i'm looking for just doesnt exist, in which case i will either have to compromise or continue to rent.

i suppose i should also say that i have looked at the harrison, linden, and laureate and like all buildings. all are in an ideal location for me. unfortunately, there no 3brs for sale in either building in my price range (linden has some small ones but too small for me, harrison has a penthouse >5mill but too expensive). so i'm hoping to find something similar but haven't had any luck on SE. perhaps though, nothing like that exists at the moment.

without knowing all the details (budget, min requirements, renovated, views, etc.) its hard to tell but I can tell you right now that my UWS clients looking for a 1400-1600 5-6rm conv 3BR-2BTH up to 2m are having very hard time finding well priced quality product right now. Seems like your minimum requirements are a bit larger than this though...definitely expand to existing resale and check out that stock. You will likely have to sacrifice a bit somewhere, I would suggest at least looking at some prewar coops (if that is ok of course) to see if the amenities somewhat fit in to your needs/desires. If its condo only, I think you will be very limited as long as the focus is UWS only. You mention other ares, so I would setup a few searches on SE here so you can track each nhood separately

Would you be interested in a fully gutted apartment in a very nice Upper West Side pre-war building? The space can be built out as a 3-4 bedroom, 3 bath 2500 SF apartment with a big outdoor deck. (I am the owner)

yes i am looking at only condos. >2000sf, up to 3.5mill. i don't love the look and layout of prewar apts, but would be willing to look at something very recently renovated. i visit SE almost daily to see what's available and in addition to UWS i have an eye on UES, chelsea, flatiron, greenwich village, soho/noho. ultimately UWS is the most convenient for work and family for us, with UES probably in 2nd place.

Its enough areas that a few good ones should pop up...good luck! if you want some charts on afew of those submarkets to track supply/pending/off mkt trends in real time as well as general manhattan in real time you should try subscribing to urbandigs for a month or two. You can email me privately and Ill send you a sample chart or two if you want. my contact info is on my site urbandigs.com

have you considered a prewar condo conversion such as 845 WEA?
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/building/845-west-end-avenue-new_york

The building structure itself is 'old' but it's been extensively updated for the conversion. Sort of best of both worlds, IMO--solid walls of a prewar yet lots of modern touches.

I don't think you need a broker - and I say this as an agent who represents buyers on the Upper West Side. Your market segment is narrow and you're already the monitoring the few buildings that fit. Widening your search - at least to include the UES - would improve your chances considerably.

There's also 222 RSD, another great 'older' condo building (built in 1989, so not prewar)--perfect if you're looking for some killer river views.

Urbandigs is broker (Noah), if I were in the market, I would use him.

A lot of his articles on his site are very insightful.

Another real estate firm to consider it the Burkhardt Group (the owner of which is a contributor on this discussion board)--they offer a substantial commission rebate to buyers, which is a nice touch. And no, I'm not in any way affiliated with them--I just 'know' them via StreetEasy :-)

I hope I don't get chided by west81, but I think you would benefit from his services and commission rebate model. His knowledge of the UWS is second to none and his keen analytical sense regarding value and aesthetic sense of architecture could prove invaluable. I agree with him though that you don't need a broker, but could benefit greatly working with one that offers the right balance of service.

Yes I work with west81st,but feel my recommendation comes without bias.

Keith Burkhardt (broker)
http://theburkhardtgroup.com/agents_details.php?agent_ID=7619

bramstar, i have considered 845 WEA but location is a little uptown for us, and i don't love the floorplans. 222rsd is also a bit uptown for us, but floorplan seems nice. thanks for the burkhardt suggestion - will look into it!

west 81st, i am monitoring the three buildings i mentioned, but what are the chances that a large 3 br will open up in either one of them in my price range? my assumption was that it was going to be a very slim chance, and concluded that i should start looking elsewhere.

urbandigs, i will check out your site. if i do end up using a broker, are you available?

keithb, thanks for the rec. what would be the disadvantage of using a broker besides being redundant or unnecessary?

Real Estate broker here since 1987. I work independently; used to work for a company. I am also a mortgage broker.I have a great private bank that will do jumbo loans with a lower interest rate than Wells Fargo, but I can close with Wells Fargo also.
Know the UWS thoroughly; was born and raised there.

As far as 222 RSD is concerned; it's a nice building, but I don't like walking down the side street between West End Ave and RSD at night.

If you buy into a new development, the real estate broker selling for the sponsor splits his commission with the real estate broker that brought the client in; if the person walks in without a broker, then the real estate broker selling for the sponsor collects the entire commission. So I would say it makes sense to have a broker represent you; you will not wind up paying anything extra. And in my case, you will even get a better deal, because I can take less commission, since I am independent.

I have a few listings in a recent development where I know for a fact that the seller is very anxious to sell for various reasons. And again if I co broker, I can negotiate my commission.

I agree with Barbara Corcoran who said," on the internet everyone is equal" and thanks to streeteasy.com, it makes sense to use an independent broker.

www.esfunding.instantlender.com

bem--Keith B and the Burkhardt Group are one and the same. And Keith is correct that West81st is very knowledgeable about the UWS.

With regards to using a broker or not, it depends. We chose not to use a broker on our recent purchase because we felt we knew the market well and had had a bad experience with a broker fumbling the ball on a previous deal (which ultimately fell through thanks to the broker's inability to convey our terms correctly). So this time we decided to go it alone and handle the negotiations ourselves.

I think Noah is correct in saying most of the inventory available is searchable on sites like this one. All this said, there may be merit in working with a broker, especially one who has a strong focus in your area of interest.

bem9 - Id be happy to talk with you privately about it if you so choose, as I only work with buyer clients. My contact info is on my 'buyers' page of my site, feel free to call when you can.

native, one of the more important things to me in a building is a children's playroom - does the apt have one? i also am looking at UWS around 70s/80s. if your apt fits that description, tell me more.

I think noah (urbandigs) and West 81st are both wonderful people, and very knowledgeable about the UWS. Since people think of me as a Downtown agent (though I live on the UWS) let me say what they can't say:

If the 3-BRs you see now (such as the 1700 sf ones at the Laureate) are too small for you, then yes, you are priced out of the current market, and it's extremely unlikely that something is going to open up in your price range.

Waiting for such an event will be a big waste of your time -- and, if you hire a broker, your broker's time.

So instead, think about what your five choices are:

You can raise your budget (fairly significantly, possibly on the maintenance side by doing a combo);
you can go uptown, or otherwise to a different neighborhood, where big apartments are cheaper;
you can buy a prewar in a cheaper building and gut it to approximate the space you want;
you can revise your estimate of what space you need;
or you can rent and wait for the current market to take a (fairly significant) haircut.

If you think of what you need to do now as picking one of those five paths (which I heartily endorse you walking down with one of the aforementioned brokers), you'll be far happier, I think.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

front porch, so 3.5mill is not going to afford what i am looking for? there were some apts in the linden which were asking well below 3.5 at 2300sf - is it unreasonable to expect to see something like that again? if so, then what do you think would be a reasonable price range?

I worked with Kathy Moosher from Brown Harris Stevens and would recommend her. She will be selling my current apartment when I finally put it on the market (in the midst of renovating the new one.)

Yes, the building has a large children's playroom. So large, in fact, that children bicycle and skateboard in it on rainy or cold days. My ask is $6.5MM and you'd need to put another $1MM or so into it for a high caliber soup-to-nuts renovation.

bem, I absolutely disagree with the notion that $3.5 won't get you a nice three-bed on the UWS. At this particular moment, the inventory is a bit tight for what you're looking for (especially if you're not interested in any of the options above 86th st) but if you are patient and vigilant there is no reason you cannot find a suitable place in your price range.

You may, though, want to widen your horizons a bit north, as Ali suggests--say even up to 116th st, if only for comparison's sake. The location and infrastructure are still very good, with excellent transportation and great amenities, but you will see a lot more bang for the buck.

thanks, fhsack, for the rec. are you moving out of a 3br new construction on the UWS by any chance . . . ?

Bem, I think the mismatch is that the product that's generally out there as "3BR" is just smaller than you want it to be.

Laureate is showing a low-floor, 2131 sf unit (which I presume you've seen) at $3.7mm, but at least it's the right size. The only 2000 sf 3-BRs I see at the Harrison are all penthouse level units that sold above $4mm -- ranging up near $5mm -- in a market equivalent to the one we're in now, possibly a little hotter for that type of unit, but I wouldn't say more than 5% variation, so even if they come back around, they won't be in budget. In the Linden, as you mentioned, what's on market is too small.

So what about the missing Linden inventory? I show 8-A (the right size) listed at $3.3 in Nov, and 12-A listed at $3.7 in Dec., and both having been sold, with 10-A and 11-A listed at $3.7 an eternity ago and pulled. So my guess is that they're holding those back to sell as a mega-$8MM duplex, though like I said, I'm downtown girl, so that's just a hypothesis.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

ali, the linden had other apts that they did not list. for instance, 7a which was asking around 3.2 and was 2300sf but is sold. i wanted to put in an offer on 4f and/or 5f at the laureate but both went into contract a couple wks ago(even though SE doesnt reflect that for 4f yet). i don't care about view or what floor the unit is on as much as i do about layout and size. the floor is only important to me inasmuch as it is a noise factor. the 4th floor at the laureate was quiet enough due to soundproof windows and also bc it faced 78th and not broadway.

bramstar, thanks for your insight. i have seen units at the ariel (both east and west) and i like the apts and building but its just the greatest location for me. i guess my question is do i compromise on location or is it reasonable to continue to look at the west 70s/80s. my SE research is telling me that there's nothing available for me in the west 70s/80s which was why i was wondering if a broker would be a reasonable next step.

"my SE research is telling me that there's nothing available for me in the west 70s/80s which was why i was wondering if a broker would be a reasonable next step."

I just want to chime in that if your sole purpose of using a broker is to get access to listings that are not on SE, I would use caution. SE has great coverage in terms of supply. However, using a broker to guide you through other neighborhoods as you wait for new product to come to market is absolutely understandable. I just dont want you to think that taking on buy side representation equates to access to a batch of listings that were not listed on SE.

For me, my clients tell me that comps analysis, bidding strategy given current market & submarket conditions, help with submitting the offer, negotiating strategy and guidance w/ any hiccup that comes up during negotiations/atty diligence, from contract signing to closing is the kind of service they want from a buyer broker. It seems to me that you are looking for deeper access to inventory, so I just want to mention that in my opinion, SE has excellent coverage for Manhattan real estate. Unless the agent is personally aware of the perfect property that may happen to come to market in the near future, what you see here is likely what they see internally as well; outside of possible status update discrepancies and latency

Thanks to all for the kind words above.

bem9: Here's an example of an apartment in a recent pre-war conversion that fits many of your specs: low 80s, 2000+SF per the offering plan, recent renovation, playroom in the basement, updated common areas. The owners might be moving back in when the lease expires - this summer, I think. I can put you in touch with them if you're interested. No obligation.
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/rental/623081-condo-219-west-81st-street-upper-west-side-new-york

BTW, a couple of agents mentioned on this thread happen to live in the building.

Sorry to say - small 1 bedroom upper east...moving to Sutton. Kathy helped me to put together a list of viable options based upon my criteria. She came up with one or two buildings that I hadn't discovered on Streeteasy (because nothing had traded in a while.) It also may be that what you want may not exist for what you are willing to pay. She works with many clients on the upper west side and she keeps telling me that there is such a low amount of inventory. And yes, I've made my purchase but have become addicted to Manhattan real estate!

bem, did 7A at the Laureate go in a combo with 7B?

I don't show its fate. This in general is one of my complaints with the new development marketers -- when inventory is flying, as it is now, they are slow to update the computer systems... but believe me, when it slows down, they'll start campaigning for me to bring them buyers.

I'm getting away from my point, though, which is to say that if 7A did exist at this point in time, I think it would be above its old $3.2 mm list. Markets are ever-flowing rivers, and right now, the 3-BR UWS current is running pretty swiftly.

West81 has given you another possible building; digs has done a great job describing exactly what broker value-added is; and bram has been in this market recently, so I would take all those comments to heart.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

bem9, I looked at both the Laureate and 7A at the Linden a few months back. Though the Laureate E line is less than the 2000 square feet you want, I'd still consider it. For the quality, I haven't seen anything else even close.

As someone also searching for an UWS 2000+ 3 bedroom renovated apt, I will second that the issue is too much demand and extremely limited supply. When is the spring supply coming?

We are in contract at the Laureate and we had been looking for exactly what you describe for over a year. Our brokers are great and are the reason we are in contract in this hot property. We saw the Laureate being built as we were looking in the Harrison last year. We've put in offers in the Harrison and the Linden and I'm soooo ecstatic they didn't work out :) Our brokers are great, and after working with us, they know the market you want (although they may not want any more picky clients after working with us - haha). They are the ones who told us about SE and encouraged us to be on here. Nicole Grandelli and Jason Laynard (Prudential Elliman). Good Luck!

Did the Stahl people say when they think closings will start?

Can I ask why you avoided using a broker to begin with? SE does offer almost all availabilities but the broker can usually get a bit more specific detail or are more familiar with the buildings so you dont waste time. Did you not find it frustrating searching and scheduling your appointments as compared to calling one person who handles all that for you. Just Curious?

Thanks...

Why not use any of the third party sources out there for real estate agent reviews like http://www.rateyourbroker.com/.

Seems to be a large database of brokers on this site.