Using Feng Shui can seem daunting.  If you read one book, you might understand it; read another and you'll start getting confused.  The harder you try to learn, the many different schools of thought you come against until you get lost.  Here are some of the different forms and schools of Feng Shui and why they're all SO different:There are no early books on the subject because it wasn't permitted to be written. It was considered Sacred Information only to be passed down from Mentor to Student.  We estimate it's origins to be between 3 to 5,000 years old.  While it's called Feng Shui in China, people of Indian decent use Vastu or Vastu Shastra. Native Americans had their own form as they built in to the land and respected it.The earliest form we know of is called The Form School. Having ... 05/19/2007

Despite the slumping housing markets in the rest of the United States, Manhattan apartment values continued to buck the trend, REBNY just reported.  The average sales price in NYC is up 23% to $745,000 in Q1 2007. 05/17/2007

Of course the fundamental difference between a co-op mortgage and a regular mortgage loan is that the property used as collateral for the loan.   A condo or a single family home is real estate, and a co-op apartment ownership is signified by shares of ownership in the co-op corporation that owns the building.  Thus the collateral for the co-op mortgage is these stock shares in the co-op and the proprietary lease for the apartment.Also, unlike real estate which are recorded locally by deed filings, co-op lien holders need to file a notice of the lien on the public records, a UCC-1 filing. with a special “co-op addendum” which shows the block and lot number of the co-op building.Finally in a co-op foreclosure situation, any funds due to the co-op are paid before the lender, regardless of... 05/16/2007

Customers and lenders unfamiliar with the New York City landscape often are concerned when they find that their property sits on leased land.Leased land is relatively common in New York City, some of the most prominent buildings in Manhattan are built on leased land.   The rule of thumb is simply that the land lease needs to run longer than the term of the mortgage.  Typically these leases are for many years, 99 years or more.   To be sure, obtain a copy of the lease and read through it, focusing on any unusual terms and provisions and the term of course. 05/15/2007

Getting a HELOC on a Co-op ApartmentObtaining home equity financing on your Co-op is not difficult from an underwriting standpoint.  You will qualify basically with the same guidelines as a bank would apply if the property were a single family home.  Typically, Lenders will go as high on Loan to Value as the co-op board will allow.The challenge typically in getting this type of financing done is related to obtaining the note and proprietary lease, which will be required.  If you don't realize it, you don't have the originals of these documents, rather your lender holds them.  And probably 80% of the time lenders cannot find them when it comes time to refinance, thus delaying the process.    This is typically remedied by a lost note affidavit, but only after the lender "gives up" trying ... 05/15/2007

New York City homeowners are especially challenged with a series of unique challenges related to mortgage finance.  We hope to shed some light on these issues and the methods used to deal with them.  Included are -Co-op board approval- Negative Pledge Loans-Mortgage Tax-Using a CEMA to avoid mortgage tax-Avoiding Mortgage tax on a purchase-Refinancing a co-op-Attorneys and Real Estate closing process in New York.   05/15/2007

  REBNY  to Launch ResidentialNYC.com in September     A new web portal for REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York) members to market exclusive listings directly to the public will be launched in September. According to REBNY the purpose is to drive consumer traffic directly to the broker. Inclusion in this new venture is being offered exclusively to REBNY Listing Service (RLS) firms at a cost and is voluntary.  REBNY will be aggressively marketing ResidentailNYC.com to the public. I first wrote about this in a blog back in November Web portal for public still no MLS for Brokers when it was first announced by REBNY. I wrote about it again after REBNY announced Trulia would build the site but then small brokerage firms were upset and then I wrote about large Manhattan brokers planning on ... 05/10/2007

Hello everyone,I work mainly with clients who would like to make their money work for them. So i will be looking for a buyer who wants to renovate or gut an apartment, a townhouse or a building then flip it. Some others are interested in preconstruction. Many of my buyers will buy and keep for rentals, some other will buy and sell right away.  Is anyone running any seminars in NYC, I can run seminars and speak in public and I would like to join another real estate professional to talk about investments. I am also very much interested in connecting with other real estate brokers who are from out of state and out of town since I get buyers whoh would like to invest all around the US. In many cases, I do also represents the sellers, so I can advertise their properties. 05/08/2007

Manhattan Residential Architecture from the 19th Century to the 21st Century: New Yorkers lived in townhouses during the 19th century.  19th Century Single Family Townhouses were made of Brownstone and Limestone.   The luxury apartment house was actually invented in New York in the late 19th century. Upper-class New Yorkers lived in townhouses and single-family mansions during the 19th century. By 1930, 90% percent of Manhattanites lived in apartments. To lure potential tenants, developers borrowed the word "apartment" from the French to make the new buildings sound more fashionable. The word and the lifestyle stuck. In 1890 The Dakota was the first luxury apartment building in Manhattan.  It's Beaux Art Chateau style architecture was popular in the late 19th century.   Architect: Henry... 05/06/2007

               To reinforce spring as the home buying and selling season, Coldwell Banker has declared May as Coldwell Banker® Open House Month. As part of its Open House Month, Coldwell Banker will partner with Drexel Heritage to host an Open House Month sweepstakes throughout May. The grand-prize winner will receive $20,000 in Drexel Heritage furniture and a free consultation with an interior designer. Coldwell Banker will support the promotion with a television commercial that will air throughout May on such popular shows as "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," "The Amazing Race" and "Medium." The company will also drive awareness of the event through a radio campaign and online banner advertising. Open Houses in Manhattan are very important we have them all year long as they are a great... 05/03/2007

As we leave Central Park, we tell the kids that we are off to FAO Schwarz. Of course the two older ones know all about this and let out a loud cheer. But one might wonder how we were able to get around so quickly and freely in Manhattan while visiting, Battery Park City, South Street Seaport (Pier 17), and Central Park. My brother-in-law took the liberty of getting us a limo for the whole day. It did make it easier for us to get around, instead of finding a place to park all of the time. So we finally get to FAO Schwarz and as you can see, they have a person dressed up as a toy soldier that greets everyone entering or leaving the store. He even gives you a warm smile with a salute saying, "welcome and enjoy yourself".FAO Schwartz was founded in New York City by a German immigrant, Frede... 05/02/2007

After soaking in the sun and some history, we are ready to leave South Street Seaport (Pier 17). Now we head over to Central Park.Central Park is a public park which opened in 1873 and is the most visited park in the United States with about twenty -five million visitors annually.Here is some trivia. Central Park is larger than two of the world's smallest nations. It is nearly eight times as large as Vatican City.The real-estate value of Central Park is estimated to be $528,783,552,000 according to the property-appraisal firm Miller Samuel.In the movie Die Hard With A Vengeance, Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson drive a taxi cab through Central Park. Their wild ride goes from the west entrance at 72nd Street to Central Park South.This information was gathered from Wikipedia, the free e... 04/30/2007

Do you know the 3 rules of Real Estate? LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION. NEAR OUR BELOVED AND BEAUTIFUL RIVERSIDE PARK! I am proud to let you know that the West Side office of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy is once again co-chairing the Silent Auction for the Riverside Park Fund annual benefit. This year's event, the tenth annual Cabaret Evening in Riverside Park, is scheduled for June 4th and will feature Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley. They are acclaimed performers, whose work has extended successfully into both concert halls and cabaret settings, and were dubbed Broadway's Golden Couple by the San Francisco Chronicle. The benefit is always a magical evening. I urge you to support our Park by attending the benefit and contributing items to the auction. If you are not yet a member of the R... 04/30/2007

As we leave Battery Park City, we are now on our way to South Street Seaport (Pier 17) which is around the corner. This is Part 3 of a 5 part series of Manhattan. The South Street Seaport is considered a historical district with some of the oldest architecture in downtown Manhattan. This area includes renovated original mercantile buildings from the early 19th century, renovated sailing ships, the former Fulton Fish Market, and a few malls featuring food, shopping and nightlife, with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Some of the original buildings were built in the early 1800's. It was later founded by Peter and Norma Stanford in 1967 as a museum. Its intent was to be an educational historic site to show its operational environment from 1820 to 1860. It began its redevelopment of the Pier ... 04/28/2007

It's Sunday morning, April 22, 2007, and we went to breakfast around the corner from our hotel. Now we are off to see more sites. If you didn't get a chance, here is Part 1 of our journey. My Visit to New York City -- "Manhattan as a tourist" -- Part 1 of 5 -- Day 1  Our first stop was Battery Park City, Manhattan. The picture that you see to your left is a picture taken from a point in New Jersey over-looking the Hudson River before Battery Park City was built. The World Trade Center is in the background which was located in Lower Manhattan before September 11, 2001 took place. The picture to the right is after Battery Park was built and still before 911. The World Trade Center photograph in black and white was taken by photographer Edgar de Evia. The picture opposite of this is from W... 04/27/2007

So, here is my reason for a nice trip into New York City and Manhattan. It was my niece's First Holy Communion on April 21st, 2007. My sister and brother-in-law decided instead of a party for her, that they would allow her to pick something that she wanted to do. She wanted to go to NYC for the weekend. We decided that we would leave after Mass and go up for the weekend, coming back early Sunday evening. It was myself, my mom and dad, and my sister's family which included 2 boys and 2 girls. Yes, we took 2 vehicles up and no, this wasn't a National Lampoon's Vacation to NYC. But what a great weekend, not a cloud in the sky both Saturday and Sunday. I was just honored to be invited to spend time with everyone. Besides, it had been a few years since I had been back to Manhattan.  So, we l... 04/26/2007

Niche Marketing to Pet Owners  I recently read a funny post by Maureen Francis Sell-Lord Lesson: Peeing Dogs Do Not Sell Homes. My comment made her laugh but I was serious. Maureen, That house needs to be marketed to buyers with a bigger smellier dog. It should say in the description Dogs love this house! Mitchell At the time of this writing,The NY Times was planning a story about pets and real estate in Manhattan. Our PR company often pitches story ideas to the media. Through our publicist the writer Christine Haugney contacted me. They were looking to interview buyers willing to pay more for "pet friendly buildings". Since I was the listing/marketing agent and the building had an "easy" pet friendly board I wasn't included in the article.  NY Times: So, Do I Make the Cut? So, I didn't... 04/25/2007

One of the first blogs I ever wrote was last July about a new law that would make the once secret Co-op sales prices public for the first time under a bill by the Albany legislature. The bill was awaiting signing by Governor Pataki and was strongly supported by Mayor Bloomberg. When the law passed I wrote another blog in August NYC-Coop-Law-brings-Manhattan-Real-Estate-into-the-21st-Century. Before the law was passed there were many in the real estate industry that were opposed to the new transparency law. They liked having secret information that was how business was always done in Manhattan and they liked it. Janny Scott of The New York Times reported Sunday Pushing coops to Explain why you can't buy about a bill before the New York City Council that will require Coop Boards to Explai... 04/24/2007

TRIBECA -  10013  - The name is an abbreviation of: TRIANGLE BELOW CANAL Tribeca, Manhattan's downtown neighborhood runs from Canal Street south to Park Place, and from the Hudson River east to Broadway. Tribeca's charming cobblestone streets are lined with spacious residential loft buildings that were converted from industrial warehouses. There are new glass condo lofts, restaurants and boutiques.    Tribeca only became one of Manhattan's most fashionable places to live in the last 15 years. The neighborhood has evolved from an in expensive area where shopkeeper's and artisans, who could not afford the higher rents along the East River, built their wooden houses in the 18th century. After the Civil War, the area became home to the city's produce sellers and remained the central produce... 04/11/2007

It's no secret that I love Long Island.  But for fun, excitement, and lots of good Energy, you'll find me in New York City.  A few of my favorites:  Central Park, Soho with it's trendy Art Galleries, The Village, Times Square (with the not to be missed famous "Naked Cowboy.")  I make the trek to Magnolia's quite often and the very BEST tour I have ever taken was a behind the scenes tour of Lincoln Center.  If you hit it right (and we did), you get to see them practicing for an upcoming opera.  Or a ballerina praticing the same step over and over again until she gets it right. The artwork there amazes me as well.  There truly is no place like it.  I'm not the only one that thinks so.  According to the NYDailyNews.com, here's a list of the BEST of New York City:Reader's Digest set out to ... 04/10/2007