BUYERS GUIDE Your Journey Home
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R E A L E S T A T E BUYERS GUIDE Your Journey Home Congratulations on your decision to purchase a home in New York City! This is surely an exciting time for you and we are glad to be a part of it. You likely have many questions about buying a home in New York City and how to best prepare for it. This Buyer’s Guide will help you on your journey, with important step-by-step guidelines and essential tips. With this information in hand, you are well on your way to enjoying the comfort, excitement and equity of your new New York City home. Buyer Tips Choose The Right Agent A buyer’s agent is a trusted advisor accountable for every aspect of your home purchase from search to close – including appraisals, inspections, negotiations, financials, and board approvals. Choose someone you are comfortable with, who is not only knowledge- able and trustworthy, but also has a demonstrated ability to make the otherwise complex process of homebuying flow smoothly. Get Pre-Approved For A Mortgage While you may be eager to start your search, it is important that you speak with a mort- gage banker and get a pre-approval. This will give you a clear understanding of your budget and the requirements of purchasing. Typically sellers will only entertain offers from buyers that have a pre-approval. This important step will, in turn, put you ahead of the competition should there be a bidding war. Finally, you will ensure a faster closing, as your financials will be in order for co-op and condo board packages. Learn The Market Do you prefer co-ops or condomiums? East side or west side? Before you begin your search, take some time to learn about the New York City marketplace. Your agent can help you determine which neighborhoods, apartment types, and amenities meet your needs, and provide you with comparable reports of recent sales prices of similar list- ings. You can also take advantage of publicly available data on apartment sales, buy- ing trends, and the state of the industry overall. Define Your Goals Once you have an understanding of the market, you are ready to narrow your search criteria. Make a list of the features most important to you and those you can potentially do without. Consider the community, asthetics, unit space, safety, views, amenities, apartment features, schools, transportation, entertainment and pet policies. Knowing what matters to you most will save you valuable time and energy as you search for your perfect home. Research Your Final Choices Once you have narrowed to your top few choices, discuss your decision thorough- ly with your agent. Your agent can help you obtain all the essential information you need, including each building’s financial condition, length of time on market, seller mo- tives, list of all renovations and major repairs to the property, policies on financing and unique building rules – all of which can affect property values. Steps to Homeownership 10 Close & Celebrate 9 Get mortgage commitment 8 Submit board package 7 Sign contract 6 Negotiate 5 Submit an offer 4 Find a home 3 Find an attorney 2 Get pre-approved for a mortgage 1 Choose a Real Estate Agent Building Your Team Real Estate Agent A great team begins with a great real estate agent. Experienced agents have invaluable knowledge of every aspect of home sales, with resources and connections for just about everything – from home inspectors and attorneys to mortgage bankers, designers and more. Align yourself with a buyer’s agent you connect with who has proven expertise in New York City real estate sales. It is important to note that commissions are paid by the seller. It is in your best interest to have your own representation and negotiation expertise on your side. On average these transactions can take 3-6 months or longer. Your agent will ensure that this process runs smoothly for you and that nothing important is missed, for ultimate peace of mind. Mortgage Banker If you are not an all cash buyer, you will need a mortgage banker on your team. A good mortgage banker will help you get the best rates and make the process seamless. Batra has strong relation- ships with many top mortgage bankers and can help you find the one that’s right for you. Attorney It is essential that you retain a real estate attorney when purchasing property. This is to your benefit, as real estate attorneys exercise due diligence on your behalf, including reading financials, checking board meeting minutes, and advising you accordingly. They also help you negotiate the most favorable terms possible. Importantly, they will only let you move forward if they feel all your interests are protected. Inspector A good inspector will fully examine your selected property in a few hours and provide you with a report of their findings. This includes an assessment of the home’s plumbing, electrical and appliance systems. Any issues the inspector uncovers can then be dealt with before the purchase of the home. This protects you from having to cover the cost of needed repairs and can potentially saving you hun- dreds if not thousands of dollars. Architect If the apartment you choose needs major renovations, you will likely want to hire an architect. Architects can design solutions for virtually any structural challenge and ensure that their work has aesthetic in- tegrity. Interior Designer Interior space planning and simple renovations are typically best han- dled by a professional interior designer. Remodeling a kitchen or add- ing a room are two such examples. A designer’s plans are typically reviewed by a structural engineer to make sure their work is structur- ally sound. Types of Ownership Condominium A condominium or “condo” is a type of real estate in which the units are individually owned, with each owner receiving a recordable deed to the individual unit purchased and sharing in joint ownership of any common grounds. Unlike other types of real estate, condominium units are owned outright, along with collective ownership via a homeowners assocation of common areas (e.g, hallways, walkways, laundry rooms, etc). In New York City, condos have several advantages over other types of ownership. These include lower requirements for down pay- ment, faster estimated closing time, and the ability to sublet or sell without board approval. Cooperative A cooperative or “co-op” is a type of membership-based homeownership in which the unit owners are part of a corporation. Rather than buying the unit outright, members are actual- ly buying shares of a corporation and entitled to occupy one housing unit. Importantly, while many homebuyers are less familiar with co-ops, they make up about 75-80% of the New York City real estate market. The primary advantage of a co-op is that the collective resources of members enable them to leverage their buying power for products and services associated with homeownership, lowering costs. Another advantage is the power to screen and select other members. Co-ops typically have strict by-laws and house rules that all shareholders must adhere to, as well as shared expenses including maintenance, utilities, insurance, staff salaries, building mortgage payments and real estate taxes. Types of Ownership Condop As the name implies, a ‘condop’ (also known as a mixed-use property) is a hybrid of con- dominium and cooperative ownership structures. It is generally understood to be a co-op with condo rules, making it an attractive choice for those looking for less stingest appli- cation and residential policies. Most condops do not require a board interview and have flexible sublet policies. They often forego the board approval process as well, choosing instead a policy known as right of first refusal. Townhouse A townhouse is a single-family home typically attached as a row of two-to-four units. It is comparable to buying a free-standing home, as it is considered real property owned out- right. The owner is solely responsible for payment of real estate taxes as well as all repairs and maintenance. Townhouses make up a small percentage of the homes in New York City. Many of them are concentrated in the West Village, Upper West Side, and historic districts of Brooklyn. Manhattan WASHINGTON HEIGHTS W 155th to Dyck- INWOOD UPPER EAST SIDE E 59th to E 96th St Yorkville E 79th to E 96th St man St HUDSON FORT GEO Inwood Dyckman St to Marble Hill HEIGHTS RGE Lenox Hill E 60th to E 77th St E 25th to E 30th St, 6th to Lex Ave Fort George W 181st to Dyckman St, east of WASH- Nomad INGTON Flatiron E 20th to E 25th St, 6th to Lex Ave Broadway HEIGHTS Hudson Heights W 181st to Ft Tryon Park, Kips Bay E 23rd to E 34th St, Lex to E River SUGAR HILL Stuyvesant E 14th to E 23rd St, 1st to Ave C west of Broadway HAMILTON HEIGHTS E 96th and W 110th to 155th St MIDTOWN EAST E 34th to E 59th St HARLEM HARLEM Hamilton Heights W 135th to W 155th St Murray Hill E 34th to E 40th St E 41st to E 53rd St East Harlem E 96th to E 155th St MANHATTANVILLE EAST Turtle Bay W 109th to W 119th St MORNINGSIDE HARLEM Morningside Heights HEIGHTS GRAMERCY E 14th St to E 23rd St UPPER WEST SIDE W 59th to W 110th St EAST VILLAGE Houston to E 14th St, 3rd Lincoln Square W 63rd to W 66th St UPPER UPPER Ave to East River WEST EAST Houston to E 14th St, Ave A MIDTOWN WEST W 34th to W 59th St YORK Alphabet City Theater District W 40th to W 54th St, 6th to SIDE SIDE VILLE to D 8th Ave Noho Houston to E 9th St, Bowery to Bdwy W 34th St to W 59th St, 8th LINCOLN LENOX Hell’s Kitchen SQUARE HILL LOWER EAST SIDE Canal to Houston St, Ave to Hudson River CENTRAL PARK Bowery to East River W 28th to W 43rd St, west of TURTLE