Author Archives: Jay Butchko
New York City Social Club Sues Real Estate Developer for Turning Its New Club Building Into an Eyesore
New York City’s world-famous edifices were built on big dreams, big promises, and a healthy dose of ostentation. Of course, everyone who has spent more than a few days in New York knows that most of it is smoke and mirrors; it feels less like Monopoly and more like Rent. New York always feels… Read More »
Appellate Court Issues Ruling in Years-Long Prescriptive Easement Dispute
One of the reasons that New York City has so much more personality than most places in the United States is that it is not an endless parade of strip malls full of national chain stores. When a British YouTuber took a tour of American fast-food restaurants that he had never seen before, and… Read More »
How Do the Landlords of Rent-Regulated Apartments Make Money?
The conventional wisdom is that being a landlord is an easy source of passive income, from garden variety personal finance advice that encourages you to rent out your old house when you move into a new one to aspirational entrepreneurship content about building a real estate empire. Whether you are responsible for one apartment… Read More »
What Are Mortgage Loans Made Of?
Did you know that, when buying a house, you can save a lot of money by working with a real estate lawyer instead of a real estate agent? A recent lawsuit settlement involving the National Association of Realtors shows just how badly the system of real estate transactions is rigged against consumers. Buying a… Read More »
Are This Year’s Home Purchase Tax Credits Enough to Make Home Ownership Affordable in New York?
New York City has always been notoriously expensive. In the 1990s, you could buy a corned beef sandwich for just over four dollars at a New York style deli in the suburbs of Miami, and it would come with a plate of French fries fresh out of the fryer, plus never-ending half dill pickles… Read More »
Real Estate Purchases by LLCs
While commuting to work on the subway, you may have once passed the time by reading a longform news story about one or another shady character who managed to conceal his money laundering, his extramarital affairs, or worse by titling much of his property, including real estate properties, in the names of limited liability… Read More »
The Role of Short-Term Real Estate Loans in Today’s Real Estate Market
If you own a house, you probably think you know how the real estate world works. You gather enough money to place a down payment and keep up with your bills so that your credit score is high enough for you to qualify for a home mortgage, and then you make an offer to… Read More »
Real Estate Disclosures by Sellers Prior to Sale
Buying a real estate property is a rollercoaster ride of hopes and disappointments. You find a listing for your dream home, but when your real estate agent contacts the seller about it, you find out that it is already under contract. You find one that is still available, and you make an offer but… Read More »
Adverse Possession Dos and Don’ts
Somewhere in one of the five boroughs, there is a vacant lot next to some warehouses, or at least there used to be when you were a kid. When your uncle would drive past it with you, he would say that the lot belongs to him, and one day he is going to build… Read More »
Will the National Association of Realtors Settlement Be a Relief to Homeowners, or Just Another Financial Burden?
Everyone knows that buying and selling a house usually turns out to be much more expensive than you expected when you first got emotionally attached to a house that you saw listed on Zillow and contacted a real estate agent about it. Throughout your conversations with loan officers and real estate agents, it seems… Read More »