Recent Blog Posts
How Not to Lose Your Earnest Money in a Real Estate Purchase
Buying a house is a long and complicated process; it is the most expensive and most complex financial transaction that most people make in their lifetimes. Every time you complete one step and think that you are getting close to closing on the purchase, more hurdles appear that you must clear before the house… Read More »
New York Landlords Cannot Conceal Their True Identity Behind Shell Corporations
Many visitors to New York have had the experience of eating in a restaurant where the tables were immaculate and the food was beautifully presented and reasonably priced, but something didn’t feel right. The restaurant was too quiet; there were few, if any, other customers. How does a restaurant like that stay open unless… Read More »
Cash for Keys Agreements
Being a landlord is difficult even when the tenants make a good faith effort to pay rent and abide by the rules. Yes, it’s expensive for you to fix the plumbing, but it is bothersome for them to have to go to a friend’s house to take a shower, especially when their budget is… Read More »
Understanding Your Rights When Screening Prospective Tenants
The tenant screening process is a minefield of stress for tenants, but it is no picnic for landlords, either. A landlord’s nightmare is an apartment that stays vacant month after month while the bills continue to come due, or at least, you think that it’s the worst-case scenario until you get stuck with a… Read More »
New Law Protects Homeowners Against Partition Sales
Probate lawyers come to the aid of the personal representatives of deceased family members’ estates when they must face their worst enemy, estate research firms that are in the business of convincing people to try to claim an inheritance from the estate of a distant relative they have never met. To give just one… Read More »
Putting the Unaffordability of New York Homeownership in Perspective
For decades, New York City has been a byword for the high cost of living. People who live almost anywhere else in the United States either look longingly at New York for its fast-paced lifestyle or balk at the cost of lunch from a sandwich counter or food truck while they visit, while the… Read More »
The J-51 Tax Abatement
It is painful to think about how much of your earned income goes to income taxes, whether you spend your days juggling 1099 gigs or whether you have a cushy job that pays you so much that you still have enough money left for some fun splurges even after the IRS claims its share. … Read More »
It’s Legal for New York Landlords to Make Tenants Pay Broker Fees, but Don’t Expect Them to Be Happy About It
In the Internet Age, stage musicals require more suspension of disbelief than most other works of fiction. Therefore, the musicals whose soundtracks were first released on CD or on music streaming services must contain just the right mix of cynicism and childlike wonder to achieve any staying power. In the early years of the… Read More »
Section 8 Vouchers Often Lead to Disappointment in New York City
Section 8 vouchers are a federal program that enables low-income individuals and families to obtain subsidized housing. Section 8 recipients may choose any available housing unit in their cities. The tenant pays 30 percent of his or her income, and the voucher covers the remainder, up to a certain amount. This gives low-income tenants… Read More »
Are Assumable Mortgages as Great as They Sound?
Complaining about the cost of one’s home mortgage payment has been a popular humblebrag since the days of white picket fences, decades before the term “humblebrag” existed. Today, you cringe, according to the 20th century meaning of the word “cringe,” when you think about your housewarming party humblebrags of a decade ago, when you… Read More »