Bedford Hills, Chappaqua Lead in Highest Ask Price | RobReportBlog Katonah $18,995,000.00 Pound Ridge $3,950,000.00 South Salem $3,200,000.00 Mt Kisco $4,500,000.00 Chappaqua $24,750,000.00 North Salem $18,500,000.00 Armonk $17,000,000.00 Bedford $14,500,000.00 Bedford Hills $30,000,000.00 Bedford Corners $11,250,000.00
The deal momentum from the end of 2012 gave the downtown commercial real estate market a strong start for the first part of 2013.
Vacancy rates for office and retail space in the city are down and activity levels in both sectors have brokers bullish on the progress of downtown, according to a new market report from brokerage firm Colliers International.
Activity in the West Michigan office market saw 50,641 square feet of new absorption in the first quarter of 2013, according to reports from Colliers. The downtown and central business district accounted for approximately 11,381 square feet of that figure.
The numbers are a modest improvement over total office absorption of 49,026 square feet in the fourth quarter last year, but the new data also marks nine straight quarters of positive absorption.
The Federal Housing Administration will likely need a $943 million taxpayer bailout in the next fiscal year to cover losses stemming from defaults on loans made both during and after the housing boom, according to a 2014 budget proposal released by the Obama administration today.
If required, the bailout would be the first in the federal agency’s 79-year history. The FHA has been hard-hit by defaults from housing bubble-era loans made from 2005 through 2008, with future losses estimated at $70 billion for loans made in 2007, 2008 and 2009 alone.
The agency has until Sept. 30 to decide whether it will need a cash subsidy from the U.S. Treasury. FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said the agency still might be able to avoid taking the bailout, Reuters reported.
“FHA, while still under stress from legacy loans, has made significant progress and is on a sound fiscal path forward,” Galante said.
In its last annual report, released in November, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), of which FHA is a part, reported a $16.3 billion deficit for the agency, raising the specter of a taxpayer bailout. Since then, the agency has taken several steps to bolster its capital reserves, including tightening underwriting standards, raising insurance premiums, and shuttering FHA’s standard reverse mortgage program.
In testifying today before the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, National Association of Realtors President Gary Thomas applauded the FHA for taking steps to improve its financial stability.
CRYSTAL LAKE – After a long hibernation, new homes are starting to spring up in McHenry County in another sign of the real estate market’s recovery.
After the housing bust, new home purchases dropped significantly as buyers found irresistible deals on foreclosures and short sales of existing homes. But the county’s dwindling supply of existing homes, combined with low interest rates and pent up demand, have buyers once again considering new homes.…
Most houses are inspected by a home inspector before they’re sold. However, home inspectors usually don’t inspect the permit record on a house. To be sure you have the complete picture, it’s wise to go to the local planning department and check the permit history on the home you’re buying before your inspection contingency is due.
Why is this important? Some planning departments require that any open or expired permits that haven’t received final approval must be completed before a new permit on the property will be issued. In one case, a seller took out a permit to replace the roof. He never had the job done and the permit expired.
The new owners applied for a permit and were denied. They needed to pay to reopen the roof permit and complete the job before they could obtain a permit to do additional work on the house. This could add a considerable cost to your improvement budget.
You might be able to file a claim against the seller, depending on the circumstances. However, he may not have been aware of the expired permit if a previous seller took out the permit and your seller didn’t check the permit record when he purchased the property.
Q: I recently moved out of a rental home. I know that I can be charged for damages to the property, but I am not sure about the cleaning. My understanding is that I can be charged for any cleaning that is reasonable. Of a $2,500 deposit, I was charged $1,600 for cleaning based on a $35 per hour rate. That seems rather excessive to me and very unreasonable. How is “reasonable” defined?
A: The tenant-landlord laws vary depending on the state in which you live. In some states you are responsible for all cleaning that is necessary to remove any dirt or debris that wasn’t there at the time you moved in. Nonetheless, in many instances there are various issues that arise in which a landlord or property manager deals with an element of what is considered a “reasonable” cleaning charge.
I can see two aspects to the concept of reasonable in your question. One is that you are likely referring to the fairly standard language that the tenant should be charged only for damage that is “beyond ordinary (or reasonable) wear and tear.” In the case of cleaning, generally there is no exemption or allowance for “ordinary or reasonable wear and tear,” and the tenant is responsible for all of the costs of cleaning.
Another aspect of your question is whether $1,600 is a “reasonable” charge for the cleaning of your rental unit. At an hourly rate of $35 per hour, this equates to more than 45 hours of cleaning unless there are some charges for removal of trash or other items that you left or abandoned at the property.
The wrecking ball could be on a collision course with history more often as interest in city real estate
picks up.
Batmasian said he’ll put a plaque in front of the planned development at 101 Pine Circle to commemorate the top-secret radar training during World War II. But beyond that, he said he doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. He just wants to build a new daycare center, something he believes the community needs.
“This happens to be an eyesore and a hazard in the neighborhood,” Batmasian said. “There are bums and homeless people staying there. It’s old and it’s falling apart.”
Batmasian said he’s met with officials of the Boca Raton Historical Society & Museum about the property he bought at a foreclosure
auction six months ago. Officials there declined to comment on the situation, but its website calls the site “one of the most historically significant structures in all of Boca Raton.”
It is “a major contributor to the unique WWII legacy of Boca Raton,” the website says.
For Arlene Owens, a member of the city’s Historic Preservation Board, the possible destruction of the building is one of the hazards of a real estate market that is heating up.
Another home with historical significance recently has gone up for sale, she said. The van Dresser house at 745 W. Palmetto Park Road, built in 1939, was the first Catholic rectory in the city and the former home of William van Dresser, a portrait artist who also illustrated the cover of a Jack London novel.
Although the house is not designated as historic now, Owens is concerned about the current climate
.
“Historic preservation was having a moment of pause,” Owens said of the recession-induced halt in development. “Nothing was moving and you didn’t have to worry about someone buying and bulldozing.”
Right now, Old Floresta and Pearl City are the only sections of the city that the Historic Preservation Board has designated historic districts. It doesn’t stop property owners from making changes, but it does require an appearance in front of the Historic Preservation Board, so there’s another layer of review before history disappears.
It wasn’t really the history but the cypress beams and wall paneling that Barbara Wasserman said she loves about the van Dresser house. She’s selling for a number of reasons — and is hoping she can find a buyer who appreciates its décor and its significance.
She bought it for $725,000 in 2005, according to the Palm Beach County Appraiser’s website; it’s now listed at $678,000.
“Although I adore this house and would like to see it stay here forever, it’s really up to whoever buys it,” she said.
Q: My tenant assigned his lease to his friend without my consent, and I didn’t realize it until the new “tenant” withheld rent over repairs. I lost — believe it or not, the case turned on the anti-assignment clause and the difference between “cannot” and “may not.” This seems the height of legal nit-picking. Can you explain it? –Jarod H.
A: I’m wading a bit into the unknown to try to answer your question, but I can give it a try. A similar case came up recently in Connecticut, involving a commercial lease.
Anti-assignment and subletting clauses are common in both commercial and residential leases. The purpose is to prevent tenants from turning over leases to people whom the landlord has not screened and approved, i.e., people who may not be suitable as tenants. In a commercial context, even the sale of a business to another business may be considered an assignment, which in practice means that the landlord must agree to the sale if the new owner wants to continue to operate its acquired business at the same location.
Now then, on to semantics. Suppose your anti-assignment clause reads, “Tenant may not assign or sublet the premises without the landlord’s written consent.” Strictly speaking, this limits the tenant’s right to sublet, not its power to do so. In practice, this means that if the tenant disobeys the clause and sublets without consent, the landlord can respond by voiding the lease — by terminating and evicting, if necessary. The clause is known as a “restrictive” clause, voidable by the landlord. Importantly, until the landlord voids the lease, the new “tenant” has stepped into the shoes of the former tenant.
It’s been a busy old week in online video, what with the news that YouTube hit a billion unique views per month and the launch of potentially the biggest (and most lucrative from the makers point of view) online talent contest ever, but there are also some gems that you may have missed. We take a quick look at the new web series from Reddit, how Twitter users can keep up with March Madness, and YouTube’s foray into the Middle East and possible paid subscription features.
Twitter Gets March Madness Video Highlights In Almost Real Time
I love my sports but as a Brit, I hadn’t even heard of March Madness, NCAA or Brackets until last week. Now, after a bit of research it all makes more sense (go Michigan State!) and I, along with anyone that follows @MarchMadness on Twitter, will be able to see highlights from the games, as quickly as 20 seconds after they air. Hosted by SnappyTV via Turner Broadcasting, the short clips not only create advertising revenue for Twitter (from AT&T and Coke) but provide a powerful second screen experience for users. We can’t wait for the data to come out on this one, the possibilities and potential for future sporting, and other, events is immense.
Read More: Lost Remote
Reddit Launches Web Series To Explain Things Like You Are 5
If you have spent any significant time at all on the interweb’s biggest time suck, Reddit, you’ll have come across one of their most popular subreddits /ExplainLikeI’mFive. As the name suggests, it’s a place to go and ask questions regarding any topic that you need to understand in more detail, the answers being provided by other Redditors who aim to make complicated subjects as simple to understand as possible. It’s a very active and wildly popular forum on the site with over 250,000 subscribers so it makes complete sense that Reddit would take the idea and launch their own web series around it. The YouTube funded venture, which debuted this week with 3 episodes, aims to be a catalyst for the Reddit community to participate in the creation of video content itself, rather than Reddit lead. Erik Martin, Reddit general manager confirms that:
For us, it’s more about encouraging the Reddit community and bigger community of producers, filmmakers and animators out there to create content, video, web series, shows … based on Reddit content.
I for one hope that it does because I don’t think that the videos that Reddit have released work as well as they could have. Watching a group of fidgety 5 five olds listen to grown ups explain the crisis in the Middle East or how the Stock Market works isn’t the most compelling thing I’ve ever seen. I understand the literal interpretation but there is so much scope for creativity within the Reddit community that hasn’t yet been tapped into. If you want a taste of how good the ELI5 subreddit can be take a look at these threads:
Why does the advert play perfectly, but the video takes an eternity to buffer?
Why do people hate Nickelback so much?
Why is the name Richard shortened into Dick?
Read More Hollywood Reporter
YouTube Extends Partner Program To Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE
YouTube announced that they were opening up their Partnership program to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt in a bid to encourage more activity from those countries, and to reward those who are already active. If their account is in good standing, users in these regions can monetize their videos via their YouTube settings. The decision comes soon after YouTube was temporarily banned in Egypt over politically sensitive content although that was lifted earlier this month. YouTube’s Strategic Partners Development Manager for the Middle East and North Africa, Haisam Yehia states that:
YouTube has seen dramatic increases in Egypt. Opening up the YouTube Partner Program in Egypt is a great step to help content creators develop their skills and provide original local content.
Read More The Next Web
YouTube To Charge For Premium Subscriptions? It’s Looking Likely
It’s been much speculated upon but could YouTube finally be at the point of enabling paid subscriptions on the site? YouTube Vice President Robert Kyncl dropped a heavy hint on Wednesday when he told reporters that
it is incredibly important that subscriptions should be available to create “additional revenue streams” for content creators
Although Kyncl confirmed that they had nothing to announce at the present time, Machinima may be one of the first to sign up to the new feature.
Read More WSJ
Harlem Shakes Vs Gangham Style: Twitter Showdown
Harlem Shake + Gangham Style + Twitter = awesome infographic
Extras
The Future of YouTube: More Channels in More Places
“Cookie vs. Creme” ends in a tie but everyone loses
HBO CEO Teases Everyone With Talk of Bundling HBO Go With Internet Service
