Affordable Housing in CH Discussion

whynot_31

Yes, as alluded to above, buildings with rent stabilized apartments in them are being purchased for so much money that the new owners have to get rid of long term tenants in order to make any money.

The new owners are willing to pay this much because they are confident that the city will not enforce the existing regulations, and/or that they will be able to get the apartments out of rent stabilization via methods that are legal. Both varieties of "methods" are discussed above.

There are not many moderates in the field of tenant advocacy. For example, the group discussed in this article would like tenants to have rights that are not presently established:

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2014/03/crown-heights-tenants-form-union-to-fight-displacement-rising-rents/?ic_source=ic-featured-frontpage-top

whynot_31

This comment on The Real Deal made me smile (edited for grammar), because it describes a structural conflict:

"The tenants protest that landlords are offering buyouts.

What next? Protest under market rent they pay?
How about protesting the fact they have to turn on the faucet to get water.

Shouldn't the evil landlords know when the tenant needs water, and turn it on for them?

Heck these guys would protest that they have to pay rent at all.

Had one tenant last week who flooded out his apartment.

Says the drain was clogged and its my fault. Even if it was my fault why didn't he shut the water once he saw that bathtub was overflowing?

Anyway I Offered him a buyout and he accepted. After I redo apartment the rent is going to be nearly double what the guy was paying. And I also get a higher quality tenant. Yipee!"

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/03/06/crown-heights-residents-rally-against-displacement/

related reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_theories

whynot_31

The Crown Heights Tenant Union believes they have the answer:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/nyregion/disparate-forces-align-over-affordable-rents.html?referrer=

Dawndew

When some of my tenants call me when they hear one mouse scratching in the wall or if the bathroom sink gets clogged with their hair. I pull out the hair and show it to them; and pay the exterminater $175 to bait this one mouse and he tells them to put down a glue trap. Then, when the lease is up am I not to raise the rent?

newguy88

Dawndew thats class A bullsh!t and you know it! 

Where there is one mouse there mostly likely several more. If all your exterminator is doing is putting down glue traps then you need a new one. A good exterminator goes around finds where the mice are getting in and either tells you about them or seals them.

Yes you have bad tenants. It's part of the business. Neither of these is the real reason landlords are raising rents and pricing GOOD tenants out! Their doing it because they can and want to make more money. That too is part of the business. I've come to accept it but you should at least of the decency to be honest about it. Your not raising rents to punish your tenants but cause you can!

 

whynot_31

These two items may help.    

The first is that price for a given unit is naturally the intersection of demand and supply, and government has been ineffective at changing this:

The second is to understand the ways in which gov tries to change nature, in the pursuit of providing tenants some modicum of rights.   I really wish government was more effective at achieving some of these things than it is:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/tenants-rights/

whynot_31

bkrest said:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/04/courts_will_sto.php

the New York State office of court administration (oca

) formerly sold New York city court information,

including tenants’ names and addresses, in bulk electronic form by a computer-to-computer transfer.

in March2012, the oca announced that it will no longer include the names of tenants involved in New York

city Housing court eviction proceedings in the electronic data feed it sells to tenant screening companies.

the oca’s decision to omit this information from the electronic data feed is a victory for tenants

because it will now be much harder for

landlords to engage in blacklisting.

this development does not, however,mean that blacklisting is over. the oca continues to provide a daily electronic feed of all new cases and updates on pending ones. although the feed will not contain the tenants’

names, it is not difficult to match an index number to the tenant’s name through the court’s public access computer. Until the oca stops providing the electronic feed to the data companies, tenant blacklisitng will continue.

http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=LegalEASE_Informational_Pamphlets&ContentID=46338&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

kinda pointless isn't it.

May 2014 Update:

Housing Court is still selling the names of every tenant that is brought to Housing Court.

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/05/08/housing-court-continues-to-sell-tenant-blacklist/

whynot_31

Ditmas Park,

I hope you are reading this:

http://ditmasparkcorner.com/blog/real-estate/real-estate-group-spends-42-5m-on-six-area-apartment-buildings

whynot_31

Crown Heights,

This broker markets investment properties.   He is wise enough to not provide the exact addresses, but by reading through it, you could reach the conclusion that the building you presently rent in is very likely to change hands:

 

http://www.itzhakiproperties.com/listings_area.php?BRSR=0&ptypes=Array&borough=2&cities=Array&minval=&maxval=&minsf=&maxsf=&button=Search&ptypes[]=&ptypes[]=&ptypes[]=&ptypes[]=&borough=2&cities[]=&cities[]=45

whynot_31

This tenant has decided to go to court, rather than move:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uptown/fighting-housing-affordable-washington-hts-article-1.1789329

Dawndew

Dawndew thats class A bullsh!t and you know it! 

Where there is one mouse there mostly likely several more. If all your exterminator is doing is putting down glue traps then you need a new one. A good exterminator goes around finds where the mice are getting in and either tells you about them or seals them.

Yes you have bad tenants. It's part of the business. Neither of these is the real reason landlords are raising rents and pricing GOOD tenants out! Their doing it because they can and want to make more money. That too is part of the business. I've come to accept it but you should at least of the decency to be honest about it. Your not raising rents to punish your tenants but cause you can!

 

I didn't mean to quote it all but, Gee, Newguy are you irritable,?  Life is too short to spend it punishing tenants. I am just saying, if your going to be a prima donna tenant you have to cover the costs.  If houses were not an investment no one would buy them or rent space to others.

whynot_31

Yes, despite all of the regulations, landlords have the right to make money off their property.    These rights include using buyouts as a method of getting long term tenants to vacate their apartments.

This flyer provides long term tenants information on what they should do if they are offered a buyout:

http://thesurrealestate.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/tenant-buy-outs.pdf

I've seen a lot of long term tenants take really low buyout offers, because it was the most money they ever saw at one time in their life.

If they haven't received an offer yet, it is very likely they will in the future.   This article tells the story of how many people have moved into to Brooklyn, versus how many new units have been constructed:

 http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/05/24/nyc-population-boom-underscores-housing-shortage/

whynot_31

770 St. Marks Avenue

637 St. Marks Avenue

and 24-30 Rogers Avenue

You are next.

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2014/07/16/crown-heights-multifamily-portfolio-trades-for-25m/

whynot_31

This might help those that want to stay:

http://dnainfo.com/new-york/20140722/chelsea/how-keep-your-rent-stabilized-apartment

Dawndew

Title of post does not cover the topic now. We could easily say all landlords new and long standing from every background, from the little old ladies to the conglomerates are raising rents.

whynot_31

People do tend to provide a product or service in exchange for the best price they can get.

...I can't see that changing.

pragmaticguy

Funny, I know quite a few landlords who would be happy to get $1600 or so for a two bedroom in Lefferts Gardens or Crown Heights because they're getting a lot less than that now. Sometimes you have to look in the smaller buildings (2-4 family) because those landlords usually live on the premises and are willing to take a little less for someone who's stable.

Esperanza

Mr. Pragmatic, send me their contact info, please:)

whynot_31

I have a few friends who live in small buildings and receive below market rent.

Some do this in exchange for maintaining their own apartments (painting, appliances, etc) but others have landlords that just don't want to go thru the turnover that happens when market rate is charged.

Prior to age 30, I think it is hard to find such deals because you are regarded as a potentially noisy tenant with poor painting skills.

MOD

Ditto PM me the info too @pragmaticguy !  haha

superhero

@pratmaticguy send those landlords here when they are looking for new tenants. I've been in a two bedroom in Crown Heights for over 5 years now and even when I first moved my rent was above $1600! I'm currently concerned that my lease will not be renewed so the landlord can raise the rent even higher for new tenants. I'll accept a reasonable ($50) or even semi-unreasonable ($200) hike in rent, but I'm expecting the worst with all the changes going on here these days.

Esperanza

Perhaps we can vote in a Patron Saint of Affordable Housing in CW:)

pragmaticguy

Actually I have told them to post here. They are currently fixing apartments in a building a Bedford south of Empire and I have given them the website and hopefully they will post on here and save the trouble of dealing with an agent.

whynot_31

If you want, I'll give you a pile of business cards to pass out to such folks.

pragmaticguy

I already tell everyone about the site. They also have two buildings on St. Johns off of Nostrand. There are some vacancies there too. Hopefully they'll be listed on here soon. I've even offered to do it for them. They're good clients of mine so maybe they'll listen to me.

mugofmead111

Actually I have told them to post here. They are currently fixing apartments in a building a Bedford south of Empire and I have given them the website and hopefully they will post on here and save the trouble of dealing with an agent.

I think I know which building...I've seen scaffolding around one building in particular.

whynot_31

@Pragmaticguy -
If one of them is this guy, please don't refer readers to him:

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/07/28/landlord_investigated_for_forcing_out_rentstabilized_tenants.php#reader_comments

whynot_31

If you read closely, you realize that the housing being offered won't be in Crown Heights but the info session on how to obtain it almost is:

whynot_31

Today, it was announced that NYS is investigating a landlord with a property in Crown Heights for violating the rent stabilization rules:

A preliminary audit of agency records showed that Wasserman frequently registered rents as $2,500, regardless of what the rents had been before, to allow the landlord to claim the units were no longer rent regulated, according to a press release sent out by the governor. The audit also showed that Wasserman may have deregulated apartments while simultaneously receiving a J-51 tax abatement, “which mandates that apartments remain rent-regulated,” said the statement.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2013/10/closing-bell-state-investigates-crown-heights-flatbush-landlord-for-tenant-abuse/#comments

The state's investigation/prosecution of this landlord concluded recently. Here's the scoop:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/nyregion/settlement-in-investigation-of-brooklyn-landlord-over-rent-regulated-units.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0

HCR's press release: http://ht.ly/CrpjY

whynot_31

Here's an update on the blacklist maintained by landlords that we discussed above:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/nyregion/a-tenant-blacklist-culled-from-tedium.html

Summary:  If you are a tenant, you should fear it.   If you are a landlord, you count on it.   Regardless of who you are, it is real.