I met my client at the property on Thursday morning. It is not really in Clinton Hill, but for marketing purposes that is where the listing broker said it was located. It is very near to the subway, on a block that looks to be fairly promising. However, there is a small complex right next door that may be Section 8. My client is not concerned by this, and neither am I, but his older sister ( and the money behind the deal) is a somewhat worried by the proximity to the Section 8.
The house, a 2 family, has good bones. It was purchased a few years ago by two friends who did a rehab and planned on keeping at an investment. Well, we all know how those things typically end up. They overpaid, their friendship is now over, and they are looking for a short sale. It looks like the house was valued at $1,125,000 two years ago, and now it is on the market for $689,000. We have an offer in at $625,000. Assuming my client puts 25% down, and lives in the upper unit, he will essentially be living for free. This would be his first home, and great move financially.
Of course in real estate, nohing is ever simple. The broker representing the seller is not offering a co-broke on this transaction. Many real este firms in Brooklyn do not belong to any MLS or REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York), and do not always offer co-brokers. As a the owner of a firm that does most of its transactions in Manahattan, I did not realize this about Brooklyn real estate.
I explained the situation to my client, and thankfully he understands my position and he wants to see me get paid on the deal. Our take on this is that the sellers will not be walking away with any cash on the sale because it is a short sale, so they should not care at all about commissions. And the bank should be accustomed to paying both brokers, so hopefully there will be a positive resolution to this. We made our offer contingent on my firm being paid 3% of the sale price. So we'll see what happens.....
Rich Bouchner
Rich Bouchner
Managing Director
Commodore Property Group
Commodore Property Group's home page: www.cpg-nyc.com
My blog: www.gotham-realestate.com
Current Listings: CPG's Current listings
I am the owner of Commodore Property Group. l live in Harlem and work through out all of New York City. If you are looking for a condo, coop or brownstone in Harlem or any section of Manhattan or Brooklyn, please feel free to contact me.
