New York Hard Money Loans

I have had more than a few people ask me lately about hard money lenders. I am no expert in this arena, but I do know a few people who have dealt with private lenders. Most times, a private lender is the seller who ends up carrying a note on a property they are selling. However, there are private individuals and other lenders that specialize in lending money to borrowers who need it quickly, are trying to finance a strange property type or just don't qualify for one reason or another. This is typically what a private or hard money lender does. Here is one source for hard money loans in New York City that I found. I will post more as I find them.

New York is Quiet

The market in New York City has really been very quiet over the past month or two. We saw a lot of activity when FOMC Chairman, Alan Greenspan, and the gang decided to stay with their "measured pace" of raising interest rates. This has continued until today and the market is quiet because of it. People are uncertain and buying real estate in New York city is no small endeavor. A 10% shift in apartment/home prices here can mean hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. This pales in comparision to places like Binghamton, New York, where the median home price is under $100,000. So, it will be interesting to see how the market fares after the new year is here. I think a lot of people are sitting on the fence right now. Some have jumped in as their desire to purchase a home in NYC outweighs their fears. Or, their fears of further interest rate hikes has compelled them to purchase something as soon as they can. Whatever the case may be, these are uncertain times.

New York City Sales Slow

A great article this weekend on MSN by Bill Freckenstein who puts the New York and national real estate markets into perspective very well. I think Bill and I would get along very well as there is a hint of sarcasm in his writing and he has clearly been talking to the same kinds of people that I have been over the past year. Most people involved in this real estate market are irrational. I think I will just let Bill tell you about the situation in New York.

Time for a Real New York City MLS?

Inman News reported today on a lawsuit filed by La La Wang of a company called BrokersNYC. Wang is asserting that the FTC and the State of New York should look into the practices of REBNY, a private group of NYC real estate brokers and other related professionals. Critics including Wang have charged that REBNY is not making enough effort to provide open access and sharing of their real estate listings to other brokers and the public. While we live in an age where computers are used by just about everyone, everyday, REBNY uses a very antiquated and proprietary system. From an outsider's perspective the way things are done in NYC is just plain silly. From a real estate broker's prospective, they are stupid. But, this is how apartment and commercial real estate brokers in most of the country still operate today. It will be fun to see what happens.

NYC Cools Down

Well, it appears that the heat wave and the real estate craze of 2005 may both be over. I just spoke to a broker in NYC who was telling me how quiet the market has become in the past two weeks. Two weeks ago there was still plenty of activity, offers and new listings. Now that has changed and the real estate market in New York City has become cold. It could be fears of oil prices and how they might affect the US economy or it could be that people finally believe that interest rates are on the rise and that soon enough inflation will become a problem. Whatever the case may be, offers on properties in NYC have slowed down a great deal.

New York Building Owners Help Save Birds

Apparently upwards of 4,000 migratory birds are killed each year because they collide with buildings whose lights attracted them. In an effort to help save some of these deaths from occuring, New York City building owners and property managers will be turning off lights in buildings above the 40th floor after midnight in the spring and fall months to help prevent collisions. You can read more about New York City building owners efforst to help preserve migratory birds here.

No End in Sight

There appears to be no end in sight for the NY or other big cities in the US when it comes to prices on residential and commercial real estate. Even though some cities have reported that sales have slowed somewhat, they still are taking place at a feverish pace and prices are still appreciating even though they may not be at double digit per year rates. It is really incredible to see. And, with today's news on the devastation hurricane Katrina has created, interest rates have begun to fall even more. It was only a couple of weeks ago that rates finally appeared to be headed north for a while and that we had seen the bottom as far as rates are concerned. But, that apparently was not the case as the 10 year treasuries are falling to a level near 4% again. Amazing.