i have only owned a few places - all in manhattan.
i was able to find in an hour what the market was.
i would place a tiny ad in newspaper give my phone number and address and the next weekend day to meet them. People would call. i would set up appointments - spaced about 20 minutes apart. i would go one day. i would find someone to rent the unit. they would give me a check, sign a lease and fill out the necessary papers for the coop board. the board protected me - as i had w-2, tax returns, references, etc. when there was a turnover in tenants, i was able to have the place painted and not lose a months rent. i got the going rent or ma bit more. the tenant and i did not pay a broker a months rent.
when i sold my places, i did the same thing and again found a buyer in one day. later, i placed ad on yahoo real estate under fsbo and had an offer each time before the time when yahoo said the ad would be visible.
buyers and i knew the market. a coop burdened with an additional 6 % could not compete. sure each building, street, unit is unique. but, units in lines in a building are comparable, and one can easily adjust for higher floor or renovation. some one who has looked, can see my $500,000 is better than another $500,000 unit and as good as the best $515,000 unit they saw. i saw units in newspaper listed by owner and broker - where i could do better with owner directly.
i bought one as an insider and 17 years later sold for six times as much.
i bought one and six years later (12 -13 years ago) sold for twice as much. true it quickly went up fourfold from there but now has lost half of that. |
