Broker fees begone not yet

NY Post

An Albany judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order halting the Empire State’s new lightning-rod rule that renters can no longer be charged broker’s fees.

The ruling by Justice Michael Mackey came after the influential Real Estate Board of New York and other industry honchos, including big-name brokerages like the The Corcoran Group and Sotheby’s Realty, filed a lawsuit against the Department of State on Monday.

The temporary ban means brokers can, for now, continue collecting hefty commissions from tenants when they rent a residence.

REBNY and the New York State Association of Realtors declared in a statement that it also means “that thousands of hardworking, honest real estate agents across New York State can do business in the same way they did prior to last week’s DOS memo without fear of discipline by the DOS.”

Broker fees begone!

 
NY Post

Tenants will no longer be forced to pay a broker’s fee when renting an apartment in New York City, a report said Wednesday.

The ruling — which was made on Friday and went into effect Wednesday — came as a welcome reprieve for city residents who have been forced to plunk down broker costs in addition to a security deposit and first month’s rent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

New York is one of a few cities in the US where residents are charged a fee to rent an apartment. The move is the latest push to create more favorable rules for tenants.

The apartment listing site StreetEasy said about 45 percent of New York City rental listings last year included a broker’s fee.

Renters may still, however, choose to hire a broker to help them rent an apartment and then pay a fee.

Landlord groups said the change would force them to raise rents on their apartments.

Disgraced, steroid using retired baseball player becomes a New York City real estate magnate

NY Post


Yankee legend Alex Rodriguez is continuing his apartment buying spree in New York City — just not with Barbara Corcoran.


Earlier this month, The Post exclusively reported that the retired third baseman had teamed up with the “Shark Tank” judge to buy a 21-unit rental building in the East Village — the first of what was billed by Corcoran as an ongoing partnership to buy multifamily buildings across the city.


Since then, however, the slugger’s A-Rod Corp. has teamed up with real estate investor and operator 
Ofer Yardeni of Stonehenge NYC and brokerage guru Adam Modlin of the Modlin Group in what they say is an exclusive as-yet-to-be-named venture to root out and purchase all sizes of apartment buildings and bulk condominium units in the Big Apple.
 
Corcoran says she and Rodriguez have already discussed his new venture — and that she’s fine with the pivot.


“They buy big stuff, and I’m a private investor and find scrappy stuff,” Corcoran explained.
As to whether or not Rodriguez continues to invest with her, she adds, “I hope so, because he’s a great partner.”


A-Rod also suggested he made the switch because he wanted to go bigger.


“I have always had the ambition of owning rental apartments in New York,” Rodriguez said in a statement.


“Over the years opportunities arose to do so — however, I was hesitant until I could team up with a local partner in New York with a proven track record for managing through the highly regulated environment,” the former Yankee said.


“After several one-on-one meetings with Ofer Yardeni … I concluded that Stonehenge NYC was the perfect partner for me,” Rodriguez said.

 What is this "big stuff" and "scrappy stuff" Miss Corcoran is referring to? Kind of juvenile descriptions for properties worth 7, 8 and even 9 digits.

State protecting shady real estate brokers

From The Real Deal:

Like many New Yorkers who have had bad experiences with real estate agents, Tanya Mejia took to Yelp in September 2014 to give brokerage Chrome Residential a one-star review. “Not only are these guys unprofessional, but they are crooks,” she wrote. “Do yourself a favor and stay clear of this company.”

To retrieve a $2,000 security deposit from her broker, she then went to Small Claims Court and obtained a judgment against Chrome, which the broker refused to pay unless she removed her Yelp review, according to a New York Department of State investigation. Mejia then filed a consumer complaint with the DOS, and finally, more than two years after the initial incident, an administrative law judge revoked the real estate broker’s license in September 2016.

But as far as the state’s public database of licensing decisions is concerned, this never happened. A search for the agent’s name (“Jacob Benchlouch”) only turns up two duplicate files for an earlier dismissed complaint, omitting any record that he was sanctioned for “engaging in deceptive acts and practices.” (Benchlouch could not be reached for comment and Chrome Residential is no longer in operation.)

To protect the interests of New York’s consumers, the DOS’ Division of Licensing Services regulates a number of professions, including real estate brokers and salespersons, by handing down fines, suspensions and revoking licenses as it deems necessary. But because the agency uses rudimentary public disclosure tools that are difficult to navigate and often incomplete, it is difficult for consumers to identify sanctioned brokers, leaving open the possibility that they will harm another consumer.

Apartment denied, deposit pilfered

From PIX11:

Demaris Morales and her mom Delia need help getting a new apartment in Queens. Why? Because they gave a $6,600 deposit to a broker they knew as “William” at Britati Realty in Woodhaven.

Demaris and her mom are Section 8 tenants. They’re housing is assisted by the federal government. But they told us “William” never permitted the Section 8 inspector to check out the Jamaica apartment they wanted. And next thing they knew, another tenant was in there.

So, of course, “William” gave them their money back, right?

Of course not. If he did the right thing I wouldn’t be involved.

Oh, and by the way, it appears “William” may actually be Anthony Ferrerosa. He’s used both names. In 2013, The NYC Commission on Human Rights found “William” and “Anthony” were the same person. And fined Ferrerosa $7,500 for discriminating against tenants with subsidies or vouchers.

Anyway, when we went over to his office, “William” wasn’t very happy to see us. First, he said there was a paper the ladies had signed that seemed to suggest he was off the hook. No such paper exists. And then he bolted out the door and then just walked away.