Today’s post is about the biggest proposed change that DIDN’T end up in the final bill: “good cause eviction,” or, as some people are calling it, “universal rent control.” Good cause eviction would have forced a landlord to show “good cause” when choosing not to renew a lease, meaning the tenant would be entitled to an annual renewal.
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Potential Rent Reform Upsides
Landlords aside, for those of us who work as brokers/realtors/agents there are some downsides and there will be some growing pains, but whining isn’t really my thing (jk jk). Since I’ve already covered what I don’t like, here are some potential upsides for real estate agents that the industry isn’t discussing, because it doesn’t mesh with their “boo hoo, the world is ending” storyline.
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Housing: Luxury vs. Stabilization
I want to take a step back to talk about what I see as a fundamental disagreement about housing in NYC. On one side we have Julia Salazar who thinks that housing should be completely de-commodified. I vehemently disagree with this. On the other side we have developers and landlords and the “industry” who think that everything becoming increasingly luxury is the end goal. I disagree with this just as strongly.
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What They Got Wrong in Albany
I’ve written about what the law actually says and how annoyed I am with the hyperbolic reactions to it, but today I want to dig into the things I think they did WRONG in this bill. Because while I am staunchly pro-tenant when it comes to slumlords who take advantage, there are elements of this law that will unfairly burden responsible landlords.
Read MoreWhat ACTUALLY Passed in Albany?
I’m still a little annoyed by the endless headlines about how bad this deal is for the industry, and a lot of what I’d call clickbait, propaganda, and whining around it, but I want to break down what ACTUALLY happened, because facts > feelings. And there’s a lot of info that is relevant to you, the NY renter.
Read MoreMeta Monday: "The Real Estate Industry" vs. Reform
Everyone within the real estate industry is entitled to his or her opinion. And I know that my opinion is biased. I also know that many spokespeople from the real estate industry are biased because they have never lived in a rent stabilized apartment and probably have never seen the lived reality of how many major landlords ACTUALLY behave.
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This post is relevant FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA.
New York Values #47 - Zillow/StreetEasy/Trulia/RealEstate.com
In NYC Zillow goes by a different name: StreetEasy. StreetEasy originally started to make the rental process more transparent, but after being purchased by Zillow really went the opposite direction and began intentionally misleading consumers.
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What Happens After You Accept an Offer?
Once you accept an offer, a few steps that need to be completed by different people, which is why it is so, so important that you get a competent team together to help you with your transaction. It’s another reason why you may be able to do a For Sale By Owner in other parts of the US, but it’s not a good idea in the city.
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New York Values #46 - Central Park
Today, in the spirit of Earth Day, here’s a post about how being close to Manhattan’s biggest, greenest space increases your property value. Just another reason Donald Trump is bad both at real estate and at being president: if you hate the environment/nature so much why are so many of your buildings on the park?
Read MoreGuest Post - Could Smart Home Technology Help Sell Your House?
This guest post was written by Suzie Wilson of Happier Home, who knows far more about this topic than I do, and I recommend you all check out her site. I thought it fit in well with seller’s month (because it’s about adding value to your home) and also Earth Day, because smarter homes are often more energy efficient homes.
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