Tag: NYC rent hikes

Tips for New York Home Appraisal

If you are looking to buy a new home or just refinance your current mortgage, your lender will want to schedule an appraisal. This objective assessment helps to determine what your home is worth. Something that ranks high to all lenders is the consideration of collateral on their loan. Whether you are buying or selling, it will help you get a feel for how appraisals work. Here’s how you can prepare for your NYC home appraisal

What’s Involved? 

So what should you expect if you have someone come to your home to appraise it? An appraiser’s job is very similar to a home inspector’s position, with some tiny differences. Items that range from big to small will be taken into account by your appraiser, so that geometric mural that you did during the lockdown may need to go. 

Things That Go Into a Home Appraisal

While your potential buyer may love your place and decide that they are ok with your asking price, all lenders will require you to have your home appraised to determine its value. To help them arrive at an estimate, they will look at the following:

  • Your home’s exterior: The appraiser will look at just about every part of the construction of your home. From the roof to the foundation, walls, and flooring, these will all be the potential cause for the house’s value to decrease if the appraiser finds something wrong.
  • Size: A big part of determining the home’s value is the slot’s size and square foot of the lot. The more rooms and bathrooms that a house has can help to raise the value of the home. Knowing the floor area or FAR of the property will tell you if space has room for extensions, which can be another factor in the value. 
  • Condition: Just like your exterior, the appraiser will go over the inside of your home with a fine-tooth comb. The flooring, kitchen, plumbing, electrical, and lighting are all components that your appraiser will be assessing.
  • Improvements: Your appraiser can also help you determine what might need to be updated to increase your home’s value. Renovating a bathroom or adding an HVAC system can add years of life to the property, which helps increase the value. 

Who Receives the Appraisal Information?

The final verdict will be gathered by your appraiser and at the disposal of who ordered it; this is usually the lender. It is then up to them how the information is distributed, regardless of who paid for it. If the buyer asks for an appraisal, the lender is obligated by law to release that information. Your appraisal is valid for six months, but market prices can change quickly. Many lenders will only consider an appraisal to be valid for about three months. Any changes to the market or the property can drastically alter the value price. 

Non Natives, Do They Affect NYC Rent?

The renters market in NYC fluctuates frequently and in recent years New York City real estate has skyrocketed to new heights. It’s no secret that New York has some of the highest rent in the country. Some may even see New York City as unattainable for living standards. But it wasn’t always the case. The outer boroughs and some parts of Manhattan were once havens for middle and lower class families to live comfortably and still have a familial community feel. Some of the top neighborhoods that thrive as up and coming areas were once tight communities that featured an array of ethnic groups and a myriad of economic enclaves.

Kevin brunnock

For example, Hell’s Kitchen is probably one of the most storied areas affected by a transition of residents and rent hikes. Hell’s Kitchen was once a neighborhood mainly inhabited by poor and working class Irish-American immigrants. Instances of this can be seen in movies such as Gangs of New York and Sleepers. However, with it’s close proximity to the theater district as well as its perfect location in midtown, developers saw this area as a goldmine and the neighborhood started to shift in demographics. But who’s to blame? Just like in now prominent neighborhoods in Brooklyn such as Williamsburg and Park Slope, neighborhoods that were once familial areas for working class families are now seen as luxury neighborhoods with rent that is reserved for the upper class. Gentrification has long been seen as the sole reason to these changes.

According to its definition, gentrification is the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents.That can be seen as true. Who makes up the influx of individuals responsible for gentrification? Many believe this is the cause of young professionals that come from areas outside of the “the city” or five boroughs who are simply looking for cheaper rent. Once in these individuals move into the area, it can be seen as a “potentially desirable” area which can then woo investors and developers.

Gentrification isn’t necessarily a negative thing. It can bring a much needed renewal to a deteriorating neighborhood and new revenue and resources into a community. But what shouldn’t happen is the removal of the culture of said neighborhood. The only thing that’s left of Hell Kitchen is the name with very few remnants of the old neighborhood. As a realtor, I can appreciate the rise in rates, but as a New Yorker, I will always appreciate the old New York that was full of culture and dreams.