Mitchell Feldman's Q&A

Dear Chichitime:The question you ask is very personalized and only you can answer it. It is a matter of personal preference and dependant upon your needs and motivations.Nobody has a crystal ball to predict what will happen in the future. What we do know is that right now prices are low, mortgage rates are low and there are lots of good condos available for sale to look at. This creates an opportunistic time for buyers. If you qualify for the $8,000.00 tax credit that is simply the icing on the cake (keep in mind that your income has to be less than $75,000 for a single individual or less than $150,000 for a married couple in order to qualify for the tax credit.Unless you are planning on selling the condo you buy in less than two years I would not worry about property values. Once our economy kicks back into gear and things get better, real estate values in Brooklyn will bounce back real quick. If you may sell in less than two years then by all means wait.I wouldn't worry about condos that are having financial difficulties nor let that diswade me from buying in ANY area. When your looking at condos you want to get into one where the vast majority of the units are already sold or close to sold out. These condos usually are in good financial health. When looking to buy a condo the most important factor to consider is the financial condition along with making sure that the condo already has their certificate of occupancy and that owners are already living in their respective units. Your attorney will review the condos financial status to make sure you are safe.Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Green are excellent areas where property values in my opinion will always perform well in good markets or bad. If you want to discuss those along with other areas in Brooklyn that may be suitable for you please contact me.My office is located at 53 Douglass Street (right off Smith). We are members of the Real Estate Board of New York as well as the Brooklyn New York Multiple listing Service and have access to literally hundreds of condos in Brooklyn.Sincerely,Mitchell S. FeldmanAssociate Broker/Director of SalesMadison Estates & Properties, Inc.Office: (718) 645-1665Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com Web sites: www.MadisonEstates.com and www.MitchellFeldman.com

Dear Realtor Crazy:If you were really priced right your property would have sold. You should lower your price if you really want to sell. All you need is a week or two on the market to see where you are at. If you are getting lots of showings and lots of offers (even in a down markety this happens if you are priced correctly) then your in good shape. If you are not experiencing that then you are going to need to lower your price.Do not look at comparable homes for sale because although they are indicative of your comptetition, there is no tellling when they will sell or for how much. Before you listed the home I assume you looked at comparable sale info to set the price and that is fine. But the best feedback you get is from the experience you have once your home is listed, marketed and shown.Good Luck!

Dear lilianesaadeh:Your best bet would be to contact a local professional real estate agent and have them come by your home, physically inspect it and give you an estimate of it's value. Usually the agent will also bring you over some recent comparable sale information to help you understand how the agent formulates his or her opinion. Agents do this free of charge and with no obligation. Even if your not thinking of selling right now, agents will still love the opporunity to meet with you because it could always lead to future business for them!You can also get a rough idea from web sites like www.Zillow.com, however, these estimates are computer generated and based on current average square foot prices in your area and do not take into consideration the condition of your home and/or specific desireabilty of your exact location (block). It is not the same as a human being actaully viewing your home and giving an estimate of it's value.If you happen to be located in Brooklyn, New York I can meet with you and help you with the estimate, If you are not located in Brooklyn you can still contact me and I can put you in touch with a great agent in your area (I am a member of a Global relocation network).Good Luck!Sincerely,Mitchell S. FeldmanAssociate Broker/Director of SalesMadison Estates & Properties, Inc.Office: (718) 645-1665Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.comWeb Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com

Dear Maimon:I would not hire an appraiser because you would have to pay them and in the end it is just an opinion. You can have three appriasers look at your home and each will state a different amount and then you would be back to square one.Here is what you should do:1) Go to www.Zillow.com and enter your address, then look at the comparable sales near your home. Only look at the sales that are less than three months old. Drive by those homes and see how they compare to yours in size, condition and location. This will give you valuable insights.2) Go to the web site www.PropertyShark.com and enter your address. Here you will see all the public information about your home along with the tax assessment value, neighborhood demographics and comparable sales in the area. Again, this will provide you with valuable insights.3) Have a licensed real estate broker like me come by your home and give you a comparable market analysis. We would look at your home, show you comparable sale information and give you our opinion of your homes value. There is NO cost or obligation for this service and a professioanl brokers opinio of value is usually much more accurate than an appraiser. This is because we are looking at and selling houses all day long! A professional real estate agent can also give you tips on how to stage your home and get the highest price possible.If I can be of further assistance, please let me know. I would love the opportunity to hlep you!Sincerely,Mitchell S. FeldmanAssociate Broker/Director of SalesMadison Estates & Properties, Inc.Office: (718) 645-1665 Cell: (917) 805-0783Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.comWeb Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com

Assuming you are already registered on Zillow, simply click on the "Homes" tab at the top of Zillow's homepage and when the menu pops down you will see under the "Tools" catagory a clickable link for "Post Home for Sale." Click on that and when the next page opens click on "Owners Start Here" and follow the prompts.If I can be of further assistance please let me know. Good luck!

Your best bet would be to simply contact the listing agent and ask them. Zillow.com usually posts when the listing was placed on their site, so that will also give you an idea.If I can be of further assistance, please let me know. Good luck!

Dear aguy189:First you should speak to your accountant who will give you the exact answer to this question based on how you file your taxes. If you do not have an accountant yet, get one. Basically, when you submit your income taxes you would fill out a "Schedule E" form to file the income of the multi-family property. There is a section on that form regarding how much if any of the property you are using as your primary residence. When you fill out this form it will tell you how much you can claim as a write off and you would carry that amount onto your "Schedule A" form when you do your taxes and get the write-off you are entitled to.If I can be of further assistacne, please contact me.Mitchell FeldmanAssociate BrokerMadison Estates&Properties, Inc.Office: (718) 645-1665Email: MitchellSFeldman@aol.com Web Site: www.MitchellFeldman.com

I must first tell you that this property is in contract at the moment and no longer being shown. With regard to your questions...the heat is a gas powered system with hot water, the basement has a couple of finished rooms, laundry and a toilet, there is also a separate entrance. If you are looking to purchase a home, perhaps I have another listing that may suit your needs. Please contact me if I can be of further assistance.Mitchell Feldman

Go to www.propertyshark.com and do an address search. It is free and it will tell you when the house sold, how much it sold for and who it was sold to. If you need more help, let me know! Sincerely, Mitch at Madison Estates (718) 645-1665

I know many, as a matter of fact, I posed the question, it is directed to other consumers who view this listing!