When most people move apartments they imagine something bigger and better, unfortunately that’s not always the case. Sometimes apartment moves are a result of a split with a partner, career demotion, or some other less-than-ideal reason, that represents a personal setback.
Mirador Real Estate’s Health and Wellness Consultant Dr. Lynn Saladino spoke to the Brick Underground about ways to transition to a new not-so-perfect place. She said, “a lot of times it feels like this new place will represent the lifestyle you’ll have for the rest of your life, but it’s important to remember this is a for a year or two,” says Saladino, “Put a time limit on how long it’s going to be, and realize you can revisit it next year.” To read all of Lynn’s tips, check out the full article here.
Mirador’s Dr. Lynn Saladino Featured in Brick Underground on Splitting Expenses When Moving in with a Partner Who Owns Their Own Apartment
Moving in with a partner is often an exciting time, however, when moving in with someone that owns their own apartment, the question often asked is whether or not the partner should pay towards the mortgage like they would pay for rent. While this may seem like a good idea in the beginning, if the relationship goes south, the person moving out may feel like they are entitled to some of part of the equity invested in the apartment. Many couples are looking at alternative ways to make the living expenses equal without having to pay into the other person’s mortgage.
Mirador Real Estate’s Health and Wellness Consultant Dr. Lynn Saladino spoke to the Brick Underground, and gave her professional advice for couples looking to move in together. “….The key is finding a balance that makes sense for both of your budgets, and feels fair to everyone involved,” says, Saladino. “Don’t assume anything…it’s really important to lay this stuff out clearly in the beginning so that it feels fair. If it bothers you in the beginning it will bother you every month when you’re paying bills.” To read more about what to discuss when moving in with a partner, and hear more from Dr. Saladino, check out the full article here.
Mirador’s Neeta Mulgaokar Featured in Observer on How Ride Share Apps are Changing Real Estate in NYC
Being on a subway line was once the top priority for those searching for housing in NYC, however, as rideshare apps are becoming more popular, many resident’s apartment preferences are shifting. People are giving up the convenience of being near public transportation in exchange for larger, less expensive apartments thanks to the convenience and low-cost of using ride sharing apps like Uber, Lyft, and more.
The Observer spoke to Mirador Real Estate Agent, Neeta Mulgaokar, about the new ways New Yorkers are moving around the city, “Ride apps are tying historically far-flung New York neighborhood more tightly to the city’s core and leading some customers to give them a harder look,” she says. “They’ve changed what the word ‘central’ means.” To read more about what Neeta has to say, check out the full article here.
Mirador’s Jeffrey Hannon Featured in Brick Underground on Fireplaces in NYC
The idea of cozying up next to a crackling fire conjures up the feeling of warm, happy memories; but in the city that never sleeps a fireplace quickly loses its romantic appeal when tenants are faced with maintenance costs and the actual task of finding a fireplace, something that is becoming harder to find after a 2014 measure was passed banning all new construction of woodburning fireplaces.
In order to find out more on woodburning fireplaces, and where to look for them, The Brick Underground spoke to Mirador Real Estate agent Jeffrey Hannon. In the article he discusses the best places to find woodburning fireplaces, the appeal for tenants to have a fireplace in the City, and how landlords and coops approach existing fireplaces. To read more about what Jeffrey has to say, check out the full article here.
Mirador Development Marketing Announces Partnership with Highgrove
The newest division of Mirador Real Estate, Mirador Development Marketing, is excited to announce its partnership with luxury rental development, Highgrove. A project located in Stamford, Connecticut. Mirador’s marketing plan will give the property more exposure through digital marketing, social media targeting, and other advertising platforms.
Karla Saladino, Mirador Managing Partner, says, “We are asked to apply our unique marketing initiatives (we have over 150 of them) to projects all over the world, but Highgrove was the first that compelled us to pre-launch our marketing division ahead of the originally planned Q2, 2017 schedule to service it.” To learn more about the partnership and Highgrove, check out the full article here.
Mirador’s Daniel Itingen Discusses Guarantors in Brick Underground
In a city where the price to rent is known for being high, many renters use guarantors to qualify for their apartments. Renters are usually required to make at least 40 times their monthly rent in income, and if that can’t be done, landlords require a guarantor who makes 80 times the monthly rent to be legally bound to pay.
Brick Underground spoke to Mirador Real Estate’s Daniel Itingen about who renters typically ask to be their guarantors. “Parents are the first people that landlords look for when it comes to guarantors,” Daniel says. “Then it goes down the list to grandparents, uncles, aunts and siblings, etc” To read more about guarantors in New York, read the full article here.
Real Estate Weekly Announces Daniel Itingen as Mirador’s New Leasing Director
The new Leasing Director, Daniel Itingen, is featured in Real Estate Weekly for his new role at Mirador. To learn more about Daniel and his past experience checkout the full article here.
Mirador’s Dr. Lynn Saladino Discusses Serial Mover in the Observer
New York City is a place of movers. People move to it, they move away from it, but what about the people that move all around it? The serial mover, or people that move over and over again all within the span of a few years, is a common characteristic among many New Yorkers. With rising rents, new relationships, broken relationships, expanding families, and more it is no wonder tons of people feel the need to find new homes in and around the City.
The Observer dives deeper into motives behind the serial mover, talking with Mirador Real Estate’s Health and Wellness consultant, Dr. Lynn Saladino. “New apartments often represent a fresh start,” says, Dr. Saladino. “If there is something uncomfortable happening in someone’s life, they likely think a geographic move will help them forget about what was bothering them.” To learn more about serial movers, read the full article here.
Mirador Hires New Leasing Director, Daniel Itingen
Mirador is excited to announce the newest addition to the leadership team, Daniel Itingen. Daniel began earlier this month as Mirador’s new Leasing Director, and with more than 11 years of real estate experience, is eager to work at the rapidly growing Mirador. To learn more about Daniel, read the full release here.
Mirador’s Neeta Mulgaokar featured in The Real Deal: Shifting Power in NYC Real Estate Market
With apartment and condos on the rise, and buyers and renters in New York City in decline, more and more developers and landlords are offering incentives to prospective clients. This is flipping the real estate market in rare favor of the buyers/renters.
Certain factors are playing key points in the market shift including surging supply, an absorption slowdown, incentives influx, price reduction, and the pursual of brokers. The Real Deal spoke to Mirador Real Estate Agent Neeta Mulgaokar about buyer/renter incentives saying, “the incentives are making and breaking deals when people are comparing apples to apples.” For more information on the factors influencing the changing real estate market in New York City, read the full article here.
Mirador Commissions Artist Zimer to Create Custom Murals for Exclusive Rental Buildings 55 and 57 Spring Street
Mirador Real Estate has commissioned street artist Zimer in partnership with 212 Arts to create a series of ten mini murals for the hallways of its exclusive rental buildings at 55 and 57 Spring Street. This collaboration is the first initiative as a part of Mirador’s new marketing division. To read the full press release please click here.
Mirador’s Jessica Milton Featured in the Observer: Rapid Aging of In-Home Tech
With technology and home innovation accelerating at hyper-speed, the New York City real estate market is straddling a difficult line of adhering to technology trends while remaining timeless. Something that has proved challenging as once cool iPod docks and other dated technologies remain in homes long past their “cool” date.
The Observer spoke to Mirador Real Estate agent Jessica Milton about how some of these older technologies prove useful for buyers looking for specific needs. She recalls how a dumbwaiter featured in an older apartment was passed over by 90 percent of potential clients, but for her final buyers was seen as an amazing benefit. One that improved their lives by helping them easily move things between their residential space and in-home office. For more information about aging technology in the market and how New York City real estate is adapting, read the full article here.
Mirador’s Jeffrey Hannon Featured in the Observer: East Harlem Development
With thousands of listings across New York City, Mirador Real Estate’s agents have robust knowledge in the city’s various neighborhoods, including East Harlem, which The Observer recently identified as an area primed for development.
In order to find out why the neighborhood remains relatively inexpensive despite dramatic price increases elsewhere, The Observer spoke with Mirador Real Estate agent Jeffrey Hannon. He notes that East Harlem has a historical disconnect with the Upper East Side, and that its town homes are not as well refurbished. Nonetheless, he predicts “a lot of development” in the future due to the neighborhood’s prices and location. Read the full article here.
The Real Deal Checks in With Mirador’s Managing Partner Karla Saladino on the Over Saturation of New Development in Manhattan’s Condo Market
Karla Saladino on the Current Manhattan Market
The Real Deal reportsthat the mid- and high-level Manhattan real estate markets – those units priced $5 million and above – are becoming increasingly favorable to buyers. The price-per-foot has actually lowered for properties $10 million and up, and there are signs the decreasing prices will reach the mid-level market. On the other hand, prices for entry level units – those $2 million or less – remain high, with buyers still likely to pay more than the asking price.
To discover the reasons for these opposite trends, The Real Deal spoke with Mirador Real Estate’s managing director, Karla Saladino:
Overall, the median sale price in Manhattan was $1.1 million during the second quarter, up about 13 percent year-over-year from $980,000, according to real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
Karla Saladino, managing partner of Mirador Real Estate, said that jump was a byproduct of an oversupply of new development units across most price points — with the exception of the entry level.
“You can’t dump thousands of units onto a marketplace in a three-year period and not expect the market to correct or flatten out because of it,” she said.
Saladino also noted that some buyers who can afford apartments in the $5- to $10-million range simply don’t want to be saddled with such a large asset. As a result, they trade a tax deduction for flexibility and rent an apartment for $10,000 to $15,000 a month instead. “Young entrepreneurs value freedom of everything. So purchasing a home and leveraging yourself doesn’t appeal to them,” she said.
Mirador’s Resident Appraiser and Salesperson Eydie Saleh in The Real Deal on Brooklyn Rental Trends
Brooklyn Trends
Mirador Real Estate’s Eydie Saleh makes predictions for the Brooklyn market in The Real Deal‘s October issue. The magazine’s Residential Scorecard reports that several neighborhoods have seen decreases in year-over-year median rent for the past two months. In other words, rents were lower in July 2016 than they were in July 2015, and the same was true for August. Eydie predicts landlords won’t continue to lower rents, but they will make other concessions to renters:
Mirador Real Estate broker Eydie Saleh said concessions and financial sweeteners that landlords will likely start throwing in may not be reflected in bottom-line rental prices. But she said renters should expect to be relieved from the money they burn on agents’ fees.
“There will be an increase of landlords paying my fee,” Saleh said.
The issue is now available on newsstands, but you can read the Residential Scorecard online here.
Mirador’s Chad Thomas on Contract Contingencies in the NYC Market for Brick Underground
Contingency Plan
In real estate, a contingent offer (also known as a contingency) is a purchase offer in which certain conditions must be met for the deal to go through. For example, if a buyer wants to purchase a house but has to sell her own apartment first, she can make a contingent offer to the seller, asking the seller to take the house off the market until she raises the necessary funds. If she doesn’t meet a given deadline, the deal can be canceled, and she may even face agreed upon penalties.
Contingent offers are relatively rare in a seller’s market, but Brick Underground reports they are becoming increasingly common in New York as the market slows down: “Contingent offers haven’t been seen much lately, given how hot the market has been—sellers could always find other takers—but some attorneys and agents report that they’ve been making their way back into the fray, signaling what could be a rebalancing in the market.”
To find out what forms contingent offers can take, Brick Underground spoke with Mirador Real Estate’s Chad Thomas, who explained how sellers can protect themselves from buyers who can’t hold up their end of the agreement:
One solution? A reasonable monetary compensation, say a promise to cover what’s called the carrying costs of a property—maintenance and utilities, for instance—for each month the seller has to wait for the buyer to make good on the sale. (The agreed-upon compensation doesn’t have to be tied to carrying costs, of course, but it’s a good place to start.)
“If the buyer is strong, and their contingency is specific to an appraisal or an amount, then the seller’s risk can be mitigated and they can probably move forward (obviously after agreeing on all the other basic terms),” says Chad Thomas of Mirador Real Estate.
Chad also offers advice for buyers who seek a mortgage consistency, in which either party may cancel the sale if the buyer is unable to secure a mortgage:
From the buyers’ perspective, Thomas suggests those who are risk-averse and want mortgage consistencies to offer to forfeit a portion of the contract deposit—as opposed to the entire amount—”if it’s a highly desirable property or a competitive buying environment.” This way, there’s some skin in the game, so to speak. “It’s a way of showing the seller that they’re willing to do everything possible to close,” explains Thomas.
Mirador Real Estate Announces the Opening of its Newest Office
Mirador Real Estate is proud to announce the opening of our newest office location, the fifth since our first opened just three years ago. The new office is located at 16 East 12th Street in Manhattan and will specialize in sales. Its 1900 sq. ft. bi-level space was gut renovated and completely re-imagined by our in-house interior designer, Logan Yost, who created an open, energetic, and vibrant forum that includes a lounge area and wet bar.
Karla Saladino, co-founder of Mirador Real Estate, explains, “Because we had a demand for more seller side representation, we decided to roll out an environment where we can cater to our sellers and buyers. We had explosive growth these last two years, but I held back on taking on many larger sale side rep projects until we were ready. We are now excited about going full-steam ahead in the sales arena.”
Read the full-length announcement at citybizlist.
Mirador Cited in Nestio’s Observer Interview on Empathy and Building a Business
One of the tools we are proud to use is Nestio, a cloud-based software platform that helps us manage our listings so we can connect renters with open apartments more quickly and efficiently. Mirador Real Estate was one of the first clients of Nestio, adopting it in its earliest stages and providing feedback to the developers as they continued to refine it. Nestio founder Caren Maio describes this development process in an article about empathy and its importance to building and growing any business. Empathy is a cornerstone of our own organization, and we couldn’t agree with her more.
Caren Maio: “It’s all well and good to solve people’s problems. But businesses also exist to make money. What I’ve found most eye-opening of all, however, is how often these two things go hand-in-hand. Care for customers, first and foremost, and growth and profit follow. Partly this is human nature. When you’re constantly talking with your customers and gathering feedback, you’re also cultivating rapport and confidence. This builds the kind of deep relationships that endure even when things don’t go exactly as planned. At the highest level, empathy actually reciprocates empathy. Your customers become your champions: rooting for you as your product evolves and improves.
An example: One of my earliest customers was Mirador Real Estate, a prominent residential brokerage in New York. Their managing partner, Karla Saladino, offered some of the most incisive and honest feedback about our initial iterations. Today, she’s a good friend and also one of our fiercest advocates. I’ve seen this sense of ownership from customers time and time again. They happily refer us to other clients, help us with promo videos and even do reference calls. Without empathy, it’s hard to imagine this kind of dynamic.”
Read the rest of the article here.
Mirador’s Managing Partner Karla Saladino featured in this week’s Observer
Our Founder and Managing Partner Karla Saladino Weighs In on Current Rental Market Costs
The Observer recently asked Mirador Real Estate’s managing partner, Karla Saladino, for her expertise, quoting her about the recent decrease in average Manhattan rents. Many landlords, rather than lower rents, are offering more incentives to entice people to sign. Karla explains that in newer buildings, these incentives are offered not to bring in more rent money, but to bolster rent rolls and fulfill promises made to investors:
Karla Saladino, managing partner with Mirador Real Estate, suggested, however, that outside of a few neighborhoods like Midtown West and Long Island City that have seen a surge of inventory in recent years, landlords are more often using incentives less out of strict necessity than a desire to goose their buildings’ values.
“We are seeing more concessions because the landlords want to hit certain rent rolls, and the secret is out that you can do that with concessions,” she said.
Established landlords with high levels of equity in their building will often cut prices instead of offer incentives, Saladino noted. On the other hand, she said, “In new developments a lot of times [owners] were promising investors certain [rent] levels, so they will incentivize sort of non-stop.”
But wait, who do they think they’re fooling? Surely an investor can do the math and figure out that 12 months at $5,000 isn’t actually $60,000 a year if you’re giving away a month free, right?
“That’s not always disclosed,” Saladino said. “I’ve seen marketing contracts that put incentives into the marketing costs, and sometimes investors look at the marketing costs and don’t realize that’s in there.”
Read the rest of the article here.
Mirador’s Wellness Guru Dr. Lynn Saladino featured in this week’s Brick Underground
Mirador’s Sought-After Wellness Consultant, Dr. Saladino Sheds Some Much Needed Light onto How to Successfully Select Prospective Roommates
Mirador Real Estate believes in doing more than just placing people into apartments. We make sure our clients are in their best possible living situation, one that meets their unique needs and requirements. To that end, we employ a health and wellness consultant, Dr. Lynn Saladino, who is able to advise our staff and clients, helping them find ways to improve their physical and emotional well-being. An example of Lynn’s practical advice appears in this recent Brick Underground article about finding the ideal roommate in New York City.
“Be clear yourself as to what it is your looking for—do you want a friend, or just a roommate?” advises Lynn Saladino, a health and wellness consultant for Mirador Real Estate. “And if you’re reading someone else’s ad, try to get a feeling for what the person is looking for; whether they seem friendly in the ad, whether you would have written it in a similar way.” This is also a time to take note of potential communication skills, and whether they’re clear, timely, and respectful in their responses. “If the communication isn’t good at this point, it won’t be when you actually move in, either,” says Saladino.
Lynn’s expert advice continues:
“It’s also wise to float a few questions about their prior roommate experiences,” says Saladino. “Did they have a long-term roommate before, and if so, what were the circumstances of their moving out? Or are they constantly rotating through people,” she says. “It sounds cliche, but the best predictor of future behavior is previous behavior, so if you can get an idea of what has happened before, that helps.” And if they unleash a tirade about their terrible former roomie, that’s not such a great sign. (“There’s a respectful way to say ‘we didn’t get along,’ and then there are really nasty ways of doing that,” Saladino notes.)