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Nothing Happened

By Jim Winters

Park Slope, Corner of Carroll St and 7th Ave.

Police get ready to leave after it was determined that the corner of Carroll and 7th Avenue was safe for pedestrians.

Strange happenings on Carroll Street between 7th and 8th Avenues today.  First, residents woke up to their block lined with orange traffic cones.  People were told by two thugs, with NBC employee badges, that the NBC Muppet Christmas special, Letters to Santa, had reserved the area and that anyone parking their car on Carroll Street between 7th and 8th Avenues would be towed. When a resident pointed out to them that signs posted on the block, by the Mayor’s Office for Film, Theater, and Broadcasting, clearly stated that parking was to be restricted only on Wednesday, September 10th, he was told that, “the time for talking was over.”

Later, at around 4PM, the police received a call of a suspicious package on the corner of Carroll and 7th Ave.  Several patrol cars arrived and blocked traffic for approximately 40 minutes until it was determined that the black bag left on the corner posed no threat.

Neither NBC nor any of the Muppets could be reached for comment.

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I work for you (but I don’t work for you)

By Jim Winters

Let’s get something straight - you and me. I work for you. I am contractually obligated and have a fiduciary responsibility to you. Just you. I promise to always have your best interest at heart. I am your agent and you are my client. This is even true if I don’t like you (rarely) or you don’t like me (occasionally). I take our relationship very seriously and I always explain it carefully so you will too. What you tell me in confidence always stays between us - you and me. If you tell me you will accept less than the asking price or that, for some reason, you need to sell your home immediately - that stays between us - you and me. Anything you tell me that would reveal your negotiating position is just between you and me. These things are never revealed to the other side - the other you - the you who I am about to address.

Now as for you. I don’t work for you. I work with you. You are not my client, you are my customer. We have no contractual agreement and my only obligation to you is to treat you fairly and honestly. I take this particular obligation very seriously, and always fulfill my end of the bargain. I usually like you, and we often get along swimmingly and you can trust me. However, none of that changes that I don’t work for you. So, please don’t ask me if the owner is negotiable, or what can you get this place for. Those questions are all going to get you the same answer. The answer is that I work for the seller, and I take that obligation very seriously, and because of that I’m not going to answer those questions. However, if you

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Pre-Qualify Yourself

By Jim Winters

By far the most effective strategy for moving a sale from accepted offer to contract is to be prepared - a.k.a do your homework, a.k.a have all your ducks in a row - or as we are calling it here: pre-qualify yourself.

What does it take? Being pre-qualified means that you have an understanding of your financial affairs, your papers are organized in such a way that you could sign a contract within a week (if you had to), and you have identified your real estate team. Specifically,

  1. and most importantly, hire a lawyer. If you are a buyer you need to do this before you begin shopping for a home. If you are the seller you need to do this before you put your property on the market. For more on this see What Happens Now?
  2. You have made, or accepted, the offer in writing. This is not a binding contract; this is just the offer, in writing, to cut down on the ambiguity. Why in writing? Here are some things that I have actually heard people say - “that’s not what I offered;” “I only said 10% down;” and “no, I meant $559K, not $595K.” If you are the seller, you should have a pre-printed Offer to Purchase Form ready to be filled out. If you are the buyer, you should have your own Offer to Purchase Form, in case the seller doesn’t have one. At a minimum you should fax or e-mail the other party the following information: your contact information; the offer amount; the amount of down payment; where the down payment is coming from? (i.e. is it coming from the buyers’ savings or are they borrowing it); and any contingencies (i.e. the buyers need to sell their own property/home in order to purchase the one at issue).
  3. If you are a buyer, you
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Hi, my name is Jim, I Live in Park Slope, and I Own a Car

By Jim Winters

Three years ago, when my wife and I began dating, she would slog her brother’s pickup from Red Hook, where she lived, to Park Slope, where I lived, because her 100 pound Shepherd/Rotti mix was not permitted on the B61. Then, only two months into the relationship, long before I ever said, “I love you,” and while she was still a relatively poor law student, she bought the 1994 Honda Civic that we still have today. The car cost $2500. How she knew that I, at that stage of our relationship, a 43 year old confirmed bachelor, warranted such expenditure, is a testament to just how fantastic she is, how fortunate I am, and a post for another day. For today, the point is I own a car and I live in Park Slope.

(For those who don’t know, let me premise the following by saying that Park Slope and cars — or more specifically Park Slope and parking — go together as well as Rosie and The Donald. The neighborhood is nicknamed No-Park Slope. Google, Parking “Park Slope” and you’ll get no less than 284,000 hits.)

I use the car almost exclusively for work these days. My job entails a lot of driving and a lot of parking: metered parking, alternate side of the street parking, running into the office to get a set of apartment keys double parking, waiting in front of a fire hydrant to pick up the photographer parking, not knowing you left the car in front of a church or private school parking, coming back to your spot, finding your car missing, thinking it was stolen and finding out it was f$%#ing towed parking, amongst other categories of parking. Since the acquisition of the Honda, I have contributed inordinately to the city’s coffers - over $3,000 inordinately that

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Take Five

By Jim Winters
Thinking about real estate in Park Slope Brooklyn

The author demonstrates the Take Five method

People often solicit my opinion about a given neighborhood. “Is it safe?”,they ask. “How is the area? What are the locals like?”, etcetera, etcetera,… I flat out try to evade these questions and I have my reasons. For one, I’m very fond of the neighborhoods I work in and don’t feel capable of answering objectively (It would be like bad-mouthing a family member to an outsider). For two, other than the number of times I’ve been fleeced by the Department of Finance (see How to Park It), I don’t worry all that much about crime in my neck of the woods. And three, the locals question? I don’t even want to know what people are getting at there. So I don’t answer any of these questions. But this is what I do say. I say, “because everyone has a different comfort level when it comes to these things, you need to explore the neighborhood yourself. That means more than just a cursory look. You need to take five extra minutes with some of the residents and get to know them. Doesn’t matter how you do it, but you need to engage a few locals. Ask for directions or the best place to get coffee. Say good morning or good afternoon. Whatever it is, just talk to people. If you do this, I guarantee, that if you really do this, you will see the neighborhood and you will see the entire city of NY in a very different light.”

I can hear the collective moan coming over the big T1 line in the blogosphere. You are out of your mind Jim. This is New York City! You can’t just talk to people on the street. You’ll scare them, or they’ll be suspicious, or they’ll get mad. My experience has taught

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