Jerome Strelov Esq.

One has to think that the old adage “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” was designed specifically for the executor whose job it is to gather up and distribute the assets of the decedent while paying off any claims and juggling the bent out-of-shape beneficiaries who feel that they somehow and someway have been shortchanged. Continue reading »

Contracts for the purchase or sale of real property in New York invariably include a provision that requires the seller to deliver a so-called “FIRPTA” affidavit to the purchaser at closing.  Often times, the parties are not familiar with the requirements surrounding the FIRPTA affidavit.  However, in today’s market, with the ever growing presence of foreign real estate investors and developers, it is imperative that real estate buyers and sellers understand the implications of the FIRPTA requirements. Continue reading »

First things first.  When selling real estate (be it an apartment house, office building, townhouse or a co-operative or condominium apartment) Sellers should enter into a written agreement with their Broker setting forth their understanding.  The agreement should be fair and reasonable for BOTH sides.  Selling real estate is a collaborative effort and the agreement between the Sellers and their Broker should keep both sides eager to work together and ensure that neither feels they have been or will be treated unfairly. Continue reading »

By now almost everyone is familiar with the transfer taxes imposed by the City and the State on sales of real property or co-operative apartments.  However, not everyone knows that non-residents must also pay a tax on their gain at the time of closing.  This can lead to a delay in the closing by unaware sellers. Continue reading »

 A simple way to check if you might be sleeping with bedbugs in the apartment you’re thinking of buying is to check the bedbug registry.

At first, the site is tricky since for some addresses it requires “East” or “West” and for others you need to use “E” or “W” instead. Further, for NYC, you need to go to the City Maps section, click on New York and then insert the address.This is a site where people can post reports of bedbug sightings and what happened. The site also allow for disputes to be posted. As of December 27, 2011, there were 4,490 postings in New York City.

So you have to tool around a bit to find the building you are searching.

However, once you get beyond the oddities of the address searching, the site is quite informative. For example, a recent search revealed that a building had a full blown thermal remediation in April only to find several reports of bedbugs again a month later. The site also provides a terrifying little map which shows bedbug sightings in the neighborhood you are searching. Mercifully, if the building you are searching has no reports, it will advise you that there are no bedbug sightings posted. Continue reading »

The Rent-To-Own concept is getting a fair amount of play these days. At first, a rent to own situation sounds like a no brainer and in many cases it is a good idea. For example, a buyer might need a few months to raise some funds or a foreign buyer might need some time to establish credit in the U.S.  But, unfortunately, as in many legal situations, the devil is in the details and most of the risks are on the seller. Here are some things to watch out for in structuring these deals: Continue reading »