Featuring real estate articles and information to help real estate buyers and sellers. The Nest features writings from Georges Benoliel and other real estate professionals. Georges is the Co-Founder of NestApple and has been working as an active real estate investor for over a decade.
Nicole Fishman Benoliel co-founded NestApple in 2017. She's a lawyer admitted to the New York bar - her law degree is from La Escuela Libre de Derecho in Costa Rica, with further study at IE Business School in Madrid and an LLM from Fordham in New York. She does not act in a legal capacity at NestApple; every client is referred to an attorney who handles real estate deals full time.
In an era where 65% of Americans are homeowners, understanding the value of your property has never been more essential. It’s more than just a number; it’s a crucial component of your financial well-being. So, where does one begin to figure… Read More
The NAR settlement is the 2024 agreement that ended a nationwide antitrust fight over real estate commissions. The National Association of Realtors paid $418 million and changed two practices, effective August 17, 2024: buyer-agent pay can no longer be advertised… Read More
House hunting in NYC works best when you narrow the search fast: pick two or three neighborhoods, set StreetEasy alerts, and judge the building before the apartment. At every showing, read the financials and the board minutes, and treat the… Read More
A guarantor in NYC is a person or company that agrees to pay your rent if you can’t. A personal guarantor typically needs annual income around 80 times the monthly rent, double the 40x a tenant needs, plus strong credit.… Read More
The real estate agent commission in NJ averages about 5.2% of the sale price, split between the listing and buyer sides. The seller pays it. No rate is set by law, so it’s negotiable, and a New Jersey buyer can… Read More
To get pre-approved for a mortgage, give a lender your last 30 days of pay stubs, two months of bank statements, two years of W-2s and tax returns, and let them run a hard credit check. You get a letter,… Read More
On most home sales, the seller pays the buyer’s agent commission out of the sale price. That did not change with the 2024 rules. What has changed is that the seller now offers it directly in writing, rather than through… Read More
Chicago is one of America’s most vital cultural and economic centers, and it’s also had a genuinely historic run of falling crime in the last two years — a fact that hasn’t caught up with most “dangerous neighborhoods” content still… Read More
Co-broking is when the broker who listed a home and a separate broker representing the buyer cooperate on the deal and split the commission the seller pays. It’s how most NYC resales get done. Since January 1, 2024, the seller… Read More
This post will teach you how to execute a 1031 exchange in N.Y. A 1031 exchange, also known as a “Like-Kind” exchange or a “Starker exchange,“ is a formidable tax-deferred strategy that savvy real estate investors use in real estate… Read More
Rent vs buy in NYC comes down to two numbers: how many years you’ll stay and the price-to-rent ratio in your neighborhood. Buying carries 4% to 6% in round-trip transaction costs, so in about 5 years, renting usually wins. Over… Read More
A classic six is a prewar apartment with six rooms: living room, formal dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and a former staff room off the kitchen. Six rooms, not six bedrooms. That sixth room runs around 72 square feet, and… Read More
A mother daughter house is a single-family home with a second kitchen in it, occupied by the owner’s parents or children, and it needs a permit. The Town of Hempstead has defined it in writing since 1973. It isn’t a… Read More
A buyer agency agreement is the contract that hires a real estate agent to represent you as a buyer. It states the agent’s fee, how long it runs, and what area it covers. Since August 17, 2024, a licensed agent… Read More
Elevating your New York home with luxurious customization has never been more aligned with modern trends. In 2024, the luxury home market in New York City is seeing a surge in demand for personalized and high-tech living spaces. Homeowners are… Read More
