Archive for July, 2011

Buying Brooklyn Real Estate: What Type of Mortgage is Right for You?

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

What Type of Mortgage is Right For You

You’ve been watching the news, reading real estate blogs and you know this is the perfect time for you to buy a piece of Brooklyn real estate.  You want to do all the right things to get the best deal, and you know one of the first steps is to line up your financing.

To help you pick a mortgage that matches your goals and financial situation, here’s an overview of three of the most popular mortgages available today.

Fixed Rate Mortgage

If you plan on keeping your new Brooklyn real estate for more than 10 years and you don’t expect your income to change, this is probably the loan for you.  Although fixed rate loans charge a bit more interest, the rate will never change.  This provides financial stability and the security of knowing what your monthly mortgage payment will be.  By locking in the current low interest rates, you’ll save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.

ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage)

With the ARM loan, the interest rate is usually very low at the beginning but can increase over time.  If you plan on keeping your Brooklyn real estate for only a few years (up to 7) or you expect your income to increase, then this might be a better choice for you. If you expect your income to increase, an ARM loan can allow you to buy a more expensive home now. The drawback to this type of loan is that you do not know what your mortgage payment is going to be in the future; if the interest rate jumps dramatically, then so does your payment.  A particularly popular ARM is the 5/1 ARM.  The interest rate of a 5/1 ARM is fixed for a period of 5 years.  In the 6th year, the loan becomes a typical Adjustable Rate Mortgage.  So if you plan to own your Brooklyn home for less than 5 years, the 5/1 ARM may be your best choice.

FHA Mortgage

If your credit is a bit shaky, an FHA loan may be a good fit for you.  The qualifying criteria for FHA loans are not as strict as for traditional mortgages.  Also, because these loans are guaranteed by the FHA, lenders often allow you to provide a smaller down payment than they would allow for other types of mortgages.  If you’re in a time crunch, an FHA loan may not be right for you; processing times are typically longer than other types of loans because of the government paperwork involved.

If you have any questions about mortgages or need a referral to a lender, Give me a call Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected], if you just need help deciding the right timing to sell or buy a Brooklyn home

Brooklyn Real Estate Hot Deals of The Week

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Price Adjusted !

Located just a few short blocks from Brooklyn’s

Marine Park and close to transportation,this all brick

legal two family is just waiting for it’s next owner!

Features include!

  • Legal two family home
  • 3 Spacious bedrooms
  • Hardwood floors
  • Front and rear patio’s
  • Private Driveway Garage
  • Spacious rear Yard
  • Walk in apartment one bedroom
  • Eat in Kitchen
  • Full size Family Room
  • Bright Sun Drenched Rooms

For more on this property and others check it out here at www.Brooklynrealestatesales.com

Marine Park, Brooklyn Three Bedroom  Co-op

Price Fixed to $128,800

Price Busted Marine Park Three Bedroom Co-op!

Three Bedroom coop in the Marine park community of Brooklyn.

Spacious apartment with lots of closets. Just blocks from transportation,

Shopping, Banking and the pleasure of the park.  Call today for more information and an exclusive showing.

For more information on this Brooklyn Property and more Check it out here

Whether you have questions about the above
 Brooklyn New York homes for sale,
or looking for something else I can help.
 Call Me Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate
  at 718/253-9600 ext 206
or email me at [email protected].
 I’ll give you a free home price analysis to determine how much your home is worth.


Selling Brooklyn Real Estate: 5 Tips to Pick a Powerful Listing Agent

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011


Here are five tips to help you identify the best Brooklyn real estate agent to get your home sold as fast as possible and for the most money.

  1. Hire a full-time Brooklyn real estate agent.  Part-time agents typically have less experience and fewer sold properties under their belts than full-time agents.  Because part-time agents usually have another job, they don’t have as much time to take care of your needs and market and show your home to potential buyers.  Full-time agents have bigger networks they can enlist to help find a buyer for your home.
  2. Find a skilled negotiator. A seasoned Brooklyn real estate agent understands the psychological nature of selling a home.  They advise you during the contract negotiations to ensure you get the best deal while alleviating your stress.
  3. 3. Pick an aggressive marketer.  Without a well-implemented, far-reaching marketing program, your house will sit on the market these days.  You want an agent who promotes your home both online and offline, in order to reach the greatest number of potential buyers.  Simply having your home listed on Realtor.com is no longer enough of an online presence.  You want your home showcased on multiple websites with a lot of professional photos and, ideally, a video tour.
  4. Choose an agent who knows your Brooklyn neighborhood.  Each neighborhood has different pros and cons which must be promoted or overcome by the agent.  An effective real estate agent knows how to price your Brooklyn property because they know the local competition, which homes that have closed recently are similar to yours and how much they’ve sold for.
  5. Ask for home staging services.  Home staging is no longer a “nice to have;” it’s now a “must have,” if you want to sell your home for the most money in the least amount of time.  Many agents are now professional stagers or have a home stager on their teams.

Choosing a powerful listing agent is your first step toward a successful home sale.

If you’d like to work with an agent who is a skilled negotiator, an aggressive marketer, provides home staging services and works full time, Give me a call Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].

Brooklyn Real Estate Sales Deals Of The Week

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Just Listed! Marine Park ,Brooklyn

Detached on 40x100 Property Marine Park Brooklyn

Adorable, detached 3 bedroom home on tree-lined 40 x 100 lot. Quiet, residential Marine Park block home features modern eat-in kitchen with sliding glass doors overlooking deck and private fenced property with 2 car garage. Formal dining room, modern Italian tiled bath. Partially finished basement with additional 3/4 bath plus laundry room. Ceramic tiled kitchen has oak cabinets, new gas, heat, windows. All modern, hardwood floors throughout. House is selling “As is”. A must see!

Marine Park Custom Built

Three Bedroom

Brick Tudor Style Home

Marine Park Custom Brick Home For Sale

Marine Park Custom Brick Home!
This Home is Special
call me Charles D'Alessandro
Your Brooklyn Realtor® at 718 253-9600 ext 206
or E-Mail me at [email protected] for more information !

Whether you have questions about the above Brooklyn New York homes for sale,
or looking for something else I can help.
 Please give Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate a call today
 at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].
 I’ll give you a free home price analysis to determine how much your home is worth in today’s market.

First Time Brooklyn Home Buyer Deals Of The Week!

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

With the rent on Brooklyn apartments on the rise and mortgage rates being at a long time low, Is now the time to buy your first Brooklyn home ?  For some Brooklyn tenants the rent will cost as much as owning on one of these spacious C0-0p apartments or maybe less ! Check it out!

Why Pay Rent When You Can Own !


Located in Brooklyn’s Graves end section


Brooklyn Two Bedroom Co-op


This beautiful Two bedroom Co-op is conveniently located  close to transportation as well as shopping

A first floor unit that is spacious as well as sun drenched in the daytime the maintenance is reasonable

and the reduced price flexible . Check it out here


Shore Road ,Bay Ridge , Brooklyn


Bay Ridge Brooklyn

1 Bedroom apartment in prestigious Shore Road, Bay Ridge.

Spectacular views of Harbor from every room.Large living room, open new EIK, s/s appliances,

granite counters & ceramic floors, foyer can be used as FDR or office.

Master sized bedroom, parquet floors, express bus downstairs, laundry & Super on premises.

Steps to Promenade, Pier, Bike paths & Park.

Close to Finest Restaurants, Cafes & Pubs in Bay Ridge. A must see! Click here for more details


Marine Park Brooklyn Co-op Price Adjusted!


Marine Park, Brooklyn, Three Bedroom Co-op !

Three Bedroom coop in the Marine park community of Brooklyn.

Spacious apartment with lots of closets.

Just blocks from transportation,

Shopping,Banking and the pleasure of the park.

Call today for and exclusive showing. Check here for details

Brooklyn College Community

Walk to  Brooklyn’s Flatbush Junction

Located in the East Flatbush section of

Brooklyn this one bedroom Co-op features

spacious and sunny rooms with a large sunkin

living room ,low maintenance and

priced below market. For more details ,Check here

Brooklyn New York's Wonderful Fort Greene

Wonderful Fort Greene one bedroom co-op for sale. Large L-shaped living & dining room.

Spacious bedroom, lots of closets. This co-op is bright & airy.

Maintenance includes Gas & Electric. Great Fort Greene location!

Check out the details

Whether you have questions about the above Brooklyn New York  home for sale, or looking for something else I can help.  Please give Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate a call today at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].  I’ll give you a free home price  analysis to determine how much your home is worth in today’s market.

Brooklyn Real Estate Investing:Buying a Short Sale Steps 6 through 10

Monday, July 11th, 2011
Brooklyn Real Estate and Short Sales

Brooklyn Real Estate and Short Sales

If you haven’t read “Brooklyn Real Estate Investing:  Buying a Short Sale Steps 1 through 5,” start there.  This blog post provides steps 5 through 9 of the short sale process.

  1. 6. Visit the Brooklyn real estate on your short list.  You’ve already searched for short sales, researched them and narrowed your list to a few short sales that meet your criteria and have the best chance of making it to closing.  Now it’s time to personally visit the few on your short list.  Your primary purpose in visiting the property is to get an estimate as to how much it’s going to cost you to repair the home.  As a real estate investor, you want a property that needs some work so that the average home buyer won’t want it, and you can get it at a lower-than-average price.   But, you also want a property that is in good enough condition that the cost of the property plus repairs still gives you a good return on your investment.
  2. 7. Get a home inspection. Since short sales are typically sold “as is,” it’s crucial that you have a licensed home inspector evaluate the condition of the short sale that you’ve decided is the one you want to buy.  An inspection will find problems you might not have been able to see in your initial visit to the home.  It will also give you a more precise idea of how much it’s going to cost you to repair and renovate the property.
  3. 8. Make an offer. Now that you’ve found the short sale you want to buy, you’re ready to prepare an offer.  Have your Brooklyn real estate agent prepare all the documentation and submit the offer to the seller’s agent.  The seller’s agent will submit the documentation to the lender.  Hopefully, you’ve chosen a short sale with only one lender, but if there is more than one lender, remember that all lenders have to agree on the terms of the sale.
  4. 9. Make a counter offer or walk away.  After getting your offer, the lender has his real estate agent evaluate the offer.  More than likely the lender will make a counteroffer.  That’s the time for you to do a final evaluation.  Double check your numbers using the higher purchase price and ask yourself, “Is this property really going to give me the profit I want?”  If the answer to this question is no, or if you’ve already reached the maximum you’re willing to pay for the property, it’s time to walk away.

10. Finalize the deal.  After you, the seller and the lender have all reached an agreement, get everything in writing and officially record it.  Go to closing, and the property is now yours.  Congratulations!

If you’re a Brooklyn real estate investor looking for a well-priced property to invest in, I can help you find the true bargains, whether they’re short sales, foreclosures or just well-priced real estate.   Give me a call Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].

Brooklyn Real Estate Deals of The Week

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Nestled in Brooklyn's Stuyvesant Heights Neighborhood!

This property boasts a very large backyard, at over 1000 square feet the possibilities are endless, also a rare feature in any brownstone is a full finished basement! Only a few blocks from the A or C train, enjoy all that this bustling area of Brooklyn has to offer. The history, architecture, culture, affordability and convenience is what makes Stuyvesant Heights such a sought after neighborhood. Another of Fillmore Real Estate’s Best Deals call today to compare! Click here for details

Beautiful Brooklyn Brownstone on a tree lined block

Beautiful Brownstone on a tree lined block. 8 bedrooms in two duplex apartments. Great investment opportunity . Priced to sell. short sale eligible, Bank has negotiated with listing agent. Close to transportation, and houses of worship. Check here for details

Spacious Brooklyn Home on Oversized Property

Brick,Detached Brooklyn Home!

Beautiful Brick Multi -Family with  three split level apartments private drive

and super sized property come see and compare! Click here for more

Whether you have questions about the above Brooklyn New York  home for sale, or looking for something else I can help.  Please give Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate a call today at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].  I’ll give you a free home price  analysis to determine how much your home is worth in today’s market.

Brooklyn Real Estate Investing: How to Buy Short Sales Steps 1 through 5

Tuesday, July 5th, 2011


How to Buy a Brooklyn Short Sale

Are you a Brooklyn real estate investor or home buyer who wants to buy a short sale in order to get a great deal?  Unless you’re a seasoned short sale buyer, it’s not as easy as you may have been told.  In fact, there are so many steps to the process, this blog post only covers the first five.

  1. Hire an experienced Brooklyn real estate agent. The first thing you want to do is find a real estate agent who is knowledgeable about buying short sales in your local market.  Unless you’re already a short sales expert, you need an experienced agent to guide you through the process because most homes that are listed as short sales never even make it to closing due to problems encountered along the way.  In fact, some stats show that as few as 1 in 10 short sales make it all the way to closing.
  2. Get your financing in order. How are you going to pay for the property?  Before you do anything else, have your financing in order.  In a short sale, the lender often moves at a snail’s pace, but you have to be able to move quickly.  Once an agreement is worked out, the lender may require that you close in as few as 20 days.  That’s not enough time to shop for a mortgage.
  3. Search for short sales. Your agent will have access to all the homes up for sale as short sales.  Let him or her help you sort through the homes to identify those that fit your needs and are most likely to make it to closing.
  4. Research the short list of short sales. Have your real estate agent (see how much work this agent is doing for you?) research the short list of short sales you’re interested in to find out how many mortgages each of them have and how much money is owed.  If you find that there are a lot of loans against a property, your best bet is to move on and find a short sale with only one loan.  Additionally, your experienced agent can steer you away from homes with lenders who are difficult to work with on short sales.
  5. Be prepared to pay close to market value. This may sound ridiculous to you because you’ve heard that short sales are an amazing bargain.  Yes, some short sales are priced very low, however, that does not mean the lender will accept that super-low price.  Typically, the short sales that actually make it to closing are going to be priced close to current market value.  Have your real estate agent research pending sale comparables to determine what the current market value is for the short sale you’re thinking of buying.

If you’re interested in investing in Brooklyn real estate, I can help you find the true bargains, whether they’re short sales, foreclosures or just well-priced real estate.   Give me a call Charles D’Alessandro Your Brooklyn Realtor® with Fillmore Real Estate at 718/253-9600 ext 206 or email me at [email protected].