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Taubman’s $475M Mall of San Juan gets “knocked out” after reopening

The Mall of San Juan, in Puerto Rico’s capital, opened to great fanfare in 2015. But the last five years haven’t been kind to the $475 million upscale shopping center, which has grappled with retail bankruptcies, natural disasters and the coronavirus pandemic. Today more than a third of the 631,000-square-foot mall is empty and the property will soon lose its last remaining anchor store, Nordstrom, according to Bloomberg. The mall’s rising vacancy and mounting financial

10 Easy Steps to Follow When You Decide to Sell Your Home

Selling a home isn’t something we typically do very often. So when the time comes, and for whatever reason, you decide to sell your home, you may not know where to start. Here are ten easy steps to follow when you do make that decision to put your home up for sale. Follow these 10 steps when you decide to sell your home. Our present circumstances call for better planning and preparation a little more than usual. But this checklist will help guide you in the planning and preparation from beginning to “SOLD.” When You Decide to Sell Your Home, Hire a Real Estate Agent Right Away When you decide to sell your home, it’s time to start …

We Unearthed the 35 Best Rent Deals in NYC Right Now

This Clinton Hill one-bedroom with a fireplace and chandelier is also rent-stabilized. | Chalom + Blaylock Photography A suspiciously affordable true one-bedroom on Eldridge Street and a duplex in Bed-Stuy with cherry trees in the backyard. As the city reopens and apartments start to flood the market again, we’ve taken on the job of carefully hunting through various listings sites, newsletters, and Craigslist, to find the very best deals out there. A good deal on a rental apartment, of course, can mean very different things for different people. So as we sorted through hundreds of listings, we kept our eyes out …

Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: A Building Collapse in Williamsburg, Horizontal Fences

Hidden House With Wide Plank Floors, Secret Garden, Art Studio in Gowanus Asks $2.695 Million With the main dwelling set back at the rear of its lot and a hidden courtyard garden, this single-family home has a quirky character that fits into the raffish charm one finds in Gowanus. On a… Read More >The post Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: A Building Collapse in Williamsburg, Horizontal Fences appeared first on Brownstoner.

J-Lo and A-Rod list Malibu beach house for $8M

Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and entertainer Jennifer Lopez are looking to shed a Malibu beach house they bought less than two years ago. The couple is asking $8 million for the three-story property on Malibu Road, according to the Los Angeles Times. They paid former owner and actor Jeremy Piven $6.6 million for what Lopez last year called “a little fixer-upper next to the water.” The couple renovated the property last year with the help

How to Boost Your Property’s Curb Appeal to the Best it Can Be

COVID-19 and social distancing has changed the way we shop for homes. According to Realtor.com, homebuyers find the ability to take a virtual tour of a home helpful. And that means boosting your property’s curb appeal is a high-priority item on your to-do list. Your property’s curb appeal creates a make-or-break first impression in only eight seconds. Why Your Property’s Curb Appeal is Important Your property’s curb appeal is more important than …

Gut-Renovated House on Staten Island’s North Shore (With a Huge Backyard) Asks $819K

Tina Gallo for The Lonuzzi Team/Courtesy of Compass The open-plan living area also includes an oversize kitchen island. Price: $819,000 Location: Randall Manor, Staten Island This 1950 single-family brick home at 300 Henderson Avenue sits between two large green spaces on Staten Island’s North Shore: the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden — inside of which is New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, one of just two authentic classical Chinese gardens in the country, and one of the best spots in the city to see in-bloom cherry-blossom trees — and Allison Pond, a quiet park with a fountain, trail, and off-leash area for dogs. The property is a seven-…

Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Creative Brooklynites and Their Homes

11 Brooklyn Creatives Make a Townhouse Their Own Here are the stories of 11 creative Brooklynites and their families who took on the renovation and decoration of an historic Brooklyn townhouse and adapted it to suit their own modern lives. Each property posed its own challenges — including rentals, one that… Read More >The post Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Creative Brooklynites and Their Homes appeared first on Brownstoner.

Ghislaine Maxwell was hiding out in a rural New Hampshire estate when she was arrested

The search for Jeffrey Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell took federal agents to a rural estate in central New Hampshire. Federal agents found Maxwell at a 156-acre estate that she appears to have purchased in December for $1.1 million, according to the New York Post. Federal prosecutors said she appears to have purchased the property “through a carefully anonymized LLC.” Maxwell fled to a bedroom when agents rang the doorbell at the gate, but eventually surrendered

How Much Money Will You See From the Sale of Your Home?

Big question, “How much money will you actually see from the sale of your home?” It’s one of the first questions sellers ask when they put their home on the market. But there are a lot of factors that come into play when calculating your home sales profits. And sellers are often blindsided by the closing costs. Home seller, do you want to know how much money you’ll see from the sale of your home? Of course, you do! What are Closing Costs? In New York, real estate closings are very technical procedures. And when you close on a property, it involves costs. Closing costs are fees paid by the buyer and the seller when the title of the…

These Are The Protections New Yorkers Have From Eviction

Max Touhey The state court system has paused evictions until at least August 5. The novel coronavirus has pummeled New York City’s economy, leaving workers who were once gainfully employed to grapple with the economic fallout. And in a city where renters make up nearly two-thirds of the population, several questions loom large: What happens if I can’t make rent? Will I be evicted? And what rights do I have as a tenant? The good news is that some tenants still have protection from eviction, even though Governor Andrew Cuomo has terminated part of his modified eviction moratorium. Back in March, New York Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks announced a suspension on court eviction proceedings, but a loophole briefly allowed landlords…

Artist, Philanthropist, Carousel Namesake, Jane Walentas Dies at 76

As reported by Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Brooklyn Paper, Philanthropist, Artist, Real Estate Developer, and “First Lady of Dumbo,” Jane Walentas passed away July 5th after a brief battle with cancer. She was 76 years old.The Walentas Family and their management company, Two Trees, is synonymous with DUMBO as we now know it. And the carousel, which has delighted children and adults alike since September 2011, is inseparable from Jane.A New York Times article from 2011 traces the journey of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel, originally installed in Youngstown, OH in 1922, to Brooklyn. Purchased by the Walentas’ in 1984, much of the tedious scraping away of decades of paint was carried out…

Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Can a Mini Split System Heat as Well as Cool?

Coney Island Lit Up for the First Night of Macy’s Reimagined 2020 Fireworks The first of several nights of July 4 fireworks lit up the skies of Coney Island Monday, across from the red, white, and blue Steeplechase Parachute Jump. — Crown Heights Tenants Say Prominent Brooklyn Couple Tried to Illegally Evict Them Tenants… Read More >The post Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Can a Mini Split System Heat as Well as Cool? appeared first on Brownstoner.

Real estate groups challenge San Fran’s permanent ban on coronavirus-related evictions

San Francisco’s landlords are not happy about the city’s recent ban on coronavirus-related evictions. Four real estate trade groups sued the city this week over the ordinance, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Mayor London Breed signed it on Friday. The ordinance permanently bars landlords from evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent related to the pandemic. The lawsuit was filed by the San Francisco Apartment Association, the San Francisco Association of Realtors, the Coalition for

The Best Way to Keep Your Home Clean and Safe Every Day

If you’re wondering which way is the best way to keep your home clean and safe on a daily basis, this blog post is a must-read. Cleaning often is tedious to do throughout each day, but it is inexpensive and doable. But don’t stress about it. Just be mindful and clean, clean, clean! There is a simple way to keep your home clean and safe. Pandemic Versus Epidemic Do you know what the difference is between a pandemic and an epidemic? Pandemic According to Merriam-Webster, when used as an adjective, pandemic means “occurring over a wide geographic area…

Ditmas Park Victorian With Wraparound Porch Asks $2.5M

Photos: Allyson Lubow/Courtesy of Compass And there’s space for a home office. Price: $2,495,000 Location: Ditmas Park, Brooklyn Built in 1930, this Victorian house at 241 Stratford Road isn’t part of any of the nearby historic districts, but its architectural style and tree-lined surroundings are consistent with Ditmas Park’s characterful suburban vibe. The home is walking distance to the southern tip of Prospect Park and just up the block from the Cortelyou Road thoroughfare, which has restaurants like Purple Yam, the Farm on Adderley, and Mimi’s Hummus, plus Cortelyou Greenmarket, a Sunday farmers’ market. The property comes with a driveway and detached garage, and the closest…

Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: A Striking Clinton Hill Interior, History of the Bathroom

Striking Art and Playful Inventiveness Create Comfortable Clinton Hill Home A designer’s home is both her calling card and her workshop, but the most important thing, at least to Delia Kenza Brennen, is that it feel like home — a place where she, her husband, and their two daughters can be… Read More >The post Top 5 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: A Striking Clinton Hill Interior, History of the Bathroom appeared first on Brownstoner.

Luxury apartments pivot to virtual activities

About three months into quarantine, residents trapped in small apartments are going stir-crazy. That is unless they live in a luxury apartment with an in-house lifestyle director. Decorating doors for celebrate graduations, virtual cooking classes and zoom workouts, all organized by apartment staff, indicate that, although outdoor seating in a pandemic may seal the deal for some, a rooftop terrace and gym is no longer enough for developers to lease out high-price buildings. They must

How to Find the Best Mortgage Lender with Confidence

Dreaming of buying your first home? Find the best mortgage lender with confidence! Here’s how. Finding the best mortgage lender on your journey to homeownership is important. But it can be challenging, especially if you are a first-time homebuyer. It’s a big deal because picking a lender is an important part of the home buying process. And finding the best the right mortgage is crucial. Here’s some excellent information from NerdWallet to help you navigate this part of buying a home with confidence. 5 Things You Need to Know to Help You Find the Best Mortgage Lender NerdWallet says, “The best mortgage lenders for first-time homebuyers embrace government loans, offer low down payment options, charge reasonable…