Page 6 - CooperatorNews New York January 2022

6 COOPERATORNEWS — JANUARY 2022 COOPERATORNEWS.COM CooperatorNews.com From COOPERATORNEWS.COM Unsolicited Offers So Your Apartment Isn’t for Sale...So What? BY A J SIDRANSKY DOB Deadline: January 1 Energy Efficiency Reports Must Be Filed by a Registered Design Professional BY COOPERATOR STAFF As part of NYC’s Greener, Greater Building Plan, Local Law 87/09 requires building 2021, whichever is earlier. Registrations will not be renewed after expiration. owners to have an energy audit conducted on their base-building systems, undertake en- ergy-efficient maintenance practices as part of retro-commissioning, and file an Energy Efficiency Report (EER) with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) every 10 years. According to RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC, the Energy Efficiency Report provides an analysis of how efficiently a building’s systems and envelope are performing, larger than 100,000 gross square feet. and identifies energy conservation measures to reduce overall energy consumption. The NYC Department of Buildings announced that EERs must be submitted to the and repeats every 10 years. For example, if the building’s tax block number ends in 2, the DOB by a registered design professional beginning January 1, 2022 — designating the job EER report is due by the end of 2022 with the next compliance due in 2032. Building own- to either a Registered Architect (RA) or Professional Engineer (PE). Registered energy ers who fail to file an EER with the DOB face penalties of $3,000 the first year and $5,000 auditors and retro-commissioning agents who are not registered design professionals may for each additional year until the report is properly submitted. continue to submit an EER to DOB until their registrations expire, or until December 31, Properties That Must Comply with EER Requirements: • Buildings greater than 50,000 gross square feet. • A tax lot containing two or more buildings that, together, exceed 100,000 gross square feet. • Two or more buildings held in a condominium form of ownership that, together, are The year a building has to file its EER corresponds to the last digit of its block number, n Night falls on the city; just as she’s She says she’s seeing an increasing num- about to close up shop for the day, a bro- ker receives an email from an unknown the result of the current severe shortage or was taken off the market. I’ll contact are satisfied with that rental income are sender. The sender is interested in pur- chasing a specific unit in a specific build- ing—so interested, in fact, that they make phenomenon was more common outside buyers \\\[who are\\\] current owners and ask for sale.” an offer for immediate, all-cash purchase the city than in it. Suburban homeown- right in the email. But the broker’s com- pany database does not have a listing for in the mail for years. A quick look at tele- that unit. Perplexed, she searches listings phone listings and tax rolls gives inves- offered by other companies; nothing. She tors easy access to names, addresses, and knowledgeable. They know what they pressure to make their move and buy now. replies to the sender of the email. Thanks contact information. It’s classic direct- for contacting me, she says, but that unit mail marketing, and even with only 1% and style, apartment layout, and ameni- isn’t currently for sale. With all due re- spect, she asks, why did you send this of- fer to me? The sender replies that they saw a listing for the unit as a rental some time ful in locating co-op or condo owners cific units. ago, with the broker named as the listing who might become willing sellers if the agent. “But I’m not interested in renting,” price is right. Contacting unit owners in out that really works for them,” says Ke- the sender continues. “I want to buy, and apartment buildings is trickier than sin- that’s the unit I want. I thought you might gle-family homeowners, which is why the able in the specific building they are if low inventory continues. “It’s already a be able to make it happen.” This is a slightly simplified version tacted the broker. of real events, but it happened—and it’s happening more and more frequently. It’s how most brokers conduct business. “We terested in selling. I also research the sales wars for everything now—so we’ll just what’s known as an unsolicited offer. What is an Unsolicited Offer? Simply put, “An unsolicited offer is an going relationship with the buyer, who into their relationships with clients who some unit owners and shareholders—may offer that comes to a broker or an owner often becomes a seller eventually.” That’s bought in the building to see if they are increasingly find themselves the recipi- directly from an interested buyer for a what’s known in the brokerage world as interested in selling.” property that isn’t currently on the mar- ket,” says Cynthia Keskinkaya, an associ- ate broker with Douglas Elliman, a real er, when I’m looking for a type of prop- estate brokerage firm in New York City. ber of such offers, and believes they are didn’t sell, didn’t trade, didn’t get rented, rented and off the market. Owners who of inventory for sale. Until recently, the unsolicited offer a sale—and of course I contact previous ed in an overall lack of inventory of units ers have gotten ‘We-buy-for-cash’ letters of direct mail recipients responding, the ties. By the time they contact a broker, ment. Market-watchers expect that, bar- method can produce opportunities. The direct-mail approach isn’t as use- aggressive buyer in our story above con- But, explains Keskinkaya, this isn’t of the unit directly and ask if they are in- don’t just make a sale and walk away,” she history of the building and contact agents have to wait and see how things develop.” says. “It’s not a one-off—we have an on- a ‘book of business.’ “\\\[When I have\\\] that relationship with the buyer-turned-own- erty that's not currently on the market, I can go through past listings and see what instead of being sold, so many of those are those owners to see if they might consider renewing these leases, and that has result- if they’re interested in selling.” Why That Unit? Keskinkaya goes on to say that buyers Buyers are seeing prices going up, and in- in today’s market are sophisticated and terest rates are rising as well, so they feel want in terms of location, building type Even in less-hot markets where prices are they may have narrowed their search ring another major COVID surge, prices down to a few select buildings—even spe- “Sometimes they want a specific lay- skinkaya. “That layout may not be avail- interested in, but it may exist in another, trend in the suburbs,” she says, “and with similar building. I will contact the owners the recovery of the market here, we are who’ve sold units there previously to tap Why is Inventory Low? “It all has to do with supply,” says Ke- skinkaya. “During the pandemic, we had a lot of apartment units being rented out Also, prices are back to pre-pandemic levels in many segments of the market. still a bit down, there is upward move- on units in those less-prime locations will begin to rise in the spring. The bottom line: more inventory is needed. Keskinkaya believes unsolicited offers may trend upward in the spring as well, expecting the same. There are bidding In the meantime, brokers—and even ents of emails and letters from unknown sources, offering very large sums of mon- ey for very much occupied apartments. n