The 234 Apartment

AT least two projects nestled in a mature residential precinct in District 9 near Somerset are being run as serviced apartments - despite not having the regulatory approval to do so - and a third one is opening. Oxley Thanksgiving Residence , a freehold condominium at 328 River Valley Road owned by Chinese temple Poh Ern Shih , and St Thomas Lodge , which also sits on freehold land at 32 St Thomas Walk , are listed for short-term stay on the website of accommodation service provider Atas Residence . The Business Times' visit to these projects confirmed that they are being run as serviced apartments. A third property, Devonshire Apartments at 17 Devonshire Road , has just undergone a major renovation, and the units there are understood to be starting a new chapter as serviced apartments this month. BT's query to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) confirmed that these three properties are currently approved for residential use, but "do not have planning permission to...

December 4, 2011 by: Helen Thomas in New York The estate of bankrupt Lehman Brothers believes that Archstone – the apartment company that Bank of America and Barclays have agreed to sell part of their stakes in – is worth $1bn more in equity value than the price at which the two banks have struck their deal, people familiar with the matter said. The estate is considering mounting a matching bid to derail the banks’ deal with Equity Residential , the real estate company headed by Chicago mogul Sam Zell . EQR said late on Friday that it had agreed to pay $1.325bn in cash for a 26.5 per cent stake in Archstone, which was taken private at the height of the property boom. The deal values it at about $ 16bn including debt . However, the agreement with EQR triggers a right of first refusal for the estate of the investment bank, which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, to buy the stake. People familiar with the matter said that should Lehman exercise its right to match the offer, the banks hav...

T wo weeks ago, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge handed down a decision designed to strike fear in the hearts of landlords. Justice James d’Auguste ordered that an independent receiver be appointed to manage two Midtown residential buildings where the landlords allegedly allowed illegal Airbnb rentals to occur. The case, which began when the city sued the landlords in February 2015, has become one of the battlegrounds in a larger war between city enforcement agencies and short- term rental sites like Airbnb. Airbnb, which was recently valued at $31 billion, refuses to release the exact addresses of hosts who break the law by renting their entire apartment for less than 30 days without being present. Without the addresses and names of Airbnb violators , the city mostly targets the owners of buildings that rack up the most illegal hotel complaints from 311 calls and the New York City Department of Buildings. “This entire model—and it was intentional [by the city]—is complaint-drive...

NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone, a real estate lending , investment and advisory company , today announced its closing of a $550,000, 000 permanent Freddie Mac loan made to joint-venture partners The Moinian Group and SL Green Realty Corp . for Sky Residences (“Sky”), one of Manhattan’s premier mixed-use residential buildings . The Greystone Bassuk debt advisory team , led by Richard Bassuk and Drew Fletcher, represented the Borrower and assisted in obtaining the Freddie Mac loan through Greystone’s Affordable Lending team . The transaction marks the largest-ever single-asset tax- exempt financing completed by Freddie Mac and a first-of-its- kind private placement structure that includes permanent financing for hundreds of affordable housing units in New York City. Steve Rosenberg , CEO of Greystone, together with Billy Posey, Joe Mosley, and Jeff Englund, collaborated with Freddie Mac on the structure for Moinian and SL Green, and spearheaded the loan proc...

Multifamily sales totaled $147 million in the Buffalo area market in 2016, up from $127 in 2015 and again above the $ 100 million dollar level achieved each of the last five years.  The investment market is most active in suburban garden apartment complexes . Private locally based principals were active as both buyers and sellers with prices at all-time high per unit valuations . These older apartment properties comprise the majority of the existing inventory and are often fully occupied with rising rents. From a tenant perspective they are often the best housing available at a given price. Located in dense residential neighborhoods , they are near employment, shopping, entertainment and within desirable suburban school districts . It would be impossible to duplicate them today in the same locations with the same rent structure and consequently they have little competition in their price range. This drives the rent growth that attracts investors. In April of 2017, RENTCafe’s surve...

When Matt Metzger and Carly Wingert showed up to view apartments early Friday afternoon at a complex on the south end of town, the property management office was closed. Another tenant pointed them to the mailbox with applications they could take and fill out. But it was empty. So they were off to make more calls. They'd already looked at a couple of places, including one that still was under renovation. "The struggle is real," Wingert said, still cheerful nonetheless. "It's not easy at all," Metzger said. After looking at just a handful of units, they were already talking about how to adjust their budget and possibly work overtime to afford a suitable home.  Wingert and Metzger plan to finish their degrees at the University of Montana — he's studying wildlife biology and she's interested in literature and the environment. They're among a slew of students looking for housing around the same time. Despite all the construction that's been ...

Recycle. Reuse. Reduce. Reclaim. Cheryl Oliver is a true believer. Her husband, Jack, is not quite so sure. For Cheryl, there is no choice because she regards recycling as crucial for the survival of the planet. Jack said he gets it, but doesn’t think a few people can make any real difference. The house divided is a microcosm of communities when it comes to recycling. Cheryl believes everyone should do their part, while Jack believes that since not everyone is doing their part, why should he? “The problem with recycling is that most people don’t do it or won’t do it,” Jack said. “I think it’s mostly due to people being plain lazy.” Jack has a point – recycling takes more effort than just throwing everything into the same trash can. There are people who might recycle but don’t because they simply don’t know how. With paper, plastic, aluminum, metal and a myriad of other color-coded options for recyclable material, deciding where each thing should go can be troublesome. ...