THE APPLE, PEELED
MOST RECENT ARTICLES
Study: Mortgage Bankers Kill 133 Trees
In just my first year in the mortgage business, just a little after the turn of the century, me and the people I worked with killed over 133 trees. Usually, people are all “Loosey-Goosey” when they throw around numbers like that, fudging stats to prove whatever point...
Mortgage Lenders Tighten Their Belts Another Notch
Since the start of the pandemic, mortgage lenders in New York City have tightened their guidelines making it more difficult to qualify for mortgage financing on a property located in any of the 5 boroughs. The Apple Peeled reported on this extensively in the closing...
Technically Speaking, We’re Making Some Upgrades
We’ve always thought technology was sexy as hell. Even the packaging is hot. And we love that new phone smell! Sure, technology has its flaws… For instance, human beings, in general, would probably be in better harmony with one another if social media was erased from...
AT THE CORE
Facetime is Good, But it’s Not as Good as Real Life Face Time
Ya know what we miss? Connecting face-to-face with other people. A good conversation. A smile, unmasked. That’s good for the soul. It’s good for the mind too. Significantly less impressive, but still noteworthy on some level, it also happens to be good for...
Headline: I Met A Girl Who Sang The Blues
2020 energy feels a lot like listening to the song “American Pie.” But February made me shiver With every paper I’d deliver Bad news on the doorstep I couldn’t take one more step. Years after writing ‘American Pie,’ Don McLean called the song an indescribable...
By the Numbers: Manhattan Real Estate Transactions During an Election Year.
Buyer behavior is typically categorized somewhere between hesitant and paralyzed during an election year. Not knowing who will ultimately lead the country and formulate its policies for at least the next four years is enough to stop some buyers in their tracks....
What’s the Real Story in New York City? That Depends on Who You Ask
Perception vs. reality. It’s a comparison between two different things that might be the same. Every one of us firmly believes that our own perception is synonymous with reality, otherwise it wouldn’t be our perception anymore. And with so many virtual platforms...
INPUT OUTPUT SLEEP
The human mind has three modes. INPUT, OUTPUT, and SLEEP. Those are the options. Who the hell knows what’s going on in your mind when you’re asleep, so for now, we won’t tackle that topic. Let’s just assume that you’re in SLEEP mode for 30 percent of your life. The...
The Espinal Adler Team Expands Beyond NYC
We love New York City so much that it’s hard to wrap our brains around the idea of so many people leaving it behind. At first we didn’t want to believe it. But the numbers do tell a story. A recent study by Realtor.com concluded that home searches in suburban...
ASK THE EXPERTS
Non-Compliance with Mortgage Guidelines Could sink the Value of Your Condo or Co-op Unit
Hypothesis: A buyer’s access to mortgage financing in a specific building, (condo or co-op), has a direct impact on the value of every single unit in that building. We’re confident in that assessment, even though we can’t necessarily quantify the impact....
You Might Want to Know This
Things We Heard When We Put Our Ears to the Ground: Mortgage Guidelines are tightening up Chase this week planned to reduce the maximum Loan to Value (LTV) down to 70% on all its jumbo mortgage products for properties in New York City. That means, if you plan to...
Here’s $10 Million. How Would You Spend it?
You are given $10 Million along with a very specific set of instructions. You must invest every penny in Manhattan real estate. You could spend all of it on 1 property or you can divide the money amongst as many different properties as you want. You may purchase any...
Q&A with James Stanley Provides Insight on Budgeting for Interior Projects in NYC
James Stanley Designs is a 1-stop shop in New York City for Interior Design, Construction, Architectural, and Project Management Services. Back in March, prior to the quarantine, we interviewed James Stanley, specifically seeking answers about how the pricing and...
A Debate About Whether the Stars Are Perfectly Aligned
In the last two editions of The Apple Peeled, we said the conditions for investing in newly developed New York City real estate are P-E-R-F-E-C-T. Prices are down. Rates are down. Developers are offering massive concessions. We said all of the stars were aligned....
After Quarantine, Compliance Issues Cast Doubt Upon NYC Condos
Covid-19 has directly impacted the New York City real estate market. Part of it is economic – unemployment numbers look bleak, and many who’ve managed to keep their jobs will earn less because their industry has been impacted by the pandemic. Part of it is...
MORTGAGE MINUTE
WITH MATT JABLONSKI
MOLINGO (Mortgage Lingo): The Documentation Dilemma
There isn’t anything fun about applying for a mortgage – except for the part where you close and it’s over. The process is inefficient. The whole thing takes too damn long. And the amount of documentation they ask for could keep a small house warm in the middle of...
Dear 8th Grade Self: We Do Math (All the Time)
I will never choose a job where I’m going to have to do math. In 8th grade, that was a pretty non-negotiable part of my future. And look at me now, crunching mortgage numbers behind a desk for The Espinal Adler Team. That old/young me with a mullet would...
Espinal Adler Unveils Secret Weapon
I high-fived Tony Robbins during the day and that night I was standing 6 or 7 feet away from a bloated, middle-aged Axl Rose who still knew how to put on an amazing show while performing with a quasi-version of Guns n’ Roses in Las Vegas. It was June 2014. I was at...
Locking Into the Best Rates Ever is Complicated
Let’s set the scene: You call a loan officer about a refinance; you got their name from a friend. The loan officer quotes a rate. It’s 2.75% for a 30-year fixed. You almost can’t believe your ears. Your inner Jack Nicholson speaks to you. “You want that...
Coining a Phrase: Socialized Mortgage Finance
Socialized Mortgage Finance is a phrase that is becoming more prolific in the secret underbelly of the mortgage industry where a thousand private conversations dictate the direction of the masses. In the wake ofCovid-19, as we slowly come out of isolation and into a...
MOLINGO
Two days before I started my mortgage career, as a “get to know ya” exercise, my new boss invited me to play golf with him and two other loan officers. I was really excited to start a new career, mostly because my earning potential seemed unlimited, especially...