THE APPLE, PEELED
MOST RECENT ARTICLES
Calling in Sick: An Evil Dilemma
Calling in sick is so much harder than it should be. It’s because we’re conditioned to feel guilty about not showing up to work. In fact, studies show that 78% of the time, your co-workers are at least “somewhat suspicious” of you when you’re out sick. 83% of...
Deep Undercover, Spying on the Mortgage Process
The Apple Peeled Question: What on earth is happening behind the scenes after you’ve completed your mortgage application and you’ve sent in all of your supporting documentation? Why does it so often take 45-60 days to get through the mortgage process? Jablonski: It’s...
What About Bob? with Matt Jablonski
Do you know how I know that the mortgage process is a complete mystery to so many people? It’s not just because I was a loan officer for 15 years and I could hear that in the voices of so many clients. It’s mostly because I still have horrible visions from the day I...
AT THE CORE
At the Core of the ESPINAL ADLER Team: Our People
In our 'At the Core' section, we typically consider how our morals and values and our thoughts and ideas intertwine with the way we conduct ourselves within the context of the real estate industry. It's a peek inside our collective mindsets. But as we wrap up 2019,...
Analysis Paralysis
There’s a wicked strain of Analysis Paralysis going around. We’re coming up on an election year. We’re in the middle of an Impeachment inquiry. The economy is all over the place. And absolutely EVERYTHING is subject to change depending on how the dust settles. When...
Good Karma
Our team spends a lot of time talking about how our values align with one another. We believe those values can be intertwined with the way we conduct our business. Do the next right thing and Karma will look favorably upon us. Most people think karma is a faith-based...
Property Taxes, Common Charges, and Maintenance Fees: What Impact Do They Have on Value?
At some point in this edition of At the Core, there will be a small plot twist, but you’ll have to read at least half the story to find out exactly where. And at that point, even if you’re not fully invested, you’ll already be that far down the page, so you might as...
Tools of the Trade: The Renovation Loan
We always hear that human beings are using less than 10% of their brain power, and if we could tap into the other 90%, the possibilities would be limitless. Look it up though and most scientists would say that assertion is a myth. When it comes to our jobs, we rarely...
The Jigsaw Puzzle of Real Estate
Being a real estate agent is a lot like solving jigsaw puzzles. Some puzzles have 15 pieces and others have 1,500. The puzzles with the most pieces take longer to complete, but on multiple levels they’re almost always the most rewarding. It’s easiest for us to draw an...
ASK THE EXPERTS
How Purchase CEMAs Help to Read the Market
In this month's Ask the Experts article, Attorney Michael Xylas talks with us about purchase CEMAs and “splitters” and what it means in the context of New York City’s real estate market. A couple of months back, clients of ours agreed to purchase a condo unit in a...
Tax Season is Almost Upon Us. It’s Time to “Brush up”
Shawn Henderson, a Certified Public Accountant and Senior Manager at Withum Smith and Brown in Princeton, NJ provides detailed responses to our team’s and clients' most commonly asked tax questions. Apple Peeled Question: There was so much uncertainty after the Tax...
Analyzing NYC Real Estate, Qualitatively with Jeff Adler
Apple Peeled Question: When describing the Espinal Adler Team, we always say that Marie is quantitative, and Jeff is qualitative. I think for most people, it's easier to identify the things that fall under the umbrella of quantitative. But, it's almost as if anything...
The Art of NYC Real Estate Negotiation with Marie Espinal
In our “Ask the Experts” section this month, The Apple Peeled asked The ESPINAL ADLER Team’s very own Marie Espinal to share her insights into modern-day, New York City real estate negotiating. The Apple Peeled Question: Of all the qualities that go into being a...
How to Manage a New York City Renovation
Renovating a property in New York City can be uniquely challenging especially if you’ve never before managed a multi-faceted project with so many logistical conundrums to consider. Dean Marco is an Associate Director at Dixon Projects, a company that provides...
David Halberg Untangles NYC Condo & Co-Op Insurance
This month, we interviewed David Halberg, a Principal of KDB Brokerage Services, LLC, which was established in 2003. He is a Licensed Insurance Broker for Property and Casualty, as well as Life, Accident, and Health in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. He...
MORTGAGE MINUTE
WITH MATT JABLONSKI
In Sales Authenticity Eviscerates Anxiety
A mortgage loan officer has two full-time jobs. At their desk job, they manage a pipeline of active mortgage applications. It’s a job with a lot of paperwork, a little bit of math, some analysis and problem solving, along with the ability to understand and adhere to...
The Priceline.com Effect with Matt Jablonski
I left the mortgage industry this February, after 15 long years as a loan officer. There were many reasons why I left, but I wanted to write about the one I call the “Priceline.com Effect.” I have nothing against Priceline.com. In fact, I use the app quite a bit. If I...
Tax Returns & Your Income vs. Obtaining a Mortgage
Obstacle: You’re self-employed and your most recent year of tax returns show significantly more or significantly less income compared to the previous year. Why it’s an obstacle: When you borrow an amount that is considered a jumbo mortgage (north of $726,525 in NYC),...
Getting Pre-Qualified for a Mortgage = Basic Algebra
Written by ESPINAL ADLER Team's Real Estate Finance Specialist, Matthew Jablonski. About ten years ago, a very angry real estate agent with a slightly bruised ego screamed at me on the phone. I was a loan officer at the time and I had given our mutual client a...
All about Mortgage Contingencies
When bidding on a property in New York City, you’ll often find yourself up against all-cash buyers or buyers who are willing to waive their mortgage contingency. Those buyers are attractive to sellers because there is one less hurdle to overcome – they do not need to...
Mortgage Rates vs. How Much $$ is Borrowed
Did you know - Mortgage rates are often lower when you borrow more? Is there a magic number for how much you should borrow to access lower rates? Yes. In the U.S., the vast majority of mortgages are eventually sold by lenders to government agencies Fannie Mae or...