UPPER WEST SIDE — Real estate broker Mike Mishkin believes his 27 years spent living in the neighborhood are an asset when it comes to helping people find apartments in the area.
Mishkin, 31, is the founder and owner of the Upper West Side-specific Love Where You Live realty company.
This week he sat down with DNAinfo to talk local real estate, including sharing his tips for those on the hunt, where he'd invest in the neighborhood and the craziest apartments he's come across — both terrible and amazing.
Emily: Mike you were born and raised on the Upper West Side and you're still here.
Mike: I am.
Emily: What do you love about the neighborhood?
Mike: What I've always loved about it is just the residential quiet feel especially as compared to other Manhattan neighborhoods. I really have to walk from Midtown to the Upper West Side to regain my appreciation for it sometimes. It's quiet and peaceful, yet it isn't boring and there aren't many places in this city where you can find that. I try to avoid midtown but that's when I kind of appreciate it the most. There's still a lot of hustle-bustle up here but it's not so intense.
Emily: How was it different growing up here versus living here now as an adult? How has the neighborhood changed?
Mike: The neighborhood has changed a lot. As you know, many mom and pop businesses have shut down. A lot of small buildings have turned into big buildings. It's got the same feel, it still has the quiet side streets, but it is unfortunately much more corporate, much more touristy. In a certain way it's good, it's a good thing, it's good for the economy but it's certainly not as charming in most ways in my opinion.
Emily: Were there places that you used to go to as a kid that aren't here anymore that you miss?
Mike: I miss Big Nick's a lot. I miss a deli on 78th and Amsterdam that's been replaced by a gluten-free risotto restaurant. I have nothing against gluten-free or risotto, but I do miss that. A lot of places like that. I miss Popover Café, and again just the general vibes of being in a small neighborhood with private business owners. I do miss that.
Also just again not having sole proprietors to such a large extent. Seeing them getting taken over by corporations is a little sad... Taxes go up and I don't really blame the landlords. As a real estate broker, I understand their need to raise rent to offset higher taxes. It's just unfortunate.
Emily: How did you get into the real estate business? Did you start as a broker working for someone else? Now you own your own business. Tell me about how that came to be.
Mike: I started in 2009. I had no long term ambition to get into real estate, I just honestly kind of stumbled into it. I was actually an aspiring stand-up comedian and I wanted to find a job that I could do part-time, and make some money on the side. Six-and-a-half years later, I'm doing it not only full time but seven days a week. I did start at Citi Habitats. I worked for a few other companies along the way and started my company Love Where You Live Realty in 2013.
Emily: Did you ever perform at Stand Up New York? What was your circuit?
Mike: I did, I did. I didn't really have a circuit. I did some open mics where I had to pay to show up. It didn't go quite as well as I had hoped. Seemed pretty much impossible to make a career doing it, so now I do real estate.
Emily: Your business is very different from other real estate agencies in the neighborhood or in the city that are city-wide; they don't necessarily have a neighborhood focus, and they're not specific to the Upper West Side. They might have an office here, but they're not specializing in that. Tell me about your company and why you decided to focus on this neighborhood.
Mike: Initially having grown up here, having lived here, I realized I can help a lot more people if I'm not taking three trains, and two cross-town buses every day. That's just dead time, so that was one aspect. It's more efficient. Another aspect was that I know the neighborhood. I can tell people everything good and bad that they are going to want to hear. Things that they're going to want to know about the area. I can add a lot more value by focusing here. The third thing was just kind of noticing when I was at one of the bigger companies that there's no real differentiation in this industry. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to stand out and really emphasize the focus on one neighborhood.
Emily: Can you give us a little taste of some of the stuff that you know about this market that gives you that competitive edge?
Mike: Just all of the brokers, the management companies. There are a lot of landlords, and brokers, managing agents, all of the players in real estate, there are way too many in the entirety of Manhattan to know all of them, especially closely and intimately. In terms of doing deals, it's just knowing all of those parties. Knowing the product, knowing the buildings, the different lines and different buildings. There's no way I'd be able to get that level of product knowledge down if I was working even one more neighborhood. I don't see how it would be possible, so in terms of doing real estate that would be the advantage. Just knowing the neighborhood, especially when every Manhattan neighborhood is constantly changing. Personally I'd find it really difficult to know the entire city the way I know the Upper West Side.
Emily: What's the lay of the land on the Upper West Side? Are there more rentals, or co-ops and condos?
Mike: Like in the rest of the city, inventory's very low. Like the rest of Manhattan or most of the other neighborhoods it's predominately pre-war buildings. When you're purchasing most of what you're going to be looking at is co-op, condos are for the most part newer developments outside of conversions. Rental-wise, you've got mostly brownstones and townhouses, that's what I deal with primarily, but you've got a number of apartment buildings too.
Emily: Do you find with rentals and sales that the school zone drives a lot of what people want? Like I've heard that when people want to move on the Upper West Side, they're very specific about which block they want to live on.
Mike: For the most part with buyers, but I've even had renters, couples that were not yet expecting, planning out their future, just renting an apartment with the thoughts of getting married and starting a family. People do take that quite seriously.
Emily: In that situation the school came up and they were like, "Is this next to a good school?"
Mike: Yeah well typically they won't ask me, they'll ask for the address and they look it up themselves. When they do ask me I'll tell them what district it's in. As a broker I'm not really allowed to suggest one school over another, but I can tell them this is zoned for 199, this is zoned for P.S. 87, and so forth.
Emily: Then they can take it from there.
Mike: Then they can take it from there. I will refer them to a website where they can read reviews and coordinate with the admissions people and so forth.
Emily: There's a lot of luxury development happening in the 60s, and Riverside South and Riverside Center coming online. How do you think that's going to shake up the market?
Mike: I think that the upper 50s by Hell's Kitchen will appreciate more in value. I think the most direct effect it will have is that exact area becoming more populated and popular. I don't know if it'll have an effect on kind of Upper West Side proper — 72nd through 96th, because it's already a very high-demand market. I don't know if Riverside South itself will cause appreciation there, but it will most likely open people up to considering that as another area to look for housing.
Emily: What are the rental ranges that you're looking at? What's a typical rent now for a two-bedroom on the Upper West Side?
Mike: If you're looking at a walk-up, about $3,500 to $4,000. They can start considerably lower. You'll find two-bedrooms in walk-up buildings starting at $3,000. If you're looking at a luxury building, 6, 7, 8, 9, keep going. Unlimited. Elevator buildings, if it's a two-bedroom, one bath, in a high-demand location, you should expect to spend about $4,000, maybe a little bit more.
Emily: Do you think that those prices have risen dramatically or do people just feel that everything's getting more expensive, but actually it's been a gradual increase?
Mike: I mean I started in 2009, and when you do this every day, you have to read those reports to know how much it's gone up, because it does absolutely sneak up on you, especially if you're in the industry. Prices have absolutely skyrocketed. When I started it was pretty common to find a studio for $1,600, which is the type of apartment that's now renting for about $2,200. Prices always go up, alongside taxes for building owners. Those have gotten to insane amounts as well.
Emily: Does that change who's looking for an apartment? Who comes into your office?
Mike: Yeah, I mean unfortunately it eliminates a lot of people that can no longer afford it. In terms of the types of people, not so sure, but there are less of them. More people are looking at the outer boroughs in the neighborhoods which are actually less expensive. Not Downtown Brooklyn, but certain pockets of Queens perhaps. Even the Bronx at this point. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say the demographics have noticeably changed, but people are constantly being driven out of neighborhoods because of the price increases.
Emily: Does the fact that so much of the Upper West Side is landmarked affect the supply and the inventory so that there will always be more demand than there is supply?
Mike: I think that is a factor. There's been a lot of development recently though. There are pockets of non-landmarked areas. Inventory is growing at the same time. I think demand exceeds supply in pretty much any popular neighborhood, and there's also a lot of turnover, which will never really end, so even without additional units being constructed, apartments that were once occupied are eventually going to become available.
Emily: What are the biggest changes that you've seen in the neighborhood from growing up?
Mike: I grew up in Lincoln Towers before Trump started his process of blocking my parents' old no longer existent river view. That was definitely the first thing I noticed. The insane development which led to more corporate retail locations, banks, drug stores, corporations of all types driving out small business.
Emily: Do you worry that that's just going to continue and then the character of the neighborhood…
Mike: I don't worry to be honest, because there's nothing I can do about it, so why worry? The Landmark Commission is pretty strong. They seem quite unified and resilient about maintaining historic buildings and sites, so I don't think it's going to continue indefinitely. I think there are certain limits that will block that. I think that development will probably happen over time to the maximum extent that they can legally do it. The brownstones which are on land-marked blocks I think are pretty safe for the most part.
Emily: What's your pitch to someone who walks in here to your office and they're not completely sold on the Upper West Side?
Mike: My pitch is apartments are not cheap here, but if you look at other neighborhoods, there is relative value. This is a neighborhood that you can come home to and relax, avoid a lot of that hustle and bustle that you find in midtown and downtown neighborhoods, yet still have enough good restaurants and bars, and parks, and very convenient transportation so that you can get virtually anywhere very easily, very quickly. Those are the main things.
Emily: Turning back to why people move here and what they want. What are some of the trends that you're seeing in terms of someone who walks into your office, what are they looking for, specifically for the Upper West Side?
Mike: I would say what they're looking for not so much in terms of the apartment but maybe why they're looking is ease of access to transportation. I work in Midtown, I don't wan to live there, it's too noisy but I need to be able to get there quickly. Chelsea and the West Village are too expensive even though they're on the same train line. As you mentioned public school zones are a big draw. Just again a peaceful quiet neighborhood, a neighborhood, something that feels like a neighborhood and not a tourist trap.
Emily: You and I talked once about how people were looking for fireplaces in their apartments. Are there certain quirky features that Upper West Side apartments have that maybe other neighborhoods can't offer?
Mike: The large number of brownstones will lead to qualities like fireplaces, lofts, exposed brick. That's more of a quality and characteristic you'll find in a brownstone, there are just a lot of brownstones on the Upper West Side. It's not exclusive to the Upper West Side but since there are so many brownstones, they're definitely popular among people who are looking.
Emily: I see a lot of lofted situations, is that a common feature?
Mike: It's very common, yeah.
Emily: How does that work?
Mike: It's just extra space that can be passed off as a sleep loft. Personally I would not sleep in a loft. I used to, and it gets very hot in the summer, but its good for storage. A lot of people like them. There are a lot of people that see it as dead space. I totally understand that perspective as well. For the most part these brownstones pretty much entirely did not start out as ten-unit buildings, they were single-family homes. A lot of the quirky nooks and crannies that people find in this type of building is a result of having to alter it and just end up with something kind of funky. It's not going to be-
Emily: It gets carved up in a funny way.
Mike: With new construction you can have a perfect box, a perfect rectangle. With old buildings that were single family homes, it's going to be a little bit tougher to have it totally symmetrical, but again that's something that people are sometimes looking for here.
Emily: What are your tips for people looking at real estate on the Upper West Side? For buyers, are you advising that they offer over the asking price? Are you seeing crazy situations with like all cash offers?
Mike: Yeah, yeah. I mean I tell buyers the truth and that's that most apartments right now are going for at least asking price. I don't necessarily tell them you should offer more. It has to be worth it to them, but if they're determined and they've seen enough to know that this is the right place, and they really want it, I'll tell them what they need to do to lock it down and right now it's definitely not a buyer's market, so that would be to offer asking price or beyond for the most part.
Emily: Have you seen the market go in waves where maybe it would be a buyers' market?
Mike: Of course, of course.
Emily: Do you think that's coming again?
Mike: Probably, probably. The first two years that I worked, 2009, 2010, were strong renters and buyer’s markets where they really had their pick. All that new development backfired on the developers and landlords. It comes in waves, absolutely. Sometimes even though I have plenty of buyers that realize it's a seller’s market, and they're going to pay a premium because of that, but at the same time when they look at the opportunity cost of spending $5,000 a month in rent, they decide for them it is a better time to buy. It's really, you have to look at the macro factors, but also what is your financial situation? For a lot of people, again even if they have to spend more at the end of the day they'll save money by not renting. It just depends on how their finances are looking.
Emily: Do you have Upper West Siders that kind of hook on to you for the length of their journey in New York? They start as a studio, and then they come back to you and move up?
Mike: Oh yeah, it's exciting, I have a lot of long-term repeat clients. They've been really the core of my business. I have, and it's nice to see their upward mobility. It's nice to see that they haven't, at least not all of them, been driven out by high prices. They're doing well and a lot of my clients have become very good friends at this point.
Emily: I saw on your site that you have a three-visit guarantee.
Mike: Oh no it's not a guarantee, that would be a little bit dangerous, but it's a three showing challenge. Full disclosure, if I don't meet the challenge there is no reward, but it's just to kind of emphasize the fact that I prefer to get it done quickly, clients prefer that I do so. Nobody wants to run around mindlessly and it's just to kind of advertise the fact that I am here to get the job done quickly.
Emily: If somebody came in on a Saturday could you see all three by the end of the day?
Mike: Potentially.
Emily: Is that the typical timeline?
Mike: In terms of volume I would say very rarely do I show more than five apartments to a renter. Usually, it's two to three. If it's a buyer they'll naturally need to see more. A lot of clients, renters and buyers will come to me after they've been looking for a while, and I'll be able to narrow it down quickly.
Emily: Is that a fun challenge for you?
Mike: It's a fun challenge. Again there's no reward if it takes four.
Emily: Is the environment competitive among brokers up here?
Mike: Oh yeah.
Emily: You have the three apartment challenge and you said also that people might come to you after going through other brokers. Is there poaching going on?
Mike: I can tell you that there's not a lot of poaching when it comes to someone trying to steal renters. The kind of poaching that does exist, because it's a very cutthroat business is going after landlord and developer accounts. There's always going to be a lot of that and it's a very competitive business that will never ever change.
Emily: How do you prevent that from happening?
Mike: Doing a good job, working through referrals, being up front and honest, and maybe too honest sometimes about what I can do and what I can not do. The actual value that I can add. I'll tell people right off the bat that if they're looking for a luxury rental building, I have to charge them a fee and they probably don't want to do that, they probably don't want to go through me if it's a building they can walk into. I might lose the deal then but at the end of the day it's the only way to preserve my reputation and prolong my business by being very upfront with people.
Emily: Do you think that this model of being neighborhood focused in realty is one that could expand, or is a good one for other neighborhoods?
Mike: I think it will. I think it will. It's kind of part of the sharing economy, the tech-focused economy. I think new ideas are a result of combining different industries, and ideas breed, and so far it's worked, so I think other companies will most likely follow suit and I wouldn't be upset if they did. If anything it would kind of validate the presence of a neighborhood specific real estate model.
Emily: What are some of the weirdest ... You've had a lot of experience, you've seen a lot of apartments. What are some of the quirkiest, weirdest situations you've found yourself in, or apartments that you've seen?
Mike: I've been locked in apartments several times. I've been locked in buildings. I was locked in a building once for about two hours and the lobby just started filling up. It was very early, it was like 9:00 a.m. and there must have been 20 people in there. I took the initiative of asking if any of the people who lived in this building, because I was showing it, had a crowbar. They don't teach you this in real estate school but sometimes you have to be good with locks. It's just part of the business if you want to escape. That was one of my proudest moments, not most profitable moments but I really enjoyed that. Feeling like-
Emily: What did you do?
Mike: Yeah, somebody brought down a crowbar and I kind of jimmied the door open, and just kind of walked away while whistling. Just kind of left that alone, maybe I shouldn't have done that, but that was interesting to say the least. Oh another good story was having to climb out of a window because I was locked in an apartment for about two-and-a-half hours. My client was there with me. We had both lost patience, because there was no one coming to rescue us and we climbed out of a third story window, down several fire escapes. It was pretty scary but we wanted to leave. We wanted to get out.
Emily: Did they end up taking the apartment?
Mike: No, no, they did not. That was the worst part of it. They hated the apartment too. There's really nothing good about that except for a fun story that I can tell you.
Emily: You were locked in an apartment that both of you hated?
Mike: I was pretty indifferent, but he definitely did not like it, nor did he like being stuck in it.
Emily: I had no idea real estate brokers were locked in so often.
Mike: Yeah it happens. A lot of the older buildings, sometimes it's a result of the maintenance people and the painters being there earlier in the day.
Emily: Do you try and avoid that?
Mike: Do I try to avoid getting locked into apartments? Yeah.
Emily: What steps do you take to avoid that I guess?
Mike: I don't, there's nothing I do. If it happens it happens. I should remember every time I enter an apartment to bolt the door, but I just don't, so I have not learned my lesson. At some point I or one of my agents will probably get locked in. Yeah I haven't learned much from that.
Emily: What are some of the weirdest spaces you've seen? You said that sometimes apartments get carved up.
Mike: I've seen some tiny, tiny apartments. My first year for the most part I saw a top- floor apartment with no bathroom, the kitchen was a mini-fridge and a microwave. It was like a tiny pyramid with ceilings that were angled, and it was like a tiny little triangle that apparently somebody now lives in. That was the scariest apartment I've ever seen.
Emily: Was the location good?
Mike: Yeah, you know I think it was on West 77th and Riverside or between Riverside and West End maybe. Very good location. It was a disturbing space.
Emily: Did you end up renting it?
Mike: I did not. I went to see it really out of curiosity, and to see if any of my studio clients at the time might be interested, but they weren't. It was just a very interesting small space. As a real estate broker after a few years you'll have seen quite a few, for lack of better words, dumpy spaces.
Emily: Have you seen the flip sides, some amazing apartments?
Mike: Oh yeah.
Emily: What is your favorite?
Mike: I've seen some pretty stunning apartments. The Apple Bank building, at the Dorilton on 71st street.
Emily: Just in terms of furnishings, or layout, or views?
Mike: Views, space. I've seen luxury apartments with just panoramic views where you can see Westchester. I've definitely seen the best and the worst, and definitely the old and the new, and I like the contrast.
Emily: Do you think people are still hot on pre-war?
Mike: It's always going to have it's draw. It's always going to be popular. Yeah I think people often times are still drawn to it and will be drawn to the character. A lot of buildings are much more soundly constructed, have a lot of the original features, high ceilings, more spacious layouts, because at that time they weren't necessarily just trying to cram in as many tenants or buyers as possible.
Emily: If you were going to invest in New York City where would you buy an investment property?
Mike: The South Bronx, without question. This is not a neighborhood where you're going to find as much upside unless you're spending $10 million, $15 million. It's like buying a blue chip stock if you're buying real estate on the Upper West Side. It's safe, it's steady. It's risen in value. It will continue to climb gradually, but if you want to see on a budget some extreme appreciation, right now I would go with the South Bronx. There's been just a huge amount of commercial development in the last couple of years. Hotels, restaurants, retail and there's going to be a lot coming, so I would definitely focus 100 percent there if you're looking strictly as an investor.
If you're looking to buy buildings and the cap rate is very important to you, then maybe the South Bronx wouldn't be quite as attractive. It's about the appreciation, because right now the rents are not very high, so that would not get a super high cap rate of like 7 percent or 8 percent, but if you want to make a lot in the long run, that's what I would advise. I'm actually looking to put my own money there.
Emily: On the Upper West Side, do you think that, say like a Manhattan Valley would be a wise investment? Do you see that?
Mike: Yeah, Manhattan Valley for sure, yeah. The Morningside area which is kind of considered more along Broadway and 110th. It's still a good investment but it's risen in value a lot more already than Manhattan Valley, so yeah I would say the 100ths east of Amsterdam will definitely be a place that appreciates quite a bit. Obviously going into south and central Harlem along Frederick Douglass Boulevard which has been a strong investor's market for years now.
Emily: Thank you so much for all your tips.
Mike: Absolutely.
Emily: It was fascinating hearing your stories. Thank you for talking with me.
Mike: Thank you for asking.
