PLG, are you ready for MySpace Realty? They are coming.

whynot_31

Lefferts Gardens
661 Flatbush Ave. (near Hawthorne)
Brooklyn, NY 11225
Coming soon 4/1!

http://myspacenyc.com/listings/

Their business model is to be the realtor of choice for LLCs which have recently purchased small to medium-sized buildings.

Vacancies are then created by paying off (and/or pushing out) long-term, often rent stabilized, tenants.

Once apartments are vacant, quick renovation jobs are completed, which cater to the preferences of young people (ie stainless steel appliances, IKEA cabinets and closets, and exposed brick).

The apartments are then rented to young people who are renting their first place in the city, and often willing to share the units with others.

By creating bedrooms, being willing to accept shares and even facilitating matches, the apartments are often filled "room by room" by tenants who need an apartment quickly and don't own a lot of stuff.

As a result of working closely with LLCs who flip buildings, MySpace is willing to charge the new tenants "no fee". Whereas many realtors who target more established tenants, charge a fee to fill apartments in buildings they have no relationship with.

By being willing to accept lease guarantors (usually the parents), the firm houses young people with no established work history who are often willing to live in neighborhoods that their slightly-more-established-in-NYC peers shun.

By targeting young tenants, the firm can be assured regular turnover which results in vacancy bonuses to apartments that are still subject to rent stabilization.

A very powerful, efficient, profitable model.

...driven by demand.

And, often completely legal.

It only works in neighborhoods that are very close to more expensive, more desireable areas.

whynot_31

Needless to say, the model is quickly being replicated by other realty firms:

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/03/13/developer_plans_new_york_city_dormitories_for_grownups.php

whynot_31

MySpace has taken out advertisement on Brownstoner, extolling the virtues of where to eat, drink and shop in PLG.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/04/where-to-eat-drink-and-shop-in-prospect-lefferts-gardens/

psyker390

I came across this a bit ago. Was a bit weirded out when I realized it was an ad.

Bookmarked the list for future reference, though.

epiclylaterd

"Now, with an influx of young New Yorkers looking for affordable space in Brooklyn, the neighborhood is getting a new crop of restaurants, bars, and shops to add to its vibrant Caribbean culture"

"to add to" is a cute glossing over of "to get rid of."

whynot_31

I like how nicely this campaign follows the prior "campaign", which took place about a year ago. The prior one involved a different real estate firm, which used a video filmed in PLG as an ad even though it was not intended as such:



The beauty of using it as an ad was that the bystanders did not know they were being filmed, or the happy young white woman.    As a result, it effectively sent the message, "even if you are out of place, you are safe here. You can do stupid things and people (ie not white people) will still like you.   You will be happy here."

It was advertising genius because she nicely represents what I like to call the "broke artist wave", who doesn't really care about bars and restaurants, because they are too broke to enjoy them. They are young and just want to be safe.

Now, PLG has moved up the liveability scale. It has several more restaurants and bars than it did just a year ago. The existing artist wave causes an impression of improved safety.

As a result, the real estate industry hopes to benefit from a slightly wealthier wave.

A wave that does not need the same implicit assurances of safety. One that wants bars nearby, because (unlike broke artist wave), they are wealthy enough to enjoy them once and a while. They are savvy enough in their apartment search to stumble upon Brownstoner;&nbsp, and I like to refer to them as the "MySpace Wave".  

As the MySpace ad notes, they also believe that they want a neighborhood with some racial and economic diversity. 

However, as you point out, they don't know that preserving the "culture" is both not actually important to them AND not possible when a lot of "them" arrive.

That's ok, because once the culture is gone, they are at a stage in their life (and have the economic means) to simply move if a neighborhood does not meet their needs.

Have you ever been to a new suburb where (to attract new residents) they literally name the streets after what used to be there and/or will soon be gone? ....Babbling Brook Road, Blue Spruce Lane, Meadow Drive, etc?

As you point out, this has some similarities.    

The world pushes and pulls people to different places, who then push others.   Given the scale of the phenomena, only from space can one that humanity is pushing itself in circles.  

Because it is a giant circle, trying to find the start seems pretty fruitless.

Bnode

I worked for myspace, and it really is deplorable how some of their "exclusive" landlords act, and they do nothing to change that. Just check out this horrifying article about the Hasidic communities involvement in the outflux of original residence. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/05/grim-racist-methods-of-one-brooklyn-landlord.html?mid=facebook_nymag

whynot_31

Part of the brilliance of their business model is that they come in after that part is done.

This ad spells out their model better than I did above:

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2015/07/looking-for-a-roommate-myspace-nyc-will-find-one-for-you/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Brownstoner&utm_content=Looking+for+a+Roommate?+MySpace+NYC+Will+Find+One+for+You

MrBisco

Even without the disgusting tactics taken by a number of landlords (just saw a full gut-reno job on Pacific where half the tenants are clearly still stabilized, the other half are "gone"), it's bizarre that MySpace has such a stronghold on so many properties that they can essentially apply the collegiate housing office model to Brooklyn.

whynot_31

MySpace has a reputation that it will fill such properties with people who will pay top dollar, not complain, and move regularly.

This translates into vacancy bonuses for the owners of rent stabilized buildings, while the tenants benefit from a rare "no fee" lease.

whynot_31

The model is not only attractive to landlords and tenants, it is also attractive to real estate agents.

MySpace is presently expanding and hiring: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/rej/5109029680.html

In many ways, they are like referral agents. They understand that the real money is NOT made in providing the actual service (housing or, in this example, addiction treatment); it is in providing the referrals to the service.

Here's that example:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=&bih=&q=addiction+referral+agents&gbv=2&oq=addiction+referral+&gs_l=heirloom-hp.1.1.0l2j0i22i30l8.1240.9382.0.14202.19.17.0.2.2.0.78.1108.17.17.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-hp..0.19.1108.bK2kgObR-ww

http://www.behavioral.net/news-item/american-addiction-centers-buys-two-digital-marketing-firms