REAL ESTATES FORUM

The New York Times
October 28, 2007

When the Price Includes Tenants
By HOPE REEVES

REAL ESTATE listings are filled with houses and apartments with sky-high
prices. But sometimes, a listing will turn up that seems too good to be
true.

Usually thereąs a catch, and the catch is often that the property comes with
one or more rent-regulated tenants. While these houses and apartments can
sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than similar places nearby,
they also come with a long list of problems that buyers will have to contend
with.

Rent regulations were established in 1943 as a way of ensuring affordable
housing for returning war veterans. They strictly limit the amount of rent
that a regulated apartment can command and protect tenants from the vagaries
of the rental market.

For buyers, removing rent-regulated tenants can be difficult and in some
cases, impossible. Even when the situation can be resolved to everybodyąs
satisfaction, the process tends to be time-consuming and expensive.

But in a market where anything considered a bargain is worth a second