Real estate in New York City is far different than in other areas. For example, if you wanted to live in the Upper West Side – in The Dakota perhaps – the three bedroom, two bath home where West Side Story was conceived is available now for just under $6 million. If that’s too rich for you, a one-bath studio apartment on West End can be yours for just $435,000. The operative word is “studio” where there is on separate bedroom. The almost half-million dollar purchase price does not cover the monthly maintenance fee of $964, which does include utilities.

A recent report by Prudential’s Douglas Elliman shows housing prices have doubled in the last ten years in Manhattan. For example, a decade ago the average price of a home was $710,000. The average price this year is almost $1.4 million. However, prices are coming down as indicated by the 12 percent DROP from the previous year.

With this kind of up and down activity on the home buying/selling front, the good news is there are real estate agents available and ready to help you find real estate to rent. This is a phenomenon that we’re starting to see across the nation, but it has been perfected by New York agents. Often renters will be required to pay a finder’s fee, but overall rents are dropping along with home prices.

The least expensive place to buy an apartment in New York, as reported by Habitat New York, is Uptown, Brooklyn or Queens. Here, studio apartments start at $1200 and three bedrooms start at $3,000. The most expensive are in the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Midtown apartments that start at $1,600 per month and go upwards of $12,000 per month.

If you’re ready to take a bite out of the big apple, be prepared to pay the apple’s weight in gold to buy or plan a good commute for the most affordable apartment rentals.

A New York real estate lawyer handles purchases and sales of condominium apartments, co-operative apartments and homes, commercial and residential real estate transactions, assignments of sub-leases and leases, and more. A New York real estate lawyer also handles litigation involving real estate with banks, architects, building contractors, insurance companies and landlord-tenant litigation. A real estate lawyer handles building and remodeling agreements, and works to settle disputes regarding budget, materials, craftsmanship and other issues.

There are two categories of real estate lawyers in New York: litigation lawyers, who mainly work on lawsuits involving real estate, and transactional lawyers, who mainly deal with agreements and contracts involving real estate. Before hiring a real estate lawyer, clients should decide on which of the two types of lawyers they need. A New York real estate lawyer helps clients drawing up a lease agreement based on New York real estate law when leasing a real estate property, and represents the client if any landlord-tenant disputes arise. When purchasing real estate, one has to sign up a Promissory Note, so it is always advisable to keep a real estate lawyer present.

It is essential for all New York real estate lawyers to pass the bar exam, which includes multiple-choice questions and essay questions. On passing the bar exam, one must apply to the Appellate Court to seek entry to the bar and, after passing the interview with the Character and Fitness Committee, one can practice law in New York. Some of the most prominent real estate law firms are the Law Office of Kevork Adanas; Silverberg, Stonehill, Goldsmith and Haber; the Harry Herbertz Law Offices, and many more.