Whatever anyone might think of the split between the founders of Rocafella Records,  it’s clear one made a better decision than the other two.

Today, Kareem Burke awaits his fate after being arrested in a federal drug probe while Damon Dash makes another attempt at being a rap mogul.

And after parting company with his former partners, Jay Z went from appearing on the cover of hip hop magazines to being pictured alongside Warren Buffet on the cover of Forbes 400 Richest People in America.

Would you pick yourself first if you thought it could lead to the success you want?

If you’re like most people, your answer will depend on the people around you and the influence they have on your  future.

the company you keep

From the day we’re born, we learn about the world we live in through our five senses.

And the filter we start to experience the world through are the people who care about us most, our family.

As we get older, we start to pick friends to broaden our experiences beyond our family, where “coming of age” issues become the ties that bind us together.

In time, the people who have the most influence on us are the people we’ve picked to be in our lives.  They reinforce who we are based on where we’ve been together.

And that’s the problem.

That part of your mental neighborhood you’ve invited your friends to occupy isn’t equipped to help you become who you want to be …  (at least not in the beginning).

The moment you develop a vision for the success you want is the time you start getting the experience to realize it and acknowledge that it won’t happen with your friends at your side.

For Jay Z, it was clear he had a vision for himself that didn’t include being just a platinum selling rapper and marquee act on the label’s roster of recording artists.

should I stay or should I GROW

So why did it take him more than 10 years to take that one important step?

The same thing that’s keeping you back.  FEAR.

Forget the swagger you hear inside the 16 bars he spits, Jay Z only knew what he was capable of through the success he achieved with his friends.

Despite any motivation he felt over time to chart his own course, it wasn’t strong enough to overcome the fear of failure.

It would ultimately take important events in his life over time to reveal to him that…

• there’s more to me than how others see me (your potential)
• life is too short and tomorrow is not promised to anyone (your destiny)
• I want what I do to benefit others in a meaningful way (your legacy)

And the only way to do that is to …

Pick yourself first!

You’ll need to pick yourself first by taking your vision for the kind of success you want serious enough to develop

• the goals you’ll need to establish
• the steps it will take in
• the action plan you write to estimate
• the time and resources needed to make it happen

And all of that can be done on a single sheet of paper, no matter how grand the vision is.

The only thing you’ll need to decide is are you ready to start where you are right now because you’ll need to get the experience to make your vision a reality.

Trust me, I’ve been there.  All my friends at work and at home were all encouraging me to find another job on Wall Street.

After being laid off from my last corporate employer in 2002, starting a career in real estate sales couldn’t be further removed from what I did to make a living my entire work life.

If I hadn’t put myself through that process, Corley Realty Group wouldn’t exist today, and neither would my ability to  overcome my fear of failure.

Are you ready to pick yourself?

Do you know what you want to do for the kind of success you want?  Are you working on your action plan or still contemplating your next move?  What’s keeping you back for taking the next step?

Let’s talk about it in the comments below .

Since we’re charting a new path for our blog, what better way to begin than where we left off in 2011 by focusing on what you value most.

While it might not have been apparent at the time, the majority of our posts last year was on the subject of value.

Whether I was tackling property value, neighborhood value or the valuable role you play in sustaining local businesses, I found myself writing posts on the subject without being conscious of it.

It wasn’t until we published a home buyers guide showing you seven steps to getting the most value in a distress property sale that it finally became clear.

It’s time to show you how to get more by getting involved.

Get More by Getting Involved

I know the above statement might conjure up images in your mind of petitions, occupations and demonstrations.

With many of us work for a living, being part of a mass movement isn’t something many of us can participate in due to the responsibilities we have to our family, employers and households.

While there’s plenty you would be willing to take to the streets for, people with children, bills and commitments can’t make a difference that way.

In your world,  issues concerning job security, seeing your children get a good education and making sure you keep a roof over your family’s head are your first priorities.

But just because you can’t add your voice to the public outcry in that manner doesn’t mean you can’t bring about the change you hope for right where you live.

The Key to Getting More

The key to getting more is knowing what you value most.

Because what you place any value on is where your heart is and that’s what will motivate you to act.

That motivation will drive you to get the results you want, which leads to higher value in the quality of life you’re experiencing.

And if you’re going to raise the value in where you own, what you start and how your kids learn in Brownstone Brooklyn, understanding what motivates you is where it all begins.

At its core, you’ll find what motivates you to get up and face new challenges each day is exactly what’s motivating your neighbors.

After you understand that for yourself, learning how to get involved is the easy part because …

• What you value will fuel your beliefs
• your beliefs will drive your thoughts
• your thoughts will influence your feelings
• and your feelings will cause you to make decisions
• those decisions will lead to action
• and that action wants results

And showing you how to get involved is where we come in.

I and other great contributors are going to publish actionable content at My Brooklyn Report that’s designed to show you

• the value available
• the benefits offered and
• how to realize it for yourself

Some of the great people bringing you the best of their experiences in the areas of their expertise won’t just deliver editorial opinions.  They understand our new mission and are excited to be aboard.

And I’m excited to offer the breadth of my 10 year experience as an entrepreneur and real estate broker and hope what we’ll do here from now on benefits our readers in a more meaningful way.

Now here’s where I can use your help getting the word out

If you like where My Brooklyn Report is headed than like us on Facebook so you can be a part of this journey.

Share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus 1 with the social share buttons below.

And if you got any ideas, suggestions or well wishes you would like to convey, please do so in the comments below.  I really enjoy interacting with you there.

See you back here soon .

We couldn’t agree more.

When we started in 2009, we offered commentary on how New York City politics impacted residential real estate in Brownstone Brooklyn.

In 2010, we bought in-depth content on real estate issues affecting home buyers, apartment renters, homeowners and property sellers.

2011 saw us publish our first e-book showing home buyers seven steps to buying their new home in a short sale successfully.

So what is our new mission in 2012?

We may have offered a clue early in 2011 on where we saw our evolution as a resource when we published your property value in Brownstone Brooklyn.

It was in that post we explored WHAT and WHO really creates value, and what they needed to do to increase it.

After writing that post I started thinking about where My Brooklyn Report could offer real value.

That’s when I focused on the areas in our lives we wanted to see the change we hoped for in 2008 and what it would take to realize it;

Learn, Start and Own in Brooklyn

We’re ready to be your guide on how to;

Get ready … change has come to Brooklyn in 2012.

Happy New Year!!!

After being married to my lovely wife for 19 years, I’ve learned the only way to know what’s on someone’s mind is to simply ask.

And thanks to her, I can admit that I’m not a mind reader.

So I want you to help me learn how I can help you.

Let me know what we should cover here that will help you win at your Buying, Selling, Owning and Renting in Brooklyn and throughout New York City.

I didn’t want our new content offerings to be the last word on what should matter to you.

Some of you out there are working hard to get a great deal on your new place, while others are hoping to do better than just maintain what they already have.

And maybe you’d like to see us write about those issues that speak closer to what your experiencing right now.

Well here’s your chance to be heard

Take 3 minutes to complete our 2011 reader survey (the first one we’ve ever offered) and give me an earful about your Brooklyn real estate experience.

After we’ve collected everyone’s feedback, we’ll share what’s on your collective minds in a follow up post in November.

Then I’ll get to work on the issues you’ve raised and offer some suggestions in future posts on how to approach it to win at what your trying to accomplish.

Sorry you couldn't participate in our survey. We scheduled it only to collect our visitors response over a 3 week period. Stay tuned for the results we'll be posting an update on in November 2011.

I remember my Mom telling me that the only thing permanent in life is change.

So as much as you and I hate having to change with the times, I’m happy to announce that the changes coming here aren’t designed to cause any harm or discomfort.

Some of these changes are long overdue and I’m really excited about how they’ll improve your experience with the online guide to Brooklyn real estate.

Let me explain…

Changes to our site

I’ve already mentioned a few times how we’ve been fighting off a hacker’s efforts to use the good will and trust with you and new visitors.

That experience made it clear how I couldn’t assume people played fair on the Internet and how much harm they could do.

And I believe the commenting system that comes standard with the WordPress software that runs our site is a way to get in through spam comments containing links with viruses and malware.

So we decided it was time to implement some changes we think you’ll like:

• Changing how you can make comments and participate in the conversations with livefyre.

This will allow anyone leaving a comment to do so using any of their social network identities without leaving their email address.

So if you’re on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus One, you can leave a comment and participate in the conversation.

I want to see our community grow here, where we can have an open dialogue on the topics we bring front and center.  And one way we can do that is to make it easier for everyone to participate.

New and valuable content

When I got started blogging I wrote about how politics affect the real estate in central Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Having grown up in Bedford Stuyvesant and finding a row of run down city owned buildings on Fulton street in that condition for 30 years hit me hard.

After doing a 3 post series on that set of buildings, I learned how things get done in New York City and how it’s often at odds with a neighborhood’s residents.

But I wanted to take a different approach by not letting future posts evolve into opinionated, blame game commentary.

Writing about those buildings and others like it in Crown Heights served as inspiration to offer …

• New content on valuing where you live in Brownstone Brooklyn and throughout New York City

A personal goal of mine has always been to see new and existing residents who visit and subscribe to My Brooklyn Report become empowered as stakeholders where they live in Brooklyn NYC.

While the above can read like a mouthful, it does a good job of outlining how we’ll tackle new subjects here that we hadn’t before in a big way, like …

• New York City Public School Education
• Starting and Running a Business in New York City, and
• Investing in Real Estate … but you knew we’d get to this at some point

You’ll start seeing new content on that and other subjects by me and other big thinkers with expertise in these areas.

The one common theme you’ll find in posts on these subjects is that they’ll identify a problem and offer ways to solve it, step by step.

Because each post will make the property value framework easy to implement just by involving yourself in the conversation here and the opportunities we identify all around you.

What else do we have in store?

I’m really excited about the upcoming release of the 7 step guide to buying your new home in a short sale.

This home buying guide is long overdue and I’m anxious to see what subscribers and those who’ve reserved their copy think of it.

While this is the biggest thing I’m working on right now, I’ve got something incredible coming in January 2012 that I can’t wait to tell you about.

I’ve been asked not to say too much until we’re closer to launching it next year, so stay tuned for details about Buying Brooklyn.

Thanks as always for reading and spread the word about all we’re doing by sharing this post with your friends and family online.

I’ll See you back here soon .

Its time for me to put up or shut up by delivering the home buying guide I promised.

What I’ve been talking about for some time now is ready and this time I’ve made sure we’re in a position to ship to those who reserved their copy and to our email subscribers.

We’ve braved the onslaught of the pharma hack to our site for our online reputation and have even managed to come through a family medical crisis for my daughter that easily made me appreciate how fragile life is.

I’ve tightened up security around here to make My Brooklyn Report safe for you and will continue to make changes to keep from going through another experience like that.

But in case you didn’t think I had the goods …

Here’s a peak at the cover for the 7 step guide to buying your new home in a short sale.

What took 6 weeks to write in 2010 has taken more than a year to release for a myriad of reasons.

At one point I didn’t think I would be able to get this out.  The work I’ve been doing for the last 10 years hadn’t prepared me for the challenges I would face over the last 12 months.

(contrary to popular belief, not everyone who puts up a site is ready for site hacks, malware and comment spamming)

And because of that, I apologize to you for not living up the expectations I’ve set for myself for this project.

I’ve really worked hard to make this home buying guide stand out from the usual noise found on the Internet about buying a house because it was important to make it location specific.

And after all … real estate will always be about location, location and location.

So on October 26th 2010, the wait will be over

And the real fun begins because I’ll not only be shipping Buying Right The First Time … I’ll also host an online webinar to help you learn how to use the tools in the e-book.

The email I’ll send will contain a link to a page here to download your copy of the home buying guide and a sign up form that will contain dates you can request to attend the webinar.

(but space will be limited on all 3 dates I’ll offer to make sure there’s time to ask any questions you have while we’re online together)

So if you want in on the 7 step guide to buying your new home in a short sale then don’t let the clock below run out on you.

Unfortunately, the clock ran out and the offer is no longer available this year.

We’re giving some thought to making it available again next year FREE in January 2012.

Head over to Buying Brooklyn and add your email to the list for the launch and you’ll also be eligible to receive a copy of Buy Right the First Time – Seven Steps to Buying Your New Home in a Short Sale Successfully.

My Brooklyn Report has been under attack for some time now, threatening to damage our online reputation.

It seems that each time we’ve attempted to launch our short sales e-workbook for download, our site has been found to contain malicious code injected into our database by a pharma hack.

We’ve been aware of this since the summer began, but only recently have found the tools and resources needed to keep this from happening again.

It’s important that we have these measures in place so we can continue bringing you the online real estate guide to Brownstone Brooklyn.

If you would have told me that we’d be battling a sophisticated online hack at My Brooklyn Report, I would have laughed you out of the building.

I couldn’t have imagined our little site being the center of some hacker’s attention in any way possible.

But after seeing our Alexa ranking below, I guess it doesn’t pay to be naive about our place on the Internet.

While our site doesn’t see the kind of traffic others do globally, to be ranked where we are was quite an accomplishment since 2009.

After speaking with a few pros in the web security business, it was explained that our site was exactly the kind targeted by hackers because of how focused the content is on a subject matter and the audience that trusts it.

Right then I knew I hadn’t been as aware as I should have been about our standing on the Internet.  All this time I thought I was writing to a few people a month who happened to be interested in Brooklyn real estate.

It was then that I was pointed to Quantcast that put it all in perspective for me, as you’ll see below:

For the first time I realized there were more people visiting and reading the content we published here than imagined.

After coming to terms with what I had just learned, it was important for me to make sure none of our site visitors would be exposed to any malware, phishing, adware or spyware that could be installed without our knowing.

Here are some of the changes we’ve implemented and others to come:

• Strengthen login passwords for editorial staff
• Identify spam commenters who have links in their remarks carefully
• harden web site database to prevent illegal intrusions
• retain web service to monitor site 24/7 for any unauthorized changes
• join Web Of Trust community to allow user surveys on trust factors for website

We’ve taken great steps to avoid any further hacking episodes here so we can resume delivering the online real estate guide to Brownstone Brooklyn you’ve come to expect from me.

All of the above measures will be fully implemented on October 10th, which will allow us to finally set up the Short Sale E-Book download worry free.

I want to thank you for the trust and confidence you’ve shown our efforts to date and let you know from the bottom of my heart how much I appreciate your readership here.

I don’t plan to take it for granted ever again after having the above bought to my attention.

See you back here soon .

Does the world need one more web site with a Facebook Page?

It does if it brings “friends” inside the social network exclusive content about living in Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhoods in New York City.

And we’re not talking about the cookie cutter content you get on other sites about Brooklyn.

We see them knocking each other over to alert you to the latest restaurant to eat at, the newest bar to hang at or the trendy boutique to shop at.

We’re fine leaving it to them to announce the grand opening of another coffee shop with free WiFi you can sit and sip at with your laptop.

What I’m excited about is the chance to celebrate living in Brooklyn among family and friends who call it home or have lived here before or who plan to move here soon.

And thanks to the Team at The Brooklyn Deal, we have a partner interested in bringing these stories to Facebook and not the same old Sugar-Honey-Iced-Tea.

Live Here in Brownstone Brooklyn

Is all about the people, places and things that make up the rich communities found here.

From the schools attended by kids who are now parents raising families and inhabiting homes on tree-lined blocks to the neighbors we chat with across wrought iron fences while sitting on stoops.

You’ll see some of the most breathtaking architecture found inside Mansions, Schools and Churches, and meet homeowners remodeling turn of the century row houses while bringing harmony between the old and the new.

And we’ll let down our hair down and have some fun with fun fact quizzes and contests where the winners can earn cash or prizes for the right answer.

We’re also starting somethin’ between neighbors

When we unveil our official contests honoring the Art and Style of Brooklynites at Home from entries by those who like us, who are also competing for:

• Best Kitchen
• Best Bathroom
• Best Living Room, and
• Best Front and Back Yards

So here’s our official invitation to join our Block Party on Facebook.  All you need to do now is click on the button below and ….

Fannie Mae issued a press release in November 2010 that they would lower conforming loan limits on mortgages used to purchase 1-4 family properties on October 1st 2011.

This is the clearest sign the Obama Administration wants you to buy your new home in a short sale.

Because after September 30th, you’ll lose the ability to borrow $599,450  in a mortgage.

How can you benefit from this change in mortgage lending?

(I thought you’d never ask)

15% less in New York City

While I know it doesn’t seem obvious on the surface, I’ll break down why this couldn’t be better news for anyone still looking to buy their new home in Brooklyn or anywhere else in New York City later in this post.

For now, Let’s begin by going over what these changes look like in the chart below:

If you compare existing loan limits to the ones set to go into effect, you’ll see the most you can borrow for each property type has been lowered.

After doing a quick calculation, it appears Fannie Mae lowered existing borrowing limits by 15% across all residential property types (except for coop apartments).

Some lenders are getting a head start on these changes by advising borrowers their loan applications would be processed using the new conforming loan limits before they go into effect.

Why they lowered borrowing limits

Currently, Fannie Mae stands behind 9 out of 10 new mortgages in a $10.6 trillion housing market.

The government sponsored entity (along with Freddie Mac) also received a bailout that cost U.S. taxpayers approximately $150 billion.

After suffering losses from defaulted mortgages, both were propped up to buy new mortgages created after raising borrowing limits to their current levels.

They increased existing conforming loan limits in 2008 for New York City by 75%, which saw the limit for a 2 family brownstone townhouse go from $533,850 to $934,200.

The move was intended to help homeowners with sub-prime and adjustable rate mortgages refinance into affordable 30 year loans.

But as the real estate led recession deepened, the foreclosure crisis birthed a perfect environment for property flips and greater market risk for the fragile mortgage giant.

So how does this change benefit me?

After giving you the back story, here’s where I’ll break down how this benefits you using a real world example.

But before we do, let’s recap the changes in home lending in New York City:

• Fannie Mae will lower conforming loan limits by 15% on 1-4 family properties on 10/1/11
• Lenders are already processing new mortgage applications using the new loan limits

I know it doesn’t leap of the page and scream “what a deal” like the $7,500 home buyer tax credit did.

Who couldn’t get excited about getting a tax credit for doing something they were going to do anyway.

But just like 0% financing and cash back offers from automobile manufacturers, the home buyer tax credit was an incentive to get you to buy a new home at full list price.

And since no political will is left to offer any more tax incentives, Washington had one regulatory trick left up their sleeve to force investors to approve short sales in greater numbers.

A 2 Family Brownstone in Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Back in August 2010 I asked, how much will 176 Adelphi Street sell for in Fort Greene, Brooklyn in a new series we introduced that we’ll resume at My Brooklyn Report beginning September 2011.

After checking the property’s title history, I saw it hadn’t sold to date.  It was originally listed for sale at $1,475,000 in 2010.

While I don’t see it back on market, I’ll use the last list price offered in our demonstration and assume that a ready, willing and able buyer came forward to make the highest offer that an owner might accept.

If you look carefully at the chart below, you’ll see that we’re using the same accepted offer while comparing the impact of the old and new loan limits on mortgage financing.

What you’ll notice from the chart is that the first 3 variables remain the same;

1. Accepted Offer Price
2. Down Payment, and
3. Finance Needed

Where this deal takes a $133,425 swing is the difference in what can be financed under the OLD and NEW loan limits.

The financing shortfall under the OLD loan limit isn’t a shortfall, as the buyer could borrow the entire amount needed (and more if necessary) in a mortgage.

Under the NEW loan limit, the same buyer would have to come up with an additional $99,225 before a lender would agree to finance their purchase.

Even if the home appraise for $1 million, a buyer’s savings and source of funds will determine if the buyer gets a loan commitment under the new conforming loan limit for a 2 family property.

But is this seller in foreclosure or just looking to relocate?   The answer to that question will reveal your next move, because …

If the seller is in foreclosure

Then she’ll need her lender’s short sale approval to sell her home for less than what she owes on her mortgage.

If you were going to buy this house, why would you offer more than the new conforming loan limits will allow you to finance and your current savings will permit?  The deal is in the details.

While the seller might think a stronger buyer is around the corner, can they afford to wait knowing their home can go up for auction any day and still owe either a portion or the entire balance before the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act expires December 31st 2012?

If I were making an offer on 176 Adelphi Street, I would

• Offer $885,000 with
• $88,500 down payment (10%), knowing I could
• borrow $796,250 in mortgage financing currently …

and close with nearly $115,000 in home equity value should the home appraise for $1,000,000.

But to make that kind of offer, you’d have to know a thing or two about short sales.

What are you waiting on!

Get on the list and reserve your copy of our soon to be released Foreclosure Short Sale E-Book that we’re making available here FREE.

You’ll be given all you’ll need to confidently navigate the market and get a deal on your new home.

This do it yourself guide contains worksheets, exercises and strategies my team and I use to get deals approved to create win/win outcomes for distressed sellers and first time home buyers in Brownstone Brooklyn.

Join 127 people (and counting) on our list who are ready to Buy Right the First Time by adding your email address below and hitting the sign up button.

Unfortunately, the clock ran out and the offer is no longer available this year.

We’re giving some thought to making it available again next year FREE in January 2012.

Head over to Buying Brooklyn and add your email to the list for the launch and you’ll also be eligible to receive a copy ofBuy Right the First Time – Seven Steps to Buying Your New Home in a Short Sale Successfully.

A funny thing happened on the way to buying this turn of the century row house in Bedford Stuyvesant.

Well, at least one buyer won’t find it funny when they learn they purchased their home on Mac Donough Street in a property flip.

If that isn’t bad enough … it gets worst.

They paid $230,000 more than the owner they purchased it from.

(and that owner closed on their purchase just 4 months before they sold it to them)

Could this home buyer have bought this property in Brownstone Brooklyn for less in a short sale?

Looking for the right deal

If you’re looking to buy your first home in a Brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood, you’ve already got enough on your plate.

Between attending open houses, strolling through neighborhood blocks and searching through property listings online, the last thing on your mind is under what circumstance any home is being sold to you.

It’s already enough to worry about making the right offer, going over a home inspector’s report and finding a lender to get a mortgage.

All you want is a deal that’s affordable, seems fair and passes muster with your attorney in a contract.

Too good to be true

In Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bedford Stuyvesant, where foreclosures make up a large percentage of homes in the shadow inventory of properties available for sale, it’s hard to know if you’re getting the right deal.

For instance, let’s take a look at the sale of the row house on Mac Donough Street.

Could the home buyer who purchased it for $515,000 have known the seller had only purchased it just 4 months prior for $285,000?

Here’s a hint: If the attorney noticed the seller on contract is a corporation, she may have her suspicions that her client might be buying the property at a significant mark up.

And if they’re savvy enough to do some research without ordering a title report, the attorney would have learned the following:

Did they buy in a short sale?

When they made an offer to the owner that was accepted, RDMS was able to get in contract to buy this turn of the century row house in Bedford Stuyvesant.

I’m also sure once they were in contract, they listed the property immediately for sale and moved out anyone living in the house (just click on the link to see how much they listed it for).

After negotiating directly with the lender with the owner’s cooperation, they were able to get Option One Mortgage Corp to accept less to settle the outstanding mortgage balance owed from the $552,000 borrowed.

In return for the owner’s cooperation, RDMS made sure the lender issued a letter of satisfaction that would result in debt forgiveness for the owner.

In short, they bought it from the owner in a lender approved short sale.

Where can I get that deal

The same opportunities are available to you that institutional investors are taking advantage of today.

Most homeowners facing foreclosure in Brooklyn don’t have the wherewithal to walk away from their mortgage.

Investors are keenly aware of that and provide the kind of support that’s well within your ability to do as a first time home buyer.

What you don’t have that real estate investors do is the research capabilities and deal making strategies that have them winning all the way to the bank … until now.

Let’s make a deal

Wouldn’t you want to buy your new home below market value?

Couldn’t the $50k, $75k or even $125k in found equity value do more for you than becoming profits earned by an investor who engineered the flip?

Are you ready to get the deal that lets you own your piece of Brownstone Brooklyn below market value?

Then add your email address below to get your copy of our foreclosure short sale e-book we’re making available FREE.

You won’t get a better deal anywhere else!

Unfortunately, the clock ran out and the offer is no longer available this year.

We’re giving some thought to making it available again next year FREE in January 2012.

Head over to Buying Brooklyn and add your email to the list for the launch and you’ll also be eligible to receive a copy of Buy Right the First Time – Seven Steps to Buying Your New Home in a Short Sale Successfully.