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Roofing rec
We had Nick Kontzamanis at Leakmasters come over to look at a leak in our roof after the last big rain. He said it wasn’t a big leak and the roof has some more life left in it. So he patched it, gave us a roof patching lesson (old roof/ new new homeowners) and left without accepting any money. He was really nice and we will probably see him again in 5 years when patching doesn’t cut it anymore.
718-421-2000
04/02/2011 10:19 PM
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How do we leave parlor windows open at night in summer w/o bars?
Even tho it’s 30 degrees out, I’m obsessed with this summer question. Our last place had bars on the windows that allowed us to leave our windows wide open 24-7 all summer long and live largely a/c free. For both personal preference and hippie carbon-sensitive reasons, this made us very happy. Our new house does not have bars on the parlor level windows. They are really grand windows and I love not having the bars on them during the winter. However, it seems like it would be pretty easy to climb in from the stoop, so I’m not sure how we could leave the windows open in the summer. I see a lot of people with no bars on the parlor. Is there a security system that would allow us to leave windows open like that but still provide protection? Or is there a way to just have bars on in the summer?
01/16/2011 7:47 PM
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Spray v. Brush/Roll in Basement?
We’re looking to paint our basement walls and floors to seal the ancient concrete. Is it totally silly to use a roller? There are no aesthetic considerations here at all. We’ve never used a sprayer before and it sounds like there’s a steep learning curve. If it IS really worth it, where do we rent one? I called the Nostrand/Dekalb HD and they didn’t have any. Thanks.
01/05/2011 9:45 AM
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Rubbish removal and Move- in cleaning
Hi, We’re about to move into a new house that needs a little rubbish removal and a deep clean. Does anyone have recommendations? Is there anyone who does both?
12/20/2010 6:05 AM
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Effect of 3 fam use in 2 fam building on appraisal?
We have an accepted offer on a “fixer-upper†in habitable shape, and are really nervous about the appraisal process. Forgive me if these are rookie questions, but this is our first house. The first issue that makes us nervous is that the building has a CofO for 2 fam, but is currently set up as a 3 fam (sort-of –I’ll explain). The questionable “unit†has no bathroom with direct access to the unit, but it does have a tiny, but complete kitchen (stove, sink, fridge). The bathroom opens to the common hallway. We intend to use it as a 2 family. I’ve seen posts about nonconforming uses, so I don’t think this situation is unusual. However, none of those posts address the appraisal issue. Have any of you obtained a mortgage in this situation?
The second issue is that there is some unfinished work. Specifically, one bathroom has no ceiling. The good news is that we can see the work that needs to be done up there. The bad news is that it looks scarey to an appraiser. These are problems that any buyer would face, so you’d expect the seller to want to remedy them. Again, we’re prepared to do a lot of work to the house, but we’re worried about the appraisal.
Thanks for any advice and experience you can offer.
09/18/2010 8:15 AM
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cara
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM