Forum Archive: Posts by: Brooklynnative

My rent controlled tenant has installed a washer dryer. This is causing sinks to back up, creates noise to the tenants below her, and could cause a massive flood if it overlowed. Anyone have any tips on how I can get her to remove it. I’ve already given her a letter explaining why I want it removed but she simply refuses. I’d prefer not to just consult a lawyer. thx.

I just noticed that 627 St. Mark’s has been reduced yet again – started at 1.6 million it’s now 1.3 I think judging from the pictures it’s a very nice gut renovation but I think the developer made some big mistakes. First, he did it as a four unit as opposed to single or two family and it’s very close to the Homeless Shelter on Bedford and Atlantic. I cannot see investing big bucks in that neighborhood. So I’m wondering, how much has the developer invested in this project and I went onto PropertyShark to see how much the developer paid but as usual I can’t figure it out – there are two mortgages and a deed listed to different parties on the same date. Here’s what – PropertyShark lists:

Date Type Amount Party1 name Party2 name
2/6/2007 Mortgage $68,000 Saleh, Mazin Mers
2/6/2007 Mortgage $544,000 Saleh, Mazin Mers
2/6/2007 Deed $680,000 Brick & Stone Realty Corp. Saleh, Mazin
2/6/2007 Deed $480,000 Bovell, Beryldine A Brick & Stone Realty Corp.

Can anyone explain what this means? Thx.

I thought I’d share my experience rewiring a four unit four story brownstone. Two months ago I learned the tenants on the third floor of my four unit four story building would be moving out and I decided it was time I finally rewired it because the wiring was so old that there were still some pull chain type ceiling lights. I also decided as I would be rewiring the third floor I should consider adding power to the second and fourth floor apartments which desperately needed it, especially dedicated AC lines. The apartments are huge and each one had different needs.

I ended up calling 5 licensed electricians for quotes, all praised by previous brownstoner posts. One person never showed up so that was the end of him. Two showed up, we walked through the four units which took about an hour, and then they never even gave me an estimate. One electrician decided he could just give me a quote by listening to what I needed over the phone. The company I decided to go with was Detore. To make a long story short, Detore, perhaps deliberately, made a mistake in the contract and the price went up by $6,000 the day before the job was supposed to start. Now I was in a terrible bind because I didn’t want the apartment to sit vacant for more than 30 days and I had to get new quotes because I obviously no longer trusted Detore.

I called 2 more electricians, one being M&N High Tech. Mohamed from M&N, showed up the day after I called him, we walked through the apartments and he had some excellent ideas on how to minimize the work in such a way that could not only bring down the cost of wiring but also the inevitable dstruction that rewiring causes. During our walk through he asked me how I got his number – Brownstoner of course I said.

The next day he gave me an estimate that was 30% lower than any other estimate and he told me he could start this massive job in just two days time and still get it done in time for me to rent it out. So far his team has been showing up every morning, six days a week, and he’s been incredibly flexible about working out the inevitable kinks. I won’t lie, the destruction required by rewiring is pretty massive, the dust is a real pain, but his crew makes a real effort to clean up. When the job is completed I’ll give a final appraisal but so far I am very happy with M&N and I would definitely recommend them over any of the seven other places I called, especially Detore.

If anyone thinks I’m just a shill working for M&N check out my previous posts where I requested advice on this months ago.

I own a 4 unit building in the Center Slope. It’s 20 X 65, so it’s huge and all the apartments are floor throughs. However, even though there are six rooms per apartment, there is only one real bedroom. The previous owner, probably seeking to avoid plastering, wallpapered one of the units that will soon be vacant. He did a lousy job and now the walls have these bumps and cracks if you just paint over it. To remove the wallpaper is a huge job and then the walls would need to be replastered. I would imagine the cost to be around $18,000 if I’m luck. My neighbor is a professional skim coater and she says she won’t even give estimates for removing wallpaper because it’s so unpredictable as to how long it will take.

I can rent the apartment as is, I imagine, pretty easily for $2800. Am I crazy to consider doing the walls? How much more are people willing to pay for smooth walls? How much more can a huge 1 bedroom rent for in the center slope? I think three or four hundred at most. Plus I’d have to show it with the bad walls and potential renters would have to be able to imagine what a huge difference it makes aesthetically.

thanks for any input.

I’m renovating a rental unit, with a complete rewiring, gut renovating of the kitchen, plastering and painting. The apartment will need to be professionally cleaned afterwards. It’s in the Center Slope. Any recommnendations? The unit is about 1200 square feet – any idea on what the cost should be? thx.

Oops, forgot to post the picutre of the sink. Come on people, we’re talking vintage sink here.

Forget that crappy mahogany mantle that other guy is selling, what you need is this double basin sink! Any offers? Anyone willing to haul it away for me? it’s on the third floor of a walk up but much easier to transport than that mantle.