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Insuring Car Outside NY
We’re buying a weekend home in CT, and it just occurred to us that we could now change our car registration, legally and legitimately, to CT and thus pay lower insurance rates. Any reason not to do this? Given that Brooklyn is our primary home and we’ll be spending more of our time here, is there any advantage to keeping our NY registration?
Thanks for any insights!
11/19/2010 9:45 AM
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Mortgages for Small Co-Ops?
Wondering if anyone has had any success recently finding lenders for small co-ops (i.e., 4 units or less)? I know this topic has come up a few times in these forums in the past year or so, but I’m curious if anything has changed or restrictions have loosened at all. We had an awful experience attempting (and failing) to refinance last year, but the even lower rates lately are making me wonder if we should give it another try… However, this time I’d like to know up front if the small co-op issue will be a dealbreaker.
Many thanks!
08/27/2010 9:45 AM
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Internet: Alternative to TimeWarner?
Are there any alternatives to TimeWarner for Internet service in the Boerum Hill/downtown Bkln. area? I am really really really fed up with their terrible service. It’s touch and go on a regular basis (we usually have to reset our routers at least once or twice, often several times, a day), and today service was down all day long until just now, and yesterday afternoon as well. I’m self-employed and work from home, so I really need something more reliable! Is there any hope…?
08/13/2010 5:15 PM
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Insured Electrician (Small Job)
Hi – Looking for recommendations for a reliable licensed electrician and who must be insured for a fairy small job–fix/replace a few non-functionining outlets; fix a couple of non-functioning fixtures (think it may be the transformers); possibly replace a couple other fixtures.
Thanks in advance!
04/20/2010 9:27 AM
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Truly Quiet Window ACs?
Wondering if anyone has good recommendations for window AC units they think are pretty quiet? Our current models are Sharp brand, and they drive me crazy–we have to blast the TV to be able to hear over the AC. Thinking of switching them out this year, if I can find something reliably quieter.
Thanks!
04/07/2010 6:26 PM
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Best Sidewalk Dining in Bklyn?
This weekend’s cold snap notwithstanding, we are getting psyched up for the season of outdoor dining! Looking to branch out from our usual places, so I’m soliciting suggestions for the best places to eat in Brooklyn that have sidewalk seating. Has to be sidewalk because we like to take our dog with us, so places with gardens in back won’t work.
Would love recommendations for both brunch and dinner places, any neighborhood in Brooklyn. Thanks!
03/27/2010 5:25 PM
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Auto Financing in Brooklyn?
Hope this is not considered off-topic for this forum… Anyone have recommendatons for local banks or other orgs in Brooklyn that do car loans? Obviously we can go with the dealer’s financing, but I’d like to compare some other options. (I’ve heard you can sometimes do it through a home equity loan, but I don’t think that’s an option for us right now.) Thanks!
11/12/2009 1:42 PM
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Co-op taxes & escrow disclosure
We are a small self-managed co-op. We pay our property taxes through the bank that holds our mortgage. Our monthly payments have been quite steady for several years. We just received a notice–”Annual Escrow Disclosure Statement”– stating that this month we have to make a large lump-sum payment, apparently to replenish our tax escrow account. And then going forward our regular monthly payments are also going up a bit.
I left a message with the bank–their voice mail said they were receiving “high call volume” as a result of the “new NYC escrow analysis.” Can anyone shed some light on this? Does this mean our building’s property taxes have just gone way up? Or that we somehow have to “prepay” more into the escrow account rather than spreading it out month by month? Do we have any recourse to contest an increase?
I’ve left a message with our accountant, but in the meantime thought I’d see if anyone here had any insights…
Thanks!!
09/16/2009 8:59 AM
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Cost of BK Car Insurance?
Hi – Can anyone give me a ballpark figure of what it costs to insure a car in Brooklyn? I realize there are a lot of variables, but even just a range would be helpful. Assume it’s an ordinary mid-range car (nothing luxurious), parked in a garage, not on the street.
(I’ve never owned a car and literally have no idea if we’re talking 100s, 1000s, etc. per year…)
Thanks!!
07/30/2009 1:01 PM
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Sprinkler system won’t pass test
Hoping for some insights… We’re a 4-unit co-op, and we have a sprinkler system in the building common areas only, installed when the townhouse was converted to co-op in the early ’80s.
In past years we got the OK on our annual sprinkler test. However, for various reasons we let this lapse the last 3 years. We recently got a plumber in who said he can’t pass us on the test because our system wouldn’t work properly. It’s not a matter of it just not being up to current code–apparently as an older building we do not have to meet the most current code requirements. He’s saying it literally wouldn’t work even under the more lax requirements for our buildings, because the pipes, and therefore sprinkler heads, are too close to the wall. He quoted us $4900 to upgrade the entire system.
We’re not quite sure how we passed inspections in the past… Is it common for plumbers to just give a token “pass”? (And if so, can anyone recommend such a plumber…)
Personal opinions please: how crucial do you feel it is to keep up with this annual inspection? How likely is the fire dept. to show up and fine us if we don’t? How much of a fire risk are we taking, and how valuable is a hallway sprinkler system like this really?
05/13/2009 3:55 PM
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cara
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM