Help! Need Lead Paint Removal Recs


My husband and I just bought an apartment and we are doing the painting pre-move in. The paint looked like it was in pretty good condition but as we started to scrub the walls for prep work we noticed that the baseboards are peeling. The building is pre-war so we expect that there is likely some lead paint under there.

Everything I’ve read about lead paint removal is starting to freak me out. Did you go with a company to strip away paint or did you do it yourself? Any good recommendations? How much did you pay and how quickly were they able to do it? The walls are in good shape, so we’re just looking to redo the baseboards.

Categories: Painting
By brownstonegirl | 07/01/2008 10:52 AM | Comment

How long did it take you to find/buy your first apartment?


Happy New Year, fellow Brownstonians! I’ve often lurked on this forum and found great advice about the nuts and bolts of apartment shopping and owning.

My husband and I have been seriously looking to buy our first place for over 1 1/2 years. Off the top of my head I can think of 30 plus apartments that we’ve seen in the past 6 months and I know that there are likely more than that–after a while they all blend together a bit.

In the past 3 months we’ve really kicked our search into high gear and we’ve come very close to closing on several properties. 2 were accepted offers that we walked away from because of big red flags with our due diligence and one that we underbid b/c we thought the apartment was priced high for various reasons, but even in this supposedly slowing market someone else came in over asking. As the New Year begins, I’m trying to remain optimistic that we’ll find a place, but I can’t help feeling somewhat defeated by the whole process. I know that you have to see a lot and really get out there before you find your place, but it’s hard when you put so much effort into something and it always seems out of reach. How long did you search before you found your apartment?

Categories: Real Estate
By brownstonegirl | 01/01/2008 1:24 PM | Comment