Here is a page of some useful links. I know some communities have graffiti removal programs for free. You can try to urge this landlord to contact them :)

http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/anti_graffiti/main.shtml

Posted by: AnnaBea at April 20, 2007 3:34 PM in response to Graffiti

Dave is right you have no clue what the context of the last sale was. One of my neighbors died about a year ago and apparently someone she and her relatives knew snatched up the house for a very good price before it even hit the market. I imagine the relatives that inherited the house just wanted their cash and didn't want to wait around for the right price. Could be a situation like that or who knows. Just worry about whether the place is right for you. Good Luck.

Posted by: AnnaBea at April 25, 2007 11:24 AM in response to Reliability of Property Shark

If you have a bunch of credit inquiries at one time it doesn't affect your score as badly. So the key is to make sure to call up banks all within a two-three week period. But yeah there is no way for the bank to give you a quote without pulling your credit.

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 1, 2007 12:44 PM in response to Preapproval cause credit probs?

From talking to people who have been in the real estate business in nyc for a long time it seems like when the housing market busts you just see real estate transactions grind to a halt. Prices however do not tank (though they may be off from the high but not 20% off). I think as long as the rental market stays strong (and inflation keeps rising, which it seems it will), there is no reason to believe that this will be any different from any other housing bubble in nyc.

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 2, 2007 11:50 AM in response to "Real Wave of Pain Just Beginning"?

Link:
http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/attygenguide.html#28

"HEATING SEASON

Heat must be supplied from October 1 through May 31, to tenants in multiple dwellings if: a) the outdoor temperature falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, between 6 A.M. and 10 P.M., each apartment must be heated to a temperature of at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit; (b) the outdoor temperature falls below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, between the hours of 10 P.M. and 6 A.M., each apartment must be heated to a temperature of at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. (Multiple Dwelling Law § 79)"

That's where you want your thermostat set :)

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 9, 2007 4:31 PM in response to when can you turn off rthe tenants heat

Not sure what your landlord is talking about, the rental market right now is red hot. If the one family is a reach i wouldn't buy it and i would continue to search for either a cheaper one family or a two family you can afford. I personally wouldn't want to get involved in a conversion like that. It could potentially end up taking a long time and it could cost more than 30k. (possibly).

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 10, 2007 2:45 PM in response to Is Rental Conversion Worth It?

What did they skim coat it with? if they started painting before all the spackle dried you could get bubbling. If they used plaster that would be less likely since it dries a lot faster than spackle.

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 16, 2007 10:39 AM in response to bubbling paint

Personally I wouldn't purchase a property with a low appraisal, unless there was something about this property that was so special and unique that i just didn't care. To me that's a clear sign that the property is overpriced. I mean its possible that a bad appraisal is done but if all the apartments in that building are coming in below the selling price that just seems fishy.

Plus do you really want to come up with the cash difference between the apraisal and the selling price?

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 16, 2007 10:49 AM in response to Appraisal Value< Purchase Price

I have the same problem as you do. Personally i think i am going to go the growing large vines route. Its not perfect and will take some time but its better than nothing. If i had different neihbors i would just opt for a higher fence. I have seen people do this but its the kind of thing all the neighbors need to go along with. It doesn't seem like my neighbors have any interest in privacy so i wouldn't even try this, but i have seen blocks with brownstones/townhouses where everybody has an 8 foot fence and everybody seems happy with that.

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 16, 2007 2:50 PM in response to Privacy Awning

I have seen some people do those windows where on the outside it looks like a mirror but on the inside you can see thru them. I always thought those were nifty but i have no clue how expensive they are.

Posted by: AnnaBea at May 17, 2007 9:59 AM in response to Lot Line Window Privacy

One cool thing you can do on propertyshark.com is remove properties from the comps result list if they seem like non market sales (between family members, etc). You can also now make notes right on the properties so if you go by a place and see the roof is missing, well then you can make a note on that and get it out of your list.

Posted by: J Bellw at June 7, 2007 10:31 AM in response to Help with Property Shark's comparables

OP here. I just looked up Japanese Knotweed and yep that's the stuff. Yuck.

I'm not terribly ecologically sensitive when it comes to these weeds, especially the ones growning near my foundation, but I do want to plant grass seed on the weed-site further from the house and, more importantly, I do want my kid to be able to play in the yard without any neurological damage or other nasty side effects... is ROUNDUP a problem with either of these concerns?

Posted by: at June 18, 2007 12:57 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

OP here...
A google search turned up this:

http://www.cabi-bioscience.org/html/japanese_knotweed_alliance.htm

The things are so bad, it's illegal to let them grow in the UK.

It sounds like you really need to pull out the big guns to kill this stuff. I wholeheartedly endorse the use of strong chemicals when trying to kill mutant species of plants. It's like Day of the Triffids or something.

I'm not trying to make friends with the things. I want them dead dead dead.

I plan on trying out Roundup and will post my results...

Posted by: at June 18, 2007 1:38 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

This is what they look like:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Dayofthetriffidsposter.jpg

Posted by: at June 18, 2007 1:40 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

A recent study by eminent oncologists Dr. Leonard Hardell and Dr. Mikael Eriksson of Sweden, has revealed clear links between one of the world’s biggest selling herbicide, glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup, marketed by Monsanto), to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer - NHL. There are even requests for permits for higher residues on genetically engineered foods because they are highly resistant to herbicides, instead of reducing herbicide use, glyphosate resistant crops may result in increased residues. They are already on sale. Farmers knowing that their crop will tolerate or resist being killed off by the herbicides will tend to use them more liberally. There have been no risk/benefit analysis carried out, so the regulatory authorities have failed to implement the precautionary principle with respect to GMOs.
(“Herbicide Tolerance,” New Study Links Monsanto’s Roundup to cancer,” www.biotech-info.net/glyphosate_cancer.html - June 2001)

The Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) and CHOSE (Coalition for a Healthy Oakland School Environment), showed that chemicals such as Round-Up (glyphosate) can result in reproductive damage as well as damage to the kidney and liver, and some studies show a link between the chemical and cancer.
(Chemical Injury Network, June 2001)

Glyphosate (Roundup) is one of the most toxic herbicides, and is the third most commonly reported cause of pesticide related illness among agricultural workers. Products containing glyphosate also contain other compounds, which can be toxic. Glyphosate is technically extremely difficult to measure in environmental samples, which means that data is often lacking on residue levels in food and the environment, and existent data may not be reliable.
(“Greenpeace Report - Not ready for Roundup: Glyphosate Fact Sheet,” greenpeace.org - April 1997)

Glyphosate is found in weed killers and may cause cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nerve, and respiratory damage.
(“Special Report: what you need to know about pest control,” Natural Health Magazine, May/June 2001)

Roundup: Label - Keep out of reach of children, harmful if swallowed, avoid contact with eyes or prolonged contact with skin. Remove clothing if contaminated. Spray solutions of this product should be mixed, stored and applied only in stainless steel, aluminum, fiberglass, plastic and plastic-lined steel containers. This product or spray solutions of this product react with such containers and tanks to produce hydrogen gas that may form a highly combustible gas mixture. This gas mixture could flash or explode, causing serious personal injury, if ignited by open flame, spark, welder’s torch, lighted cigarette or other ignition source. Avoid direct applications to any body of water. Do not contaminate water by disposal of waste or cleaning of equipment. Avoid contamination of seed, feed, and foodstuffs. Soak up a small amounts of spill with absorbent clay. Do not reuse container for any other purpose.

Posted by: anon at June 18, 2007 1:54 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

I had the same weeds and covered my backyard with plastic for 3 months last summer. I did the whole yard and just left it alone. (Poke holes in the plastic where water collects so it will drain). It worked really well. I have almost no weeds so I would recommend it if you can bear it. We had just bought our house so I just focussed on the inside instead of the outside. It was free and environmentally safe!

Posted by: at June 18, 2007 2:10 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

another thing that helped me was planting grass, the roots make it harder for the knotweed to poke through. of course, that just means it pops up somewhere else, but then it was the neighbor's problem. whoops!

Posted by: Jimmy Legs at June 18, 2007 4:36 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

If you fill your garden with lots of plants, there's not much room for weeds. I get those once in a while and just pull them up. But my garden is stuffed with flowers.

Posted by: anon at June 18, 2007 4:43 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

Knot weed has been growing in our neighbors yard for at least 10 years. Every year they dig it up once. Every year it grows back, I have seen them put plastic down and all that PEOPLE it does not work, YOU cannot stop KNOTWEED, Roundup will not work either. IT is USELESS, knot weed will take over the world one day.

Posted by: at June 18, 2007 5:17 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS

We've got it, and I've found that what Jimmy Legs and Anna Bee's husband said works - rip those suckers up as soon as they sprout. The red leaves on the sprouts are a clear target. When I moved to my place, the entire yard was a forest. We just kept pulling them up, and now they only sporadically come up, and are immediately yanked. I don't know if the root system is just biding its time, but it seems to have gone elsewhere (my neighbor) where living is easier. Good luck!

Posted by: Brower Park at June 18, 2007 6:11 PM in response to EVIL EVIL WEEDS