This is what is wrong with the world today. Everybody is always trying to get over on something. What ever happened to honesty, ethics, morals and values?

Posted by: Bklyn born at November 16, 2009 9:23 PM in response to 10% off in Lowes

No, the credit is 30 % of your cost up to a maximum amount of $1500. You can't claim it twice.

Posted by: Bklyn born at November 3, 2009 6:20 PM in response to Energy Tax Credit Question

Annie's Tailor in Bay Ridge on 91st Street off of 3rd avenue. She is around the corner from the Little Cupcake Bake Shop.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 30, 2009 6:35 PM in response to Looking for a Tailor

Your condo may be covered under the condo insurance policy. Ask your agent.

May I suggest, that with any company that manages your condo, you set up internal controls to monitor deposits and disbursements.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 27, 2009 6:41 PM in response to AVOID Tuscany Management

Yes. I think you can also apply at the Department of Parks and Recreation website. You are put on the waiting list. We got our tree planted in less than a year from the request. There is a fall and spring planting season, so if you act now, you'll probably get in for the next fall season. If you're lucky, you could get a tree next spring.

The owner of the property has to agree to have the tree planted, so if you want your neighbors to get trees, they will have to apply for them as well.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 27, 2009 6:28 PM in response to Trees in Bed Stuy?

Check this

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/atq/1420763325.html

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 22, 2009 7:28 PM in response to Looking for a 1920's Apron Tub

Wow-the other day I saw a tub like this at the curb for the garbage and a beautiful old pedestal porcelain sink. The house it came from was being gut renovated. I don't think either piece made it to the garbage truck. Try checking Craigslist-I have found a lot of unusual items there.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 22, 2009 6:56 PM in response to Looking for a 1920's Apron Tub

I third DAS on Cortelyou Rd. He does great work and his prices are reasonable.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 22, 2009 6:51 PM in response to Re-upholsterer for Old Settee

That is very high if you were not using air conditioning. But if you were using air conditioning in part of September, since it was still warm, that is not out of the question. We pay about $45 to $50 for a one family house during the winter, and that is with a washing machine. Another thing that could be is that Con Edison does not turn off electricity when someone moves out of the apartment, so any extra use between the old tenant and the new tenant is probably on your bill.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 16, 2009 8:38 PM in response to ConEd newbie bill question

Is the landlord using a boiler plate "Blumberg" lease? Those leases usually have stuff like water and sewer charges that would not apply to the rental. Speak to the landlord, and cross out things like water and sewer charges and anything else that should not apply to the rental. Make sure you both initial the crossed out items. This would include snow removal too.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 12, 2009 9:56 PM in response to Help with Lease Clarification

We used Eagle Contractors to do that type of work in the basement. They did a good job. He is located on 39th Street in Sunset Park.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 1, 2009 6:40 PM in response to Basement Structural Work

I would not move to that area. How much is the rent? You can probably get a lot more for your money in a nicer area of Brooklyn. Have you checked out Kensington?

Posted by: Bklyn born at September 28, 2009 8:36 PM in response to Montrose Ave L Stop

If you go to NYC.gov, and click on the agency list on the left side, you will see Sanitation. Go to the Sanitation website and write a complaint to the Commissioner. Sanitation will send an enforcement officer to the area for a few days to wait for the poopers to come around. If there is a violation, the officer will issue a fine to the person. This is the only way to get people to comply. If a person gets hit with a summons, he/she will think twice next time about leaving the poop behind. I find this to be a lack of respect on the dog owner's part.

The Commissioner's Office will also send you the outcome of the investigation. Believe it or not, this is one agency that is on the ball when it comes to answering and following up on complaints.

Posted by: Bklyn born at September 21, 2009 9:20 PM in response to Dog Poop

Frame Me in Bay Ridge- 3rd Avenue Between 90th and 91st Street

Posted by: Bklyn born at September 12, 2009 9:32 AM in response to Custom Framing Shop

We tried FSBO of a condo many years ago. You will have every broker under the sun contacting you. We made a deal with one who ended up selling the apartment and gave her 3%. A word of caution-make sure you have a few people with you when you show the apartment. I had some bad vibes from people who appeared to be just "checking" out the place, or looking to lift something.

Posted by: Bklyn born at September 11, 2009 8:31 PM in response to FSBO or Not?

I think they are called secadas. (sp?)

Posted by: Bklyn born at September 5, 2009 7:58 PM in response to What is Chittering Out Back?

Get the combat trays and put them all around the apartment. They work great, and a box will cost you less than $10.

Posted by: Bklyn born at August 24, 2009 9:24 PM in response to Exterminator in Park Slope

Yes you can. He does not incur the taxes. As the person giving the gift, the current law allows you to give a tax free gift to a person of $13,000 per year. This is used by a lot of older people who want to reduce their assets if they have large estates. You are required to file a gift tax return for any gift over $13,000. So if you gave someone $100,000, you would reduce the $100,000 by $13,000, and that is the amount you would file on the gift tax return. For the apartment, you would be required to file the gift tax return and report the value of the apartment given to him. Your lifetime gift tax exclusion is 1 million. So, most likely you would not have to pay any gift tax to the IRS as long as the apartment is less than that amount. Check the IRS website for more information.

Posted by: Bklyn born at July 11, 2009 10:22 PM in response to Gifting an Apartment?

The rebate is intended for individual homeowners. You get the rebate when you file your 1040 tax return, so you would have to pay for your windows as owner of your apartment. Your window rebate would be 30% of your cost up to 1500. I don't believe that common windows would qualify because the condo files an 1120H tax return. Check with the IRS website, or call the toll free number.

Posted by: Bklyn born at July 10, 2009 8:13 PM in response to Energy Saving Rebate Question

American Jewel, based in Lodi NJ, makes very nice moderately priced replacement windows. (americanjewel.com) We purchased a triple double hung window a few years from them for the front of the house.

A single double hung window by American Jewel runs around $250. We just finished installing Andersen Woodright replacement windows for the rest of the house. They are more expensive, but they are really nice windows. We have a significant reduction in noise with the new windows. Contractors usually charge about $150 per single double hung window in labor charges. We did the work ourselves, but you may be better off picking out the windows that you want and hire a contractor to do the measuring and installing.

Posted by: Bklyn born at July 1, 2009 9:11 PM in response to Tri-State Window Factory

We upgraded the apartments in a five family building in 2007 and paid $21,000, so, it may be a little bit high, but in the ball park. Get a few estimates. When we upgraded the meters and service in the basement a few years prior to upgrading the apartments, we paid $5,500.

Posted by: Bklyn born at June 25, 2009 9:01 PM in response to $14,500 For 3-Family Rewire?

Condominium associations normally file 1120 H for the federal return. Although there is usually no liability on the federal return, the state and City require you to file as well. For NY State, it is Sec 9A franchise tax, and even if no federal tax is due, you still have to pay a minimum tax due. This goes as well for the City General Corporation Tax. The fixed minimum tax for the City is $300, regardless if you had income for federal purposes. The City and State will impose interest and penalties on the taxes due, I can guarantee you that. Whether they can get them to waive them is another story.

The condominium's accountant should have been aware of this.

Posted by: Bklyn born at June 22, 2009 2:48 PM in response to Bldg that hasn't filed taxes

Painting apartments

Apartment repairs such as plumbing, electricity, etc

Garbage bags, roof repairs, capital expenses such as a new boiler

yearly boiler inspections ($75)

Building registration fee (13)

taxes owed by you on the rental income (if you are filing Schedule E)-If you own the building as an S-Corp, you will have to file a federal state and city return for the building

Legal fees for non-paying tenants

And the list can go on.

Posted by: Bklyn born at June 8, 2009 9:12 PM in response to building expenses to consider?

Most of the companies that fix the lines also do the camera inspection, and usually don't charge for the camera inspection if you are using them for the job. I don't remember the camera inspection costing that much. The guy from Econo Sewer is reasonable and honest. He does the camera inspection. You should at least know where the break is so you don't have to dig up the entire line. It could be close to the beginning near the house. Did you find out about the trenchless liner? It's a lot less expensive, and no digging. If the break is not that bad, you may be able to do the trenchless, which will cost a lot less. We used Root tech for the liner.

I'm not sure why the trap needs to be changed. I would leave the trap alone if there is no need to replace it. Get another opinion.

Pullini Water mains also does that type of work. You may want to check with them.

Posted by: Bklyn born at June 4, 2009 8:37 PM in response to Sewer repair questions

I hope you are not serious about your post

Posted by: Bklyn born at June 2, 2009 7:52 PM in response to No parking in BedStuy on Thurs.

Did you have a camera inspection of the line to determine where the break is? We had an issue about two years ago with our line. We called Econo Sewer to do the video inspection (he is located in Marine Park). He is very reasonable and honest.

We had a "liner" put through our sewer line. It's a new technology that's been out a few years. We used a company called Root Tech in Ozone Park Queens to do the liner. We had a small break that was close to the house that was allowing sewer fumes to come into the house. They did a decent job on the project. There are a few other companies that do the trenchless liner as well. It's about $125 a foot to do a trenchless liner.

It's really expensive to dig up the sewer line and replace it if you have to go that way. Could be close to 15K or more depending on how much has to be replaced.

Posted by: Bklyn born at May 12, 2009 9:15 PM in response to Sewer issues

Check out Window Palace on McDonald Ave and Cortelyou Road. We just purchased Andersen Windows from them, and he priced them very well for us. We are going to install them ourselves, but you can get a few recommendations from them on contractors who install windows. We're getting the windows with the wood on the inside, but they are vinyl on the outside. I find Home Depot and Lowes much more expensive, than the independent window companies.

Posted by: Bklyn born at May 10, 2009 8:34 PM in response to need advice- window replacement

We used A. Ceriello electric to upgrade the wiring in a five family building. They are located in Carroll Gardens. They did a very good job, and were fairly priced.

You definitely want a breaker box in the tenant's apartment, so they can reset any breakers that trip. This comes in handy if you are not home to reset the breakers in the basement.

Posted by: Bklyn born at April 27, 2009 9:51 PM in response to Rewiring Landmarked Home

Everybody's entitled to his/her opinion. I know it's bad out there. My brother has been unemployed for over a year. But what I'm trying to say is the more people listen to the way things are reported, the more people are frightened, the more they stop spending, the more the economy goes down the toilet. It's almost becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The media has a role in how quickly we recover from this recession. They can report the news, both sides without all the extreme "adjectives" of economic conditions or they can continue the type of reporting that’s adding fuel to the fire. As FDR stated, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Posted by: Bklyn born at March 8, 2009 7:43 PM in response to FaceBook Group

I grew up in Bay Ridge. My dad still has his store on 3rd Avenue. The mom and pop stores are the best part of the area. A log of the stores have been in the area for years. The elementary schools are still highly regarded. In my opinion, you will not regret moving to the area. It is super convenient for shopping, restaurants, and has a great little town feel.

Third Avenue is almost like Main Street USA. Every parade in the neighborhood takes place on 3rd Avenue. There's a Memorial Day Parade, usually a 4th of July parade, Ragamuffin Parade, and the 3rd Avenue Festival.

The trip to Manhattan may take a little longer, but you can pick up the express train at 59th or 36th Street. Parking can be difficult as well.

Posted by: Bklyn born at March 2, 2009 8:19 PM in response to Moving to Bay Ridge

You have to calculate your basis in the property. You hardly have a $50,000 gain if you bought at 250 and sold at 300. There are so many expenses and legitimate costs that you add to your purchase price to get your basis in the property. Before you know it, you are probably even or at a loss.

Posted by: Bklyn born at March 1, 2009 3:52 PM in response to How much money will I lose?

We used A. Ceriello Electricians for an electrical upgrade. They did a very good job, and were fairly priced. They are located on Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens, closer to Red Hook.

Posted by: Bklyn born at February 16, 2009 3:56 PM in response to Licensed Electrician?

Tiny Tots Playhouse on 89th Street. I went there as a tot in the 1960s. It is still supposed to be very good.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 29, 2009 8:55 PM in response to Preschools in Bay Ridge

Call 311! They will send a Sanitation inspector to the address.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 28, 2009 7:19 PM in response to NOT SAFE - 110 Amity Street

Dr. Gudi. He is on 7th Avenue and 6th Street, in the Professional office building affiliated with Methodist Hospital. His number is 718-832-1818. He specializes in internal medicine, and is a very good doctor. He takes most insurance plans.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 26, 2009 8:43 PM in response to How to find a good Dr. in bklyn?

You have to live in the house for two years before you sell it to get back your benefits of a residential house.

Well, if you are renting two units now, I assume you are filing a schedule E. Since you will be vacating the apartment and renting it, you will be allowed a full deduction on your expenses and depreciation, instead of a partial deduction only covering the percentage for the two apartments.

Your real estate taxes are not affected.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 26, 2009 8:38 PM in response to Primary Res. vs Investment taxes

I recommend DAS Upholsterers on Cortelyou Rd between Argyle and Rubgy. He did two chairs for us. He is reasonable and does very good work.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 18, 2009 4:00 PM in response to Upholsterer

Yes, we have a five family and a four family, both with store fronts. They were purchased many years ago by my grandparents, and have turned out to be good investments. The good thing is, since they are less than 6 families, you are not subject to rent stabilization rules. So you can increase the rents as you want. However, you are sort of a slave to the building, unless you have have a super. My dad takes care of everything, and he is getting up in years. There is a lot of responsibility. If you leave town on vacation, somebody has to have the keys to the basement, and be in charge in the event of an emergency. Get ready for calls from tenants about lack of heat, leaks, things breaking, appliances not working, etc. You really need a lot of time to take care of the building. And tenants are a headache if you get a bad one. We have one tenant who we have taken to housing court over and over for non-payment of rent. The courts rule in favor of the tenants, and always agree to some type of payment schedule.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 5, 2009 7:46 PM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

The spumoni there is great. Take home a pint if you dare! The chicken marsala heros are great too. I'm a vegetarian now, but when I wasn't, we would go there in the summer, and order a few heros, and eat by the outdoor picnic tables. The sicilian slices are also really good.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 5, 2009 7:36 PM in response to Spumoni Gardens

I saw the Mayor on TV the other night who said that anyone in trouble with mortgage payments or other financial troubles should call 311. He said that there were a lot of referrals available to those who need help.

Also, what type of work experience does she have? Tell her to check the MTA.info website. There are a few budgeting jobs available at the MTA. Indeed.com is also a good website for job postings.

I know that it's tough out there. My brother was out of work (Wall St type) for a year, and he just got something to tide him over.

Posted by: Bklyn born at January 3, 2009 9:18 PM in response to Fellow Brownstoner Needs Assistance

I give our NY Times delivery person $20 each year. I think if you call the Times 800 #, you'll probably be able to get the number to the distribution depot, or leave a message for someone to call you back.

Posted by: Bklyn born at December 23, 2008 8:23 PM in response to Talking about Tips...

If you want to serve a breakfast and lunch crowd, try downtown Brooklyn. There are a limited amount of places for breakfast and lunch, and not many good ones. Luther's fried chicken on the corner of Jay and Willougby closed years ago, and the store was never rented again. That place was always packed, and the food was good and reasonably priced. The Mariott is on the next block, and is usually at full capacity with tourists. Metrotech is across the street, the DA's Office, Courts and NYC Transit are down the block. That's lots of hungry office workers.

Posted by: Bklyn born at December 2, 2008 9:13 PM in response to Diners!!

Yes, if you plan to stay there, figure out how much you will be saving each month, and how much money you will have to pay in fees to re-finance. Then determine the break even point. Usually it is worth it, if you plan to stay a few years.

Posted by: Bklyn born at December 1, 2008 5:57 PM in response to Drop in interest rates--should I refi?

On World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson, he said that the 30 yr fixed mortgage rate dropped to 5.37% today after the feds announcement of its new 800 Billion dollar plan to make mortgages and other types of credit cheaper and available. Sounds like a good rate to me. Hopefully, a lot of people on the sideline waiting to buy a home will buy now.

Posted by: Bklyn born at November 25, 2008 7:14 PM in response to where to get the best mortgage rate?

Did you have a video camera inspection of the line? Is there a break? We used econo sewer to do the camera inspection of our sewer line. He is in Brooklyn, and very honest and reliable. We had a few hairline cracks near the wall that was causing the sewer odor to back up into the house.

There is a new technology called trenchless instead of digging up and replacing the entire line. An epoxy liner is put through the old line and you have a new sewer line without having to excavate the old one. We did this, and it worked great. No more sewer odor. We used a company called Root tech to do the liner. He was pretty good, but there are a few other companies. Don't use Roto Rooter-they are a rip off. The liner runs about $100-$125 per foot. But you would only go for the liner or excavation if there is a break in the line. That's why it's best to get the camera inspection to see what's going on in the line.

If you have to excavate and replace the entire line, it will cost a lot of money- Probably $15K or more.

Posted by: Bklyn born at November 23, 2008 9:36 PM in response to Replacing a Sewer Line...

I'm a resident of Marine Park, and for those who want a home that is affordable, this is the place. There are some very nice brick tudor homes, as well as detached colonials. The photo in the Times article showed the semi-detached "Realty" houses. They are small houses (14*34) that were built in the 1920s. There are also a lot of 1 family brick houses with nice parquet floors built in the 1930s. You can get the Q or B train at the Kings Highway stop. My husband and I walk to the train each day. It's a fifteen minute walk from where we are. The bus is very reliable, and can get you to the subway in 5 to 10 minutes. The trip on the B express is a short trip to Manhattan. Marine Park is the next neighborhood after Midwood, and only a short trip to Kensington for those who don't know where Marine Park is. There is a beautiful Salt Marsh Nature center on Avenue U with a 1 mile walking trail next to the Gerittsen Creek. You can launch a kayak from the side of the creek. The neighborhood is a short bike ride away from Coney Island, and Riis Park. You don't need a car to live around here, and it is accessible to public transportation.

Posted by: Bklyn born at November 17, 2008 8:58 PM in response to Park Slope Can't Measure Up to Marine Park

Check your house on the NYC Department of Finance's website. It will give you an estimated market value. If you don't know your block and lot, just type in your address to search that way. DOF is a little low on the values, so you may want to use that as a guideline.

Posted by: Bklyn born at November 1, 2008 8:36 PM in response to Crazy Low Appraisal

We have a five family building (small apts), and we just finished upgrading all of the apartments. It cost $21,600 for the entire job. We already had the panel boxes in the basement upgraded a few years ago. That part cost us 5,500. We used A. Ceriello electric for the recent work, and were very pleased with the outcome.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 30, 2008 9:29 PM in response to Cost of electrical upgrade

We hooked up our digital box the other day, but we can't get 2 or 13. Also channel 7 is really weak. We ordered a new multi-directional antenna. We have a really old one on the roof, so hopefully, the new antenna will do it.

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 30, 2008 5:51 PM in response to Broadcast HDTV in Brooklyn

I grew up on in Bay Ridge. Here are my picks:

Coffee/Pastries: Little Cupcake on 91st and 3rd Ave

Hardware-Ridge Paint Hardware on 91st and 3rd-If he doesn't have it, nobody does- Real Old fashioned hardware store that's been in the neighborhood since 1938. He also fixes screens and makes house calls (installs locks, etc)

Shopping-Century 21

Health foods-93rd and 3rd- a little store well stocked with vitamins and health foods

Pharmacy-Bridge Pharmacy on 90th and 3rd Ave

Supermarket-Foodtown is ok, but a little expensive-fairly good meat department and deli

Health and Beauty Aids-Morris Discount, 93rd and 3rd

Hair cutter- Ann Charles Salon (On 93rd Street, off 3rd Ave)

Pizza- Ninos, 91st and 3rd Ave

Nail Salon- On 91st and 3rd, next to the hardware store, and Little Cupcake

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 28, 2008 8:17 PM in response to In Need of Recos for All Things Bay Ridge

These leases are often boilerplate. When we rented, we saw that there was some language in there that wasn't appropriate/accurate and brought it up. It was removed without incident. Often, even the landlords don't fully read these things.

Posted by: Leucas at October 14, 2009 8:53 AM in response to Help with Lease Clarification

Welcome to NY!!! I'm from MN, too. There are actually a lot of us out here and sometime next spring I'm going to try to recruit a bunch of us for a cocktail party at our place in Stuyvesant Heights.

Good luck.

Posted by: bedstuytownhouse at October 18, 2009 5:57 PM in response to ConEd newbie bill question

Check this

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/atq/1420763325.html

Posted by: Bklyn born at October 22, 2009 7:28 PM in response to Looking for a 1920's Apron Tub

That is a gorgeous tub in the photo.

Posted by: mopar at October 22, 2009 10:43 PM in response to Looking for a 1920's Apron Tub

It's very nice looking tub.But you should be very lucky to find like this one.

Posted by: beesondirect at October 23, 2009 12:53 AM in response to Looking for a 1920's Apron Tub

Italiana may be thinking of Albert Menin @1705 1st Ave @ 88th St., but anyway, they're the best. 212-876-3041

Posted by: PAL at October 23, 2009 6:39 PM in response to Re-upholsterer for Old Settee

this is a brooklyn resource list for your needs

http://www.brokelyn.com/how-much-to-reupholster-my-ugly-brown-chair/#more-4020

Posted by: renomom at October 24, 2009 11:08 AM in response to Re-upholsterer for Old Settee

here is a brooklyn resource list for your needs

http://www.brokelyn.com/how-much-to-reupholster-my-ugly-brown-chair/#more-4020

Posted by: renomom at October 24, 2009 11:08 AM in response to Re-upholsterer for Old Settee

trees are nice but less AC in the summer also means more heat in the winter.

Posted by: denton at October 27, 2009 6:38 PM in response to Trees in Bed Stuy?

Actually not Denton. Because the leaves fall off the trees in the fall. Of course it takes a while for a tree to grow to any size to accomplish these goals. It would be your gift to the future. (That said the cherry tree I planted in my front yard 7 years ago has doubled in size and now is a privacy screen for my scond floor parlor.)

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 27, 2009 8:37 PM in response to Trees in Bed Stuy?