We could not find any sellers who would do a contingency contract with us in 2008. I am assuming the same is true now.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at October 27, 2009 8:12 PM in response to Sales Contingency?

We have been working on a Citibank refi since late-April and it looks like it will finally close in the next 2 weeks. I really never thought they would let the new loan close, given the level of retarded things they wanted. The appraiser had to come out twice, authorizing the comps had not changed. They wanted notarized letters of my citizenship (hello born LI NY), we have closed on two other properties and I have never seen anything like it. My husband disagrees but I think they were just hoping we would give up as we locked in a very strong (low) rate. Good luck, I don't think its just your bank, my sense is that this behavior is pervasive.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at October 17, 2009 10:20 AM in response to Bank Refi Runaround

http://www.yelp.com/c/brooklyn/antiques

Google is your friend

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at October 8, 2009 1:56 PM in response to Antique Shops

Verrazano did our floors, last year, I believe with their own crews and equippment. They did a super job, in a very time timetable. No complaints. You should call the owner and make a stink they might not do anything for you on the price but it did seem like they cared about their rep.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at October 2, 2009 5:58 PM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

We were very pleased with Rainbow Movers for our last move. I would never use Movers not Shakers again (we used them three times total, the third time was a nightmare).

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 23, 2009 3:52 PM in response to ISO Great Moving Company

Au Pairs are less expensive relative to nanny's but I don't know how Giovanna is defining cheap, all told it cost about 18 to 20K per year to keep an au pair in the house (host provides room/board/agency fee/stipend to student, etc). I don't think this is an inexpensive proposition.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 21, 2009 8:25 AM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

I would add to the "call the cops" mantra, that you reach out to the community officer at the precinct. Its their job to deal with quality of life stuff and if they catch a wiff of drug related activity will make the responding officers when you do call 911 more engaged.

Sounds like a sucky situation, sorry to hear about it.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 21, 2009 8:22 AM in response to Ignoring Coop rules

The GE Cafe line gets bad reviews. I would look at Consumer Reports and also post the same question on Garden Web, the folks over there are super knowledgeable.

We couldn't afford a wolf/viking, etc, etc. Went with a gas GE profile (oven has convection feature and regular oven) and a fridigdaire (sp) hood. Don't know much about the ductless piece, as we vented ours to outside.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 21, 2009 8:15 AM in response to Range Suggestions (Part 2)

Our cleaning lady gets 100.00 for 3,000 square feet on 3 floors. She spends about 6 to 7 hours we usually spring for lunch. This is in Midwood, she moved with us, used to clean our coop in Windsor Terrace.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 15, 2009 9:47 AM in response to Rate for Cleaning 4fl Bstone?

Thanks JimHill, That's hot. I'll try it and report back.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 14, 2009 5:39 PM in response to Chipper Rental?

Just a word about pricing, I think you should consider starting at about 50% what you paid and plan on being negotiated down. Apartmenttherapy and Craigslist may garner you offers, but I don't think 25% off for used merchandise, in this economy is going to happen.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 12, 2009 3:33 PM in response to Atlas Shelving System for Sale

Its pervasive. Our refi started in April, still hasn't closed. They are now asking about saftey repairs and are requesting documentation about exterior work that is not yet completed.

Its Citibank, the lock expired a month ago and they have agreed to cover the extension.

I swear they want to see us walk away because of a low rate/no points situation.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 1, 2009 7:48 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

The Wall Paper's Guild has a website where you can search for paper hangers by zip. I loved the guys we used but I don't think they are in business anymore.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at August 10, 2009 4:18 PM in response to BRADBURY AND BRADBURY WALLPAPER

Allan S., you may be much better situated financially then we are. All Renovation was very nice, professional, etc, but he basically suggested we not move into our house for 6 months and was about 30% higher than all other estimates.

It didn't work for us.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at August 5, 2009 5:58 PM in response to ISO Good GC

All of these areas a crawling with young professionals. Are you really asking about young white professionals (sorry to be blunt), in which case you might want to contain a search to the Williamsburg area, which in my experience has an unusual lack of diversity in the "gentrified" sections, northside (metropolitan to the mccarren park).

Greenpoint is very white/polish with some latina mixed in, as well as a growing hipster population. Its basically situated on many superfund sites, i wouldn't buy there.

As to the rest of your questions.. I would suggest that you spend an afternoon walking around each area to get a feel for the flavor of the 'hood. Transportation, you can get from google maps or hopstop. I think technically B'burg is closest commute to city, but the L train is disgusting and consistently overcrowded.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at August 3, 2009 2:52 PM in response to Looking to Buy

She has a pretty good reputation in Windsor Terrace, I'm not sure how they play in other 'hoods. I think its a one woman show.

We didn't use her to see our co-op, we used Orrichio Anderson (Carlyn was great) but a neighbor used BR and was very pleased.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at July 25, 2009 12:37 PM in response to Heard of Brooklyn Real?

Benson Iron and Metal might, as might J & J Scrap Metal.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at July 22, 2009 8:58 PM in response to Scrap Metal

I would also suggest you put the word out with the dog-people-networks in your relevant park. In prospect park there is a huge dog/person community and these folks will definitely have a line on dog-friendly places.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at July 20, 2009 7:37 AM in response to Broker Necessary These Days?

Our appliances were in our dining room for the first four months when we moved in, last fall. Only the fridge was plugged in, we were dunces and didn't think to plug in the micro. Anyway, Fresh Direct prepared stuff was a lifesaver, salads, pasta salads, wraps, etc.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at July 15, 2009 9:35 PM in response to Compact Fridge/Cooktop?

Build it Green, LIC.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 28, 2009 9:09 AM in response to donating salvage items

Abacus Properties (Jeff Surowiska in particular) http://www.abacusproperties.com/

Mary Kay Gallagher http://marykayg.com/index.html

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 24, 2009 4:33 PM in response to List of local brokerage shops

If schools are your top priority, Bay Ridge is a great option. However, there are borough-wide lottery schools that are also great (tho no guarantee of entry) like Brooklyn New School.

We lucked out on a wreck in South Midwood (11210) and love, love, love the way our house is shaping up, but the schools suck and as a newly pregnant person, I'm choosing to ignore that for now.

There are several townhouses for sale on Bedford Ave in Midwood towards Brooklyn College that are supposed to be nice inside.

This listing has also been reduced dramatically and on the market for a long, long time. Its on a very nice block in South Midwood (21st btwn Faragut and Glenwood) http://marykayg.com/html/0537.html

We don't have the fancy restaurants of Ditmas, but on a nice day, we walk to them and the train service is great (B/Q at Newkirk).

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 24, 2009 12:15 PM in response to Townhouse for $600k?

Our house looked like a full on wreck when we bought it. In order to make a confident offer we had 2 different engineers come with us prior to making an offer.

It was a bit complicated to get in so frequently due to a strange family situation with prior owners, but the broker was a champ about getting us in, many times pre-offer.

As first time single-family historic home buyers without unlimited resources, we felt like it was important to understand what we were bidding on prior to even making the offer.

The folks we used were friends, so I can't comment on price, but I could guess about 100 to 150 an hour.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 23, 2009 9:31 AM in response to What's the process?

Martel Fabrication or Perfect Circle. Down the street from each other in Williamsburg.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 23, 2009 9:22 AM in response to Where to find a welder?

I liked it too and was encouraged about the stats in my 'hood. I guess we have a noise problem, not a crime problem :)

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 19, 2009 6:02 AM in response to NYTimes article on NYC murders

I am no expert, but rather an informed observer. DOE's planning for new schools has no relationship with urban development or growth of new residential units anywhere in the city.

For an overview of existing schools by zip code you can look at insideschools.org its a great resource.

My understanding is that one of the best elementaries in that area is on Conseleya (I forget the name of the school) but even that school is not great, but I do think its getting better as the demands of the neighborhood are changing (code for middle class folk moving in).

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 17, 2009 4:27 PM in response to Williamsburg Northside Schools

Tinarine & RH, I think you are right, it was water main, not sewer line (so far those have been fine).

RH, we are still a work in progress but all of our major systems and conveniences are in place. It truly sucked not having a kitchen for 5 months.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 15, 2009 8:12 PM in response to Do we walk? Need estimates?

We had some of the same issues when we bought our train wreck, er, I mean house. BTW, its awesome now but it was at least six months before it felt like we were winning.

We replaced the lead pipe going from the street to the house, it was not that expensive of a job. Main Man did ours (google it, he's brooklyn based) I don't think it was more than 3,000. They get all the permits and repair the sidewalk, the whole thing was about a day's work. Price depends on how far hydrant is from house.

We also did a new boiler. There are a bunch of vendor recommendations on this site we used, Victory Brothers and had a positive experience. I think all told we spent about 6,000 for an oil to gas conversion.

In terms of getting a quote from a contractor, you will find many GCs on this site that can give you a quote.. two we got estimates from are All Renovations, based in STaten Island, does a bunch of work in Brooklyn and Transcend Contracting. We didn't wind up using either so I can't speak to the quality of the work.

Its not un-doable, just take it one part at a time.

Good Luck.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 15, 2009 3:09 PM in response to Do we walk? Need estimates?

Call Barnes and Noble (7th and 9th-ish) they may have it.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 15, 2009 11:23 AM in response to foreign language newspapers

Not to be cynical, but I've worked with new schools for a long time.

New does not always = better/improved. It depends on the principal, the staff, how they are conducting recruitment etc.

Is it a public school or a charter?

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 9, 2009 4:27 PM in response to Sunset Park High School

We have come a long way in HS quality. I am not sure there is one best but there are "best in area" Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Beacon, Laguardia, Midwood HS, Telecommunication Arts in Bay Ridge, Bard Early College, Townsend Harris, Cardoza, NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies, Bronx Academy of Letters.

It to some degree depends on how your defining "best".

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 5, 2009 2:39 PM in response to Best Public Grade Schools in BK?

You won't have to shuttle stuff between NJ or CT or elsewhere and Brooklyn (that's crazy). Companies get freight into and out of Brooklyn all the time, we even have some (tho waning) industry left that relies on multi-axle trucking or over-the road freight.

Good luck with the move.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 5, 2009 2:16 PM in response to moving permits?

http://www.braswellgalleries.com/Services/tabid/94/Default.aspx

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 2, 2009 3:45 PM in response to Estate Clean Out

What about the wire systems from Ikea. I don't know if they make them long enough but it goes from wall to wall (like a clothsline) and then you clip the curtain to the wire.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 2, 2009 9:44 AM in response to Curtain Track

If I were you I would spring for the wine fridge or other fridge as applicable.

We have in the past cooked a really lovely case of zinfandel from having it in a basement.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at June 1, 2009 7:37 PM in response to Storing Wine in Brownstone

If you can go with a middle eastern theme I would recommend Sahara on Coney Island Avenue. Otherwise, Wholefoods in Manhattan.

You might get more informed responses on chowhound.com

Good luck,
11218

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 30, 2009 12:14 PM in response to Rec's for gourmet buffet?

Rainbow Movers. http://www.rainbowmoversny.com/RainbowMoversNY/welcome.html

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 29, 2009 1:57 PM in response to Mover recs?

I don't have a phone number anymore but here's the email I had used to contact him: alchica3@aol.com

Good Luck,
11218

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 25, 2009 9:19 AM in response to Handyman fernando chica

Bobjohn we have the same thing in South Midwood (though, I'm not sure its just honda's). Two cars in the past two weeks (yikes).

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 22, 2009 3:06 PM in response to more theft lately?

This might be too late but there are always guys on Coney Island and Ditmas between 6:30 and 9, waiting for work.

GL.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 18, 2009 4:13 PM in response to Moving Garden Stone

This is silly, but are you allowed to take it with you? I thought fixtures (once attached to the wall) are considered part of the apartment.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 14, 2009 10:29 AM in response to Reluctantly Selling Chandelier

Perfect Paws gave our dog a nice cut but is inconvenient for us.

We love Rod who grooms out of Dr. Silverman's office on Prospect Park West. He is wonderful.

GL.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at May 14, 2009 10:27 AM in response to Dog Groomer

I am not sure what you are expecting to spend but Bob Albani 718-819-0174 gets recommended here frequently (with very positive sentiments). I think he wanted to charge us about 250 an hour and he told me to expect about 2 to 3 hours.

Full disclosure: he's also a friend of my dad's, and ultimately we used someone else.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at April 14, 2009 4:41 PM in response to Can you recommend an engineer?

I live a few blocks from Brooklyn College. We love the 'nabe, but honestly, I'm pushing 40 :). The closest "scene" is in Ditmas Park a train stop or short walk away but even that is not so happening.

BC is a good, solid liberal arts school. If you are coming to NYC to experience NYC and go to college I would suggest you look at Hunter or City College or Baruch. For liberal arts and language, City might be the best of the three I've mentioned.

Its not a CUNY but you might also want to look at Fordham. Solid, solid liberal arts and the Manhattan campus is a great location.

Oh, and lastly, the area around Hunter is great.

Good Luck,
B11218

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at March 24, 2009 9:25 PM in response to Brooklyn College II

I was the one who recommended Verrazano on your prior post, I stand by the recommendation, they did a SUPER job in a very tight timeframe.

They did three floors of floors in 3 days (all the right number of coats of poly/sanding etc) and replaced intricate sections of boarders.

I realize they get mixed reviews here, but we had nothing but good things to report and I would definitely trust them to replace sections of flooring.

GL.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at February 24, 2009 12:26 PM in response to Pee-Stained Floors - Follow-Up ?

We have a similar issue in our single family in Flatbush. You might want to have Verrazano Flooring come out and give you an estimate. We chose not to take the stained boards out (we were running out of money) but they did restore other sections of intricate boarders and parquet that were damaged from termites.

Our damage is mostly limited to one room and they said they could fix the specific slats that were stained, but it was too expensive for us at that time.

If we were going to re-visit those sections, I'd definitely work with them again.

GL.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at February 23, 2009 12:08 PM in response to Pee-Stained Wood Floors?

Sounds like we invested in similar homes :)

I got the George Nash book based on a recommendation from here and its been very valuable.

GL!

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at February 15, 2009 4:15 PM in response to Renovation inspiration sought

Hi Myplace,
I agree with Arkady, we have basically been working in sections since August.
So you know boiler is really easy (less than a day) some of the things we rushed through like replacing all our electrical, suffered from not being thoughtful. Such that placement of outlets, switches, etc are not ideal.

There are some things I can tell you from experience you'll want right away (like a kitchen, or at least two functioning water sources).

Our second bathroom is going to unfold over the next year and we put the pipes up to a third floor anticipating a third bath, but that won't be for the next 2-3 years.

Goodluck,
11218

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at January 27, 2009 11:53 AM in response to sequence of renovations

We fell in love, love, love with a house in Stapleton that was a huge victorian and people thought we were nuts.

The bottom line with our story is that we continued to look in both SI and Brooklyn, found a very diamond in the rough here in Brooklyn and have been lucky enough to stay.

I really liked St. George, Snug Harbor, the ferry, etc. Parks a plenty.

Downsides: lack of public schools (if that matters to you). SI on the whole uses private parochial schools more than publics. We heard that a new charter school is coming in but that didn't make me feel a ton better. Driving and the attendant traffic, the bridges get backed up, its not pretty.

At the end of the day, we weren't sure the isolation was for us. There didn't seem to be much of a sidewalk culture.
If that's not important to you I say go for it. Especially if you love the house. I thought values were very strong overall.

GL!

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at December 24, 2008 10:39 AM in response to st. george staten island

Email Sven at Sven Moves. They are super reliable and have box trucks as well as just vans. I've used them about 3 times now.

svenwechsler@hotmail.com

GL,
Brooklyn

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at December 22, 2008 10:55 AM in response to recos for a man with a van

BedStuyTownhouse,

I hope you've finally bought a home. Your posts are becoming pathetic.

Unfortunately, you have an incredible misunderstanding of what the law requires of licensed real brokers who represent sellers and what the law expects to be provided to buyers.

Perhaps you should make sure you know what you're talking about when stating that a real estate broker is a scam artist.

Maybe you should share with the Brownstoner.com audience when you were scammed.

Or perhaps leaving out the details of your failed offer that didn't meet the seller's expectation isn't a good enough reason.

One day, you'll have your home on the market and maybe hire a real estate broker to arrange a sale.

But even if you didn't and attempted to sell on your own, let's if you'll confer on the buying public the expectations you had when you were in their position.

Think about it.

Posted by: bkemcee at September 25, 2009 5:41 AM in response to List of local brokerage shops

Thank you all for your comments, it's been really helpful I'll pass it on to the Coop members.

Posted by: earthandfire at September 26, 2009 9:10 PM in response to Ignoring Coop rules

So who are the Brazilians?

Posted by: donatella at October 2, 2009 7:25 PM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

The Brazilians are not people I would even want to promote. As much as I wouldn't mind seeing Verrazano suffer, I cannot with a clear conscience give free advertising to the Brazilian company taht did just an OK job. They weren't very friendly either. Next time, I wouldn't hire either them or Verrazano. I did do a search on Verrazano Flooring, but the opinions are so varied, how do you know which is right? But I do know that I wouldn't go to a surgeon with mixed reviews so it's my own fault for hiring them. Rick - Who was the 100 year old company that dissapointed you? And who can refer me to a high end flooring contractor for next time?

Posted by: michael1482 at October 2, 2009 7:47 PM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

Michael that's sucks. But put yourself in the Brazilian guys' shoes... Here they are on a job site that they lost to a higher bidder because of trust, and they will now perform the same task for less than their bid. Wouldn't you be salty if that was your trade?

I would triple check every square inch if I were you.

And, I think you should have called Verrazono, and stated the conflict of interest when you saw the Brazilians at your door.

Posted by: jack slade at October 2, 2009 9:18 PM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

I's quite possible that the 'Brazilians' are employees or subs of Verrazzano trying to hustle up some extra money on the side, and that complaining about them to Verrazzano will have some serious repercussions for them.

Posted by: denton at October 3, 2009 7:11 AM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

Denton, I'm not looking to protect Verrazano and I have no interest in trying to hurt some guys who've immigrated to this country to make a better life for themselves. I think you've missed the point. Again, VF acted within legal limits - there was no mention either way on the contract of who would actually do the work. My only point is this - Why would anyone hire Verrazano Flooring to do their floors when they simply hire out cheaper companies to do the work for them? If you were buying a TV, would you buy it from PC Richards for $1500, or would you buy it from some guy sitting outside the store who bought it from PC Richards for $1500 and now wants $3350 for it? I understand your point that the work gets done, but if people are going to pay their exorbitant prices, we should be getting more, not the same. In fact, coupled with VF's miserable customer service, I actually got LESS. Verrazano Flooring is complete hype and I can't imagine their business model can continue to be successful through this recession. Even though things are getting better now, people are going to be very careful because we have all been reminded how our high paying jobs can suddenly be taken away from us, or how our longstanding businesses can suddenly start to struggle. I for one will start to go with low bids as you have said I should have. My only concern is what can of worms will this open up?

Posted by: michael1482 at October 3, 2009 9:55 AM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

"Why would anyone hire Verrazano Flooring to do their floors when they simply hire out cheaper companies to do the work for them?"

Capitalism is a beautiful thing... everyone has different reasons to make decisions. For example, if I were doing a 5mil brownstone in the Heights, I might want a company like VZ doing my floors, because I might want to be sure they have liabilty insurance, workers comp, and so on. I might want to know if they screw up I could take them to court and sue them. I might be interested in seeing their showroom, and in their expertise. It would be immaterial who exactly was doing the work, it would be more material in having a big company to stand behind it.

THen again if I was doing a 500k row house in Bushwick, I might be less risk averse and more interested in the price.

Something for everyone...

Posted by: denton at October 3, 2009 7:59 PM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

live and learn. that is the way with a lot of larger outfits whether flooring, plumbing, elec, whatever.
You can get great references and people have had great experiences...but next job could be done by a newbie on their staff or whatever. I suppose you could argue that at least they guarantee their work and rectify if not done well.

Posted by: Petebklyn at October 5, 2009 10:16 AM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT

As an accountant, I've worked with people who do various types of home construction. I happen to know that a $2,000,000 liability insurance policy, which is pretty much standard for specialty trades) costs anywhere from $5000 - $10,000 per year depending on all the incidentals. Any contractor that has a legitimate business should be able to afford that. That's also not to mention that the other companies were insured (I asked). I actually didn't see VF's showroom, and I'm sure it's nice, but I still didn't get my money's worth. So who can recommend another flooring place for me - I still have some more work to do next month.

Posted by: michael1482 at October 5, 2009 5:32 PM in response to Verrazano Flooring NOT WORTH IT