"a luxury that not all renters have"

Try this instead: "a luxury almost no renters have"

If my old man was in the position to front me a half a million dollars in cash I'd have a Park Slope coop too.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at September 8, 2009 10:09 AM in response to Renters Become Their Own Landlords

Well Rob, would you prefer the only chickens in Brooklyn to be fried and served with fries at a plexi-glass laden Chinese place? If so, I could recommend a number of fine neighborhoods, each complete without bike shops.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at August 25, 2009 4:11 PM in response to Streetlevel: Traif Bike Gesheft

If the kid wants to fix bikes and raise chickens in the same place, he has every right. I think it's odd, but I'd prefer to see that over a chinese restaurant, a dollar store or a condo. That's the sort of weird stuff that makes Brooklyn unique.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at August 25, 2009 3:49 PM in response to Streetlevel: Traif Bike Gesheft

What's wrong with having a chicken in the city? It's probably more humane than the people I see with gigantic overweight dogs they never exercise.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at August 25, 2009 2:37 PM in response to Streetlevel: Traif Bike Gesheft

I actually went to one of these open houses a couple of months ago. The aptsandlofts guys seemed friendly enough and at the place I saw, the developer was covering the closing costs up to 5% of the total sale.

They fully disclosed PMI, but PMI is only another $100-200/month on a place like that, and ccs are under $300. So you drop $12k on a 1br and you're still paying under $2k/month all in. Not bad for a young couple I suppose. They're not any more or less strapped than the 4 family brownstone owners who rent out three floors to stay afloat. The only problem is that the places aren't as likely to hold their value.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at June 19, 2009 1:06 PM in response to Nondescript East W'burg Condos Defying the Market

East NY,
You're right, I did open the door for bitter trolls. But that was a risk I was willing to take. I never expected snark-free advice, but I got advice nonetheless. Not bad for a lunch break. If you all need me I'll be in Fort Greene buying organic beer with $100 bills.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at June 10, 2009 3:04 PM in response to Open Thread

Of course I'm trying to skim the broker fee. Why wouldn't I? Should I just pay the first price they ask for? I have no problem taking money out of real estate agents' pockets for a change.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at June 10, 2009 2:19 PM in response to Open Thread

What, the only time you actually make sense is when you paste something straight from the Wall Street Journal. Your constant amateur financial analysis doesn't fool any of us who actually work in the industry. Save it for your eTrade discussion board.

Guys, I'm not an idiot. I know I can get something under $2k in Fort Greene. But at this point in my life, I'm not looking for the cheapest apt I can find. We want something decent without getting ripped off and that's the amount we've budgeted to spend. We choose to live in Brooklyn because we prefer it to the other boroughs.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at June 10, 2009 1:39 PM in response to Open Thread

Sorry What, I have not "look at Manhattan". After 5 years in Fort Greene I don't want to leave and the market is very different from when I first started out.

Just wondering if anyone here has had any personal experience negotiating a lower fee in Brooklyn in this market. Trying to do the legwork before I actually start looking.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at June 10, 2009 1:02 PM in response to Open Thread

Everyone, I have an actual question: My girlfriend and I are looking for an 8/1 rental in Fort Greene for $2000-2200. We really don't want to pay a broker. Does anyone know how low I can negotiate a broker fee in this market? People can't still be paying 15% when craigslist is full of no fee places. If anyone has experience in this matter, I would greatly appreciate your help.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at June 10, 2009 12:11 PM in response to Open Thread

$900 CC?!?!? At that price the apartment is not worth half the asking price.

I live one block away and rent for $950. I'd love to buy in my neighborhood, but what fool would invest that much money into a mortgage and THEN throw away $900 every month. And while mckenzie has a point regarding the tax deduction, the deductability amounts vary from building to building, and if they're not telling you its 100% deductable, don't anticipate good news.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at April 27, 2009 6:02 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 101 Lafayette Avenue, #6A

I went to Rickshaw on 52nd and Lex last week. I paid almost $10 for a handful of dumplings and a bit of edamame. What a rip-off, I was hungry 5 minutes later. Whether they suck or not is a matter of opinion, but most of us can agree that in the middle of a depression/recession/downturn, that $10 for 6 tiny dumplings and some beans is insane.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at March 17, 2009 3:20 PM in response to Rickshaw Dumplings Invade Dumbo

I actually counted the number of lights I saw the other night. I think it was twelve or thirteen. Granted some people might have been out for the evening but it was not that late (maybe 10pm). There is no way that place is even 25% sold. Whoever dreamed up that place is in trouble. They have no chance of renting that retail space anytime soon.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at March 9, 2009 10:48 AM in response to Forte Marketing Effort Gets a Makeover

Davide5, downingbylaw, mshook - I would like to chat. Sorry it took so long.

And mshook, espresso is more conducive to pedaling, but beer is more conducive to hanging out at a bike shop. And after working in shops for years, that's all most of the regulars do anyway. And considering most of the staff are already drinking a beer, you might as well start charging people for it. The margins are so low its the only way to make a profit. Just 1-2 beers on tap. Otherwise you start attracting the crowd of people who want mixed drinks or even worse, wine.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at March 5, 2009 3:56 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Bike Shop for Fort Greene

DowningByLaw,
Let's open that repair shop and get a liquor license too. There's no money in selling bikes, the margins are too low. It's all about friendly service, accessories, repairs and a beer or two. I'd love to have a shop where you could sell someone a beer while they waited for their flat tire to be fixed.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at February 26, 2009 4:25 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Bike Shop for Fort Greene

The store itself doesn't have a lot of space. I imagine they'll do a few specialty bikes (given their name) and that most of their business will be repairs.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at February 26, 2009 3:04 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Bike Shop for Fort Greene

That's not the former SnipSnap. If you actually look, SnipSnap is still open 10 feet to the left. That is the former TransAcademy car service which went out of business because they charged $45 to get to JFK.

Word on the street is, TransAcademy wanted $80k to take over their lease which had almost two years left on it. Hopefully they negotiated a lower rate. I just hope they're not hipster track bike snobs.

Posted by: GuyIncognito at February 26, 2009 2:21 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Bike Shop for Fort Greene