Water bills have gone wayyyy up recently, so only recent bills are relevant there...

Posted by: Isty at September 17, 2009 4:01 PM in response to Utilities Bill

We've had Brownstone for a few years now, and we haven't had to make any claims (knock wood!), but I've found them a little hard to reach. The agents seem to turn around on a revolving door, and we've had a hard time getting anybody to return our calls when we've had questions about our policy.

So now it's time to renew it, and we're thinking of changing companies, or at least looking for quotes. I just don't feel that confident that Brownstone is either a) the best deal, or b) the most responsive.

But I'd be interested to hear more from others-- anybody?

Posted by: Isty at September 14, 2009 2:51 PM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

This looks really nice-- and I'm so happy that an independent bookstore is opening in the neighborhood. Can't wait to shop there. In fact, I'll rally friends to buy books there, too...

Posted by: Isty at August 21, 2009 12:25 PM in response to Greenlight Bookstore Renovation Blog: Week 4

Oh, I don't forget the days when the runup was crazy-I paid out the nose for that in a few different ways. And I think that those who led the warpath then were greedy, greedy, greedy. No less unsavory.

And I'm not against a realistic negative prediction.

I just mean that when buyers/sellers egg the prices on-- up or down--obviously *wanting* it to go that way for their own selfish purposes, and they don't take a moment's pause to think how all of this affects other people, it is ugly.

Posted by: Isty at July 16, 2009 8:56 AM in response to House of the Day: 202 Clermont Avenue

I couldn't agree more with MoneyForNothing about this: "Find the place you like, at a price in line with economic fundamentals, and buy it." That's what we're all trying to do, right?

But the thing is, few of us can be so blase (accent please) or so sure about about prices that we can just plunge in at the time that seems right for us-- and how do we know what's in line with economic fundamentals? So we dither over details.

And I completely agree with you, too, that the dithering gets boring, and I'm sick to death of talk about sinks and whatnot, too, although I do occasionally need to engage in that for practical purposes. But if you want macro-economics and not a discussion of brownstones, you're in the wrong place, really. This site is called "brownstoner".

But what gets me more is the blast of negativity-- and I can be a pretty negative person myself sometimes-- about the "economic fundamentals", not because it's wrong, but because it seems so ideologically driven.

I mean, Miss Muffett wants prices to fall. But surely she must realize that a lot of people will suffer-- and I'm not talking about asshats here-- when that happens. So cheerleading for it just seems a little.. unsavory.

Posted by: Isty at July 15, 2009 8:20 PM in response to House of the Day: 202 Clermont Avenue

Miss Muffett and MoneyForNothing are so grouchy and repetitive that their posts make me tired. And MoneyForNothing spells "Fort Greene" "Fort Green."

Posted by: Isty at July 15, 2009 5:49 PM in response to House of the Day: 202 Clermont Avenue

Oh, thanks, DIBS, now I know what you mean. (I like to learn a useful tip as a bonus when I check in on the guessing game about prices.)

Posted by: Isty at July 15, 2009 4:51 PM in response to House of the Day: 202 Clermont Avenue

What are "engineered floors"?

Posted by: Isty at July 15, 2009 4:12 PM in response to House of the Day: 202 Clermont Avenue

No need to get personal, Wrath. It doesn't seem to me like Bxgirl has bones in the closet- an invasion of privacy seems wrong even if you don't have anything to hide.

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 12:54 PM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

Yeay, Vinca. Thanks.

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 12:10 PM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

But landlords are also neighbors, right? If I were the neighbor and tenant of a landlord who investigated me in the Wrathful way, I think I'd be kind of paranoid and mad all the time. Not good- for the health, the happiness, *or* the investment.

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 11:22 AM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

I thought that Crownifc meant that savings get taken into consideration in a positive way-- like, if the person doesn't make a lot of money, he/she might be able to pay the rent anyway if there's extra $ coming from someplace besides employment- like savings.

That makes sense.

We don't normally ask to see how much savings ppl have, but one of our tenants doesn't make a lot of $$ and she knew that it might be a problem, so she volunteered to show us her savings account- because she'd gone from a higher paying job to a lower paying one.

Basically, I think that if a person has a good credit report and a sane job history, and you think that they seem reasonable, then they'll probably be a good tenant,

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 10:57 AM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

oh ok sorry I missed the sarcasm- hadn't had coffee yet. thanks for clarifying.

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 10:33 AM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

First I was amazed that Burg said don't meet the renters; then I was scandalized that other landlords look at specific spending patterns. As a landlord, I really think that's *none* of my business.

And in fact I spend money in some pretty stupid places sometimes, too, and I'd hate to have to talk about that with my tenants. As long as they can pay the rent, it's not my business to inquire how they do it.

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 10:27 AM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

Um I don't get that Burg comment at all, and I appreciate the question-- it is hard to figure that out.

We've been renting two apartments to people we found on Craigslist for about 10 years, and it's gone incredibly smoothly (knock on wood!).

We just ask the tenants to submit an application that lists basic info- their employers, current landlords, etc. We also ask them to submit a credit report that they can get online for free (myfico.com or whatever, I forget).

And meeting the tenants is absolutely essential. In every case, we've had more good applicants than one-- I mean, there are several people who seem really responsible, with decent jobs & good credit reports and all of that-- so it ultimately comes down to who we prefer as a neighbor (esp. important since we live in the building, too).

That made me uncomfortable at first, because it's sooo subjective, but we try to just think about things like diversity and fairness and all of that as we make our choices, and then we choose the person who seems like he/she will be easiest to communicate with over the long haul.

It's worked out great. We've had several different kinds of tenants--old/young/black/white/gentrifier/not-gentrifier-- and we've had friendly & positive relationships with all of them. It also helps if you don't try to raise the rent in a greedy fashion, of course :)

Posted by: Isty at July 1, 2009 10:19 AM in response to How to Assess Potential Tenants?

I think you can swing this *if* you get to the point where you're not in fear of losing your job. You definitely need a job to make this work. No question.

But if you can keep it, you might do well to take the naysayers here with a grain of salt. People who're used to living really cheaply and saving money when they're not making a lot can manage to live a whole lot differently than people who eat out at The General Greene, for example (which is a great restaurant but so pricey for a plate of vegetables and some meat). And if it's worth it to you to be house-poor for 5 years or whatever, a multi-family could be a great investment for you.

I guess I'm also saying that you're super smart to try to own a way that will secure your future.

So a big question is: how much do you have saved to put down in the first place? A big down payment would mean a lot under these circumstances.

And, in answer to your question, I don't think it's likely at all that you'd have an apartment empty for 3 months. But it is likely that you'll have unexpected expenses-- an electrical repair, a leaky basement, whatever-- so you'll need a pot of cash on hand for those.

Posted by: Isty at June 17, 2009 12:00 PM in response to Seeking Advice on Multi-Family

That is too bad about the G&T program at PS 20. What's going to happen there?

Seems like the school needs some love from the city to get back on track...

Posted by: Isty at June 17, 2009 11:50 AM in response to Wednesday Links

Creepy, yes. Not funny, yes. But hate crime? Gimme a break.

Even if it's serious (and that's not at all clear), it's just somebody saying they hate kids. And every kid knows that there are some grownups who are just to grumpy to like them, maybe even grumpy enough to hate them. Kids have lots of names for grownups like that. Asshat?

Posted by: Isty at June 16, 2009 5:49 PM in response to Burg Condo Unwelcoming to Children

Umm back to the subject- what do you all think of that Clermont house? I'm curious.

Posted by: Isty at June 5, 2009 3:01 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

THat bookstore post reminded: what's up with the bookstore that was supposed to open in FG/CH? Is that still happening?

Posted by: Isty at May 13, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Tuesday Blogwrap

I am curious: when the "average reader appraisals" have been going long enough that we can see some data about actual sales numbers versus our bonehead estimates, how accurate are we?

Those numbers almost always look low to me relative to comps. I'm not energetic enough to really check out that impression, because I'm sitting tight at the moment, anyway, but I'll be interested to see.

Posted by: Isty at May 7, 2009 11:00 PM in response to House of the Day: 100 St. Mark's Avenue

I like wine bars.

Posted by: Isty at May 5, 2009 12:22 PM in response to Downtown Rent Reality Check

The last thing I want is a fight with The What, but I feel compelled to stick up for Brownstoner on this one, because I think this quick rundown of crime stats is actually pretty useful. There's always so much unfounded gossip about where there's lots of crime, where there's not, where it's up, where it's down--

If we actually look at the numbers, maybe it reduces the hysteria a little, and I suspect that others are like me: too lazy/busy to look it up for myself. Maybe?

Posted by: Isty at April 3, 2009 11:02 AM in response to The Month in Crime in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill

But does anybody know what this program will actually entail?

I'm not investigating schools, actually, just an interested bystander & neighbor-- but a friend of mine who has a kid in a g&t program says that it's just like the regular curriculum only faster.

Will that be the case with this program, too, or.. what does "inquiry," "research," etc. mean in this context?

Posted by: Isty at March 20, 2009 7:26 PM in response to New Gifted School for Fort Greene

Wait, I'm confused by the comment from Petebklyn: if we're *not* close to 2004 prices, are you saying that this house should cost a lot less than it did in 2004?

I've been kind of out of the loop so I'm asking this in sincerity. Even with the downturn and all, prices are still marginally higher than they were in 2004, aren't they?

Posted by: Isty at March 16, 2009 3:00 PM in response to House of the Day: 345 Hoyt Street

We bought a 3-family brownstone (owner's duplex + 2 one-brs) about 5 yrs ago and it has been great. We're first time homeowners and were really hesitant about the responsibilities-- in terms of maintenance, economics, plus who-knows-what that goes with having tenants as neighbors. But it's been fantastic for us.

We have had some rocky patches, especially at the beginning, when we had a couple of big maintenance problems and a tenant who didn't leave when he said he was going to. Those were really stressful times, but since then, we have little to complain about. Owning the rental apartments has enabled us to live in a much nicer apartment than we could afford otherwise, and our tenants have been great neighbors & even friends.

For what it's worth, I think that the competitiveness of NYC's rental market for the past few years has helped us a lot. Whenever we have an apartment available, we advertise on craigslist & get dozens of applications for it, and many of those people have good credit and all of that, so we just pick the people with whom we have the most comfortable rapport. I worried at first that that was unfair because it's so subjective, but now I think it's smart-- because, after all, you have to trust your tenants and they have to trust you, too.

Posted by: Isty at January 6, 2009 5:50 AM in response to Investing in Multifamily Props

thanks for the opinions about FG/PH! I am a fort greene booster, myself, so I can't assess these values objectively (not that anybody can, or that housing values are established objectively, but-- it helps to hear what others think).

Posted by: Isty at September 10, 2008 1:25 AM in response to House of the Day: 293 Prospect Place

What do you guys think about the relative values of Prospect Heights & Fort Greene, all other things being equal? I mean, would a house in prime PH go for about the same price as a comparable house in prime FG?

Posted by: Isty at September 9, 2008 3:36 PM in response to House of the Day: 293 Prospect Place

petunia - i think allstate doesn't cover parts of LI due to the hurricane issues but as far as i know, they still cover NYC.

Posted by: CG_ups at September 14, 2009 3:10 PM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I use State Farm. Never had a claim, but I do like dealing with my agent. We had to have flood as well- so it's expensive- but the agent and his office that I deal with are really easy to talk to. His name is Mike Berardino, 914 232 7444

Posted by: hooky at September 14, 2009 4:01 PM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I use liberty for everything right now.. although i haven't had a claim (knock on wood).. i do like their customer service ..always helpful.

Posted by: scarter at September 14, 2009 4:09 PM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I've had Allstate for six years on a Bklyn co-op and claimed once for water damage to the floors from the apartment next door. (My premium did not go up.) They first denied the claim, because they said I didn't file within 48 hours, but my agent backed me up that I called within the time period even if I didn't file at the time. I received an amount that would replace the floors minus depreciation (from the date of the original floors in the 80s. They said my policy covered replacement of what I had, not for something better than I had.) I could also submit hotel expenses if I left while the work was being done, though I didn't end up doing that. At first they said checks more than $10K had to go through your mortgage lender, but after sending to two wrong addresses, they canceled that check, and sent a new one directly to me, which had to be endorsed by the bank. The neighbor's insurer (Chubb) had some sort of good neighbor clause that picked up my deductible as well as the co-op's renovation fee. The process wasn't a picnic, but the adjuster and agent were responsive to my many calls.

Posted by: TPX at September 15, 2009 7:48 AM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I have Chubb. We had a huge leak and our roof was destroyed (resulting in a total roof tear off to the tune of $35K) and they refused to acknowledge that we had a loss. BEWARE of Chubb.

Posted by: mmfarland at September 15, 2009 10:18 AM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I can second State Farm, although I haven't made a claim (knock wood). I have heard that Brownstone isn't responsive for claims via a friend who had them.

Posted by: BKRed at September 15, 2009 3:11 PM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I tried Brownstone but phone calls were never answered and they seemed pretty unprofessional. Ended up talking to a friend of mine that is a broker and he helped place my brownstone in something called the NY Brick & Brownstone program and everything seems fine - though I haven't had to make a claim either. The only problem is I think this program is only accessable through a broker, but the price was great.

Lou Marrotta is my broker and he recently moved from a LI brokerage to Modica Associates in Brooklyn (718-855-1836). Good luck!

Posted by: nycdc at September 16, 2009 11:27 AM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

I just noticed they have an ad box on the Forum home page.

Posted by: nycdc at September 16, 2009 11:29 AM in response to Good/Bad Insurance Cos?

yeah, water bill is way up. Stealth Bloomberg tax on middleclass.

Posted by: Petebklyn at September 17, 2009 4:36 PM in response to Utilities Bill

checked out the place myself today, spoke with landlord, and (gf's) friend in more detail. she pays like 60 a month for heat/water (budget billing) and like 100 a month for electricity. not bad.

Posted by: guikazoid at September 17, 2009 10:56 PM in response to Utilities Bill