If the city had actual competent people working for it, they could do the job with like 20% of the staff they have. Between union rules and pensions after 20 years, these people probably do an equivilent of a year of actual work their entire career.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at February 15, 2007 10:02 PM in response to HPD: Understaffed, Incompetent or Both?

Mr. B. -- to suggest that the dept of finance is some sort of authoritative source on housing prices is absurd. Do you really think a dysfunctional city beuracracy can better assess market value, than say, a corcoran report? it's just arbitrary to think so..
the truth is, there is no official answer to "how much did property values" go up this year. Even if you had every sales data, unless you had detailed of the condition, etc, of each place and was able to compare it with like data from the prior year, it wouldn't be accurate... and none of the sources have that info.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at January 15, 2007 8:58 PM in response to Real Estate Market's Doing Just Fine, Thanks

f you don't know what you're doing, it's going to look like cr*p... Do you know if the plumbing behind the wall is in good shape? if not, this would be the time to replace it... anyway, except to pay bet 3 to 10 for a redone bathroom, depending on how upscale the fixtures and contractor is.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at September 7, 2006 8:31 PM in response to looking for a general estimate for bathroom renovations

Bx & co: it's commonly known that adding lanes of traffic increases the number of cars driving on said road. So it makes sense that adding a parking lot to the arena will encourage people to drive to the game, which is a bad idea. As for schools, just look at the wave of people moving into and out of areas all over the city to see the city cope with this over the years.
Right now there are condo's being built all over the south slope, but in fact the number of kids of schools there are not going up because (a) yuppies rarely have more than 2 kids, less then historical avg in those areas (b) families are moving out of brooklyn because they are being priced out (c) restrictions on immigration. All these forces will more than offset the AY project.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at August 10, 2006 11:01 AM in response to Learning to Oppose the Atlantic Yards Project

CHP - I see your point. I'm just figuring that if there were a school like that in FG or PH, for example, enough people would do whatever they can to avoid it, and it would no longer be overcrowded. That won't make the school any better, though, because it's usually the kids who need the most help who are most likely to stay in a bad school.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at August 8, 2006 5:10 PM in response to Learning to Oppose the Atlantic Yards Project

CrownHeightsProud,
Yes, I went to NYC public schools (go Jamaica High!)... but that's another story. Based on my observations, there is a positive correlation between how crowded a school is and how good it is (i.e. more crowded = better). Basically, these are the effects of people playing the system by going to their non-zoned schools or moving to better districts.
As for traffic, people will not drive if they know they will stuck in traffic for hours.. that's why JFK is losing out to LGA in terms of air-traffic, for example.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at August 8, 2006 4:09 PM in response to Learning to Oppose the Atlantic Yards Project

So this issue with AY is drunk people walking out after the game, and not imminent domain? Meanwhile major parts of NYC are turning into variations of Smith Street with drunks, outdoor cafes, etc, and people seem to be ok with that.
I still feel that the NYC public school system is well equipped to handle this so-called "influx", and that traffic will be a non-issue because if it really is horrible to drive around there, people won't. e.g. not too many people drive to MSG, but they do drive to the meadowlands.
They are not tearing down any brownstones, so nobody's "social fabric" will be manhattan-ified. There are brownstones next to high-rises all over the city, and people seem to be ok with that too. In fact we even have thriving brownstone neighborhoods next to (gasp!) Flatbush ave, which is quite depressing in certain stretches.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at August 8, 2006 1:58 PM in response to Learning to Oppose the Atlantic Yards Project

Public schoool enrollment, especially north of district 15, is still well below historic levels. Having crowded public schools is actually a very good problem to have. As for traffic, if the roads are free and clear, more people will buy cars. If traffic and parking are awful, people will be less likely to keep their cars.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at August 8, 2006 10:22 AM in response to Learning to Oppose the Atlantic Yards Project

people who buy and sell non-agency mortgages in the secondary market will tell you that broker price opinions are more reliable than appraisals.
their bonus depends on it, so they should know.
it's because appraisers are incentivized to "hit the number" that the bank is looking for.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at July 27, 2006 8:53 PM in response to Brownstone Appraisal

Brokers can appraise it, by telling you what they think you can get for it. Research indicates that brokers are more accruate than appraisers.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at July 26, 2006 9:09 PM in response to Brownstone Appraisal

I went with Diamond from Lowe's and it was totally smooth and was very happy with the result. I actually ordered something from Kraftmaid at Lowe's, and didn't have any problem with that either. Also, for the one door that had an issue, they replaced it in a snap.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at July 13, 2006 9:26 PM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story

I think contractors come up with prices based on the total amount of hours of work involved, which usually happens to be a function of the size of the space. But it also depends on things like: how many bathrooms and kitchens are you putting in? Moving walls? etc. Also, is the GC going to give you an all-in price that includes the subcontractors (plumber, etc) and the materials?
If you can, I'd recommend trying to get prices that don't include materials (tell him you will reimb for materials, based on reciepts) and don't include the sub-contractors (you can meet with them directly to negotiate a price).
Anyway, when thinking of a renovation, I like to think in terms of the major systems which you may/may-not be renovating:
e.g.
plumbing: full replumbing will be bet. 25-35k.
electrical: major upgrades 20-30k
A/C: 15-25k
kitchen: 25k each (basic)
bathroom: 8k each (basic)
moving walls, building closets, repair plaster, painting, etc. say 20k per floor
deck: 15k
architect, filings: 25k
lights, W/D, other materials: 10k
this is probably a bit optimistic, but you can see how things add up.... about 240k in this example for a typical 3 story.

Posted by: OE-from-WT at July 11, 2006 10:09 PM in response to Square Footage Renovation Cost

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Posted by: Movinger721 at September 1, 2006 9:36 PM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story

the lady with the cabinet

Posted by: j at October 12, 2006 10:33 PM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story

Thanks for the warning! I almost ordered Kraftmaid through Home Depot... I already had been experiencing headaches from their not so brilliant "kitchen designers" but I figured it was a good a price... I want to flip and sell in a few months, but I didn't want to torture a future buyer with particle board. I figured Kraftmaid was a happy medium between the top of the line and bottom of the barrel. Plus I had already paid $100 for measurements. I read on some boards about how great Lowe's was, so I thought I'd take a quick look before placing an order. Boy, am I sure glad I did! The customer service was the best! Even though Home Depot had a 10% off special going on, it seems fishy because my quote from Lowe's was less - even though it was full price. (I think Home Depot just marked up 10% before the "sale"). Lowe's even credited my order $100 since I would have to pay $75 for their installers to measure themselves. In the end, they were just so glad to take a customer away from Home Depot, I actually felt like I was getting extra attention. Actually, I think I was just so used to the crummy ill-treatment of Home Depot that when Lowe's actually gave good customer service, I was in shock. I couldn't say enough good things about my experience with Lowe's. If you are thinking about getting kitchen cabinets, save yourself a big headache and just go to Lowe's. Thanks again for this forum -it's ben very enlightening.

Posted by: heavenlypennies at February 23, 2007 11:47 PM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story

I'll admit I didn't bother to read all of the responses in this thread, only because I have just one thing to say about Kraftmaid (ie KRAPMADE). Unless you are looking to flush $20,000 plus down the toilet, DO NOT BUY KRAFTMAID CABINETS!!!!

I just hope this post will save someone else from the pain I have had to endure.

Posted by: Miker at March 1, 2007 9:46 PM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story

What are your complaints about KraftMaid .. would you care to elaborate?

Ough yes and Hamilton Home depot is horrible.

Lowes practically across the street is so much nicer. The kitchen rep I dealt with is extremely nice and helpful.

Posted by: Chudilo at March 7, 2007 3:02 PM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story

Thanks for the post. I just wish I found it sooner. I have my own horror story with Home Depot Cabinets.

http://homedepotcabinets.blogspot.com

Posted by: guest at July 22, 2008 9:04 AM in response to Home Depot /Kraftmaid Horror Story