Brass guide rail for parlor pocket doors

It’s unlikely there is no C of O for the residence. It is perhaps not available on the web but one can be requested from the DOB (and should be regardless prior to purchase).

If you do in fact need need to do a C of O change assume the following:

-Expeditor filing charges of about $12,000.
-Cost of making changes that relate to making the changes to a C of O (bathrooms, kitchens etc).
-Since this process will involve a DOB inspection, you may be asked to bring any non compliant issue up to code (ie boilers venting for bathroom etc)
-Lastly, a C of O change can trigger a property tax increase.

Posted by: OTIS at June 1, 2009 4:23 PM in response to Change from 1 Family to 2 Family

After the intial post, I contacted our mortgage broker, whom I trust dearly thier response was:

" Chase is beyond a nightmare to work with so I would strongly advise avoiding them as they are not closing any of the loans they are originating. I have a number of friends who had worked there for years and left since they couldn't get their loans done."

Posted by: OTIS at May 22, 2009 11:45 AM in response to Chase Turns Off Our Spigot—For Now at Least

As a fellow architect/landlord I can not believe you have not done your homework and are asking some blog if you should buy potentially the greatest investment of your lifetime.

Here is an outline:

Determine upfront costs
Closing etc.:$26,000 incl laywers taxes etc.
Percentage down: $200,000
Reserve: $5000-10,000 (a H20 boiler costs $3500 min)

Determine operating costs:
Outgoing Mortgage= depending on rate, you are looking at about $5400 including mortgage insurance and tax
Heating/cooling- get bills from broker. (are the utils divided by unit or not?)

Determine income:
Do comps on rentals in the area that are in the same condition. (keep in mind you need to pay income tax on your rental income). Again are the utilities all divided or do you pay electric/heat for the tenant?

I hope you have already done your homework regarding existing conditions and what renovating costs. If not, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into.

Posted by: OTIS at May 14, 2009 4:28 PM in response to Townhouse in Williamsburg

Based on the residents who live there the house will likely need some work. The adjacent house which was completely renovated on the inside(22) has been on the market for a year and is currently listed at $1.49 @ Corcoran. For the adventurous, there is also a house that went for sale across the street (17) 2 weeks earlier for $650k. The house had a fire and has been vacant for several years ago but has great potential. As far as comment regarding the block, the neighbors are lovely. The so called drug house has some activity they are harmless.

Posted by: OTIS at April 6, 2009 1:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 20 Clifton Place

I have seen the same C of O and it is technically a 1 fam. (bank loans etc). A C of O change is about $12k, and involves Bldg dept inspection (not self certification by engineer). So if faults are noted on the inspection, those would have to be repaired prior to the change. Unless there is difinative need to do so, I would avoid changing the C of O.

Posted by: OTIS at January 30, 2009 5:00 PM in response to C of O change from 1 Family+Dr.

We purchased our house from Eva Daniels. The broker who handled the sale was an unprofessional, unscrupulous lier. If they were a reflection of that organization, the demise is warranted.

Posted by: OTIS at January 23, 2009 1:05 PM in response to Eva Daniels Shutters Fulton Storefront

Peel away 1. Make sure you plastic and tape the floor to avoid staining paint removal of adjacent flooring.

Posted by: OTIS at January 8, 2009 3:45 PM in response to Remove paint from marble mantel

At stage all you need to do is prewire with a 8/12 intercom cable. We ran a wire from the front door to the basement (control panel/power) up to the parlor floor, and up to the second floor. The units can be daisy chained. We ended up connecting the system 3 years later as the money became available.
Intercom options:
LeeDan- The least expensive and most widely used system
Aiphone-nicer design, midrange
Seidle- nice design, great system $$$.

Posted by: OTIS at November 24, 2008 4:40 PM in response to Home Security and Intercom System

If you ride the F you might get away with that type of behavior, if you ride the A or C I am surprised you haven't gotten your ass kicked yet. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Posted by: OTIS at November 10, 2008 4:31 PM in response to Quote of the Day

This house was selling as an SRO in 2005 for $850k. Should the units sell near ask the sellers may stand to make some money.(Even with the illegal roof addition that was in turn removed again due to lack of permits) It's a close walk to the methedone clinic.

Posted by: OTIS at October 23, 2008 4:08 PM in response to Condos of the Day: 473 Clinton Avenue

The wooden wall is a strong move. The kitchen however, seems to be undesigned/afterthought, and therefore takes away from the strength of the wall.

Posted by: OTIS at October 15, 2008 11:42 AM in response to Interiors: Small Spaces in Prospect Heights

What? Might be more appropriate. Ignorance is bliss.

Posted by: OTIS at October 6, 2008 2:06 PM in response to Stocks decline worldwide!!! Global crash alert!!!

Extech Industries
(718) 852-7090
87 Bowne St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(red Hook)

Posted by: OTIS at September 25, 2008 5:01 PM in response to Reasonably Priced Pavers?

No one will issue a warranty for a roof repair. Historically the majority of building related lawsuits are related to waterprpofing.

The only way to get a warranty is to get a new roof by a certified installer of a system. This is typically only undertaken for large comercial projects.

Posted by: OTIS at August 14, 2008 6:00 PM in response to Roofing repair - warranty, Is there such a thing?

Bella tile
178 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10009
(212) 475-2909

Posted by: OTIS at August 5, 2008 3:39 PM in response to Tile shops in Brooklyn

You do not need a DOB permit to re-brownstone. If you live in a landmarked area you do need an LPC permit. Typically the contractor fills out paperwork. You can easily do it yourself, go to wwww.nyc.gov and go to the landmarks site. The permit will take 6 weeks though.

Posted by: OTIS at July 18, 2008 4:49 PM in response to refacing facade permits

Floor standing units are more expensive our experience is that they work well and do not need draining. We have had ours for 2 years, it keeps our room (19x12 ft, south facing) at a constant 72deg. The other advantage is that it blocks out little light in the light deprived garden floors.

Posted by: OTIS at July 9, 2008 3:56 PM in response to How to install a Window Air Conditioner in a Brownstone with Security Bars?

Amana has a floor 9000BTU($399+/-)or 7000BTU ($350) floor standing units which are sold at PC Richards. They work well and have resolved the same issue for our household. The other advantage is that they are very easy to move off season, and they do not drip water like the typical units.

Posted by: OTIS at July 9, 2008 3:36 PM in response to How to install a Window Air Conditioner in a Brownstone with Security Bars?

A structural engineer will not be able to help you. What you need is a waterproofing consultant. The majority of new construction suits are the result of poor weatherproofing.

Posted by: OTIS at June 18, 2008 4:05 PM in response to Need Structural Engineer

Thank you 11:19.

Posted by: OTIS at June 17, 2008 6:00 PM in response to Brass guide rail for parlor pocket doors

If you are in a landmark district, you will have to file for a LPC permit. You can file this work yourself, have an archict do it, or have it filed by the installer. This involves photo documentation of existing conditions, an 1940 tax id photo and drawings.Contrary to 11:20am, you will have to submit the installers name and or window make. LPC knows and likes Marvin.
For reference one arched parlor window (96" tall x 36"wide) by Marvin will run you $2000 uninstalled. For a 3 storey house (2 basement, 2 parlor, 3 2nd floor), an approximate price is $20,000 installed.

Posted by: OTIS at June 16, 2008 10:51 PM in response to Landmark Windows - Costs?

If the existing work was done to code for a 1 family, it is not a nightmare to make it a 2 family. My house did not have a C of O, it had a description dating to when it was built. The changes I had to make for the 2 family C of O was to replace a wood roof ladder with a steel roof ladder.

If you're not formally renting it, why bother. It must be doable to have a second kitchen in a legal one - Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn very often have Passover kitchens in the basement.

Posted by: jfss at June 1, 2009 10:29 PM in response to Change from 1 Family to 2 Family

I'm considering doing something similar, but have no experience with all this. Sorry for my naive question, but what is an "expeditor"?

It seems to me that this person files paper on behalf of others. If so, what value does this intermediary bring to the process? I mean, at ~$10K a pop if I can bypass him/her I'd be happy.

If anyone can cast some light on this I'd most grateful.

Posted by: Clouzot at June 2, 2009 1:44 AM in response to Change from 1 Family to 2 Family

Wow! Many thanks to all of you for the helpful posts. We will not be formally renting the garden apartment and it sounds like that can potentially make the process much easier as we really don't care what the C of O says, but just want to have an extra kitchen downstairs (why didn't I think of that?!). It's nice to have ballpark figures and suggestions going in to this process - the whole thing is a bit overwhelming.

Posted by: 1stitchwonder at June 2, 2009 8:29 AM in response to Change from 1 Family to 2 Family

I went to A & K yesterday and received such all-time horrible service that I had to post it somewhere.

Apparently, I came at the wrong time beacause both employees were sitting down to lunch and were otherwise occuppied. They sat behind their desks and answered some of my questions while chewing. At one point, I asked, "Does this tile come in different sizes or finishes?" and the woman said, "I don't know which one you're talking about." WHILE SITTING AT HER DESK CHEWING.

At that point, I began asking for the makers of the tile samples so that I could figure out the answers to my questions on my own. Frustrated, I decided to leave.

As I was leaving the store, the male employee says to the woman, "She was asking for the manufacturers so that she could go out and buy it somewhere else. Can you believe people do that?" The woman replied, "Yeah, I know what she was doing." I'm still in shock that a business could operate this way.

Posted by: writeonadelphi at October 21, 2009 10:16 AM in response to Tile shops in Brooklyn