Why possibly would you want her to go month to month without a rent increase? It doesn't jibe with your story.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 5, 2009 7:35 PM in response to Help with Demanding Tenant?

come on guys, bkplebe is just trolling and seeing if it can get a rise out of you.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 5, 2009 7:25 PM in response to House of the Day: 119 Fort Greene Place

You can move. You can stop paying rent and make him evict you. But that would make you a bad person. You have no moral or legal right to get a equal rent with him. Nor does he have to let you know what he pays. Unless he promised you something different - in which case he is a liar, but that still doesn't change your rights.

Do you like the apartment, your situation? Then just deal.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 4, 2009 7:29 AM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

Yes people should not pop babies - or slap them for that matter.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 3, 2009 11:45 AM in response to $21 Million Grant for Coney Affordable Housing

Can we please trade Rob out for "the What." Jon if you are creating these people to keep the site interesting, how about someone who just posts in French?

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 3, 2009 11:43 AM in response to The Gingerbread House Hits the Market

huh?

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 2, 2009 10:47 AM in response to Creative Use of Leftover Floor?

Imagine that - a wood fence in Brooklyn! Next you will be telling me you plan to barbeque as well. Seriously looks great...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at November 2, 2009 10:34 AM in response to Excellent Landscape Designer!

Actually not Denton. Because the leaves fall off the trees in the fall. Of course it takes a while for a tree to grow to any size to accomplish these goals. It would be your gift to the future. (That said the cherry tree I planted in my front yard 7 years ago has doubled in size and now is a privacy screen for my scond floor parlor.)

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 27, 2009 8:37 PM in response to Trees in Bed Stuy?

Is this the only problem with the house? Probably pretty easy to fix.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 21, 2009 1:04 AM in response to Water in Tub

Glad to see work beginning on this. The previous owners emptied it of lifelong residents in order to sell it, then got bogged down in family dispute and let it decay - the pipes burst and flooded two other house's basements. According to my partner who is tending the homefires while I work in Nepal for three months (thus missing the noisy construction?) the owner has left notes for all the neighbors with her name and that of her contractor if there are any problems. More considerate than I thought to be when I did my work seven years ago.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 9, 2009 8:23 PM in response to Reno Action at 50 Putnam

Would have thought they would have mentioned PS261 instead of or in addition to PS 38. Much more popular and draws kids from out of zone (including my son from Clinton Hill).

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 5, 2009 9:41 AM in response to Boerum Hill: In a Nutshell

Uh, perhaps you might want to talk to your landlord first? If s/he is renovating downstairs (perhaps for his or her use) the renovation may not be complete.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at October 3, 2009 12:34 AM in response to Sketchy Wall

The salvation army on Quincy in Clinton Hill has old mattresses for sale. I imagine they accept them.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 25, 2009 4:39 PM in response to Recycling an Old Mattress?

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 23, 2009 6:36 PM in response to Windows We Are

Yeah, I ended up refinancing with my same lender to avoid same fees/taxes. From their point of view they want to create incentives for you to stay with them. Letter sounds polite at least!

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 22, 2009 3:50 PM in response to Bad Mortgage Lending Practices?

Since there already is an awesome French-African place (Kush) on Putnam and Fulton, I vote for something different. I remember when I was having dinner in the then Liquors looking at what was to be Loulou's. The waiter was evidently opening Loulou's and when he told me that I said "I hope it is anything but French." He, somewhat flustered, told me it would Be "Breton" and fish-oriented, not the French I was used to in the neighborhood.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 22, 2009 3:22 PM in response to New Restaurant/Bar for Fulton Street

I myself hate the design. Why are we so intent on making every part of Brooklyn look like a disneyland version of the past? However the lamposts looked in 1880, they look grotesque in their 21st century proportions. And is there no room for modern design in this city? These Franken-lamps are a symbol of our aesthetic bankruptcy.

BTW I've asked the whores on Putnam Avenue to dress like Victorian street-walkers...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 22, 2009 10:33 AM in response to Flatbush Streetlamp Project Draws Criticism

1. It seems unlikely that Agent A was your broker. The same firm could not be both your agent and that of the seller. Both were agents of the seller and as such were getting the best possible offers for the seller, even if it meant jerking you around. No legal obligations on anyone's part until contract is signed.

2. Let it go. The broker is important - it is the house which you care about. Either up your offer if you believe there really is another offer and you want the house or tell broker you've given best and final offer. You always have to be prepared to walk away.

3. Are you sure you aren't offering too much? Sounds like you are close to asking price.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 21, 2009 9:09 PM in response to Worst Broker Experience Ever

You can "ask" him not to raise it by offering to pay the current rent and get a good reference. Then s/he can either agree or rent it to someone else who will pay more. You are more likely to be successful if you are willing to walk away from the apartment or if the landlord thinks s/he will have difficulty renting it immediately.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 18, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Signing 1-Year Lease

And yet two other people suggest otherwise...hmm.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 18, 2009 11:06 AM in response to The Upstairs Thumping Floor

I have been underwhelmed by the home inspectors I have met, perhaps someone could recommend a good one?

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 17, 2009 9:38 AM in response to Starting to Consider a Reno

I think you have to describe better what you mean by basement. Any floor which is not more than 50% above curb grade is considered a cellar and is not allowed for sleepng (I am assuming you are not creating a whole apartment down there but just fixing up a sweet room). That said, if you have a room with a window and two safe exits (up stairs and out basement door?), I don't see the moral implications as being as bad as some do.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 17, 2009 9:13 AM in response to Live-in help in two family house

Wow - wouldn't the transaction costs involved in buying and selling two apartments buy you a lot of car service rides to school?

I assume you are selling a co-op, since if it were a condo couldn't you just use the internet to look a recent sales for comparable units? Also when I was selling my apartment I had a number of different brokers come in to pitch their services and give me their estimates.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 17, 2009 9:05 AM in response to Appraisal for FSBO?

Is this a house you live in or a rental property? What are you goals? While I appreciate architects in a major renovation, I am not sure this a major renovation. Seems to me the order should be shoring up the wall; replacing windows; renovating the kitchen and bath; then stoop.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 17, 2009 9:00 AM in response to Starting to Consider a Reno

2. Call them and thank them for their time.
3. Call them and say "I really appreciated your time and I felt comfortable with you, but quite frankly your bid was quite a bit higher than others I received, which were X and y less than your bid. Can you match those bids? "

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 17, 2009 8:55 AM in response to Permits and Estimates

1842 - we ignore Rob - by evidence is that he is mentally ill.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 16, 2009 8:33 PM in response to Money Starting to Flow to Fulton Street

Miss Priss - five years is actually not all that long; I say that not to diss you but rather for you to take heart. When I moved to the area in 98 Fort Greene's Fulton was just as boring (if somewhat prettier) than Clinton Hill. Places like Outpost, Kush, Olivino, Michael Allen's have all appeared in the last few years. The drug transactions tolerated inside and around many of the bodegas are a drag, but this too shall pass.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 16, 2009 3:30 PM in response to Money Starting to Flow to Fulton Street

Perhaps it can be more like Fifth Avenue in the Slope? I was just remarking how much nicer it is than Seventh. i keep saying (much like BHO I have great faith in the power of repetition) that once the strip livens up with legitimate and diverse businesses the other stuff won't bother me so much. [And kudos that we are all just ignoring Rob - oops I blew it!]

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 16, 2009 12:49 PM in response to Money Starting to Flow to Fulton Street

refinancings cost money, time, and energy. Why not get it right the first time?

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 14, 2009 1:15 PM in response to Conforming or Jumbo?

Given the regressive income tax structure and the loopholes available only to the rich, I would argue that the targetted class are already well supported by the government. Get back to me when we institute steep progressive confiscatory taxation of the wealthy. Then I'll cry you a river...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 11, 2009 11:38 AM in response to Still 25% Down to Go?

Infinitejester- I still don't get what you meant by linking libraries (interior space) and, er, oublic outdoor space. Your example, not mine. I guess I am not aware of what "the Closing of the American Campus" was/is.

I would hope that a university would be more nuanced than slapping a community in the face merely to give the impression of safety when it is pretty clear it accomplishes no such thing. Again, just a PR disaster with no added safety.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 11, 2009 11:35 AM in response to Pratt: Not In Our Front Yard

Infinitejester: how did you get from children and community members being prohibitted from playing on the lawn to porno-viewing pervs in the library? Are they really the same in your mind?

Chortik: not sure how a street assault of a Pratt student will be avoided by preventing me and my family from sitting on the grass. And since I will still be allowed to walk through the campus, this doesn't really address safety on campus.

If Pratt were really worried about safety, it would simply close its campus altogether. The problem with that is that Pratt occupies several blocks right in the middle of a neighborhood, including some "demapped" streets. A Fortress Pratt gives an incorrect and hostile impression to Pratt members and neighbors alike. Clinton Hill is not that dangerous, and Pratt should be going in the other direction, inviting the community in rather than turning its back on the neighborhood. What a PR disaster with very little gain. Again, given that the fences will be open (good), but the stays brief (bad?), it is not clear what Pratt gains but a black eye.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 11, 2009 11:10 AM in response to Pratt: Not In Our Front Yard

Actually glass makes sense here. Because it slipped in before rezoning, the views from the building will be unobstructed. What I don't get is the grey brick. Could it be uglier? I remembering hearing about how the mayor of Tirana, Albania, repainted buildings bright colors there. Wouldn't it have been better to have a huge mosaic of a tree or even a blown up representation of a brownstone looming over Clinton Hill. Or maybe a rainbow...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 10, 2009 6:29 PM in response to Development Watch: 163 Washington Gets Glassy

Seems to me that we are in a transitionary time vis a vis biking in NYC. Enough bike lanes and riders to make biking far more of an issue to traditional transit, but not enough to result in a shift of mindset of both bikers and non-bikers to taking their rights and responsibilities seriously. Seems to me they are going to have to put in metal (or plastic) columns to protect the bike lane there. And maybe get rid of the street parking.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 9, 2009 12:36 PM in response to Possible Perils of the Sands Street Bike Path

The bf and I have been bike riding as of late, and has been stunned by the variety and beauty of the public spaces in New York City. There has been so much great work done on the waterfronts.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 8, 2009 3:37 PM in response to Brooklyn Bridge Park's Spiral Pool Taking Shape

Hard to judge Bed-Stuy house without pictures of kitchen/bathroom/floorplan. But four bedrooms only? And over 1 million? Seems way out of line.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 4, 2009 4:17 PM in response to Open House Picks

Tyburg - I hope you aren't saying you throw trash on the sidewalk or out your car window. Because no one I know does that. Obviously enough do it such that the rest of us have to sweep up after them (I regularly patrol my block and fill a garbage can a week with refuse). But I would hope that anyone who can spare time to read a blog can be bothered to walk the half block to a public trash can (at least NYC has them unlike so many other cities).

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 3, 2009 12:38 PM in response to Dumping on Vanderbilt Avenue

One year the student workers putting together the Yale admissions brochure decided to use photos of people of color only.

And personally - I find black guys with white beards much more exciting than sharks. I guess this makes this TMI week...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 1, 2009 9:16 AM in response to Tuesday Links

Your only real leverage is an expressed willingness to move out. So find another apartment for lower rent, and be prepared to take it. As someone who dropped the rent considerably for a new tenant, I understand the wish by a tenant to get a market rate rent at the time of moving in. On the other hand, I haven't raised rents for ongoing tenants, so I might be disinclined to lower rents for a tenant who I think is going to stick around no matter what.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 31, 2009 10:16 PM in response to Average Rent for Carroll Gardens

I don't know why you would bother with brokers in that price point. While there will be fewer apartments available in November than the summer, you will have less competition then too. Craigslist (obviously) will have most owner-leased apartments. As far as supers (and this is more from back in the day when friends would rent apartments in Washington Heights and Harlem by this method) - you ring the bell labelled "super" and ask if any apartments are available or about to be available. Pretty labor intensive, and the opposite of using a broker.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 27, 2009 3:17 PM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

Another comparable is a fairly recent apartment of the day at 328 Clinton Avenue #3 - which was listed as a 3 bedroom duplex at 860k; also a (much bigger) one bedroom apartment where additional bedrooms had been shoe-horned in. That apartment had been bought at one-tenth that price in 97 and sold for 330k in 2001.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 27, 2009 3:11 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 269 Clinton Avenue, #D2

long-term performance piece = the slow repetition of the same point again and again and again draining what meaning there may have been out of the words leaving us only to wonder god dear god when will this be over are the people sitting next to us enjoying this they can't be enjoying it can they yes yes I've heard you say it before you ask a question but there is no wish for an answer.

Of course that could be applied to pretty much this entire site now.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 26, 2009 2:19 PM in response to What to Have in the Contract?

I guess it would be accurate if the apartment were rent-stablized, no

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 24, 2009 11:36 AM in response to Rental Picks: Prospect Heights

It is a lot of work! The heat gun didn't work for me because I think the stone acts as a heat dump and prevents the paint from getting hot enough. The challenge with chemicals (which I used) is having the right tools to get in all the crevises, etc. Be careful with lead paint and always scrape when wet, never dry.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 24, 2009 9:03 AM in response to stripping a marble fireplace

Auto generated photo? Huh? Spam alert...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 21, 2009 9:46 PM in response to Crown Heights Condo

Put 3k more down? Buy another house? Walk away and see if seller caves?

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 21, 2009 9:39 PM in response to Home Appraisal

I too tire of our worship of all that is nineteenth century. If we citizens tolerate the disney-fication of our streetscapes and don't demand better up-to-date designs, then are we surprised there are no new attactive designs. This country is woefully behind east Asia and Europe when it comes to basic infra-structure - spending money on "ye olde" lamp posts is just a sign of degeneracy. Okay, back to my vacation reading...

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 19, 2009 1:29 PM in response to Heights' Lights

I don't understand what it means to have a minority share if all expenses and votes are divided equally. Seems to me to be a potentially unpleasant situation if you don't get along with the other co-oper.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 14, 2009 8:03 PM in response to Safety in 2 Unit Coop?

I am sure there are many resources to help you pick a dog for you. Labs are great with kids, but they really need some space to run around. Are you able to walk a do a lot during the day, or do you have a back yard you don't care about? Both our neighbors and we have had great luck with pound dogs. Perhaps they could advise you on the benefits and challenges of a mixed breed dog, especially when you have a child at home. But a nine year old is old enough to respect a dog and not inadvertently cause aggressive behavior. Good luck.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at August 2, 2009 8:28 AM in response to Labrador in brownstone

Also FGKids yahoo group. PS 11 and PS 20 are the two which have received the most comment, good and bad. Many of us have gotten waivers for our kids elsewhere - downtown Manhattan, PS 261, etc.

Posted by: Putnamdenizen at July 30, 2009 5:17 PM in response to Clinton Hill Schools

That was my guess, CG_ups. First and last month's, plus $400 for something.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at November 4, 2009 3:30 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

$400 is for chips and margarita mix, but, sadly, not the tequila.

Posted by: antidope at November 4, 2009 3:35 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

he made us pay "1 month rent + $500" as a security deposit. so he has actually $4800 of our money if you want me to be specific.

last year he said i could have a copy of the lease if i wanted, and so i said ok i would like one. then anytime i'd ask him to pony it up, he would say he didn't know where it was. (we have a lot of shelves/common space in our loft and much of it is cluttered with his shit, so he would just motion toward the shared office area and say "it's in there somewhere".) i finally just rifled through some of the shelves one day, and found it in an envelope marked "lease."

the day that i saw the rent check, he had left it on the kitchen table and ran out to get stamps or something (to mail it to the LL). since we all have office jobs, and he quit his (since he has like no expenses) i assume he didn't realize i was home sick that day and that i saw it when i woke up.

this has become insane. i was just wondering if we had recourse to take over the lease since he pretty much moved out so long ago. guess not. thanks to those of you who are understanding of how stressful it is to live with a greedy sociopath.

Posted by: mightierthanswords at November 4, 2009 3:49 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

main reason that we don't all pack up and leave is that he has $5000 in security deposit money from us that i know he will try and find any way not to return.

You were never getting that money back from John. You think a guy who's done this to you won't find some pretext to keep more of your money?

If I've got this right, when you moved in he told you the rent was $3500 per month and it would be split equally? Or he told you you paid 1/5 of the rent, which was $700 (same difference).

Well, then, since the rent was only $3000, that means you were overpaying your agreed-upon share by $175 per month before the new roommate moved in. And since the new roommate moved in, you've been overpaying by $200.

So, stop paying him.

I'd tell him that since there is a new roommate, you will be paying 1/6 of the $3,000 rent from this point forward ($500 a month), and that he should take the first however many months out of your security deposit, and the next however many months out of your overpayments to date. If he comes back at you, don't negotiate, don't explain, don't discuss, this is just how it is. Give him a lot of "I'm so sorry you feel that way. I felt pretty terrible when I found out I'd been overpaying for so many months." And then just say nothing.

He mis-represented the terms of a contract that is probably unenforceable anyway. It doesn't matter how you found out he was lying. Blah blah blah, don't get sucked into his drama. Just, these are your terms. And if he gets all "and if I don't accept your terms," just say "I'm sorry." And hang up. It's not your job to solve his problem of not liking the fact you'll be paying him less, and only start paying him again after your overpayments/security have brought you back to an even balance.

Tell your roommates you are doing this, as an FYI. If they want to do it, too, be supportive of them. But do this with or without them. But be clear that this is between you and John, it's John's name on the lease, it's HIS problem (not theirs) to find the money to pay.

He will undoubtedly try to get you out of there. But odds are, he would have tried to get you out of there anyway since you're the pesky troublemaker who exposed his scam.

Remove all your valuables from the apartment NOW. Put some clothes at a friend's house where you could crash for awhile if he changes the locks. Make sure none of the utilities, etc are in your name. Have a plan for what to do if you come home to find the locks changed. Get all illegal substances out of your place (pot, whatever) in case he calls the cops. Change the password of all your accounts to something that's hard to hack.

And start looking for a new place. If this works out and he doesn't give you a hard time, once you've lived there long enough that all the overpayments are even, ask yourself if you want to live in this place for $500 a month, given the trust situation with John. If the answer is no, start looking for a new place.

But under no circumstances does John get any more of your money until the balance comes even.

Posted by: bkrules at November 4, 2009 3:50 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

I think the issue is black and white. You all agreed to pay what he was asking. It doesn't matter what he is/was paying.

If I felt an item is worth $100 and I buy it for $100, do I have the right to to get my money back if I found out someone else bought it for $20? No.

I still agree that "John" is a douche... AND he is the one who has his credit at risk here. If you want to stick it to him, you have the option.

Posted by: mrkknox at November 4, 2009 3:55 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

oh whatever. John gave you and your broke a$$ friends a place to live, for cheap i might add, and he threw in chips and salsa. you sound like a whiney brat. you have no recourse. Judge Judy would rip you a new one if you were in her court.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at November 4, 2009 4:06 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

If he made you pay more than a month for security then that is most certainly "business" and not "friendship". That should have been a big tip-off as to the kind of relationship you were getting into when dealing with him.

I was friendly with a former landlord before renting from her. When I agreed to take her apartment she suddenly asked me for 2 months security deposit. I was a little taken aback by the request but still gave it to her. I also quickly downgraded our relationship from friend to business- a very good call. Particularly over a year later when she casually mentioned that it was "cheeky and resourceful" of her to ask for 2 months security because she really needed the cashflow at the time. Now a friend might have been rather annoyed by such a statement. However, somebody who did "business" with her chalked one up for experience and moved on.

And please do not take bkrule's advice unless you are looking for a shit ton of drama. If you are so unhappy with the arrangement and civilized behavior and dialogue isn't creating a satisfying resolution for you then you really should just move on. It's not worth the negativity, especially when you have to live in it.

I will add that I do think John is a douche, too, but that has nothing to do with the arrangement you made with him.

Posted by: Snarkypants at November 4, 2009 4:07 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

Also Post your question on www.tenant.net in the forum section.

Posted by: 1910 at November 4, 2009 4:19 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

Try preemptively paying the rent one month directly to the LL. Entice him with cash if needed and get a signed receipt. This will complicate the situation and give you rights to the existing Lease in that the LL has tacitly approved your tenancy by excepting the rent. I think you would be protected from an eviction proceeding by uberTenant. You could also stop paying rent and probably continue to occupy the space for enough months to break even on your security.

Posted by: modsquad at November 4, 2009 5:02 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue

quote:
. You could also stop paying rent and probably continue to occupy the space for enough months to break even on your security.

uh yeah cuz that's just SO fair to the landlord. dont take this moron's advice.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at November 4, 2009 5:19 PM in response to Sublet/Share Legal Issue