I am considering buying a 4 floor brownstone in a "looted" condition. It has this same problem: the top 2 floors have a slight dip towards the middle. The inspector checked over the beams and they are in a pretty good condition, but because there have been new bathrooms/tubs installed in the middle of the house the weight over time has sagged the floors. He said it's not a big deal to jack up the floors, starting at the lowest level. The house needs a total rehab, so I'm not concerned about ripping through floors/ceilings. As many of you seem to have done this, what is a ballpark cost for this? Are we talking less than $10K per floor or more? Just any rough guesstimate is appreciated!!!

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 1, 2008 10:22 AM in response to sagging support beams???

Thanks for all the response!! Due to factors beyond my control, I am no longer buying the house I described initially. The new house has the same problem, but only on the scale of one floor. It's a 2 story brick house w/basement, and the top floor has a considerable sag. This has to be fixed; I get dizzy walking on it and the ceiling of the 1st floor looks crooked. I am looking now for any references to contractors who can do this kind of structural work. Also, I plan to move the staircase. Any leads??
( The complete internal demo of both 1st and 2nd floor will be taken care of by a different contractor before this structural work will take place.)

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 25, 2008 3:20 PM in response to Sagging support beams, again

Dude, 10:59 is right: the law is not on your side. By renting out an apartment which you intend to sell, you are creating a Pandora's box. It's hard enough to evict normal, non-pregnant tenants. Either you decide to sell this place, in which case you must sell it vacant; or you continue renting it for the foreseeable future.
Another point to consider: you potential buyer may not want to buy a condo with tenants in it, even if you provide reassurances that the tenants will leave. As someone who just spent 6 (six) months waiting to buy a house with problematic tenants, I can say this with certainty: never again will I consider buying a property that is not vacant.
My advice: tighten up the belt, take on some debt, but continue showing the apartment vacant. Lower the price if there's no interest. There's a price for everything.

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 28, 2008 2:05 PM in response to throwing the baby out?

I meant to say cutting "in" 2 new flights. As in, opening up the floor/ceiling on 2 levels and building in the new flights.

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 28, 2008 2:28 PM in response to Structural Contractor

Faithful, please email me at:

yurykotov(at)hotmail(dot)com

thanks!!!

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 28, 2008 7:41 PM in response to Structural Contractor

Of course, one can also understand the tenants: it must be hell trying to find a rental apartment while pregnant. No wonder they are willing to agree to anything.

Did you ask them for their first-born? There may be room to negotiate... jk.

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 28, 2008 7:52 PM in response to throwing the baby out?

I don't know, I dig it, for the most part. I only dislike the bathrooms, which are done a la Marriott suite, and the paved-over backyard. I especially dig the kitchen area and the see-through top cabinets.

Posted by: Sputnik13 at April 30, 2008 2:08 PM in response to House of the Day: 266 Berkeley Place

typo correction: this is a 3 story townhouse, not 4 story.

Posted by: Sputnik13 at June 11, 2008 3:01 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

Hahaha!! Well, he's over at my place every other day or so. Maybe he doesn't need too much more work right now. Are you happy with him so far?

Posted by: Sputnik13 at June 11, 2008 4:03 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

Kedalb, that's interesting input. So far I've used Beer for things that don't require too much finishing or attention to detail. I know he is thorough and responsible when it comes to that. He's done a bang-up job framing in the walls, and I have no doubt he can lay out the plumbing well, but for example I plan to do drywall work myself so that I can control the final quality of the work. Same with moldings, flooring and painting. Well, post an update when he's through with your place, hopefully Beer can redeem himself when he presents you the final product!

Posted by: Sputnik13 at June 15, 2008 12:26 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

I don't think anyone here is saying that all tenants want conflict.

I think it is fair to say that landlords face a specific risk: the odd tenant who either wants or can't avoid a conflict. And that it's reasonable to work to minimize risk, as long as it's done in a fair way.

If this person can't tolerate the risk, then they shouldn't rent. Period. Baby or no baby. The bottom line is that the baby people could be great tenants, and single gal X could be a vicious wackjob with a singular intent on screwing the landlord.

The thing that sticks out here is not that the potential tenants have a baby, but that a potential risk (like a baby, like anything) created such trepidation.

Posted by: guest at May 1, 2008 3:17 PM in response to throwing the baby out?

ahh.. so that's why he's not at my house every day. he told me he was completely free to work on my project. I guess he is working on your project too.

Posted by: kedalb at June 11, 2008 3:51 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

Hahaha!! Well, he's over at my place every other day or so. Maybe he doesn't need too much more work right now. Are you happy with him so far?

Posted by: Sputnik13 at June 11, 2008 4:03 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

Well - he is a really nice guy but I'm not too happy with some of the finishing from his workers. I have told them and him about it and they say they will fix it, but it is yet to be seen. For example, I have not seen the painter ever use painter's tape, and as a consequence the lines aren't as crisp as they should be. Our agreement was to skim coat where needed, and Beer assured me that he would see and fix many more defects than I would notice. But I keep on going back and finding places where they missed. I'm not terribly anal, so I don't think I'm being too nit picky. They say they will go back and fix them - but again, yet to be seen. When I spoke with him earlier today he said "Oh, you know how it is - it is hard to find good workers", which I thought was interesting given that his wife was doing a fair whack of the painting.

They have just finished roughing our bathroom (which needs to be re-done in places as the pipe outlets for our dual sinks aren't anywhere close to symmetrical) and I am concerned about the quality of the finished job.

It was a little amusing watching them try and install my shower. A week before it was delivered, I gave them a long installation document from the manufacturer, complete with detailed measurements and drawings. I read it. I understood it. But when I saw them installing it, the shower was upside down. I had to spend quite some time explaining what the diagrams meant. I found this a little odd as I know nothing about plumbing, yet I understood what to do.

Now that I'm reading my previous paragraphs the experience sounds much more negative than how I feel. But I think its worthwhile pointing out a few of my niggling issues in light of the fact that all the reviews I read and heard about him were 100% glowing.

Posted by: kedalb at June 11, 2008 6:55 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

Kedalb, I appreciate your honesty in presenting a balanced picture. It's good to know that this contractor everyone says as enjoyable to work with needs a little micro-management. Please post when he's done with your job and let everyone know if he made good on the promises to fix the problems.

Posted by: guest at June 12, 2008 11:11 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation

I feel pretty bad now. Beer got wind of my post, and while I don't think he has read it, someone told him about it. I didn't mean for it to be a bad review, rather, I just wanted to shed some light on the micro-management issues as tactfully put by guest 11:11.

I had a long chat with him last night and we have settled on a system whereby I will mark all areas where I see the need for improvement and we can then track these issues as they are resolved.

When the job is complete I will try to present a more balanced post that benefits from me knowing the end result rather than what I am seeing at this interim stage.

Posted by: kedalb at June 13, 2008 10:45 AM in response to Contractor Recommendation

Kedalb, that's interesting input. So far I've used Beer for things that don't require too much finishing or attention to detail. I know he is thorough and responsible when it comes to that. He's done a bang-up job framing in the walls, and I have no doubt he can lay out the plumbing well, but for example I plan to do drywall work myself so that I can control the final quality of the work. Same with moldings, flooring and painting. Well, post an update when he's through with your place, hopefully Beer can redeem himself when he presents you the final product!

Posted by: Sputnik13 at June 15, 2008 12:26 PM in response to Contractor Recommendation