Try Paul & Scott Gressin, Professional Building Inspectors, 516-295-2581. Very experienced and knowledgeable. I paid $575 for a 2 family.

Posted by: astorian at March 9, 2010 10:21 AM in response to Grigg & Davis?

I just had a great inspector experience, though I have no idea if he'd be interested in this. Name is Paul Gressin, Professional Building Inspectors, 516-295-2581. Very experienced and knowledgeable of construction standard, laws code/ & the shenanigans of those who evade them.

Posted by: astorian at March 9, 2010 10:18 AM in response to Inspector Recs

You won't get the vacancy rate this way, but since vacancy rate, like "market rent" is just an expression of supply and demand you could try this. Before strongly considering any purchase relying on rental income, or a similar decision, take a few days "play renter" in the area. Search Craigslist, call people to inquire, even see a few places to get a sense of the demand (i.e., how thrilled/indifferent are those with the supply to see you with your potential demand.) You'll also see what you're up against as a landlord in terms of quality, which as we all know can vary widely in this city with housing built before the advent of electricity, and every decade since.

That said, I believe city-data.com has vacancy rate info, but this may not answer your question. Stats are too old, and too general. For instance, my 2 family is in a not-too-desirable area with a 1-3% vacancy rate, according to such stats. I'm sure the rate is low because there is very, very little supply. But demand isn't that high either for this particular area. Moreover, because it's just two units, there is no feasible way to have actual annual vacancy at any value between 0 and 4%

Posted by: astorian at March 5, 2010 12:11 PM in response to On Becoming a Landlord

Ask your current agent if they work with Castlepoint / Tower Group. Allstate dropped me, but I still have the same agent, just not underwritten by Allstate. FEMA redrew some lines a couple years ago, and now most of NYC falls into the coastal zone designation, which dramatically reduces your options for insurers. The issue is storm surges. When I complained about this to a family member in the risk modeling biz, he reminded me that most of long island was underwater at some point in the 40's or 50's. Try Castlepoint. They are not about customer service, but they will provide a policy.

Posted by: astorian at March 3, 2010 10:13 AM in response to Home Insurance

Looks like not everything though mopar - but most of the big stuff. Curious about roof? Why is roof bad? Does the old roof generally come off? I replaced the EPDM flat roof on my old house and it took 1-2 guys a couple of hours, with nothing in the living space disturbed whatsoever. Is it atypical to go over the old roof when installing a new one? Seems like a good idea to layer to lower heat loss and save the landfill space.

Repairing the roof is pretty bad though. I lived in a rental with a full on hole in the ceiling straight out the top of the building for several weeks...collected a couple of gallons of rain water in buckets.

Any further details on roof installation horrors, witchdoctor?

Posted by: astorian at March 2, 2010 3:23 PM in response to Renovation Poll

Thanks mopar. Did you need to get any permits or city inspections for the work? As I understand, the panel work requires a permit, but if you leave the amperage as is, you do not need a permit. Thanks again!

Posted by: astorian at March 1, 2010 6:51 PM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

The insurance risk for homeowners within five miles of open sea (most of NYC) were recalculated a couple years ago with some flood related FEMA re-districting. This is info from an actuary relative. So, for what it's worht, I think it's very normal for rates to have shot up over the last few years. Mine has gone from appx $400/yr to $1400/yr since 2002. The estimated replacement cost for a 1260 sqft 2 story frame is $385k. I think this is high, but have been told there is no other company that will insure me in my location (close to East River)

Posted by: astorian at February 21, 2010 9:00 PM in response to Insurance Parameters

Can anyone offer a range of high-low for this size (1000sqft) and condition (not an apt currently)? I get that there are a lot of itemized costs, and that the total is non-trivial. But are we talking about $10,000 and up, or $50,000 and up, what sort of ballpark?. Thanks

Posted by: astorian at February 9, 2010 3:00 PM in response to Filing Fees to Add Basement Apt

In regard to the Fireman's Fund policy, has your dwelling coverage also gone up at the same percentage? If yhou have replacement cost on the policy, they may do an automatic increase on dwelling peridically. Many companies do this. I am an insurance broker and use Fireman's Fund on occasion (usually as one of my carriers for high value homes). If you'd like an opinion in regard to price and if you're over-insured, feel free to call my office:

William Smoltino
Narrows Insurance Agency, Inc.
9201 4th Ave., 7th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11209
(718) 745 - 1500

Posted by: WSNarrows at February 23, 2010 2:09 PM in response to Insurance Parameters

I purchase a small level, which I would use on the outlets to show my contractor those which were crooked. Also, wiring doorbells in an old house is very difficult, for reasons I don't exactly understand. Make sure it works well before you sign off.

Posted by: mimi at March 1, 2010 8:14 PM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

Ours absolutely had to be filed, it was a total rewiring from top to bottom including the panel. Theoretically, all electrical work has to be filed, but I gather from talking to others, plus quotes I have gotten, that if you do a little work here or there, sometimes the electrician may be able to get away with not filing. They will know.

Make sure you use someone with a license. And not just someone working with someone with a license. The guy you deal with for the estimate and who oversees the project should be the license holder.

Posted by: mopar at March 1, 2010 10:33 PM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

@ Mopar..

Not for nothing, but the company you recommended doesn't have a licensed person doing the work. I hired that same company for work and had less than a stellar experience. I paid them exactly the same amount that you quoted minus the 2K plastering expense. I'm guessing because I was a bit passive and allowed them to get away with things that were already in writing.

Posted by: Attention2detail at March 1, 2010 10:53 PM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

In defense of Mopar and WCK Electric, virtually all plumbers and electricians run crews of unlicensed technicians. They do work that is supervised or at least vouched for by the licensed electrician or plumber.

WCK electric did a lot of good work on my house. Some crew members were better than others, and Paul is not perfect. But I found him and his crew honest and reliable. And the work was not over-priced, as you may get with some companies with more polish.

I plan to use them again.

$15K is a good estimate, but that should also cover rewiring light switches, light fixtures, and some telephony and coax cable.

Posted by: renomandru at March 1, 2010 11:36 PM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

What renomandru said about the crews. Most of the worker bees are unlicensed. It all depends upon thier level of knowledge and the oversight of the boss man. Same with plumbers.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at March 2, 2010 8:08 AM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

Yes. Also, FWIW, they used coax on everything, from the box to every outlet. If you are rewiring from top to bottom, they should use coax and you might want to double check that and or put it in the contract. If your mixing old and new wiring, they might take a different approach. Coax is slightly more expensive, do if they don't use it, they shouldn't charge as if they do.

We did check constantly on their progress. My husband would go over there three times a week and take photos and email me. I inspected thoroughly every weekend. We spoke to the foreman every other day. There were a numbr of issues after they were done, and Paul responded very quickly. We had to minor change orders and they never charged more. Their price is very reasonable, they were available to start immediately, and they completed the job in three weeks. For us, those aspects were very important, but others may have different priorities.

Posted by: mopar at March 2, 2010 10:00 AM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

Two minor change orders. Sorry, commenting from train.

Posted by: mopar at March 2, 2010 10:06 AM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

mopar, are you confusing coax with BX?

Posted by: denton at March 2, 2010 6:15 PM in response to Cost of Wiring Upgrade

Oh, please! Living in a one bathroom house and having that bathroom redone. Hands down. 2 nights without toilet, 2 weeks without shower. Awful.

Posted by: mshook at March 3, 2010 8:57 AM in response to Renovation Poll