Finished basement: cost/ideas?

I'm glad we're keeping the focus on the truly important issue in this story: making sure that the interests of Dan Goldstein are properly seen after.

Posted by: basementalist at November 16, 2009 9:15 AM in response to Goldstein Offered Less Than What He Paid for Condo

Likewise have had success with the ratzapper and snap traps. Plugging holes with steel wool CAN work, but you have to be totally thorough (brownstones are just porous) and keep in mind the hidden places mice can come up (e.g., thorugh the gaps around pipes and gas lines to your stove, etc.). I have never had an exterminator do any good against mice nor heard of anyone having success with an exterminator.

Posted by: basementalist at October 30, 2009 2:27 PM in response to Mice in Bed-Stuy

MM: have you been inside 1st Street? Only three photos on the NYT link so I can't see what is or isn't lousy about the reno. (Other than that those look like black granite countertops and I hate granite, but people usually disagree with me on that one.)

Posted by: basementalist at October 16, 2009 1:14 PM in response to Open House Picks

Miss Muffett: re 11th Street--You say you'd be happy with this house at a lower price point. What would you be willing to pay for it, and what do you suspect it will actually go for? Just curious what the spread is currently between your sense of a reasonable price and your sense of actual market prices.

Posted by: basementalist at October 9, 2009 10:49 PM in response to Open House Picks

On the 11th Street house--that 16 foot wide deck is nearly the width of the entire house. Is that legal? (I thought I recalled the code requiring two-thirds or less the width of the house.) If it's not legal, could that cause any hitches in the sale of the house, getting a mortgage, etc.?

Posted by: basementalist at October 9, 2009 3:54 PM in response to Open House Picks

I don't get the attitude that there is something morally offensive about living in a glass modern building in Brooklyn. That repeated use of "glass houses" carries an implicit judgment, like "These people are exposing their shame!" Like the market is giving them a well-deserved comeuppance for their hubris. And I say this as someone who lives in a 120-year-old house.

It's a freaking apartment building, not the Tower of Babel.

Posted by: basementalist at September 28, 2009 1:41 PM in response to The Darkness at Richard Meier's Brooklyn Tower

Petebklyn: Yes, I'm against term limits for President too. I'd support getting rid of them.

But even if I were for term limits, I would still want a positive reason to vote for Thompson before I voted for him. I wouldn't vote for someone I believed would be a worse mayor just to spite the other guy.

Posted by: basementalist at September 16, 2009 3:36 PM in response to Democratic Primary Results

Montrose or anyone else: what is the POSITIVE reason to vote for Thompson? (That is, what is it about him or his policies that I should support, as opposed to voting AGAINST Bloomberg)?

I usually vote Democratic but voted Bloomberg last time and so far plan to again, because I don't see Thompson advocating a platform that gives me a reason to choose him over Bloomberg.

Bloomie isn't perfect, but I like that he's a pragmatist and has made a positive difference in the city. I supported congestion pricing (when many establishment Dems were against it). And I think term limits are un-Democratic; I should be able to vote for whom I like, and if you don't like someone, vote against them. And I don't care that Bloomberg is rich.

I'm still open to the reason to vote FOR Thompson--but I don't hear him or anyone else making it.

Posted by: basementalist at September 16, 2009 2:57 PM in response to Democratic Primary Results

It's important to me personally to have a home that makes me feel good when I see it as I walk up the block. That said, fsrq is right. I don't assume that my taste and priorities are the universal standard.

Posted by: basementalist at September 15, 2009 2:01 PM in response to The Novo Sells Out

"um NO. running around an apartment making that kind of noise isnt acceptable. why are parents in this city so entitled? jesus. fine if kids can run, so can adults. "

Yeah, and if babies can crap themselves in public, why, so can I!

Posted by: basementalist at September 8, 2009 3:49 PM in response to Running Child Upstairs

Simple answer:

1. Upstairs neighbor needs to put down carpeting. Quite possibly required by law or condo bylaws anyway.

2. Neighbor does not need to forbid child to run on weekends, and you need to accept that kids run, jump, make noise, etc.

Until you BOTH make these reasonable concessions, you're going to have a miserable time of it.

Posted by: basementalist at September 8, 2009 2:04 PM in response to Running Child Upstairs

If somebody is dishonest enough to pose as their own customer, why would you ever trust them to work on your house?

Posted by: basementalist at July 17, 2009 10:10 AM in response to Digging a Basement Out

"Renting = rent payment + utilities. Owning = interest payment (or opportunity cost of tied-up capital) + maintenance/utilities + insurance..."

But MINUS accumulated equity (unless you expect that the property will eventually be worthless). If you're going to account for opportunity cost of tied up capital, you've got to include that too.

Posted by: basementalist at July 16, 2009 2:08 PM in response to Elliman: Brooklyn Market Improved in 2nd Quarter But...

Well, according to the report the price of *two-families* in NW Brooklyn is actually up. So I'm sitting pretty! Ka-CHING!

I'm kidding, but that's one reason I'm skeptical about reading too much into the limited data in these reports, one way or another.

Posted by: basementalist at July 16, 2009 10:56 AM in response to Elliman: Brooklyn Market Improved in 2nd Quarter But...

I'd be more inclined to believe this if Whole Foods could explain what the hell "working to identify potential development partners," and how that differs from the company's original plan.

Posted by: basementalist at July 10, 2009 4:22 PM in response to Whole Foods Gowanus May Not Be Dead After All

Oh, 6th Street. Where to begin?

I live nearby, and this block of 6th is actually pretty nice. BUT this particular house is right next to the Chip Shop's takeout annex. I would be concerned that we're seeing the "3rd floor kitchen" but no other. Garden itself is fine but chainlink fence is not exactly photogenic. And while some of the datedness comes from the furnishings, I'd want to know what mechanical updating it needs. And is that wall-to-wall carpeting I see?

Definitely nostalgia pricing, especially at less than 2000 sf. Bonus touch: realtor page asks you to follow a Twitter account that doesn't exist.

Posted by: basementalist at June 26, 2009 2:56 PM in response to Open House Picks

The argument that "Biggest Sales" are by definition outliers is nonsensical. These houses are on the biggest sales list because they are in the highest price tier of Brooklyn real estate, not because buyers overpaid. If Slope and Fort Greene houses had gone for 40% under ask, they would still be on this list. But they did not go for 40% under ask.

Posted by: basementalist at June 16, 2009 3:02 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

Ah, the eternal equation of NYC development. Greed + litigation = mediocrity

Posted by: basementalist at June 5, 2009 10:20 AM in response to Gehry Officially Off Yards Project

Best Mexican definitely in Sunset Park, but Tacos Nuevo Mexico is a good alternative (probably the only one) in South Slope.

Posted by: basementalist at June 3, 2009 3:40 PM in response to Streetlevel: Yummy Taco Opens in South Slope

Sad about Tempo. Not my favorite in Park Slope but top 5 or 6. I actually think they were reasonably priced for the quality but agree al di la is better.

Lesson: pick a few restaurants you really love and make sure you're patronizing them while times are tough.

Posted by: basementalist at June 3, 2009 1:36 PM in response to Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

InsertSnappyName: I'm guessing it's a legal 2-family used as 1, but I agree it is a terrible listing.

Posted by: basementalist at May 20, 2009 1:52 PM in response to House of the Day: 449 Bergen Street

Market should be at 2003 prices, therefore this should be 595K, not a penny more.

Seriously, having been in the market for houses in this area in 2001-02, they either got a tremendous bargain (for an already renovated house) or there was some other factor we don't know about. At this time I was not seeing anything within the actual boundaries of Park Slope (including the fringes like this, which is where I was looking) for anywhere near 595K except wrecks in need of a gut renovation. '03 would have been even higher.

I'd keep that in mind in considering the "markup"--either that was well below market at the time, or there is/was some horrible hidden flaw.

Posted by: basementalist at May 20, 2009 1:47 PM in response to House of the Day: 449 Bergen Street

Miss Muffett's friends' experience is an example of why you should buy in a neighborhood because you like the way it is now, not because of what somebody tells you the neighborhood is going to be like in five years. But there are plenty of posters here who like Lefferts the way it is now.

Posted by: basementalist at May 18, 2009 2:43 PM in response to House of the Day: 207 Fenimore Street

I'm a car owner and I support this idea. But the fee should be much higher than "nominal." Not as high as a garage (since that has the value-added of being sheltered parking) but definitely approaching the cost of a garage. We should use this money--like congestion parking--to improve mass transit throughout the city, especially in the outer boroughs. And force people to register their cars in New York.

The CURRENT system provides a huge entitlement for car owners like me. I get to take up space on a city street absolutely free of charge. The city can and should extract a considerable price from people like me in exchange.

Out-of-towners can get temporary passes (as in cities like DC).

Posted by: basementalist at May 18, 2009 1:25 PM in response to Residential Parking Permits Pushed for Brooklyn Heights

daveinbedstuy: for precisely that reason the city now plants only male ginkgoes, which do not fruit. The remaining female ginkgo trees are from decades ago (and, thus, are huge and drop a lot of stinky fruit).

Posted by: basementalist at May 18, 2009 10:11 AM in response to Monday Links

I don't think houses in 4th Street's area are going for under $500/sf yet, which is what $1.4M would put it at.

Posted by: basementalist at May 15, 2009 5:00 PM in response to Open House Picks

BHO, since 4th Street does not actually have a center staircase, I doubt homey is the seller.

Posted by: basementalist at May 15, 2009 2:56 PM in response to Open House Picks

"BTW, we didn't mean to claim that the market WAS bottoming out, just that, assuming you could come up with the downpayment, that carrying the costs of a two-family house in a medium-priced area was getting pretty manageable at these rates...Just said it makes you wonder how low prices can go given those numbers."

Mr. B, I don't get that at all. Seems your argument is that the "manageability" is mainly a function of low interest rates. If interest rates go up, why WOULDN'T prices go lower? (Maybe monthly carrying costs would not go lower, maybe even go higher if interest rates are high enough, but PRICES would have every reason to go down.)

Posted by: basementalist at May 14, 2009 3:26 PM in response to Refinancing: How Sweet It Is

... sorry, I mean people who actually COULD benefit from What's original point *will end up ignoring it*, just because he's the one making it

Posted by: basementalist at May 14, 2009 2:21 PM in response to Refinancing: How Sweet It Is

I don't know why The What has to undermine his own perfectly good argument by going ballistic.

He's right; if you've already had a mortgage for a while, a lower rate is not in and of itself automatically good.

But others are also right, that if you use your lower rate to pay off more principal, you can save yourself a lot of money, even if you don't live in the house for 30 years.

But What can't stand to acknowledge that anyone else in the world can be anything but a "complete fucking retard," so instead he totally ignores that point. And so people who actually COULD benefit from What's original point, just because he's the one making it.

Posted by: basementalist at May 14, 2009 2:19 PM in response to Refinancing: How Sweet It Is

It may be five floors, but it's the same square footage as the 8th Avenue house yesterday that was generally deemed overpriced. And that one didn't have the headache of reconfiguration and/or C of O converting that this will. (Right? Either you buy as an investment--see posts above--or you convert it, and as a five-family you're facing much higher taxes if I'm not mistaken.) I estimated $1.85M and am already regretting that as too generous.

Looks to have nice bones, though, I'll give it that.

Posted by: basementalist at May 13, 2009 3:22 PM in response to House of the Day: 129 Prospect Place

"In my opinion, great old brownstone houses like this one should be worth about a million, million and a half dollars."

Then I bid $1,500,001! Does that get the deal done?

Posted by: basementalist at May 12, 2009 5:33 PM in response to House of the Day: 178 8th Avenue

Insanity. The asking price on the gorgeous 8th Ave HOTD--which consensus suggests is too high--amounted to about $640/sf. So there's a premium for living in a condo on 4th Avenue?

Posted by: basementalist at May 12, 2009 1:50 PM in response to Checking In On 500 4th Avenue

Bklnite has a point. Is $1.1M for that house in Clinton Hill that set Brownstoner off so any more off-base than $1.797 for this one?

Posted by: basementalist at May 12, 2009 1:46 PM in response to House of the Day: 178 8th Avenue

Last week, most Biggest Sales were under a million. Now Brooklyn realestate prices have doubled within a week. Housing bust over!

Posted by: basementalist at May 12, 2009 1:18 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

Now, now, I'm sure Brownstoner also had strong words for whoever estimated the house at $2,520,000.

Posted by: basementalist at May 11, 2009 2:39 PM in response to House of the Day: 174 Clinton Avenue

I think one problem is, with little on the market and few recent sales, it's hard for either seller or buyer to ascertain where the market is. So on top of the usual catch-a-falling-knife fears, with so few recent comps you can't even tell where the knife is right now.

Posted by: basementalist at May 8, 2009 1:28 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

Not my nabe so can't guess if price is right. But I'd love to see a blind experiment with the Brownstoner assessment tool: take the same house, show it priced at $1.5M to one group and $1.8M to another.

Do the two groups assess it around the same price, or do they both just knock X% off whatever the price is?

Reason I wonder is this is relevant to the question: is it really a good idea to "price it to move"? Or will people simply assume that anything, at any price, is roughly 25% too high these days, and bid accordingly? Logic tells me price-to-move makes sense but logic doesn't always hold.

Posted by: basementalist at May 7, 2009 3:57 PM in response to House of the Day: 100 St. Mark's Avenue

1. Surprised the WT house went for as much as it did.
2. Re 11th Street--I'm sure you're correct about the comps on that block, Miss Muffett, but (as I think you may have noted on the HOTD thread at the time), this house looked to be in pretty lousy shape. Question is whether or not that was true of the peak comps.

Posted by: basementalist at May 5, 2009 12:38 PM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

Re: special ed schools -- The Children's School on 3rd Avenue is a nonzoned lottery school for non-special ed kids, and *highly* competitive for many reasons that have precisely to do with its inclusion program... a higher teacher to student ratio, a lot of resources relative to other public schools, etc. They get a huge amount of applicants for few general-ed spaces from families in the neighborhoods around it. That said, I know nothing about PS 29 in particular, but agree that no reason special ed program itself would be a strike against.

Posted by: basementalist at May 1, 2009 3:33 PM in response to Open House Picks

Miss Muffett: (1) Thanks for your answer.

(2) Don't get your estimate of $750k in private school tuition for 2 kids. For 6 years of school (K thru 5) that works out to $62,500 per year per child. Keep in mind that once you're in middle school, the elementary school zone does not determine what schools you can go to. (Whereas if the argument is all public middle & high school is bad, then that applies to any house, anywhere.)

At say $25K a year tuition, then 25 x 2 kids x 6 years = $300k, no? (Not chump change still, I know!)

Posted by: basementalist at May 1, 2009 2:31 PM in response to Open House Picks

Miss Muffett: what price would work for you on Sackett Street?

Posted by: basementalist at May 1, 2009 1:34 PM in response to Open House Picks

@Miss Muffett: Yeah, I enjoy living between 4th and 5th a lot; but would not want to live on 4th Avenue itself.

As for the boundaries, I moved here in 1991, and back then would usually hear the boundaries of PS as being park to 4th Ave, Flatbush to 15th. But depends who you talk to, I guess.

Posted by: basementalist at May 1, 2009 1:30 PM in response to It Came From 4th Ave!

benson: Kindly stop ruining our fun. Much more pleasing to believe the street front will be cinderblocks for the rest of time. Comports better with our already established beliefs.

Thankfully a month from now no one will remember your comment, but will remember the photo and original post, will make references in future threads to the "cinderblock building" on 4th Avenue, etc.

Posted by: basementalist at May 1, 2009 10:45 AM in response to It Came From 4th Ave!

Second lechacal's advice wholeheartedly. It's not like the market is coming in your direction anyway. You won't do any better in a "short sale" situation--and once you've resigned yourself to the lower asking price, you may be pleasantly surprised what you get when you price it to move. (Saying all of this, of course, not knowing any particulars about the house or the situation.)

Posted by: basementalist at April 30, 2009 2:46 PM in response to House Sale/Mortgage

dirty hipster: OK, I'm not going to predict 1000% returns or whatever, but isn't the way to make back money on a home to buy when the market is down? 11217 is advising to buy in five years. If this follows the pattern of past busts, we'd still be in a trough then. If it's even worse--then an even deeper trough. Either way, that's the time to buy low.

Personally, I don't think people buying their home should EVER buy with the intention of making a big equity score, financing their retirement, timing the market, etc. But if you're going to do it, that's when to do it.

Posted by: basementalist at April 30, 2009 2:14 PM in response to Brooklyn Sales: Under a Million

gemini: I may be remembering wrong, but at the peak of the market weren't three-story limestones in Lefferts Manor asking something like $1.2M? (Asking at least, dunno what they were getting.) If so, $900k or a little under would seem to be consistent with the general direction of the market. Though I would guess it'll be under $900k if a lot of updating is called for.

Posted by: basementalist at April 30, 2009 2:05 PM in response to House of the Day: 216 Maple Street

mckenzie:

That's an ancient argument at this site. "Well, for X dollars, I would want..."

You would want more space. Someone else would want a certain location. Someone else would want a full-service high-rise and someone else would want outdoor space. Someone else would only live in Manhattan for that price and someone else would only live in an outer-borough neighborhood walkable to their synagogue... There is no one right answer, which is why NYC is full of varieties of housing stock, and why America is full of places where a million bucks buys you more than it does in NYC.

There may be any number of reasons that this house is overpriced. But the idea that "elites will not pay seven figures to live in this space" is disproved by the fact that they have, and do. If your logic held true, New York would have become a ghost town decades ago.

(Having said all that, I agree that the rental layout looks weird, the lack of photos makes me suspicious, and a "dining room" is not the place for a refrigerator.)

Posted by: basementalist at April 28, 2009 4:54 PM in response to House of the Day: 475 8th Street

No iron gate here, also center Slope. Have had this setup about six years.

Posted by: basementalist at April 28, 2009 2:44 PM in response to Informal Poll: Door for the Deck