10:10am--We were concerned about AY--however it's so hard to know which way it will go...where did you get your info about widening the street and destroying trees?

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 10:14 AM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

12:21, or anyone else that may know: where can I get information on price history? That would be so helpful.

Thanks!

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 12:34 PM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

Thanks everyone. This has been really helpful. In the interest of full disclosure we put in an offer at 5% below ask (1.9mil) and it was left on the table. The owner wants to keep showing it. I guess she thinks she can get more?

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 1:01 PM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

1:20--THANK YOU!! I also feel we have dodged a bullet. We are first time homebuyers and I really appreciate everyone's help on the matter.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 15, 2008 1:31 PM in response to Propsect Heights Brownstone

12:12 (or anyone else that knows): what are the tax differences with a four family? Could you be more specific?

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 28, 2008 12:56 PM in response to Being a Landlord

You didn't mean that in a nasty way, but it certainly came off as nasty!! I of course am contacting professionals to help me on this, but I also happen to find the "everyman" opinions of Brownstoner readers helpful as well. Sorry if I wasted your time.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 28, 2008 3:08 PM in response to Four Family's Taxed Higher?

Guest at 2:30 says:

"..you definitely sound like [a broker] and if you plan to continue posting on b-stoner, you should sign in officially so as not to look so suspicious."

Definitely NOT a broker! I am the one who posted that..sorry I didn't sign in was being lazy.

The house is catalogue quality, for real.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 29, 2008 3:15 PM in response to House of the Day: 275 Adelphi Street

Hi Rehab--

The open house had good attendance. There were at least 3 or 4 other couples there while we walked through.

Posted by: bklynrosie at January 29, 2008 3:20 PM in response to Being a Landlord

I know where OP is coming from--I just had an architect (Jeff Sherman of Delson or Sherman) balk at my project, which is not too far from the 150k mark. We had originally wanted to spend more (around 200-250k,) but the markets have been cruel recently, and things changed in the week since he and I met. When I approached him with my revised budget, I was met with a terse response: "Oh, that's a very different project isn't it--no, we would not be interested in a project of that scale--I wish we had known from the start."

Not exactly the friendliest reaction--he definitely made it seem like I had royally wasted his time!

So I definitely recommend being clear with your budget up front if you are looking to work with an architect. It will avoid hurt feelings all around. Good Luck!

Posted by: bklynrosie at February 20, 2008 12:36 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Smokychimp:
This was not meant at all to be a personal attack.

I found Jeff to be lovely and professional upon our meeting. I think he was perhaps a bit miffed that he had spent time on a visit and putting together a proposal and then finding out we were below his minimum.

I think it's totally fair and reasonable that D+S should set a minimum project size, and was simply stating that if one is looking to hire an architect you should try and be as clear as possible regarding budget, to avoid situations such as this.

I was heartbroken we couldn't use Jeff--I think they do great work and wish the outcome had been different, but c'est la vie!

Posted by: bklynrosie at February 20, 2008 12:57 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

We are resident landlords in a 4 unit brownstone on Clermont Ave in Ft. Green. We live in the owners duplex on the ground/parlor floor -- tenants on the top 3 floors (each are separate apts). Overall the experience has been fine. We are lucky that our tenants have been great (knocking on wood here) and we haven't had any major issues. The types of issues we've had are more related to owning an old building e.g., water leaking in from the outside into tenant bathrooms -- thus we are lucky that we had responsible tenants who let us know when there were issues so we could resolve them quickly. Both my husband and I work more or less full time and dealing with building issues doesn't take a huge amount of time on our part. I do work at home 2 days a week, which helps.

The key is to get people who appreciate the building and it history. Everyone in our building really loves it and take care of their places.

I was very apprehensive about doing this at first, but on the whole it has been a good experience.

Good luck.

Posted by: guest at January 30, 2008 2:48 PM in response to Being a Landlord

Bklynrose, Jeff Sherman has been a good friend and colleague of mine for twenty years now and I find your description simply unbelievable. His firm does set a minimum size for a project, which is a perfectly normal and natural business model for an office of that size. But as well as being a talented architect he is a consummate professional, extremely considerate and thoughtful, and your description as written above is simply not plausible to anyone who actually knows him.

Posted by: Smokychimp at February 20, 2008 12:50 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Smokychimp:
This was not meant at all to be a personal attack.

I found Jeff to be lovely and professional upon our meeting. I think he was perhaps a bit miffed that he had spent time on a visit and putting together a proposal and then finding out we were below his minimum.

I think it's totally fair and reasonable that D+S should set a minimum project size, and was simply stating that if one is looking to hire an architect you should try and be as clear as possible regarding budget, to avoid situations such as this.

I was heartbroken we couldn't use Jeff--I think they do great work and wish the outcome had been different, but c'est la vie!

Posted by: bklynrosie at February 20, 2008 12:57 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Right, no problem, I just thought you were stepping up on my homeboy. You're right they do excellent work.

I would recommend Robert Schultz (at Khanna/Schultz). They will do smaller projects and they are absolutely great.

Posted by: Smokychimp at February 20, 2008 1:06 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Since when is an $150k project a small one? Sheesh.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:11 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Smokychimp said:
"I find your description simply unbelievable"..."your description as written above is simply not plausible"

Okay so Smokychimp, bklynrosie's post was inappropriate and yet it was not inappropriate for you to outright say she's lying? That was so rude.

If we're not allowed to tell our honest experiences good AND bad, then I don't need to come to this site anymore. That is, if all this place provides is advertising for architects and contractors.

I come here looking for the straight story. Thank you, bklynrosie, for sharing. Everybody else here really appreciates it.

As for Jeff Sherman being such a great guy, I'm in a creative business, I've had to turn away many potential clients who weren't the right match for me, and there are plenty ways to tell someone that without sending them away offended.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:27 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

The people on this site obviously have no conception of what it takes to run a business.

$150K is not a large project for a multi-person firm.

$150,000 X 20% fee is only $30,000. At a 3.0 multiplier that's only $10,000 in labor. If you average a team of people working on the job making $25-$30/hr that gives you only 400 hours total to do the entire job. That's 10 weeks of work; 2.5 months. That doesn't really sustain a practice for very long. As a business you need to make a decision to take on projects that are going to keep your employees and yourself gainfully employed for longer than 2 months.

Obviously some phases take longer than others, but you'd need to have 10 of these projects in your office at the same time in order to sustain having an employee.

So, it's a small job.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:54 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Smokychimp,

How much do architects charge either as a % of the job or on an hourly basis? What is the range?

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 3:07 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

Except, 1:54, nobody here even once said they should HAVE to take the job. Nobody. They just said don't be rude snobs about it, that's all. It's hardly some kind of outrageous suggestion.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 3:12 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go

So basically this is the reality of the brownstone market according to the experts on the Brownstoner website: you HAVE to use an architect, if you don't you're a "cheap" loser (a refrain we hear many times on Forum on many threads); and architects ONLY take on projects that cost $250,000 and above. Therefore, if you can't afford to spend more than $250,000 on renovations alone, you are not allowed to own a house in Brooklyn.

Nice to see there aren't any elitists promoting exclusivity around here. Because as we know, Brooklyn is so liberal, diverse, cool and authentic and nothing like Manhattan.

Come on! If there hadn't been tons of people with moderate incomes buying brownstones in the 70's, 80's and early 90's in the now blue-chip neighborhoods of Brooklyn, and fixing the houses gradually over the years on the cheap, there would be NO Park Slope as it is now. Gentrification started with a wave of artists and academics and people who were not wealthy. Nobody says you have to fix up a whole house all at once for lots of money for it to be done right. I've lived in historic houses in historic neighborhoods all my life since college, and this is the way those who truly love old houses have always done it. If you want an all-new interior all at once, and nothing lumpy or old looking in it, buy a condo.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 3:24 PM in response to 100 k--how far can this go