bpmbpm's Profile
- fortgreenie
- 2002
- it launched
- Brooklyn
- Fort Greene
- Rental
- web producer
- Female
Author's Posts
September 21, 2008
Can someone explain sellers' prices to me?
Right now everyone is rightly worried about the state of the economy and real estate values, but I think people have an extremely inflated view of the "value" of their homes. Here is a real-life example: person buys an apt for 180k in 2001 in a hot brroklyn neighborhood and is selling it in 2008 for 490k--that is a 270% increase in price in 7 years. I feel like it is delusional for someone to expect to get that price, given the irresponsible practices that created all the froth in the housing market. Recent comps can't be dependable barometers in my opinion, because they took place in a climate of much looser credit standards. So why are home prices remaining so high? Is it too emotional for the seller to not make the 270% profit they feel entitled to? The person who pays that price now is FOOL in my opinion.
August 13, 2008
How much to underbid in this climate?
Hi - 2 questions: 1 - I've been looking at condos to purchase in Brooklyn and want underbid given that they are sitting and sitting...any guidance on how low I can go (percentage of ask)? 2 - what danger do I risk going into contract on a condo in a bldg that may not sell out completely? What if the developer stops building? What happens to my downpayment? what if the bulding goes rental?
thanks...newbie buyer
Author's Comments
This exact thing happened to me when I rented an apartment on Mott Street in Manhattan It was like a mountain range grew in my living room over a couple days. It turned out that my radiators were turned partially on, as opposed to all the way on or all the way off. When they are partially on, some of the water won't covert to steam and will seep out of the valve. The water seeped, unbeknownst to me, into the floor boards and this was the result. So ANY moisture collecting under your HVAC could do the same thing, no matter how small (my radiator water was unnoticeable). My landlord took care of it by ripping up the floor boards, leaving the underneath open to dry out for a few days (I had a scary view into the cellar of my building during that time), and then the floorboards were replaced. I never had to pay anything.
Posted by: bpmbpm at December 30, 2008 10:51 PM in response to Speed bump in our livingroom!
Interesting feedback, the gas price analogy especially. Now I need to find that job that will raise my income 270% in 7 years...
I also think it interesting that no one seemed to think that the housing bubble's influence (that literally anyone could get a mortgage in recent years) contributed to the prices of housing go up so far so fast.
Posted by: bpmbpm at September 21, 2008 6:01 PM in response to Can someone explain sellers' prices to me?
bpmbpm wrote a review about Franny's on August 9, 2008 9:51 PM
I absolutely love Franny's. The appetizer/small plates portion of the menu has been different every time I've been there (which has been a lot). They are really inventive and yet straight forward with the starters. The quality of the ingredients is obvious. The pizza is delicious (i do wish they'd cut it), and the pastas are to die for. They have excellent cocktails--try the Brooklyn, and the bartenders are ususally fantastic (though I am very sad Woody has left; he was a true professional and great guy). I usually sit at the bar because it is such a nice experience. This is by far the restaurant I have visited the most in Brooklyn.
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
You've gotten a lot of sound advice here and one or two suggestions/remarks that you might want to steer clear of. Definitely take up the damaged floor boards. You're never going to know the cause of the problem until you do that. It's a pretty common mistake for some builder's subcontractors on small projects to glue down a tongue and groove flooring onto a concrete surface when it was meant to be a floating floor. Also, very often, even if they didn't glue down the boards, they neglect to leave a minimum of a quarter inch gap around the entire room to allow for it to expand and contract.
With that said, even with your space issues and not having a place to store the furniture during a repair job, a patch job makes much more sense then tearing up the entire floor and putting down a new one. It sounds like the rest of the floor is in good shape. You sould be able to go to any home improvement center and find a pre-finished flooring that comes close to matching what you already have down. I can't see how redoing the apartment's entire floor is a better option for you than doing a patch job if you use prefinished stock. It would be more expensive and require moving all the furniture out of the apartment if you did the entire room.
Also, if the renovation during which this floor was laid was done as a building wide project, the damage is the coop's responsibility, no ifs, ands or buts. If the flooring was laid down as an indivudual renovation project and the water/humidity is not seeping in from a source outside your apartment, it's your responsibility.
I once lived in a coop in Park Slope and there was a leak coming from an old cast iron roof drain pipe embedded into the brick wall behind the plaster. The damage was limited to our apartment but the repair was still paid for by the coop.
Posted by: BrooklynSteve at January 2, 2009 10:51 AM in response to Speed bump in our livingroom!
"I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the What's war is finally going to end. i'd say in October. On a Tuesday. Sometime before noon."
Beau Guest is my new favorite poster on this blog. LOL.
Posted by: bpmbpm at December 31, 2008 1:17 PM in response to 2009 Predictions and Resolutions?