Thanks all for the advice.

@el salar - I will definitely check out Wells Fargo.

@11216 Good suggestions. I was thinking of something along those lines using the equity in my current properties that I don't have mortgages on and using the rental income so I won't have to much of a noose around my neck. I know cc's are risky but it's a good back pocket option.

& ontheparkway - thanks for the response. not in over my head and need to make sure i stay that way. trying to paint the financing picture before I make any offers on the property. I learned my lesson early on that issue. Just trying to gauge the financing landscape since it's changed so much since my last purchase in 2004.

@denton & bricktar - I'll check out the mortgage broker option after i check in with Wells Fargo. I used a broker the last time and ended up with an indy mac loan. I was kicking myself because I could have gone directly to the bank.

@ the what - brother i hear you on all points and trust, I am not making any decisions without considering every possibility.

Love the opinions - keep 'em coming. Thanks.

Posted by: couldashouldawoulda at July 15, 2008 10:24 PM in response to Financing? How do you do it?

Try a local real estate managment company - or the super of an apt building they may be able to help you out with the signage you need or point you in the right direction.

Posted by: couldashouldawoulda at July 16, 2008 9:33 PM in response to HPD Self Certified Violations

housebywe.com - they post on the forum too.

Posted by: couldashouldawoulda at July 16, 2008 9:50 PM in response to Project Manager Recommendations

Awesome! Thank you for the new feature. I like it very much.

Posted by: couldashouldawoulda at September 15, 2008 10:55 AM in response to Interiors: Boerum Hill Townhouse in Shades of Red & Gray

Try Keyspan? They may be able to help you out.

Posted by: couldashouldawoulda at October 8, 2008 8:39 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

Hey Wasder thanks for sharing. looks great. Can you share roundabout your renovation costs and what work was involved?

Posted by: couldashouldawoulda at October 9, 2008 9:44 PM in response to Interiors: Expanding the Space But Not the Debt

Are you the person who called asking about redesigning the heating system to employ individual hot water boilers for each tenant in place of the single boiler (steam?) you've got now?

That's a lot more than an estimate, tanner.

That's at least a one-hour visit to your home, putting pen to paper to calculate the heat requirements for all the rooms, figuring radiator sizes, boiler sizes, piping routes and materials, matching code-compliant venting options to available boilers, preparing a comprehensive evaluation on paper, getting it to you for review and then fielding the questions you will inevitably have via telephone and email, presenting a final system to you that I can guarantee will be effective and work efficiently....and so much more.

An estimate like that takes many hours of mine and my office's time, so yes, we do bill for that type of work.

If you contract us to install the design we propose, in whole or in part, we give you back half the money you paid or apply it to your purchase.

We do not charge for estimates for boiler replacements that do not involve such major alterations to the system itself.

We're professionals and we feel that's fair.

Posted by: Master Plvmber at October 8, 2008 9:42 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

You can contact John Sallustio on Court st. You can say that Bruce from Kane St. recommended him.

Posted by: brucef at October 9, 2008 12:54 AM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

Master Plvmber, yes that was me. But the woman on the phone asked if I wanted three separate boilers and I said no. I asked if it is possible to have three separate meters with one boiler (because I obviously don't know anything about this yet and am trying to figure it out), and she said she'd ask. When she came back to the phone she said it would be $400 to have someone check things out. I asked, what if I just want to replace the boiler; I told her I needed someone to take a look at it and give me some recommemdations and let me know what my options are. $400 to do that, she said. "It's called an *evaluation*."

Posted by: tanner at October 9, 2008 10:01 AM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

I can highly recommend Master Plvmber. His firm did an oil to gas conversion to me last year. Very neat job and the measurement of the existing radiators resulted in a smaller boiler than was recommended by another plumber and thus lower gas bills.

Posted by: Nilso at October 9, 2008 10:46 AM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

$400 for an estimate? ...maybe if it'll go toward the eventual conversion sure, but just to come by and "evaluate" crazy.

Unfortunately plumbers and electricians usually have folks by the short and curlys....and MP sounds like he's a really good plumber but I'd shop around.

Posted by: moreteasir at October 9, 2008 11:03 AM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

I have to agree that the policy doesn't seem "fair" to me either, Master Plvmer. If someone has a major renovation job to do, they are going to want to interview several "professionals" to get different proposals and different bids. Do you really think a responsible customer should have to pay each several hundred dollars just to get a bid on a big job?

I am also a professional and work in a service industry. I do spec work on proposals all the time. It does cost time and therefore money and I don't win every job. That's part of the cost of doing business.

Posted by: ownhs at October 9, 2008 2:41 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

It's a free market and companies can do what they want and clients are free to take it or leave it.

Being in a not dissimilar line of work but dealing with commercial clients who generally know what they want makes it a lot easier for me. But with residential clients who often don't know exactly what they need and are looking to pick the brains of a dozen different contractors until they figure it out, it makes perfect sense. Unfortunately for the client who find such policies 'crazy' and 'unfair' and goes elsewhere they may or may not be writing off the best contractor(s) for the job. Consider the $400 as a heating consulting fee. Only my opinion.

Posted by: denton at October 9, 2008 2:59 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

Ownhs, you’re comparing very different tasks.

Before anyone gets any ridiculous ideas, let me make a second attempt to clarify my position.

First:
MY PARTNER AND I DO FREE ESTIMATES FOR VARIOUS JOBS ALL DAY LONG.

Second:
Gateway Plumbing and Heating has built an outstanding reputation for our ability to diagnose and remedy problems that plague steam and hot water heating systems. We’re not the band-aid guys. We’re the company that comes up with lasting, sensible solutions.
It’s been my thing since my teenage years. Now at 39, I’m recognized for it and my phone rings often.

I used to spend a great deal of time traveling to people’s homes to tell them what was wrong with their heating systems and telling them how I would fix it and how much it would cost.
Then they would take all that I just told them and relay it to their old plumber, who failed to help them previously and he would do the job for peanuts, since I did the thinking for him.

That’s a game I simply can’t afford to play anymore.

So as part of our services, Gateway Plumbing and Heating now offers a complete Heating System Evaluation.
Here’s how it works:
One of the owners of the company will come to your home and conduct a thorough room-by-room inspection of your heating system, listing your concerns and documenting your equipment.
He will find the source of any problems, including banging or other noises in the piping or radiators and give detailed instructions on how it is best addressed.
He will determine the proper boiler size for your home and compare it to what is currently there.
Very often, by just “putting back what’s there now”, boilers are replaced throughout the years with grossly-oversized units which consistently waste fuel, cost too much money to run, and unnecessarily add to your building’s carbon footprint.
Replacing a boiler without having all the building’s information will likely lead to an inadequate installation resulting in a 20-30 year commitment to inefficiency and a problematic system.

Upon receipt of your payment, the evaluation will be emailed to you as a Word or pdf. Document. You should use the information given to make an informed decision about how best to make repairs or other alterations to your heating system at their estimated costs. It should also help you choose a contractor for the specified tasks.

The cost of the Evaluation is $400, payable by check, credit card or cash. It takes about an hour in a typical townhouse building and access is needed to as many apartments and visible portions of the system as possible.
If Gateway Plumbing and Heating is contracted to do any of the work outlined in the Evaluation, a credit of $200 (half the fee) is given back to the client.

There is no sales pitch in this service. You’ve already paid us for our time and at that point no one owes anybody anything.

I’ve saved a lot of people a lot of money and heartache with this service and for that, I’ve put a couple of dollars in my own pocket.

No one’s going to tell me that’s not a good thing.

Posted by: Master Plvmber at October 9, 2008 4:35 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

Here's a rec instead of more arguing..........
We used Victory Bros. Very professional and took only 2 days to install new furnace and convert our forced air system from oil to gas.
Oh yeah, they didn't charge us an estimate fee either.

Posted by: EastStuy at October 9, 2008 5:03 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)

I believe in keeping it simple:

If you call Keyspan - National Grid, they will guide you thru the process of converting from oil to gas,

they are the gas company, after all... (718)643-4050

eric. handymaneric.com

Posted by: HandymanEric at October 9, 2008 5:10 PM in response to rec's for oil to gas conversion (plumber?)