deepBTUz's Profile

Name:
Michael
In Brooklyn Since:
2001
On Brownstoner Since:
2008
Location:
Brooklyn
Neighborhood:
Greenpoint
Abode:
Condo
Profession:
recruiter
Sex:
Male
Age:
32
Website:

Author's Posts

August 25, 2008

Aga ranges

Anyone have one? I just bought a Legacy duel fuel. How easy/difficult is installation? It says on their website, "Must be installed by a competent gas mechanic or appliance technician in your area. For a list of preferred vendors, please use our service locator." Is this really necessary? Do you need a specialist, or can any competent handyman/contractor handle the job?

July 7, 2008

question about flooring....

I recently bought a hundred year old two family in Greenpoint. I am looking to have the floors redone. Due to furniture color and circumstance I am looking to have the floors redone. My initial summation of the situation was, "I want grey". Is this a really deviant (uhhh) choice? I have been doing my due diligence, or whatever, on the Internet, and have come to the conclusion that this might be and (unknowingly) unpopular choice. At least on this side of the pond. All the examples that are in line with my desires seem to emanate from the ream of the .uk. I',m nobodies fool, so I'd prefer to stay away from dollars v. sterling. My question is is there anyone who produces such wood locally? I'm no stickler for the absolute perfection in production. Apparently, the Brits are doing a white ash with some sort of black oil staining. Its beautiful, but I'm not really trying to absorb $20+ a sqft in materials alone. BTW way whats an acceptable rate for labor on such a job? I had one contractor over who quoted me $3000 labor + materials on what is a 750 sqft job. Is this reasonable? Does anyone know of a local shop that could approximate such an aesthetic? I understand with a drop in price comes a drop in quality, but can someone recommend an alternative that is affordable and approaches this "look"?

June 15, 2008

Legal disclosure responsibilities for a seller

Hello, hoping I could get some advice on the legal responsibilities of a seller. Two weeks ago I closed on a 98 year old two family townhouse in Greenpoint. I returned home yesterday, after the heavy rain to find about three inches of water on the basement floor. I find it very hard to believe that this is the first time this type of flooding has occurred. Is it the seller responsible for disclosing this to me? What is my best recourse? Do I contact the seller directly to try and work something out amicably? Do I contact the seller's attorney, or should I just contact my own attorney and file suit? And advice would be greatly appreciated.

June 1, 2008

Selling w/o an agent

I was wondering if anyone had experience/advice on selling a property w/o using an agent. I own a duplex garden in Greenpoint, and recently closed on a two family in the same neighborhood. About ten weeks ago I signed an agreement with a realtor from The Developers Group. I signed a six month exclusive with him (4% commission). There were problems from the start. He neglected to tell me about a vacation he all ready had planned. He would cancel showings for the entire week if there was Holiday (mother's/memorial etc.). Basically his sales strategy was to post on craigslist and hold a 90 minute open house on Sundays. It probably didn't help that he was located in the Park Slope area and the apartment is in Greenpoint. Basically after ten weeks of no movement (even with a 91k price reduction from the original asking price!) there has been no movement. While I certainly question his talents, he was ethical enough to let me out of the six month exclusivity agreement. At this point I am considering trying to sell it myself. I have no experience in the real estate industry other than as a buyer. Is this a terrible idea? Should I assume the problem was with the realtor or is just an accurate reflection of current mortgage conditions? Is taking the 4% commission I would have paid to the realtor and using it to further reduce the price of the apartment wise? To what extent can I work with brokers w/o signing any sort of exclusivity agreement? Any idea what the closing costs are on the selling side? The condo is listed right now for 499k. Any advice would be appreciated!

January 31, 2008

need help on a renovation in Greenpoint

Hello. Me and friend of mine are considering purchasing a brownstone in Greenpoint. It is a two family two story brownstone with a unfinished basement. It is in total about 2700 sq feet. The building was built in 1899 and would need at minimum a thorough renovation and possibly a full gut renovation. We would not be interested in living in the property in its present sate. My question is.....what would be the logical next step? We need to understand what the possibilities are for the property. Do we need to have an architect look at the property? A contractor? Could anyone recommend a contractor/architect/firm that could come look at the property at give us a legitimate idea what is possible for the space and a ballpark estimate on price? How long could we expect such a project to take? If we get someone out to look at the property, should we pay for such a service or should said party provide the information for free in an attempt to bid for the contract? I own a condo in Greenpoint, but have never tackled such a project. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Author's Comments

thanks! how long should we expect for this kind of renovation? six weeks? six months?

Posted by: deepBTUz at January 31, 2008 11:53 PM in response to need help on a renovation in Greenpoint

Thank you all so much for thee feedback! I really appreciate it. Your advice is invaluable to me because from a knowledge and experience standpoint I am really starting from scratch. Al I would be very interested in speaking to you. I will give you a call. My name is Mike, so when I call you won't think I'm nuts. Once again, thank you all for the help, I am very grateful. Regards -Mike

Posted by: deepBTUz at February 1, 2008 7:55 PM in response to need help on a renovation in Greenpoint

I had concrete countertops installed this summer. I would STRONGLY not recommend them. Granted I got white, but they stain very easily. Lots of invisible water stains. Go with something else.

Posted by: deepBTUz at February 7, 2008 10:39 PM in response to Tumbled Marble Countertops?

9:44 read the article in the times today as well. IMO opinion it was excessively dire. yes, it is harder to get a mortgage these days, but it is by no means impossible, as long as you are being reasonable. I just closed on a two family this week and was able to get a 10% down, 6 1/4 fixed w/ wells fargro. on the flip side, I am selling a condo and am finding it extremely difficult to find buyers, even offering it at what I consider to be a competitive price. my verdict (and this really goes for north brooklyn)....getting a mortgage possible as long as being reasonable, selling a two family an up....surprisingly easy....selling a condo.....very difficult.....

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 1, 2008 4:25 PM in response to Mortgage on credit report?

curiosity, thank for your insightful post. It is good advice. In fact, many close friends have said the same thing. I think on a strictly economical level it is the correct advice. However, circumstances are a little different here. Like, I mentioned in my original post I am not in the real estate business, and have zero experience as a landlord. I was willing to take on the rental unit in the two bedroom, because it made financial sense and allowed me to buy a house I really loved. My intent now is not necessarily to maximize the potential profits on the condo. I would rather just sell, free up some cash flow, and use it to make renovations on the historical house I just bought and love. More a lifestyle issue than a financial issue.

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 1, 2008 6:14 PM in response to Selling w/o an agent

Ysabelle- Agreed. I am in sales but not real estate. I posted more to gauge if there was some potential pitfall I was missing. "A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client".... that sort of thing.....

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 1, 2008 6:17 PM in response to Selling w/o an agent

guest, the post was written in the general tone of a question......

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 1, 2008 8:48 PM in response to Selling w/o an agent

9:24 thank you for your valued advice. It is certainly appreciated. Not to say too much, but I am 32 and inexperienced. I'm no fool, but I am certainly learning as I go. Thanks for taking the time.

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 2, 2008 9:56 PM in response to Selling w/o an agent

10:56....thank you! I'm definitely thinking of going that route....

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 2, 2008 9:58 PM in response to Selling w/o an agent

2:49...I will contact you off this website....If you have novel ideas I am all ears.....

Posted by: deepBTUz at June 2, 2008 10:00 PM in response to Selling w/o an agent

Responses to Author's Forum Comments

Silly question - how do you correctly pronounce "Aga"? I've heard it 3 different ways, none of which from anyone from the UK, just pretentious Americans. Last time I was in London, I was going to ask, but I didn't want to sound like an ignorant Yank, and no one brought it up in conversation.

Is it Awe-ga? like awesome
Ahh-ga?
or ay-ga? long a, like amen

Posted by: Montrose Morris at August 27, 2008 6:05 PM in response to Aga ranges

It's pronounced Ah-Gah, MM. And I am definitely NOT a pretentious American, Aga owner and all! :)

Posted by: Brooklynista at August 27, 2008 6:19 PM in response to Aga ranges

Townhouselady, it was Dittoburg who brought up the Brits and he listed the luxury items they make then indicated Americans make or do nothing of quality. Dittoburg's snobbery is what I was reacting to. Try reading up a little further! Goodness.

Posted by: traditionalmod at August 27, 2008 7:08 PM in response to Aga ranges

This is what Dittoburg said that I responded to, which confused and enraged Townhouselady so much. But CMU's post ended up between Dittoburg's and mine:

"Also CMU, the British gave us Bentleys and Aston Martins, and many of those jet engines that hold you aloft are Rolls Royce. We could say that the US gave the world the Ford Pinto and three mile island. Not really fair tho."

Posted by: traditionalmod at August 27, 2008 7:15 PM in response to Aga ranges

Traditionalmod, I usually dig your posts, but I think you're a bit off target this time. I actually shared a similar reaction to your post about the Brits with Townhouse Lady (although I would not have expressed in quite the same way she did). :) If you follow the line of discussion from Cmu to Dittoburg, Dittoburg doesn't come off as snobbish. He's only suggesting that countries can produce all kinds of things that can be either "good" or "bad," including America. He even qualified his reference to some of America's lemons as being "not really fair tho." Similarly, just because the Aga is a British product doesn't immediately render it suspect is the point.

Well, you are right, Hancock1 and DeepBTUz, we have definitely gotten off the track of initial point of the post. Although IMO, whenever Agas come up for discussion, this kind of passionate back and forth that strays far from the point of origin is pretty typical.

Posted by: Brooklynista at August 27, 2008 7:36 PM in response to Aga ranges

(waving a white flag)

Posted by: TownhouseLady at August 27, 2008 9:58 PM in response to Aga ranges

I moved on Saturday. I used Lucky Movers. They were $120hr for three guys and a truck. Move took five hours. They charged me $600 and I tipped them $300.00. They were good guys who worked hard.

Posted by: deepBTUz at August 28, 2008 1:13 PM in response to Ballpark cost for move & tipping movers?