If you are buying 50 cents on the dollar in the downtown area of Brooklyn, then by all means proceed.

Once you have verified that the units are not rent stabilized its not that complicated to evict someone. I would suggest hiring a good attorney or paralegal to handle the paperwork.

The person who is there MUST pay you. Simple as that. The best way to find out if you are going to have issues is to go talk to the tenants. No matter what the conversation, if you want them out, then have them served right away. What I have done in the past is allow them to stay from free for 60 days without paying. Put this in writing with the Judges consent.

Most people dont want problems and I believe that you are thinking correctly in that you can make a deal out of it.

e. perry
www.uvpinc.net

Posted by: evperry at February 19, 2008 11:26 PM in response to Buying a house with tenants???

Keep in mind that many of the construction loans are NOT available for multiple family units.

Posted by: evperry at February 19, 2008 11:32 PM in response to Financing renovation through construction loan?

I do house restorations as a part of my business.

I have never seen a 3 story brownstone that would cost me more than 150-175k. Add 100k for a good contractor and you have about 250k. Unless you go nuts with your kitchen cabinets and tile work and plumbing fixtures thats the number.

GC's make enormous amounts of money. Why not cut their fee out and do it yourself? If you have some knowledge of construction its not that hard. With the internet at your fingertips its easier than its ever been to learn.

While I agree about keeping some of the plaster walls when you can, its not always practical. First off its way more expensive to re-plaster a wall as opposed to laminating it just replacing it with drywall. Secondly the R-Value with drywall and R13 or R19 insulation behind it is better than plaster, you will feel warmer. Lastly, IMO drywall looks better when finished. A combination of new drywall or laminated drywall (to existing plaster) or re-plastering when necessary if the best way to tackle that.

-ev

Posted by: evperry at February 19, 2008 11:57 PM in response to cost to gut reno 16.5 x 40 brownstone?

Consider installing a French Drain (aka Weeping Tile) around your perimeter if your walls are wet where the foundation wall meets the slab. If the entire wall is wet you gotta waterproof the wall. Make sure to check the NY BBB when you choose a water proofing contractor because most of them are terrible.

Consider using Solar Tubes to bring in natural light to your basement. You install these things on the roof and run them whereever you want some natural light.

I would also think a good HVAC system would make sense to keep your humidity down in the summer and to allow you to breathe clean air in the winter.

-ev

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 12:15 AM in response to basement flood/waterproofing?

Keeping in mind that I am a broker I would say this.

Why not try to sell your house on your own without using a broker? If you dont sell it within a set time then consider interviewing some agents.

The broker means nothing, its ALL about the agent that sells your house. If you get the worst agent at Cocoran then you are gonna be miserable until their contract expires. I cant tell you the frustration I go through when I cant get an agent on the phone with one of their listings that they are co-broking on. Its like they get a listing and go on vacation to celebrate and forget to service it.

I have found that I typically get a little better service when I work with smaller agencies. Again this is all based upon the agent but that my experience.

Figure 4-6% for a listing. In downtown brooklyn when the price creeps above 1Mil, then 4% is your number.

good luck.

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 12:28 AM in response to Broker fees for selling house

Most brokers will do a combination of nytimes.com and craigslist. They both work.

If you have a personality that allows you to negotiate then you should try it on your own for a few months. If you know this is not suited for you then you should hire an agent.

I do agree that most agents are horrible but when you get that good one they can make the deal move quick and effortlessly.

I find that 20% of the job is producing a buyer and the other 80% is getting to the closing table.

A good agent will have a strong knowledge of marketing, mortgages, appraisals, title issues and some light construction knowledge. Most new agents no none of the above. They might not no what a "comp" is.

Do your comps with www.propertyshark.com to set your price. If you have problems with the program, you can contact me to help or I will do it for you and email the PDF to you.

good luck.

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 12:46 AM in response to fsbo

I think a good architect or interior designer who does layout work is invaluable. If all you do everyday is layout space then you are gonna be very good at it.

A GC can give you ideas on what to do but as a rule the GC will just follow what is on the design.

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 12:50 AM in response to Design/Build vs GC

Downtown Brooklyn has not really dropped off at all. It mimics Manhattan to a certain degree. Also, comps in BK tend to be all over the place because the quality of homes can be so vastly different.

What program did you use to do your comps?

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 7:54 AM in response to house cost per square foot?

11:34am.....amen.

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 3:54 PM in response to Buying a house with tenants???

go to

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/property/property_val_sales.shtml

Download the 2007/2008 New York City
Sales Data

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 9:37 AM in response to house cost per square foot?

Where is the house?

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 11:05 AM in response to cost to gut reno 16.5 x 40 brownstone?

Housesearcher, buy it or don't. You are posting every day. You have the info and just can't make up your mind because you are not a decisive person. This will not change either way. If you buy it, you'll wonder if you could have found something else. If you don't, you'll wonder if you should have. You are going to feel this way no matter what. It's you, not the house.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 11:11 AM in response to house cost per square foot?

This is Brownstone brooklyns best kept secret. Find distressed property with stressed out landlords who had zero offers because of tenants with no legal rights, except a little time to find a new place. Offer to take the property as-is including all the violations and reduce the offer by the cost of removing the violations. You get the property for pennies on the dollar. Don't listen to the nay-sayers. When the secret gets out, they will be crying again that they missed the boat.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 11:34 AM in response to Buying a house with tenants???

11:11 - Actually, I am decisive and have a high-responsibility job where I make decisions, quickly, every day. We have also considered many other houses, and very decisively opted NOT to buy them. But buying a house - and especially this one, which is at the very edge of what we can afford - is an extremely important decision and I am just doing as much due diligence as I possibly can. I did the same when we purchased our apt which at the time seemed very expensive - so I also did tons of research and ultimately decided to buy it. I don't see how doing a lot of research is a problem. And it seems that the threads I've begun have yielded discussion that is hopefully helpful to others. As I become more knowledgeable from this process, I of course hope to share what I learn so as to be helpul on this list. The frequency of my posts of late is simply since the time frame to make this decision is very telescoped. So, others, I would still love to hear your thoughts on a reasonable cost per square foot on a house in PS. Thanks.

Posted by: housesearcher at February 20, 2008 12:17 PM in response to house cost per square foot?

Exacly right, Housesearcher (OP), the answers to one person's questions definitely help others. I get a good education from reading other peoples' posts and the answers people here provide them.

I've never seen anybody on Brownstoner get critical of $850-900 per square foot for a Park Slope house on the market. It's only when places get near $1,000 per square foot that you start to hear people pointing it out and calling it crazy. For a prime Park Slope area, even if $850-900 PSF is a tad over the comps, you are going to do a big gut renovation and that sets your property at the top of the food chain. The similar recent comps you'll find are mostly for properties NOT renovated.

Buy it! That's my vote. You sound like you really want the place, you always have, but you're just doing due diligence and the research which is good.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 12:39 PM in response to house cost per square foot?

Rent guidelines board publishes a list of all rent stabilized units in buildings by address and zip code. Look online

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 12:58 PM in response to Buying a house with tenants???

I have found $100K/per floor is a very rough number to start with for gut or near gut renovations. An architect is necessary if you need to file plans which it sounds like you will. Having a detailed construction/project manager will make all the difference as a previous poster stated unless you want to specify every plumbing line an electrical outlet.

I am looking for an architect to do an extension including a new bathroom and moving the kitchen on the lower duplex of a landmarked bedstuy building of similar proportions, any recommendations?

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 2:51 PM in response to cost to gut reno 16.5 x 40 brownstone?

11:34am.....amen.

Posted by: evperry at February 20, 2008 3:54 PM in response to Buying a house with tenants???

Find out if the house has any FAR - it adds to the value if you can add a floor or extension...

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 4:48 PM in response to house cost per square foot?