gemini10's Profile
- 2003
- 2006
- Brooklyn
- Park Slope
- House
- Female
- 32
Author's Posts
June 30, 2008
Security Deposits
Hi,
I'm a landlord and my tenants are moving out tomorrow, new tenants moving in at the end of this week - here's my issue:
the current tenants(lived there about 4 years) really didn't take very good care of the place. Aside from the wood floors looking a mess - there are plenty of holes and scratches in the walls which we are patching up. We painted their living room last year, but after assessing the place this past weekend -we realized we have to paint the entire Apt again! we have to hire professional cleaners to clean the place because they left it in really bad shape and hire carpet cleaners as well (they had pets). Anyway - Can I use their security deposit for any of this damage?
June 16, 2008
Anyone know why 7th Avenue was blocked off on Saturday in Park Slope?
Seriously- during the downpours on Saturday evening, it took me 20 mins(I was driving) to get to my house b/c my block was blocked off by barricades and cops who weren't giving me ANY advice as to where I needed to go to actually get into my house. So am curious what the EFF was going on?
June 4, 2008
Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
Hi,
I walked by there the other day and noticed where the vacant lot which sat unused for years, now has new wood fencing but with grafitti written all over it saying "No bath House". My husband said a few weeks back, he drove by and noticed a a lot of double-parked cars and the fencing was actually open and he saw what seemed to be a party with balloons etc. The people were all Hasidic(just stating the facts-not being predjudiced!)
Was wondering if anyone had any info, property shark says the lot was sold for $100K 2 years ago and it's zoned as a pool/tennis court??!?!?
June 3, 2008
Can anyone recommend cleaners to clean out a rental unit?
SO, I tried looking back in the topics and couldn't find much. our tenants are leaving on June 30th and the prospective tenants are looking to move in the first week of July which is REALLY convenient - giving us a few days to really clean up the place and do some repairs.
Can anyone recommend a 2-3 person team who will totally clean from top to bottom? Am I looking to spend $400 for a service like this?
Thanks in advance!
May 14, 2008
Please recommend an Iron Works Company??!!
Hi,
We need to have our front "cellar" door replaced with a new door that has those ventilation slots - I have called Gabriel's Iron Works numerous times, but no one ever answers... - doees anyone have a good Iron company that does these types of door replacement jobs?
May 12, 2008
Landlords: How long did it take to rent your apt's
hi,
so my tenant who has been with us for 4 years just let us know she is moving out of the country and is leaving June 5th. Her lease was up July 1st - so she rents a 2 br 1.5 bath fully renovated nice duplex with w/d/dw on 14th street and 6th ave for $2500 - we are thinking of listing it for June 15th move in for $2800. Will I get serious interest? How long can I expect to have this apt sit empty.... or am I overpricing?
May 5, 2008
home equity line of credit/loans
Hello,
We were thinking of doing some renovations and pay off CC debt. we wanted to get a 100K home equity LOC or a loan. With all the crap press on banks and lenders not as willing to dole out money - do you think we will face a lot of resistance?
I have good credit, just not sure what the rates are on loans these days
is anyone else doing this now or are many of you waiting the storm out?
March 18, 2008
The "F" Train....
Anyone notice the F train is becoming increasingly more and more crowded? I usually take the F between 7:15am - 7:35am and get on at 7th Avenue. As recent as 2 months ago,I was almost always able to get a seat at Jay Street, if not before that at 4th avenue... now I can't get a seat until sometimes BWY/Lafayette. And the rushour home is ridiculous at this point, luckily I get on at 57th where it's pretty empty IF the train is running on time, of course!
Now before some idiot posts something stupid - I am only asking because it's been my observation and am wondering if there has been a genuine influx of people in our nabes and if you all have noticed it as well....
March 10, 2008
Refinancing Mortgages? - what's the average?
With all the talk of the jumbo loan limit increasing to $729K,
I wanted to gauge the average time brownstoners refi their mortgages.
I bought my PS house in 2003 with a 5 year Jumbo ARM at 5.75%. I refinanced in 2007 as I was in need of $40K to pay for my wedding and thought let me refi while the rates are still "low" as my ARM was going to expire in 2008. However the refi left me with a montly payment that's almost $400 more than what I was paying. I currently owe $620K on the house(it was appraised at 1.2mil)
Anyway - do you think I should try to refi again? Does it seem weird/bad/high/ if someone does 2 refis in 5 years???
February 26, 2008
Raising Rent?
I am a landlord who owns a 4 story house by 7th avenue on 14th street. and rent out the bottom two floors as a duplex to a young guy and his roomate. They with their cat and dog all moved in 4 years ago and I charged them $2400(they have a dw/w/d/backyard access,1.5 baths and a top of the line kitchen with the usual elements) I hadn't raised the rent the first 2 years. Last year, I finally raised it $100. His lease is dur in May and I would really like to raise it again, is it fair to raise it another $100? - My gas bills are out of control and I feel the same level of apartments are fetching $2800-$3200- so he's still getting a bargain...
Thoughts? am curious what other landlords and tenants are dealing with
Author's Comments
Thanks so much to all of your advice
5:44 - do you have a # for Eagle? They aren't popping up in google....
thanks!
Posted by: gemini10 at February 5, 2008 9:05 AM in response to sagging support beams???
you are right that I am attempting to get this permit as "retroactive" - but from what I can gather from the DOB's rules for curbcuts is that my drieway seems to fall under their guidelines(i.e. -not near a hydrant, has enough space from the house, etc) I certainly don't want to give up the driveway! -worse case scenario is when I sell, I can do away with it
however, 4 other people on my block have driveways (one being installed just last year)
Posted by: gemini10 at February 12, 2008 10:41 AM in response to DOB-approving a driveway???!!!
10:35 - it was measured at 19.1 feet past the sidewalk!!!!
and is 18 feet wide
so not sure why the inspector rejected this!!!!
Posted by: gemini10 at February 12, 2008 10:43 AM in response to DOB-approving a driveway???!!!
Op here again:
Mr.Hancock - what do you mean, raise it $100 below market - do you mean raise it to about $2800? He's a solid paying tenant, but he does keep the house a mess!!!
I mean looking at the NY Times every other week or so and seeing that people are asking - $3K a month for a place on 20th and 4th avenue really makes me think, and truthfully the apt is very nice!
Let's not talk about my monthly gas bill of $500 or so....
thanks for the tips!
Posted by: gemini10 at February 26, 2008 9:18 AM in response to Raising Rent?
Mr.hancock - you hit it right on the money! - I have a drafty house and when my tenant calls up complaining he's cold (despite the heat being up to 74!) I turn it up!
maybe getting a seperate boiler might make sense, however I probably should spend the money properly "winterizing" the whole house
Thanks so much for all your tips
I think I will raise it $200 so it's at $2700 and hopefully he stays, if not - I will raise it to $3k negotiable
Posted by: gemini10 at February 26, 2008 10:36 AM in response to Raising Rent?
Wow, 11:02 - I can't beleive you pay their electric bill. We had the thermostat moved from the parlor floor to our apt (we occupy the two top floors as we wanted to control the heat) - I think the electrician charged up about $700 to move it
10:58 - I agree, I don't want to raise the rent to be greedy, I just am feeling the pressure of our gas bills being ridiculosly high and I need some extra income to offset that cost. When I did my refi last year, my mortage payment went up by $250 because the appraisal went up, thus increasing my insurance costs...
Posted by: gemini10 at February 26, 2008 11:14 AM in response to Raising Rent?
thanks 5:39 I think I was so in need of cash to pay for the wedding, that once it was all said and done and realized 2 months past refinancing I was in fact paying more than I was at the start.
and 7:17 - I am not a mortgage broker......
i wanted to see what others in bklyn nabes are doing. I am probably like many of you where I don't make $200K a year but was curious to see how people were making it all work.....
Posted by: gemini10 at March 10, 2008 7:58 PM in response to Refinancing Mortgages? - what's the average?
I haven't been to Al Di La - but from what I understand, it only serves "Northern" Italian fare which is fine if that's what you dig...but it's not truly a good representative of what Italian cooking really is(or what we New Yorkers have loved for the past 80 years). Sorry, I'd take a piece of lasagne over a dish of tripe in a "savory sauce"
just my 2 cents
Posted by: gemini10 at March 10, 2008 8:14 PM in response to StreetLevel: Sotto Voce Building Mini-Empire on 5th Ave.
consider me paulie then............
whatchagonadoabouit?
Posted by: gemini10 at March 10, 2008 9:29 PM in response to StreetLevel: Sotto Voce Building Mini-Empire on 5th Ave.
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
9:42 here -- I figured most people wouldn't know what it was, that's all....that just to say it's a mikvah wouldn't mean much to most readers here. it's TMI to speak of something having to do with sex? You must really be a repressed.....
Posted by: guest at June 4, 2008 1:59 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
We know what a mikvah is. This is brooklyn, not columbus ohio. Go away.
Posted by: guest at June 4, 2008 4:59 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
Who has been building all these ugly condo towers? What happened to our "eye"? Even reasonably acceptable new townhouses are marred by bad proportions. I thought cities were the antidote to McMansions and cheese. Sometimes, blending in is a good thing--I think a lor of these sore thumbs dotting the city will age even worse than they look now. Not opposed to new construction on 15th Street or anywhere--just wish there was respect for a community by improving on what's there rather than dropping in crap.
Posted by: guest at June 4, 2008 5:05 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
actually thanks for explaining what a mikvah is. i didn't know. this is brooklyn, which means i flung myself from who knows which crook of what hill in which country, but certainly where there is little talk of mikvahs. also, i believe what is being referred to as too much information is probably the woman's period. get over it.
Posted by: guest at June 4, 2008 9:16 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
um, im not from columbus and i had no idea what a mikvah is. not every new york resident is jewish.
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 1:42 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
What's a period?
Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 3:43 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
i'm from st paul and i didnt know what a mikvah is. and why do you people always dis the midwest?
Posted by: guest at June 7, 2008 1:15 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
Not everyone at that mikvah ground-breaking was hassidic. I was there. I have lived in Park Slope for the past thirty years, and I am as secular a Jew as one would want to guess. And.....I WAS THERE! So enough over-generalizing, and a little information is a dangerous thing. And the front represented on the poster was merely a representation of a front, not necessarily the front that the mikvah will have. There will most certainly be respect shown for the rest of the block, and any front will fit in nicely, I promise as G-d is my witness.
THis neighborhood is changing-too many over-controllers and yuppified minds. too much detail about the wrong stuff. Hmmmmmmm.....
Posted by: guest at June 7, 2008 7:49 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
Not everyone at that mikvah ground-breaking was hassidic. I was there. I have lived in Park Slope for the past thirty years, and I am as secular a Jew as one would want to guess. And.....I WAS THERE! So enough over-generalizing, and a little information is a dangerous thing. And the front represented on the poster was merely a representation of a front, not necessarily the front that the mikvah will have. There will most certainly be respect shown for the rest of the block, and any front will fit in nicely, I promise as G-d is my witness.
THis neighborhood is changing-too many over-controllers and yuppified minds. too much detail about the wrong stuff. Hmmmmmmm.....
Posted by: guest at June 7, 2008 7:51 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
I found this -- http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/22/31_22_jewish_bath_rises_on.html
Is it really so terrible to build a mikvah in Park Slope?
Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 2:41 PM in response to Anyone know what's being constructed on 15th street between 6th and 7th avenues?
sorry! - I realized I posted my question twice. Actually, the floors are sloping on all 4 levels. (It's a slight slope - nothing too dramatic, we noticed the slope when we purchased the house 4 years ago, but have noticed the sloping has gotten a bit worse in the past year) - I realize in the basement, we have 1 vertical steel beam at the back of the house which is fine and the horizontal wood beams are all fine as well. There's just this one rotting wood beam towards the middle of the house that is the one I suspect needs to be replaced.
Posted by: gemini10 at February 4, 2008 9:23 AM in response to sagging support beams???