Although I wish their menu would change more with the seasons, I do love the "regulars" on the menu enough to keep coming back. And agreed that the garden is truly special. I would rec

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Posted by: Grendel at July 16, 2008 4:48 PM in response to Restaurant of the Day: Frankies 457 Spuntino

Yeah, it's not closed until the 28th, per the sign in the photo that Brownstoner posted. This should not be a big deal for commuters, but I can see it being a bit of a hassle for moms with strollers and the elderly, as getting to the booth and the gate requires some additional stairs to go up. It will be interesting to see what this looks like when completed (and who knows when that will be).

Posted by: Grendel at July 22, 2008 11:45 AM in response to Closing Bell: Carroll St. Subway Entrance Closed

The wine bar is not on Smith, it's on Court, and given how dead that block at night, it's a welcome addition in my book.

Posted by: Grendel at August 20, 2008 2:00 PM in response to Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up

The standard NY form contract has options for including a financing contingency or not including it, so it's obviously something that is on the table for negotiation. In NYC before the credit meltdown, it was standard for the seller to ask the buyer to waive the financing contingency, and if buyer didn't waive it, the next person would. Since this is new construction, it's entirely likely that the OP signed the contract when banks were handing out mortgages to children on street corners, so there was no need to be concerned about a financing contingency so long as the appraisal came in (which the appraisal contingency covers). Not to say it was ever a good idea to agree to waive the financing contingency, but it was done all the time, and you often could not get seller to sign a contract with that contingency included.

All that said, I agree with a prior poster: crunch the numbers and see what the differnce in costs are based on several different time periods.

Good luck.

Posted by: Grendel at September 3, 2008 12:21 PM in response to Mortgage Help!

When you say "closing costs," do you mean "points?" on the mortgage, or are you including taxes, etc. You need to separate these. $25K in closing costs for a $500K condo is crazy high. Do NOT pay that.

You need to compare mortgages with no closing costs with the ones you're being offered. Then you can use an online calculator to determine whether it's worth "buying down" your rate. The only other variable is how long you think you're going to go before selling or refinancing. Historically (and unfortunately, these are unprecedented times), you'll have the opportunity to refinance within 3 years and save money. Regardless of how long you intend to stay in your apartment, I would get a 5-year ARM or 7-year at the most. You're very likely to be able to refinance at a lower rate within a couple of years, after the credit markets loosen up.

Posted by: FatLenny at September 3, 2008 3:41 PM in response to Mortgage Help!

FatLenny -- Whoah!! Very dangerous advice you just gave. Rates are still incredibly low by historical standards, and the Fed has its finger on the tightening trigger to fight inflation. SPREADS (i.e., the difference between risk-free treasuries and mortgage rates) might go down, but I think the yield on treasuries could go up much more (with the net result that mortgage rates would go up).

Perhaps I will be proven wrong, but I think planning on being able to refinance at a lower rate in a few years is a dangerous gamble, particularly for someone who might not be able to absorb the shock of a higher rate.

Posted by: lechacal at September 3, 2008 3:57 PM in response to Mortgage Help!

lechacal, we just can't seem to see eye-to-eye, can we. Given that Dappledo only plans to be there 7-10 years, which is a very long time to stay in one place these days, it would be insane to get anything beyond a 10-year ARM unless the rate is the same as a fixed-rate mortgage.

Rates are historically low right now but they're also historically cyclical. Over the past 30 years, borrowers have typically been able to refinance at a lower rate within a few years. I would say 5 years is safe, 7 years safer, and 10 years bullet proof given the likelihood of moving before then. Anything more is just throwing money away. The average first-time home buyer stays in his home for 5 years.

Having said that, it doesn't look like the spreads between a 10/1 ARM and 30-year fixed are very wide. But even if it's 1/8 of a point, that's $600/year. You'll be better served putting that into one of your guaranteed 7% investment vehicles than handing it over to the bank.

My personal opinion is that the Fed will do everything possible to keep lending rates low given the nature (credit) and magnitude of the current crisis, but inflation could pose a problem.

Posted by: FatLenny at September 4, 2008 12:15 PM in response to Mortgage Help!

If all other options fail, try M&T Bank - they were great.

Posted by: Ama at September 4, 2008 3:07 PM in response to Mortgage Help!

Sorry for not including this in my previous post - the M&T Bank contact we used was Peter Sestito [845-416-8888]. He is great and will provide you with honest answers to your questions and will do his utmost to help you.

Posted by: Ama at September 4, 2008 3:11 PM in response to Mortgage Help!

We used Bank of New York and got a really great rate in Crown Heights. It was below market because CH is considered a low income area.

$25k in closing costs for 500k condo is not really that outrageous... maybe a little high...

Our closing costs came in under the estimates...

Good luck

Posted by: CrownGardener at September 5, 2008 7:55 AM in response to Mortgage Help!