dear lucybb,

we must tell you that we also have an accepted offer on the very same house...we have fully investigated the water damage including an engineering report from richard perri, a masonry quote for about 25k to do the pointing, replace the cornice and scupper...we also have lots of information about financing with these conditions...

think we need to talk...
jdlcnm@gmail.com

Posted by: jdlcnm at November 17, 2009 10:05 PM in response to Water Damage/Mortgage Probs?

as buyers, we had the experience more than once of small brooklyn brokers refusing to split commissions or favoring people without brokers....

Posted by: jdlcnm at November 17, 2009 9:44 PM in response to Need a Broker to Buy?

i'm interested in the tub....
could you email me?
jdlcnm@gmail.com
thanks so much

Posted by: jdlcnm at November 10, 2009 5:31 PM in response to Claw Foot Tub and Pocket Doors

i'd second richard perri....he did an excellent job for us and while expensive (1,000 for a brownstone), he was well worth it....talk with evette in the office (not the 24 hour answering service)

Posted by: jdlcnm at November 10, 2009 8:45 AM in response to Recs for Engineer Inspection

thanks to all the helpful peeps out there....

Posted by: jdlcnm at October 18, 2009 6:09 PM in response to How Are Mortgage Brokers Paid?

i just met with him today and thought he was amazing as a teacher...his unbiased advice was very welcome...i thought it was money well spent...

Posted by: jdlcnm at October 13, 2009 10:32 PM in response to Richard Perri Inspector Rec?

rather than posting on a real estate website, a much better place for this post would be on a parenting website (park slope parents, fort greene kids etc)....also see the park slope parents nanny survey 2008 for info on what people pay in the area

Posted by: jdlcnm at September 19, 2009 8:00 AM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

and another fact:
of the original aishling listing of "new properties",2 of the 5 in fort greene (the only nabe i'm looking in) are NOT new at all only relisted with a new broker (202 clermont) and with an ad that for 113 days has said BRAND NEW LISTING (190 clermont)....others that have changed brokers or gone from fsbo to broker and claim to be new listings: 112 vanderbilt, 226 cumberland and 180 adelphi, 398 vanderbilt...inventory is VERY LOW and the brownstone market will always be somewhat impervious to the world market for this reason....so all the speculating can only apply minimally to this special part of the world we love and call home...

Posted by: jdlcnm at September 18, 2009 10:44 PM in response to NYC Unemployment Passes 10%

we like extra space storage on fulton
http://www.extraspace.com/

Posted by: jdlcnm at September 16, 2009 9:29 PM in response to Recommendations for Storage

thanks for the advice

Posted by: jdlcnm at September 13, 2009 10:12 PM in response to Extension on Landmarked House

as a potential buyer, i wholeheartedly agree with the comments above...i cannot tell you how many renovations have "not been to my taste" (honestly, ALL of them)...each time i saw one, i thought "oh i wish i'd have been able to buy this before this owner did and do the reno myself....that said, this is a site for people who are really into renovation and there may be buyers out there who appreciate a finished product (but i still think your likelihood of getting a buyer into renovating is better)...best of luck

Posted by: jdlcnm at September 13, 2009 10:30 AM in response to Reno: High-End or Basic?

thanks so much pierre and christopher...sharing the wisdom is much appreciated.
and pierre: are you blogging your reno yet?...i'd love to read more about your project.

Posted by: jdlcnm at September 12, 2009 6:53 PM in response to mortgage advice

btw no matter how motivated the seller is, it's hard to move if the brokers don't call you back (i made 4 attempts)

Posted by: jdlcnm at August 20, 2009 9:35 PM in response to House of the Day: 52 South Oxford, Reduced and Revisited

I use iStoreGreen on Hall and Flushing. Their rates seemed comparable to other places I looked at, and if you prepay for six months, you get two months free.

Posted by: mpw at September 17, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Recommendations for Storage

We are using extra space on 3rd Ave (can't recall exactly the cross street). They gave us a 5x15' storage space which is perfect, with first month free and a free 2 hour rental van to move in.

I also noticed that there is a place really close by called Treasure Island as well - very close to Ikea and I understood it has pretty decent rates as well.

Posted by: sunspot19 at September 17, 2009 10:06 PM in response to Recommendations for Storage

Hiring an aupair is very inexpensive.

Posted by: Giovanna at September 19, 2009 9:44 AM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

"There is a reason the free markets used to work the best."

Clearly, you have never studied economic history. The unsustainable booms, panics and depressions that characterized our free markets from the late 1800's through the Great Depression were frequent and horrific. The post-WWII period was unquestionably a time of much tighter markets, exceptional capital stability, and strong, sustainable economic growth.

Markets are good. But they need to be regulated. And, in fact, markets are PART an economy, not all of it. There are all kinds of vital investments that private markets cannot make and will never make.

Seriously, how can anyone defend free market fundamentalism after what we have just seen? That's not rational. We literally reached a point where we were placing massively leveraged bets that people who couldn't afford their mortgages either wouldn't default, or would default and it would be profitable (or, at least not costly). That's tulip bulb thinking. It's clear evidence our markets aren't allocating private capital efficiently and need massive re-structuring.

Not to mention that while this mania was happening, our nation's public infrastructure was literally crumbling. A bridge fell down in freaking Minnesota! There is a strong case to be made that not only are our public markets allocating private capital poorly, but that we have also allowed far too much of our nation's productive capital to be dedicated to private sector investment. I'm sorry Wall Street hasn't figured out how to make a fortune off universal literacy, good roads, clean water or affordable healthcare, but these things are, in fact, as necessary to our economy as CDOs. Arguably, more so.

Ah, but it occurs to me that I might be suggesting that Wall Street bazillionaires might be a bunch of poseurs who will not ever usher in a free market paradise. That they are, in fact, a bunch of guys who have figured out how to make a ginormous pile of money and who have bought into a bunch of total nonsense to justify the current system. Sure, it doesn't really work that great for our country or for the majority of people in it, but it has made them quite comfortable.

By all means, let's pretend the free market used to work better than a regulated one. While we're at it, I'd like to go back to the days when government worked better because God appointed the king. Oh, and when we could guarantee a good harvest if we all prayed very hard to Demeter.

Posted by: bkrules at September 19, 2009 4:09 PM in response to NYC Unemployment Passes 10%

it also depends on factors like:

- weather she will pay income tax

- can you deal with somebody who does not speak English

Posted by: bobjohn at September 19, 2009 10:21 PM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

why would you want to cheap out with some one who is taking care of your child?

Posted by: eman1234 at September 19, 2009 11:15 PM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

Rent market in New York is holding pretty well? If only the government would stop prolonging the number of weeks unemployment benefits were granted you would see renters leaving the city by the busload.

Posted by: hannible at September 20, 2009 6:35 AM in response to NYC Unemployment Passes 10%

emaan: nanny's quality does not always correlates with the price.

Posted by: bobjohn at September 20, 2009 7:54 PM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

Au Pairs are less expensive relative to nanny's but I don't know how Giovanna is defining cheap, all told it cost about 18 to 20K per year to keep an au pair in the house (host provides room/board/agency fee/stipend to student, etc). I don't think this is an inexpensive proposition.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 21, 2009 8:25 AM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?

We paid our french live-in au pair $100/week for about 20hours.

Posted by: jib at September 22, 2009 1:39 PM in response to Cost of a live in nanny?