lah's Profile

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Author's Posts

July 3, 2008

Someone to Install Attic/House Fan?

Anyone know of a good person to install a whole house fan? After reading all the posts on this, we're going to put one in the attic of our 3 story detached house and need someone good to do it. Thanks

Someone to Install Attic/House Fan?

July 1, 2008

Licensing Agreement vs. Lease?

Does anyone have experience using licensing agreements over leases? We're in the process of renting 4 office spaces on the first floor of our house and someone suggested it would be better to do licenses rather than leases--mainly we're renting out small rooms that can't be lived in and thus shouldn't come with the same legal guarantees as a lease.

Any opinions about these agreements? Does anyone know of a lawyer who specializes in them?

March 6, 2008

Residential vs. Office rental?

We just bought a 3-story victorian house in Ditmas Park and the first floor is a 1700 sq/ft rental--currently a doctor's office. We plan to continue to rent it out but can't decide if it's better to keep it as an office or to turn it into a residential rental (c of o allows for both). The layout could go either way as well--we'd obviously need to do more renovations if we turn it into an office, which were willing to do if it's worth it.

So any thoughts or experiences with renting out an office versus an apartment would be much appreciated. As would ideas about which make better tenants, overall. Because we'll be living on the second and third floors, we're leaning toward an office--more privacy at night, less strain on building, maybe even less expensive to maintain. But we're novices here.

Any ideas or advice?

Thanks...

February 3, 2008

Tumbled Marble Countertops?

We're planning a kitchen redo and would love to find a way to put in countertops with the look of tumbled marble--i.e., the look of weathered stone/concrete. We already found some tumplbed marble tiles and a great farm sink in the material but can't seem to locate countertops to go with them. Any ideas?

Thanks so much!

January 3, 2008

Mortgage question--are variable rates no-nos?

Just curious about the community's opinion on mortgages right now. We're deciding between financing 80% of our purchase with a jumbo loan at just over 7% (fixed)--or taking out a conforming loan for 65% of the price at a much lower rate and financing the remainder 15% through a home equity line-of-credit (still with 20% down).

The latter rate is, of course, variable (at prime) which we are worried about with the uncertainty of financial markets. But spliting the mortgage in this way could save us a lot if rates don't skyrocket.

Any advice? We plan to stay in the place for the long-run--hopefully, 10 years or so.

Thanks!

December 4, 2007

Photographer Needed for FSBO

We're looking for a photographer to take a few pics (wide angle) of our cooop for use in our FSBO ad/website. Does anyone have a good experience with a photographer? Thanks!

December 2, 2007

Changing Building Class

Does anyone know how hard it is to change a property's building class? We're thinking of buying a house that's currently an S2--that is a 2-family plus commercial space (used as an office). The bank wants us to turn it into a 2-family upon closing, which we're fine with. Just want to know how long it'll take...and if there are any fees associated with such a change.

It's not like a condo conversion or anything right?

Any info would be much appreciated.

November 16, 2007

closing costs

We're about to make an offer on a house in Ditmas and are wondering how much to budget for closing costs--coming from a coop, we're clueless here. Is 5% of the cost of the house a good estimate? Does it matter if the house is a legal two family (actually, there's an office on the first floor...). Thanks for any estimates you can give.

Author's Comments

I agree with all the comments about how out-of-control PS prices seem to be. People are being really greedy in this hood at this moment. We're just about to put our 2+ bedroom (2 plus office/nursery) on the market as an fsbo...and we wouldn't even think of asking such prices. Given what we paid for it, and the importance of keeping the area accessible to folks other than the super rich, I can't see asking more than $700/square foot. Anything more is just damn greedy--I wish my neighbors would come to their senses!!!

Posted by: lah at November 17, 2007 1:58 PM in response to Open House Picks: Apartments

I agree with all the comments about how out-of-control PS prices seem to be. People are being really greedy in this hood at this moment. We're just about to put our 2+ bedroom (2 plus office/nursery) on the market as an fsbo...and we wouldn't even think of asking such prices. Given that everyone is looking at decent apprciation, and that it's importance to try to keep the area accessible to folks other than the super rich, I can't see asking more than $700/square foot. Anything more is just damn greedy--I wish my neighbors would come to their senses!!!

Posted by: lah at November 17, 2007 2:04 PM in response to Open House Picks: Apartments

Yes, it's in the center slope...and 1100 square feet. So I know if I went with a broker, they'd push us much higher. But I just don't see why PS-ers are continuing the insulting asking price trend. Few of us got into a market like this (or even could have).

Posted by: lah at November 17, 2007 2:48 PM in response to Open House Picks: Apartments

Yes, 2:58, I agree about the vicious cycle. This has been our dilemma--we finally found a fixer in Ditmas that we can swing even if we don't get the very most we could for our coop (we looked for years in PS but finally concluded that it's close to impossible to trade up to a house in this hood).

So here's where the choice comes in: we could still try to go for top dollar and continue the trend or opt not to. I'm not saying go back to 2004/5--actually, that's when we bought our coop so we'd take a hit there. But we shouldn't keep expecting a huge appreciation every year and pricing our places to secure that...or we'll price everyone out of the market. I'm not being altruistic...just realistic.

Posted by: lah at November 17, 2007 3:14 PM in response to Open House Picks: Apartments

Robert,
That's funny cause I actually saw that FSBO--and almost bid on it. So, yes, I'd like to chat. lynnehaney@earthlink.net.

Posted by: lah at December 5, 2007 8:31 AM in response to Photographer Needed for FSBO

Like 11:05, we've found our mortgage broker to be awesome--not only for the best rates,m but also for doing lots of legwork/paperwork. There's a small apllication fee, but we'd be paying that to the bank anyway.

We're using Hymie at Trachtman and Bach...would totally recommend him!

Posted by: lah at December 11, 2007 12:48 PM in response to Mortgage Brokers

Thanks so much for the quick response. 9:16--that's exactly my question: if home equity rates are sure to go up, why would someone use one if you'll need to refi in a few years? Wouldn't it just be smarter to fix the whole 80% now at 7% and thus avoid a refi later?

I need to get the details of the reset...I assume it's set to prime.

Posted by: lah at January 3, 2008 9:28 PM in response to Mortgage question--are variable rates no-nos?

You all are awesome. Thanks for much for the smart, insightful advice. Your comments really clarified things for me.

The site is such an amazing resource!

Posted by: lah at January 4, 2008 9:56 AM in response to Mortgage question--are variable rates no-nos?

Thanks again for a great discussion and excellent advice. All things considered, I decided that a HEL (loan not line-of-credit) was the best option here--since it gives us the lower fixed rate without the uncertainty of the variable rate. For some reason, the rates we were quoted for a HEL were higher than 7%; perhaps it's because they are higher with the bank we are getting the low fixed rate with (cause my credit score is in the 700s). But even with the higher HEL rate, this scenario makes the most sense.

Posted by: lah at January 5, 2008 10:20 AM in response to Mortgage question--are variable rates no-nos?

Thanks for the advice. I realize that not everyone shares this look, but we like it. Of course, the hygenic issues are paramount so we'll probably end up going with granite. Sigh. Anyway, thanks again.

Posted by: lah at February 4, 2008 10:27 AM in response to Tumbled Marble Countertops?

Responses to Author's Forum Comments

You may have better luck with a Mortgage BANKER. We have the flexability to either bank the loan in house or broker it to another bank if it's a complicated or "hairy" loan. I'm not going to pretend that I'm a happy cleint and refer myself so if you feel like it send me an email or give me a call. I sell loans to all the big banks so it's like dealing with Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and HSBC etc... all in one.

Adam M. Dahill
Branch Manager
Approved Funding Corp
41 Grand Avenue
River Edge, NJ 07661
1-800-475-0123 x242 office
1-201-298-6599 fax
www.approvedfunding.com
adahill@approvedfunding.com

Look us up on the better business bureau
Been in business since 1987

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 4:54 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

I've dealt with Universal and I've dealt with banks. One thing, when there's a snag, Universal has been able to fix it, when I used the bank I had to talk my way through a whole department of people, each only trained to do one step of the process. Plus at the time they were writing mortgages out of St. Louis and had no idea what a 4 unit co-op was (they found out on like day 30 of the process when the underwriter wouldn't wite a mortgage on one). Go to your bank and get a rate and then ask universal if they can do better. Can't lose.

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 4:56 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 4:59 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

Wendy Williams has helped us on several purchases, making numbers work for low rates when they didn't work on first glance. She's great.

Wendy R. Williams, Private Mortgage Banker
Wells Fargo Private Mortgage Banking
530 5th Avenue, 15th Floor (at 44th Street)
New York, NY 10036
212-805-1049 Direct
917-653-0171 Cell
212-805-1118 Fax
Wendy.r.williams@wellslfargo.com

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 4:59 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

sorry about the double post... Adam :)

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 5:02 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

"Broker" just means someone else has to get paid. You do not need one. Shop around yourself at banks. Just a little research on your own will save you a ton.

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 9:13 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

i agree with quest April 13 10:34PM
Ari @ Landmark was GREAT 212-710-8680

Posted by: guest at April 14, 2008 10:37 PM in response to mortgage broker ?

Nicole McCarthy at Trachtman & Bach, she is nice, honest and incredibly responsive. She also found us a rate that most people I tell can't believe exists on a jumbo multifamily.

Nicole Crete-McCarthy

Mortgage Consultant

Trachtman & Bach, Inc.

646-228-7820

Nicolem@tbmortgage.com

Posted by: Colonel at April 15, 2008 11:54 AM in response to mortgage broker ?

I recommend Hymie Serure at Trachtman and Bach to everyone. He is responsive, honest, and got us the best rate. He was a pleasure to work with. There are so many people involved in a home purchase -- RE agents, inspectors, lawyers, contractors, etc -- and I found that very few of the "professionals" we engaged to help us were easy to work with. Hymie was a pleasant exception. 917/626-2062

Posted by: lizpic at April 15, 2008 1:25 PM in response to mortgage broker ?