lostintranslation's Profile
Author's Posts
September 1, 2009
North Slope 4-Family Brownstone
I found that ad on the Craigslist:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/reb/1347296220.html
Did anyone go to the open house? How come are the 2nd and 3rd FL apartments rent controlled? Any opinions?
Thanks!
July 21, 2009
Mortgage Sold to Fannie Mae
Dear All,
We initially got our mortgage from HSBC, then refinanced with them last June. Yesterday we received a letter from Fannie Mae informing us that our loan was sold to them. However the mortgage is still serviced by HSBC.
What does this mean? Are there any benefits to have our mortgage owned by Fannie Mae?
Thanks for your input.
Author's Comments
lostintranslation wrote a review about Der Schwarze Kölner on November 19, 2009 12:57 PM
I believe the correct word is "Stosche".
lostintranslation wrote a review about Oak Wine Bar & Café on November 18, 2009 1:27 PM
One of our favorite spots in Williamsburg. We have been there several times for dinner.
We usually start with the cheese board, some charcuterie, a mix of olives and a bottle of wine. Then we continue with the entrees (and another bottle of wine). Last time I had the drunken baby ribs which were delicious! Make sure you try the exquisite desserts with a dessert wine.
The staff is very helpful when it comes to recommend a specific wine. The owner of the place usually takes care of the music selection. Lovely decoration and very nice backyard (small though).
Unforgettable moments to share with friends and family! Highly recommended!
lostintranslation wrote a review about Cousin John's Café & Bakery on November 13, 2009 12:28 PM
Same as Denton. Like that place as a bakery.
Not great for sitting there. It's better to take out. Very friendly staff though. Very flexible as far as the orders are concerned.
lostintranslation wrote a review about Elote on November 13, 2009 10:18 AM
Have eaten there two or three times for dinner and brunch six to nine months ago. I noticed they changed their menu quite a few times. Great margaritas. Very spicy food. What I tried is not on the menu anymore: some very spicy tomato soup and some kind of chilli con carne. It is more Mexican fusion than typical Mexican, which explains the higher pricing.
They have a nice patio. But haven't really found any good reasons to go back.
lostintranslation wrote a review about Bahia on November 4, 2009 3:01 PM
Sorry it is not 'carne enchilada' but enchilada de carne.
lostintranslation wrote a review about Bahia on November 3, 2009 3:08 PM
Another great place on Grand Street. The owners of the restaurant are all three from El Salvador. Authentic Salvadorian cuisine. They even import the cheese from there. The typical dishes are the pupusas or the plato typico. Their soups are delicious especially the sopa de res and sopa de mariscos! One of my all time favourite is the Carne enchilada or the cevice de camaron. I would recommend the tiramisu or the flan for dessert. Their lunch specials are a steal! Overall the prices are great.
The staff is very friendly and they open until 11pm if you tell them nicely that you are starving ;)
lostintranslation wrote a review about Wombat on November 2, 2009 12:38 PM
Interesting place. Like the Brunch menu with choice of Mimosa or Bloody Mary. I tried the Wombat Benedict and Duck Hash: one of the best poached eggs in Williamsburg (Dumont Restaurant is still the very best for poached eggs)! The only negative point is that they are not baby friendly, i.e. no high chair for infant.
lostintranslation wrote a review about Mesa Coyoacan on October 23, 2009 5:07 PM
Great decoration, very friendly staff!
The food is very interesting (Mexican fusion?) but the portions are rather small when you are familiar with latino food. Had the Chiles en Nogada which I liked. It would have been perfect without the pomegranate seeds.
lostintranslation wrote a review about Lily Thai on October 19, 2009 1:46 PM
I may have recommended it in a previous thread.
Yes it is one of the best Thai in Williamsburg. The only thing I dislike is the music selection. Everything else is perfect!
Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 10, 2009 10:49 AM:
"being that this is a hasidic area why should it be any surprise that half the public housing in the area is for hasidics?"
Isn't this called racial discrimination?
Posted by: lostintranslation at September 10, 2009 11:13 AM in response to Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle
According to Fort Greene Local two suspects have been arrested:
http://fort-greene.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/second-arrest-in-sanchez-beating/
Hopefully the three other teens will be arrested as well.
Posted by: lostintranslation at September 2, 2009 4:36 PM in response to Closing Bell: Night Out Against Crime
Thanks for all your input.
I guess that's the main reason why this property is still on the market in spite of a not-so-bad price.
Posted by: lostintranslation at September 1, 2009 1:54 PM in response to North Slope 4-Family Brownstone
Denton,
Thanks for sharing your dinning experience at LeBleu restaurant.
Personally I am not too crazy about the decoration. The dishes look very tasty though.
Your new lens produces a very nice bokeh! Congrats!
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 20, 2009 9:42 AM in response to Open Thread
This is indeed a very beautiful gut-renovation!!! I am speechless!
But what is a ballpark cost for such a work???
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 17, 2009 11:58 AM in response to Gut Reno on Gates
Dave, if you don't mind me asking, in which part of BedStuy do you live?
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 14, 2009 11:40 AM in response to DIBS Refinishes His Facade
I am gonna have to agree with Wine Lover.
One of my relatives has been living in Williamsburg for almost twenty years. She just graduated from Cornell Law School at age 27 and landed a job at a law firm that will pay her $170K/year. She still loves her neighborhood and like those new condo constructions.
As the owner of a three-family house, I understand that condos make much less sense financially speaking. But if you can afford it and don't want to deal with tenants or house repairs, then why not? What other options do you have? Buying a crappy co-op with crazy board rules and no washer/dryer in the apt?
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 12, 2009 10:53 AM in response to Fear (of Condos) and Self-Loathing in Williamsburg
Thanks for the recommendations. Will try Song next time.
It is true that there are a lot of mediocre Thai places in Williamsburg. You cannot go wrong with the following ones though:
- Lily Thai (615 Grand Street, Brooklyn NY 11211)
- Khao Sarn (311 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211)
They are managed by Thai people.
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 5, 2009 11:26 AM in response to The State of 7th Ave
I was looking for a great Thai Restaurant in Park Slope last week. I was very surprises/disappointed when I realized there were not that many in the neighborhood. There seem to be much more choices in Williamsburg.
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 5, 2009 10:57 AM in response to The State of 7th Ave
Look at that, a white castle opening soon in BedStuy!
Posted by: lostintranslation at August 4, 2009 2:52 PM in response to Development Watch: 330 Clifton Fugly, As Expected
You are guaranteed to get your loan only when you get the commitment letter from the bank.
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 23, 2009 2:12 PM in response to Preapproved FHA. Worth Anything?
I agree with Dave's math.
You would need $20K-$30K in cash reserve after closing to be on the safe side.
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 10, 2009 12:10 PM in response to Mortgage Approval Doable?
Very bad idea indeed ...
Anything can happen after you close: no or insufficient rental income, unexpected repairs, ... Assuming that a credit card can be a 'Get Out Of Jail' card is simply crazy.
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 9, 2009 4:21 PM in response to Credit Card as LOC?
It was impossible to keep our PMI when refinancing our 3-family. No insurance company wanted to insure our loan. We had to buy down our loan amount to meet the 80% LTV requirement.
I remember my mortgage specialist saying that it was still possible to get PMI for a 2-family (May-June 2009).
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 6, 2009 10:37 PM in response to Still Hard to Obtain PMI?
Yes, we are under CommunityWorks.
The other banks don't seem to advertise that program as much.
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 1, 2009 12:53 PM in response to When to start mortgage pre-qual?
Adam,
I got my mortgage from HSBC and refinanced twice with them.
Nobody can beat them in terms of interest rates from my experience (last refinance at 4.375% in mid-June 2009). So it was actually not a problem staying with them for the refinances.
Do you have a link to a transcription of your phone interview?
Thanks.
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 1, 2009 11:57 AM in response to When to start mortgage pre-qual?
The seller will definitely take you more seriously if you have a pre-qualification letter. Some real estate brokers wouldn't even show you their listed properties unless you have a pre-qualification letter.
As Serpentor pointed out, the loan officer doesn't need to pull your credit in order to give you a pre-qualification letter. Based on the information you will provide (latest credit score, monthly income, savings) he will give you an estimate of how much you can afford, which may help to narrow down your search.
After you get your letter and while you are going to open houses you should work on getting all your paperwork together: paystubs, W2s, tax returns, ...
We took a year after our first pre-qualification letter to find the property we purchased. We talked to several banks and several mortgage brokers at that time. We eventually got a loan from HSBC that I highly recommend.
Good luck!
Posted by: lostintranslation at July 1, 2009 10:03 AM in response to When to start mortgage pre-qual?
NOP, are you talking about that building mentioned in that old article?:
http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/new-condos-on-gramercy-park
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 25, 2009 4:29 PM in response to Meeting Tonight to Protest Armory Intake Center
Joe, I hear you ...
Hopefully this will help bring more stores and restaurants to the neighborhood.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 25, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Signs of Life at 105 Lexington Avenue
Three blocks away a 3-family brownstone with a large lot of 42x100 was sold for less than $750K at the beginning of the month.
I think some people just love to live in a condo. There is nothing wrong with that as long as they can afford it.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 25, 2009 11:03 AM in response to Signs of Life at 105 Lexington Avenue
When we were shopping for a mortgage we tried both several banks and several mortgage brokers.
As DeadCatBounce pointed out mortgage broker ultimately get paid by you. Since they have access to more lenders some of them tend to choose the best deal for you *and* for them. We eventually found the best rates with the best closing costs by going directly to a bank.
If you don't have the time to talk directly to lenders you may have to use brokers. We started to contact banks before we found the property we wanted to buy. By the time we got in contract, we already had selected our lender.
Good luck!
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 25, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Benefits of a Mortgage Broker?
Personally I usually safer when I see police presence in the streets.
If you have done nothing wrong why would you be worried?
If a shooting happens in your neighborhood and you don't see cops around the next days, wouldn't you feel neglected?
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 24, 2009 4:36 PM in response to Police Tower Now on Nostrand
I paid $600 two years ago. It was for a 3-family. No problem at all.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 19, 2009 11:44 AM in response to Is Lawyer Fee Reasonable?
OB, you've got email!
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 17, 2009 10:46 PM in response to Seeking Advice on Multi-Family
Yes the downpayment you're going to put and available cash reserves after closing are going to be the key.
We were able to buy a 3-family two years ago with a mortgage under my wife's name only. She was making around $60-$65K. She went to a large bank directly, no mortgage broker. Her job has been stable.
She refinanced last Friday. New monthly principal + interest + insurance + tax is about $3,000. The monthly rental income from the other two apts is $3,400.
So yes, it is doable.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 17, 2009 12:23 PM in response to Seeking Advice on Multi-Family
I second edifice_rex. I also hope you have a lot of savings if you believe you may lose your job in a near future.
I assume that you are interested in new constructions because you think you're not going to have any major repairs the first years.
I know someone who may be able to provide you with some answers.
Do you have an email address where he can write to?
Thanks.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 17, 2009 10:50 AM in response to Seeking Advice on Multi-Family
The What:
You are a little angry man. You are funny though ...
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 17, 2009 10:06 AM in response to Conservative Talk Show Host Beholds Williamsburg
I am currently refinancing not buying. But I think 5.875% with no point is not that bad. If I had the downpayment I would buy a 1BR knowing that the asking prices are really low nowadays.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 11, 2009 10:15 AM in response to Interest Rate Jump
The best rate for 30-year purchase I could find as of today is at HSBC: 5.875% no point. Check it out:
http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/personal/home-loans/mortgage/mortgage-rates
No one can really tell how the rates are going to change.
I would just try to focus on getting the best purchase price for your co-op.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 11, 2009 9:52 AM in response to Interest Rate Jump
From my own experience I don't think it is possible to lock at a rate from two weeks ago. The most I have seen is to lock at the rate from the day before.
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 9, 2009 11:44 AM in response to Good sources for cash-out refi?
I am also in the process of refinancing my 3-family home. The bank sent an appraiser who came up with three different appraised values: sales comparison approach, income approach and cost approach. Obviously the bank only considered the smaller value given by the sales comparison approach. I did all what I could to appeal for a higher value; it did not work. As a result I need to bring down the loan amount in order to meet the 80% LTV requirement.
Was your lower appraised value based on a sales comparison approach? If it was, I am afraid there is nothing you can do to appeal for a higher value. What can save you is that some properties similar and close to yours were recently sold (after your appraisal was made) at a price closer to what you want. Then you could suggest those comps to the appraiser for the third appraisal.
Good luck!
Posted by: lostintranslation at June 8, 2009 10:31 AM in response to Help with crazy appraisals
Rabbit:
Congrats on the commitment letter from the bank! You are almost there!
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 10:23 PM in response to Interest rates
I Agree with Dave. It is going to be THE purchase of your life. Please spend $500-$600 on a professional inspector who will do his job much better than you.
Look for the pending violations as well.
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 3:56 PM in response to inspecting a possible building
You may want to check the current CO for your building using the BIS WEB QUERY:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/bis/bis.shtml
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 2:22 PM in response to Best rental use of basement
The rental income from two apts can help you to qualify. Lenders usually consider 75% of that income.
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 1:53 PM in response to 8-10% down on 3 fam. possible?
I think the only way to finance more than 90% is an FHA loan:
http://www.hud.gov/buying/loans.cfm
The minimum required is 3.5%. However there are a certain number of criteria to meet in order to qualify.
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 1:49 PM in response to 8-10% down on 3 fam. possible?
Some more information here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/owners/illegal-conversions.shtml
http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/hmc/sub3/art5.html
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 1:38 PM in response to Best rental use of basement
My house has a finished basement and the floor is tiled.
It was still not counted as living space by the bank appraiser.
I think it may depend on your CO.
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 1:33 PM in response to Sq. Footage Question
Mopar:
My insider source was right (see thread http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/05/chase_turns_off.php): rates are going up quickly.
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgage-analysis.aspx
bmfesq:
The banks obviously don't want you to refinance. Their requirements have been much more stringent. I am also struggling with my refinancing. Hope it will go through though.
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 28, 2009 11:15 AM in response to Interest rates
What do you mean by "considered"? How do you determine in which neighborhood a house is if you are not using maps from the city?
Posted by: lostintranslation at May 27, 2009 1:40 PM in response to House of the Day: 456 Bainbridge Street
lostintranslation wrote a review about Le Barricou on November 20, 2009 1:26 PM
Went there a couple of times for brunch. I really liked the decoration that definitely gives you an idea of what a bistrot in France looks like. We enjoyed the free croissants. Food was good. However I was not delighted with the service. The staff was kind of snobby even though they tried to be friendly.