mdmh's Profile
- Brooklyn
- Park Slope
- Co-op
Author's Posts
March 14, 2008
Lock in mortgage rate before signing purchase contract?
As far as I know this is not possible (need contract first), and yet the potential buyers of our coop, who are planning on signing the purchase contract later next week, mentioned that they will be locking in a mortgage rate earlier in the week. I'm wondering if the buyers are not being properly informed by their mortgage broker. Any thoughts?
February 19, 2008
Projects: Where to get started?
We're closing on a house next month that has already been renovated, but we're considering undertaking a few projects before moving in (about 8 weeks after closing). We're just not sure if we need an architect, designer, or contractor, etc. We'd like to redo the smallish kitchen (replace cabinets, put sink in the island, possibly replace the tile floor with wood), plus replacing a small "shed" like extension off the back wall of the building with a bigger structure or even knocking down a wall and making the room a true extension. And/or turning a window into french doors. We'd like to get some design ideas as well as cost estimates before we decide how much work we're going to be able to do. Any advice or where to get started?
January 9, 2008
Walk away of work it out?
Advice needed, and I’ll try to make this brief as possible: My husband and I just had a very thorough (2+ hours) inspection done on a 2-family house we had hoped to purchase in Bay Ridge. The price is right and it has everything we’d been looking for including the fact that the owner had everything renovated just a few years ago (and included zoned heating, central a/c, soundproofed floor, finished basement, etc.). He did the work for himself and family to live in, although recently had to take in some elderly relatives so needed more room and now lives in the house right next door. Unfortunately yesterday the inspector gave us the sobering news that a lot of the renovation work that was done to the place was sloppy and would need fixing, including some (if not all, couldn’t see) of the pipes were not laid/secured well, electrical upgrades (possibly not enough voltage running to house) and a lot of other smaller stuff. Even the owner seemed surprised/disappointed in the results. We are so glad we did the inspection early on as it was a sobering experience! We were going to just walk away since we don’t have the money for these kind of repairs right now, but the owner really wants us to be his neighbor and is offering to get the new work done himself (at no expense to us) or even pay for us to get our own estimates from electricians and plumbers, etc. and then give us a price reduction on the house according to the costs (I’d consider this option first). Does any of this seem reasonable? I have no idea how much money or time any of this would involve or if we’re just crazy for even still considering this house. Opinions welcome!
Author's Comments
OP again. I do appreciate the comments both pro and con. This was not the house discussed on forum a few weeks ago. We have had several meetings with the owner (we looked at house twice, he was present for inspection, plus several phone calls). He is offering to reimburse for the costs of the electrical fixes (we'd use our own electrician) and there are other things that we agreed would be fair for either us or himself to take care of. The inspection was very through, but of course we still don't know what's behind the walls. We are going to pay for a plumber estimate ourselves. We totally understand that owning a house will require a certain amount of repairs, especially over the years, and we do hope to have a decent amount set aside to cover these costs. We just don't want to get in over our heads so if things turns out to be too costly or too extensive, we will have to walk away.
Posted by: mdmh at January 11, 2008 2:34 PM in response to Walk away of work it out?
OP here. If anyone is curious, we had a plumber and electrician look at the house (plumber Timothy Myers highly recommended from this site) and were told the work was not really that bad (a little sloppy yes, but not in any danger of not working for the next 50 years). So although we appreciate the inspector's point of view, we're glad we went ahead and got the specialists opinions as well.
Posted by: mdmh at January 14, 2008 1:35 PM in response to Walk away of work it out?
So is the trend right now that most folks who have a budget for a 2 bedroom around the $600K range much more interested in new construction/condo conversions these days? Because I'm a little surprised these WT units went so fast when my 2-br coop in prime Park Slope for under $600K has been on the market for 2 1/2 weeks and haven't had any offers, especially considering there just aren't many 2 bedrooms in this price range. Just trying to figure out if it's the economy, the new condos competiton or what.
Posted by: mdmh at February 12, 2008 2:04 PM in response to Windsor Terrace Condos Sell in a Heartbeat
I agree a lot of lower priced 2br coops don't really have a true 2nd bedroom, but we have a real 2nd bedroom and several families live in the bldg plus a great layout, all new appliances and a W/D in the apt. so as coop bldgs go, it's not bad, but no it's not a shiny new building with central A/C so that's why it's priced on the low end. But I understand that there are certain people that would prefer the brand new condos if they can afford it. And 2:58, if you go to craigslist or NYT website, and search for a Park Slope 2BR coop for $595 you'll find it - I think we're the only PS coop at that price right now (FSBO).
Posted by: mdmh at February 12, 2008 3:40 PM in response to Windsor Terrace Condos Sell in a Heartbeat
OP here. Thanks to everyone for the advice! The owner is willing to pay for the electrical issues and a few other things, but not the plumbing issue, but we're willing to pay for a plumber to give us an estimate anyway. The plumbing concern is that the pipes seen underneath the basment drop ceiling are not well aligned/secured (sloppy work). The drop ceiling was installed as part of the ceiling to have easy access to these pipes and the owner claims that this particular plumbing work was done by a different person and that the pipes in the rest of the house are secured (I won't go into his details as to why he claims he knows this). Not sure what to believe now. And if the basement didnt have a drop ceiling we wouldn't even know about the pipes in the first place. He did live there for years with his family, but are we taking a huge chance here? Any further advice greatly appreciated!
Posted by: mdmh at January 11, 2008 10:31 AM in response to Walk away of work it out?