mittens7922's Profile
Author's Posts
January 24, 2008
Appraisal Question
Due to the drop in interest rates for conforming loans my husband and i want to refinance our mortgage on our brownstone. We have stellar credit and plenty of income to show but the problem we face is that we are currently in the midst of renovating our house. (doing one kitchen and one bathroom DIY). I was told by my bank that under fannie mae guidelines they can't give us a conforming loan (the balance of our mortgage is just under the conforming limits for a 2 family) if the property has defects that cost 10k or more to cure. Our plan right now is to finish our bathroom (which should take about 2 weeks) and instead of trying to finish the kitchen just put up some sheet rock and maybe prime it. Logically this should work but does anyone know if in reality that will be enough? I guess the question is what state does a house need to be in to pass an appraisal done for a conforming loan? Any thought?
Author's Comments
2:12 - your friend most likely bought a coop though and probably with a lot higher common charges. This apartment has a very low carry. It may still be overpriced but to be fair you need to look at the total cost to carry this apartment as compared to your friend's apartment's total cost to carry as well to give an accurate assessment. (sorry its a big pet peeve of mine on this site where you see people bash a condo's ask saying prices are much lower in the area but they are actually thinking of coop prices which generally have much higher common charges).
Posted by: mittens7922 at January 17, 2008 4:02 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 150 Ocean Parkway
Contrary to that, I always smirk when someone says how they prefer the solid construction of a brownstone over any new construction. I live in a brownstone complete with wonky electric, sloping floors, gremlins in my radiators, and not a square angle in sight . Some call it "character", some call it "funky chic" but no one can say with a straight face that it is "solid".
So well put Kuroko!!!
Posted by: mittens7922 at January 10, 2008 2:58 PM in response to Condos of the Day: 424 Lafayette Avenue
As someone that lives on Kensington/windsor terrace border i have to agree with the people that prices in windsor terrace will most likely move in line with ps since it is seen as an alternative to PS. Obviously there are some people that will just prefer the 'small town' charm of the neighborhood but i think most people that choose to live in nyc prefer to have amenities close by. Which windsor terrace is lacking in.
Also i have to agree a lot with the article about tension between old time residents and 'newcomers'. I know personally my neighbors have been extremely rude to my husband and myself. I could understand their hostility if most of them rented and they feared being priced out but most of my neighbors have lived in their homes for generations.
Posted by: mittens7922 at January 8, 2008 12:47 PM in response to Windsor Terrace: Hot or Not?
I wonder what state the PLG one is in b/c unless its not habitable i would think that's a very reasonable price for that house. I agree with montrose, i really wanted to see interior pics.
Posted by: mittens7922 at January 4, 2008 2:36 PM in response to Open House Picks
The only person i know who was in this situation ended up refinancing their mortgage to get the other person off the mortgage. There may be another way to do it but that is the only one i know of. The deed i would imagine would be a lot simpler.
Posted by: mittens7922 at January 3, 2008 12:37 PM in response to Getting Someome Off My Mortgage
When we moved into our house we had a 50 year old boiler as well. We replaced the boiler about 2 years ago and we found we used about 50% less oil than before. These days I would certainly get a new gas boiler. The gas company used to subsidize the cost of the new boiler. Also consider the fact that it is fifty years old, how much longer do you think it will last before stuff starts breaking. That is what led to us replacing ours. We had one winter where the boiler broke down every two weeks. Its no fun to wake up on a cold winter morning and have no heat (and in our case no hot water).
Posted by: mittens7922 at December 28, 2007 11:01 AM in response to Replace the boiler/How much are your gas bills?
so well said kuroko!!! I couldn't agree more. I say this as a person that has thoroughly considered the brooklyn vs. suburbs dilemma and i have to say for the most part there is price parity when you consider factors like commute, taxes, cost of a car and school quality.
Posted by: mittens7922 at December 28, 2007 10:27 AM in response to Home Prices Continue to Slide, and NY’s No Exception
1:52 - i live in kensington and its hard to really compare this property to something in my neighborhood. The housing stock is very different and appeals to different people. I will say though my neighbors recently sold their house which was smaller than this and not nearly as well renovated for about the same price so i don't know if your assessment of prices in our neighborhood is that accurate.
That said its a lovely restoration, very nice house.
Posted by: mittens7922 at December 19, 2007 2:17 PM in response to House of the Day: 381 Bainbridge Street
I agree with rjlovie i don't see how this legislation is doing anything new. Its just something politicians can say they did for their constituents come election time without really doing anything. All these things are already illegal.
Posted by: mittens7922 at December 18, 2007 10:36 AM in response to Council Debates Bill Aimed at Abusive Landlords
From my understanding (and this is mostly from reading stuff on the internet since i have mold myself) it should not be a recurring problem if its properly cleaned. But personally i wouldn't have your seller (who already messed things up during demo) hire a person to do the mold cleanup. If I were you i would find my own professional to handle the mold cleanup. Have them come up with an estimate and then have your seller pay that to you at the closing. The seller will most likely have the cheapest (aka least reliable) person to do the cleanup. This is probably what happened with the demo crew. Its always a bad idea to have a seller do work on a house before a closing. Always ask for the money instead!!!
Posted by: mittens7922 at December 14, 2007 12:42 PM in response to A question about MOLD
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Hire a broker...
Why waste all your time meeting creepy people? Let the broker do it. Let them run the credit and find you a qualified person. There is so much anti-broker posting on this site...It does not cost you anything to hire an expert who will find you someone.
Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 11:48 AM in response to method for renting your apartment without a broker
One book I've found incredibly useful as an owner of a 2 family is:
Every Landlord's Legal Guide (Nolo Press)
This book not only covers finding tenants, but also covers a lot of the basic stuff you have to deal with as a landlord. They also include a rental application form, the lead paint disclosure form, credit check form, etc all on a CD. Well worth the cost of the book!
We listed on craigslist and had an open house. I'd recommend having all applicants give you a check for the credit check amount... if you don't run their credit, then rip up or return their check. We had a bunch of well-qualified applicants and ended up going with the first people who filled out an application. They're great tenants.
As far as the lease goes you should use the standard Blumberg form for New York. You can fill out the names online and print it to a PDF. I think it costs about $5 or $10... Make sure to include a rider which outlines any rules specific to your situation or location.
Posted by: guest at February 4, 2008 4:45 PM in response to method for renting your apartment without a broker
i love Nolo Press.
They have self help books on everything related to law.
It is written in simple language.
Posted by: Ysabelle at February 5, 2008 10:00 AM in response to method for renting your apartment without a broker
I have to chime in and say that I am a renter (horrors!) and I did find my place through a broker. Although I did not enjoy writing his check, he did find me a place with a really decent landlord. I know he has found the rest of the tenants in the building as well. Don't forget that it does not cost YOU money and some brokers do actually do some work for the money.
Posted by: Carol Gardens at April 30, 2008 7:02 PM in response to method for renting your apartment without a broker
One thing to clarify what smokychimp wrote. While it is illegal under the fair housing act for someone who owns a 4 family or less to advertise a preference for a tenant you can however discriminate in choosing a tenant. Legally the fair housing act's clauses on discrimination only apply to buildings that are not owner occupied or have more than 4 units. If you prefer to rent to someone that doesn't have kids and you have a two family you can do that, you just can't advertise it or say it LOL. Its weird.
Anyway I would not show the apartment to prospective tenants until all the work (or the vast majority of it) is done. I find its usually harder to rent apartments when the work hasn't been done b/c people don't always believe you will do the work. Also even if you do find a renter there can be confusion about what work was promised. Its much better to just have them take the apartment as is.
Posted by: mittens7922 at February 4, 2008 10:16 AM in response to method for renting your apartment without a broker