I am not a lawyer, just a CPA with some experience in Business Law.

My understanding is that when it comes to real estate, the actual contract must be in writing stating all terms. Contemporaneous and verbal agreements are essentially unenforceable.

That is the depth of my limited knowledge on the subject. Hopefully a real estate attorney will chime in with something more concrete.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at November 9, 2009 9:24 PM in response to Seller wants out of Contract

Definately take Denton's advice to heart, but to make you feel better similar things have happened to before on more than 1 occassion.

Typically, either someone with the same last name or similar name and address disappears and the collection agencies, being particularly agressive, will try to track them down and may mistakenly harass you in the process.

As Denton said - yelling at them usually makes them go away.

Checking your own credit should have no affect on your score.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 22, 2009 4:16 PM in response to Someone's Using My Address

I agree Joe- If I recall correctly, this was originally intended to be a condo development at inception per conversations with some of the contractors we had early in the construction.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 21, 2009 3:27 PM in response to Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue

Definately fugly, but as a rental it will probably fare OK. Very close to transportation and a significant discount to renting a few blocks east - hopefully.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 21, 2009 3:05 PM in response to Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue

Gabby - Thanks for following up on my point re: the drug rehab. I knew it sounded ridiculous when I heard it, but you never know. I e-mailed the Community board to see if they knew anything. Glad at least the developer is dispelling the rumor.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 21, 2009 3:03 PM in response to Development Watch: 574 4th Avenue

Thanks Denton - Will follow up.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 21, 2009 10:04 AM in response to Confirming New Building Rumors

Denton - You live nearby there no? What would they have to do to actually make that happen? Wouldnt the city need to approve something like that with notice to the community?

Grand Army - Nice Troll, I would like the rehab center to go in your back yard.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 20, 2009 8:22 PM in response to Confirming New Building Rumors

People definately do not steal this type of thing for scrap. Right now it is sitting in some dude's living room with a bra on and a doob hanging from its mouth.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 20, 2009 5:04 PM in response to Stolen Statue

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2009/07/development_wat_457.php

Sorry, the above link should work.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 20, 2009 9:04 AM in response to Confirming New Building Rumors

Not the most fabulous building in the area, but those 8 "Bids" on the widget at 1.5 Mil are out of their mind...

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 19, 2009 4:40 PM in response to House of the Day: 524 2nd Street

Welcome to New York

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 16, 2009 1:22 PM in response to ConEd newbie bill question

1,3 Mil for the Windsor Terrace house seems a bit high for the area, no?

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 16, 2009 1:20 PM in response to Open House Picks

Hannible, You do understand the difference between a MORTGAGE Broker and a REAL ESTATE Broker, right?

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 16, 2009 10:19 AM in response to How Are Mortgage Brokers Paid?

Unfortunately, or fotunately for some, inflation is going to be the dominant factor in every apect of the finincial markets for at least the next 5 years.

We are all going to be millionaires soon! However a gallon of gas will be $10 and a modest 1 BR condo will run you about $5000 a month.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 15, 2009 9:16 AM in response to Elliman Q3 Report: Better Than Q2

I say just drain it and fill it in. We dont drink the ground water here and it would make a very nice park.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 14, 2009 1:10 PM in response to EPA, Bloomberg Compete to Clean Gowanus

Re: Lighter Fluid - If you just leave the container open for a few days it will all evaporate...

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 14, 2009 11:54 AM in response to Seeking Safe Home for Toxic Goop

That little house would not be worth as much if it were situated in the middle of Central Park.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 14, 2009 11:34 AM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

OK, what the hell goes on in Gravesend that I am missing?

These prices outpace even the best most high-end Manhattan has to offer...

There is definatley some conspiracy out there, or perhaps a giant gold mine underneath the homes that people are quietly mining from their basements?

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 14, 2009 11:16 AM in response to Last Week's Biggest Sales

One thing the area definately needs - a full service spa.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 7, 2009 12:04 PM in response to The Slope's Most Cursed Corner?

$600-$650K if it is in "Prime" Park Slope.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 1, 2009 4:57 PM in response to Price My Apartment

Coop or condo?

Square footage would be nice too.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at October 1, 2009 2:46 PM in response to Price My Apartment

Thanks Dibs - I am more concerned about the water line than electricity. Are you talking about a unit that you manually fill with water?

Thanks!

Sean

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 30, 2009 9:24 AM in response to Forced Air Humidifier

Liu is a Union Pawn. His agenda is all union friendly and focused on supporting and expanding the ranks. Yassky is the lesser of 2 evils - which is always the case in politics.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 28, 2009 4:45 PM in response to Closing Bell: Vote, Again

Bobjohn - The OP is attempting to avoid the mortgage tax on the refi since this is not actually new money. In order to do this the original bank has to agree to assign the mortgage to the refinancing bank. If they do not allow him to do this, he has to take out a new mortgage and use the proceeds to pay off the old one as you are suggesting - but mortgage tax will be charged in the process.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 23, 2009 8:23 AM in response to Bad Mortgage Lending Practices?

Reading through again, I would like you (all) to consider that talking to this woman in the context of violating rules and potential eviction may be the worst thing you can do. Outside of expressing your concerns and indicating you will call the police, I think it is a very dangerous game to try to move to evict someone based on "Allegations" of illegal activity. You will open the board up to all kinds of potential exposure incuding, harassment, libel, slander, etc.

You indicate the main problem is the woman's son and friends hanging out IN FRONT of the building making noise and potentially engaging in illegal activity. This is not grounds to evict someone since it is outside of the building in a public area. That is a matter for law enforcement not a coop board.

If you want to confront her based on the noise - fine, she should do something to curb it. But if she does not and you want to move forward with more aggeressive measures, you had better be prepared to provide hard evidence of illegal activity going on IN HER APARTMENT, otherwise you are opening yourselves up to serious legal problems. Frankly I dont see any way you are going to be able to do that without a police raid anyhow.

Simplest safest option is to tell her to curb the noise, and then start calling the police and let them figure out if anything illegal is happening. Trying to evict a coop owner and board member because her son has friends hanging out outside in a public space and accusing her of harboring and facilitating drug deals in the building sounds like an awful mess for a coop to get into.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 21, 2009 11:55 AM in response to Ignoring Coop rules

What coop rules is she violating by her son having friends gathered outside and making noise? If it is inside of her apartment that is 1 thing, but what if was the next door neighbor doing the same thing? What recourse would you have against him?

Best thing is to just call the cops and let them know there is a large group of people disturbing the peace and selling/using drugs. They will come, dispurse the group and keep an eye on them for a while. Eventually they will get the message and find a new location to loiter. You are NEVER going to be able to evict someone because her son gathers his friends outside of the building.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 21, 2009 9:44 AM in response to Ignoring Coop rules

Ive said it before - Mexican is the new sushi. All over the place especially in the South Slope.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 17, 2009 10:50 AM in response to Two New Eateries Coming to Slope's President Street

We do need power plants, dont we? I definately think there has to be some sort of balance, we cant have nice waterfront parks and boardwalks everywhere. Dont we also need electricity?

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 10, 2009 11:02 AM in response to Court Hears Case for Greenpoint Power Plant

The board will do nothing, they cannot enforce anything that is not specifically spelled out in the bylaws.

Even then, you will have a hard time proving it is excessively loud. Especially since the OP mentions it is not occuring after 8PM. Most bylaws state that noise must be curbed after 10 PM.

The board of a condo is essentially powerless.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 8, 2009 5:14 PM in response to Running Child Upstairs

Hate to be a downer, but what is the condo board going to do? Even if you 'Get Them Involved' - A. It sounds like a small building, so they are probably self managing and of limited experience, and B. They have absolutely no recourse.

Further to what Stonergut commented - Is it really that bad? I live above running kids and they are usually just noisy for a few hours during the day. Its also not that LOUD. Is it 20, 30 decibals? More? Less? is it as loud as a jet engine? I doubt it. Quiet enjoyment is one thing, but it does not imply "silent" enjoyment. Again, I repeat -The condo board cannot do anything for you unless they are exceeding some very high decible level at night (Usually past 10 PM). It is not a coop and they have virtually no power over an owner's behavior.

Also - You guys mentioning 80% floor covering...I have never seen that and it most certainly is not in my condo paperwork. Where does that come from? Maybe only applies to rentals or coop's or something.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 8, 2009 12:11 PM in response to Running Child Upstairs

Our attorney actually got us a house warming gift.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 4, 2009 10:56 AM in response to Gift for Great Attorneys?

Mopar - I am a CPA, I understand there are 2 ways to "Cheat", 1. Under report income, 2. over report expenses/deductions.

To the OP - I am aware of the "Legal" magic your accountant works (See 1 & 2 Above) Reporting personal expenses as business expenses (or claiming nonexistent expenses)is very common way to do this. The result is the same - Your taxable income is reduced so your lax liability is reduced.

I dont really mean to come off as a jerk, I just have a theoretical problem with people who want to have their cake and eat it too. I just think it is a hypocrisy that needs to be pointed out.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 3, 2009 6:40 PM in response to How Can Self-Employed Refinance?

Wonton - I dont make tax code, but it is pretty clear if you make 100K and only report 50K, you are a tax cheat. I'm sorry if you feel over burdened by higher tax rates and regs, but that is the law. Talk to your congressman if you feel over-taxed, thats what I do. If you want to only pay tax on 50K and then whine because you want a bank to base its decisions on how much you "really" make, you deserve the grief that goes along with your windfall.

And speaking of all of those taxes you take care of that employees dont, what about all of the benefits and finacial assitance self-employed people qualify for because they show low income. I have a neighbor that just got a low-income subsidized apartment because she "shows" $35K even though she makes over $90K.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 3, 2009 12:17 PM in response to How Can Self-Employed Refinance?

The answer is obvious - Cheat on your taxes, be prepared to accept the downside of those actions.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 2, 2009 9:14 PM in response to How Can Self-Employed Refinance?

Neither one actually does it. They just farm it out to local contrators and charge you an inflated price.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 2, 2009 2:50 PM in response to Lowes or Home Depo?

Have to agree. Toto - There is nothing else even close.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at September 2, 2009 12:39 PM in response to Toilet recommendations

I am in a small condo where we self manage. Our "Reserve Fund" is generally for things like future projects we want to do, i.e. upgrading common area elements, facade work etc. and it is also there for unforseen repairs. We try to maintain around 10K in the fund but it could be significantly more or less depending on what projects we have completed or are in the pipeline.

In general, anything major like a water main or accident is covered by our insurance policy. If we need to repair the roof or something similar, we will have to all pony up the funds through an assesment. If one cannot pay, obviously a situation arises where we would be forced to invoke power of attorney rights all owners have over each other. Worse came to worse, we would go forward with the repairs and then sue the non-paying party even resorting to foreclosure if need be.

This is a remote but still possible risk in owning a condo. However it is no different than the same risk you take on when buying an entire property yourself, only in this case you are spreading these costs out bewtween multiple parties. There is no way you will get any meaningful finacial info on the other owners prior to purchasing as this is not something that would ever be disclosed. The only useful info will come from an inspector's/Engineer's report on the building.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 31, 2009 12:03 PM in response to Condo/Self-Managed Bldng

This just in - Foxes report all is well at the hen house...

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 31, 2009 9:11 AM in response to Brokers: Contracts Up, Pessimism Somewhat Down

Hire an accountant to perform an audit. Im sure with a 4 unit building the finances are not complciated and an therefore the audit fee should be minimal.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 26, 2009 3:29 PM in response to Coop refinancing requirements

I second Eddie,

He and his crew did an amazing job for a fair price under challenging circumstances landscaping our yard last fall.

You cannot go wrong with this guy!

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 24, 2009 9:29 PM in response to A Great Landscaper

Rabid animals are extremely extremely rare, especially in NYC. It was probably just scared and pissed off because you were too close.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 24, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Raccoon in Carroll Gardens

I agree, walk away or come up with $3K. It is very simple, if you are willing to loose the place for $3K the seller may or may not accept the reduced price. If they dont accept, move on. If you really want the place pay the $3K.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 21, 2009 9:47 PM in response to Home Appraisal

Good one for the What - "Reverse" discrimination at its best.

What would happen if the roles were reversed and people were suing to keep immigrants and minorites out of their neighborhood...

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 21, 2009 10:51 AM in response to Immigrant Groups Fight Sunset Park Rezoning

Ill mannered adults irk me way more than ill mannered children and there seems to be way more of them around this city than the children.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 19, 2009 4:30 PM in response to Wednesday Links

Just what we need, another MExican Restaurant in the South Slope...

Is Mexican the new Sushi?

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 19, 2009 2:20 PM in response to StreetLevel: New Mexican Restaurant for the South Slope

I bet that kid has never "thrown a fit."

DIBS - A Child's behavior is incredibly erratic as I am learning. Your 20 minute "Fitless" encounter is no measure of a child 24 hours a day. They can turn on a dime and it is part of the cahllenge of parenting.

Nothing against gay couples but I dont think there is any evidence they parent any better (or worse) than anyone else.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 19, 2009 11:11 AM in response to Wednesday Links

I think it is all volunteer labor. The $400 is probably for cleaning supplies, trash bags, nets, etc.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 19, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Cleaning Prospect Park Lake

If there was any better use of "Stimulus Funds" I have yet to hear of it. This would be one of the only truly "Stimulating" projects anyone has come up with yet.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 18, 2009 10:53 AM in response to Resurrecting Red Hook's Trolley Tracks

"This type of nonsensical conclusion erodes the integrity the NY Times and its reportage."

The integrity of the NY Times and it reportage have been severely eroded if not completely evaporated over the past several years. That is why they are falling into bankruptcy and largely disregarded as the left wing rag paper of choice. There is very little, if any, honest reporting coming out of that paper these days.

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 17, 2009 4:03 PM in response to The Emotional Undercurrent of Buying and Selling

Welcome to Brooklyn - Mosquito Mecca.

Unfortunately, the only alternative that truly works - Especially in your 5 day time frame, is chemicals and lots of them.

Given more time you might be able to purcahse about 1000 bats and dragonfly larvae, and train them to hang out in your general vicinity...

Posted by: newsouthsloper at August 17, 2009 11:17 AM in response to Mosquitos

When you get your credit report make sure you don't accidentally "allow" them to take money out of your bank account for any kind of "protection". One of my friends did that and now she is seeing that charge on her debit card every month, with of course nobody that can be reached at the agency... I googled that problem and found quite a few complaints!

Posted by: coopfornow at October 22, 2009 5:38 PM in response to Someone's Using My Address

Check your credit report! We had the same calls and letters for awhile and never thought much of it until we tried to purchase a vehicle and got denied tier 1 financing--which we figured we were eligible for based on earlier credit reports. We found out that the person with the same first and last name as my husband (different middle name) is a pretty bad guy (he's wanted for felonies and assaults) and it eventually affected our credit report. It has taken weeks to correct and we're not sure if its fully done.

Posted by: ilikeslices at October 22, 2009 6:25 PM in response to Someone's Using My Address

Thanks, NSS. But actually I already have a rehab center, a homeless shelter, a halfway home, and a Boys Town in my backyard and -- guess what -- they are all perfectly OK neighbors.

Posted by: grand army at October 22, 2009 7:07 PM in response to Confirming New Building Rumors

The next time you get a phone call from the bill collectors, simply tell them they no longer have your permission to call your number. By law, they must stop calling your number as soon as you tell them that. I am not 100% sure but the same may apply for the collection notices you receive in the mail.

Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at October 22, 2009 7:12 PM in response to Someone's Using My Address

Agree with Vinca. You need to make sure this is just some kind of weird coincidence and that you're not a victim of identity theft.

You can check your credit report for FREE once a year, from equifax or one of the other companies. Don't pay for any upsells--it should be totally free.

You might also want to put a freeze on your credit report. This means no one can run a check on your credit until you unfreeze it. Which is useful because if someone has stolen your identity and tries to open up a credit card, the credit card company will run the credit check, see the freeze, and refuse to issue a card. Downside is you have to remember to un-freeze it if you want to do anything that requires your credit--but that's for things like credit cards and buying a house, so it's not like you shouldn't remember. Information on how to do this is here:
http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns/learn_more/003484indiv.html

And to make these calls stop, you should tell them you are not this person, and if they harass you, they're actually financially liable:
http://consumerist.com/5031790/psycho-debt-collectors-will-not-stop-calling-me-about-someone-elses-debt

Posted by: bkrules at October 22, 2009 8:33 PM in response to Someone's Using My Address

You can get your credit report 3 times a year - utterly free - one from each agency.
www.annualcreditreport.com

Posted by: Arkady at October 23, 2009 9:27 AM in response to Someone's Using My Address

Sometimes when a person seems to disappear off the face of the earth, their creditors start looking for them and find people with similar names. I used to get calls at work from my bank about someone with almost the same name who was not paying his mastercard bill. Eventually they realized they were calling the wrong person. I actually use a credit monitoring service offered by Bank of America - it gives me peace of mind knowing that I'll get an e-mail every time there's a hard inquiry on my credit report, and they send me a full report quarterly. Maybe it is a waste of $12.95 a month, but what the hell, it's less than the cost of a bottle of mediocre wine.

Posted by: bohuma at October 23, 2009 11:01 AM in response to Someone's Using My Address

This is a little different, but has some similiarities. I used to come home every day to dunning phone calls from the Municipal Credit Union for a person who used to have my telephone number. It went on forever, despite my attempts to contact them and get my number off their list. It was driving me nuts and when the people started getting nasty to me, I decided to really give them a hard time. I contacted the NYC Department of Consumer affairs who registered the complaint and then told me to write to the NY State Banking Department. I finally wrote a letter to the NY State Banking Department. I got a letter back from them and then a letter from the president of the freaking MDC saying sorry, blah blah blah. And it finally stopped. But for you, it is definately possible that you could be incorrectly tagged with this problem. You should complain to NYC Consumer Affairs, the NYS Banking Department, check your credit reports (three agencies) and if it persists, write letters to the three credit unions telling them of the possible confusion. Good luck.

Posted by: donatella at October 23, 2009 11:54 AM in response to Someone's Using My Address

Like Donatella, we have a different but similar problem. The ne'er do well son of the former longtime owner of our house (now deceased) who hasn't owned or lived here in several years still to this day puts our address as his, with the DMV, with car rentals, with Social Security, child support and employers. And the mail always somehow looks like he's in trouble for something at any given time. I put each and every piece of mail back, with "return to sender, incorrect address, please correct your records" on it but the mail for him still comes in waves every once in a while. I just can't believe places like the DMV don't make sure a home address is correct - don't they require a utility bill in their name or something?

Posted by: traditionalmod at October 23, 2009 12:07 PM in response to Someone's Using My Address

What do you mean by executed? In NY, until both sides sign the contract and the downpayment money is deposited, you have nothing. Verbal representations are pretty much worthless.

Posted by: Maly at November 9, 2009 9:50 PM in response to Seller wants out of Contract