The SixPoint Antic Amber was delicious. I don't like the idea of being herded into one small drinking area. You can, however, plan ahead and pour your beer into an opaque cup for transport.

Posted by: ralphus999 at October 6, 2009 11:28 AM in response to Closing Bell: Atlantic Antic 2009

5w30 - Just closed my BOA ordeal last week. Started 3/1. Couldn't agree with your comments more. They made us ultimately go through Fannie Mae since one entity/person owned more that 10% of the units in our building. Thankfully they extended our rate through the process.

To the OP: hang in there. As you can see, it's all too common in the NYC market.

Posted by: ralphus999 at September 1, 2009 1:20 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

I found San Fran's trolley system to be nostalgic and a bit outdated. It wasn't much faster than walking and seemed to be more of a tourist gimmick than anything. Portland OR, on the other hand, had a convenient, modern, efficient light rail system that would be awesome in Brooklyn. I'd love to be able to take a light rail from Grand Army Plaza to Red Hook.

Posted by: ralphus999 at August 18, 2009 1:29 PM in response to Resurrecting Red Hook's Trolley Tracks

bxgrl - perhaps they wanted to push some sort of modern motif. Whatever it was came out pretty bland.

The interior of the units are pretty modern and the build/design/carpentry work looks to be solid. As I understand, the developer is pretty good with the details.

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 28, 2009 1:39 PM in response to First Closings at Clermont Greene

Man am I going to get blasted for this but...I like this design better than the Geary monstrosity. At least it fits into the existing Atlantic Terminal buildings (not that I love them) and doesn't create a dense section of high rise buildings.

Or maybe it's because I walk by that Road Warrior-esque blight everyday and just want SOMETHING there.

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 28, 2009 1:35 PM in response to Reality Check Rendering of Yards from MAS

Don't know about the closing costs because I've been battling with BOA for four months now on my refi. Building has excellent financials but they're hung up on one guy owning more than 10% of the units.

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 28, 2009 11:49 AM in response to Refi Closing Costs - Shoe Drops!

I've been inside and it's much nicer than it looks from the street. The courtyard is very nice and the architecture flows much better back there, especially flows well with the adjacent building. Views from the roof are awesome.

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 28, 2009 11:45 AM in response to First Closings at Clermont Greene

Nice neighborhood, centrally located. I'm not too far away so I'd love to see these built but I can't fathom $4M for a place on State. And I can't fathom 5000 sq ft!

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 28, 2009 10:17 AM in response to Six More New Brownstones for State Street?

We looked at this building about 4 years ago. Agree with previous comments. Shoddy construction, borderline neighborhood and views of the always beautiful BQE made the prices they were asking totally unreasonable.

Posted by: ralphus999 at July 27, 2009 3:53 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 505 Court Street, #10C

Thanks folks. I actually have neighbors living above us, so I doubt they'd let me rip up their floors for cork! The contractors have proposed ripping out the existing sheetrock, putting in very dense insulation then using a noise absorbent "sheetrock" to finish the ceiling off. I was assured that this would make my place like a tomb but it comes at a rather steep cost, upwards of $20k for a fairly small place, but it sounds like my best option here. My sanity is at risk!!!

Posted by: ralphus999 at January 24, 2009 5:18 PM in response to Soundproofing

Any thoughts on soundproofing a ceiling from percussive noise from upstairs neighbors? No current insulation, just their floor, a foot of dead air and our ceiling. Had two contractors - one was outrageous and the other recommended blowing foam. Help?

Posted by: ralphus999 at January 23, 2009 5:00 PM in response to Soundproofing

Hi apartmenter1. We're also a 4-unit co-op, and only do unaudited financials. So far Wells Fargo hasn't required audited ones of us. It's a long time since I submitted the paperwork to them...but I vaguely remember that they may have asked for EITHER audited financials OR unaudited ones + tax returns. But not sure. Sounds like their process is not very consistent... But you might want to ask them about that.

The latest hold-up was getting the info they needed on our building insurance policy from the insurance company. It finally came through and looked like we might have progress, then they red-flagged that the policy didn't separately spell out coverage for the building's common boiler. So they had to go back to ask about that again. Oy. (That reminds me, I should follow up w/ them on that...)

Posted by: Brownstonerlogin at September 1, 2009 4:11 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

i hesitated before posting, because i don't want to rub this in the faces of everyone mired in a neverending refi directly with their banks, but i decided to add my 2 cents because this info may benefit those who want to refi but have not yet started the process.

big swinging nick is right: bite the bullet and use a mortgage broker. i started my refi in March and closed in May. not even 3 months from start to finish, and i got a very competitive 4.875 for a 30-year fixed. oh, and get this: both my original mortgage and the refi were with Wells Fargo. it's absurd but true that a refi closes more efficiently when you add another layer of service professional to the transaction.

mortgage brokers get paid when the transaction closes, so their interests are aligned with yours on that front. and they are professional paper pushers -- their job is to deal with most (if not all) of the forms, certificates, closing conditions, etc. and they are more responsive and seem more intelligent than the folks you'll encounter at the bank. when you've finished all the paperwork (with their help) and the transaction is languishing, you call them up and apply friendly pressure. they pass that on to their contacts in the bank (aka dummies on the inside).

Posted by: panamac at September 1, 2009 4:17 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

mine expired, chase was at fault so they extended it and we closed at the deadline of the extension, four months total

Posted by: funstraw at September 1, 2009 4:32 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

Maybe scheduling is worse now, but like Panamac, I started the process in March (same rate/term, but with my original lender, Chase) and closed in May before the 90-day rate lock expired. Didn't use a mortgage broker, but called Chase directly. (Actually, a mortgage broker I did call said I wouldn't get a much better rate than what Chase was offering and advised going with my bank.) Maybe I lucked out with my mortgage counselor, but the process went relatively smoothly.

Posted by: TPX at September 1, 2009 4:32 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

I cant even get a refi appraiser said my place is worth less then what I owe

Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 1, 2009 5:19 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

We had a very long closing process. Began in February with a mortgage broker and Chase, and when the original deadline passed in May, they kept the lock-in at 4.8 and started the process again. Finally closed in mid-July, after much waiting. We were told by the broker and the settlement folks that they were simply swamped with the backlog.

Good luck and keep calling them. It will happen.

Posted by: buttermilk channel at September 1, 2009 5:37 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

You guys must have conforming loans?

Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 1, 2009 5:44 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

No, a refi of 225K on a 30 year fixed on an assessed value of 1.1M. Even with all paperwork done in February, it still took forever.

Posted by: buttermilk channel at September 1, 2009 7:07 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

butter that is just nuts

Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 1, 2009 7:36 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?

Its pervasive. Our refi started in April, still hasn't closed. They are now asking about saftey repairs and are requesting documentation about exterior work that is not yet completed.

Its Citibank, the lock expired a month ago and they have agreed to cover the extension.

I swear they want to see us walk away because of a low rate/no points situation.

Posted by: Brooklyn11218 at September 1, 2009 7:48 PM in response to How Long to Refinance?