Gutter Quote - seems high

IMHO the charm of Brooklyn is in its old world charm.

Every new construction apartment I have seen in the past 10 years makes my skin crawl with the shortcuts, shoddy construction, cut corners, and that's only what is visible to the casual looker. If what you see is that bad, I can only imagine how bad the construction quality is of the parts you can't see.

If I were you (but of course, I'm not) I would be looking at conversions of older buildings into newer condos. You'll get the more modern amenities you may be looking for in new construction yet the bones of the building are more likely to be solid old world construction.

Pick your neighborhood carefully to match your lifestyle needs. It frequently is just as important as the actual space you live in.

Posted by: rickintheridge at October 18, 2009 9:16 AM in response to New construction condo buys?

Highly recommend Adam Dahill - Approved Funding Corp.
who frequently posts on these pages.

Tel. 800-475-0123 x 242

He handled a refinance for us earlier this year. Very pleasant experience - extremely knowledgeable, helpful and honest.

Posted by: rickintheridge at October 18, 2009 9:07 AM in response to Good Mortgage Broker Needed

ditto comments above. having no reserve fund is scary - but as denton said - if they just exhausted the reserve fund it needs to be replenished.

I was treasurer of an 8 unit coop in park slope in the 90's, and we included a deposit to the reserve fund every month until we brought it up to about $10,000. You certainly don't need that large a fund - but its got to be a few thousand - or everytime you need to buy a new snow shovel you'll need an assessment.

As for assessments down the road and the opinion of the board - there are only 2 other members of the coop board besides you should you buy. They probably have no idea - until or unless they realize that they have to replace something and are short the cash.

It sounds like a good building for you - but suggest you consider volunteering to become the treasurer to get them on a proper financial footing, and fast!

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 30, 2009 11:25 PM in response to Condo/Self-Managed Bldng

not to belabor the point raised by BrooklynIsHome above -
the --im ending of a word in Hebrew signifies plural.
Therefore one Hasid, two Hasidim.

Thus ends your Hebrew grammar lesson for today.

Sorry I have no useful comment to OP, just make sure you have a good lawyer because it sounds like it could be messy - even though probably totally legal.

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 30, 2009 9:26 AM in response to Assignment of contract for sale

hi all, I live a few blocks from the dog run in Bay Ridge.

Previous posters are correct that there is a dog run at Owl's Head Park. The dog run is located a few steps from the corner of 68th Street and Shore Road. From the corner you should see it as you look North (towards Manhattan), alongside Shore Road (right next to the Belt Parkway as it starts to make its way up the hill to join the BQE.

There may be others in the 70s,80s or 90s in Shore Road Park - but not being a dog-owner I don't know exactly where they are.

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 30, 2009 9:23 AM in response to Any dog runs in Bay Ridge?

I highly recommend Adam Dahill. Used him recently for a refi and he was a great help and a very pleasant experience.

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 27, 2009 9:52 PM in response to Mortgage broker for Refi?

another vote for Bay Ridge. One of the safest neighborhoods in NYC. None of you mentioned the express bus which (although a bit expensive)gets you from the north end of Bay Ridge to lower Manhattan in 15 minutes.

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 27, 2009 9:35 PM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

Oh and to comment on the first posting about the disaster of 3pm release time, this is located in an area where there are very very few residents. Across the street is Greenwood Cemetery (their residents are not disturbed by kids)Its on 4th Avenue a very busy corridor with zooming trucks and some local deliveries to the stores. Down the block are some industrial buildings and at the end of the block is a cute little park. Then you're at 3rd Avenue - Bush Terminal all industrial and no residents. So - to Rob - don't worry!

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 27, 2009 6:33 PM in response to Sunset Park Finally Getting Its Own High School

This new school in Sunset Park has the possibility of providing a vibrant and diverse NYC neighborhood with its first public high school of any sort. For decades all their children had to travel - leading to incredible overcrowding of John Jay to the North, Fort Hamilton to the South and probably New Utrecht to the Southeast.

The building itself is kind of drab. (I pass it nearly every day)and the bright yellow windows are bizarre and contribute nothing. It is an SCA building - don't know who the architect is. From personal experience - if the community works with the SCA you can get them to listen and create a building with some character. (Take a look at the addition they just completed at High School of Telecommunications at 4th Avenue and 67th/Senator St) My fear is that Sunset Park does not have enough of an organized community to fight for anything better than the drab gray box with bright yellow windows that they got.

That being said, we're delighted that they got it done and it will be ready to open in September.

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 27, 2009 6:29 PM in response to Sunset Park Finally Getting Its Own High School

Welcome to the neighborhood!
Its kind of addictive - once you get used to it you may never want to leave. The only real downside is the long ride to Manhattan. We find the neighbors down-to-earth and really friendly.

For shopping - ditto most of the above suggestions. Double ditto on Family Store - there are a million choices for middle-eastern food - but their take on it is much more sophisticated and the people are super pleasant.

You were complaining about produce - if you have access to a car - check out the two mega-produce marts - Three Guys from Brooklyn on the corner of 65th St and Fort Hamilton Pkwy, and Circus Fruits on the corner of 60th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway. They are both 24 hrs and have excellent produce at a fraction of the prices you'll pay close to home. For local produce - agree with previous poster - check out the two stores at 77th and 5th.

Also - coming very soon is a brand new Key Food on Bay Ridge Ave. (69th St) between Third and Ridge - a few steps down from Petite Oven. It hopefully will open in September.

Posted by: rickintheridge at August 15, 2009 11:16 AM in response to Just Moved to Bay Ridge

Lord's Bakery on Nostrand at Flatbush (right near Brooklyn College) has the best Rugalah in the city IMHO. They are the gift of choice to send to the in-laws in South Carolina

Posted by: rickintheridge at July 29, 2009 6:36 PM in response to Best pastry store in Brooklyn

I too have been through 6 or 7 closings all with different attorneys and title closers in different neighborhoods in Brooklyn and never once have been asked to tip the closer - nor have I ever heard of it until this thread.

I agree with other posters that this is BS. You pay a healthy fee to the title company for essentially 30 minutes of computer work plus the preparation of documents. Seems to me that should be plenty!

Posted by: rickintheridge at July 18, 2009 9:37 AM in response to Tips at Closings?

Donatella, in Sunset Park, on 3rd Avenue at around 53rd St (a block from Lutheran Hospital) is Mr. Juliu's Cuban Restaurant. The ambiance is a bit tacky but the food is excellent. We usually take-out as we live 5 mins. away.

Posted by: rickintheridge at July 2, 2009 10:29 AM in response to La mejor Comida Latina

I agree with ringo and slopefarm - but agree with mrcoop's comments that things are different. I bought into a coop (in the early 90's) in the slope with a balloon mortgage due shortly after I bought. I handled the refi into a conventional 15 yr mortgage and we got to lower everyone's monthly - plus as time went on it became a selling point that soon there would be no underlying mortgage at all - and that would reduce the monthly payments by nearly another $200/mo per owner. Remember that the rates will be much higher (probably around 2% higher)than an individual mortgage - but still may be much lower than what is in place now and will give you the cash out that you need to pay for repairs and build a reserve. Another note though is that your monthly fees must include some money to be socked away in the reserve fund. To not do that is asking for trouble.

Posted by: rickintheridge at June 19, 2009 3:19 PM in response to Interest-Only Co-Op Refi?

sort of on the same topic - anyone know if there are any bike rental shops around that don't charge an arm and a let to rent a bike for an afternoon? Specifically looking in or near Bay Ridge - but anywhere in brownstone brooklyn would work

Posted by: rickintheridge at May 27, 2009 5:32 PM in response to StreetLevel: Bike Shop Gets Rolling on Bergen

repeating an earlier comment, in New York State
ALL brokers are Sellers brokers. There really is no such thing as a buyers broker in our state. There are brokers who will help you to find a property - and they will either sell you a property which they have the listing for - or co-broke it with another broker who has the listing. In either case they are paid by the seller and are therefore SELLERS brokers. This is not to say that they can't be helpful and knowledgeable but if you are the buyer they are not working for you. Let the buyer beware.

The other headache is that most brokers think only location. When we were looking for a house - we were looking for a specific type of house - not a specific neighborhood and it got the brokers kind of nuts.

We lucked out when an inexperienced broker gave us 3 addresses to look at. The broker had no idea of the difference between a brownstone, a limestone or any other type of attached or semi-detached house. We drove by the three - asked to see only one - and that's the house we
bought (and we're very glad we did!)

Posted by: rickintheridge at May 15, 2009 5:43 PM in response to Help Finding a Good Bklyn Broker

How sad that a good idea proposed by Brownstoner is met with such inane drivel. If you naysayers think that the news reported by the local newspapers is top quality reporting, think again. I can't count how many times I have been at a meeting or event and when I read the report it looks like I've been at a different meeting. On the other hand, some local reporters are very good - and report exactly what transpired. So it will be with these community based reporters - some will be good and some will be bad - and it will be up to the readers to figure out the real story. But it will at least bring some attention to community issues faced at the community board level.

You can be sure that those issues which merit further action are likely to be picked up on by 'real' (or at least professional) reporters who do scrutinize Brownstoner.com for stories.

Posted by: rickintheridge at May 13, 2009 12:28 PM in response to Call For Community Board Bloggers

Try calling Dolores Monte
DM Financial Services Inc.689 85th St
(Dyker Hts/Bay Ridge area)
Brooklyn NY 11228
718-748-2082

They are a small business specializing in accounting, tax and investment services for small businesses and private investors. Great people and great service.

(In the interests of full disclosure, my partner is the office manager there.)

Posted by: rickintheridge at May 13, 2009 7:22 AM in response to OT: ISO quickbooks & tax person

Call Brownstone Agency
32 Old Slip
NY NY 10005
212-962-5620

They have been more than fair and are generally very easy to deal with. The only problem with them is that they issue policies for 3 years, you pay them for the first year and then a finance company for the second and third year. This gets a bit complicated with the escrow making sure that the bank pays the correct party - but its worth it for the lower rates - and..... Brownstone Agency does really understand brownstone and other row house living.

Posted by: rickintheridge at May 10, 2009 11:30 PM in response to Trouble getting homeowner's insu

tax rates are usually quarterly - so if you multiply the tax rate x 4 you should be around the annual rate (except that it frequently increases in july)

Posted by: rickintheridge at May 8, 2009 5:57 PM in response to Brooklyn Property Tax rates

Absolutely love living in Bay Ridge! One of the safest neighborhoods in the city and a great mix of city life with suburban convenience, great restaurants, and with the diverse ethnic background here its great for foodies like us - you can get virtually any ingredient from any ethnic store within walking distance. I don't work in Manhattan - the commute to midtown is close to an hour. Acceptable for some - way too far for others.

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 15, 2009 11:26 PM in response to where would you live

I'm a big Brooklyn supporter - and feel that there are plenty of neighborhoods in Brooklyn which are up and coming that aren't completely priced out of the market yet. But if you are intent on leaving the city altogether - check out Montclair, NJ - or the towns just around it like Glen Ridge or Bloomfield.

Montclair has the great liberal vibe you're looking for (they have hired the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Band which I play in - to be part of their July 4th celebrations in the past). They have great restaurants and shops, and the commute to midtown is about the same as from Brooklyn. Montclair itself may have gotten too expensive, but there are less desirable parts of Montclair which would be more affordable, or the towns around it which may be a bit less desirable - but close enough - (but then you would need a car to manage)

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 13, 2009 11:47 PM in response to where would you live

My guess is that creating a 3 unit co-op is going to be very difficult to get financing for in light of today's economy. I think is might be a better idea to form a partnership or corporation - and have the business buy the house, with you and your friends owning all of the shares of the corporation.

Interested to hear what the lawyers and real estate pros on this blog have to say on the subject.

good luck

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 11, 2009 12:44 PM in response to Converting Brownstone to Co-op

This is where you use your local community board.
They should know - or should be able to find out - what work was being done there, when it should be finished, and help to enforce that when its done, the proper cleanup is performed. They have a paid staff whose job it is to do this for their community.

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 11, 2009 9:30 AM in response to Street work on Throop & Decatur

Although prices are a bit lower than they have been in the past, they are still quite high in Brooklyn. We have not had a price meltdown here like they have had in places like Florida and Arizona. I would suggest that you live here for a while and spend time in different neighborhoods - get to know which ones you like and which ones you don't like before getting locked in to a property. The most important aspect of real estate is location. It has to work for you - and also needs to work for you economically. Hope this helps.

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 8, 2009 7:18 AM in response to First Time Buyer

hope someone more familiar with your area weighs in on values. good luck!

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 7, 2009 10:14 PM in response to Appraisal Question

Don't know how your area is appraising - nor how commercial buildings work, but we just had an appraisal on our house in bay ridge for a lot higher than we expected - actually a bit higher than the last sale on the block a year ago - before prices started to dip.

PMI as I understand it, kicks in if you don't have 20% down.
If you have more than 20% of the value then you should be free of that burden

The more pertinent question becomes what is the property worth in today's market

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 7, 2009 7:04 PM in response to Appraisal Question

not bad as fast food goes - but their banana shake rocks!

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 7, 2009 5:38 PM in response to Checkers Checking Into 111 Court Street?

if this is the same igor - I used him several times years ago - and lost track of him. If so - he was always fair, and, more importantly, he showed up when he said he would.

Posted by: rickintheridge at April 1, 2009 7:27 PM in response to Need budget Appliance repairman

cmu - don't think anybody replied to your question about rome
Haven't been there in several years -but if you are going at a time which is not peak holiday season - there is a tourist kiosk at the main railroad station (called TERMINI)
which can book you into a cheap hotel on the spot. there are thousands of hotels - and if you are not looking for anything more than a place to flop - you can do great with no reservations.
Have fun - its a great city - nothing is too tall and the juxtaposition of modern and ancient is awesome.

Posted by: rickintheridge at March 31, 2009 6:02 PM in response to Open Thread

congrats to MM as well. Let senatorstreet and me know when you're ready to tackle bay ridge. We're both history nuts and have uncovered oodles of stuff on our neighborhood that can be fun and interesting. This is partly because bay ridge was farmland and wealthy estates long after a lot of brownstone brooklyn was built up so its history is different than a lot of other areas of brooklyn.
eric

Posted by: rickintheridge at March 31, 2009 12:59 AM in response to Open Thread

Hi folks,
I've been a lurker for a while and just joined recently so that I could put in my 2 cents now and then. I met many of you at the gathering at Floyd's recently (My name tag said "Senator Street Part II")and we both had the feeling that some of you will become good friends over time.

As to the topic at hand - I think the idea of putting the idle chatter over to OT keeping the other forums cleaner and leaner to allow a more focused discussion on a particular topic was a good one. I don't have the time during the day to log on at all - and in the evening I'm interested in following threads that interest me.

If there were some focused threads on a particular topic, perhaps at a pre-arranged time - that could be interesting if they took place at a time that was convenient. These could even be 'hosted' by a volunteer particularly knowledgable on that topic.

I disagree with the idea of censoring or limiting postings. The frequent posters have a lot of interesting and sometimes amusing comments. Yes, they could self-police to keep their comments from being repetitive, but I can easily scroll past yet another comment from a person whose particular ax to grind I already know.

Meanwhile, this blog has provided us with a lot of useful information, and we have been able to provide others with a lot of information that we have amassed over the years.

The idea of moving the OT to a separate tab is probably a good one - this way - if you're interested in participating in the open chat you can and you can just as easily ignore it.

Keep it going Mr. B -

Eric

Posted by: rickintheridge at March 27, 2009 5:46 PM in response to Let's Talk About Commenting

A neighbor of ours (3 story brownstone 20' wide - used as a one family) has the kitchen on the garden level (with a high dining bar with stools around it. Kitchen takes up the entire back of the house and there is a a beautiful formal dining room in the front of the garden level. (With the table always set, the lights on low and the window shades open - its gorgeous - and since its rarely used its kind of a window open for everybody to gaze into without them losing any privacy)

The parlor floor is used as originally intended - front parlor is a formal living room and rear parlor is home entertainment / den / hang out room.

Bedrooms are all on the top floor.

If you don't need the rental income its a beautiful way to configure it.

Posted by: rickintheridge at March 25, 2009 7:10 PM in response to Where to put the kitchen?

"Self-Managed" means you three owners do all the maintenance. Meaning, put out the garbage, shovel the snow, clean the common areas etc. Also someone has to deal with all the finances. This is a condo? sounds like a coop. If its a condo and you think the taxes will be 4800 a year, is that for just the unit or the whole building. As far as having a reserve fund for whatever comes up, even an inspection is not going to predict the future. ANYTHING can come up and that is why you have a reserve. If you really love it, buy and then sell it in 2 or 3 years to a place more secure.

Posted by: tomgee at August 31, 2009 11:17 AM in response to Condo/Self-Managed Bldng

Wait, so is this a co-op or condo? "Maintenance" is typically a co-op term and "common charges" is typically the analogous payment for a condo, but without the tax portion since you pay your own. You called it a condo but refer to maintenance.

In any event, you can ask for minutes to see if any upcoming work was discussed, but I imagine in a 3-uit building, minutes won't be formal or exhaustive, if they exist to do anything besides record votes. People just talk to each other as the need arises. Doubt you'll see "vice president reminded us we need to replace the boiler before next winter" in the minutes.

Rely on the inspection and then ask questions. $500 reserve is low. $20k is excessive. Good rule of thumb is $1-2k/unit. $500 reserve means you essentially need to reserve your own funds as if it were your own home.
Good luck.

Posted by: slopefarm at August 31, 2009 11:24 AM in response to Condo/Self-Managed Bldng

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

thanks again all for the advice and insight. it's been extremely helpful.

i lived in a town just outside boston for a few years that is considered a young family neighborhood--so comparable to bay ridge. it was fine for a year, but my roommate and i were getting ancy after that and wanted to be closer to boston. i sense that bay ridge is lovely, once you've been lived in the NYC area for a few years. i realize that my budget limits my ideal place to live, but it sounds like i could get my own place (sans roommate) closer.

i'll be living in the area by/in oct. so plan on looking for places for nov/dec. do you all think i'd be able to find something for a dec move-in? options will be fewer, but i suspect so will competition. i have a feeling that rents will be the same, and maybe as time goes by and landlords still have empty apts., i could get an even sweeter deal--the winter special.

thanks again!

Posted by: hollifer at August 31, 2009 12:07 PM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

hollifer, you'll have a good shot. People move in and out all the time so you are probably good to go. I highly doubt that rents will magically increase from now to October/November when you're looking.

Posted by: Kensingtonian at August 31, 2009 12:28 PM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

You can tell a lot by just doing a walk-through. If everything looks in good condition and well maintained, I wouldn't worry too much.

I'd definitely at least demand to meet the other two owners. You should be able to get an idea of what type of people they are just by having a short conversation.

Usually, it really is possible to judge a book by it's cover -- at least in real estate, that is. . .

Posted by: IronBalls at August 31, 2009 12:37 PM in response to Condo/Self-Managed Bldng

hollifer just be aware that apartments for rent in NYC don't usually appear until 1 week, 2 weeks max, before they are ready for occupancy. so don't fret when you start looking oct 1st and can't find anything for dec 1st move in. it is always a last minute deal.

Posted by: bowl of dicks at August 31, 2009 9:50 PM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

also, i'm wondering what the laws are in NY to increase rent at lease renewal. say, i get a deal on place where i pay $1000, when in a great economy goes for $1200. can a landlord increase rent that much? in my over 10 years of renting, my landlords increased just a small percentage.

i also heard that 'rent stablized' in NY means rent barely increases if it's under $2000--that all apts. are considered 'rent stablized' if under $2000.

please lend some insight. thanks!

Posted by: hollifer at September 1, 2009 9:39 AM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

> all apts. are considered 'rent stablized' if under $2000

This is absolutely false.

Read up on the guidelines here: http://www.housingnyc.com/

Good luck in your search.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at September 1, 2009 11:55 AM in response to From Boston to Brooklyn by 11/1

I can't believe that anyone actually had a good experience with Corley Realty. They are HORRIBLE, particularly, Mike Corley, the owner. When you look at their website or call their office, they refer to themselves as "the best experience in real estate" They should change it to "the worst experience in real estate." Both buyers and sellers beware of this cut-rate shop.

Posted by: bedstuytownhouse at September 17, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Help Finding a Good Bklyn Broker