Is it ever possible to replace a spiral stair with a real staircase? Always wondered.

Posted by: slopette at November 18, 2009 7:52 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 85 8th Avenue, #3R

Something about this cake picture on the Le Ptit Paris site is baffling me:

http://www.leptitparisbistro.com/about_us

Posted by: slopette at November 16, 2009 6:25 PM in response to Ditmas Park Gets the 'Living In' Treatment

$10,000 tax?

Posted by: slopette at November 11, 2009 11:25 AM in response to Mansion Tax

This is the ugliest house I've ever seen on Brownstoner.

Posted by: slopette at October 26, 2009 1:32 PM in response to House of the Day: 291 8th Street

Her last chow died in a freak propane explosion.

Posted by: slopette at October 26, 2009 12:44 PM in response to Martha Does The Flea

Her last chow died in a freak propane explosion.

Posted by: slopette at October 26, 2009 12:43 PM in response to Closing Bell: Win Some, Lose Some

Is that a plywood ramp up to the front door?

Posted by: slopette at October 2, 2009 2:27 PM in response to Open House Picks

Hey, they DID borrow their neighbor's facade, and this house is only 19 ft across... check Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=171+state+street,+brooklyn&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=171+State+St,+Brooklyn,+NY+11201&gl=us&ei=4APFSoH5NJDDlAeC1qSSAw&ved=0CAwQ8gEwAA&ll=40.690515,-73.992684&spn=0,359.98071&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=40.690488,-73.992568&panoid=4s-g5U3tV8s7k7oq3rtm4Q&cbp=12,14.94,,0,-1.04

There's a second doorway just to the left of that shot -- so the left side of that pic is definitely another house. Never been inside a central stair brownstone, so I don't know how that works. Unless it's the wrong house. In which case it is not adjacent to the movie theater.

Posted by: slopette at October 1, 2009 3:41 PM in response to House of the Day: 171 State Street

Death notice in the New York Times for Miss Mary Catherine Elkins, 1916, presumably the non-surviving daughter, listing her address as 1375 Dean Street, for those who are interested in that sort of thing: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D0CE6D81F38E633A25757C1A9659C946796D6CF

Posted by: slopette at September 29, 2009 5:06 PM in response to Walkabout with Montrose: A Crown Heights Tale

Naive question, but why would you ever have to *remove* window security guards to qualify for a mortgage?

Posted by: slopette at September 9, 2009 2:45 PM in response to Advice on Mortgage Rate

Try making a Concord grape pie -- like a delicious cross between blueberry and tart rhubarb.

Posted by: slopette at September 3, 2009 10:12 PM in response to Grape Vines and Brick

A friend of mine asked a broker if his fee was negotiable on the way to a listing in BH a few months ago. He said "No", followed by "I don't think you're going to like this place. I think you should try someplace else."

She didn't even see it -- walked away. With that attitude, I doubt he's making much in commissions.

Posted by: slopette at August 31, 2009 9:03 PM in response to Negotiating Rental Fees

I braved the rain to try the cornsicles and... they didn't show up! Wimps.

Posted by: slopette at August 22, 2009 2:48 PM in response to Closing Bell: It's Alright to Flea

Transfer taxes are the responsibility of the seller. If the parties agree that the buyer will reimburse the seller for the transfer tax, then this reimbursement is part of the "consideration" paid to the seller and on which the buyer's mansion tax is calculated. But in the ordinary case where the seller pays the transfer tax, the mansion tax is calculated on the purchase price alone.

Posted by: NorthHeights at November 11, 2009 2:32 PM in response to Mansion Tax

The Mansion tax figure is outdated. One million does not buy you anything close to a Mansion in NYC anymore There has always been talk of the threshold being raised but with those fools in Albany I wouldn't bet on it.

Posted by: Crownlfc at November 11, 2009 2:45 PM in response to Mansion Tax

t6, really. Why are you equating illegal behavior (PA car) with simply attempting to minimize one's tax burden, which behavior has been upheld by the courts as legal and expected for a hundred years.

Meanwhile the OP may be confused but that Corcoran link is useful. The tax is 1% of the ENTIRE sale when it is over $1 million. Closing costs are meaningless.

A million bucks isn't what it used to be, t6. Buy a house and shop sounding like a bitter renter.

(OP, don't forget to take the federal homebuyer's tax credit if your income allows, and let us know. Just so T6 can bitch about that too).

Posted by: denton at November 11, 2009 3:08 PM in response to Mansion Tax

A million bucks is a MILLION BUCKS!

I would argue that the transfer tax should be LOWER, not higher. You have enough money to pay a million dollars for a house (and the tax code has decided your property tax is going to be woefully inadequate for the purposes of supporting the city's services), there should be no problem paying a 1% transfer tax!

I'm not a bitter renter... If I were an owner, I would be equally as disgusted with the whining here. Oh, Woe Is Me! I might be liable for paying $10,000 on top of the ONE MILLION DOLLARS I just paid someone in cash. They already are bleeding me dry... I have to pay the tax man $3500 EVERY YEAR for this house! How dare they!

Cry me a river... jaysus.

Oh yeah, take the advice above. Make sure you involve your attorney and ask him lots and lots of questions. They have mansion taxes to pay too, ya know!

Posted by: tybur6 at November 11, 2009 3:33 PM in response to Mansion Tax

tax is obscene and doesn't exist most places (i don't know that exists anywhere else). if you are buying a new condo and are paying the transfer taxes yourself, then i was under the impression that the taxes are included. i looked hard to get under this thresh hold. i had to pay the transfer taxes 2x - as a seller of my house and as a buyer of my condo. it's gross.

i pay city income tax, corporate tax, state income tax, sales tax blah blah blah this city is taxing us to death

Posted by: wine lover at November 11, 2009 3:52 PM in response to Mansion Tax

Wine Lover -- Real Estate *transfer taxes* or *flip taxes* exist EVERYWHERE!!!!! The difference is, that NYC has decided to up the ante for folks that CAN AFFORD IT.

Guess what? I really don't have a problem if taxes are making people stop for a millisecond and evaluate the price tag on something. "Wait, there's a 'mansion tax' on this million-dollar property?! Oh -- maybe a MILLION DOLLARS is actually a lot of money!"

Who'd a thunk?

Also -- I have to agree with you. High sales taxes are a terrible thing. They are most harmful the poorer you are. The quality of life of someone making $500,000 is almost not affected by sales tax (be it 4% or 15%) -- but the guy making $25,000... guess how that figures into his income? The proportional effect is staggering.

Income taxes? Absolutely... let's get rid of them. AND RAISE PROPERTY TAXES TO AN EQUITABLE LEVEL!!!

But I am truly saddened that you had to pay transfer taxes on your multi-million dollar transactions. It's heart wrenching. Have you been able to recover? I hope so, sweetums.

Posted by: tybur6 at November 11, 2009 4:06 PM in response to Mansion Tax

tybur6, you sound like an utter moron.

Posted by: Splenda at November 11, 2009 4:50 PM in response to Mansion Tax

Do I Splenda? I'm glad you think so. I hope your taxes go up.

Posted by: tybur6 at November 11, 2009 4:56 PM in response to Mansion Tax

I love the logic of pay the tax because you feel he should and it is some kind of good thing because it prevents over spending.

LOL - pure genius.

Posted by: crimsonson at November 11, 2009 5:10 PM in response to Mansion Tax

Where's stevieB and the "screw the middle class" mantra on this one?????????

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at November 11, 2009 5:57 PM in response to Mansion Tax