refinishing old floors and wide plan sub floors

Hi,

I will be happy to speak to discuss more and to send or show you examples of my past work.

I operate my studio out of my recently renovated brownstone,so I encourage you to contact me to set up an appointment to come by and meet.

Best,
Susana

ssimonpietri@changodesignandco.com

Posted by: ssimonpietri at August 31, 2009 6:32 PM in response to Interior Decorator Recommendations

Hi,

From my experience clients save money by going to an educated interior architect/designer from the begining.

The way I usually work is I do the entire design and layout, produce all construction drawings and then send them to an expediter/architect of record who stamps and runs drawings to the DOB.

I think this saves the client money, and I also find spaces come out better when an interior designer is involved from day one.

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in my services or want more info.

Susana

ssimonpietri@changodesignandco.com
Chango Design

Posted by: ssimonpietri at August 31, 2009 6:23 PM in response to Remodeling home...consult architect or interior designer first?

Hi,

Feel free to contact me so I can learn more about your project.

I dont charge anything for initial consultation/meeting.

Susana

ssimonpietri@changodesignandco.com

Posted by: ssimonpietri at August 31, 2009 6:18 PM in response to low-commitment interior design

Hi,

I will be happy to hear more about your project and send you some of my portfolio work.

I just finished my own brownstone renovation and it came out fantastic... It was really more of a restoration job.

You may contact me at:
ssimonpietri@changodesignandco.com

Best,
Susana Simonpietri
Chango Design
Principal

Posted by: ssimonpietri at August 31, 2009 6:11 PM in response to interior designer/decorator

Hi,

I will be happy to hear more about your project and send you some of my portfolio work.

I have been doing this kind of interior design work over seven years now and will be happy to help.

You may contact me at:
ssimonpietri@changodesignandco.com

Best,
Susana Simonpietri
Chango Design
Principal

Posted by: ssimonpietri at August 31, 2009 6:08 PM in response to Interior Design help

I might be able to help you.
I am an interior architect holding a Senior Architect position in a firm in NYC that does a lot of interior work. I have a bit of brownstone experience and am in the process of doing my own brownstone in Brooklyn.

I speak French well, my first language is Spanish, but I studied in Paris, and my hubby is French.

Are you still looking for an architect to help you with your project?

Posted by: ssimonpietri at November 12, 2008 5:41 PM in response to architects

If you plan to file the conversion at the DOB you will have to file for an Alt type I, which implies change in occupancy. Not only is this more time consuming, expensive, and intricate, but the applications make it compulsory for the building to completely comply to code. Nightmare.

If you want to live the building as a two family, then try to buy a two family only.

Also keep in mind that a three family unit will have all the meters separated (three total) so you will have two meters serving one unit, this applies to gas, water and electricity for most buildings.

Also, for resale value, if you are making an illegal conversion and thinking of removing meters, there will be written record of the illegal conversion, and the next owners may ask that the building get a cert from DOB. This will force you to open up walls and get a through inspection when you least want it.

I strongly advise againt this.
Good luck!

Posted by: ssimonpietri at November 11, 2008 11:45 PM in response to 3 Family vs. 2 Family

For what it is worth, I have pasted information below regarding tax classifications and assessments from the NYC Dept. of Finance.

If you are also interested in talking about options and estimates for renovating your new space, please feel free to contact Prospect Architecture (Jeremy)at jrms@prospectarchitecture.com or at our temporary number, 347.221.0341. (We will have our old number, 718.783.0348, back next week.)

Determining the Annual Assessment

While Finance estimates the market value of your property, the annual assessment is based on a formula established by City and State real property laws and is not within Finance's discretion. For example, New York State law requires the assessed value for each tax class to be a uniform percentage of the market value, legislation sets the property tax rate each year, and the State legislature limits the amount an assessment can increase in any given year regardless of increases in market value.

Generally, Finance's determination of your annual assessment is a three-step process:

1) State law requires that Finance assign every property to one of four tax classes.

Class 1: Includes most residential property of up to three units (such as one-, two-, and three-family homes and small stores or offices with one or two apartments attached), vacant land that is zoned for residential use, and most condominium buildings that are not more than three stories.

Class 2: Includes all other property that is primarily residential, such as cooperatives and condominiums.

Class 3: Includes property with equipment owned by a gas, telephone or electric company.

Class 4: Includes all commercial and industrial property, such as office or factory buildings.

2) State law requires that Finance assess properties in each class at the same percentage of value, called the assessment ratio.

Finance multiplies its estimated market value by the assessment ratio for the class of property to arrive at the assessed value.

Class 1: The assessment ratio for all Class 1 properties is 6 percent. For example, a one-family home that Finance estimates to be worth $100,000 would have an assessment of no more than $6,000.

Class 2, 3, & 4: The assessment ratio for all Class 2, 3, and 4 properties is 45 percent. For example, a retail store that Finance estimates to be worth $100,000 would have an assessment of no more than $45,000.

3) State law requires that Finance follow certain rules for some assessment increases.

Class 1: Finance cannot increase assessments on a property more than 6 percent each year or more than 20 percent in five years. Note: These rules may not apply if a property is newly constructed, renovated, or demolished.

Class 2: Finance cannot increase assessments on properties with fewer than 11 units more than 8 percent each year or more than 30 percent in five years. Note: These rules may not apply if a property is newly constructed, renovated, or demolished. Assessment changes for properties with more than 10 units must be phased-in over five years.

Class 3: There are no assessment limitations for Class 3 properties.

Class 4: Assessment changes on Class 4 properties must be phased-in over five years.

Tax Rates

The annual Statement of Account that Finance mailed to homeowners June 2008 was based on the 2007/2008 tax rates. The City Council and the Mayor adopted the budget for the fiscal year that started on July 1, 2008 after we sent the property tax bills. We now have the new tax rates. We will send revised bills based on these rates in December.

The new property tax rates for the 2008/09 tax year are listed in the following table:
YEAR CLASS 1 CLASS 2 CLASS 3 CLASS 4
08/09 15.605% 12.139% 11.698% 9.870%

Posted by: ProspectArchitecture at November 12, 2008 11:06 PM in response to 3 Family vs. 2 Family

If I'd only known Silvia Benelli years ago I would have saved myself a lot of grief. She is Swiss, speaks Italian and probably French knowing the Swiss ... She is very talented, precise, not married to a style, can and will do what you want at the price you want. She is very efficient so she is not very expensive and well worth her fee. Nothing has to be done over. She works well with the contractors, if they knows how to read a plan. I left her in charge of a renovation and went away for two months, never, and I stress never got a call from her or the contractor. Everything had been discussed in advance and everything went well. You can reach her at :
sbenelli@bbarchs.com

Posted by: joan gould at March 8, 2009 3:36 PM in response to architects