Dishwasher installation

Huzzah!

Posted by: talknerdytome at October 19, 2009 12:38 PM in response to No More Times

I would move the "Location, location, location" bit from the beginning of the ad, and delete the majority of it. The ad is a bit overwhelming. a straightforward description works best for me. How about:

Spacious studio in Prime North Slope. No fee; $1395/month, gas, heat and hot water included. On a quiet landmark block of brownstones bordered by the Park. President Street near Prospect Park West.

Large studio, bright southwest exposure, full kitchen with skylight, lots of closet and shelf space, large big-windowed classic style bathroom, original details, decorative faux fireplace, wired for cable, four flights up (on top floor) in a quiet, well-maintained, historic landmark brownstone.

Steps (1/4 block) to Prospect Park, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Museum and Botanical Gardens, the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket, a few minutes walk to 2, 3, and Q trains -- approximately 15 minute ride to lower Manhattan or 25-30 minutes to Union Square and midtown.

Super lives on premises. No dogs. Any documents you can bring (credit report, employer reference, pay stubs, bank/broker statement) would be helpful.

Email Jeff (owner) at greatapartment@optonline.net or call me at 917-558-2726. I’ll be glad to answer any questions.

Thanks for your interest.

Posted by: talknerdytome at October 6, 2009 2:42 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

The Human Resources Administration (aka welfare) will pay someone with an open Public Assistance case a monthly rent stipend of a very low amount. Ten years ago it was something like $200/month, and I doubt that it's increased much. If your tenant has a family with a child, they might qualify for Jiggetts relief, which would up the rental payment to around $550/month. (If the recipient is not paying the rental stipend, the landlord can ask that HRA cut a check directly to him.) And sometimes HRA will grant an applicant a "One Shot Deal," (i.e., pay a couple thousand in arrears) if the tenant can show she got behind (when lost a job, etc.), but has the ability to pay the full amount of the rent in the future. Somehow, though, I doubt any of these apply to your situation.

One word of advice: do not lock the tenants out. Period. You'll create even more problems (including potential jail time for yourself) than a non-pay or holdover case in housing court.

Posted by: talknerdytome at October 1, 2009 11:40 AM in response to Non-Payment of Rent

I'm with DH on this one -- Jay is genius. Allus has been, allus will.

Posted by: talknerdytome at September 17, 2009 6:29 PM in response to Jay-Z Slept Here

bxgirl, thanks, i saw that and appreciated it.

bubble, your numerous comments about how the only way blacks and latinos get anything is through affirmative action is tiresome and racist. and i specifically said that crooklyn's hitler comment was sad, because that's what it is.

How you got the impressions that I went "on and on about how Jewish people shouldn't get housing" is beyond me. My earlier comment was pretty much a recitation of allegations in lawsuits against NYCHA; lawsuits that NYCHA settled by agreeing to treat people equally, and not based on their race or ethnicity. The fact remains that NYCHA has a long history of favoring whites over blacks and latinos. NYCHA, as a government entity, must comply with the 14th Amendment (you know, to the US Constitution) and not given certain races preferences in housing.

Posted by: talknerdytome at September 10, 2009 3:35 PM in response to Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle

Bubble -- I guess my white co-worker who went to Tisch and has a rich daddy but hasn't made one film was just beat down by affirmative action. Why don't you give it a rest with the racist commentary. You've been making it since this thread started. As sad as I find Crooklyn's Hitler comment, the reality is that people like Bubble make racist comments towards black and latinos every day and it barely registers. No justification, just reality.

Posted by: talknerdytome at September 10, 2009 3:03 PM in response to Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle

Bubble -- NYCHA has a long history of favoring whites over blacks and latinos in the distribution of "choice" public housing. In the 80s and early 90s, NYCHA actually published separate availability lists (the lists prospective tenants are given showing where there are public housing openings) with "W"s and "B"s at the top. The "W" lists were shown to whites, and the "B" lists were offered to blacks and latinos. The "W" lists routinely listed projects in Staten Island, the lower East Side and Queens (nicer projects, if you will) as available that did not appear on the "B" lists. The Legal Aid Society sued NYCHA over these practices in a case captioned Davis v. NYCHA, and to settle the suit NYCHA entered into a consent decree agreeing to offer blacks and latinos apartments in the better projects.

The Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund also brought suit against NYCHA for giving Jewish tenants in the Williamsburg projects preferential treatment over black and latino tenants. The allegations were that Jewish tenants were allowed to bend the rules (e.g., one tenant living in a 3 bedroom apt, which is grounds for NYCHA to move the tenant to a studio or 1 bedroom) in ways that black and latino tenants couldn't. I believe NYCHA entered into a consent decree in that case as well.

So the fact that black and latino tenants are suspicious of NYCHA is not unfounded.

Posted by: talknerdytome at September 10, 2009 2:00 PM in response to Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle

You refer to the person demanding the money as your super/LL, but also state that you send your rent to the real estate company that owns the building. If the real estate company owns the building, that means the super is not the landlord, he's just a super. Can the super take you to court? No, he has no real property/contractual relationship with you, since the lease is with the real estate company. Can he make your life unpleasant since he's the super? Sure. But you can also speak to the rental company and verify whether they know he's doing this. I bet they have no clue.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 19, 2009 11:26 AM in response to Landlord Problem

I think the people who deliver food, rehab houses at $15/hour, take care of other people's kids while the parents are earning six figures, sit outside bodegas all night long and in the winter time, deserve to run around the damn field all they want.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 12, 2009 4:48 PM in response to Closing Bell: (Astro)turf War

"Did you move to NYC yesterday?"

Uh, clearly. The OP is 26 years old and lives in Williamsburg. Do you think she actually went to work and earned any of the money needed to buy a 6-unit apartment building?

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 11, 2009 11:11 AM in response to Taking Over Rent-Stab Unit

My understanding (from working at Legal Aid, albeit as a paralegal) is that you can take over a rent-stabilized apartment for personal use (by yourself or a family member) only. You've clearly stated that you would take the three apartments not for personal use (i.e., to actually live in them), but to renovate them and then rent them out at market rates. One tenant may fall for your "personal use" pretext, but other tenants won't and will likely draw you into litigation.

You should sit down with a reputable landlord's attorney and get a sense of what this type of litigation (with the attendant depositions and discovery) would cost you. As a litigator who bills out at $350/hour (which actually isn't that much in this city), I always remind people who think that litigation is no big deal, that it's not really in attorneys interests to keep costs down. You should also read the tenants' leases to see if attorneys fees are awarded to the prevailing party in any litigation under the leases. If they are, and the tenant gets Legal Aid or Legal Services, or any other self-respecting attorney to represent him/her, you'll be on the hook for the tenants' attorneys fees in addition to your own.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 11, 2009 11:00 AM in response to Taking Over Rent-Stab Unit

Iz -- Not to worry. I don't consider myself different at all: I'm married, we're thinking kids (unspoiled, please), and I work a somewhat grinding job. I completely understand people's interest in owning, and I'd like to own, too. Just not a barebones studio on the same block I live on, for not that much less than I pay for an apartment that I love, with multiple amenities. And I'm perfectly aware that I'm financing my landlord's lifestyle (every time he says he's been in the Hamptons, I growl under my breath). But we also have substantial savings, and if I get laid off (and 5,000 lawyers have lost their jobs in this market), or if my husband gets a job in another city, we can leave.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 6, 2009 2:25 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 27 South Portland Avenue, #3

We live across the street from this place, in a pretty damn nice parlor floor 2 bedroom, with a dishwasher, washer/dryer, and half of the garden. And we pay $2400. But, of course, I'm just an ignoramus who doesn't understand the value of owning an overpriced, crappy studio, with a "garden view."

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 6, 2009 1:38 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 27 South Portland Avenue, #3

I walked by this place a couple weeks ago, and my jaw dropped at the sheer ugliness. Even scarier: it looks about 30 times better in this photo than in person.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 6, 2009 11:21 AM in response to Aesthetically-Challenged on Columbia Street

When he heard we were looking for a new place, our landlord knocked $200/month off the rent (we live in ft. greene, on a landmark block). Rents are coming down and tenants know it.

Posted by: talknerdytome at July 27, 2009 12:28 PM in response to Hard to Rent in G'wood Heights?

I was talking to Eddie from Eddie's Salvage and he said there's a dumping station for construction debris right by the BQE in Clinton Hill, and that people have been having health problems. (He does a lot of demolition work, which is how he gets the salvage for his salvage shop.)Unscientific? Yes. But I'd definitely look into it before buying a place.

Posted by: talknerdytome at July 17, 2009 12:04 PM in response to Enviromental Impact of BQE?

"Homeskillet." I officially love the What.

Posted by: talknerdytome at May 22, 2009 12:18 PM in response to Chase Turns Off Our Spigot—For Now at Least

I lived on Bridge St (across from the old Bridge Cleaners) and loved it. Every train was within a few feet, the rent was reasonable and it was generally a nice place to live. (Although you had to stomp down the street at night to scare the rats away.) The people who owned the businesses around there were friendly and they served a lot of people. Then Laboz started emptying the buildings and the construction of the Sheraton was unbearable, so we moved. I got in some scruffles on the belltel blog with belltel people who were elated that those businesses were being forced out ("it's just more money in my pocket"). Sadly, it doesn't seem like anyone's benefitting now.

Posted by: talknerdytome at May 1, 2009 11:49 AM in response to Contamination Found at 384 Bridge Street, Lawsuit Filed

Thanks, Dave. If anyone can recommend a handyman to remove a cabinet and install a dishwasher, I'd appreciate it.

Posted by: talknerdytome at April 28, 2009 4:29 PM in response to Dishwasher installation

The potential landlord doesn't have a problem with our having a dishwasher installed (we would pay to have someone else install it); he just doesn't want to pay for it himself.

Posted by: talknerdytome at April 28, 2009 3:48 PM in response to Dishwasher installation

There was a $455,000 price drop at 396 Vanderbilt -- HOTD 9 months ago...

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/348441-multi-396-vanderbilt-avenue-clinton-hill-brooklyn

Posted by: talknerdytome at April 24, 2009 2:20 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

How is renting out a room for $575 in a $375 rent-stabilized apartment illegal? The tenant is still living in the apartment, so it's not a non-primary residence claim; and she's not subletting, since she's still in the apartment, so she isn't subletting in excess of the legal rent.

Posted by: talknerdytome at April 3, 2009 11:12 AM in response to Problem With RC Tenant

I think landlords forget how annoying it is living without a dishwasher, especially if a couple or family rents the apartment. It means spending 45 minutes cleaning up after dinner, as opposed to 20. Also, for what it's worth, here's my vote on the remainder of your questions: (a) just paint the cabinets white and a laminate counter is fine; (b) shower curtain (those glass doors get so crusty and gross); and (c) cabinet sinks provide much needed storage. I'm more willing to rent a place if I see the landlord has considered the tenants concerns, too.

Posted by: talknerdytome at February 19, 2009 3:26 PM in response to Appropriate Renov. 4 rental unit

I grew up in Ithaca, the land of the Greenstar Food Co-op and the now defunct Somadhara Bakery (a.k.a. Somewhat Horrible to us hippies’ kids). And even Greenstar has a two-tiered system in which you get a discount if you choose to work. While I recognize that people consider the work requirement fun or community building, I leave the house at 8:30 a.m. and get home at 8 p.m., so the weekends are valuable time that frankly I’d rather spend with my husband
or friends. I’m happy to pay more and have someone who has more time and can work pay less. A two-tiered system seems more inclusive and community oriented to me.

Posted by: talknerdytome at August 20, 2008 11:48 AM in response to Fort Greene Co-Op Chooses Toiling

quote:
"What about that older generation that is not so computer savey? Is their cash no good|? or are they too stupid for you?"

LOL! you really do NOT want to rent to anyone over 65 tho because it's legally IMPOSSIBLE to get them out if you had to.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 6, 2009 3:50 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

ugh. psychic vision of me at 65 years old frantically looking for a place to live and having the doors shut on me.

*rob*

Posted by: Butterfly at October 6, 2009 3:51 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

The rent of $1400 is about right for an apartment that size in that location. However, you should clean up the place and apply a coat of paint. Additionaly, get rid of the drop ceiling if you can.

I have 6 apartments in your area (all 1 bedrooms) and when a tenant moves out I always make sure its cleaned out really well and a new coat of paint put on. Additionaly I have tall tin ceilings and I would never in 100 years put drop ceilings.

When you take pictures make sure there is lots of light in the apartment. Light colors on the walls make the space look larger.

If done right there is no reason why you would not be able to rent the space in a weeks time at the most. your building is in prime park slope and although the market is down there is still a huge demand for your area.

good luck.

Posted by: landlord at October 6, 2009 7:28 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

Lots of good suggestions here. Take talknerdytome's advice on the ad copy, and I agree about the dropped ceilings -- they would be a definite NO for me and probably others. Only one thing to add: once the tenants are gone and you get the place spiffed up, TAKE SOME GOOD PICTURES of the apartment, empty on a sunny day, for use in the future. Then you'll never be stuck using pictures of tenant clutter again.

Posted by: casacara at October 6, 2009 7:30 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

I went to your Craigslist ad pretending that I was in the market for a studio apartment. I ignored the furniture because let's face it, sometimes having furniture in an apartment can't be helped, and it's not that cluttered that you can't see the bare bones of the unit. Things I saw immediately and liked:

* Beautiful front windows with lots of light

* Nice amount of shelving and closet space

* Hardwood floors (yay!)

What made me go hmmm...:

* No bathroom shot. Even though it says it's big and beautiful in the ad, the fact that there's no image supporting this automatically makes me suspicious.

* Kitchen shot is cropped. Once again, people are more interested in what's omitted than what they see. Is there a place to put dishes? Groceries?

Those things are all things I might be able to live with. Here are the dealbreakers:

* That godawful drop ceiling. And the fact that it's a drop ceiling in a brownstone fills me with GOTDAMN BURNING ANGER. I prefer living in older buildings for the wonderful high ceilings, and I think most people who like vintage prefer that as well.

* Absolutely no dogs. I'm a responsible pet owner. I also realize that some people aren't, and often bad experiences make landlords prefer not to rent to people with pets. Therefore, if I'm looking at apartments on CL I always make sure I have the dog and cat checkboxes checked before I start searching. If I were really conducting a search I would never see this ad.

IMO, one of the best thing you could do is remove the drop ceiling. It's especially important in this case because it's a studio (as opposed to only having it in areas like the kitchen or bathroom) and the entire living area has it!

Posted by: Kaonashi at October 6, 2009 8:03 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

I would bet money that 99% of the commenters on this thread have not rented an apt. in Brooklyn in the last 3 months. The market is WAY down. I just rented 2 and it was HARD and I took almost a 10% price drop. What rented last year in 3 days took me 3 weeks and with 2 price drops. They were on Craigslist with gorgeous pics, empty, with no dropped ceilings and brand new everything. I consulted w/ 2 agents, one from Corcoran and one from Halstead and they confirmed that things are sitting empty for months even after significant price drops. The agent from Corcoran said that he has two 2 bedrooms that rented in just 3 days last year for $3,600. This year the price is $3,000 and they've been sitting empty since July. He has another 600 sq. ft. 1 bedroom, no fee that has been on the market for 2 months empty. The market has tanked and it's taking longer and prices are lower. People are not looking for a deal they are looking for a steal....hopefully it won't stay like this for long.

Posted by: mamaday at October 6, 2009 8:58 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

well i rented a place w/i the last 3 months and i gave the LL his ask and all n all i'm pretty happy with the deal,,,,,,,,,,, SO THERE!

Posted by: bowl of dicks at October 6, 2009 10:38 PM in response to Advice on Rental Market

"The agent from Corcoran said that he has two 2 bedrooms that rented in just 3 days last year for $3,600. This year the price is $3,000 and they've been sitting empty since July."

Well, maybe if the agent from Corcoran lowered his $4400 fee the places would rent a bit faster...

Posted by: northsloperenter at October 7, 2009 9:57 AM in response to Advice on Rental Market

Exactly, Northsloperenter. The notion brokers are telling landlords to take huge cuts in their rental income so the brokers don't have to lower their fees in this new market is absolutely absurd. Landlords should be negotiating fees down with brokers and if they can't get a good deal for their prospective tenants don't use a broker at all.

Posted by: traditionalmod at October 7, 2009 10:20 AM in response to Advice on Rental Market

Yes. Landlords need to understand that broker fees are like a "cover charge" at a club.

When you have a line of a people waiting outside hoping to get in, sure, you can charge a cover.

But when you club is empty and no one is walking in the door, it's time to get rid of the cover charge and start a happy hour.

Posted by: northsloperenter at October 7, 2009 10:58 AM in response to Advice on Rental Market