Financing for coop investor purchase

The reason for the coffin turner niche is that as you turn the corner going up the stairs, the steps get quite a bit steeper, meaning that you have to lift the uphill part of the furniture higher to clear the banister. Without the niche, very wide You can use the coffin turner to rotate furniture over the banister -- it allows you to get much bigger pieces of furniture through. It also gives you a shelf to rest the furniture on so you can crawl under it and lift it from the other end when you are moving stuff around.

Personally, I've always thought that it would be much easier if brownstones had a jib boom coming off the cornice, and a removable window on each floor, so you could use a block and tackle to raise things right off the truck onto the correct floor. It would make moving in and out much easier.

Posted by: thwackamole at October 19, 2008 7:46 PM in response to What were the round cutouts in brownstone stairwells originally for?

Walk away. In 1990, prices of 1brs in manhattan went from 300k->90k.

Posted by: thwackamole at October 7, 2008 6:42 AM in response to Break contract or not?

I've visited the three bad ones. Originally the idea was to get 4 or 5 of them in a row and demolish them; then put up a condo using the unused FAR (and possibly some sort of curb cut). They got the demo permits to do it; then Frank Farricker decided to run for office in 2006 and got beaten up on the issue.

The buildings are in pretty awful condition. Gut reno in the 1950s using the cheapest possible materials. Some apartments were cosmetically upgraded in the 90s. Rents were generally pretty low; there are some 60+ tenants in there and some that claim to be disabled. 'Stacking' them is likely to be really annoying.

Originally, they were for sale for something like 1400, possibly more. At one point the 182/6/8 portfolio was for sale for something like 5MM, but Eastern couldn't sell it.

At this point, the bank is probably forcing the issue, since they had a note that matured around this time. Penson had his equity wiped out on this one and then some.

Overall: it wouldn't be a bad purchase for an aggressive individual to try and pull an Economakis and kick everyone out. Renoed, they are probably worth 2-2.5 (184 and 190 were renoed quite nicely); brokers who think that these POS tenements are worth 3+ are crazy. So a lot of air has been let out of this particular bubble.

Posted by: thwackamole at October 6, 2008 11:41 PM in response to Heights Brownstone Portfolio Changes Hands

I've visited this a few times.

Key points:
1) House is very narrow. 15 wide at the widest. Not a huge problem for the living room, but it makes the upstairs rooms quite narrow. Kitchen is perhaps 12' wide. Granite counter is cracked; the rest of the kitchen has white 'Euro' style formica cabinets that perfectly express 1987 -- not bad, just dated. No bathroom on the 'parlor' floor.

Downstairs is the giant cat scratching post room. Not really sure what you'd do with that sunken area, but there is no way that I'd pay 2k/foot for it. All bathrooms/other rooms down there are finished in the cheap brown tile/ formica that was also popular in 1987; the recessed lighting really adds to the vibe.

Upstairs, the main bedrooms have trashed w/w carpet. The california style closets are nice, and the giant walk-in closets lovely, but again, 2k/foot for a closet makes your closet worth perhaps 100k. I can buy a storage unit for that. It's called a studio in ENY. Only one bedroom is full width, but the rest are ok. There are leaks in the bathroom.

Top floor has a large bedroom, with another 80s-inspired bathroom, as well as roof access. Would be perect for a teen.

The broker said you could rent it for 10-12k/year. I'd pay 1.5-2.0, but no more; the house is actually smaller than 2k worth of usable space (some of the 2k is in the utility rooms.

Overpriced, move along.

Posted by: thwackamole at August 8, 2008 1:39 AM in response to House of the Day: 19 Garden Place

Get a 'power roller' -- pipes paint to the roller. Paint sprayers require full masking, which doesn't work well if you have trim.

Posted by: thwackamole at May 16, 2008 7:35 AM in response to What's the story with paint sprayers?

My landlord gave us a bunch of shingles, but any angled shim should work.

Posted by: thwackamole at February 28, 2008 12:19 AM in response to Leveling furniture on sloping floors

Go down to southeastern PA. The woodworkers there are amazing, and they'll custom-build your doors. Then rent a u-haul, pick them up, and have a local install them.

Posted by: thwackamole at February 5, 2008 4:26 PM in response to Door Price

I think that the 'comp' was that ridiculous 9MM house on Willow a year or two ago. It was beautiful; reno was great, but for my money, I can get a lot more outside of Brooklyn.

Posted by: thwackamole at February 4, 2008 4:00 PM in response to House of the Day: 13 Cranberry Street

Thanks for all the, er, helpful suggestions. Shims, "tuna cans" and the like are what I have been using for the items I know I won't be moving around, but some of these I will be moving. The first poster is pointing me towards the kind of thing I am looking for. I have not seen anything like an adjustable tap in HD, Lowe's, Leopoldi's and the like. Washers, followed by a tap in felt pad may do the trick, so I will look into that as well.

10:20: That's what the realtor said. Now I'm stuck with the house.

Thanks, everyone.

Posted by: slopefarm at February 28, 2008 4:19 PM in response to Leveling furniture on sloping floors

First poster here, glad to be of help.

If you need a lot of adjustment, I wouldn't trust tap in's for heavy furniture anyway - seems like something that you had to stick in via a drilled hole would be sturdier. (I have this image of a large heavy piece of furniture snapping off, or bending, a tap-in when you try to move it.)

Posted by: guest at February 28, 2008 5:52 PM in response to Leveling furniture on sloping floors

First poster again - looked at one of my desk legs. The tube is not as long as the screw (and the screw not actually as long as I first remembered). They look just like the T-nuts in this picture - only my feet are plastic, not steel - which don't look like they'd take much drilling to install.

http://www.wobblytables.com/tableglides.htm

Posted by: guest at February 28, 2008 6:06 PM in response to Leveling furniture on sloping floors

Cork is the best because it's not as visible, it can be stained darker if need be, and it also grips to the floor.

I believe using cork is pretty standard for this.

Posted by: guest at February 28, 2008 8:40 PM in response to Leveling furniture on sloping floors

this is a great thread .

thank you all for your posts and prices. 5000 is cheap, 20,000 expensive, there we have the range. but really it depends on the amount of detail and quality and INSTALL.

those diy like me will try to pay 5 but do a huge amount of work and research and follow ups. if i had the 20 i would love to give it to a pro and not think twice. of course you have to have great refs to know you get a pro, so there is nothing wrong with spending the money as the doors may be worth it.

watch out for install and weather stripping, etc... it takes a pro to install properly, and perfect doors can be screwed up! think of your final product, especially when your locksmith blames the installer and your beautiful doors won't seal right. one stop shopping sounds attractive huh?

we are looking for a quality installer and a maybe a refinisher if anyone has a rec. and hopefully a price for 8 foot double doors with transom circa 1900. we're on a low budget but our doors and windows are really really important, like every day!

Posted by: brownstone89 at March 10, 2008 11:10 PM in response to Door Price

Use rollers. Never sprayers. If you have a steady hand and good eye for details there's no reason you can't paint it yourself. It's not brain surgery. I painted our apartment myself and it looked beautiful. I hired a professional to paint our new house in some rooms, but I painted the kitchen and upstairs bathroom myself and I did just as well if not better. I know plenty people who painted their brownstones themselves.

Just be sure to prep properly when you are taping, use primer, and use tinted primer if your paint color is more rich like any medium to dark tone. And always plan on two coats. Even for paler colors.

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 12:19 PM in response to What's the story with paint sprayers?

I love paint sprayers, but most professionals who use them will tell you that you have one person spraying, and one following along with a roller. It seems redundant, but it goes very quickly and once you get the hang of it, you can cover a room in minutes.
The cheap (Wagner) sprayers or power rollers are worthless, more aggravation than they are worth.
If you are using a lot of different colors, it is not worth it, to clean out the sprayer takes almost as long was the actual paint job.
Large space, solid color= Power sprayer with roller
Small space, several colors= Roller and brush

Posted by: guest at May 16, 2008 9:07 PM in response to What's the story with paint sprayers?

9:07 hit the nail on the head. The reason many high-end painters "back roll" is because the sprayer applies the paint too smoothly on a new wall. A low-napp roller will give a nice texture. You will spend as much time dipping a roller into the tray as you will actually rolling it on the wall. A good sprayer will cost $600 to $1200 dollars. The best place to find a used one is on e-bay or craigslist. Home depot and Lowe's both sell a 3 to 4 foot wide plastic thing that is mounted to a stick that a second person can hold instead of masking it off. This will speed up the job.

Posted by: southslope at May 17, 2008 6:23 PM in response to What's the story with paint sprayers?

You should talk to your lawyer as What says. My husband and I are buying in Brooklyn too, and we're closing early in November. We wouldn't even consider backing out. We figure that our purchase will significantly improve our living standards with only a moderate increase in housing costs. A real estate investment should be considered a seven to ten year investment at a minimum. Whilst Manhattan coop prices may have tanked in the 1990's, the city is a different place now, crime is lower, which makes it safer, and energy costs are significantly higher, which makes it significantly cheaper to live close to the subway system and in an apartment rather than a house. The attractions of NY will not go away. While we may see some decline in apartment prices in the short term, I don't see any structural changes that make me think that there is going to be another round of middle class flight that would cause prices to tank.

Posted by: bohuma at October 7, 2008 9:17 AM in response to Break contract or not?

Dollars aside, my sense of right and wrong dictates you don't back out of a contract because of cold feet. Lost your job? Family emergency that requires you to move immediately to the West coast? Maybe. But not cold feet.

Remember that there is a seller on the other end of that contract, and your bad faith has consequences for that person, too.

Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at October 7, 2008 9:43 AM in response to Break contract or not?