"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

LISTEN TO JACK SLADE! I did this. It is much easier to just frame out the wall to meet the chimney and make everything a straight line. You can also put new electric and plumbing if you need it in the new wall. Much easier solution.

Posted by: tomgee at August 17, 2009 11:07 AM in response to Shallow Stove?

I have the same one, I got it for FREE from the City of New York.
You paid over $100 for this?? You are CRAZY

Posted by: tomgee at July 28, 2009 8:18 AM in response to Want My Composter? $30!

I think a good use of the money would have been to design and build a pedestrian archway over Flatbush Avenue that connects Prospect Park to the Botanic Garden. It could be long and sloping, with a formal entrance inside Prospect Park.

Posted by: tomgee at July 7, 2009 12:58 PM in response to BBG Visitor Center Design Unveiled, Award Announced

but the owner of the Barge/Restaurant is not entitled any money for the trees dying. The trees are the city's trees on city property. So the city can plant new ones on its property.

Posted by: tomgee at July 6, 2009 6:27 PM in response to Closing Bell: River Cafe Sues City Over Falls Project

Aren't the trees in fact owned by the city? The River Cafe is just a barge parked under the Brooklyn Bridge. The trees are part of city property.

Posted by: tomgee at July 6, 2009 4:27 PM in response to Closing Bell: River Cafe Sues City Over Falls Project

Sam the plasterer is an independent contractor that I have used for skim coating walls, but does sheetrock as well.
732 675-1343

Posted by: tomgee at June 16, 2009 10:16 AM in response to drywall /plaster work

Sorry not a river but a canal built out of the local tidal wetlands and fresh water streams

Posted by: tomgee at June 16, 2009 10:13 AM in response to More Gowanus Goop

The Gowanas was not built. It was a naturally occurring river that ran through this part of Brooklyn during Walt Whitman's time. Our industrialization of the planet is what destroyed this river. We only think of it as a toxic waste dump because that is what we did to it. It is our responsibility to restore it to the river it once was.

Posted by: tomgee at June 16, 2009 10:11 AM in response to More Gowanus Goop

if that pipe was replaced with this one, then it was damaged the first time a pipe was placed there. Stockpipe? that is a new one to me. This is a drainage or vent pipe for the plumbing ...it has NOTHING to do with pipes for a stock pot on a stove. I would say put some wire mesh around it, STRUCTOLITE (my most favorite stuff in the world for plater wall repair), then finished plaster. IF you really want to get whacky, make a mold of the plater pattern on the wall, fill it with plaster, then apply it in place to make the match.

Posted by: tomgee at June 16, 2009 9:35 AM in response to Open Stockpipe in wall

I am sure the Landlord would appreciate this! extra water usage...illegal tenants...hmmmm

Posted by: tomgee at June 15, 2009 10:39 AM in response to It's Hard to Beat the Tent Rent

I had the same problem recently. First appraisal was absurdly low. I fired back at the bank with all the comps in my neighborhood and pointed out how absolutely off they were. I think they really wanted my business because my credit is good, so they sent out another appraiser and I got the right number. I was very persistent with them. Luckily there was a house in contract on my block very similar to my house with a good selling price. I told them I have the proof and I was going to hold them to the facts or charge them with fraud.
If your bank is not cooperating, go with another institution.

Posted by: tomgee at June 8, 2009 7:33 PM in response to Help with crazy appraisals

Your sink should be a miniscule corner fixture. There are really 2 sizes for toilets, Round and Elongated. The toilet is your dealbreaker. The code states you need a foot and a half (18") from the front of the toilet before an obstruction and 15" from the center to either side (30") which is very tight. Your shower should also be in a corner and perhaps be a triangle shape where you enter on the diagonal. This might work.

Posted by: tomgee at June 4, 2009 10:10 AM in response to advice on adding a bathrroom

What are you going to do with it? What are you going to do to the space behind it and the hole in the wall.
These are easily removed. I can take it off if you give me the mantle. Only a few nails hold it in place.

Posted by: tomgee at May 19, 2009 9:37 AM in response to seeking someone to remove mantel

To answer about the block, this is probably the best block along Fenimore Street. Very neighborhood active street, that won the Greenest Block contest in recent years. Very well kept, very friendly. There is also a speed bump on this block that slows cars down somewhat. It seems like a steal based on Price per sq. ft. Definately a value buy.

Posted by: tomgee at May 18, 2009 5:15 PM in response to House of the Day: 207 Fenimore Street

Parksloper...that crisis is already upon us. We are just at the beginning.

Posted by: tomgee at May 14, 2009 12:30 PM in response to Refinancing: How Sweet It Is

its moronic to put tile over tile because you are basically sticking it to the next guy. Down the road someone will have to rip out two or three layers of tile when they want to redo the bathroom. Its just irresponsible and typical of the "quick and dirty" mentality. When renovating properly its always best to go back to the bones and rebuild.
Only SLIME will tile over tile. ITs lazy and irresponsible causing more work for the next person. Someone in the building trades that just want to make a quick buck tell you its fine. Coz they can get in and out quicker.

Posted by: tomgee at May 7, 2009 10:43 AM in response to TILING OVER TILE??

I thought "Guliani Time" was over!

Posted by: tomgee at May 7, 2009 10:34 AM in response to How'd You Miss This?

Another vote for Martin Plumbing and Heating. They are very professional, very honest and very reliable. They stand by their work and take pride in it. The even taught me a bunch of things about plumbing that I could do myself and save money. They have been around a while and are pretty much exclusive to Brooklyn work.

Posted by: tomgee at May 7, 2009 10:30 AM in response to Riddle Me This (Plumbing Questio

knightglassart@yahoo.com
This is an excellent stain glass restorer.

Posted by: tomgee at April 29, 2009 8:09 PM in response to Stain Glass Restoration & info?

these guys are MAJOR Crooks!!
I had started using them when AAA towed me there after I broke down. The first time I used them I got a laundry list of stuff they wanted to do. Very expensive. Another time when I was closing on a house I discovered I had an outstanding parking ticket that was unpaid for over a year. Turns out when my car was at this service station for repair, they left it on the street and it got a ticket. They never told me and must have thrown it out. Very shady place indeed....

Posted by: tomgee at April 27, 2009 2:35 PM in response to Streetlevel: Atlantic Avenue Shell Station Open Again

Guess what....this is kind of idiotic to have the anniversary concert in Brooklyn. There is a state of the art facility on the exact location of the Woodstock event of 1969. THIS IS WHERE IT SHOULD BE!!
http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/

Posted by: tomgee at April 7, 2009 3:08 PM in response to Closing Bell: Woodstock 40th Anniversary at Prospect Park?

You are all getting 75% LTV????
The best I can get is 55%....Maybe I need to call your people!

Posted by: tomgee at April 3, 2009 3:44 PM in response to 1% penalty on 2 family?

Its ignorant. Because there were white people on Flatbush Avenue 10 years ago. Your husband is filling you with false perceptions. The stores don't only cater to West Indians. Its not all black and white. There have always been white families in this neighborhood from the day the Dutch farm got sold and developers started building. And even before that obviously. Sorry, but your "facts" are wrong and you shouldn't quote a husband that says something about a neighborhood he never lived in and take it as fact just because he is black. He is still wrong. Yes there are more black folks than white folks here, so what. But its not absolute and it was never a 100% black neighborhood. And as a matter of "fact" if you look at a NYC census map, there is not one neighborhood that is 100% anything. Breezy Point is the whitest neighborhood in NYC and they are not 100%. whew......i am done

Posted by: tomgee at April 2, 2009 5:36 PM in response to House of the Day: 29 Maple Street

PLG HOUSE TOUR is May 31st

This quote is VERY funny,
"all the white people" around on Flatbush and comments if this was 10 years ago you would never seem them over here."

Another ingnorant statement for many reasons and untrue (as Bob Marvin can attest to). But lets take it further. You could definately had made that statement in reverse 45 years ago. Jackie Robinson played baseball in this neighborhood and was not allowed to buy a house here!! nyc neighborhoods are organic and have changed from generation to generation..Park Slope was a Puerto Rican neighborhood once you know!

Posted by: tomgee at April 2, 2009 5:06 PM in response to House of the Day: 29 Maple Street

Gil Hodges
Woody Allen
Mel Brooks
Paul Auster
Roebling

Posted by: tomgee at April 2, 2009 3:02 PM in response to Closing Bell: First Inductees into the Brooklyn Hall of Fame

Gemini " always been an area of high crime especially drug movement" thats a pretty bold and ignorant statement. When Park Slope was awash with crime, SRO's and its drug dealing in the early 1970's, This side of the park was much more tranquil and stately. These homes in the LM Historic District have been single family for over 100 years and have never been chopped up, preserving that tight-nit homeowner community. Its very dangerous to judge a place just by the look of it and the preceptions that get played out in your imagination.
Also 595K was not an insane price for the area in 2004, but right in line with values. You may have thought that in 2004 prices were insane, but this house was half the price of ones in Clinton Hill, FT. Greene, Park Slope etc. Houses in Lefferts Manor have generally been half the price of those other neighborhoods for a very long time. Which means these homes in Lefferts Manor rise and fall at the same pace as the other brownstone neighborhoods of Brooklyn. So if you were buying at any point in the last 20 or 30 years the deal you got was probably close to the prevailing rates for that year. And today the same holds true. Its one thing to say something is overpriced based on your emotional feeling, but looking at comps and the reality you can't change it. Its not cheap in these five boros and thats the bottom line.
So after all THAT.....I think it is priced fairly and reflects the comps in the neighborhood and is proportionately priced compared to Park Slope as seen over the last 30 years.

Posted by: tomgee at April 2, 2009 2:53 PM in response to House of the Day: 29 Maple Street

"It was purchased for $450,000 in 2003..."

Beep beep beep beep...

***Bid half off peak comps***

Yeah if you are buying in Camden, New Jersey or Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Posted by: tomgee at March 26, 2009 2:49 PM in response to House of the Day: 182 Rutland Road

Mr. B what do you mean: "it's not in the most expensive part of town" Do you mean in Brooklyn or PLG? You describe the house as in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, which it is, but it is specifically in Lefferts Manor, which by PLG standards IS the most expensive part of town. This is a landmarked home that has been a one-family house since the day it was built. I would say the price is fair since the other homes here in the most expensive part of town are getting a little more than that asking. I assume the house was in bad shape in 2003 when the owner purchased it, because in 2003 450,00 was on the low side for the neighborhood.

Posted by: tomgee at March 26, 2009 2:00 PM in response to House of the Day: 182 Rutland Road

FSRQ you kind of agreed with me in your post be reiterating what I was basically saying. Any you misquoted me by saying I said the "cops dont care." I never said that. And you reinforce what I said with your next line by saying they are restricted in what they can do, exactly. Believe me i have had experience with this problem. I know how it works. And the ideal of Majority rule in a neighborhood is completely true. I can give you thousands of examples of what goes on in one neighborhood and not in another because of who lives there. And if you ride around all the separate neighborhoods of Brooklyn you will see this clearly. Loud music parties until 5 or 6 in the morning in certain neighborhoods where in other neighborhoods they would be stopped in minutes. When I say loud, I mean with rented massive amplification. That just doesn't happen in Carroll Gardens. Believe me I have called the police about witnessing drug-dealing, they ask me if there is a gun and to describe the scene. A cop car will respond, but not much happens. Exactly as you described. I have gone to the DA and Narcotics with photos and had a sit down with them on what was going on. They said they would 'get back to me'. Then 6 months later asked if there was still a problem as if they were just getting to the complaint. I said yes, and they responded that they were very busy and would try to check into it. I was shocked to see this as the quote of the day. Anyway I am voicing my opinion and your disagreement to my opinion is weak in that is says the same thing with different words.

Posted by: tomgee at March 18, 2009 4:25 PM in response to Quote of the Day

Ok here is one part of this that was ignored. The police usually don't respond or do anything about drug dealing unless someone has a gun. They have to actually catch someone in the act of dealing to really arrest them. They are business people and have figured out how to do their business. They get sloppy now and then, but they are fully aware of how to play the law. If you call 911 about drug dealing, they will ask you if anyone has a gun. The gun part will seal the deal for them and they will make a move. Here is my theory. Everyone's gotta eat. There are people that have jobs and get paid and people that hustle and get paid. The cops know this. The city knows this. My experience in Brooklyn shows me that in any given neighborhood the MAJORITY rules. If the majority is Hasidic Jews, they dictate the behaviors and rules, In white neighborhoods, people sip wine on their stoops. In the Lower East Side the cops have been told not to respond to noise complaints because Bloomberg has declared it a "party zone" and it would be bad for business to tell the bars to keep the noise down. In poor and working class black neighborhoods there is a percentage of people that have to hustle to make a living. As long as that hustling is not hurting anyone, causing other crimes or drawing large numbers of complaints, then its business as usual. It keeps things status quo, people eat and no one gets hurt. Clampdown and well, what will folks do? Especially with high unemployment levels. The cops know its happening, but unless its really causing a problem to surrounding businesses and threatening people's lives they do nothing really. They can't, its majority rule basically. So until the majority swings the other way and people keep complaining, the 77th probably can't do much.

Posted by: tomgee at March 18, 2009 2:22 PM in response to Drug Dealing Hotspot in Crown Heights?

Ok here is one part of this that was ignored. The police usually don't respond or do anything about drug dealing unless someone has a gun. They have to actually catch someone in the act of dealing to really arrest them. They are business people and have figured out how to do their business. They get sloppy now and then, but they are fully aware of how to play the law. If you call 911 about drug dealing, they will ask you if anyone has a gun. The gun part will seal the deal for them and they will make a move. Here is my theory. Everyone's gotta eat. There are people that have jobs and get paid and people that hustle and get paid. The cops know this. The city knows this. My experience in Brooklyn shows me that in any given neighborhood the MAJORITY rules. If the majority is Hasidic Jews, they dictate the behaviors and rules, In white neighborhoods, people sip wine on their stoops. In the Lower East Side the cops have been told not to respond to noise complaints because Bloomberg has declared it a "party zone" and it would be bad for business to tell the bars to keep the noise down. In poor and working class black neighborhoods there is a percentage of people that have to hustle to make a living. As long as that hustling is not hurting anyone, causing other crimes or drawing large numbers of complaints, then its business as usual. It keeps things status quo, people eat and no one gets hurt. Clampdown and well, what will folks do? Especially with high unemployment levels. The cops know its happening, but unless its really causing a problem to surrounding businesses and threatening people's lives they do nothing really. They can't, its majority rule basically. So until the majority swings the other way and people keep complaining, the 77th probably can't do much.

Posted by: tomgee at March 18, 2009 2:18 PM in response to Drug Dealing Hotspot in Crown Heights?

The Epilepsy photos on this guys flickr page are a bit disturbing. My aunt has the same condition. Heavy stuff

Posted by: tomgee at March 17, 2009 9:00 PM in response to Closing Bell: Brooklyn in the 1970's

IMO..The color of a radiator has nothing to do with the temperature it will reach when filled with steam. I paint them the color of the room, to make them fade into the scenery. I have used regular latex paint and have had no problems in 8 years. However the nice ornate ones are worth stripping. Radiator covers will block heat from coming in the room, but are sometimes necessary with little children in a house. Placing foil on a wall behind a radiator just makes the wall ugly.

Posted by: tomgee at January 26, 2009 1:38 PM in response to Should you paint radiators?

As a resident of the neighborhood I will chime in. The houses in Lefferts Manor were built for upper middle class families at the turn of the last century. The design of the house is made for an extended or large family with live in 'help'. On the upper floors of most of these single family homes, of which the majority have been since the day they were built, there are quarter for live in help. Usually the rear section of one of the upper floors had a separate little kitchen, dining/living room and a little bedroom for a nanny or live in house keeper. That is why some of these houses still have kitchens on the upper levels. There is no 'shady' illegal renting going on. It is simply the design of homes from an era long gone. And since many of the Lefferts Manor homes were never cut up into rooming houses or rentals, like most brownstone neighborhoods, the original features remain. SO if you are a single family that can afford live-in help these days...this throw-back stately home is right for you.

Posted by: tomgee at September 8, 2008 7:17 PM in response to House of the Day: 84 Rutland Road

speaking of Crown Heights, tonight is the 71st Precinct's Night out as well on Rutland Rd between Flatbush and Bedford in PLG

Posted by: tomgee at August 5, 2008 1:24 PM in response to 81st Pct's Annual National Night Out: Tonight.

bergen is out uf business....at least the flatbush location

Posted by: tomgee at August 5, 2008 1:20 PM in response to Tile shops in Brooklyn

I used this company and had a HORRIBLE experience with them. They took 2 months to get a job started and once they started they rarely showed up and after 6 months of little to no progress I told them to get all their stuff out of my house and never to come back.

Posted by: tomgee at August 5, 2008 1:00 PM in response to updating on my friend's restoration

Interesting article on the Bed and Breakfasts in Brooklyn. That Sterling Place one is relatively new it seems. They bought the house in 2006. I wonder if that "cottage" in the garden was already there..I see no permits filed for any construction. I assume it must have been. Nice to have plumbing and electric run out there.

Posted by: tomgee at July 22, 2008 9:05 AM in response to Tuesday Links

"The truth is if the price of every condo in Brooklyn was cut 25%, they would sell this weekend."

Ha ha ha ha !!!!
Ha ha ha ha

that is pure opinion and completely FALSE!!!!
And besides...as Ed Koch once said:
"If you can't afford to live here...LEAVE!!"

Your statements about more density are nothing but little bombs you are trying to hurl to get a reaction. If someone wants over 2000 square feet to live in with their family in New York City, it should be allowed. And it is. Just because you think all you need is a bed and a window in a box to live doesn't mean everyone else wants to live like that. So keep using your oven as your closet and go back to Manhattan where dense development reigns supreme. We in bucolic Brooklyn enjoy the leafy neighborhoods where skies are open and dense neighborhoods are friendly.

Posted by: tomgee at June 17, 2008 2:19 PM in response to Flatbush Rezoning in the Works

Presently there is no need for higher density buildings. If you follow real estate at all (which you would if you really paid any attention to this site) you would know we are overbuilt. Loads of inventory and condos that can't sell that have become rentals.

Posted by: tomgee at June 16, 2008 4:16 PM in response to Flatbush Rezoning in the Works

I wish I could be a university and buy up real estate that I don't have to pay property tax on...and charge lots of money for dorm rent....yummy!

Posted by: tomgee at June 9, 2008 9:56 AM in response to Poly Want a Takeover?

hmm...not sure that would work for parquet floors so well, especially if the squeak is coming from the subflooring which would be tongue and groove. The squeak is the wood seperating from the joists and rubbing when weight is applied and then released as you walk over it. The real way to fix it, is to get that flooring seated back on the joists...

Posted by: tomgee at May 29, 2008 4:03 PM in response to Floorboard repair?

Powerwash...even perhaps a little muriatic acid will do the trick.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/infmur.html

Posted by: tomgee at May 20, 2008 1:30 PM in response to powerwash or paint??

L A D Y B U G S !! !!!

They will Devour the aphids

Posted by: tomgee at May 20, 2008 1:27 PM in response to black aphids

When i did my deck the design originally had the steps going to the side, but the rise of the steps would have been too steep to work out.

Posted by: tomgee at May 8, 2008 2:33 PM in response to Garden of the Day: HGTV Does Greenwood Heights

Sorry to post so late...this is my garden. The reason for so much hardscape is a maintenance issue. When you are inside the yard you are surrounded by plants, flowers and greenery. There are some trees (Dogwoods, cedar, lilac and hemlock) and we will be adding magnolia and japanese maple in the fall... As summer progresses everything grows real big with variety and it feels lush. Its also nice to walk and sit about an area where you don't get mud on your feet. Its much neater this way and the surrounding plants and weeding require enough work. On a side note, we will be expanding our yard this year, as the lot behind the back fence became available to us..there will be less hardscape there.

Honeysuckle is invasive and we are trying to be careful with it. We have roses and clematis that will climb the pergola/arbor actually. It is still an organic work in progress.

We broke up whatever concrete we needed to first (a jackhammer is not always necessary..its about 4 inches thick and a sledge will work), laid down weed blocking matting, then a layer of pea gravel and then the crushed bluestone. Much of this project was DIY, the cost for labor, crushed stone and arbor was about $5000. The deck on the house was an ordeal with 3 contractors and me building it over a couple of years. Expect something like that in the 10K range.

Posted by: tomgee at May 8, 2008 11:53 AM in response to Garden of the Day: PLG Make-Over

This sounds like a job for Scott Schnall. This PE/Architect can get things moving for you. His office is on Atlantic Avenue between Court and Clinton (not far from the Dept of Bldgs....go figure).
Give him a shot, my experience with him is he expedites things..not much into the creative aspect, but is a whiz at codes and getting permits.

Posted by: tomgee at March 21, 2008 8:11 PM in response to Architect needed

thanks tomgee.

you must be thinking of the discounted compost bin program where
people get this one for $60. Because of the cost they have'nt done the
free program in years.
http://www.nyccompost.org/index.html

ANYWAY...this is open at the bottom to answer your question 'emil'.

Posted by: CGmodern at July 28, 2009 10:20 AM in response to Want My Composter? $30!

I also have this composter. The NYC compost project sold them last year for $20. But due to budget cuts, I think they now sell them for $60.

http://www.nyccompost.org/resources/orderbin.html

It is open at the bottom.

Posted by: Freckles at July 28, 2009 10:29 AM in response to Want My Composter? $30!

you would remove an historic chimney from a brownstone in order to align a stove with new cabinets? That's just daft.

Posted by: Minard Lafever at August 17, 2009 11:49 AM in response to Shallow Stove?

Minard Lafever: you are an ignorant idiot.

Posted by: bobjohn at August 17, 2009 2:39 PM in response to Shallow Stove?

Hi,
When I redid my kitchen I brought the stove to the front of the chimney, and all the cabinets and counter tops are 3 feet deep. It is an unusual arrangement, but I like the extra depth for appliances, etc., and tops seem less cluttered.

Posted by: chmod at August 17, 2009 3:52 PM in response to Shallow Stove?

I framed out the wall like jack spade and tomgee to meet the chimney. Except where I put the fridge and there it was nice to have more space which made me able to have a "counter depth" fridge by just having it go a little deeper towards the old wall. But I also like chmod's approach of having deeper counters.

Posted by: pmmtenement at August 17, 2009 6:18 PM in response to Shallow Stove?

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

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

I'm tiling over the old stuff... and here's why:

I pulled off the 20 year old tile and found the original hexagonal 1" (or smaller) tiles that were laid originally - the type that always accompany 'subway tiles' on the wall. The original tilers poured a bed of mortar about 4" thick between and rising above the top of the floor joists about 1 1/2". This thick bed of mortar only concerns me in terms of weight but it has lasted for 94 years and the floor joists still seem fine. I'm going to go the extra distance and sister some lamibeam to each of them underneath in the basement level - just because it will make me feel better.

If it were as easy as 'popping up' some old tiles - I might consider it. But these are so firmly locked into this thick bed of mortar that to remove them would require removing the entire bed. I'll trust the 'old world' artisans that evidently put this together, use their tile as my bed and reinforce for weight /longevity reasons.

Posted by: PulSamsara at September 8, 2009 12:48 PM in response to TILING OVER TILE??