I still can't get past the Miss G Train Beauty pageant. I can't say as I have ever seen too many beauties on the G.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at November 12, 2009 10:46 PM in response to Thursday Links

a percent or two per year that is. sorry. still not 200-300% per year like Brooklyn.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at October 21, 2009 8:08 PM in response to Housing Starts 'Sputter' in September

"Tip of the iceberg." AMEN

And all you people talking about what a great buy these million dollar plus piles of brick and wood are selling for are still part of the problem. Until prices fall here in NYC to what they actually cost to rebuild then give about half that price to the value of the lot, we will never get out of this mess. I say it again, slightly over a decade ago, houses all over Brooklyn could be bought for 100K. There is no reason for crap here in the Burg to be going for much more than that now. The houses haven't changed, they haven't been updated, they haven't had a million dollars poured into them over the past 10 years, the neighborhoods haven't really changed all that much - there is still crime everywhere you turn, so why the heck would anyone think they have increased in value. If anything they have rotted for 10 more years and should be worth the same or less. Throughout history housing has never increased more than a percent or two long-term, let alone 300-500% like they have here in the city over 10 years time. INSANITY. And you guys just eat it up.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at October 21, 2009 8:04 PM in response to Housing Starts 'Sputter' in September

Probably will go somewhere near ask, however how do people cope with living in essentially a glorified hotel room with no closets and no storage room for anything but yourself. I can see renting a studio for a short-term single person who doesn't mind living in what would normally be considered about the size of a decent bedroom, but to actually buy something and spend those kind of monthly payments for something that will never again triple your money in a year is beyond me. Nowdays it's buy what you want to live in and expect to get the same or lower in a few years when you go to sell, but windfall profits for small spaces are a thing of the past. With that in mind I would just keep renting a space like this because after a year or two the walls will really start closing in on you and you will lose money from closing costs and all those monthly charges if you don't stay there for quite some time.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at October 6, 2009 6:30 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 55 Pineapple Street, #7H

What a really nice $350K house anywhere else in the entire USA

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 28, 2009 7:00 PM in response to Priciest Brooklyn Sale of '09 is in Gravesend!

Sure, come on over. Buy a piece of crap at inflated prices over here so my inflated priced piece of crap house can hold its 15x more than I paid for it value and help make my tax bill so high that I can never retire. And Pringler, you must not get out much. We still have the crack whores and gun slingers. They just come out later at night.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 28, 2009 6:57 PM in response to Williamsburg - To Buy or Not?

What's it going to take? Someone with at least 20% down, who makes around a million a year combined income, who wants to live in an overpriced apartment. Those types are practically knocking down people's doors trying to buy now or be priced out forever. Or so I hear.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 28, 2009 2:29 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 35 Prospect Park West, #14A and 15A

What a nice bunch of ghetto properties unaffordable to almost anyone except wall street crooks. Hmm. Beverly Hills, the Hamptons, or Crack Avenue? Where do I want to drop my $2 mil?

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 26, 2009 12:57 AM in response to Open House Picks

And the sad thing is the traffic pigs will start giving tickets now when its not moved for sweeping.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 25, 2009 2:19 PM in response to Look, Ma, No Wheels

That's on my street. I walk by it every day. What's BS doing in my hood?

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 22, 2009 11:45 PM in response to Tuesday Blogwrap

It all comes down to pricing. Why would anyone buy an overpriced by 500% storefront in a declining market? When this sold 15 years ago what did it bring. Add 30% and there's the historically realistic price. Bingo!

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 21, 2009 7:08 PM in response to Closing Bell: A Sign for the Times

Yea check back with me when they get closer to the actual cost to build them at around $150 psf.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 18, 2009 6:51 PM in response to Price Cuts at 542 St. Mark's Avenue

Brooklyn Indiana. Just caught that on the map. Funny. I work in DUMBO and love working there, but it's too remote to live there (long walk uphill to the trains and you have to leave DUMBO any time you need anything at all). Pickles and Peas? Foresters? Crazy cup shaking homeless people? Attack of the thug teenagers at dusk and all night long. No thanks.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 17, 2009 7:25 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 30 Main Street, #2C

No idea. What would these sell for in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, LA? How much did they actually cost to build? Somewhere in there is your answer. Certainly nowhere near what they're asking. I'm guessing by year after next about half to 1/3 what they are currently asking or less.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 17, 2009 4:02 PM in response to Development Watch: 69 Berry Street

Quite a distance from the Bedford L stop and not in the middle of the walking crowd around 7th and Bedford area. Wonder why they put it way out there?

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 16, 2009 12:06 AM in response to Streetlevel: Kent Ave. Duane Reade Opening Saturday

Jews can't take the elevator on the Sabbath? WTF? Elevators weren't even invented in the Old Testament, Torah, or whatever the fairy tale they choose to use is called. First they can't tear toilet paper or even change their babies diaper, and now elevators? Sheesh. Glad I'm agnostic.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 10, 2009 10:43 AM in response to Community Groups Sue City over Broadway Triangle

Buy a depreciating asset get another for free. Which one will depreciate faster is yet to be seen. I vote that the car will hold its value longer than the apartment.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at September 9, 2009 6:42 PM in response to It's Raining Cars at 1BBP

Once again priced at 2006/07 levels. None of these will appraise even close to those prices, so a buyer will need LOTS of cash to flush down the crapper just to buy one of these.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 29, 2009 2:13 PM in response to Open House Picks

As shady and scummy as they are, you can let a realtor show your property and even sell your house without it costing you a dime in commission. It's called a buyers agent fee. We do them all the time - or did anyway when I actually practiced real estate. The buyer simply pays your fee instead of the seller. You in return help them find the house they want and do all the negotiating and such on their behalf. Not a strange occurrence in the RE marketplace.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 24, 2009 9:46 PM in response to Reporting a Realty Company

Buy now or be priced out forever. At these rental prices you could make a mint if you'd just buy up 3 or 4 of the condos and rent them out! They can only go up in value because everyone knows NYC is different than the rest of the country.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 20, 2009 10:44 PM in response to Clermont Greene Adopts Hybrid Model

37% off a 2006 price sounds like the current market to me. Wait til next year when its 60% off the 2006 price. People have really big psychological crises coming ahead when they realize that bricks and mortar aren't really worth several hundreds or thousands or dollars per square foot when you can buy and build for around $100 or less. Good luck with the breakdown.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 20, 2009 4:30 PM in response to Contesting an Appraisal?

Also keep in mind that if you are considering the house and are thinking about jacking it back into level, the jacking will more than likely loosen the lathe and crack plaster throughout all the floors of the house above the jacked posts as they will all rise as the bottom floor rises, and will also more than likely crack open the roof in certain places that cannot stretch to expand as the roof will also rise with the walls. Any plumbing and even electrical wires inside those walls might also come apart as the walls are raised if pipes or wires are stretched or bent because of the walls rising. Speaking from experience as I have helped 2 friends renovate sags over the years and those issues came into play. Not that it was too bad as they were able to repair the casualties and ended up with a nice level house again, but something to think about. Those things might or might not happen if you decide to level the house.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 11, 2009 8:44 PM in response to Settling and Sagging House

Just as soon as those subprime loans start back up and they give all the unemployed people Jumbo loans with no docs to back them then all this outrageous 5x the real priced Brooklyn crap should be A-OK. I should go out and buy 20 because then I can be a billionaire in 3-5 years.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 5, 2009 1:00 PM in response to U.S. Homes Sales on the Rise

I suppose if I had $200K laying around that I just wanted to piss away into the wind I would buy it now. Why anyone would buy into this market is simply assinine. We have a long way to fall and will get there eventually. Has anyone had an appraisal done in the last month that was anywhere near an asking price such as this in this type of an area? I know in my hood appraisals are coming in WAY below ask and according to my friends in the appraisal and lending business this is just the tip of the rather large "new normal" lending iceburg.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at August 5, 2009 12:27 AM in response to House of the Day: 638 Saint Marks Avenue

Also heard from the Corcoran group:
There are already multiple offers on this property so you should bid well above the asking price. Buy now or be priced out forever. This is an up and coming area, that's why this house is listed at twice the most recent comp.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 26, 2009 10:58 AM in response to Overheard on Twitter

Wow, this is a real ecological nightmare because you know, lead and cadmium originally came from (and still comes from)...the ground. So does asbestos. All 3 are natural products of the earth and in many places in the US and even here in the city are natural deposits in higher concentration than this "potential" site that probably hasn't even been tested. There are so many projects like this all over Brooklyn that may or may not contain trace amounts of natural chemical "x" that are causing ecological and biological nightmares from non-use and abandonment on their own. Just scoop off the top layer, dump it in the landfill like we've done for 300 years, cover the lot with concrete, and build something already. More than likely, any bad chemical residues in these lots have already leecehd out and run down the streets into other peoples properties from the rainfall runoff. Not that I'm anti pollution, but all these stop work orders because of the EPA which then never ever seem to be tested, treated, or cleared just makes this place even more miserable. Over here in Williamsburg and north into Greenpoint that used to be industrial are full of vacant lots awaiting...??? something and have been for years now.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 18, 2009 5:25 PM in response to Bedford Avenue Cesspool Continues to Fester

Another greedy flipper who hopefully lands in foreclosure. I bought this POS for $425, added $1000 worth of paint, and now want to hit the lottery for over a million. Any appraiser who values this over 500K should have his license revoked, and any bank who would loan over that should have their bailout money rescinded immediately for trying to keep the greed bubble blowing.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 18, 2009 5:13 PM in response to House of the Day: 78 Douglass Street

So they took 4 nice apartments and turned them into 8 cracker box tenements. Another redeveloper who should go bankrupt.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 10, 2009 3:11 PM in response to Condos of the Day: 707 Carroll Street

I totally agree Joe (and I'm being serious). I gave less than 100K for my house in Williamsburg not all that long ago in real estate land. 10 years ago - before owing a house became like playing the stock market and driving these prices up to ridiculous levels - what would this mediocre house have gone for? 10 years ago in the rest of America it would have been a 180K house that today is worth MAYBE 200K. I remember when you could buy just about anywhere here in the city near a subway for a normal America price plus about $50K. 10 years ago NYC wasn't all that expensive a place to live. The city hasn't changed much except for the price.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 9, 2009 11:16 PM in response to House of the Day: 1809 Glenwood Road

Is the picture on the right above the viewing room for the body, or just where you sign the guestbook? Sheesh this looks like a funeral home. Once again a mediocre house in a medicore neighborhood asking Beverly Hills prices. In the real workd, this is a $200K house.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 9, 2009 9:53 PM in response to House of the Day: 1809 Glenwood Road

"Why was the please in quotes?"

Because it was nicer and more succint than saying "Don't leave your f'n crap that should be in the dumpster on the sidewalk in the middle of the night so we have to throw it away in the morning when we get here. We are not the sanitation department and want to at least see your crap before we decide if we want to bother to take it or not"

Posted by: williamsburgguy at June 5, 2009 3:58 PM in response to Streetlevel: Flatbush Salvation Army to Close

Greedy fools. Hoping they lose it in foreclosure.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at May 26, 2009 1:56 PM in response to House of the Day: 243 Kane Street

Nice, half a mil for a shoebox, or almost a mil for an apt the size of a tiny ranch house for a couple with a kid. I bet these sell like hotcakes.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at May 23, 2009 9:30 AM in response to Vantage 238 Hits the Market

starting to see similar on overpriced nonspectacular brownstones as well. Appraisers realizing their job is on the line. Hence bubble over, prices will have to fall or else buyers dry up. If you can buy the property at a rest-of-America price (prob around 100k for a shell) you might get a loan. Here at seller in denial land, not a chance.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at May 19, 2009 9:27 PM in response to Financing a Shell Renovation

I'm guessing reading or doing research into the new regs isn't some of your strong points. New banking REGULATIONS (ie HVCC requirements - ie LAWS) state that the banks, brokers, etc CANNOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE APPRAISER. They are chosen at random from a pool by an uninterested 3rd party. They get only the contract to go by - cannot talk to anyone involved on the seller, buyer, broker, or banker ends until after they render the appraisal to paper, and it is binding and non-negotiable. Some appraisers were not even certified under the new rules if they had prior questionable dealings in the past. I know of one personally who was not re-certified. Like stated before, on a refinance, they don't even get a value to shoot for - the bank basically says, "I dunno, you tell me what it's worth".. This is supposed to bring prices in line with ACTUAL VALUES instead of bloated, artificially inflated values brought on by these very things that got us into this mess to begin with. Sheesh. The old days are over. Let's repeat it together --- OVER ----. If your house didn't appraise, it's because regardless what you paid, it's NOT WORTH THAT PRICE.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at May 14, 2009 12:16 AM in response to Low Appraisal: Any Recourse?

By all means, rip away bqe1970. While you're at it think about how you might make those 2 families into 6 families by putting up partitions in every room and renting them out SRO style when rent has to drop to affordability when more people are out of work and cannot afford/or simply refuse to pay $1800 for their apartment in your 2 family house because those other 2000 now vacant apartments here in the Burg are renting for $500. Yes, buy away OP. Maybe you can let 4 other families and their kids move in with you to afford one of these old townhouses when you are stuck with a million dollar mortgage on a 300K house. What fun it will be with all of you sharing those 2 bathrooms and 2 kitchens. Ever read Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives? He has some good pictures of how to maximize occupancy. Seriously, those of us who paid less than 100K for our houses in the 90's don't really have to worry about such nonsense and we can live one family to what was built as a one family house; however people who overpaid always try to rationalize why they didn't make a mistake and why 600 square feet is enough for any growing family. 30 years from now rents will be 20K per month and our houses will be worth a billion, and oddly enough wages will only be up 15% from where they are now. I'm guessing bqe is either a Realtor, mortgage broker, or maybe a former financial derivitives manager.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at May 11, 2009 8:04 PM in response to Becoming a landlord

Definitely be careful and think this through is this declining market. All these houses here in the Burg went from the $100K-200K range just a few years ago to these $1M+ prices now. 1M is so much more than it would cost to rebuild the bricks/wood and mortar its truly scary to plop that much down for one of these old woodies. Don't get me wrong, I love my old house and living here, however contrary to what Christopher says, you are not guaranteed that 30 years from now prices will ever be close to these again. This has been a totally unsustainable bubble and like Dot-com stocks, most never did and never will recover to those bubble prices ever again. And if house prices fall to where they should be - ie about 75% or more off current prices - your renters will vaporize and become buyers instead. Then when you can only get $500/month for your rental unit, how will you pay that astronomical mortgage? Delusion abounds on this board. People keep thinking that somehow the easy money that caused this mess will return and that somehow NYC is the only 300 square miles in the entire USA that will not fall back to normal prices like every other inflated US city has already or is in the process of doing. FYI - a few short years ago a million dollars would buy you a house in Beverly Hills. If that easy money never returns, people cannot get loans except those that meet DTI requirements, which means fewer people can pay BLOATED prices for these old houses that would cost 100-200K to rebuild if they went up in smoke tomorrow. Banks, appraisers, and regulators are correctly killing this "mutant bubble" as the what calls it. There is NO valid reason my house went from 200K to 1.5M in the past 7 years. If anything it's more worn out now than 7 years ago. However I now get the privilege of higher property taxes thanks to greedy banks and liar loans giving people free money to buy these old houses at inflated prices. Even if prices fall back to 200K for my house, that's still very expensive compared to the same house in other cities in this country. Houses in Detroit are less than 10K right now. Vegas, Phoenix, tons of formerly hot places in Florida, etc. have all fallen 60-80%. It can and will happen here. So think 20 years from now when your house is worth 300K and rent brings in $700/month will you be happy paying $6000/month PITI? Good luck. Hopefully we won't be seeing you in the foreclosure news in a couple years. I wouldn't buy in the city right now for anything.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at May 8, 2009 11:30 PM in response to Becoming a landlord

Don;t bother with a steamer, that just takes forever and wears out your arm from having to hold it as you creep along. Just get the little scorer tool that you swirl around to create tiny holes, then mix 3/4 water to 1/4 fabric softener (Downy, Final touch, cheapo brand, etc) in a spray bottle, mist it heavily and let it soak in for about 10 minutes then it will almost fall off as you peel it away. Fabric softener is the key. Ammonia in the water will also work but fabric softener works better.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 30, 2009 8:42 PM in response to Wallpaper removal

If its like the rest of the construction here in Brooklyn it will be 8-10 times the actual cost to build.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 28, 2009 2:42 PM in response to Development Watch: 315-327 Greene Avenue

It's greedy pigs like this who deserve to lose out. Maybe somebody can pick it up at a foreclosure auction before long.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 27, 2009 2:15 PM in response to House of the Day: 436 Classon Avenue Revisited

Yuck. Midwood is an old rundown money pit that should be 200K tops, the 2 family in Bayridge looks an awful lot like Trenton, or southern NJ houses for 1/10 the price. The Bedsuty houses - Nutso pricing. We need a good Vegas or Miami style cleansing so people who make a normal living can afford a house.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 25, 2009 12:27 PM in response to Open House Picks

OMG you mean house prices are falling back to reality? $725K was still overpriced for that house. New/old banking mortgage rule of thumb of 3x income means you still have to have someone making a lot of money or a huge down payment to even pay that much for it. In 1999-2001 what would these have gone for? What would it cost to rebuild if a fire happened tonight? There's your price. Oh wait, buy now or be priced out forever! Hardeeharhar.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 24, 2009 8:41 PM in response to Open House Picks: Six Months Later

What would this have sold for in 1999? There's your price. It never ceases to amaze me at people thinking things are bargains at these prices. Still in that good old nothing less than a million for anything in Brooklyn mentality. In 3 years this will be worth $300K - if there are buyers that is.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 23, 2009 4:11 PM in response to House of the Day: 1265 Dean Street

Buy now or be priced out forever! Oh wait, wrong year.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 23, 2009 1:02 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 70 Washington Street, #4S

"i have taken the asbestos course and it scared me. asbestos is a microscopic fiber that comes from a plant."

huh? What grade did you make in this course?
Minerals are rocks, not plants.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 22, 2009 7:55 PM in response to Asbestos and Linoleum Flooring

A bank that would loan a dime over 300K for this POS shouldn't get a cent of bailout money. What would this go for in 1999 money?

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 22, 2009 6:34 PM in response to House of the Day: 65 Prospect Park West

FHA loans also have another approx 6 percent in closing fees above and beyond that 3% down that are either paid outright at closing, can be borrowed from a family member, or in the past could be rolled into the loan.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 20, 2009 2:59 PM in response to 111 Monroe Street: Let's Do the Time Warp Again

The most common problem with dryer problems gas or electric is a stopped up vent hose or the mesh screen outside over the flap cover if it has one. Check for kinks in the vent hose, bird or mouse nest, screen clogged with lint, etc.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 13, 2009 6:24 PM in response to Washer/dryer installation

Just as soon as those no-doc zero down sub-prime loans begin again everything will be peachy!

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 13, 2009 12:50 PM in response to Babs: 'Don't Ever Underestimate' New York

I'm so ready when middle of the road houses in middle of the road neighborhoods return to middle of the road prices. The Veranda house is nicest so in the real world maybe 600K for it and the mid 300's for the rest. Why banks are still lending over $417K on anything middle of the road in Brooklyn is beyond me. Oh yeah, they're not really - except in rare cases when people are putting down 55% or more. That Bed Stuy house in person is apartment grade - the pictures really make it look a LOT better than reality. I'd say mid 300's is actually too high for it.

Posted by: williamsburgguy at April 10, 2009 4:53 PM in response to Open House Picks

Wine Lover does have some good points. And if it's actually cheaper to buy and you're getting more space...So, I'm dying to know: How much do you think W'burg condo prices have come down? I mean closed sale compared to closed sale -- not asking prices.

Posted by: mopar at September 28, 2009 11:05 PM in response to Williamsburg - To Buy or Not?

The environmental problems are huge -- do your research. I cannot believe people want to bring up their children here.

Posted by: tuleburg at September 29, 2009 8:55 AM in response to Williamsburg - To Buy or Not?

fortunately, no one will have to be digging any wells for drinking water. and the air quality in most of the neighborhood is comparable to most of the city. you do some research before giving out homework assignments.

the area to be avoided is the east williamsburg industrial zone which aside from a few residential streets (beadel being the nicest) is mostly, you know, industrial. it's also in greenpoint.

Posted by: mt_molehill at September 29, 2009 2:53 PM in response to Williamsburg - To Buy or Not?

wine lover has some good advice and seems to know what he's talking about re williamsburg. as for the public schools, the only decent one in williamsburg is ps 132 in the italian part of williamsburg by the graham and lorimer stops. the other good to excellent ones are all in greenpoint. and we're talking elementary schools here, as there's not much in the way of intermediate or higher schools yet. but the LES and lower manhattan have some excellent magnet and private schools that are easy to get to.

the italian section is also the nicest place, in my opinion, to live at this point. but I'm biased having settled here a few years ago after 10+ years of renting all over williamsburg. it's got a lot going on and is accessible via a relatively short walk to the nuttiness of north side and to mccarren or mcgolrick (or even closer cooper park), but the streets are clean and it still feels like a neighborhood.

Posted by: mt_molehill at September 29, 2009 3:01 PM in response to Williamsburg - To Buy or Not?