Open Thread

Thanks Chicken…but we really need an ‘out of town’ vehicle as most of hubby’s family is not in NYC, but the suburbs of. And I’m not going to keep both (in town and outta town vehicle) as that’s wasteful. We don’t use our car during the week, we take the train or bus, but I’ll admit it gets used a lot on the weekend.

We also looked at hybrid cars last year….and then the caddy fell into our laps. While it doesn’t get the best gas mileage, it is an older car and I somehow feel like I’m recycling.

I don’t know if I qualify as GOTD, since I have posted on Brownstoner on several occasions, though not on Open Thread.

Anyway, I wanted to post my story. In Apr 2008, I signed a contract for a new construction condo in Greenpoint. By the time the unit was finished and ready to move in, the market had collapsed. I decided to bail out on the closing and threaten to sue to recover my 10% deposit (there were some misrepresentations regarding square footage), but the Developer didn’t give a crap. Then, about a month after my “default”, the Developer decided to negotiate with me. After a few months of haggling they reluctantly dropped the price by 13%. However, I had drawn a “line in the sand” at 15% reduction. Neither side would budge. Facing this impasse, the Sponsor simply refunded my entire deposit. I have to presume they just wanted me out of their hair, so they could sell the unit to someone else. As far as I can tell, it is still on the market, asking a mere $25k more than my “line in the sand” price. I have no idea why they were so stubborn, insisting on chasing the market down, continually refusing to face reality — and are still busy chasing the market down. Whatever.

During this ordeal, I learned a lot about the risks of new construction, about mortgage contingencies, and about the real estate market in general. I can’t believe how ignorant I was a year ago. Today, I have decided to remain a renter for the time being. In fact, my wife and I have decided to rent a place up in Nyack, NY – a little town that, one could argue, is a bit like Brooklyn in terms of it’s historic buildings, walkability, and eclectic and diverse population — but it’s a longer commute to midtown (about the same as Bed-Stuy really), and obviously a hell of a lot smaller.

Since I will soon be living “upstate”, I guess I should stop lurking on this board. However, I wanted to tell my story before saying goodbye.

Biff, your Taj Mahal comment reminded me of this classic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw

BRG, I would definitely not advocate a scooter for highway riding. You really need something 500+cc for that and although their are some “maxi-scooters” that are larger capacity, you then lose a lot of the benefits in town.

Get a 50cc or 125cc scooter for town and just treat it as a city runabout.

Have a look at the Honda Ruckus, which has a very low seat height and is very light and maneuverable.
http://powersports.honda.com/2009/ruckus.aspx

or the Yamaha C3, which is also very light and has lots of storage.
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelhome/529/0/home.aspx

> “Which European City is cheesy Rob?”

He assumes all of them, having never been to any of them.