Is your neighbor driving you nuts--or worse? Here's what to do
by V. L. Hendrickson | 2/07/12 - 8:02 AM
With over 8 million people living on top of one another in our fine city, there’s bound to be some quibbling between neighbors. But when a dispute escalates, what can be done to deal with the problem?
“The most common complaints are always addressed in the scope of a property’s lease,” says Paul Gottsegen, president of Halstead Management. Noise issues and offensive odors top the list of complaints.
Here's what to do...
Tips from a Doorman: Door to door service not included
by Leonora Desar | 2/06/12 - 2:25 PM
This 50-year-old Tribeca doorman, who prefers to remain anonymous, has worked in the same luxury rental building for two and a half years.
Here is what he has to say about what makes someone a good or bad resident, salacious sightings on a previous job, and what it’s like to work in a full-service (and non-smoking) luxury building.
How does working in Tribeca compare to Midtown where you were before?
Midtown is very hectic -- I had an overnight shift that was very stressful for me. The building I worked in was near four nightclubs and there was constant traffic, and at the time when I first started working there, I saw a lot of drugs and prostitution.
Advertisement
The Open House Scorecard: Brooklyn for less
by Emily Feldman | 2/06/12 - 11:41 AM
Also in this $599,000 Park Slope co-op: Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a separate dining area, outdoor garden, French doors and access to the building's storage and laundry facilities.
Two-bedroom for under $700,000? This week's StreetEasy Open House Scorecard's got three of them. Each of the units—vetted by the many StreetEasy.com users who saved them in their Open House planners, thus elevating them onto this elite weekly roster—is a true 2-bedroom in brownstone Brooklyn.
A $599,000 co-op at 22 Lincoln Place (pictured above) in Park Slope is open, airy and walking distance to Prospect Park and 5th Avenue's shops and restaurants, and adjacent to a playground...which could be a plus if your kids are small and your windows soundproofed.
- Sponsored by Norris McLaughlin & Marcus
Beyond the board interview: 5 good reasons to visit prospective buyers at home
by Dean M. Roberts, Esq. | 2/06/12 - 9:10 AM
Home visits, in which a buyer’s apartment is ‘inspected’ as part of the co-op approval process, are far from widespread: Of the large number of New York City co-ops my firm represents, only a handful routinely require home visits. Many more decline to do so because it is not something they would want “done” to them.
But the visits--scheduled in advance and conducted by a third-party investigator working from a checklist prepared by the co-op board--are not as intrusive than they sound, and certainly not the equivalent of the warranted searches by police we are all familiar with from television.
StreetNoise: How to drive a seller insane, your doorman's illegal side job, and more
by Ronda Kaysen | 2/06/12 - 7:45 AM
- Renovating your home doesn't have to mean unleashing a toxic soup (New York Times)
- It's a fine line between due diligence and delusional, or how to drive your seller insane (StreetEasy Talk)
- When the doorman moonlights for a mob run drug ring (New York Post)
- When the city rips a hole in the abandoned property next door, don't expect them to fix it (NY1)
- If the seller is dead, you'll probably never find out why (Malcolm Carter)
- Tenants beware, the bar downstairs might sue you for making a ruckus (Brooklyn Paper)
- To permit or not permit: when to tell the city about a bathroom reno (Urban Baby)
- Sorry, popcorn ceiling, but it's time to go. The question is...how? (StreetEasy Talk)
No-Fee Apartment of the Week: Park Slope one-bedroom for $2,600, w/d included
by Lucy Cohen Blatter | 2/03/12 - 1:32 PM
This $2,600 one-bedroom Park Slope condo has a spacious kitchen, ideal for home cooks.
The owners of this 640-square-foot one-bedroom Park Slope condo are renting it out for $2,600 a month. They are willing to offer a one or two-year lease, as well as a lease renewal after two years.
People who like to cook will appreciate the spacious kitchen (with a rack for hanging pots and pans) and anyone with a green thumb can get to work on the 120-square-foot balcony.
It's located inside The Crest condo building, at 302 2nd Street, which is a four-block walk to the R train and a seven-block walk to the F/G.- Transitions
From Murray Hill to the Upper West Side: The real estate equivalent of growing up
by Anonymous | 2/03/12 - 11:21 AM
After getting engaged to my now husband in 2009, I moved into his Murray Hill apartment. Originally, we thought we'd tough it out for a few years in our comfortable studio apartment, but after going on a few open houses "just for fun," we started to get the itch.
By the spring of 2011, we couldn't just look and not touch anymore, In each apartment we went into, we started picturing all the furniture we'd buy and where we'd place it. Soon, we decided that if ever there was a time to buy, it was now.
We started our hunt around the Gramercy area, mainly because we worked in the East 20s and thought we wanted the convenience factor.
10 signs of a desperate seller
by Malcolm Carter, Real Estate Broker | 2/03/12 - 7:40 AM
- There are four open houses a week. . . 10 weeks in a row.
- Telling you the price is very negotiable, the broker winks so hard her contact lens pops out.
- The show sheet says you’ll receive all new furniture, a home theater system or a Vespa after closing. A week later, you return and discover that “or” has been changed to “and.”
- A brand new unassembled crib is propped against the living room wall next to a huge box from Babies R Us.
- When you remove your shoes at the door, the listing agent gives you a foot massage.
StreetEasy's Most Wanted: A buyer's guide to the most-saved listings of the week
by Emily Feldman | 2/02/12 - 2:25 PM
$1.995m for this 2-bedroom (convertible to 3!) in the West Village.
The dip in home prices seen in last week's Most Wanted roundup had a short lifespan. On the bright side, perhaps it's a sign that the housing market's improving.
This week's batch of the most frequently saved listings on StreetEasy.com, however, does include a few apartments that, with a little imagination (or justification), warrant the price.
The $1.25 million price tag attached to this 2-bedroom postwar co-op on East 87th Street buys access to an outdoor adult pool, a kiddie pool, a roof deck, a party room and a bike room (basically a small-scale country club). If you'd like even more for your money, the unit's den can be swapped for a third bedroom.
Rent Coach: Renting in a new building that lacks a C of O
by Mike Akerly | 2/02/12 - 12:53 PM
Rent Coach Mike Akerly
Q. I recently applied to rent an apartment in a new building. My application was approved, but the leasing office says the building doesn’t yet have a “C of O.”
Is that a problem?
A. It might be. A “C of O” is a document called a Certificate of Occupancy that is issued by the Department of Buildings (the “DOB”). Without one, a person cannot legally occupy the premises.
Assuming that the landlord is playing by the rules, this could affect your move-in date. If you sign the lease now with the expectation that you can move-in after the C of O is issued, you may need to be prepared to be patient.
Brick Underground | Copyright 2012
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
349 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10016
Copyright 2009-2012 by BrickUnderground LLC. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized redistribution or reproduction of any copyrighted materials on this website is strictly prohibited.
