chebubble's Profile
- Chebubble
- 2006
- Brooklyn
Author's Posts
December 11, 2009
Seeking Curtain-Maker
I'm seeking someone who can make custom curtains/shades for a reasonable price. I found some cute, inexpensive IKEA fabric and I'd like to have it made into roman shades or curtains for a child's room. Any recommendations? Thanks.
October 27, 2009
Pest Control Necessary?
How necessary is regular pest control? We just bought and moved into a 2-family brownstone. The sellers had been getting Orkin's anti-roach gel treatment 4x/year and say they never saw bugs. We've also seen nothing in the weeks we've been there. We'd been planning to continue the quarterly treatments, but when we asked the Orkin guy how often he treats his own home, he chuckled and said, "Never." I appreciate his honesty and am now wondering about the necessity of preventative treatments. I may scale back to 2x/year or eliminate the treatments altogether, calling an exterminator in the event I see a roach. Are preventative treatments really necessary?
September 23, 2009
Front Door in Landmarked Area
I just bought a brownstone in newly-landmarked Prospect Heights. The building's front door is relatively new -- installed within the last 10 years. It's a good, solid, wood door but the light stain and shiny, brassy fixtures don't fit the look of this old home. The LPC report describes the door as "non-historic" -- and it looks it. I'd like to stain or paint the door a darker, subtler color and replace the fixtures with something that looks older. My question is: how do I do this now that the place is landmarked? I know it’s likely to be a hassle, but how much of one? Should I just forget it? If changing the color of the door is too difficult, can I at least change the fixtures or does that require approval too? If someone with experience can give me some advice, I’d appreciate it. Thanks!
May 15, 2009
Giving financial info to broker
I am planning to put an offer on a house in Brooklyn. I've got a mortgage pre-approval letter from my bank, and I've given that to my realtor. As part of the offer process, the realtor has asked me to fill out a form detailing my financial situation. I'm hesitant to do this because I suspect it would hurt me in negotiations if the seller (or seller's broker) knows how much money I have in the bank and so forth. My broker argues that I should submit this information in order for my offer to be taken seriously and to reassure the seller that the deal won't fall through due to financing. How do other people feel about this? Does divulging my financial information truly strengthen my offer or should I keep my cards close to the vest?
Author's Comments
Thanks, folks -- very helpful advice. Sounds like this is totally do-able, whichever route I take. And I appreciate the hardware site, DIBS.
Posted by: chebubble at September 24, 2009 11:58 AM in response to Front Door in Landmarked Area
What's the big deal? The tight t-shirt crowd is getting older. Simple as that.
Posted by: chebubble at August 13, 2009 2:44 PM in response to Flea Goes to Pot(Belly)
It needs a kitchen and bathroom overhaul. Also floors need work. And the addition of an elevator.
Posted by: chebubble at June 22, 2009 3:08 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 170 Prospect Park West, #4L
Actually, it's a one and a "quarter bath" - one bath is just a toilet. The new owner will need to add the other quarter or three-quarters.
Posted by: chebubble at June 22, 2009 1:04 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 170 Prospect Park West, #4L
Or he'd what, dittoburg? Not go to the Flea?
Posted by: chebubble at June 18, 2009 2:32 PM in response to Open Thread
Has anyone gotten to the bottom of here-yesterday, gone-today post about the townhouse on Grand? If there was an error, Brownstoner, I'd advise you to just correct it rather than removing the post and fueling needless speculation.
If the guy running this blog won't tell us what is going on with that house, perhaps there is someone else out there who knows and will share? Many thanks.
Posted by: chebubble at June 18, 2009 2:14 PM in response to Open Thread
MFN: I'm in a very similar situation to you, financially and in terms of what I'm looking for (although focusing on a slightly different set of 'hoods). I'm finding my broker to be absolutely useless in terms of convincing me of why a certain property is worth a particular price. It's as if this person thinks the job is just to ferry us around to different appointments and make comments about how big the closets are or whatever. We went to make an offer recently and the broker scoffed (too low!) but then had no justification for why the place is worth more. I'm tempted to just go at it completely on my own, since I can find all the listings I need on the Internet. At the same time, someone who would work to dig up inside info on particular neighborhoods, put together comps and give us some historical perspective would be very valuable. Please let us know if you find such a broker in Brooklyn.
Posted by: chebubble at May 15, 2009 2:35 PM in response to Help Finding a Good Bklyn Broker
Many thanks, folks. This is really helpful, especially to hear about it from a seller's perspective. We're not buying a coop and we're planning to put down at least 20%. But I can see how in some cases it might behoove us to go ahead and lay out our finances for the seller. We're planning to offer a good bit below asking. If they are thinking like Gemini, maybe they'll be more willing to accept this when they see that we're quite sound, financially.
Posted by: chebubble at May 15, 2009 1:47 PM in response to Giving financial info to broker
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
I can't believe that anyone actually had a good experience with Corley Realty. They are HORRIBLE, particularly, Mike Corley, the owner. When you look at their website or call their office, they refer to themselves as "the best experience in real estate" They should change it to "the worst experience in real estate." Both buyers and sellers beware of this cut-rate shop.
Posted by: bedstuytownhouse at September 17, 2009 12:13 PM in response to Help Finding a Good Bklyn Broker
Thanks, folks. We're quite clean, as is our tenant, so I think I will try getting rid of the service. Appreciate your thoughts.
Posted by: chebubble at October 27, 2009 3:37 PM in response to Pest Control Necessary?