How far does $350k go when trying to purchase a home in NYC? Let’s take this boro by boro.
Hey, this is actually cute! Although it’s teeny (looks to be under 300 sq ft judging from the floor plan), it’s not a dump. And the Sutton area address has gotta be worth something.
I tried to find an actual house for $350k in Brooklyn, but alas, it doesn’t exist. If I had gone up to $400k, I would’ve come up with a few. So I chose to search for a 3BR and here’s what I came up with. A pre-war coop in Flatbush. A small 1 BR in Park Slope South can be had for this price as well.
This is the first listing that came up under my search criteria for Queens. It looks too good to be true, but then again, I don’t know a thing about St. Albans. Brick single family with 4 bedrooms. No info. Just says “seller must go”. I’m too scared to call! You do it!
The Bronx: Baychester Single Family
Ok, not bad. A 2000 square foot, 3 BR home in Baychester. No maintenance fees (apart from all the repairs on the 1931 house), alittle outdoor space and you’re still in the boros.
This one is a mere $349,900! I chose this home because Stapleton is the only part of Staten Island I know anything about. It’s close to the ferry and has an urban feel to it rather than a….um….a….Staten Island feel. This 1809 square foot home is looking a bit worn, but the choice is yours…. Would you rather have your own home in Staten Island or a cramped studio in Manhattan?
Ever want to create your own wallpaper design? Design Your Wall offers the service for a $25-$150 layout fee plus $6.50 per square foot for the paper.
They accept original artwork or digital and will help with any questions you might have. You can get wallpaper, borders or murals printed up from your own images.
You don’t have to print pictures of your puppy dog. Here’s something else to consider. They can also reproduce vintage patterns. They do have a few lovely samples on their site. Or you can do produce your own.
If you’re buying all that newly manufactured wallpaper, you can alleviate some eco-guilt by created your own green paste for the job.
Once we put our bid in, it didn’t take long for the shenanigans to start.
Sure, we started the bidding 100k lower than their asking price, but we had good reasons for doing so. We weren’t even planning to see the house at all, but when we took the drive out to look at other properties, the agent pressed us to see this house. He pointed to the original list price and showed us how the sellers had already come down a bit, but that the property has been on the market since June and the house had been showing well, but no one was bidding since they were put off by the high price. To our surprise, we really liked the house. A 1920s Colonial, it was extensively updated in 2006 with a new roof, kitchen, three new bathrooms, a deck, and siding. The first floor rooms are bordered with the original wood beams and French doors delineate the entryways. The wooden banister leading to the second floor is thick and sturdy as are the stairs. New carpeting on the basement steps and steps to the finished attic are covered with paper to prevent viewers from sullying the pile. (more…)
Remember when pool tables transformed into ping-pong tables within minutes? Ok, they still do. But here’s a better concept for those lacking in playroom space. A pool table that turns into a dining table.
I’ll admit it. I didn’t know they existed before seeing the Yanko Design post on Fusion Tables. I immediately fell in love and wanted one then and there (yesterday/online). Then I found out that Fusion is based in Belgium. Well, that sucks.
So I did a search and loandbehold, there are plenty of pool/dining tables out there! Unfortunately, pool tables aren’t disguised as well as the Fusion. They look like pool tables with boards on top.
But have a look anyway:
The Carsten table is available through AE Schmidt. Maybe this looks good to me because I can’t enlarge the image enough to see the flaws, but it doesn’t look like it’s trying to be something it’s not.
Case in point….
This dining top from California Tables, on sale for $795, can be used with an existing pool table. But it’s not well integrated. It’s just a top thrown over the table. I’d rather dine on the ping-pong table. Now that would be cool! Add poly or resin and you have a dining table!
I found the same thing available from Pool Tables Direct, but it includes the entire package, not just the top. $2899 will buy you the table and 8 chairs. But it just looks like antique reproduction yuckiness to me.
My two favorite places for inexpensive home decor are my top suggestions for window treatments as well. Surprise. Surprise.
Pearl River is the easy choice. You don’t have to leave the city. The carry fabric, wood and synthetic paper blinds, all very fashionable and cheap. I’d guess they are made in China (well, it IS a Chinese department store) and not very green, but since not everyone can afford to have a conscience, this will have to do for now.
Brown thread bamboo starts at $16.50.
Divinity Roman starting at $19.50
My husband thinks Ikea pushes a bunch of cheap junk, but I don’t care…I love it! Everything is so colorful and clean. Bright and shiny. And affordable! If you can hang on until the summer, you won’t have to schlepp to NJ or LI. Ikea, Red Hook (Brooklyn, not upstate) has already started recruiting staff. Hmm, I wonder what employee discounts are like?
Ikea Roman: $6.99 – $14.99
Melina starts at $19.99
So, you’re a first time landlord. Congratulations! If you’re completely lost right now, here are some rental resources that I’ve found handy in the past.
The first thing you want to do is get the apartment in shape, set your price and market that baby. Keep in mind that your tenants will only be as good as the apartment. If do a schlock job, you’ll get get schlock tenants. I prefer to present quality accommodations and get market rate or slightly above rather than waiting to see if someone bites on a piece of crap.
Friends of friends or co-workers are always a good place to start spreading the word. They come with references you actually know. If that doesn’t pan out, Craigslist will. It’s the best free advertising you’ll ever get. You can swing for a $125 ad on the NY Times site, but don’t throw that $ away until you know Craigs hasn’t worked.
Whether you’re setting up appointments or having an open house, you’ll want to be prepared to screen your prospective tenants. You can download free rental applications from Legal Forms. Be sure to print out a few of them. You may not go with the first tenant who wants the place.
I always verify employment and get a reference from the previous landlord. It doesn’t hurt to look at W-2′s or pay stubs. Some apartment hunters are already prepared and come with these items in hand.
A credit check runs about $35 and yes, you may charge the tenant for that. Just disclose this up front under “fees” for the apartment. Transunion and Equifax are the two biggies in the credit check industry.
Download a free lease agreement from (once again) Legal Forms. Add as many riders as you feel is necessary. Pets? Smoking? Storage in hallway and basement?
I’ve never once received a lead pamphlet or disclosure from a landlord, but don’t let this stop you. Go to the EPA Lead page and download the booklet and disclosure form. These items should be presented at the time of lease signing.
Any questions?
I did a search on vintage linoleum and it only brought up one source which I had already known about. The good news is that source is located right in here in Tribeca.
Second Hand Rose carries linoleum from the early 1900′s to the 50′s. All of the floors and lino rugs are in new condition and prices start at $10 per square foot. Warning: some of the rare rugs may cost as much as $3500 so don’t get yourself too excited.
Original linoleum was manufactured by oxidizing linseed oil to form a “linoleum cement”. It was then mixed with wood flour and pine resin and baked in large ovens.
Second Hand Rose advises installation by professionals only. I wonder why. Modern day sheet flooring is easy to install. Anyone know if there’s really difference? Or are they just covering their asses?
AMNY did a fun little interactive on the changing accents in the city. Click on the image above to listen to an accent from each of the boros.
The related article asks if anyone ever really spoke like those stereotypes anyway. As a third generation New Yawker old enough to remember my immigrant grandparents, I can say “Oh yes…they most certainly did!”
Grandpa Morris had the most distinct NY accent. He always asked us if we needed to use the “terlet” before a long trip. And sometimes he would come to visit us when we were “watchin’ the wrastlin” on TV. His son/my father still puts things in the “friggadaya”.
Most out of state people are surprised when I tell them I’m from NY. They say I don’t have an accent at all. But my husband, a Dublin native, likes to make fun of me. He says I “put the dawg in the drawa while having a cup of cawfee”.
My accent comes out more if I get angry, excited or drunk. Otherwise, I try to keep it in check.
Construction Workers on Crossbeam, 1932
As a follow up to Friday’s photo post, I’d like to share some of my favorite moments of NYC’s history captured on film.
If you’re thinking of something to hang on your wall and not worried about investment value, the Library of Congress is a great resource, as I mentioned in the last post. The NY Times Store also sells fiber based prints starting at under $200.
There was a time I thought I was the reincarnation of Weegee. To this day, he’s on my top 3 photographers list. His images captured the raw, “naked” streets of NYC during the 40′s. Arthur Fellig got the name Weegee (Ouija) due to his arrival on the scene moments after the tragedy occurred. His car was equipped with a police scanner and darkroom. Some say Weegee’s pictures were set up. “The Critic”, above, was actually a set up. Weegee got the broad on the right drunk at a Bowery bar and set her loose on the two society dames. It was planned but it wasn’t posed.
This gal is brave! Although Margaret Bourke-White is the one credited with this image (that’s her atop the Chrysler), it was her assistant, Oscar Graubner who snapped the shot. But MBW was no slouch. The premier issue of Life magazine featured one of her images. She was also the first western photographer to go to the Soviet Union.
Erwitt is alive and well and (I think) still living in NYC. He’s the guy with all of those dog images. Probably his most famous one is the little Chihuahua at the feet of a Great Dane. “NY Pug” is more of a NY stoop scene that it is about the dogs, which is why I chose it for both this post and my wall. Yeah, it was one of my splurges.
The Flatiron is by far my favorite building in NYC. And this Edward Steichen photo, shot in 1904 is my favorite image of it. Steichen added color to the platinum print by using layers of pigment suspended in a light-sensitive solution of gum arabic and potassium bichromate. Take that, you digital photographers! If I ever develop the time or patience, I would love to take a course in old printing methods.
Gordon Parks died about 2 years ago at the age of 93. He grew up in a poverty stricken home in segregated Kansas and went on to become an award winning photographer, writer and film maker, paving the way for other African American artists. He was the first black photographer at Life magazine. FYI, Did you know he directed “Shaft“?
This image, taken in 1948, features sixteen-year-old Red Jackson, the leader of one of the toughest gangs in New York. After gaining the trust of the Harlem gang, Parks spent some time photographing them. Forty years later, Parks ran into Jackson at Penn Station. What happened? Ah, you have to read his book to find out.
Ok, the tour ends here. I have so many more, but I can be here for weeks. Let me know if this is of interest to you. If not, I’ll stop boring you with it.
Software engineer Steve James calls himself an “envisioneer”. He envisioned the £4000 eco-friendly home he built in Scotland and he envisioned other house plans that are copyright free for anyone wanting to take advantage of his designs.
James concedes that his straw and turf home would’ve cost £1000 less had he chopped the wood himself instead of using a sawmill.
This is probably a bit too “green” for New York standards. Although it is warmed by a wood burning stove and remains watertight, the home lacks some modern day conveniences that even the most fervent eco Nazi would back away from. The rainwater filtration system sounds fine, but it’s the compost toilet and car battery energy that I might have a problem with. Hmm, would that be to code in NYC?
Anyway, kudos to Mr. James for building this very cool home. His motto, “Be the world you wish to live in.” is truly inspiring. But I just need a toilet that flushes.
Check out the Independent article for details on how he assembled the home.
Envisioneer website has tips, diy and slideshows if you can get it to load properly.
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Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Comment by sandrar — September 10, 2009 @ 2:10 pm
Actually I bought my 3 story brownstone in brooklyn, one block from the brooklyn museum right by the Franklin 4 subway stop for under 400k. Persistance, pickiness and patience pay off. My wife and I looked for 4 years, the market tanked and we thanked ourselves not for buying something overpriced at the height of the bubble.
cheers
Comment by Phil — January 20, 2010 @ 1:10 am