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Dear FSBO’s,

April 16, 2012 RH

Image is from Hoarders.

I’ve been looking for a house for longer than expected now (Yeah, yeah, I know. 2 months isn’t a long time.) and I’m starting to lose it. It’s bad enough that brokers sometimes do their sellers a disservice by not properly marketing their homes, but when a seller decides to go it alone you would think they care about the sale more than Joe Broker who’s out to make a quick buck.

There are owners selling their own houses that do an awesome job, but I’ve encountered some doozies on this search. What should a good For Sale by Owner look like? I did a FSBO checklist waaayy back when I started this blog. The same still holds true.

Here’s a list for you remedial FSBO’s whom I’ve been seeing on Craigslist. If you want to sell that house, you have to take it up a notch. I mean, really. Come on.

1. An address would be nice. Ok, you don’t want to post your address? How about telling us what town the house is located in? “Dutchess County” is big.

2. Pictures. It’s awful, awful, awful that you cannot post a single image of the exterior of the house. Your description reads “House is green.” Ok, I’ll buy it based on that! And when I email you to ask if you have photos, don’t respond with “No.” Get off your fat lazy ass and take some friggin pictures! WTF???

3. How about a reply? I suppose I should give kudos to the sellers who actually respond to my questions with a “No.” At least they respond.

4. When are you going to show it? Simple question. If you work full time and can’t set up appointments or open houses, how do you plan on having people look at it?

5. Clean that mofo! You know, nobody wants to see your dirty dishes in the sink and cigarette butts lying around. And certainly, nobody wants to step in dog shit in your yard. Too much trouble for you to get rid of your clutter and stage? Fine. But at least clean. Please.

Ok, I think that’s it. Thank you for hearing me out. I feel better now.

All That Jazz in Bed Stuy

April 13, 2012 RH

Some Friday nights when we come home, we see a jazz session through the parlor windows of a beautiful Macon Street brownstone. I always say to my husband “We have to become friends with THOSE people!” Thanks to a frieneighbor who forwarded this NY Times article, I now know that we don’t have to be invited over to 107 Macon on jazz nights. We just have to show up with 20 bucks and we’re in!

Hostess Debbie serves up a fish fry along with the music and welcomes people up to the open mic every week.

Something else I didn’t know. 107 Macon is also the Sankofaaban B&B. You learn something new every day.

Thursday Linkorama

April 12, 2012 RH

Abandoned Masonic Hall. Scouting NY

2012 NYC Cycling Map. Treehugger

Name the Baby Hawks. City Room

Inhabitat is Hiring!

Bathroom Before and After

April 11, 2012 RH

Before

When we moved back to Brooklyn and took over an extra floor of the house, our tenant lost his access to the shared laundry room, so we told him we would give him a washer/dryer upstairs. Somehow he got a whole new bathroom out of us since we were doing the installation in that room (w/d not seen in photo). We paid for materials and he did the work. We collaborated on the design, but it was mostly him. You know I’m not a modern kind of gal. I like it though!

After

Ok, so these aren’t really the “after” shots of the the bathroom. They are the “almost finished” photos I took back in June. The blue tape is now gone, the vanity has been painted black and there’s a window instead of plastic. The washer/dryer is hidden behind dark glass that matches the shower door.

Oh, here’s a way before shot below, from when we first bought the house. We just kind of updated it for awhile without gutting it. BTW, of course we found wood rot and other damage when we ripped it apart. We also gained about 3 inches of height since there were layers of tile and concrete that needed to come up. Gotta love these homeowners who just put band aids on stuff and leave it for the next guy or gal.

Way Before

Silo House

April 10, 2012 RH 1 Comment

People convert churches and barns into homes, but a silo? Why not? I was adoring this listing when I saw it last month but Shandaken is out of my 2 hour radius so I didn’t even go look at it. It may already be off the market as the only thing I can pull up is an old listing. Oh, but let’s swoon over the pictures anyway, shall we?

The silo house is only 750 square feet of claustrophobia but sits on nearly eight acres. It was built in 1975 and taxes are only $1379! It’s located about three miles from Belleayre Ski Center. Sweet. Oh yeah, it’s $158k. Not bad.

Renewable Energy Classes

April 9, 2012 RH

New York City College of Technology is offering their Spring courses in renewable energy. Learn the basics of green roof design, wind turbines and solar energy and hot water systems. Courses range from $250-$650

Check it out.

INTRODUCTION TO GREEN ROOFS AND LIVING WALLS
Starts 4/19. 24 hours. $250

This course is an introduction into green roof and living wall construction, installation, and maintenance. Topics include green roof benefits and incentives, planting types, waterproofing, roof membranes, drainage, horticulture, and irrigation. Two working site visits to local green roof projects are included.

INTRODUCTION TO SMALL WIND TURBINE INSTALLATION
Starts 4/19. 24 Hours. $250

An in-depth look at a growing energy market, this class teaches the essentials of small wind power generation. Wind speeds, site analysis, power output calculations, permits, turbine types, installation methods and expected costs of a wind system after incentives will be discussed. This training can be applied to meet the education requirement of the NABCEP Small Wind Installer Certification exam.

INTRODUCTORY SOLAR ENERGY (PV) DESIGN AND INSTALLATION
Starts 5/7. 40 hours. $650

An introductory solar energy course based on the NABCEP Entry Level Training guidelines.
Upon completion the student will recognize and understand components of off-grid and grid-connected PV systems as well as the interlink between design criteria and the economic impact of various options. Students will learn to identify all basic mechanical and electrical components as well as how they are wired together to the user’s property. Recommended: Basic Mathematics.

SOLAR HOT WATER SYSTEMS WORKSHOP
Starts 4/30. 30 Hours. $ 550

An introductory solar thermal course based on the NABCEP Entry Level Training guidelines.This is a hands-on training course for trades people, engineers, architects, plumbers, and others who are interested in adding to or updating their existing skills for the solar thermal field. Topics covered include in-site and load analysis, safety and codes, system types, orientation, system balance procedures and maintenance.

Conversations with a Homeseeker

April 6, 2012 RH

Deb has been looking for a house for awhile now. Anything that has a decent renovation goes into a bidding war and as a first time home buyer, she’s reluctant to take on a huge renovation. She tries to wrap her head around fixer uppers and homes that are not her style, but lacks confidence in her “vision”. So, I nudge her along.

I sent Deb before and after shots of the second home we renovated, a weekend place we had up near Stone Ridge from about 2000-2004. I’m posting the conversation along with the photos because it’s Passover/Easter weekend, so you want I should actually write a real post?

Happy Holidays, y’all!

Ok, so D=Deb and M=me

D: Very cool. So did you buy all the furnishings? How long did all of that take? Was that a flip or that was your house?

M: No, we never did an actual flip before! That was our Kingston house. We put too much money into it thinking that we would keep it forever (which we’ve done on all 4 houses). We owned it for about 4 years and renovated slowly the entire time. When we decided to sell, we finished the reno. I don’t know how long that was in actual reno time because we stopped and started so many times. It was our weekend project for many years. We went up there to get away from our Park Slope renovation.

D: Considering that you like wild colors and all it seems rather tame for you, no? But in line with what it is. I likey.

M: I think I did that because everything was so dark when we bought it that I just wanted LIGHT.

D: The dining area, you covered the beams, is that what I’m seeing?

Before. Obviously.

M: Not really. Those “beams” were faux, made out of foam. We ripped them down. The house was modular and came in 2 sections. That beam running down the middle is the joint. It was never bolted together until we did it. Or maybe it had a couple of bolts, but not to Luke’s liking.

D: Gawgeous. Did you and Luke do everything, like you lay the floors yourself etc?

M: Did not do everything. Hmm, I remember laying out the floor but I don’t remember nailing it down. We had a contractor working beside us. Not sure if he installed or we did. I know that he sanded and polyed.

D: Please tell me that wood floor was under the carpet? har har

M: Oh please, girl. That house was carpeted throughout. It had plywood under all the carpets. The day I was up there alone ripping up carpeting, my dogs were running around outside (we had 7 acres) and one of them came back with a deer leg and dropped it right in front of me. They didn’t kill the deer. People were hunting illegally on the property. I chased one of them down one day.

D: Did you add wainscoting or was that there?

M: The wainscoting in the bathroom was just Home Depot stuff we put up. The living room walls were originally brown wall paneling. We wanted to do that “bat and board” look, so we had a contractor install actual boards piece by piece. Then the previous owner asked why we didn’t just put up plywood and use 1×2’s to create the same look. We were like “Oh yeah. We could have done that.”

D: So, can you do this to the 6th avenue house I like?

M: No I’ll be busy working on my own.

D: This is why I do wish you could sit with me look at a house I like and advise me on how I can make it look a certain way. Darn you!

M: So find a house you’re going to put a serious offer on and I’ll go with you to second showing. But it’s really not as exciting as creating my own mess.

D: Sweet, thanks for sending

Kitchen Cabinet Kings

April 5, 2012 RH

First a disclosure. Kitchen Cabinet Kings is a paid advertiser.

Ok, now we can talk.

Kitchen Cabinet Kings is based in NYC although they are strictly online. No showroom means low overhead which mean lower prices.

The website is easy to navigate, but what I like best about it is that the pricing AND estimated shipping charges are right there for all to see. Ah, how I remember buying my first new kitchen cabinets years ago. I thought it would be a few hundred bucks. How naive. After sitting down with the designer at the first of many showrooms I visited, I nearly had a heart attack. The cabinets I wanted would cost $20k! Needless to say, I didnít go with those. But the point of my story is that this sticker shock is probably something that happens to every first time kitchen renovator. Cabinets or your kidís college fund?

So, Kitchen Cabinet Kings is affordable. Nice. Now, how about their designs? All of their cabinets are plywood construction, no nasty MDF or particle board. Iím kind of fond of ìThe Tribecaî style pictured above with ìMocha Shakerî coming in a close second. The door styles are listed on the site with prices. The company also partners with Kraftmade which cannot be bought online. Oddly enough, Kraftmade was my affordable cabinet of choice all those years ago for that less than $20k kitchen I mentioned. It came in at under $3000.

So, peruse the website my friends. Support someone who supports this blog! Check out the design center and the Kitchen Cabinet Kings Blog that gives tips right on down to choosing your dinnerware.

Oh, PS: They do bathrooms too.

Dutchess County Under $100k

April 4, 2012 RH

I drove for countless hours yesterday just to look at three properties. I’d like to share two of them with you because I’m passing on them. The third one is a possibility so that I’m keeping to myself for now.

The Staatsburg 1940 cottage (above) is listed at $74,500. It’s well worth it. The listing says it needs work but honestly, I don’t see it needing anything more than some updating and a paint job. If you’re unfamiliar with Staatsburg, that’s the area north of Hyde Park and south of Rhinebeck. Not bad, huh?

So why am I passing on it? Well, the 2 bedroom, 1 bath bungalow is only 691 square feet. Although I did want a small, easy project to work on, I don’t believe that I can make a killing on this house as an investment because of the size and location. It’s more local than weekender, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

If I lived in the area and didn’t have to drive 2 hours to work on the house and if I had cash that I wasn’t going to miss while I’m waiting to sell, it would be worth doing.

Anyway, as you can see, it’s a cute little house. For $74,500, how can you go wrong? Especially with that awesome wallpaper!

This bank owned Red Hook house is listed at $84,500. It’s on a not-so-busy road across the street from a lake. There are some trailers and multiple-pick-up-trucks-in-the-driveway households nearby. Yeah, so I’m a city snob. So be it.

That didn’t bother me so much. One problem is the flip job. The guy lost his house due to some bad decisions (I got some background from a neighbor up the road.) so I don’t want to add insult to injury by knocking his renovation, but some flip jobs just scream Home Depot and this is one of them. The house was built in 1912. Personally, I’d rather restore a beat up 1912 home.

Don’t know if you can see from the photo but this is new parquet tile over what looks like a decent oak floor.

Since I’m a recycling maven, I reaalllly hate to renovate an already renovated property. I’m sure this stuff can be donated, but it bothers me to rip out new work. So that’s why this is a pass.

Well, there is one more thing. After seeing this, I left without going down to the basement. I don’t know what it’s from but I didn’t want to encounter it in the house so I ran out. I did look in the basement and saw mold and a water line on the wall.

Don’t know how/if the water problem can be remedied, but hey, the house is $84,500 and the upstairs is clean and livable.

Some Summer Concerts

April 3, 2012 RH 2 Comments

It’s April. Time to start wondering about the summer concerts. Not too much has been announced yet, but here are a few events worth seeing.

Jimmy Cliff
June 5, Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park

Neil Diamond
June 8th and June 10th, Jones Beach

Norah Jones
July 3rd, Summer Stage, Central Park

Refused and Off
July 18, Williamsburg Park

The $200k Challenge:OC

March 30, 2012 RH

Orange County covers a fairly large area. There is definitely an assortment of homes that can be had not only for under $200k, but even under $100k. Think Newburgh and Middletown for those extremely affordable houses.

Before you run up there to find your inexpensive dream home, a few things…

Taxes are pretty high in Orange County. Like as high as New Jersey high. The fact is, taxes are always higher in the burbs than in the city, but from what I’ve seen, Orange is worse than Dutchess and Ulster.

The good news is that Metro North does run on the west side of the Hudson. There are limited stops to Port Jervis, but it will still take you nearly 2 hours to get from Penn Station to Middletown. An every day commute can set you back about $300 per month.

Although there are plenty of second homes in Orange, it seems to be more of a commuter community. Lots of cops and firefighters living up there so it’s a pretty safe place to be.

The homes that I looked at this week were in Cornwall on Hudson. Really pretty area near Storm King. The town is cute but not much was going on the day I went up. I should let you know that there were also affordable listings in Highland Falls which is right near West Point.

The house above is listed at $150k. It needs work and plenty of it, but location, location, location! It’s more of a suburban area than private country location, but it’s within walking distance to town and has killer views of the river on the block. Should I go ahead and assume that the 1922 structure was a barn or horse stalls at one point? It looks like it.

There are wide plank floors throughout but the wavy gravy walls and ceilings need to go. (The house isn’t leaning, I was too lazy to fix my lens distortion.)

This one is interesting. Listed at $199,734. It sits on over 2 acres of private land. Really close to 9W but you wouldn’t know it. The thing with this house is that it’s an unfinished renovation. Everything has been roughed in, but at over 2000 square feet, materials will be too costly for my budget. How about you? Could be worth it. Taxes are $13k. Told ya.

Daily Show and the Food Coop

March 29, 2012 RH

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

Co-Occupation

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

Trees for Fulton Street

March 28, 2012 RH 2 Comments

Over here in Bed Stuy, it’s been awhile since the Fulton Street sidewalk was dug up and temporarily filled with black asphalt. Word on the street was that we were going to get benches and trees, but some of us (me) were worried that they would forget about beautifying this neck of the woods.

Well, the trees have arrived! This lazy author only walked between Nostrand and Restoration Plaza so don’t ask how much of Fulton is getting dolled up. Alls I know is that it’s near my house and I don’t get paid enough to get any more information.

Anyhoo, yay Bed Stuy!

(I know. File under “lame post”.)

I’m Walkin’ Here!

March 27, 2012 RH

So, this guy Matt has walked across the U.S. of A much like Forrest Gump and now he’s hitting the streets of The Big Apple. Actually, he’s nearly three months in and has covered a lot of ground. Matt’s plan is to walk every single street of the city. He’s blogging about it and taking pictures (below) along the way.

The blog is called “I’m Just Walkin’” but IMHO, he should have titled it “I’m Walkin’ Here” for the NYC bit. Whatever it’s called, it’s pretty fascinating and makes me want to do it too. Don’t worry. I won’t.

Matt reckons that he’ll have traveled 8000 miles by foot by the time he’s finished walking around the boroughs. He will have walked passed every person’s home and it will take him about two years to do so.

So how does one finance an endeavor such as this? He’s relying on the kindness of strangers and friends. He doesn’t have to pay rent as he’s taken to hobo status and crashes with buddies along the route. He is asking for donations to keep him going. You can help him along by going here.

I wonder if the dude has contacted a sneaker company to sponsor him? Can’t be a better advertisement than that.

Lindsay for Mayor

March 26, 2012 RH 6 Comments

How have I spent the past 46 years (minus a few) in Brooklyn and never noticed the sign on this building? It was actually my husband who noticed while driving down Bedford near Flatbush. Upon further investigation on The Internets, it turns out that Fading Ad Blog spotted it about 3 months ago. Actually, there was another sign covering Lindsay all this time, so I’m not so unobservant after all.

John Lindsay served 8 years as Mayor of New York City back when I was too young to take interest. I did find some interesting facts about the his term and the political environment 40 something years ago that are still pertinent to today.

Lindsay inherited serious fiscal problems from outgoing Mayor Robert Wagner (not the actor). With manufacturing jobs disappearing, white flight to the suburbs and new unions taking shape, it was tough to get the city back on it’s feet.

On his first day in office, there was a transit strike. During his term there was also a teacher’s strike, a sanitation strike and sewage and drawbridge worker’s strike.

In 1969, NYC was hit with 15 inches of snow. Fourteen people died and 68 were injured.Within a day, the mayor was criticized for giving special treatment to Manhattan while the other boroughs were left hanging. Sound familiar?

1970 brought the Hard Hat Riot. Two hundred construction workers attacked students protesting the Kent State shootings and Vietnam War. Here’s where it gets interesting. Who tried to protect those students? Wall street bankers and attorneys. The cops stood by and did nothing. When the Mayor criticized the NYPD, he was called “the red mayor, a “traitor,” “Commy rat” and “bum.”

By 1971, Lindsay switched parties from Republican to Democrat. “…This step recognizes the failure of 20 years in progressive Republican politics…” He actually ran for President but as we know, he didn’t get very far.

Later in his life, after Parkinson’s Disease, heart attacks and stroke depleted Lindsay’s finances, he found himself without health insurance. In 1996 Mayor Giuliani appointed Lindsay to two largely ceremonial posts to make him eligible for municipal health insurance coverage.

All facts came from Wikipedia, so don’t blame me if they’re wrong. Thankfully, I’m too young to remember.

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