So I said I’d share some photos of the reno and let you folks comment on design choices and ideas, so here goes. We’re fully underway with the numerous smaller projects, demolition is complete, so we’re starting with the major jobs.
First up (since it’s undoubtedly the messiest), is fixing the damp basement. The basement doesn’t appear to ever have gotten water, and the neighbors all confirm, but it was very damp. Two or three areas of the block foundation were showing water penetration and efflorescence. Wet soil and a high water table can push a serious amount of water through the foundation and up through the slab as vapor/evaporate. Too many times folks try to correct the situation with:
Which usually doesn’t ever do anything but waste electricity. The second usual homeowner failure is to try to paint the walls with a dry lock compound or sealer, which usually never stands up to the hydrostatic pressure and efflorescence associated and will just chip off.
So how does Grim fix a damp basement? The right way of course!
We excavated the foundation yesterday, Marek the Bobcat operator is like a ballet dancer with that thing. 3 hours work to excavate the entire foundation, most other contractors would have taken 2 days. The only hand excavation that needed to be done was around the gas line.
We dug down about 8 inches below the footer in preparation for the exterior french drains. They had a foot or so of heavy crushed stone around the footer, but no drainage piping. We’ll be doing a standard french drain install here, 4″ PVC, clean crushed stone, filter fabric. We should have the first layer of crushed stone down this morning.
Was sure to deadbolt the door-to-nowhere after we’d moved the AC compressor out of the way. We were originally going to suspend her over the trench, but it was just easier to disconnect the electrical and shift it over a bit.
First coat of flashing and asphalt damp proofing across the front, if you thought interior painting could get messy, try this. It appears there was some kind of coating applied to the foundation when the house was built in the 60s, but it was applied very thinly and had since deteriorated.
And the first coating for the rear. We’ll add a second coat this afternoon after the piping is laid, mainly since doing anything in close proximity to the sealer can get messy really quick.
We’ll add up some plastic sheeting to protect the coating once it gets tacky, and on Wednesday we’ll insulate the exterior foundation walls with 2″ XPS foam board. Hopefully the inspector will give us the thumbs up to start backfill on Wednesday, and if all goes well, we will close it up on Thursday and start regrading the property and installing new downspout drainage as well. Once the downspout trenches are covered over we’ll get the lawn re-seeded.
Good Morning New Jersey
alot of work but it’s being done right
Grim – nice job….are they running the drain pipes to daylight somewhere?
Have to give the water somewhere to go.
Grim quite an undertaking, no short cuts here!
House is set up on a hill with the garages below in the basement, entry is on the right side (no photos of that elevation). We’ve got about an inch per foot of slope down to the existing curb holes, so more than enough to work with. We will join the downspout drains with the footing drain piping about 15 or 20 feet from the house , once we’ve got enough slope to prevent any rain water from moving upward to the footers.
Very cool!! Welcome to the joy of home ownership.
“Wet soil and a high water table can push a serious amount of water through the foundation and up through the slab as vapor/evaporate.”
–
yep. this home on the market in New Milford was not ‘done right’ the first time – and goes unsold as a consequence. the foundation is not horizontal, one side dips down (due to wet soil) you can visibly see it from the outside and on the inside (flooring slightly tilted).
owner says it’s a $25,000 fix & 3 month process, others say it’s a complete unavoidable tear down. if you’re willing to buy that house with its current condition, you can probably pick it up for $100K under what they’re asking….
http://www.trulia.com/property/1005676295-507-Hughes-Rd-New-Milford-NJ-07646
Suburban splendor.
Compared to Grim, we are all failures as homeowners.
They’re going to break out the plates and start swilling the Ouzo tomorrow.
“June 15, the day of a general strike in Greece, is also the day when the critical “mid-term agreement” between the insolvent country and the Troica will be voted on by the general assembly. “The agreement includes tax increases, slashing of wages and pensions and the lay-off of approximately more 100,000 civil servants in the next few years.” Already the blog Occupied London has called for a blockade of the Athens parliament: “Last night (June 11th) the popular assembly of Syntagma square announced a call to blockade the Greek parliament ahead of the voting of the so-called Mid-term agreement between the Greek government and the troika (IMF/ECB/EU). The call-out for the blockade below is one of the most important acts we have seen by the Syntagma assembly so far. June 15th is gearing up to become a historical day in Greece, a crucial chance to block off the charge-ahead of neoliberalism here. Don’t be a spectator to this – translate and disseminate the text below; organise a gathering where you are, or come join us at Syntagma. This is the struggle for and of our lives.” Needless to say, should the vote pass, and should the Parliament be blockaded, which it will be, the chances of politicians to leave general assembly unscathed may be compromised. Which is why we were not surprised to learn, courtesy of Covering Delta, that the Greek parliament has hired foreign workers to clean out the underground tunnel which leads from the parliament to the port of Piraeus (soon to be privatized) in order to avoid what some fear may be the popular lynchings of MPs by the disgruntled masses.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greek-parliament-preparing-evacuation-tunnel-ahead-wednesday-vote-imf-bailout-general-strike
oops…moderated
grim,
Where are the unicorns? I see no unicorns scurrying around?
gary (11)-
The excavators didn’t hit it, but there’s a mass grave full of unicorns at the back of grim’s property.
Very cool grim. While youre digging and regrading, you should make walk out door and english basement windows in the back, let the light and air help eat away at any remaining dampness.
One heating/cooling guy actually told us that the ac removes humidity but I never believed it. Is there any truth to that? He might have been watching the water dripping off the ac outside assuming it was acting like a dump pump. Lol.
dump equals sump, according to droid.
“Compared to Grim, we are all failures as homeowners.”
Hobo yes that’s probably true but its mostly because only three people here are actually homeowners.
Grim – were you sweating while the guy was operating heavy machinery next to your foundation? I remember the house I grew up in as a kid, same story as yours but the guy hand dug the entire thing and we are talking 9′ around the entire house.
BTW – with the sealing / plastic sheeting on the exterior foundation, do you leave the interior basement walls unfinished for a few months so the latent moisture can evaporate?
Godd@mn Bob Villa!?!?!
Grim luckily ours was done before we bought, on the other hand our UV water treatment lamp exploded while I was changing the lamp and I had to spend late Saturday evening redoing my plumbing as the idiot who installed it did not put diverter valves in if the thing failed. Joys of home ownership
Stupid bot already seen her box thanks to basic instinct
#17 toast –
I sure was sweating. We were going to build an addition, first the old porch with a concrete slab had to be removed, then the foundation exposed so we could do the foundation for the addition.
The guy was using a *big* excavator, with the extending arm. I was sure he was going to put the bucket through a window, or tear off the siding. But he was an artist! The bucket would swing in, stop two inches from the house, then ease in the rest of the way. It was a joy to watch.
Don’t know how you found him but you are fortunate. You could probably count the # of guys East of the Mississippi on one hand that could operate heavy machinery that well.
# 11 gary: You know unicorns only live in one place, and one place only.
14
AC does reduce humidity. The coil on a central air system has a pan that collects the condensation. It is usually piped or pumped to a drain or simply piped outside if the coil is near an outside wall. Most AC’s shoot for about 50% relative humidity.
Grim: you’ve been watching way too much….Holmes on Homes….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwPC-YBHMI4
The End is Nigh (Trader Joe’s Edition):
Moms are fit to be Thai’ed
Catfight at Trader Joe’s over frozen noodles
By LAURA ITALIANO
Don’t get between an opera singer and her frozen, vegan pad Thai with tofu.
A fight between amateur mezzo soprano Marcella Caprario and fellow shopper Dr. Cathleen London in the frozen-food aisle of the Trader Joe’s on the Upper West Side is set to hit Manhattan Criminal Court today.
In one corner is Caprario, a 37-year-old mom who also teaches grade-school English.
In the other is London, a family practitioner, occasional TV talking head, avid triathlete and divorced mother of two boys who has appeared as an expert on “The Joy Behar Show,” CNN and Fox TV.
London says she was shopping in the popular grocery on Broadway at 72nd Street last winter when frozen-pad-Thai-dinner fan Caprario slapped her in the face, “causing redness, swelling and substantial pain,” according to court papers.
Caprario admits that she slapped the doctor — but insists that the doctor needed slapping.
Caprario’s husband, Bill, was reaching on her behalf for the frozen pad Thai and the doctor’s son got in Bill’s way, the singer insists.
“Not that we’re condoning slapping people, but this was justified, reasonable force,” said Caprario’s lawyer, Mark Bederow.
Caprario and her lawyer said the incident unfolded on the second Sunday afternoon in January, as Caprario’s husband was making a grab for the Trader Joe’s brand Frozen Vegan Pad Thai With Tofu — his wife’s favorite.
“You know how they have those awful pillars outside the frozen-food cases?” Caprario told The Post yesterday. “Bill’s there, trying to reach around them” to get to the pad Thai.
That’s when London’s older son, a teenager, seemingly intentionally kept trying to get between Bill and the ethnic treat — just to be obnoxious, said Caprario and her lawyer.
“So Bill says to Marcella, loud enough for the kid to hear, ‘They don’t even say excuse me,’ ” Bederow said.
London hit the roof, telling Caprario, among other things, “He’s just a child! Get that pole out of your ass!” Caprario said.
Caprario and her husband may take the stand as early as today to describe the resulting verbal dispute — and the slap Caprario admits giving London when the doctor “charged at” her, “getting into her personal space.”
Caprario had originally been charged with misdemeanor assault and has rejected various plea deals as prosecutors repeatedly lowered the charges — first to harassment and then to attempted assault.
“Why should someone plead guilty to something they didn’t do?” she said.
London, who practices at the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center on the Upper East Side, declined to comment when reached at her home yesterday.
It seems Grim just broke the second rule of buying real estate.
I learned everything I need to know about real estate from that scene in the movie The Super where Joe Pesci inherits his fathers slumlord empire.
Go to scene.
Dying Father, “son pay attention I only have a minute to live and need to teach you everything you need to know about real estate.
First only buy under the three “D’s” Divorce Despair or Death.
Second, once you buy the real estate what do you do with it?
Son “Absolutely F*cking Nothing”.
Father “congratulations now you know everything you need to know about investing in real estate” Father then drops dead.
Trader Joe’s is owned by a huge German Supermarket chain which is why they do stuff like have advent calenders. I always find it funny that jewish people love trader joes.
I worked on one if these jobs in Montclair when I was 18. No fun being the guy in the trench with the backhoe’s bucket swinging back and forth.
Grim are you doing a before and after moisture test using a calcium chloride kit or a relative humidity meter?
wow grim… looks like you’re gonna be running your reno as professionally as your website…
congrats!
Walk out (would really be up) basement door would have been nice to add, but we are too late. It would likely require engineering and add at least 2-3 weeks. We’ve got the walk out of the garages and via the side as well.
We are adding French doors out of the family room to the yet to be constructed deck though.
#32 Danxp Are you still house hunting?
Toast
Yes- interior block walls will be blasted then neutralized with dilute muriatic acid and left to dry. Wont be finishing the basement until next year. Once we do though, we’ll be using the building sciences approach to allow for inward drying of any moisture (inevitable).
Juice – Nah, we will know in a few months if we were successful. Downspouts were as issue too, as was grading, so it will take a few weeks for the very clay soil to drain away. Worse case I can put in a deep sump under the slab to attempt to take away any additional sub slab water that might exist.
3b (34)
i’ve been househunting since 2007… then anytime i get serious i read this blog and clot keeps saying something about nobody being spared so i get all depressed…
i’ve been tracking the listings pretty religiously this year and have noticed there was that spring uptick and now everything slowing down, so i may get a good deal after all… i’ll prolly end up waiting till the fall to really make a serious offer (made a few lowballs to no avail)… my son doesn’t start kindergarten till 9/2012 anyway so i’ve got some time, i think…
any news in that magical town of yours?
Offshore Property is hot again.
Want to buy a lighthouse? A group of nine prospective lighthouse buyers were ferried from Millers Launch in Staten Island in order to conduct a first hand inspection of two light houses that are up for auction by that US General Services Administration. The first stop was the Romer Shoal Light station located 3.8 miles north of Sandy Hook at the entrance to NY Harbor. The second stop was the Great Beads Lighthouse, located in Raritan Bay off the shores of South Amboy. These two represent about 10 lighthouses in New York Harbor. Minimum bids start at $10.0000, but previous auctions have closed at $25,000 and $360,000. (Video by Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/us_coast_guard_looks_to_sell_2.html
3b #116 (yesterday’s thread): Drove by that house yesterday. It is on the corner of Adams & Hoover Avenue. Not too terribly close to the parkway. It’s a corner lot. It looks like nothing has been done to this house at all. The front is brick; maybe the whole house is, I didn’t look that carefully. I think $400K is high for that house — very high — but for some reason ranches seem to be going for more than capes; not sure why.
In the same price range you might look at this house — not sure where it is but it’s in better shape:
http://www.trulia.com/property/3054006058–Washington-Township-NJ-07676
Grim 31 -Do you already have contractor for the deck? This is on my future wish list in order to get my mother better stair access to the back of the house via the driveway (she doesn’t walk very well). Would also not like to look like a redneck with the patio chairs and BBQ on the grass.
#36 JC: I thought it was high too at 400K, but a far cry from where it sold at 485K at the peak. I don’t think it is worth more than 350k., and also not crazy about a corner property.Also saw one on mls at Calvin St inside pictures look decent, although dated. Also looking at Park Ridge and Montvale, but very little inventory in both towns. WT will probably be more doable since we would like to get the process moving.
#36 Saw that listing you posted too, decent pictures inside; came on at 425K and they quickly dropped the price to 399K. I understand there is some controversy with the schools (parents unhappy etc.), not that it will matter for us any more since we are done with the schools, but still interested regarding what the issues are etc. Any thoughts on that.
Neanderthal
latent heat dehumidification. When you run air over the cooling coils you condense moisture out of the air stream due to the saturation point increasing as temp drops. That is latent heat dehumidification.
Neanderthal
latent heat dehumidification. When you run air over the cooling coils you condense moisture out of the air stream due to the saturation point increasing as temp drops.
Tremendous waterproofing job!
The unfortunate thing is that such thoroughness is rarely exercised when the houses are being built…
“there’s a mass grave full of unicorns at the back of grim’s property”
Look, it is a dangerous, dangerous world out there. If someone comes and offers the unicorns protection — for a very nominal sum, mind you — it should be no surprise that bad things happen.
It is a shame really, but, so it goes for those not wise enough to take prudent steps to protect themselves from life’s little hazards.
Quick question, have an international interview : ) they are calling me. Have Optimum voice do I need to get the international plan to receive calls from Europe or will it work if they call me without it? any help greatly appreciated. Nom I am not going ex-pat not for Europe that is , but they have Australian offices.
#43 Again, Unicorns exist in only one town. However, there are trolls living on grim’s property; sometimes they even visit his blog.
danxp says:
June 14, 2011 at 9:46 am
3b (34)
i’ve been househunting since 2007… then anytime i get serious i read this blog and clot keeps saying something about nobody being spared so i get all depressed…
i’ve been tracking the listings pretty religiously this year and have noticed there was that spring uptick and now everything slowing down, so i may get a good deal after all… i’ll prolly end up waiting till the fall to really make a serious offer (made a few lowballs to no avail)… my son doesn’t start kindergarten till 9/2012 anyway so i’ve got some time, i think…
any news in that magical town of yours?
what is the big deal about kindergarten? I went to PS 86 in the Bronx and I learned a lot of life lessons in Kindergarten I would never get in a tony NJ school.
1) Don’t give up the milk money. Second day of school I had my nickle for my milk money and a third grader wanted it, I said no way, he had his buddy join him and then they both tried to take it next thing all three of us are in the dirt I am getting the snot kicked out of me and eventually after all three of us are filthy and my nose is bleeding the get the nickle. Next day no one bothered to take my nickle. Too much work, there are easier nickles to steal.
2) You have to earn respect. Mrs. Green said I was her worst student. She told me at end I respect that. I tried every trick in my teacher’s book to get you in line and every time you took it like a man never apologized and never changed. Me and Mrs. Green ended in a stalemate. She earned my respect and I earned hers.
3) also learned the ying and the yang of life. good teachers don’t want good students. bad teachers want good students. I say Sister Dominica the 80 year old nun I had who was like five feet tall was the only good teacher I ever had. She asked for the Yeger triplets who used to gang attack everyone three on one, me and another kid who I swear would be in prison by the age of seven on purposes. First test the women put the tests in grade order lowest score kid went in hall way as he was too stupid for class. Sister Dominica instructed us all to punch the dummy in and out of class. Thank god I was third lowest grade that day. Then when my turn came to test her, and mind you I tested her. She gave me just a beating with a ruler and told everyone to dump their trash which I had to clean up for an hour. I was like I Own this women what’s the big deal. I own her I am going to make history!!! Turns out it was short lived, while I was cleaning she used the emergency contact sheet to call my father at work, which was actually my fathers Bosses number. She instructed him to leave work early go straight home and have the belt waiting for me. I got the beating of a lifetime buckle side on bare skin. Next day I sat on my wooden seat the whole day even though it hurt like crazy insane like I was sitting on a pillow. But we both knew Sister Dominica earned my respect and I was broken. Now that was a great teacher.
When I went back to public school the teachers are a joke. Catholic school nuns are only ones who ever earned my respect, along with Mrs. Green. But PS 86 in the Bronx was like the Jim Belushi movie “the principal” It was next to Walton High which at the time was a female only public school for troubled girls, which consisted of lesibians, drug users and team moms. Nothing like seeing two girls making out and sharing a needle with your morning milk in kindergarten to make a man out of you.
Anyone need a $150k retirement condo for Granny?
I believe these Spring Lake condo’s were selling at peak for $400k. Applied Companies who renovated the failed Essex and Sussex 1990’s Hotel Project originally listed 1 BRs at $250k back in 2002.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/700-Ocean-Ave-Spring-Lake-NJ-07762/70158349_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}
Fox business just did piece on capital flight and the increase in expatriation.
The issue is now out in the open. If the admin or dems start making noise, you don’t want to be in front of the exits.
#34 any news in that magical town of yours?
Just a record amount of inventory new listings coming on every day, as the Spring selling season winds down. Inventory backing up big time, and little appears to be moving, even the ones that are reasonably priced vs. a few years ago.
(44) pain,
you are expatriating, just not renouncing. the questionis whether you should apply for citizenship. that is something we can discuss.
#34 You will get a better deal now (IMO), than at any other time in the last few years. However, if you are interested in the magical place, the taxes are just brutally ugly, which may explain all the inventory, and apparently very little selling.
#3b (38-39): The Calvin St. listing…that is that raised ranch that needs some powerwashing or painting of the cedar shakes, right? I saw that one too. There is also one with 6 bedrooms on either Calvin or Howard that has been on the market a long time….not sure why because it is a perfectly fine house from the outside and a nice neighborhood. I’ll check for open houses this weekend and let you know what’s open.
There are always issues with the schools, but there are also a lot of young families with kids (and young couples who don’t have any yet) moving into town. The low end is moving, unless there is other baggage (like right across from the strip mall, etc). My neighborhood is swarming with kids so clearly people are moving in with children — and staying.
The only issue with Calvin & Howard Sts. in that area is that it can be dicey getting through on Ridgewood Road from 7:30 – 8:00 AM because of high school traffic.
#52 JC: Yes that is the house, looks decent, but you are right, needs power washing or new siding. I assumed as much with the schools, just wanted to make sure there were no major issues etc. As far as SAT scores etc, my rough analysis indicates that WWRHS scores trend anywhere from 100 to 125 lower than some of the what might be considered the better school districts. Not enough of a difference IMO to warrant the premium in price and taxes of some other towns.
As far as the state of the fields etc. well those people who are complaining should just deal with it at this point. No town should be spending money in this environment to update fields etc, just not a priority.
It is amazing how low prostitutes can sink. This one doubled as a high-flying attorney.
“A high-flying attorney worked as a prostitute and offered to perform a s$x act on a man for $50, officials say.
Reema Bajaj, 25, was linked to prostitution by police who were investigating a separate case involving child p0rn0graphy.
The law expert is said to have met with a s$x customer within 1,000ft of a school during August 2010, said DeKalb police Sgt. Bob Redel.
Bajaj, from Sycamore, Chicago, pleaded not guilty last week, according to her attorney David Camic of Aurora. She is charged with two misdemeanours and one felony count, officials said. “
Nom,
It is just that sort of absurd reasoning used to gouge out-of-state residents that persuaded the Shores that we will not purchase occasional-use property in NY. Also, as we anticipate retiring to a more tax-friendly state when we do retire, we will not purchase an occasional-use place in NJ, expecting the NJ tax authorities to try the same nonsense, rather than just cutting expenses.
Did the attorney bill in 6-minute increments?
Nom it is one of the PIIGs so I seriously doubt I will expat. They need a US based person of my ilk, but the opportunity is there to go abroad if I choose. Would only renounce if I went to one of the southern Pacific English speaking nations. Though becoming a cattle rancher in Patagonia is starting to become very appealing
ChiFi, Re: Trader Joe’s,
I’ve noticed that people are much more courteous at Cabelas, not certain why but have my suspicions.
JJ – The folks that own Trader Joe’s also own Aldi. Same product, different package and neighborhood.
http://abovethelaw.com/2011/06/all-rise-reema-bajajs-bajayjay-is-now-in-session/
Adds new meaning to getting scr-ewed by the law.
I’d take a bajaja from her anyday something about good looking Indian Girls
And it’s not even BoH…
B’klyn woman stands to make 11,744% profit on brownstone
She’s turning brownstone into gold in Brooklyn.
An 89-year-old Brooklyn woman stands to make a startling 11,744-percent profit on a Boerum Hill brownstone she and her family paid $16,000 for in 1967.
Mildred Furiya, who is listing her 19th Century townhouse at 299 State Street for sale at $1.895 million, said the neighborhood now is a lot different from the gritty area she and family moved into 44 years ago.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/klyn_woman_stands_to_make_profit_uIwMisw99xQdGsmmOE3I8O#ixzz1PGXAQH80
Grim:
I truly hope you got your place at a great price!
We sunk $75,000 in to our multi. Now that the multi is worth less than we paid for it, that $75,000 is up in smoke. Now I subscribe to what Pesci was told.
Stu,
You miss the point. The house is in Montclair. You made an investment in Montclair. It was not wasted, it was invested for the betterment of a small city with sister cities and Chinese instruction in the elementary schools.
3b #53: I think WT is a bit more blue collar than some of the surrounding, more “prestigious” towns. A lot of plumbers, electrical contractors, etc. Perhaps it’s different over by the Parkway and around Schlegel Lake (the latter being populated by elitist a**h0l3s who don’t realize that living by the lake only means they get a lot of goose poop in their yards), but that Calvin St. area is sort of “upper-blue-collar”. Nice smaller houses, nicely maintained, some bash ‘n’ builds and capes that think they are McMansions because they’ve been stuccoed.
The reason for all the ball field stuff is that the recreation contingent has a HUGE influence on local government. They will spend on youth sports often to the exclusion of everything else. The local government is run by clowns, but what local government isn’t?
[49] “Just a record amount of inventory new listings coming on every day, as the Spring selling season winds down.”
Gotta correct you on this one. Due to a number of factors, including the reaction that occurs when fairy dust chemically interacts with magical unicorn skittle-droppings, Brigadoon-on-Hackensack enjoys a unique microclimate where it is always Spring Selling Season.
My cousin back in the late 1970s when NYC was going bankrupt and was a new NYC school teacher bought a brownstone in Carol Gardens from city for 40K. It is worth like two million. Imagine back in the day a twenty something NYC school teacher could buy a brownstone. She ended up buying lots of properties from city that were being dumped for back taxes. Pretty much from around 1978 to around 1985 she bought like a dozen. The Carol Gardens place had a band as tenants who were behind on the rent in the first floor apartment who were still there wen they invited us over to see their new place. The tenants were booted for non-payment in late 1978 but got a record deal right afterwards. They were the B-52’s.
BTW neither my cousin or the old lady did super great on Real Estate, back in 1991 Boulevard Gardens Coop in Woodside Queens went belly up and RTC took possession of building. RTC was on hook for maint of every empty and rent controled apt with a tenant. They sold them all for $1 each. Today 19 years later they sell for $208,000. that is a a 208,000% return on investment over 19 years.
NJGator says:
June 14, 2011 at 11:45 am
And it’s not even BoH…
B’klyn woman stands to make 11,744% profit on brownstone
She’s turning brownstone into gold in Brooklyn.
An 89-year-old Brooklyn woman stands to make a startling 11,744-percent profit on a Boerum Hill brownstone she and her family paid $16,000 for in 1967.
Mildred Furiya, who is listing her 19th Century townhouse at 299 State Street for sale at $1.895 million, said the neighborhood now is a lot different from the gritty area she and family moved into 44 years ago.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn
(57) pain
You don’t have to apply where you live. In fact, if you like your piig locale, live there as an alien. It may be seriously tax advantaged.
(66) jj,
At least it is a long-term cap gain.
I know lots of friends parents that did the same thing in Hoboken. Bought brownstones for a pittance and sold them for millions.
#64 I have no problem with upper blue collar types, cannot be any worse than back office/mid-manager wanna be’s IMO.And a skill today ironically could be the best bet. As far as sports and rec, well that seems to dominate in every town. And small town government is a joke in all towns. Agree on the goose poop as well.
Grim,
Out of curiosity, how much does this proper fix cost a homeowner?
Could you let me know which contractors your using for this and other projects?
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-i-would-rather-shoot-myself-in-the-head-than-own-a-home-2011-5
http://floppingout.com/?p=9681
rex ryan in adam sandler new movie, at least one jet is working.
—And it’s not even BoH…
B’klyn woman stands to make 11,744% profit on brownstone
She’s turning brownstone into gold in Brooklyn. —-
Chance can be a strange thing. Had she happened to have bought it in the then hopping city of Detroit…
-d
jj (74)-
Adam Sandler’s doing foot fetish p0rn now?
re # 72 – JJ read the other article from the author, link under his picture.
Juice Box says:
June 14, 2011 at 2:00 pm
re # 72 – JJ read the other article from the author, link under his picture.
I did and was suprised that Tia Tequela is the most popular person on myspace.com
re: #78 – The Bronx Story?
oh yea the Bronx one that starts with 100 different guys, I like this author
Nice work Grim. Note: you’ll always need a dehumidifier in a finished basement, even after this project.
“We will join the downspout drains with the footing drain piping about 15 or 20 feet from the house , once we’ve got enough slope to prevent any rain water from moving upward to the footers.”
Keep the pipes separate — it’s cheap, and guarantees a blockage will not flood your basement.
Grim I will agree with Double. Also clean-outs along separate piping. Don’t cross them to save a few bucks on PVC. Snow, Ice, leaves or some neighborhood fat squirrel or dead unicorn will create blockage and you will have a flooded basement since the gravel works both ways and water will percolate thru the gravel from the PVC very quickly.
I had french drains and sump put into all of my houses in the basement. 7k a piece. Bone dry for years. I hope you didn’t let some water proofing company tell you you had to do it this way. Water proofers are known scam artists. The biggest one would be MidLantic. They tried to bilk my out of 30k and even followed me home when I laughed and drove away. I hope there was another reason to dig up your foundation.
re #84 -Barbara Grim wants the shag rug in his man cave to be dry at all times.
“We will join the downspout drains with the footing drain piping about 15 or 20 feet from the house , once we’ve got enough slope to prevent any rain water from moving upward to the footers.”
Are you required by code to have some type of flap or backflow prevention valve near the house?
Cleanouts so you can periodically snake out the pipes? Speaking of which, make sure they use the heavy pipe (Schedule 40).
I have concerns about Trader Joe’s. The customer service desk stands over the floor as prison guards from Auschwitz. Then they ring the bell and then several customers are escorted to the “refrigerator”. Finally, I asked for shoppers club card, and they said that they would give me a alphamumeric tattoo on my forearm….I was a little creeped out….
JJ says:
June 14, 2011 at 9:20 am
Trader Joe’s is owned by a huge German Supermarket chain which is why they do stuff like have advent calenders. I always find it funny that jewish people love trader joes.
It’s official: The housing crisis that began in 2006 and has recently entered a double dip is now worse than the Great Depression.
Prices have fallen some 33 percent since the market began its collapse, greater than the 31 percent fall that began in the late 1920s and culminated in the early 1930s, according to Case-Shiller data.
The news comes as the Federal Reserve considers whether the economy has regained enough strength to stand on its own and as unemployment remains at a still-elevated 9.1 percent, throwing into question whether the recovery is real.
“The sharp fall in house prices in the first quarter provided further confirmation that this housing crash has been larger and faster than the one during the Great Depression,” Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, wrote in research for clients.
According to Case-Shiller, which provides the most closely followed housing industry data, prices dropped 1.9 percent in the first quarter, a move that the firm interpreted as a clear double dip in prices.
Moreover, Dales said prices likely have not completed their downturn.
“The only comfort is that the latest monthly data show that towards the end of the first quarter prices started to fall at a more modest rate,” he said. “Nonetheless, prices are likely to fall by a further 3 percent this year, resulting in a 5 percent drop over the year as a whole.”
Prices continue to tumble despite affordability, which by most conventional metrics is near historic highs.
The rate for a 30-year conventional mortgage is around 4.5 percent, just above the historic low of 4.2 percent in October 2010. The ratio measuring mortgage costs to renting is 7 percent below its norm, while the price-to-income ratio is 23 percent below its average, Dale said.
Yet other factors are constraining the market.
After the fallout from the subprime debacle, in which millions lost their homes when they defaulted on loans they could not afford, banks changed underwriting standards.
More than four in every five mortgages now require a down payment of 20 percent, and credit history standards have tightened. At the same time, foreclosures continue at a brisk pace, pushing more supply onto the market and pressuring prices downward.
Then there is the issue of underwater homeowners-those who owe more than their house is worth-representing another 23 percent of homeowners who cannot leave or are in danger of mortgage default.
Indeed, the foreclosure problem is unlikely to get any better with 4.5 million households either three payments late or in foreclosure proceedings. The historical average is 1 million, according to Dales’ research.
The only bright spot Dales found, aside from the slowing in price drop in March, was some isolated strength in states such as Nevada, Michigan, South Dakota, Alaska and Iowa.
evil 74 – And had she bought in BoH, she probably would have made at least 25,000%.
Plus they always have that oven going in the back for “snacks”
chicagofinance says:
June 14, 2011 at 3:24 pm
I have concerns about Trader Joe’s. The customer service desk stands over the floor as prison guards from Auschwitz. Then they ring the bell and then several customers are escorted to the “refrigerator”. Finally, I asked for shoppers club card, and they said that they would give me a alphamumeric tattoo on my forearm….I was a little creeped out….
JJ says:
June 14, 2011 at 9:20 am
Trader Joe’s is owned by a huge German Supermarket chain which is why they do stuff like have advent calenders. I always find it funny that jewish people love trader joes.
Gator she would have never sold at any price in BoH
hence the pant up demand
US Housing Crisis Is Now Worse Than Great Depression
It’s official: The housing crisis that began in 2006 and has recently entered a double dip is now worse than the Great Depression.
Prices have fallen some 33 percent since the market began its collapse, greater than the 31 percent fall that began in the late 1920s and culminated in the early 1930s, according to Case-Shiller data.
“The sharp fall in house prices in the first quarter provided further confirmation that this housing crash has been larger and faster than the one during the Great Depression,” Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics in Toronto, wrote in research for clients.
More than four in every five mortgages now require a down payment of 20 percent, and credit history standards have tightened. At the same time, foreclosures continue at a brisk pace, pushing more supply onto the market and pressuring prices downward.
#94 More than four in every five mortgages now require a down payment of 20 percent.
Not for FHA.
http://www.bigassfans.com/
now this will dry out a basement. What is up with all the weird spam today?
juice (47)
human error. see the price now.
Doom
if I understand this correctly it would seem to imply the end of the QE spport for housing. Long rates should go up driving mortgage rates up while also pushing down equities
Bill Gross Warns QE3 Is Coming In The Form Of “Operation Twist” For The 2 Year
vodka (104)-
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
And where have you been my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.
Bob Dylan
It’s going to rain shit. The fact that Bergabe and his fools feel the need to manipulate the short end of the Treasury curve is a sign that the endgame is nigh. A lot of people thought FedCo would put a permabid under the 10 year, which in a strange way is less alarming than the apparent fact that they don’t even feel good out to 24 months.
In any case, manipulation of any part of the yield curve means the Fed balance sheet is toast. I 100% agree with the ZH take on this.
Come to think of it, the assumption of 1.2 trill in mismarked garbage doomed the Fed’s balance sheet long ago.
Hobo Shit is right but the wrong kind of black stuff. The Fed is just background noise right now. What can they do to stop the rise in a real tangible necessity like oil? Th US defaulting on their debt will be a necessity when oil blasts off and sucks millions of additions jobs from the economy.
What a mess… If you are going to fix it you better do it right, unfortunately doing things right can be a big, big project.
http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/lifestyle/drunkest-states-america?cm_ven=outbrain&psv=outbrainselectedarticle&obref=obnetwork
In 2007, the average American bought 31.6 gallons of alcoholic beverages. This amount has been rising gradually since the start of the decade, with the biggest growth occurring in the amount of wine and spirits being purchased. In 2000, for example, the average American purchased just more than 12 bottles of wine, while in 2007, they purchased 15 bottles.
Still, the majority of alcohol consumption is from beer. The average Americans bought 26.9 gallons of beer in 2007, which works out to be about 215 cans (if each cans was 16 oz, or one pint).
Looks like Zillow made some change in their Zestimate algorithm which made the numbers yet more random and ridiculous. Or maybe it got hacked by NAR.
Clearly, Zillow is just projecting the crest of the next wave of increasing prices for all homes close to NY.
http://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=66078
The WI Supreme Ct. decision reinstating the law that bans most public-sector collective bargaining in the state.
Doggoneit! We put in an offer on this place and lost it in a bidding war. Isn’t it always the way?
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/uk-heiress-buys-americas-most-expensive-mansion.html
Frankly, I dont know how the woman wil get away with such small digs:
“Ms. Spelling has said she wanted to downsize. She closed in December 2010 on a 15,555-square-foot condominium in nearby Century City for $35 million.”
I just went and took another look at the Spring Lake condo, and this is what now appears:
700 Ocean Ave
Spring Lake, NJ 07762
Virtual tour
Previous
1 of 15
Next
Larger
.
For Sale: $1,200,000
Price increase:$701,000 (Jun 14)
Zestimate®: $190,400
Mortgage payment:
.
$6,863/mo
..See current rates on Zillow
Does anyone else get the same? Maybe the unit is really in River Edge?
This will make Jamil’s head explode.
http://www.law.northwestern.edu/lawreview/v105/n1/329/LR105n1Gamse.pdf
Ket,
Our Pakistani “friends”:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-06-14-pakistan-cia-arrests_n.htm
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