Camping In Harlem

Posted on November 22, 2011 by BeatingUpwind

The past few weeks have been pretty trying, which is why I haven’t done much blogging… Our job site got robbed at least twice in less than a week about 3 weeks ago now. The thieves ripped out installed copper pipes and caused about $4500 in damage (and that number is with the plumber being charitable and giving us a great price to fix the damage).

When it first happened we didn’t have electricity and hence didn’t have an alarm system. The only option to stop the robberies was a physical presence at the house. After the first robbery the contractor paid one of the guys on the block to look after the house, but then a day later we were robbed again. As they say, if you want it done right, do it yourself… So Dan and I started camping in the house. I jokingly called it “Occupy Harlem”.

This has been our life for two and a half weeks now…

The place is filthy, so we put down a tarp to try to have a semi clean area to put the air mattress. The first few nights got down to about 34/35 degrees. I had brought a down comforter but that wasn’t enough. What I didn’t realize is that cold air would come up from below. After a few cold nights we started putting blankets under us as well as over us and that helped a lot. It’s also helped that most nights haven’t been that cold.

The first few nights were a bit spooky. Robberies had just happened and we didn’t know if they thieves would be back. After a night or two the contractor put up Home Depot motion sensors from and back so we knew if anyone jumped over the construction fence or got into the back yard. Problem is, a cat set off the alarm one time. Another time a “big ass raccoon” (to quote a neighbor) set off the front alarm, and I’ve also had rats set off the alarm as well as wind blow things and set it off. One time Dan saw some 20-something kids run off after it went off – not sure if they were trying to get in or just didn’t want to be around when alarms were going off.

What is nice is that we have a fire going in the fireplace when we’re there… It’s sorta peaceful. A few friends have stopped by, hung out and had beer & bourbon with us – that’s been fun…

All in all though staying at the house is exhausting – we just don’t sleep right when we’re there. Dan and I alternate most nights so one of us can get a proper night’s sleep at home in a real bed.

We’ll stop camping there when the security system is completely in. This past Friday the first part got installed, and after Wednesday it will be 95% complete. I’ll do another blog post on just the security system, but after Wednesday if someone tries to rob us we’ll catch them on camera and the police will get called. We’ll probably continue to spend the odd night there until security gates are on all the ground floor doors and windows. At that point we’ll be pretty impenetrable – gates on the rental and “smash proof” glass on our windows.

Cash Flow Issues With Rehab Loans

Posted on November 12, 2011 by BeatingUpwind

There’s an inherent problem with rehab loans which means the contractor is more likely than not to run into cash flow problems…

With a rehab loan there is no payment until the work is done. And even then 10% is held back until the end of the project. The holdback protects the bank and the home owner, but it creates a difficult scenario for the contractor. The 10% is supposed to be his profit and holding it is supposed to be leverage to make sure he stays around and completes the project. But if problems arise the holdback could mean that he doesn’t have the cash flow to keep the project progressing. Deadlines can be missed, and costs can start piling up.

With most contracting arrangements the contractor gets a deposit at the beginning of the project and that deposit is his cash reserve to help him get through the project since he’ll need to pay for certain things in advance. Thing is, with a rehab loan there is no deposit. This means you need to make sure going into contract that your contractor has a substantial amount of cash in his bank accounts and/or that he has good credit and access to substantial lines of credit. If you’re financing part of your renovation in cash you may be asked to give a deposit on the entire job – not just the portion you’re doing in cash.

One significant risk is if line items come in over budget. In that case the amount over budget will come directly out of your contractor’s available cash and could create cash flow problems.

Another potential problem is if your contractor needs money to cover losses on other jobs or if he didn’t pad the numbers enough to have money to cover G&A items like insurance. In both of those cases his available cash will get depleted and he will start having cash flow problems.

If you ask your contractor to bond the job (ensuring that sub-contractors are paid for their work and don’t put liens on your property) – the bond money will also eat away at available cash. But, contractors who have the cash to bond jobs probably have cash they need to keep the job on track.

When the contractor’s cash flow starts getting tighter you’ll start seeing progress on your job slow down. And the slower it goes the worse the problem becomes since fixed costs are still incurred even though work isn’t getting done. Gradually the contractor can dig himself into a pretty deep hole.

Finances and managing money are a big part of contracting – contracting is far more than just doing good work. The ideal contractor will have a “money guy” who will watch the budget and the cash flow like a hawk and make the contractor stay on budget. If you’re selecting a contractor make sure there’s a money guy that’s part of his team – that could be a construction manager (a “CM”) or it could be a project accountant. Stay away from any contractor who doesn’t have a money guy as a senior member of his team.

Rehabbing a place is difficult enough even when everything goes smoothly. But it can quickly turn into a nightmare if your contractor has financial problems.

FINALLY! 8 Months Later – Electricity!

Posted on November 8, 2011 by BeatingUpwind

Electricity!!

At LONG last, a full 8 months after we first requested electrical service, ConEd is finally installing electric in the building today. And it almost didn’t happen today… Alternate side of the street parking was suspended today. I parked over the critical manhole, but then someone parked in front of me – so the ConEd truck couldn’t be right next to the manhole. Apparently some ConEd crews will refuse to work if the truck can’t be next to the manhole (since things get stolen out of the trucks), but the guys who came today just dealt with it.

It probably didn’t hurt that the obstructing car was a Porsche Cayenne. Maybe they thought good cars = less crime…

I’m just SO HAPPY we’re finally getting electricity. Having a generator running all the time is expensive, noisy and fumy. And most importantly, now we can get security up and running (so we can stop sleeping there) and it should help the workers work more quickly.

A/C Units

Speaking of things electrical… A/C condensers have been installed on the roof…

I woke up a little worried this morning. I was expecting 3 condensers and realized only two were installed. We were supposed to have two smaller higher efficiency (18 SEER) units and one big lower efficiency (16 SEER) unit. Turns out Mitsubishi has upgraded the lower efficiency units so they are also 18 SEER now, so we can get away with two of the larger ones.

In case you’re not familiar with mini split systems, each of those condensers powers 4 room units. So we’ve basically got a zoned A/C system where each room is a zone. It’s a much simpler system than a forced air system – and more efficient. There will be another condenser for the 3 units in the rental apartment – but it will be located in the garden.

One rule we won’t be complying with is that A/C condensers have to be 8+ feet from the lot line. Given that we’ve got a 15 foot lot, there’s no feasible way to comply with that rule.

Then there’s the matter of FDNY access. They need a ladder up and over the bulkhead. Because the dunnage is a bit high, the ladder will need to extend over the dunnage. Then on top of that they need 6 feet clear. The supply lines for the condensers will probably have to be modified to get a full 6 foot clear.

The A/C guys are also installing the mounting locations inside the house for the room units, but there’s less to say about that…

The Front Façade

The front façade has been more difficult than expected, but it’s finally heading in the right direction – just before things get really cold and we can’t do the work any more. They’re having to recast some of the rosettes, but the finished product looks good…

That’s right after they put the recast rosette into the stone. They still need to clean things up a bit (clearly).

Our Cornice Is Now Restored

Posted on November 5, 2011 by BeatingUpwind

While it’s been a rough week with the two robberies and having to sleep at the house in the freezing cold to prevent more robberies, one thing did get completed this week and it looks great – the cornice.

As you can see, we went with black. Also, the portion of the top floor to the right has been painted – that’s the final version – it looks good, and the color Dan picked goes well with the window color. But we need to get the Bird-X spikes up there quickly before it’s covered in bird droppings.

It wasn’t easy for the guys to fix the cornice. Everything they touched just seemed to disintegrate when the touched it. Here’s what it looked like before…

In the end it doesn’t look new – there are imperfections in it. But we like the imperfections – it looks like an original cornice that’s in decent shape, which is exactly how it should look…

There’s warm weather this coming week, so hopefully the façade will get done in the next few days. The stoop is getting a scratch and resurface rather than a painting. I think the goal is to get the scratch coat on this week.

UPDATE:

Dan pointed out to me that the cornice isn’t actually black – it’s a dark bronze color that’s so dark it’s almost black. Here you can see it in comparison to the true black cornice two doors down.

I sorta like the almost black, but not quite, quality of it. You can see the difference a bit better in person – but even then it can fool you, like it did me the first time I saw it.

Our First Night At The House

Posted on November 4, 2011 by BeatingUpwind

This week didn’t go so well – our place was robbed twice in under a week and we’re now having to spend cold, dirty nights there to stop the robberies…

Tuesday morning the contractor discovered thieves had stripped all the copper plumbing out of the cellar. His guys hadn’t been down there since Friday, so it could have happened any time between end of day on Friday and Tuesday morning (or given how much was taken it’s more likely it happened several times over that time). He locked up the building better, but then Thursday morning his guys discovered thieves climbed up the scaffolding and got in one of the windows that are still open (because the scaffolding needs to be braced to things inside the building so it doesn’t fall down). This time the thieves got a little bit on each of the top three floors plus a toolbag.

None of this would have happened if ConEd would just get us electrical service. It’s now 8 full months since we first requested service. EIGHT MONTHS. If we had electricity we’d have a security system up and running and absurdly loud alarms would go off and the police would be called immediately upon break-in. But no electricity, no alarm system. No alarm system -> robberies.

And of course we’re staying there in freezing weather with no heat, in part because ConEd hasn’t put in the gas meters. In all fairness the plumber hasn’t plumbed the rads, but if ConEd were faster I think the plumber would be faster too. We like the plumber a lot. The one time I corrected him on something I was wrong and he was right.

So yesterday I went into crisis mode and dropped pretty much everything to get ready to sleep in the house. I got a tarp so we’d have a semi-clean surface to sleep on, and I got 4 battery operated lanterns which we put strategically around the house to make it look occupied. Someone suggested a radio – so that’s something we should add. And today the contractor went and installed battery operated motion sensor alarms. That will help us sleep a little better – we won’t have to wonder what every little sound is outside.

The really sweet thing is that the guy we’ve been paying to clean up around the building was quite disturbed about the robberies. He’s an older Belizean gentlemen and he and his friends “control” most of the block (in a good way). Because he’s the “super” of our building, they see our building as “theirs” and I suspect they see the robberies a challenge to their authority on the block. Yesterday afternoon they put up signs on our construction fence saying a third robbery would not happen and anyone who tried it would have to deal with their “street justice”. From early in the evening up until about 11pm there were people sitting in cars and hanging out watching the building. It’s sorta cool seeing the neighbors care enough to do something substantive to stop the robberies…

We did call the police Thursday morning and the detectives said a building at 122 & Lenox was robbed as well.

Unfortunately job site robbery is the norm in Harlem. I’m actually surprised it didn’t happen sooner, and the 2nd robbery was almost expected as well – once the thieves identify a building, they’ll keep coming back and back if they can. The detective did say that it’s an opportunity crime. I was worried if we stayed in the building we might encounter thieves with guns, but the detective was pretty adamant that that’s not typical. Still, it’s a bit more than an opportunity crime – they appear to have come with snips to cut the pipes.

ConEd first said they’d have electrical service in the building today. Then they said Tuesday. We’ll see. I’m hoping if we have electrical service on Tuesday that we can have a functioning alarm system by the end of next week. Staying in the house is no fun – it’s really cold at night, and it’s dirty. And every time something wakes you up you worry it’s a thief and have to get up to check it out. The shorter we have to do this, the better.