Langston Hughes....Brownstones...New York!!!

In the television show I Love Lucy (1951–1957), the Ricardos lived in a converted brownstone apartment building on New York's East 68th Street owned by their friends the Mertzes.

In the Audrey Hepburn classic Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), much of the action took place in her brownstone apartment building.

On the popular American television program The Cosby Show (1984–1992), the affluent Huxtable family, the show's central characters, lived in a Brooklyn brownstone.

Carrie Bradshaw, the protagonist of Sex and the City, resided in a brownstone at a fictitious Upper East Side address in New York City.

On Sesame Street, Gordon Robinson and his wife Susan own the brownstone 123 Sesame Street, and are the landlords to Bert and Ernie.

Langston Hughes House at 20 East 127th Street built in 1869

Langston Hughes lived in this house from the late 1940's until his death in 1967.

There are also six original fireplaces, as well as sliding doors between the front and back parlors. Frosted glass enlivens the vestibule doorway, while a colorful skylight emits multi-hued beams from the top of the stairwell. A peaceful, tree-shaded garden in back must have offered Mr. Hughes a contemplative oasis in the middle of the Harlem he loved so much.


The home of Langston Hughes...



Wow. Langston Hughes lived here...he wrote some of my favorite poems and books in this house. #IGOTCHILLS



When I get my paper tight, I'm gonna buy his home the next time it goes on sale. WATCH.


Isn't it beautiful??... My daydreams look like this...I can totally see myself chilling on the stoop/steps watching people walk by...jamming to some Neo-Soul in my ear-phonez. Lovely.

SCHWEEEEEET!

Some of my favorite movies had Brownstones::: Best Man...Love Jones....Disappearing Acts....

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There are many brownstones throughout numerous New York City neighborhoods, especially in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park Slope, Fort Greene, Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Heights, and Bedford Stuyvesant. The Manhattan neighborhood of the Upper West Side, too, retains many glorious brownstones. New York City brownstones are highly desired, and usually cost several million dollars to purchase.

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In Chicago, a brownstone typically refers to a free-standing house, originally built for a single family, clad in brownstone. While many Chicago brownstones have subsequently been split into multiple rental or condominium units, many others remain single-family homes. These houses attract the young and newlyweds. Due to varieties in stone color, some Chicago dwellings are called "graystones".
Due to urban renewal, brownstones are developing in Detroit as well.

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I have always had a fascination for Brownstones. It started when I seen my first Spike Lee movie back in the mid-late 80's. As I began studying the Harlem Renassiance and the culture of that era my love for Brownstones turned into a this huge desire to move east and buy my own Brownstone. I haven't given up that dream...I can soooo see myself as a New Yorker owning a whole block of Brownstones and naming the edition Brown Sugah. Very ambitious, I know... but dreams do come true...

PICTURE SOURCE:: http://www.juliusthompsonbooks.com/

http://ny.curbed.com/tags/brownstones

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownstone

Home Buyers Toolkit: Getting Started

The process of buying a home can be overwhelming. I feel your pain, I’m there too. But there are several resources available. Let’s do this together, step by step, week by week. Follow me as I go through a 16-week Home Buyer Seminar sponsored by the Bedford Central Community Development Corp. in Brooklyn, New York. For free courses in your area check check with your local real estate agency or churches, as well as banks and state and county government agencies. Each week, I’ll blog on the series which will cover how to prepare for a home purchase, how to repair and build your credit, how to budget for your home purchase, the prequalification and approval process, and property maintenance expenses to expect. And if you’re a first-time home buyer, be sure to check out the 2009 Black Enterprise Homeownership Contest for a chance to win $10,000 toward the down payment on your first home.

There are a lot of unsold homes out there, and many of us are eager to jump in. The first-time home buyer’s tax credit combined with lower mortgage rates makes it easy to get blindsided from the reality of what it takes to maintain a home, which is much more work than obtaining it.
“Consider your needs versus your wants,” says this week’s presenter, Leon T. Gelzer, Sr., a real estate professional for Joseph Felix Realty. “This is an opportunity to get in and stay in.”
In order to stay in your home you need to be honest about how much home you can afford. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) many homeowners are already at the financial edge—43% spend more than they earn a year, 52% live paycheck to paycheck, and 42% of homeowners do not have 3 months reserves to live on.

You can check out Yahoo! Real Estate’s How Much House Can I Afford Calculator to estimate the maximum home price for which you may qualify based on your income, credit rating, current monthly expenses, down payment and the interest rate. Although this is useful it is best to visit a lender to find out for sure as they do no take in consideration future rental income and monthly debt.

Once you’ve determined how much home you can afford, consider the upfront and ongoing cost. Upfront costs include the down payment, closing cost, move in cost, and reserves.

Down payment: This is generally 20% of the home sale price. Buyers putting down less than 20% are normally required to take out private mortgage insurance (PMI). This is paid by a borrower (you) to protect the lender in case of default on the loan. But there are resources available to those who can’t come up with the 20%. Look into FHA loans. These loans are backed by the Federal Housing Administration and guarantee payment in case of default by the owner.
Closing Cost: The typical closing cost is between 4%-6% of the mortgage amount.

Move-in Cost: This cost can vary. Gelzer recommends that you hire professionals to help you move because you can get a deduction off your taxes.

Mortgage Reserves: As a general rule of thumb you should have at least 6 months worth of mortgage reserves to allow for emergencies and unexpected vacancies.

Utilities, maintenance, and repairs are all part of your ongoing costs.

So, now you know what you can afford and other cost to consider, but how do banks grade mortgage applicants? Banks look for the 4 C’s of Credit—Capital, Capacity, Credit, and Collateral. Gelzer explains each:

Capital: The banks want to see that you have had the full down payment in your savings for the past two months before they can approve your loan.

Capacity: The banks want you to verify that you have been employed for the last two years by reviewing your current pay stubs and tax returns to ensure you can manage and repay the mortgage loan.

Credit History: The banks will run your credit report to see your creditworthiness to ensure that you are in good standing with your creditors and verify your monthly debt.

Collateral: When your capital, capacity, and credit history is reviewed and you find a home and apply for a mortgage loan, the bank orders an appraisal to ensure that the property that you are purchasing is worth the amount of money that they are lending you.

We’ll pause here for now. The goal is to digest this wealth of information in bite-sized chunks. Check back next week where we’ll go through the process of qualifying for a mortgage.
For updates follow me at www.twitter.com/LaToyaReports.

SOURCE:: http://www.blackenterprise.com/blogs/2009/10/26/the-home-buyer’s-toolkit-getting-started