The
last few days have been so busy that I'm not quite sure where to begin.
Firstly, I have been apartment shopping again and this weekend, my friend
Dominique and I went to three open houses. Dominique has a great eye and was
able to catch problems and expenses that I didn't notice at first sight.
The first place we saw was on a quiet block of homes and close to transportation.
It appealed to me because of its location. It’s a quiet tree-line block, surrounded
by residential homes and in a borough like booming gentrified Brooklyn, that’s
a rarity. The apartment was a two bedroom that had a nice layout. The owner had
a very interesting design style and a color palette. Crown molding in all the
rooms. The kitchen was a small galley with
cherry wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and dark Formica counter tops
that mimicked the look of granite. There were some other updates as well, like
the custom book shelves and custom wood cover for the radiator and AC units. What can I say, it seemed perfect? But then
Dominique noticed that the walls weren't smooth but instead had this horrible
textured pattern that stretched from the entry hallway into both bedrooms. The
second apartment we saw was less promising. It was a one bedroom situated off a
busy highway. It was ridiculously overpriced.
Dominique had refused to venture past the hallway after she saw the
wall-papered entryway. Every room was wall-paper with the exception of the
bathroom. There really wasn't much of a kitchen and the cabinets were
definitely 1950’s. The bathroom was a classic peach and black tile monstrosity
that really did not appeal to me. And it didn't help that the owner was present for the open house, she barely looked up
when I walked into the bedroom and said hello. The third place was at the same
coop complex as the first. The apartment was empty and had been for some time.
It was a two bedroom with parquet floors, a good sized kitchen and a nice sized
living room. The plus of this property, there was a private balcony overlooking
the garden. I loved the layout. And with the apartment being empty and the
walls painted a neutral white, you could definitely see the potential of the
space. I had seen this apartment several months earlier. Back then I went with
my Realtor Adele, which was before her automobile accident that caused her to
be hospitalized for several days and now in rehab. Since then, the
price had dropped significantly. Dominique advised me to make an offer and so I
did. The following day, Monday, I was told that the seller accepted my offer. It all
happened rather quickly.
When I started this blog a year ago, I was in contract on a two bedroom cooperative in Brooklyn, NY. I was very enthusiastic about getting the property and I started planning my design strategies. A year later after being denied by the coop board for the property, I have taken a bit of a break from my home search. I will still update the blog from time to time. However, I am less enthusiastic about the property search and haven't really seen a coop that grabs my attention like that first apartment did. There are certain things that I do not want to compromise on such as location, price and bedroom space. I haven't become a homeowner just yet but I haven't lost all hope of that happening. It just may take a longer time and I'm ok with that.
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