First Home Style

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 c...

  I have been looking at coop apartments again but I find myself comparing them to the place with the balcony and skyline view of Manhattan. I just want this apartment search to be over already. When I wrote my apartment must have list, I wrote that I wanted a two bedroom cooperative or condominium with a updated kitchen, close to public transportation. That was it really, a small list. I never dream of a balcony, then. Now of course I'm looking for a balcony. Over the weekend I saw a two bedroom apartment in walking distance to the contracted apartment. It was ok, I guess. it had decent amount of space and natural light from every room. The kitchen cabinets were outdated and dark but they were wood and the appliances were white. The price was reasonable too. I should have been excited but I wasn't. It just didn't have that wow factor that the first place had. I couldn't picture myself living there.

One thing about me, I’m an eternal optimist. I’m always looking for a positive resolution to any problem. Always looking for the bright side of things. So much so that even after a decidedly chaotic day at work, someone said “I don’t know how you’re holding up with all of this”. I didn’t scream. I didn’t yell. I just get on with things.   And so this week after the coop board rejected my application, I didn’t grimace. I didn’t cry and I didn’t yell. Instead I did what I normally do, I carried on. I was disappointed to say the least, but there was also this overwhelmed since of relief. Almost as if the dark cloud that hung over this coop deal from day one had disappeared.   We went into contact in June. And there were many delays to secure a mortgage commitment and I had to switch lenders. I thought the coop would finally be mine. I was certain of it. I had already begun to decorate in my mind. I had chosen paint colors and patterns and planned parties with my friends and famil...

Yesterday I had my coop board interview. I arrived approximately 30 minutes before the appointment time and waited in the lobby where I met my potential neighbor Petra who was anxiously waiting with her real estate agent.  Like me, Petra is a first time home buyer. Petra stated that she was in contract on a two bedroom  similar to my apartment with the only exception being the bathroom, hers is pink, mine is blue. Like me Petra was denied a mortgage commitment from HSBC because of concerns that she "works off the books." Petra is paying for her home in cash. She stated that she is ferocious saver. She was so lovely that I was routing for her to get accepted. There was a third person waiting to be interviewed, but she did not engage us in conversation. In fact, she stood at the far end of the lobby with her headphones in her ear and her iphone in her hand.  Petra was interviewed first while I waited in the lobby, I logged her absence at 13 minutes. When she returned she wa...

I have my coop board interview today and I would be less than honest if I said that I was not feeling some anxiety surrounding this. It's scheduled for 8 o clock tonight.  Still, what can they possible ask in this interview that I haven't already been asked on the lengthy application? The coop  packaged, submitted several  months ago, required that I write a lengthy essay, filed out a questionnaire, got two reference letters, two years tax returns and W2, bank statements and pay stubs. I was talking to my friend Dominique about this and when she was applying for her apartment, a rental, she too was subjected to an interview. Dominique was asked if she owned any pets and what she likes to do in her spare time? Odd as this questions were already asked on the application. Dominique felt that I should give conservative responses to any question asked. What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to read and travel sounds better than I like to lis...