First Home Style

While surfing StreetEasy, I noticed that there was a new two-bedroom apartment listed in my ideal neighborhood. The price is absolutely ridiculously overpriced though I was curious and wanted to see the apartment in person. I knew from past experience that the apartment looks much larger usually in person than they appear on line. I clicked the call the agent feature on StreetEasy and I was connected to a Broker name Owen. Owen isn’t the listing agent however he would meet with me at the property and offer me guidance, realtor services if I needed to make an offer.  I wasn’t going to make an offer.  Firstly, the property was ridiculously overpriced.  Secondly, it was small.  The apartment opens into a small foyer where you can see the living/dining area. Left of the foyer was a retro pink bathroom, then a master bedroom with two nice closets (one of them a walk in).  The second bedroom is actually I half bedroom right off the kitchen. Owen made a point of telli...

In the last few months,   I started 2 new jobs and bought a car. But let me start at the beginning.  In 2016, I made a resolution, along with the usual lose weight promises of years past, this year I had a plan of focusing on my financial future. Managing my debt. I asked myself what goals I wanted to accomplish in 2016 and developed a plan of how to accomplished those goals. I made a vision board and then I drew my own mind map. I was watching motivation videos on YouTube and TED talks. I would watch Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey and be inspired. I was on a goal of financial self-improvement. I made it a goal to find a higher paying job with my company. I mastered the “tell me about yourself” question and practiced my response in the mirror. I was confident. And after multiply revisions to my resume, careful crafted cover letters and multiple interviews, my hard work paid off. I got a job. Yeah me! Three years after graduate school, I finally got a job in my field.  Wi...

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...

A few days ago I received a copy of the appraisal of the property. It was 24 pages long. It is a detailed report on the property and includes comparable information about similar properties in the area that have sold recently.  Two of the comparable were in the same building as my apartment, however they had smaller square footage and only one of them had a balcony.  Of the five comparables, my apartment had the largest square footage. I was surprised that the appraisal was so detailed. It even included the floor plan for the apartment. Though we have been referring to the coop as a two bedroom, according to the floor plan, it's actually a one bedroom apartment with a den/dining room. I always thought the layout was a bit odd, but once I read the report, it all made perfect sense.  The balcony is attached to the second bedroom/den and not accessible through the living room. The apartment was built in the 1950's and each room is a throwback to that...