David, the Goliath

In the game of buying and selling real estate, rule number one is 'get a good realtor'.

When you find one that you personally click with, it makes the whole process SO much easier.

On the search, they need to be your eyes and ears, to intuit exactly what you're looking for, to know 'this will work, that won't'. And when you're selling, they need the strategic skill of pricing your place at just the right amount so that, hopefully, the market will take the selling price even higher. Let's just say bidding wars are a seller's best friend.

I found my real estate kindred spirit. His name is David. He was a Goliath, Mr. Giant Help in my new apartment adventure. I felt the whole time we were in this together, he wasn't just a hired gun.

When he said, "you've GOT to see this apartment" I knew I better get myself over to see it. And he was right. I saw a few more places after that but the first one was IT. He nailed it on the first try.

He was also key in helping me sell my old place. There were several open houses where upwards of 50 to 60 parties were viewing the apartment. I had multiple offers but David was great at being able to discern who was a good buying prospect and who wasn't. This is extremely important. You don't want to accept an offer and get way down the road in the process only to find out the buyer isn't qualified financially...or worse, someone that the co-op board would turn down. Starting all over again is out of the question. His '6th sense' was dead on. He would always say "I'm getting a bad feeling about this offer", or "this realtor is giving me weird vibes",  and we would move on.

Even now, when the whole thing is over he still texts...separation anxiety!
He's dying to see how whole the renovation turns out. One day soon (this summer?) I'll have him over for a viewing and we'll be toasting over a glass of champagne before we know it.

If you're looking for an excellent realtor in Manhattan, email me. I'd be happy to give you David's contact info.

Too much of a good thing

Here's the deal: yes, it was my dream apartment...but i soon realized that sometimes the best dreams cost more than you think.
Not only was I paying a higher monthly mortgage payment, I was paying DOUBLE the maintenance. Ugh.
It was a monthly 'nut' that I just wasn't accustomed to. I wasn't saving nearly as much money as I had been before the purchase.
The good news--the VERYgood news--is that my combining of two studios resulted in a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment that was worth WAY more than the parts.
So I came to the bittersweet conclusion that I should sell while the market was good, take the profit, downsize to a smaller place, and pay ALL CASH for it.
The hunt for the perfect place was on.

A room with a view

The old apartment looked out on a beautiful row of classic UWS brownstones...I loved the Juliet window on one of them. When I first moved in there was a famous riding academy one block over, it was the last in the city. Since I was on the second floor I would see horses and riders floating by my window on the way to Central Park, it was a bit of Old New York that I miss.

A phone call from a neighbor

So how did I come to be in the market for a new apartment?

Therein lies a story.

I bought a very cute studio apartment just off Central Park West back in 2003. It was a lovely pre-war doorman/elevator building, constructed in 1930. What attracted me was that it was on the corner so it had windows in every 'room': in the kitchen, the bathroom, the dining area and the main living space. There were tall built-in shelves for books and TV, and six deep built-in drawers, so no need for a dresser. Nice coffered ceilings were throughout, and of course those thick plaster walls that they don't seem to make anymore. I never heard a peep from my neighbors to the side or above me. And speaking of neighbors, cut to 9 happy years later...

I get a phone call at the office. It was the daughter of the woman who owned the apartment next to mine. Her mom was selling the place, it was the family pied-à-terre, and they didn't need it anymore as they lived in Westchester county and rarely used it. She thought she'd offer it to me before she put it on the market. This was not a totally selfless act. She'd save on paying a realtor plus she'd avoid the buildinng's flip tax, a total saving of 8%! Smart lady.

I got the key from the super, walked in and took one look and knew immediately that if I combined the two units I'd end up with a fantastic 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment. I never waffled for a second.

I worked with an architect that happened to live in my building. The bad news was that I had to live through the renovation. Not fun. It was dirty, dusty, and generally made me crazy. Thank God I had the weekend house to escape the mess from time to time.

In the end it was well worth it. It was the apartment of my dreams, spacious, chic, it was "me" through and through. A remodeling website even did an article on the project,  here's the link:

http://www.remodelista.com/posts/weekend-spotlight-lauren-rubin-combining-two-studio-apartments-in-nyc

I love the way it turned out. Here are some shots of the pass-thru kitchen, dining area, living room, and two bedrooms. You can't beat the 1930s casement windows.
But here's the kicker: the place was so perfect...I had to sell it!

So my realtor sends me an email...

I was in the market to buy a new apartment.

I told my realtor I'd be open to almost any neighborhood in Manhattan. I'd lived on the Upper West Side for almost 25 years and needed a change. I'd be happy with Carnegie Hill, Murray Hill, the Upper East Side, Chelsea, you name it. The East side was a little more attractive as I have a weekend home out at the end of Long Island in a cute little town called Sag Harbor. Being able to jump right onto the FDR Drive to get out of the city would shave at least 20 to 30 minutes off my Friday night commutes.

So my realtor, David, sends me an email one day late last summer titled "Beautiful Wreck". It was a listing for a studio apartment (I was looking for a studio or one bedroom). He went on to say "Look at this GEM. It is in one of the most stunning, pre-war buildings in NYC! It is a total fixer-upper. I've requested a floor plan and a viewing. What do you think?" There was little to glean from the listing as it showed no pictures of the apartment itself. I would later find out why (more on that later). Suffice it to say it's been a long road, but I closed on this 'gem' TODAY. And I couldn't be happier. This blog will be the story of the renovation of my new home. I'll share as much of this new life project as I can. There's so much backstory already, but I'll save those stories for future postings.

Stay with me on this journey...it's going to be fun to see how it all turns out!

Here's the floor plan...and off we go!!

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