After years of renting, two young doctors hoped to buy something in their beloved Clinton Hill, but found better options elsewhere. Here’s where they landed.
After years of renting, two young doctors hoped to buy something in their beloved Clinton Hill, but found better options elsewhere. Here’s where they landed.
The New York Times
Real Estate|A Couple With Manhattan Jobs Seek the Ideal Brooklyn Home. Which of These Would You Choose?
Site Search Navigation
Site Navigation
Site Mobile Navigation
Real Estate|The Hunt
A Couple With Manhattan Jobs Seek the Ideal Brooklyn Home. Which of These Would You Choose?
ByJOYCE COHENAPRIL 16, 2020
After years of renting, two young doctors hoped to buy something in their beloved Clinton Hill, but found better options elsewhere. Here’s where they landed.Related Article
Mike Baad spent his early years in New York moving from one “ridiculous Craigslist sublet” to another, usually because of crowded conditions and rising rents. “The places weren’t very good, but they were cheap,” he said.
As he was finishing medical school, he landed in a shared rental in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. That’s when he met Clara Orbe, who was living in graduate-student housing at Columbia University while earning her Ph.D. The couple were married about three years ago, at which point they rented a top-floor one-bedroom in a Clinton Hill co-op for $2,800 a month.
They loved the neighborhood enough to put up with lengthy commutes: his to a hospital on the Upper East Side, where he works as a pediatric radiologist; hers to an office in Morningside Heights, where she is a research scientist. “Clinton Hill is not near any subway, so it’s very local,” Dr. Baad said.
[Did you recently buy or rent a home in the New York metro area? We want to hear from you. Email:thehunt@nytimes.com]
The couple, now in their mid-30s, saved so they could buy a home. “We are planners,” Dr. Baad said. “We want to take it one step at a time.”
The next step was a two-bedroom co-op.
They knew they wanted to live in a prewar building. “I would have felt like it wasn’t genuine to my taste if it was all perfect and new but didn’t have the details that we like,” Dr. Orbe said.
Apart from that, “we didn’t have many asks,” Dr. Baad said. “The fact that laundry is even in the building was good enough for me. For a while, I was a little obsessed with outdoor space, but it wasn’t make-or-break. All these places were much nicer than anything we were accustomed to.”
At an open house last summer, they met Albi Zhubi, an agent at Corcoran. “They were looking for the opposite of what most things on the market were,” Ms. Zhubi said. “They wanted no new developments.”
Clinton Hill had little suitable inventory, so they turned to nearby Park Slope and Prospect Heights.
The couple planned to spend around $1 million. On the low end, they saw small, self-managed co-ops with what they called “pseudo bedrooms” — usually walled-off nooks in the living room.
“The competition for places under $1 million was kind of crazy,” Dr. Baad said. “Maybe it was the mansion tax, or people are priced out or it’s a psychological thing.”
They realized that increasing their budget a little would get them a lot more. “We figured that out quickly,” he said. “It’s $100,000 more, but it’s way nicer.”
Among their choices:
No. 1
Prospect Heights Two-Bedroom
This two-bedroom facing an interior courtyard was on a low floor in an elevator building, with three exposures and no views. It had a large dining room, exposed brick, French doors and antique doorknobs. The building had a laundry room.
The price was $1 million, with monthly maintenance of about $1,200.
No. 2
Prospect Heights Walk-up Duplex
This two-bedroom duplex was on the top two floors of a small walk-up building, with a spacious room upstairs and a 100-square-foot rooftop space. It had a wood-burning fireplace, a washer-dryer and a second bathroom.
The price was $1.195 million, with maintenance of a little less than $1,100.
No. 3
Park Slope Walk-up Two-Bedroom
This top-floor apartment in a brownstone came with central air-conditioning and private roof space reached by a spiral staircase. The unit was pristine, with exposed brick, beamed ceilings, a washer-dryer and a second bathroom.
The price was $1.099 million, with maintenance of a little less than $1,100.
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
Which Would You Choose?
Prospect Heights Two-Bedroom
Prospect Heights Walk-up Duplex
Park Slope Walk-up Two-Bedroom
Which Did They Choose?
Prospect Heights Two-Bedroom
Prospect Heights Walk-up Duplex
Park Slope Walk-up Two-Bedroom
The Hunt
These Young Renters Wanted a Starter Apartment in Manhattan for a Reasonable Price. Here’s What They Found.
A Renter Realizes He Can Do Better Than Manhattan. Which of These Homes Did He Choose?
She Wanted an Investment Property She Could Live In. Here’s Where She Found It.
A Bay Area Transplant Wants a Brooklyn Condo. What Did He Choose?