If reading The Hunt stokes your deepest hopes that someday everything in life could work out, then you, too, are obsessed with the New York Times Sunday Real Estate section. Join us as we venture into the depths of this weekend's installment.
So, Sarbjit Singh had kind of a weird dilemma. He got a job in Long Island, but was totally resistant to signing his life away and moving to the suburbs. So, keeping in mind his family who'd be visiting, he set to find an apartment with access to the LIRR. Looking in the $600,000 range, he decided that somewhere close to the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn was his best bet. Well, he browsed around and certainly had options for his budget in the area. After a couple of duds he found an Atlantic Yards facing apartment at the Atlantic Terrace in Fort Greene. The price? $565,000 for a slice of soon-to-be arena madness!
He saved toward his down payment, expecting that his new place would cost as much as $600,000. For him, the apartment had to be within walking distance of a Long Island Rail Road terminal. For his elderly relatives and friends, some of whom walk with canes, the apartment had to be easy to maneuver around.
All he could afford in his old neighborhood, Chelsea, were one-bedrooms. Options within walking distance of Penn Station were limited.
But friends had started moving to Brooklyn, so it seemed reasonable to follow them there, as long as he was near Atlantic Avenue Terminal.
Mr. Singh looked at a few apartments at a condominium on State Street near Flatbush Avenue. A gleaming two-bedroom there, with more than 1,000 square feet of space, was listed at $659,000, with charges just under $1,000 a month.The stairs were enough to make Mr. Singh say no.
He fell for a lovely place with a large bay window in the Roanoke on South Oxford Street in the Fort Greene Historic District.
The one-bedroom duplex had around 1,000 square feet of space.
Though the floors were connected by a spiral staircase, both were also accessible via the building’s elevator. The listing price was $549,000, with monthly charges of almost $800.
In the end, though, he decided the layout was impractical.
The newly built Atlantic Terrace, a 10-story co-op also on South Oxford Street, had both affordable and market-rate units. Mr. Singh liked a two-bedroom two-bath with around 1,070 square feet of space.
Mr. Singh, with help from his brother and his parents, paid $565,000 for the apartment, and closed last summer. Maintenance is a bit over $1,100 a month.
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