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.
Julie Glickman had it made when she was living in the ground floor of a Park Slope brownstone owned by a family friend, paying just $800 a month. But when the owners decided to renovate, she had to find a place of her own. This looked like the perfect time to get her parents to invest in real estate, an idea they had toyed around with before. The search for a charming one-bedroom for around $300,000 in Brooklyn wasn't that easy. After seeing soulless places in Clinton Hill, Concord Village and Windsor Terrace she realized that she would have to bring her own charm and settled on a place in Clinton Hill.
Ms. Glickman hoped to spend around $300,000 for a one-bedroom. She hunted in Park Slope, but found it way too pricey. A top-floor apartment in a four-story walk-up building called the Algonquin in Windsor Terrace was listed at $360,000, with monthly maintenance of a little more than $500.
The 600 square feet seemed barely enough for her.
Another prewar possibility arose in a handsome co-op building on Clinton Avenue, this one with a part-time lobby attendant. On the ground floor, the 850-square-foot one-bedroom overlooked an interior courtyard. The price was $345,000, maintenance in the mid-$600s.
They considered offering $250,000, Mr. Glickman said. But Mrs. Glickman wasn’t keen on the layout, two boxy rooms.
The price later dropped to $330,000. The apartment is now off the market.
The Glickmans moved on to Concord Village, a seven-building complex at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. There, they saw a renovated one-bedroom of 630 square feet. It was listed at $325,000; the maintenance fee was in the low $800s. But in their view, the development lacked not just character but a neighborhood.
Mrs. Glickman suggested they revisit the Clinton Hill Co-ops, with its two large campuses.
The one-bedroom was an ample 775 square feet with big windows. It was listed for $309,000; maintenance was around $700. In the early spring, Ms. Glickman bought the place from the sponsor for $285,000. Her father contributed the down payment.
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