1) This week's Hunt centers on the stress of finding a rental, specifically the stress of finding a 2BR rental for between $1,600 and $2,200 in Brooklyn at "the peak of student move-in season," as Abby and Matt are. It's difficult. Almost every place they look at is immediately snatched up by competing renters. Even so, they are not inclined to sette for, say, a sixth-floor walkup or a place too tiny for both a sofa and a table. Sticking to their guns but also running out of time, they finally find an old but nice 2BR in Bushwick for $1,700. And this time they are the ones who snatch it away from another pair of renters, who arrive just after they do. Ha. [The Hunt/'A Place With Good Grammar']
2) When a listing boasts of "expansive" or "sweeping" views, that can mean a lot of different things. For one, what are the views of? Central Park is the most desired view in the city, due mainly to its exclusivity. But even those views have subcategories—"above the trees," "tree line," or "through the trees." There are any number of reasons that a buyer could want a view—one broker tells of a couple who wanted to be able to gauge the temperature by seeing how people outside were dressed—and any number of things they could want views of, but brokers such as Barbara Fox, maintain that real New Yorkers don't really care about views. "[First time buyers] think it's the most important thing you can have," she says. "But for real die-hard New Yorkers, space and amenities are more important than views." ['The View Finders'; photo by Mattron]
3) A seven-room Chelsea penthouse was designed as an entertainer's paradise, but John Edelman, who bought and designed the place in 2002, hasn't been entertaining as much as of late. Deciding that with great party-having power comes great responsibility to the partiers of the future, he has nobly put his dream apartment on the market for $5.495 million. Whoever buys it will get a replica of one of the chandeliers from the Metropolitan Opera, 3,000 square feet of terraces, an enormous grill, rooftop bar, and a bathroom with a TV in it. Edelman describes his tastes as "eclectic." ['Celebration of Modern in a Chelsea Penthouse']