Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
1) Rich people. What are they spending millions of dollars on? What are they complaining about? This is What's Up With Rich People?
In news that should shock precisely no one, it seems that younger people with money now expect to be treated like guests at a five-star hotel at home, with a huge number of luxury buildings in New York retraining their staff to provide "white-glove service." Gone are the days of friendly conversation, wherein you might gossip about other residents, discuss last night's sporting event, or perhaps even talk about the (gasp) personal lives of the help. Instead, doormen are now expected to stoically cater to a resident's every whim, with some buildings even offering "Invisible Butler" services. As usual, there's a crop of Times horror stories, such as newer, wealthier residents "asking doormen to park cars like a valet; accusing them of stealing jewelry; refusing to open a door for themselves under any circumstances; or expecting instant results to complicated problems." Hey, if you live in one of these buildings, maybe consider upping that annual holiday tip? ["A White-Glove State of Mind"; photo via msarinsky/Curbed Photo Pool]
2) Every "The Hunt" column begins with the Hunters describing the apartment they want, and ends with them rationalizing whatever they came away with. This is The Hunt: Dreams vs. Reality]
The Hunter: a doctor and his young son
Price
Dream: $1.35 million
Reality: $1.9 million
Neighborhood
Dream: Harlem
Reality: Washington Heights
Amenities
Dream: rental income, space, "historical"
Reality: two-family, lots of space, original details
Summary
A doctor with a young child wanted to move out of his apartment in the Meatpacking District (and hey, who can blame him?), closer to his work at Columbia Medical in Upper Manhattan. Since he was expecting another child, he also wanted a lot more space, so with a budget of around $1.35 million, he began looking for townhouses in the area, eventually finding a 20'-wide, two-family brownstone in Washington Heights. He ended up paying the asking price, (almost $600,000 above his budget) plus an extra $200,000 and counting in basic renovations. Yikes. [The Hunt/"Wanted: Wiggle Room"]
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