Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
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 recent graduate from Tenafly, NJ
Price
Dream: $450,000
Reality: $426,000
Neighborhood
Dream: Upper East Side
Reality: Upper East Side
Amenities
Dream: Studio/1BR, co-op, sunny
Reality: 1BR, co-op, sunny
Summary
Today's Hunter is a recent college grad from New Jersey who, after graduating in 2011, had apparently saved enough for a down payment on a $450,000 apartment. She started looking for a one-bedroom co-op on the Upper East Side, in a building with a doorman and elevator. She started looking at lots of apartment in the East 60s and 70s, eventually finding a nice, sunny one-bedroom in an area she has hereby christened "Bloomingdale's East." She paid $435,000 and dropped another $30,000 in upgrades and renovations. [The Hunt/"How to Get to Manhattan? Save, Save, Save"; photo via kiminnyc/Curbed Photo Pool]