Welcome to It Happened One Weekend, our weekly roundup of The New York Times real estate section...
The Hunt: 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 Hunters: Two NYU best friends and music theater undergrads looking for a West Village pad in between their hectic schedules.
Price
Dream: $3,000 a month
Reality: $3,350 a month
Neighborhood
Dream: West Village
Reality: East Village
Amenities
Dream: Two-bedroom with laundry in building
Reality: Two-bedroom with laundry in building
Summary
Best friends Roberto Moran and Kelly Plescia, both 20-year-old NYU students, decided to live together when the latter's housing situation was no longer feasible. Plescia used to live in a "you didn't know what time of day it was" East Village three-bedroom with three other people (and plenty of construction noise), but when one of the roommates moved abroad, the apartment share ended. Plescia reached out to Moran, who was living in university housing at the time, and so the search began. An (unrealistic) ideal rent of $3,000 for a two-bedroom in the West Village was set; an agent was found; and very quickly their hopes were deflated.
Actually, they were almost fleeced: The duo first settled on a West Village two-bedroom asking $3,350 a month. They paid $600 for credit checks, but then the apartment was rented to someone else, and it seemed like they weren't going to get their money back. Their agent intervened, got the money, and everything was back to where it started. But hey, they're actors, they're used to rejection, as Moran put it.
Stiff competition reared its ugly head at the next two locations, one on Christopher Street, and the other on Bleecker; both were pricier, and the crowds put them off. A sixth-floor walk up on West Houston Street was even more depressing. It was time to switch gears—well, switch neighborhoods. They moved on to the East Village, and found something almost instanrtly. They saw a two-bedroom near First Avenue with exposed brick, laundry in the building, and an elevator. They jumped on it, offering $50 more than $3,300 asking rent to secure the spot. But now that they've moved in, some problems persist. Moran believes the apartment is haunted. And for Plescia, well there's construction work happening across the street now.
· The Hunt/Found:The East Village Scene for Two Theater Students [NY Times]
· The Hunt/Found Archives [Curbed]
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