Although it was “sort of ambitious to own a New York apartment by age 30,” that’s where Lauren Jensen set her sights.
After growing up in northern Westchester County and landing a job in the city when she finished college, she moved often among various neighborhoods and under various circumstances. “It all netted out to be very nomadic,” said Ms. Jensen, now 31.
By the time the pandemic struck, she had settled into a ground-floor one-bedroom in Manhattan Valley for $2,550 a month. Her lease ended last fall, just as pandemic rent deals dried up. Reluctant to renew an expensive lease, and working remotely (she is now a product manager at a food delivery company), she got serious about buying a one-bedroom co-op unit.
Ms. Jensen moved back into her parents’ house in Westchester to save money and to avoid the worry of timing the end of her lease to a purchase. “I’ve been squirreling away money for 10 years,” she said.
She set her budget in the high $600,000s and initially considered the Upper West Side, but the apartments there felt too small and the area too familiar. As she put it, “I knew every blade of grass in Central Park,” where she walked her dog, Norman. So she hunted in Brooklyn, where many friends lived.
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Ms. Jensen hoped to find a place near Prospect Park, in a building with an elevator, as she often goes in and out with the dog. A big bedroom for a big bed was important — with space for her and Norman. So was a designated office area. “I would love to have my office not be my bedroom or living room,” she said.
Ms. Jensen contacted Cody Hernandez, a real estate agent with Compass, who had been referred by friends.
“I asked Lauren if she was open to studios, because with her budget we could get her a nice studio in an area she wanted to be in,” Mr. Hernandez said. “Or a one-bedroom that needed a little bit of fixing up, or was smaller or farther away from the park.”
Ms. Jensen saw one alcove studio, with beautiful views of Prospect Park, listed for $545,000. “It was hard to ignore that $100,000 below my budget,” she said. “My mom talked me out of it.”
She told Mr. Hernandez that she wanted the one-bedroom version of that apartment. “He said it doesn’t work that way,” she said, and he cautioned her that she couldn’t expect a one-bedroom to appear in the same building.
Among her options:
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