When Yoav bought his one bedroom on the Upper West Side for under 100k in the late 90s, he had no idea how valuable his home would become. Aside from being a very smart investment financially, it is going to help make our future together easier.
About: Devyn
Recent Posts by Devyn
Onward and Forward….
[Photo: My now former home in Hell’s Kitchen.]
Things around here have been a bit quiet lately. Not because I have nothing to write about or want to say, but because we are simply in a holding pattern at the moment. The purchase process of our dream home (the purpose of this blog) is still ongoing. God willing, we will close before the end of August.
The Upper West Side Always Frightened Me….
It is true…I can’t quite explain why, it just did. I always viewed the Upper West Side (UWS) as a bit suburban (which is kinda how I view the Upper East Side today), elitist, and remote. Before moving to New York, I knew nothing about the UWS, other than knowing that Jerry Seinfeld made it the backdrop of his show.
Before There Was Two, There Was Always One (Video)
[Photo: My Hell’s Kitchen apartment last fall. Vintage Burke swivel chair, Ikea cabinets hung on the wall, Weltron 2000 AM/FM 8-Track Stereo (circa 1970), red acrylic string lamp, and photography wall of iPhone shots.]
Before fulfilling my lifelong dream of living in Manhattan (and long before I was married), I lived in Seattle, Portland (Oregon), and Chicago. Each a great city unto itself. While I never had much money during those years, I always placed my priority on location over space when it came to housing.
Inspiration in Gray, and Red, and Teal
[Photo: This is a beautiful room, although I think it could use a tad bit more red. Source – House and Garden UK, November 2012]
I am not an interior designer. But I do have my own distinctive sense of style. I know what I do like and what I don’t like. (I am also very fortunate and grateful to have a supportive husband who appreciates my sense of style, and lets me do almost anything when it comes to our home’s interior design.)
Backstory Part V – Entering Contract and Renovation Plans
It was a mostly sleepless night after we saw the half classic six that week before our wedding, but by the time we got up on Monday morning, we knew we wanted to go back. We called the selling agent and scheduled a second visit for that next evening and upon arrival, spent a good 30 minutes looking the place over.
Backstory Part IV – Finding our Gem
It was the Sunday before our wedding, only 23 days after we decided (thanks to my real estate attorney) to get married, and we needed a day off. A day off from all of the chaos surrounding the planning of a wedding, the travel arrangements for visiting family and friends, the back and forth with my attorney and real estate agent on the sale of my apartment, and the general exhaustion that both of us felt from lack of calm in our lives for the last month.
Backstory Part III – A Manhattan Real Estate Shotgun Wedding?
[Photo: The day after my proposal in Provincetown, MA. July 2013]
So the plan was this….
- Propose to Yoav (done in July 13)
- Move in together (done in Jan 14)
- Sell my Hell’s Kitchen apartment
- Buy an apartment together to call our home.
- Keep his apartment of 15 years as an investment property
- And then in spring of 2015, get married
Backstory Part II – Open House after Open House after Open House
Yoav and I came to the conclusion early on (before I proposed, but after we said “I love you”) that real estate was going to be a top priority early on in our relationship. We both owned our own co-ops. He bought his small one bedroom, close to Riverside Park south of 110th Street back in the late 90s. I bought my very small studio (294 sq. ft.) in a pre-war doorman building in Hell’s Kitchen in 2010. It was fairly clear that we both wanted to buy a place together to make “our” home in, and not try to fit our lives into the others place (which would be impossible in my tiny studio). A place that we both love and look forward to building our future in.
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