Thursday, November 29, 2007

Life...


So…

We got our inspector’s report back, although frustratingly it took a little while longer than expected. This caused a minor panic on the part of our sellers who were worried that something was wrong. This irregardless of the fact that the inspector we used was one recommended to us by both brokers (ours and theirs). I guess there were other buyers in the wings whose offers were on the table until Friday…regardless, the contracts were signed this morning, and our down payment check is processed on its way (bye bye moolah!)

So needless to say this is real. This baby is happening whether we want it to or not. (just quoting Paul Rudd in knocked up).

We are excited, and once this is taken care of, most of the work is done..it’s all legally binding so we now have an apartment!!

Next steps will be to do some measurements and start planning (that’s all Amma). We also have to figure out if we are extending our lease or crashing with the mitt man rents or what not!

That’s all for now!

PS...long day yesterday so my image searching skills are a little off their game

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I pity the inspector

We are still waiting for our inspector's report...so in the meantime, here's something funny...just b/c years ago matt wrote commercials with this fool!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Pictures Pictures Pictures!

As Amma and I watch Biggest Loser (Kaye looks pretty hot), I have been delegated the task of uploading and commenting on the pics listed below. Some you have seen (living room, kitchen), some are small things that I thought were cool (can you say key box!), and some were purposefully hidden on the corcoran website (um, bathroom?).

Also wanted to show the view from the roof and the garden which is pretty amazing. I realize now that we didn't get too many pictures of the "+" room, but that is OK...it has officially been demarcated as Amanda's dressing room...

Anyhow...next steps are continuing on with the lawyer process...although we found out that a friend of ours as a house-warming gift is going to come and measure the apt and enter it into CAD, which is a program that will show us a virtual layout. Since we have months to go, this will give Amanda and the design kids a chance to come up with a kick ass layout...(I'm still hoping for a recliner (a.k.a. lazy boy).

Until next time...

PS: For higher-rez versions of the pictures, just click on them individually.



Please don't take our chandelier!


Well we went to the inspection today and let me say it is quite a process. It's interesting to go and meet with a guy who points out the good and bad about your apartment. Our guy was a little pot-bellied man with grey hair who took a lot of time to make sure everything was great. The good news is that our apartment on the whole is in great shape. There are a few concerns (minor asbestos in the basement, new safety gate for second bedroom, and awful sink and color scheme of bathroom!) but for the whole we are really in great shape.

I just sent a long list of the things to our broker so I guess next steps are talking with the sellers and negotiating the deal.

Funny note: Most of the stuff is staying in the apartment but the one thing the seller is planning to take is an old family heirloom, a chandelier. We kind of smiled to ourselves as that would be the first thing we'd get rid of (enclosed pic on top).

We took more pictures today than you will want to see, and they'll get posted a little later. IN the meantime, here's a short video a took of the shelves which proves that 1)This apartment is really cool and 2)I'm a big dork.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Where's Penny?



Ok, over the weekend you probably stayed up late on Saturday night wondering, "what are Amanda and Matt's next steps?"

Well, since you asked...i'll tell you...on Tuesday Matt is going with dad-in-law to meet with the inspector. If he approves, then we move on to the next of 300 steps.

anyway...till then...

Friday, November 16, 2007

HOT DATE!

As Matt just posted, we've been dealing with a lot lately. This is our first foray into being adults, and we're scared, anxious, nervous, naive, and PUMPED!
However, we havent really celebrated yet, so tonight, my hubby and I are having a delicious dinner at Riingo (http://www.riingo.com/).
I'm wearing a hot outfit, getting my hair did, and all will be perfect. Cheers!

And now the fun begins...


So while searching for an apartment is fun and exhausting, and frustrating and exhilarating (hence the name of this blog), nothing quite compares with hearing that you got the apartment of your dreams. Needless to say we’re psyched.

Amazingly, almost immediately though, the not-so-fun part begins.

I’ll recap the past 24 hours for you.

10am: Receive the call from broker we got the apartment.
10:15-relay info to Amma.
10:15-1030: post win celebraton.

1045-11. Talk to Broker
Call Mortgage Broker
Contact Lawyer
Contact Inspector
Recontact broker regarding mortgage broker, lawyer and inspector.

The list goes on and on.

But, we have good people working with us, family friends which means we feel safe. After all, we know where they live!

That’s all for now…

This clip could very well be what meeting the co-op board will be like…

Thursday, November 15, 2007

What a difference a day makes

Ok, nothing new to write since earlier...but now this is what we had to say to all the other bidders...

America...F**K Yeah!






































Well, as you can tell by the barrage of beautiful imagery (beaver with guns…Freudian?) we have great news.

The call came in this morning around 10: 30 that we have officially gotten the apartment! We beat out 2 other fools and it’s ours baby…

Busy morning so more details later…

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Going Once, Going Twice....

No, it's not sold yet!

We put a second offer on the apartment...we went way higher than the first bid, and
came up with what we think was a smart price, as was advised by our broker. (our broker, not the seller's broker, b/c that would be dumb for us to listen to her). We're waiting to see if the other couple is going to counter, and we'll probably hear back tmw. We also found out that our financials are better than the other couple's (um, BOO YAH!) so perhaps that will contribute to the decision.

We also found out that the couple would want to move in a few months, around May. That actually would work better for us, as we could save some major moolah by crashing with my parents for a few months until we would move.


So, basically...we're just waiting. And really trying to keep ourselves busy in the meantime!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Poop

Ok, this isn't meant to be misleading. We got the other bid in and we are going to counter. But we just feel like saying b/c this other couple made a bid, regardless of who they are, they are in fact, a poop head.

Waiting sucks

Amma and I are wiating to hear back from this other bidder.

So in the meantime, I wrote a little Hauiku

We are waiting.
Waiting sucks.
It sucks big time.

Anyone know a publisher? ( i Do not care if it matches the write number of syllables and what not!)

Monday, November 12, 2007

There's a reason why...

this blog is called apartment hunting sucks, apartment hunting rocks.

It rocks when you find an apartment you love, and you think you're only the bidder only to dsicover that there's another mother F**ker in the mix.

Love!Valor!Pain!Compassion!Misery!

Anyway, this was how I felt when I got a call from our broker saying there's another bidder in the mix.(Really just the first moment when you know who shows up...but the rest of the clip is comedy).

The Bid is on (updated)

(Update: I found the song/video i was referring to earlier. Enjoy!)

Ok, I don’t know if this is the song I’m thinking of, I’m thinking of the one from Beverly hills cop 2. Anyway, we have put in a bid for a second property that is actually much better than the one we didn’t get. Karma on our side…we will see.

It will be interesting to see what happens on this, as the owners are anxious to sell, and already have a new apartment they bought. I think they might be double dipping so it’s curious to see how much they will take below asking price. I’m sure they wont take our first offer, but that’s where the games begin…



Here are some pics in case you are wondering what this place looks like.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

New apartment Part 2


So just a quick update.

Went today to take a second look at the apartment in the daytime, (although it was 415pm and not really 'daytime'). Think the apartment is a keeper.

Amanda's mom checked it out and gave it the thumbs up. Of course, i thought she didn't like it, and i probably overcompensated by saying (in front of the seller, faux pas i learned...yoni forgive me) what we could do with it. when the seller walked away, she politely told me that i can't get too excited or the seller will tell the owners that we are dying to have it, etc etc, so in other words she told me, 'shut the F up' it was a good lesson, that like with job interviews and everything else, it's all a poker game.

anyhow...A and I were talking and we think we are going to put a bid on the place. It will definitely need some work, but it's a great find. We also think that if we got a bid accepted, by the time everything went through, it would be only a few weeks (month at most) before our lease ends so we would hopefully have no overlap.

We also are taking some comfort that although we are not getting the condo, at least we wouldn't have to sink another $20-40 grand on top of the deposit down due to transfer taxes.

OK...off to the races. Tmw I'm going to go check out a few open houses just to see what else is out there. these are supposedly comparable to what we have in our sights so hopefully this will only confirm the feeling that this is the right place to go. Amma is out of town this weekend on business so I'm out and about.

BTW, for all 3 of you who read this thing, if and when we do get our apartment, fret not...the blogging will continue as we deal with bidding, contracts, meeting the board, renovations, and more...giving us a chance to write more inane yet mildly amusing anecdotes for you to read.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Daylight Savings Time


So you’re probably asking why I have a photo of Spy vs. Spy here, and perhaps how does it correlate to the subject header. It’s quite simple if you haven’t figured it out…ok, maybe not that simple.

The photo merely represents a mirror image, and I couldn’t find a photo (or was just to lazy to look) of the same location taken during the day and at night. My point in all this is merely to say that this weekend we’re taking another look at the apartment in the daytime, to see how it looks with natural light. However, it is closer to 415, and my only concern is that it might start to get dark and we won’t get the real impression of it as it might be at noon or 1pm (get the title reference now…daylight savings time screws up everything huh?), but at least we can get a picture of how the apartment looks when it’s not under the soft hum of a neon glow.

If all goes well, Amma will come back next week after a business trip with her dad, and we may very well put a bid on this sucka.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

In talks


Negotiations are under way for the new apartment that was visited last night by Matt and Amma. By negotiations, i simply mean we saw something we dug, and now are figuring out the practicalities and numbers.

OK, Matt, that doesn't really help us. It's actually quite boring. OK, 'third person who doesn't exist but is actually Matt talking to himself with air quotes (Aside: loser), here's the details.

This was our first time going to Park slope during the week, and especially after work. We wanted to get an idea of what the commute would be like and see what Park slope feels like after a work day. Now, of course we left work at 4pm, so maybe it wasn't completely accurate, but we got the general idea. The commute itself wasn't bad, I came from west 50 and 9, and Amanda from 59 and 3. Coincidentally, we both met up on the N express, getting there around the same time. There seems to be a million ways down there, so it's not bad at all. We were both able to sit and read, but I'm curious if that is possible during rush hours (feel free to jump in you brooklynites).

It was a cold brisk night. And thanks to daylight savings time, we got there just as the light was getting dark. We got to the apartment, and our broker was there, but didn't go up with us because he was allergic to the cats. (We are too, but figured if we were going to buy an apartment, perhaps we should look even despite). Our broker seems to be allergic to many things, like gluten and god knows what else. anyway.

A quick note: we were bummed we didn't get the last apartment, but we now realize it as a blessing in disguise. this apt is a true brownstone.

we saw the third floor (although the stairs were short) 2 bedroom apartment. It was great. It had a huge living room that fit a grand piano, plus a separate room for a dining table. The recently redone kitchen was open, and had a nice feng shui about it. The place had all the original molding, and the windows in the living room actually still had the original fold out shutters which was a nice touch. There was a washer and dryer, one bathroom (one of the things i wasn't crazy about), and nice closet space. the master bedroom was really great, with a faux fireplace (oh yes, one in the living room too, can u say digital flat screen mounted above?) Attached to it was a "+" room which can't be called a third bedroom but essentially is. it is connected to the master room via french doors and is currently being used by the owners as a room for their second child. Amanda saw it and proclaimed that at long last she found her dressing room. That's actually important as their are no closets in the master bedroom. this might be the deal breaker for her.

The second bathroom is a standard second room, small for sure, but great for an office, and eventually a baby's room. it also has a tin roof ceiling in that room which Amanda totally digs. It's also neat b/c of all the original molding and what not, and each room has a glass panelling at the top of the door which is really unique.

Overall, it's about 1100 sq feet and much bigger and inhabitable then previously mentioned apartment. Interestingly enough, it's been on the market a while and previous open houses has brought about no offers, and we know these guys are motivated to leave as they have another place in the works. So next steps are for us to bring the folks to take a look at, and then who knows...might be time for bid #2.

I also forgot to mention that for dinner we went to a new vegan restaurant (I don’t know how I get convinced to go to these places) and it was just awful. I ate the “meat lasagna” which was honestly just nasty and heavy. We were going to go to what was called the holy grail of Park slope…but instead got to enjoy this delightful attempt to create a place that both vegans and non-vegans can co-exist, by giving non-vegans the illusion that they are eating real food. Unfortunately, for me (and my gastric system, it just didn’t work out).

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

New Apartment


Tonight we are going to Park Slope to take a look at another apartment. We realize that the last apartment we found wasn't for us, so the search starts again. There hasn't been much to see lately, but this apartment has great potential.
Unfortunately, no funny, witty stuff from me today, as my head is one big ball of mucous, which is cutting off circulation to the brain.
I'm sure Matt will write something totally killer in the next post.
Wish us luck!

PS..Just heard from a friend that Whole Foods will be moving to 3rd st and 4th ave in Park Slope. Another reason to move there..it's been my dream to live near a Whole Foods. Some people spend their $ on shoes. I spend mine on ridiculously high priced healthy food.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

onwards...


So…

We have officially passed on the second floor apartment, and the seller actually offered us the third floor apartment at the asking price we offered on the second. The catch (and there always is one) was that they wanted to know by today so that they wouldn’t have to do open house this weekend. Frankly, unless we saw the apt again we would not bid on it and we won’t be able to do that until at least next week. But also, all things considering, the difference b/w the asking price and the final price that the apartment we wanted sold for was not so dramatic that we would jump at an apartment that is a longer hike up the stairs. If we did put an offer on it, it would be for dramatically less.

(deep breath)

A and I have found these past few days exasperating to say the least. I think we learned a lot about ourselves and the game. First thing is t hat you really have to know exactly what you can afford and what the costs are. We had zero idea that a condo would incur roughly $35,000 in transfer taxes and what not, which is a HUGE chunk of change from a young couple’s savings account. We also didn’t factor in the tax ramifications, which was a good thing in that with the tax breaks you’re take home goes up so you can afford more per month. Either way, it is super super confusing.

I have realized that I have to open myself up beyond the brownstone thing…it is still what I want, but if we find a great building that isn’t brownstone, than we shouldn’t limit ourselves.

I also now see the value of a broker who Is working specifically for you. Yes, it is sometimes better to deal directly with the listing agent, but they are working for the seller, and you don’t know if you are getting a good deal, what the real value is or what not…if you find the broker who gives you the confidence and comfort level to know what you are doing…you’ll find what you are looking for.

The other realization is that we shouldn’t force fit ourselves into taking an apartment that isn’t completely right. I think it’s easy to think that this is the last apartment you’ll find and it’s a dumb way to look at it when you are investing so much money. We are in a good place right now and there is no rush to get something unless it is perfect.

Moving on…


This has nothing to do with real estate, but it's fun.