The Hunt
With Manhattan Rents Rising, She Fled to Queens With a $200,000 Budget
After a few years on the East Side, a longtime renter decided to shield herself from rising housing costs by putting her savings to work. Which of these Forest Hills studios did she buy?
When her landlord raised her rent by $200 last February, Theresa Handwerk saw the writing on the wall.
Ms. Handwerk, 51, had been paying $1,450 a month — “pandemic rent,” she called it — for a studio on the East Side of Manhattan. She was happy to squeeze into its 300 square feet in exchange for the prime location, within a 15-minute walk of her Midtown office, where she works as an insurance broker. But as the rental market began to roar back to life in the spring, she figured this wouldn’t be the last time her rate went up.
The best way to protect herself from ever-rising housing costs, she thought, was to leave the rental market and put her savings to work. “I knew there was no way I would be able to stay in New York if I didn’t buy,” she said. “I felt like a sitting duck.”
And she wasn’t willing to leave the city. Ms. Handwerk has a master’s degree in art history from the University of Delaware; when she moved to New York in October of 2011, it was to have access to the world-class culture and art. “Being interested in art and going to museums is my life,” she said. “It’s what brings meaning to my life.”
She decided that she could spend about $200,000 on a new place, probably in another borough. But she was hesitant — her first apartment in the city was in Fresh Meadows, Queens, and it took over an hour to get to her job near Grand Central Terminal. If she was going to buy, she wanted a more reasonable commute that didn’t involve relying on the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North.
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She knew she would likely be limited to a studio, but she wanted one that felt renovated, clean and bright, with a foyer that separated the entrance from the rest of the space. She also wanted an elevator and laundry in the building.
She called Marc Williams, the broker with Corcoran who had represented the apartment she was renting, and they zeroed in on Forest Hills, Queens.
“As a lifelong single woman, the financial and social inequalities compared to married couples are glaring,” Ms. Handwerk said. “And my financial history has not been one that gave me the confidence that I could just buy a place.”
Here are the three co-op studios she considered:
No. 1
Renovated With Hardwood Floors
This 500-square-foot, seventh-floor studio was newly renovated, with gleaming hardwood floors and roomy closets. But the windows in the living space, kitchen and bathroom faced a brick wall, limiting the natural light. Still, the building complex had a doorman, and the grounds were beautifully manicured. And Ms. Handwerk liked that the apartment was close to the M and R subway trains. The asking price was $228,000, with about $560 in monthly maintenance fees.
No. 2
Sunny With an Open Kitchen
This 400-square-foot, third-floor studio had appealing details, including an open kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a marble subway-tile backsplash, as well as two exposures and an updated bathroom. The building complex abutted the Grand Central Parkway and was a couple of blocks from the E and F trains, and it had a part-time doorman and a gated courtyard. The asking price was $178,000, with about $460 in monthly maintenance.
No. 3
Smaller Space With Dressing Nook
This sixth-floor unit was also in the building complex next to the Grand Central Parkway. It made the most of its space with a dressing area where Ms. Handwerk could put a vanity table, and the hardwood floors and updated kitchen were a plus. But at 375 square feet, the apartment wasn’t much larger than her rental. The asking price was $170,000, with about $525 in monthly maintenance.
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
Which Would You Choose?
Renovated With Hardwood Floors
Sunny With an Open Kitchen
Smaller Space With Dressing Nook
Which Did She Buy?
Renovated With Hardwood Floors
Sunny With an Open Kitchen
Smaller Space With Dressing Nook