From the age of 8, when her dad and mom moved her household to New Jersey from Queens, Danielle Gonzalez ached to get again to New York Metropolis. However she didn’t need to do it in a rental. Her father, whose household hails from Puerto Rico, and her mom, an immigrant from Colombia, had at all times inspired her to personal property.
“Rising up, I used to be at all times instructed, ‘If you should purchase, then purchase,’” mentioned Ms. Gonzalez, 27, who works remotely as a digital communications technique supervisor for a Mexico-based tequila model. “I used to be at all times very conscious of actual property as a option to construct generational wealth.”
So she did purchase, scraping collectively sufficient for a down cost on a two-bedroom condo in Jersey Metropolis, N.J., for $400,000 shortly after graduating from Rutgers College. “The thought of shopping for in New York felt unimaginable, so I made a decision to get as shut as I might,” she mentioned.
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She took on a roommate to assist with the mortgage funds, however at all times felt that her life was centered on the opposite facet of the Holland Tunnel. “I discovered myself taking the PATH prepare into town day by day, whether or not it was to see my pals, go to blissful hour or on a date,” she mentioned.
By the summer season of 2022, she figured that promoting her condo would go away her with a price range of as much as $600,000 to purchase a brand new place. She was keen to commerce her bigger house for a smaller one in Manhattan, however she had a number of necessities: sufficient room for a chosen work house, ample closet house and good pure mild.
She initially checked out co-op buildings, however shortly soured on the sophisticated and invasive utility course of.
“She was actually not a co-op purchaser, however extra so a condominium purchaser,” mentioned Lucy Wu, a licensed actual property agent at Bond New York, who helped Ms. Gonzalez together with her search. As a result of Ms. Gonzalez’s skill to purchase was contingent on the sale of her New Jersey condo, Ms. Wu suggested her to keep away from co-op boards, which usually desire patrons with extra liquid financials.
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“A co-op is great for a house you’re planning on staying in for 5 to 10 years,” Ms. Wu mentioned, “however as a youthful individual simply beginning out in your profession, you might not need to be so dedicated.”
Ms. Gonzalez needed to be as near Decrease Manhattan as potential, close to the eating places, golf equipment and salsa courses that fill her social life.
Among the many condos she thought-about:
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