Four years ago, Barbara Snyder sold her family’s five-bedroom home in Princeton, N.J., after the sudden death of her husband. Her two oldest children were living in New York, while her two youngest were still in college. So she moved to the city, downsizing to an Upper West Side rental.
As the pandemic raged, Ms. Snyder and her daughter shared a two-bedroom in a high-rise on Riverside Boulevard. She had just met Joe Pigott, also recently widowed, who was living with his two teenage children in Stamford, Conn.
“Joe lost his wife within two months of me losing my husband,” Ms. Snyder said. “We were on the same schedule. It’s a terrible experience, but we went through it together.”
Ms. Snyder, 56, runs the Iron Mike Youth Sports Foundation, which promotes sports participation for children from low-income families, in honor of her late husband, who died of a heart attack. Mr. Pigott, 59, who works in banking, lost his wife to pancreatic cancer.
The couple, who married last summer, split their time between New York City and Stamford. But as the rent on the Riverside Boulevard apartment rose — it was already pushing $9,000 — their thoughts turned to buying.
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“Having owned a home for decades and having had my little corner of the world — leaving that and living in rentals, I felt kind of unmoored,” Ms. Snyder said. “I needed a home that was mine, something that felt like me.”
Initially, the couple were hoping to find a one-bedroom co-op on the Upper West Side for around $1 million. But “the process of looking teaches you what you want,” Ms. Snyder said. It also reminded them that, at that price, it would be tough to make a comfortable space for a big, blended family with six children and their significant others.
“I wanted a hub,” she said, “a gathering place. The kids come over all the time. We sit around the table a lot. A dining room was important.”
So was a place for guests to stay overnight. “It didn’t have to be luxurious,” Mr. Pigott said. “A very small room would be fine.”
The layouts they saw rarely worked for them. “Some places had a nice kitchen, but didn’t have a dining room,” he said. “Or instead of a 10-by-12 living room, it was a 14-by-12 living-and-dining room,” with little room for a table.
Having a washer and dryer was a priority, too. “It is a draw for my kids,” Ms. Snyder said. “They come over with a laundry bag.”
Through Zillow, they connected with Jenny Bryant, a saleswoman at Keller Williams NYC. At around $1 million, most places that were big enough seemed to have a fatal flaw, and many were in terrible condition.
“The inventory was low, so we agreed to raise the budget,” Ms. Bryant said. The couple also realized they might have to be willing to renovate.
Among their options:
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