Earlier this year, Abbie Lin and Shaman Kothari were faced with a conundrum. A new owner had taken over their apartment building in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and was refusing to renew the leases of any of the tenants.
“We never thought buying a place would be something that would happen for us,” said Ms. Lin, 32. “But our hand was kind of forced.”
In March, with only a few months left on their lease, the couple examined their finances to figure out what they could afford. “We moved pretty quickly when we realized we could buy something and had to move out by June,” said Mr. Kothari, 32.
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Eager to get up to speed on the process, they signed up for a first-time home buyer “boot camp” hosted by Nikki Thomas, a broker at Corcoran who eventually became their agent.
“These seminars are to prepare people for the buying process but also help them figure out whether or not they’re ready to buy in the first place,” Ms. Thomas said. “Abbie and Shaman had the best energy and attitude. Buying can be exhausting. It can take a certain amount of emotional stamina.”
Ms. Lin and Mr. Kothari loved Prospect Heights and limited their search to that neighborhood and the ones directly around it. Both work in marketing in the tech industry and knew that they wanted manageable commutes into Manhattan. “We were kind of spoiled for train access in our neighborhood,” he said.
They settled on a budget of $800,000, looking for something convenient and pet-friendly. “Our dog passed away earlier this year,” Ms. Lin said. “But we love dogs so much and know we want another one.”
Most important, they needed to be flexible about their space expectations. The couple’s rental was a two-bedroom, which made things easier on days when they both worked from home.
“At first we were hopeful we could find a similar space within our budget,” Ms. Lin said. “But we realized we would have to downsize.”
Among their options:
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