It was the neighborhood really feel of Astoria, Queens — the walkability, the thriving homosexual group, the comparatively low scale — that first attracted Steven Salazar and Stefano Verdesoto. Two years in the past, the couple rented a one-bedroom in a giant new constructing there, paying $2,300 a month. They didn’t have a lot use for the facilities, however had been smitten with their stacked washer and dryer.
The couple saved assiduously throughout Covid. After paying off their pupil loans, they turned their consideration to “that subsequent section of our lives,” stated Mr. Salazar, 30, who’s from El Paso, Texas, and works in promoting.
“As an immigrant and a first-generation faculty graduate, the dream was all the time to purchase property,” stated Mr. Verdesoto, 31, who grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens, after arriving along with his household from Ecuador. He’s an administrator in increased schooling.
The couple, now engaged, had two mates looking for single-family properties within the Lengthy Island suburbs. “We felt just like the outliers, shopping for a rental within the metropolis,” Mr. Verdesoto stated. “It was attention-grabbing to study from each other.”
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Hoping to discover a one-bedroom in or close to Astoria with area for his or her six-seat eating desk, they centered on new condominiums, largely as a result of they needed in-unit laundry, and co-ops with washers and dryers had been scarce.
“It’s humorous how a fundamental factor isn’t fundamental in New York,” Mr. Verdesoto stated. In each widespread laundry room he encountered, he stated, “I had flashbacks to having to do laundry in faculty.”
Their finances was about $700,000. Stock was restricted, which was effective with them. “Something past possibly 4 or 5 choices creates evaluation paralysis, the place there’s an excessive amount of to contemplate,” Mr. Salazar stated.
For assist, they contacted Harjot Kaur Nayar, a saleswoman at Keller Williams NYC, referred by a good friend’s sister.
“We reviewed what they might get within the $500s, $600s and $700s,” Ms. Nayar stated, “and what matched their monetary preferences and luxury stage.” She additionally warned that they might face delays shopping for into a brand new rental growth, and that there would probably be excessive (though negotiable) closing prices.
Amongst their choices:
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