Bulletin 201 "The Big Move"

MIKEWEEK
4 June 08/Bulletin 2008
Quote of the Month: “Oh I see, Mike and Vincent…both mens!”

The Big Move: I know we must have set the land speed record for a real estate purchase in the Empire State.

Come the first of May, I let our old landlord know that I was “petty sure” we would be moving out at the end of the month, but couldn’t be sure because we did not even have a closing date yet…let alone financing.
My landlord was an Italian guy named Tony, who owns about 6 buildings in New York. Tony said, “Those condo conversions are crazy. Thanks for letting me know…and keep me updated.”

I did get financing approved several months back, but it took the state a little longer than expected to approve the change over to the condo. And, wouldn’t you know it: but it was during those very months that the United Stated home mortgage industry chose to dive into major meltdown.

Luckily, Vincent and I had turned to a mortgage broker by the name of Glenda. She hails from England and has nerves of steel. “Michael” she would say, “let me do the worrying, don’t you worry about a thing.”

Easy advice to give, but hard to take; especially considering the fact that the ten percent that I had already put down on the condo, could end up being forfeited, should I not be able to obtain financing for the entire deal. That is how it works, with these condo conversions. What…me worry?

Countrywide…rides to the rescue: I would have laughed harder when Glenda called with the good news, that there was one bank in America still writing so called “non income verification loans.” That’s the sort we needed to qualify for this purchase, because Vincent’s future income at Ernst and Young could not be counted at the time we closed.

Relieved we were that Countrywide (now owned by Bank of America) still was willing to loan based on such metrics and snatch that option we did, at a remarkably fair 6.35%, 30 years fixed rate.

Ah, but wait. The story gets more interesting, because even Countrywide decided to bail on this

particular method about a week after they gave us the approval. Still, thanks to our broker, they made good on our deal. We are given to understand that we got one of the final ten or twelve such loans that Countrywide ever issued of this sort.

The rest was an Amazing race to the finish…After getting financing approved in the second week of May it turned out the sellers were still willing to close the very next week. We dashed down to the law offices of one of Dad’s former Yale Classmates (the Pryor) of Pryor and Cashman for the closing and signed all the papers.

The signing happened at 1pm, we got the keys at 2:15 and by 4pm we were already starting to move stuff in.

The place is even better than we imagined it: The condo sits on the 5th floor of a 6 story pre-war building with 35 other units. As fate would have it the fifth floor will be all owners but for one kind older black woman named Ms. Williams.

Vincent and I were the very first condo owners to move in, and our agent suggested we knock Ms. William’s door. She is a renter and it turns out, a shut.

She came to the door with a big smile. “I am so relieved to have somebody else moving in and living on the same floor” she told us. We traded small talk and as we said goodbye she looked us each up and down, smiled and then uttered the quote of the month.

June arrived and We have gotten the cardboard box count down to under a dozen and will take some pictures soon. We get wonderful morning light from the kitchen and bathroom windows which face north. Then the sun travels in the afternoon and evenings… to the living room and bedroom which face south. That also means we get something we did not have in the last studio, and many New York City dwellers only ever get to imagine…cross ventilation. Amazing!

The neighborhood is called Hamilton Heights: And, it is a work in progress. Columbia University is migrating slowly up our way, with new buildings slated to takeover abandoned properties in a run down area that sites halfway between us and the university. Above is another neighborhood, Inwood which has gone through major improvement.

Our neighborhood is largely Dominican and Jamaican and Vincent’s research tells us that he is not the only Asian moving here—they are the fasted growing ethnic group in our zip code. For now, I guess you could say I am from the local minority group.

People have been outgoing and friendly, and we have already found more than a few steals at neighborhood restaurants. A Cuban sandwich with a cup of deep rich café con leche can be had for five dollars.

Riverside Drive is a big reason we moved here. It is a wonderful Avenue with wide sidewalks, lots of trees and many places to sit and enjoy New York. Other motivation came from the fact out rent at the studio finally got so high that it was crazy not to buy.

And finally, there is Riverbank State Park, which local’s call the “secret park” because so few New Yorkers even know it exists. It boasts everything from a skating rink to a full track, but our main use will likely be the four tennis courts, which are lighted every night until 11pm.

More to follow, but I figured it was high time I got a bulletin out and shared the good news about the new place and our new “hood.”