Skip to main content
The New York Times

Break Out the Eggshell White. Slash the Price.

By: Keith Mulvihill
Published: 3/29/2009Source: The New York Times

IN 2007, Kelly McCormick and Joshua Hirsch were suffering a case of the doldrums. The remedy? Rent out their co-op on a picturesque block of Third Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and move to a rented loft in Dumbo. "We just really wanted a change," Ms. McCormick said.

 

Shortening their commute time to work was certainly a perk: Mr. Hirsch, who works for a digital creative agency, now walks to his office. So was the extra money they earned from leasing to a tenant, enough to cover their mortgage and part of their new rent.

 

There was just one snag: the bylaws of their co-op restrict the length of time that owners can rent to one year. Come summer 2008, they would either have to move back to Park Slope, or sell.

 

As the deadline approached, they made up their minds with relative ease. While it was true they had not lived in the two-bedroom Park Slope apartment for all that long - they bought it in 2004 for around $370,000 - they were ready to move on. "We decided to sell it," Ms. McCormick said.

 

In the spring of 2008, Ms. McCormick and Mr. Hirsch, both in their early 30s, turned to two Corcoran Group brokers, Tim Stanard and John Wescott, with whom they already had a working relationship.

 

"They knew the apartment, and they did an awesome job helping us find a renter for a good price," said Ms. McCormick, a film and television producer.

 

But trying to sell an apartment you don't live in can be tricky. "There's only so much you can do to spruce up an apartment when there are renters living there," Mr. Wescott said.

 

In this case, the tenant "had a lot of stuff and did not declutter at all," Mr. Stanard added. "That made showing it a little challenging, since the apartment didn't look as spacious as it could have." Still, the brokers say the tenant did his best to keep the apartment tidy and was agreeable about vacating the premises for open houses.

 

In late May, the apartment went on the market for $699,000. "We priced it a little high just to see what would happen," Mr. Stanard said. Despite a month of well-attended showings averaging about 10 visitors each, there were no offers, and the brokers decided to drop to the price to $675,000.

 

In July, the tenant's lease was up and he moved out. This gave the brokers an opportunity to reassess their strategy, taking into consideration comments made by apartment hunters. A few weeks later, the owners paid about $400 to have the entire place painted eggshell white.

 

Mr. Stanard and Mr. Wescott focused their energies on staging the apartment. They outfitted it with a few items from the owners and a few things of their own, including a rug, pictures for the walls, bathroom towels and a stack of cookbooks for the kitchen.

 

According to Mr. Wescott and Mr. Stanard, the art of staging requires a deft hand. Apartments can't be too empty or too full, they said.

 

"Potential buyers may say they have imagination, but believe it or not, most people have a hard time imagining what an apartment would look like with their own stuff," Mr. Wescott said.

 

The aim, they said, is always to reveal a room's potential without going overboard. The brokers spent about $1,000 on a living room set from Ikea, but opted to leave the master bedroom bedless.

 

After all their efforts, "the apartment definitely looked bigger and fresher," Ms. McCormick said.

 

At the start of September, with the housing market steadily softening, "we had a lot of interest; people were circling, but no one was pulling the trigger," Mr. Wescott said. The brokers advised their clients to drop the price yet again, to $635,000.

 

At this lower price they received an offer right away. But when the would-be buyers made an unusual request, a preliminary meeting with the co-op board before signing a contract, Ms. McCormick and Mr. Hirsch grew skeptical.

 

"We really rushed around getting all the paperwork together," Ms. McCormick said. About two weeks later, news of the collapse of Lehman Brothers was followed by a phone call from the interested party - who had become uninterested. The deal was off.

 

"We really tried our best to accommodate them, so that was pretty devastating," Ms. McCormick said.

 

At this point Mr. Stanard and Mr. Wescott said they were concerned about the dire economic outlook. They wanted another offer immediately and reduced the price to $599,000.

 

Around this time, Josh Dziadkowicz and his girlfriend, Katie Klosterman, who rent an apartment in TriBeCa, stopped by to have a look at the apartment.

 

"It was well-kept place, but ultimately we felt it was too small for us," Mr. Dziadkowicz said. "We really wanted a place with larger kitchen." In January, they closed on a two-bedroom apartment a few streets away.

 

In late October, with turmoil in the banking industry now a weekly event, the brokers prodded their clients to reduce the price further, to $549,000.

 

"We were worried that the longer we waited, the worse things would get," Mr. Stanard said. "We needed to go to a price that seemed like the best deal all year." Indeed, the broker's new listing stated: "Crazy new price!" and within two days there were two offers.

 

Jesse and Aya Forster bid full asking price, the higher of the two offers, and they signed a contract two days later.

 

The Forsters, who like the sellers are in their early 30s, had been renting in Park Slope. They were on a post-brunch stroll when they spied the new listing hanging in the window of Corcoran's Park Slope office. They dashed over for a look immediately.

 

"It had a nice homey feel," Ms. Forster said. "We didn't want new construction. We liked the old details, wood floors, fireplace and it had a lot of windows."

 

Ms. McCormick and Mr. Hirsh were relieved to finally have solid buyers.

 

The deal closed in mid-December, and after painting and refinishing the wood floors, the couple moved into their new apartment about a month later.

 

"Every time we would go for a walk, we would go along Third Street because it's so nice and we'd imagine what it would be like to live in one of these brownstones," Ms. Forster said. "And now we are. It's amazing."

 

As for Ms. McCormick and Mr. Hirsch, they aren't unhappy with their situation in Dumbo, but with home prices in decline, they are keeping an eye out for a place to buy.

 

"We've been going to open houses in Brooklyn," Ms. McCormick said. "We're being really picky and very cautious."

 

RETURN TO PRESS PAGE