The Sell - Repointed Walls and Some Help From St. Joseph
GENERALLY speaking, Jane Stivaletta is not one to knock on wood, and she has never carried a good-luck charm. But contrary to her nature, shortly after she put her apartment on the market last October, she found herself marching up the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral and into the gift shop to purchase a small statue of
"I never heard of doing this before," Ms. Stivaletta said, "but a few years ago, when my sister was selling her house, she asked me to get her a statue of
For the uninitiated,
Lacking the requisite yard, she upended the figurine in a potted Christmas cactus on a windowsill. "I really felt funny doing it and I was glad no one could see me putting
Rituals aside, Ms. Stivaletta was confident that her 550-square-foot one-bedroom apartment, in a walk-up at
She renovated the apartment after paying $250,000 for it in 2004. Dark brown paint slathered over brick walls was sandblasted away; the mustard-yellow bathroom was tiled in pristine white; and the kitchen was gutted. In all, she paid about $60,000 for the facelift. When the job was done, she was proudest of the exposed-brick walls, which she had repointed: "They're like a work of art," she said.
To sell her place, Ms. Stivaletta, who was planning to move to
"The first thing I thought when I walked into Jane's place was that it would show well," Mr. Kolbusz said. "She had done a great job renovating the apartment, and it had great light."
But there was a small potential predicament. Upon spotting a cat-scratching post, Mr. Kolbusz immediately inquired about the litter box. "Jane had her cats trained to open a cabinet door to get to the litter box, which I had never seen before," he said. "Her place was fine, but I reminded her to keep the cat litter fresh."
To determine the asking price, Mr. Kolbusz checked the prices of comparable apartments in Ms. Stivaletta's building and nearby apartments on the market. He gave Ms. Stivaletta a price range of $450,000 to $465,000. "I was leaning more toward the lower amount," Mr. Kolbusz said, "but Jane wanted to list the apartment at the higher number, so I agreed to give it a shot."
The first open house was in late October, and interest was strong. Mr. Kolbusz said 17 people signed the guest sheet at that showing, and the number of visitors was consistently over a dozen at open houses for the four or five following Sundays.
Mr. Kolbusz relies on a ceremonial custom of his own to help win over would-be home buyers. "I always put out a fresh bouquet of flowers and bring a scented candle," he said. Nothing too perfumed. "Cinnamon is good." Music rounds out the ritual. "If the homeowner has cable, I like to play the jazz-music station - it adds a cool vibe."
Early on, a low offer of $420,000 was turned down, and despite open houses through November and December, excluding holidays, only one other offer came in, also around $420,000.
Still, neither the broker nor the seller was particularly worried. "I expected the holidays to be slow," Mr. Kolbusz said. "I also thought that we would get a boost of interest if we lowered the price." In January, after more than two months on the market, Ms. Stivaletta agreed to drop the price to $450,000, and interest again surged.
"I knew I had a really cute apartment and someone would want it," Ms. Stivaletta said.
Blessing Tawengwa from
Another home seeker, Sylvie Goursaud, who is French, came by on a cold Sunday in late January. Ms. Goursaud said she had seen well over 50 apartments during her six-month search, including one she had liked, but luck there wasn't on her side: "I had an offer in on a place, but the seller turned around and sold it to someone else," she said. She kept up her search. "I just knew one day it would happen."
Upon entering Ms. Stivaletta's apartment she immediately felt that it was a good match for her. "It was exactly what I was looking for," she said. "The brick wall was very European and made me feel at home." She also admired the fire escape off one of the living room windows: "It was really pretty, and it's so
Did the three flights up give her pause? "I have lived in walk-ups in
Besides, she added, "Walk-ups remain one of the best values in
Ms. Goursaud came back twice more. The fact that the co-op's rules allowed 90 percent financing sealed the deal. Ms. Goursaud made an offer of $425,000, and they agreed on $435,000. The contract was signed in February, and the sale closed in May.
Though she received $30,000 less than her original asking price, Ms. Stivaletta was satisfied with the deal. "Everyone who sells property wonders: `Is this the right price? Could I get more? Am I doing the right thing?' " she said. "In the end you just go with your gut. I was happy with my decision."
After moving in, Ms. Goursaud is happy to own her first apartment in
For Ms. Stivaletta, after many years in the city, it was time for a little slice of heaven. She packed up her cats and statue of