Emily Myers

Natasha Meyers, who asked that we use a pseudonym, shares her experience buying a two-bedroom co-op she planned to share with her mother in Kings Village, Brooklyn. Meyers worried about getting to the interview on time and was nervous about the kinds of questions she’d be asked. In the end, she thinks the non-traditional arrangement of living with her mom worked in her favor and the interview turned out to be the smoothest part of the purchase process.

A galley kitchen is a narrow space with appliances along two walls and is closed at one end. A traditional Pullman kitchen can have appliances on one or two sides but is open at both ends, hence the train analogy. A Pullman can also refer to a kitchen along one wall or tucked into an alcove and it's a budget option that lends itself to open-plan living areas in studio apartments.

This studio, 220 Congress Street, #5B, is on the fifth floor of a pet-friendly co-op in Cobble Hill. The apartment has seen a price reduction of $25,000 in the last few weeks and is being offered at $499,995.  

Promises made over congestion pricing may see New Jersey residents, who use Hudson River toll entrances, exempt from the fee and a Queens landlord is adding solar panels to 45 buildings to lower costs as well as the company’s carbon footprint.

One strategy for coping with the high cost of housing in New York City is to buy an apartment that’s within your budget, perhaps smaller than you’d like, but with potential to change the layout.