Virginia K. Smith

Posts by Virginia K. Smith:

image
New side hustle: Become a foreigner-for-rent
By Virginia K. Smith
May 1, 2015 - 11:59 AM
Some (maybe) comforting evidence that there are real estate markets even more insane than New York's: this week the New York Times came out with a short documentary profiling Chinese brokers who hire foreigners in a sort of bizarro version of staging, in hopes of giving their development an "international atmosphere" and impressing buyers.
Read More
image
What it's like to live in a yurt, the rent rollback gets nixed, and more
By Virginia K. Smith
May 1, 2015 - 10:59 AM

Living in a yurt to avoid paying rent: still an option #Yurtlife (CityLab)

Don't hold your breath for a rent rollback this year (Gothamist)

Eco-friendly touches may not help your final selling price (WSJ)

Read More
image
Kelly Cutrone's $600/month first apartment was "terrifying"
By Virginia K. Smith
April 30, 2015 - 15:59 PM

Periodically, we like to dig through the archives from Brick's early days, and we recently came across this interview with People's Revolution head honcho (and author, and America's Next Top Model judge) Kelly Cutrone. The notoriously no-BS PR powerhouse dishes on her "terrifying" first apartment in Alphabet City, why she's over Soho (but loves her loft), and what it's like to have your home and your office in the same building.

Read More
image
Buy an island for less than a midtown apartment, a handy moving to-do list, and more
By Virginia K. Smith
April 30, 2015 - 10:59 AM

A lot of private islands cost about the same as a fancy midtown condo, apparently (Business Insider)

Are you really, truly, prepared for your move? This checklist will tell you (Buzzfeed, previously)

Read More
image
Enough already with the coffee shops, and other insights from a Crown Heights lifer
By Virginia K. Smith
April 30, 2015 - 08:59 AM
While Crown Heights has been the subject of many a trend piece in the past few years, few people know it better than Ayanna Prescod. A lifelong resident of the neighborhood, Prescod is also the editor behind OurBKSocial, a site that covers Brooklyn development, news, style, food, and nightlife. For a much-needed dose of reality amidst all the hype, we checked in with Prescod about pushy brokers, her advice to newcomers, the upside to that new Starbucks on Franklin, and more:
Read More
image
Rent a $950 spot in a Bushwick "treehouse," if you're willing to use your imagination
By Virginia K. Smith
April 29, 2015 - 11:59 AM
If you're still scrambling to find a room for May 1st and want to live in Bushwick by any means necessary, and have verrry loose definitions of "loft" and "treehouse—consider this your lucky day.
Read More
Follow Brick on Instagram
@brickunderground | #brickunderground