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From a Condo in East Harlem to a House in the Suburbs
Prima Charles had been apartment hunting for more than three years when she bought a one-bedroom in East Harlem in 2012. That was a few months after she met David Rowe. At a bar in the theater district, both were waiting for friends who were late. The one empty seat was next to him, so she asked if it was available. It was.
At the time, Mr. Rowe was living in Parkchester, where he had grown up. He later joined Ms. Charles in her East Harlem condo. The two, now in their late 30s, were married in October 2015.
Planning for a baby, they started the hunt for a Harlem two-bedroom with the help of Michael Molina, a licensed agent at Bond New York and a friend of Mr. Rowe from their high-school basketball days. Their budget was up to $700,000.
A two-bedroom was available a few blocks east, at the Conrad Condominium, which like their condo had been built in 2007. It was not quite right. It had no doorman and no parking garage, though a parking lot was right across First Avenue.
Ms. Charles was also aware of noise along 110th Street. “People see apartments in broad daylight and no one looks at the apartment at 4 a.m. when the sanitation trucks are coming by,” she said.
Still, they liked the available penthouse for $649,000. Monthly charges were $900. The open house was packed. The couple made a full-price offer, but multiple offers came in. It later sold for $708,000.
Few suitable two-bedrooms were available. Most listings were in buildings that Ms. Charles had already turned down in her prior hunt, which she had conducted while living in her childhood home in New Rochelle. Her requirements, both times, were the same: a dog-friendly, doorman building with easy access to public transportation, plus a parking garage. Ms. Charles drives to work in the East Bronx, where she manages a physical therapy and rehabilitation facility. She and Mr. Rowe also wanted a building with few rental restrictions.
Many buildings had strict limits on rentals. Or layouts were impractical. “One had a spiral staircase, and that is not really a good idea if you’re carrying a baby,” Ms. Charles said.
The couple viewed a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in their building, listed at $749,000, far over budget. Monthly charges were around $1,100. It later sold for $800,000.
Unlike his wife, Mr. Rowe had no interest in apartment-hunting. “A roof over my head, and I am fine,” he said. He works in Midtown as a property accountant.
By spring, a baby was on the way. They could not wait much longer. Ms. Charles thought, “Maybe we should look for a house.”
Concerned about baby expenses, they dropped the budget to $500,000, and told Mr. Molina to reorient the hunt to New Rochelle and surrounding towns.
Her mother still lives in the house where Ms. Charles grew up. “That’s where we do all our holidays, so I have a lot of fond memories of the area,” she said.
Mr. Molina found a lovely brick house in Mount Vernon. They drove up to see it.
“I never dealt with houses before,” Mr. Molina said. When they entered, they were surprised to find another house-hunting couple upstairs. “The other people were there for a long time,” he said. “They were there before us and left after us, and then another couple pulled up.”
The house included an attached garage, “which is not as easy to find as you think,” Ms. Charles said. She would be glad to avoid dealing with a snow-covered car in winter.
“It looks like a miniature version of the house I grew up in,” she said.
The yard appealed to Mr. Rowe. He imagined teaching their son to play football and ride a bicycle.
They bought the four-bedroom house for $445,000, arrived in late summer, and rented out the East Harlem one-bedroom. Baby Myles is now nearly two months old.
Ms. Charles likes having few neighbors in immediate proximity. As a member of her condo board, she heard plenty of gossip and complaints. “I work in health care — I listen to people complain all day long,” she said. “I would come home and somebody is complaining somebody left their stroller outside or there was a dog barking till 4 a.m.”
They are learning to decipher the trash rules, which require sorting and scheduling.
With so much space, as well as a grill, the two find themselves entertaining more. Some of their city friends don’t drive, so they pick them up at the Mount Vernon East train station, just over a mile away.
For his work commute, when his wife does not drive him, Mr. Rowe walks to and from the train station. In the city, he was used to a flat walk to the subway. “There’s a lot of hills in Mount Vernon,” he said.
Email: thehunt@nytimes.com
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