Caroline and Aaron Sokol beloved their one-bedroom rental on the Higher West Aspect.
“We might joke that if we by no means had a child, we may have lived and died in that condo,” Mrs. Sokol stated.
Then, in fact, that they had a child: Their son, Maxwell, was born in October 2023. The couple gave it a shot at first, staying within the rental for one more yr. “Being within the metropolis with a child is definitely very handy as a result of every thing is so shut,” Mr. Sokol stated.
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They put up a brief wall to create a six-by-nine-foot nursery, full with a crib and dresser, however earlier than lengthy, issues felt cramped. “I couldn’t have been 9 months pregnant and slot in that room,” Mrs. Sokol stated.
They thought-about renting a bigger condo within the neighborhood, however realized that the hire for a two-bedroom would value about the identical because the month-to-month mortgage for a home exterior the town, even with rates of interest nonetheless pretty excessive.
“We felt like the home was actually essential, and if we now have to pay the rate of interest, we’re going to do it as a result of we want the house and we don’t wish to wait till the market modifications,” Mr. Sokol stated.
The Sokols, who met in 2009 whereas attending Indiana College, each loved childhoods within the suburbs — Mrs. Sokol, 34, in Framingham, Mass., exterior Boston, and Mr. Sokol, 35, in Scarsdale, the upscale Westchester County city simply north of New York Metropolis. They wished the identical for Maxwell, and Westchester appeared like the plain selection due to “the commute and the colleges,” Mr. Sokol stated.
Mr. Sokol, vice chairman of licensing on the model administration agency WHP International, goes to his Manhattan workplace 5 days every week, whereas Mrs. Sokol works remotely as a senior supervisor at Capital One. After promoting some shares and pulling from financial savings, that they had sufficient for a 12 p.c down fee on a $1 million residence, and received a $50,000 penalty-free mortgage in opposition to Mrs. Sokol’s 401k to cowl shifting bills and furnishings.
They clicked with the brokers internet hosting the primary open home they visited, Nicole Orefice and Janine Hennigan of William Raveis, and the 4 visited a couple of dozen listings by the winter. Together with an affordable commute and up to date updates, their wishlist included a pleasant kitchen and three bedrooms plus a house workplace. Early within the search, Mrs. Sokol developed an affinity for Cape Cod-style houses.
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