Purchasing Their First NYC Apartment: Mychal Phillips & Mario Schollmeyer, Buyers
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Amid a pandemic, social unrest and buzz about a mass exodus from NYC, Mychal and Mario decided 2020 was the year to buy their first apartment together. Six years ago we introduced them to Brooklyn via a charming pre-war rental in Fort Greene. Since then, they’ve fallen in love with Brooklyn, gotten married and decided to commit to NY as home.
You got to see a lot of properties and neighborhoods in Brooklyn over the summer. Park Slope is now home; happy with the decision?
Fort Greene wasn’t an easy neighborhood to leave. We kept reminding ourselves that it would only be a short walk away from our new home. Now, we’ve fallen in love with Park Slope. We did all of our holiday shopping at local stores nearby. We go to brunch and visit the flea market every weekend, and it’s all within a few blocks of our apartment. There’s an awesome feeling of community here.
What was most important to you when you began the search? Any changes along the way?
We knew we really wanted to have an outdoor space. That never changed, although we looked at every kind of outdoor space, from the tiniest of patios to shared rooftops. We’re thrilled to have ended up with a garden of our own. In other areas, we felt like we could be flexible. We knew we would never check all the boxes, but we ended up getting pretty close.
You made your initial offer on your current home after seeing it through a FaceTime tour. What was that like and how nerve wracking was the experience?
I don’t think we ever would have made an offer over FaceTime if we hadn’t really trusted our realtors. The two of you had been incredibly honest and upfront the entire process, and we knew you wouldn’t give us the green light on a home that wasn’t right for us. Sometimes, I felt like you knew what we wanted more than we did.
We saw quite a few turnkey properties and ended up with one that you’ll be renovating. How is that process going?
I don’t think we ever imagined picking a place that we’d renovate— I felt too intimidated by that process. It was much easier to get excited about the bells and whistles of fully remodeled homes. 90 Sterling immediately felt like home though, and I’m glad we went with our gut. Now, it’s so exciting to know that when everything is done, the home will truly feel like our own.
Any tips for other first timers?
We started the process with a specific idea of what the timeline would look like, but it’s best to go in with an open mind. We thought we’d found the perfect place on the second day of our search, and when that fell through, it was so discouraging. As you and Jeanne kept telling us, the right one always works out, and that could take days or months. Letting go of the idea of that one perfect apartment ended up helping us enjoy the process so much more.