At Home in Carroll Gardens
When a real estate agent, his wife, and two kids start to outgrow their cool Brooklyn condo, they decide to sell with the help of his Compass colleagues.
Words: Jessica Scherlag
Images: Will Ellis for Donna Dotan Photography
After getting married and having their first child, Compass agent Jesse Shafer moved into the much sought-after Mill building, located in hilly Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Jesse and his wife Courtney spent six years renovating the dazzling third-floor apartment, gutting the kitchen and bathrooms, while leaving its industrial bones intact. Once the fruits of their labor were completed, they realized it was an opportune time to sell their modernized residence.
Now with two kids, the couple has outgrown the updated two-bedroom and started seeking out homes in Brooklyn that would fit their family’s needs. Jesse, having joined Compass in 2014, looked to his team, made up of agents Greg McHale and Natalie Hedden, to advise on the sale of his President Street apartment.
How did you find this apartment?
I was living in Manhattan in a small one-bedroom with my wife Courtney, and we had a four-month old baby, so it was a necessity at that point to find a new place. We saw this Carroll Gardens rental and fell in love: amazing views, all of these industrial details, and the location was exactly where we had always dreamed we would be.
We lived here for a year, and then my landlady wanted to sell the apartment. I said “No, you can’t sell it! Give me 24 hours, and I’ll make you an offer. You should sell it to us because we love this apartment!” She agreed, gave me 24 hours, and we bought the unit.
What do you like about the neighborhood?
Carroll Gardens has this incredible community and culture to it. People tend to put down roots here and stay. It is not a big transitional neighborhood, so it has this wonderful, authentic quality to it. People go really crazy for holidays here; everybody decorates their yards. It is just a festive place to live, plus all my favorite watering holes happen to be nearby.
What sold you on the building?
The building is really interesting, a factory built in the late 1800s and converted into condos in the 1980s. You have unobstructed views north all the way to downtown Brooklyn to southern Manhattan. It has all the elements we liked about buildings in Tribeca––big exposed beams, pipes, and brick. Even though it needed some updates, we knew it was going to be a good home.
What updates did you make?
We gutted the kitchen to the studs, replaced all the appliances, redid all the counters, all new cabinets, new floors, two new bathrooms––the whole nine yards. The irony of the whole thing is that by the time we finished we probably only enjoyed the completed fruits of our labor for a few months and then we realized it looks so good, this is probably the opportune time to sell it.
Why sell now?
Fast-forward six years and now we have two kids, and they share a room. They love to be together right now, but it seems in the near future they might require their own separate living spaces. But primarily it is just because we are kind of drowning in toys. I am blaming it on the kids basically. It’s all their fault! *Laughs* It’s the only home our kids have known, so the move is super bittersweet. But when the roots are pushing up against the sides of the pot, it’s time to go.
What will you miss most about living here?
What is nice about this apartment is that you can open all the windows up on summer evenings. It is really quiet. You can see all of the twinkling buildings but it seems as if they are pretty far away. You have this sense of being in an urban environment and yet being really removed from it, and those moments of quiet, like when the kids are in bed and Courtney and I are sitting on the couch and enjoying that peacefulness, that is the sort of thing that I will miss.
What is selling your own place like?
My business partners Greg and Natalie are handling the sale. I think I am a fairly high-strung client, to be honest with you. My job is to sell real estate, but I’d never, ever recommend selling your own home without a team of agents. I would sooner give myself an appendectomy then sell my own home!
Why is it important to work with knowledgeable agents?
All of the related emotions that go along with moving conspire against good judgment. If you have someone you trust managing the process and being a good quarterback for you, it’s so worth it. Having an arm’s length between yourself, and the transaction is really valuable. Everything has to fall into place in an incredibly precise choreography during the buying and selling process. And we do it for people all the time.
Where are you headed to now?
We’re looking to stay in Brooklyn. I love working and playing in Manhattan, but for me my home is in Brooklyn. When I get above ground on my subway stop and the zoning is lower and there is more sky, I take a sigh of relief and I can feel my energy level come back down. It’s very important for me to have that separation between the work and home.
Do you think you’ll go for a fixer-upper again or are you looking for something newer?
I am drawn to old things that have soul. I’ve got my eye right now on a house that needs work. I don’t want to give too many details because I don’t want anybody reading this to buy the house out from under me!
Your secret is safe with us. Best of luck, Jesse!
Want to work with agents like The Shafer-McHale Team? Compass partners with you throughout your home search, providing deep knowledge of the New York City real estate market to help you find a home you love.
