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#RealHumanRealEstate : The January Edition |
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Dear clients + community, As of January 10th, it's been one year since I joined Compass, five years since I kicked off my real estate career, and twenty-eight years since I took my first breath. What celebrations! So this month's edition of #RealHumanRealEstate is basically a list of gratitudes. To my clients: thank you for trusting me and allowing me to share in the sweetness of your homes. To my colleagues, especially at Compass: I benefit daily from your knowledge and kindness. To my friends: stop fishing for compliments, you know how much I love you. You can't predict your own life, and if you'd told this bookish suburban drama kid she'd be selling real estate in New York City — and feeling soul-nourished and creative doing so — it would have seemed like a bigger fantasy than Broadway. Thank you all for being part of such a good surpris e! I am so grateful to be part of your story, and always thrilled to celebrate its joys. So keep me posted, and may the new year bring fresh life and deeper roots to each and every one of you.With love, Michaela |
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Buyers' Corner |
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Speaking of the good surprise! This particular sale was extra-special to me as an agent, not just because of the extraordinary property in play (a gem of a Queen Anne we call "Lady J") but also because of the players: my luminous clients and friends, our tenacious advocates at JLC Law and ever-available mortgage broker from First Republic, and the collegial team of agents at Halstead who represented the property. People often reference the cut-throat world of New York real estate, but my experience has been that the human heart survives, thrives, and does some of its best work in this environment. It was a six-month journey involving negotiations and hearings, punch-lists and pushbacks, but throughout it all, kindness and clearheadedness prevailed. I'm proud of that, and grateful, too. Congratulations on your beautiful home, P+L+C! (And thank you Meredith Enzbigilis of ME Drawing + Design for the beautiful house portrait shown in process above — a true master of character & style.) |
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Friends & Neighbors |
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"Today more than ever before men of all races and men of all nations are challenged to be neighborly. The call for a good neighbor policy on the part of the nations of the world ... is the call to a way of life which will transform our almost cosmic elegy into creative fulfillment. We cannot long survive living spiritually apart in a world that is geographically one." - Martin Luther King Jr., From "On Being a Good Neighbor"This week, many friends in many neighborhoods will be honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr., with events ranging from the Crusader Exhibition at the Schomburg Center to the annual Commemorative March organized by 8th graders at Manhattan Country School, fromdaylong public celebrations at BAMto a simple hourlong Amazing Grace Flow at Sacred BedStuy— all powerful events with impassioned creators who are carrying on the good work. |
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Out & About |
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Three Identical Strangers @ Silvana Tuesday January 15th at 7PM I'm booked (and majorly bummed to miss it) but you still have time to catch a buzzy and thought-provoking documentary, plus a free drink with ticket, through this new collaboration between Uptown Flicks and favorite Harlem music venue Silvana! And I'll see you at the next one. |
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Saturdays at 11PM This late-night soiree of secrets brings together NYCs most accomplished deceptionists, illusionists, mentalists and prestidigitators for an evening of intimate amazement. While I can't claim to be one of the masters, I do claim a place among them as cohost of this truly magical evening. Come see us at the McKittrick! |
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The Twenty-Ninth Year Book Launch January 30th at 7:30PM Hala Alyan was one of the first people I met in NYC, when we shared a stage, impromptu, at a TEDxBrooklyn event. I was moved by her luminous spirit and equally lucid sense of language. In the years since, she's published her first (acclaimed) novel and continued writing transformative verse. Her newest work will be celebrated at Greenlight Books! |
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This Month's Tip |
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If you've been around in the last few years — and certainly, if you've been around me — you've probably heard of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (in fact, I may have given you a copy, inscription-less in case it ended up being too woo-woo for you). It's that whole "keep what sparks joy and nix the rest" approach to Material Stuff, and also, sneakily, to most of life. Now Marie Kondo, whose elfin equanimity is both baffling and joyful, has a TV show, and it's on Netflix. I watch it with my first New York City roommates and a glass of Chardonnay; my equally addicted clients inform me that they take breaks to form their t-shirts into squares. You do you. Whether this particular form of life-changing magic moves you or maddens you, I think we can agree: at its best, home can reflect and support, sustain and inspire. In 2019, I hope yours does all that! |
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Featured Listings |
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