- Peter Walker and Ellis Bachman decided to buy an apartment in New York City in 2019.
- They wanted a modern, sunny space that was larger than the average New York apartment and close to the subway.
- The couple gave Insider a look at three of the apartments that stood out to them during their search.
- Walker and Bachman started with a budget of $4 million, but ultimately made an offer on a $4.9 million apartment in the SoHo neighborhood.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Meet Ellis Bachman and Peter Walker, two southern transplants who were recently on the hunt for their forever home in New York City.
The couple met in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2016. Bachman is a licensed real estate agent, while Walker is the chief financial officer for a private equity owned company.
The couple relocated to the Big Apple in 2018, along with their dog Meatball.
Bachman and Walker were living in a rental apartment in New York City’s Flatiron district, but they decided it was time to buy a place of their own in 2019.
“We were following the market trends closely,” they told Insider.
“Ellis supports Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes, two of the top luxury real estate brokers in New York. The office was buzzing right after Labor Day last year about a scathing New York Times article from September 13, 2019, titled ‘One in Four of New York’s New Luxury Apartments is Unsold.'”
"It was a sign the New York City real estate market had hit rock bottom," they said.
"Many developers of new condo buildings began slashing prices immediately - by 10 to 15 percent in some cases - in advance of and in response to the article. We knew that if we were going to purchase, now could be the best time to take advantage of the market trends."
As Bachman and Walker began their hunt, they had a clear idea of what they envisioned in their future home.
"We wanted an apartment with a new, modern design that we can customize with our own interior preferences," they said.
They were also looking for a large space.
"The average two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan is around 1,500 square feet," Bachman told Insider. "We wanted something unique and cavernous, which you can really only find in SoHo and Tribeca."
Natural light was also important to them, as was the location. They wanted to live somewhere that made Walker's commute to his downtown office easy.
Bachman and Walker started with a budget of $4 million.
Their deal-breakers included high taxes, a cumbersome design that took away from the flow of the apartment, bad views, and a lack of entertainment nearby, as they find it's important to their quality of life.
With all that in mind, Bachman and Walker were ready to begin looking at apartments.
Bachman and Walker ended up looking at more than 40 apartments throughout their journey, though there were a few that stood out as they searched.
The first apartment that caught their eye was 50 Gramercy Park, an apartment for sale within the Gramercy Park Hotel.
The listing's kitchen had been totally renovated, featuring marble counters and new appliances.
Bachman and Walker loved the park views that the apartment offered from its large windows.
Most of the listings in the area are older, and therefore have smaller windows, making the Gramercy apartment unique.
The apartment also came with an exclusive key to Gramercy Park, the only private park in New York City.
The Gramercy listing had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and one half-bath, all of which had been refurbished.
Since the apartment is located in a hotel, residents would have access to its amenities as well, like housekeeping and room service, according to the listing.
The building also has a 24-hour doorman and concierge services.
50 Gramercy was listed for $4.95 million, which was over the couple's original budget.
Although the apartment had the light and modern design they were looking for, they decided to keep looking.
Bachman and Walker were also fans of 150 Charles Street in the West Village.
"We were drawn to 150 Charles in the West Village for the prestigious address and the water access," they told Insider of the apartment.
The building sits on the Hudson River, and the apartment Bachman and Walker considered is at the top of the building, giving residents views of the water.
The apartment boasts panoramic views in every room because of its large casement windows.
It was designed with large windows for optimal natural light, according to its listing.
The apartment also features automated shades so that residents can shut out the light when they need to, as well as a laundry room.
But the apartment was on the smaller end of the places Bachman and Walker considered, as it was only 1,561 square feet.
The Charles Street apartment features two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
It also comes with two closets, one of which is a walk-in.
The building's additional amenities also made it appealing, including its communal green space, 24-hour doorman, concierge services, fitness center, and spa.
The apartment was listed for $4.75 million, which was also over the couple's original budget.
The lighting and amenities worked for Bachman and Walker, but the location wasn't quite what they had in mind.
Their search continued.
When Bachman and Walker stumbled upon 10 Greene Street, a newly refurbished building in SoHo, they knew they had found something special.
The first thing that drew them to the apartment was the location.
"It's a quick, two-minute walk to the NQRW trains," they said. "Peter can be downtown to work in eight minutes."
Bachman's commute from the apartment is similar, making it ideal for both of them.
The apartment's modern and unique design also stood out to the couple.
"The developer put so much detail into the apartment," they said. "It's unlike any other new development in the city."
The dark kitchen countertops and eco-smart fireplace are some of their favorite features of the apartment.
The dark countertops contrast with the light hardwoods.
"We love the historic exposed brick walls," they said of the space.
Bachman and Walker snapped a few photos of the space and compared them to the staged photos they saw.
They're fans of the apartment's large walls because it gives them space to show off their large art collection.
The apartment's one-of-a-kind light fixtures also made the SoHo listing feel like home for Bachman and Walker.
The Greene Street apartment is particularly spacious, which was important to Walker and Bachman.
The apartment is 2,437 square feet, giving the residents almost 1,000 more square feet than they would have in the average Manhattan apartment.
It's also equipped with automated, smart lighting, as well as built-in speakers to make entertaining easy.
Large windows make a statement in the space, checking off another box on the couple's list.
The long windows and open floor plan make the apartment feel even more spacious than it is.
The apartment is also home to an in-unit washer and dryer, which can be hard to come by in a New York apartment.
The large windows continue in the master bedroom.
The apartment has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, whereas the other apartments they considered only had two.
Two of the bedrooms feature an en-suite, though the master bathroom is particularly spacious.
The master bathroom features a large, freestanding tub and a shower.
"We've really missed having a giant tub," the couple said, pointing to the freestanding Krion Almond 70-inch tub as one of their favorite features of the apartment.
The master bathroom also features heated floors for an added sense of luxury.
The master bedroom leads to a spacious walk-in closet.
In addition, the apartment comes with virtual doorman services, a 24-hour call center, and security monitoring.
"Until we found 10 Greene, everything else that we saw had to be a compromise," Bachman and Walker told Insider.
But 10 Greene Street gave them the balance they needed.
"It has the charm of an 1869 cast-iron building on the outside, with modern living on the inside," they said.
"After the long search, it was love at first sight for all three of us," Bachman said on behalf of himself, Walker, and Meatball.
The Greene Street apartment was listed for $4.9 million, almost a full million more than Bachman and Walker's original budget.
Bachman and Walker put in an offer on the apartment in December, four months after they started searching for a home.
"We had finally found something in the right neighborhood, the right size, with the right character on the inside and out," they told Insider.
"What a difference $1 million makes," they joked.
They close on the apartment in March.
The Big Apple finally feels like home for their little family.
You can look at their apartment listing here.
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