We're a family of five seeking a longterm rental. After nearly five years in our beautiful, sunny, 2nd floor apartment, our landlord has decided to sell the building. We're personally gutted, and our sweet historic building probably will soon be, too, but we're hoping to find a spot that's as magical as what we've had.

With lots of luck there would be hard or softwood floors, tons of natural light, high ceilings, two bedrooms, and while we're being wishful, a small office like the one we've had here. Our current apartment, pictured above, is 800 square feet and has felt like the perfect size.

A dishwasher would be fantastic, as would a washer and dryer in the unit or the building, but the latter isn't a deal breaker, and with the right spot, maybe the former isn't either!

A backyard? We would absolutely not say no! A working fireplace? A romantic homebody can dream! A clawfoot tub? We'll take it. Roof access? You don't get what you don't ask for!

Would rather a slight fixer-upper than a place that's been stripped of any charm—and I'm not afraid of putting in lots of hard work with landlord approval. In our current apartment I've restored radiator covers, original brass doorknobs, hardware, and light fixtures, refinished the kitchen cabinets, kept a vintage stove in working order, and creatively covered a truly terrible vinyl floor with removable wall-to-wall painted canvas. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I've left every place I've ever lived in vastly improved and I know I can make our next home just as lovely.

Our current rent is $3200/month and we'd really love to stay in that range. We've loved every minute of living in Carroll Gardens (and Brooklyn Heights for almost ten years before that), and we'd love for our kids to continue at their current schools, but we're gladly considering surrounding neighborhoods as well.

We need to surrender our current apartment by July 31, 2025 and would ideally make our move this summer, but if the right place comes to us before then, we'd consider an earlier move. Excellent references and credit scores. All leads very, very welcome.

About This Lister

I'm a writer (she/her) who works from home, my spouse (he/him) is a high school teacher, and we have three elementary-aged kids who would love to still be able to walk to school and play at the park with their friends.

I take huge pride and comfort in making beautiful spaces to live (and in writing about them) and I'm currently working on a book about renting, which makes our current situation all the more poignant.