A lot of buyers come to me with a checklist: “We need a 2-bedroom, maybe 3. Ideally with light, laundry, and no weird stairs.” And that makes sense—space matters. But what if I told you that your 2–3 bedroom search could double as a wealth-building strategy?
In NYC, it’s not just about how much space you get. It’s about how that space works for you over time. Recently, I helped a client turn their “upgrade search” into a long-term play—with equity, tax benefits, and rental income built in.
We started with their "must-haves," but we zoomed out to explore multi-family and convertible layouts in neighborhoods with uptrending value. Instead of stretching to the max for one more bedroom, they bought a two-family home in contract for just under their original max budget. Today, they live in one unit and rent out the other, covering nearly half their mortgage.
What began as a space upgrade became a wealth strategy.
If you’re outgrowing your home, that’s one thing. But if you want your next move to work for you five or ten years from now? That’s what we decode together.
