We're closed

The closing went horribly. Not only did we show up at the wrong building--an hour late, but our lawyer and the seller's lawyer got into a shouting match, the certified check amounts were wrong, the address on all the documents was wrong, the title company discovered three liens on the property, and the sellers decided that they really didn't want to sell the property to us after all. Oh, and there's no chance we'll get a zoning variance.

Thankfully, these things happened only in our worst nightmares. The closing went ridiculously smoothly (thankfully no bank was involved to complicate matters). Eric and Sheri brought donuts for all, the sellers were super nice guys, our real estate agent brought each of us a congratulatory bottle of Veuve Cliquot, and we all but conga lined out of the office. We are now the proud owners of a building in Gowanus.

This afternoon I met with a land use consultant to talk about our chances of getting a zoning variance. He's the former executive director of the New York City Planning Commission, so he has firsthand knowledge of how the process works and what sorts of things the approving authority--the Board of Standards and Appeals--is looking for. Dealing with NYC government is like dealing with a third world country--it's not what you know...