Wreck Report
Buy low, sell high - follow four ways to get the best deal
Image courtesy Costas Picadas
Robert and Cortney Novogratz, renovators, designers, parents of seven children and new reality television stars, know how to turn wrecked homes into works of art.
They are the owners of Sixx Design, a renovation and design firm in New York City that specializes in creating unique living spaces. (The name relates to the number of kids the Novogratzes had at the time the firm was founded.)
In January, Bravo will launch "Design Sixx," an eight-episode reality series that chronicles the family over a frenetic six-month period, during which they renovated six projects.
They also have a new book out, "Downtown Chic" (Rizzoli, 2009), which details a number of their more interesting projects and also offers advice on sprucing up your own house or apartment. But before you can improve your current digs, you have to acquire some space first.
Here's the design duo's suggested route:
1) Follow the creative community in your initial search. Young artists, actors and musicians are always the first to get into up-and-coming neighborhoods
2) The scarier a building looks, the better it sometimes is. A wreck intimidates most people, so you will get a better deal.
3) Get an engineer's report before you sign anything. Get one contractor's bid before you buy and two more afterwards.
4) In order to minimize costs, buy directly from the owner whenever possible.
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