HGTV’s “Selling New York” follows CORE agents as they navigate the country’s most competitive—and compelling—real estate market. Here’s our behind-the-scenes look at Episode #412, which first aired on January 12, 2012. For more SNY recaps, click here.
In CORE’s first “SNY” episode of 2012, called “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” agent Kirk Rundhaug devoted his time to finding the next one-of-a-kind investment property for his big-fish client, Gloria Naftali. With the clock ticking on finding the perfect apartment, Gloria enlisted the help of her personal friend and real estate broker, Julie, to tour several properties with Kirk.
The search began in Brooklyn, where Kirk showed Julie a massive 5,100-square-foot penthouse listed by fellow CORE agent Michael Graves. Despite its floor-to-ceiling windows, double spiral staircase and nine terraces, Kirk and Julie knew that Gloria had her heart set on downtown Manhattan. The next stop was a a penthouse in CORE’s The Cammeyer at 650 Sixth Avenue in the Flatiron District, but the property wasn’t Gloria’s perfect match, either. Next up was another penthouse with “wow” factor, in The Excelsior on 57th Street in Midtown. Gloria was not disappointed — who would be with stunning views, a 4,800-square-foot wraparound terrace and a private indoor swimming pool? — but in the end it was too much penthouse for one woman to handle.
Keep on reading for some exclusive behind-the-scenes information about what didn’t make it into last night’s episode of “Selling New York” and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling!
1) Those who work well together, stay together. As a woman who knows what she wants, Gloria passed on the properties Kirk showed her in this episode, but over the past four years Kirk has sold Gloria four different properties in Manhattan. After all of their time working together, they’ve become not just acquaintances, but good friends. How good? Kirk recently attended Gloria’s 85th birthday party.
2) Hard work does pay off…eventually. An agent never knows if a client is going to pull the trigger on a purchase until it happens, but in the case of Gloria, Kirk worked around the clock for weeks because he knew that the risk of dedicating so much time to one client would probably pay off. Even though he didn’t make a sale in this episode, Kirk’s ongoing efforts resulted in one of Gloria’s apartments being rented out just one week ago. Like they say, patience is a virtue!
3) The elephant in the room. When deciding on the first apartment to show Gloria, Kirk didn’t just pick out of a hat. He chose Brooklyn for a reason. More than ever, people are buying in the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood, which has a beautiful, old-New-York feel, and has become a hot spot for its converted loft spaces. Kirk knew that it would be an incredible opportunity for Gloria and that this would be an investment that would flourish in the future.
4) Good business takes good bonding. The on-screen sail around the island of Manhattan wasn’t just for the incredible views. Kirk and his team, who dub themselves “Team Enterprise” (because they are led by “Captain Kirk”), are always doing fun activities together as a “de-stresser”…especially when the real estate waters are rough. Sometimes it’s a team dinner, a night of bowling, or in this case, an afternoon on a schooner. Not a bad way to spend a work day.
5) But there wasn’t enough sunblock on this sea trek. The boat trip twas a lot longer than a jaunt…and had a bit of an aftershock. As some of you may have noticed, Kirk’s cheeks were looking a little rosy throughout the rest of the episode. That’s because the boat ride that went up and down the East River was over four hours long. Kirk explained that almost all of the agents ended up with a serious sunburn by the end of the day.