There was nothing spectacular about the interior. The building was pre-war, but for the most part, the units had been updated sometime in the '80s — except for the original steam radiators, which sputtered and hissed in the corners (this was a sound I had come to like; it was a familiar New York tune). The striking thing about the space, though, was the enormous quantity of sunlight that streamed in through the living-room windows. Situated in the back corner of an L-shaped building, the apartment had both south- and north-facing windows. And miraculously enough, there were no taller buildings close enough to block out all the light. In a city as crowded (and as vertical) as New York, an unadulterated view of the sky is a precious and miraculous thing, indeed. Plus, listed at under $500,000 ($420,000, specifically) this place was a bit of a unicorn. I looked around and thought, I could live with this. And so I told my agent, and together, we began the process.