“He is a real gentleman,” said Ms. Rai, 31.
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Mr Rai, a senior project manager with the city, was impressed by Ms Rai’s friendliness. “That’s number one for me,” he said. “I care less about a lot of other things, but my top priority is that you have to be a very nice person.”
The couple were both born and raised in Nepal. Mr. Rai, 38, arrived in New York nearly two decades ago and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. Ms. Rai came about a decade ago, first for work in sales and marketing, and now in child care. During their courtship, Mr. Rai rented a one-bedroom apartment in Woodside, while Ms. Rai lived with family in Jackson Heights.
“I always wanted to buy a piece of property after I got married,” says Ms. Rai. “That was my thing.”
She shared her ambition with Mr Rai early in their relationship, and after the couple married in 2024, she moved into his rental property. “We were of course constantly saving,” Mr Rai said.
“Jackson Heights offers a rare blend of urban energy and almost village tranquility once you leave the main streets,” Mr Rai said. There had to be two bedrooms, so that they could turn one bedroom into a children’s room.
The couple focused on cooperative buildings and worked with Claudia Looi, an independent real estate agent in Queens and Long Island. She started by asking them to describe their full financial profile. “You have to look at two important things with cooperatives,” Ms Looi said. “We need to know how much they earn and also what kind of debts they have: student loans, car loans, monthly maintenance and also the mortgage. Everything has to be calculated.”
The couple had no debts beyond Mr. Rai’s student loans, which would soon be forgiven thanks to his employment with the city.
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