Five years ago, Bibek and Malati Rai found themselves at the same Sakela festival in Jackson Heights, Queens. Ms. Rai performed a traditional dance at the event, a biannual celebration of nature and heritage for the Kirat Rai community of Nepal and Northeast India. The two spoke only briefly, then crossed paths again at another community event the following week. But it would be a few months before Mr. Rai formally asked her out.
“He’s a real gentleman,” said Ms. Rai, 31.
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Mr. Rai, a senior project manager with the city, was struck by Ms. Rai’s kindness. “That’s number one for me,” he said. “I care less about a lot of other things, but my top priority is 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 20 years 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 was renting a one-bedroom apartment in Woodside, while Ms. Rai lived with family in Jackson Heights.
“I always wanted to buy some property after I got married,” Ms. Rai said. “That was my thing.”
She shared her aspiration with Mr. Rai early in their relationship, and after the couple got married in 2024, she moved into his rental. “We were saving all the time, obviously,” Mr. Rai said.
They had started looking at homes before their wedding in Nepal, but between the travel and the cost of the celebration, the search had to take a back seat. About a year later, with a budget up to about $400,000, they started looking again. Ms. Rai wanted a place close to the subway so she could easily commute to Manhattan, while Mr. Rai wanted a short drive to his office in Long Island City. And they didn’t want to stray too far from their families and friends, who were mostly in Woodside, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights and Corona. Plus, they both loved the area.
“Jackson Heights offers a rare mix of city energy and almost village-like calm once you step off the main avenues,” Mr. Rai said. A two-bedroom was imperative, so they could make one bedroom into a nursery.
Focusing on co-op buildings, the couple partnered with Claudia Looi, an independent broker in Queens and Long Island. She started off by asking them to detail their entire financial profile. “You have to look at two major things for co-ops,” Ms. Looi said. “We have to know how much they make, also what kind of debt they have — student loans, car loans, the monthly maintenance and also the mortgage. Everything has to be calculated.”
The couple had no debt beyond Mr. Rai’s student loans, and those would be soon forgiven thanks to his employment with the city.
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